US district judge sentences Karl Sebastian Greenwood, a dual citizen of Sweden and the UK, who pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges in December 2022.

Ripple's landmark victory has galvanised the wider market for altcoins as much of the regulatory scrutiny on the sector focuses on whether some tokens should be classed as more tightly-regulated securities.

Bitcoin traded at its highest price since June 2022 overnight, touching US$31,818 on the Bitstamp exchange.

This comes on the heels of charges against cryptocurrency exchange Binance and founder Changpeng Zhao for numerous alleged securities law violations.

Prosecutors say Ishan Wahi shared confidential information with his brother Nikhil and their friend Sameer Ramani about which digital assets would be listed on Coinbase.

Several companies in the crypto industry have tumbled into bankruptcy over the past year, felled by a drop in asset prices, renewed regulatory scrutiny, and in the case of FTX, criminal charges.

The halt pushed bitcoin lower though its losses were marginal, with the cryptocurrency last down about 1% to about RM125,000, its lowest in nearly a week.

The EU rules will progressively come into force from July 2024 after the bloc's member states formally nod them into law.

The new bribery conspiracy charge adds to the pressure on the 31-year-old former billionaire, who now faces a 13-count indictment over the November collapse of FTX.

The criminal case follows related US Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges against Kwon and Terraform last month.

The site was offline, replaced by a banner which read, 'This website has been siezed' and displaying the logos of German, American, Swiss and Polish law enforcement organisations.

Sanctions monitors say South Korea estimates that North Korean-linked hackers stole virtual assets worth US$630 million in 2022, while a cybersecurity firm says that North Korean cybercrime yielded cybercurrencies worth more than US$1 billion.