Here’s what happened in crypto today
Today in crypto, Do Kwon pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges in the United States, Binance secured its 21st global regulatory authorization in Brazil, and a lucky memecoin trader profited over $3 million after buying $66 worth of a Pepe-Gladiator-themed memecoin in mid-December.Do Kwon pleads not guilty in US courtTerraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon appeared before a New York magistrate on Jan. 2, less than a week after being extradited to the United States to face criminal charges for his role in the Terra ecosystem collapse. Appearing before US Magistrate Judge Robert Lehrburger, Kwon pleaded not guilty to nine charges, including securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and commodities fraud. A status conference is scheduled for Jan. 8, allowing for the defense and prosecution to share evidence. Kwon was apprehended in Montenegro in 2023 after authorities arrested him for using falsified travel documents. He was sentenced to four months in prison but remained in custody for much longer as courts tussled over his extradition destination.On Dec. 27, Montenegrin Justice Minister Bojan Bozovic finally approved Kwon’s extradition to the United States.“The gravity of the criminal acts, the place of execution, the order of submission of the request, the citizenship of the requested person, the possibility of further extradition to another country, as well as other circumstances,” the Ministry of Justice said.Binance secures 21st global crypto license in BrazilBinance has secured its 21st global regulatory authorization from Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), the central bank of Brazil, in a significant milestone for crypto adoption in Latin America.Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, was approved as a licensed broker-dealer in Brazil, the most populous country in Latin America.The approval allows Binance to acquire São Paulo-based investment platform Sim;paul, a licensed broker-dealer authorized to distribute securities and issue electronic money (EMI), according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph.The approval makes Binance the first crypto exchange to have a broker-dealer license in Brazil.Binance’s 21st regulatory approval comes after receiving licenses in Argentina, India, Kazakhstan and Indonesia.Elon Musk’s bizarre name change on X turns trader’s $66 into $3 million profitElon Musk’s brief name change on X to “Kekius Maximus” — a reference to a Pepe-Gladiator meme — has seen one lucky memecoin trader turn $66 of Ether into as much as $3 million in just 18 days.The trader bought 10.17 million of the Kekius Maximus (KEKIUS) memecoins 18 days ago on Dec. 14 and sold 2.81 million of the tokens for 60.3 Ether (ETH) on Jan. 1 while holding the rest — marking an eye-popping 45,900-fold paper gain, blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain said on X.Kekius Maximus is a mashup of the internet meme Pepe the Frog and Maximus Decimus Meridius, the main protagonist of the 2000 film Gladiator, played by Russell Crowe.Etherscan data shows the KEKIUS memecoin was created on Dec. 13, which accumulated $11.4 million by Dec. 31 before exploding to $380 million at its peak on Jan. 1, according to CoinGecko.