The mysterious case of the $571m Manchester Bitcoin scam
US regulators are hunting for a Brit they claim is the mastermind behind a cryptocurrency fraud, but he may not even exist
14 April 2021 • 6:02pm
The US s commodities watchdog is on the hunt for a Manchester man it claims is the mastermind behind a Bitcoin scam that swindled thousands of victims and owes $572m (£416m).
The regulator is facing a major obstacle, however, as their suspect, Benjamin Reynolds, 38, appears to have vanished without a trace. Questions have now emerged over whether he ever existed.
The investigation comes as cryptocurrencies continue their surge into the mainstream. Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange, is set to go public in New York this evening at a valuation of as much as $100bn. The price of Bitcoin hit a record of $64,500 this week as corporate interest continued to pump up the price.
Updated Apr 14, 2021 | 21:48 IST
Coinbase has benefited from bitcoin s meteoric rise over the past year, with the crypto asset s price rising from $6,500 last April to new records of as high as $64,000 Wednesday. Coinbase makes market debut amid cryptocurrency frenzy | Photo Credit: AP
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase makes a highly anticipated stock market debut on Nasdaq Wednesday amid frenzied interest in bitcoin and other virtual currencies despite concerns about a bubble.
The first company devoted entirely to cryptocurrency to enter the US stock exchange, listed under the symbol COIN, is already a heavyweight.
The Nasdaq on Tuesday night set a reference price for the company at $250 per share, which, after taking into account the shares in circulation, stock options and restricted shares, would put Coinbase s overall valuation at $65.3 billion.
Gensler had previously served as the chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) during the Obama administration, and also served as the chair of the Maryland Financial Consumer Protection Commission from 2017 to 2019, pressing for higher standards for broker/dealers and investment advisors.
Gensler also has a long history with Wall Street, joining Goldman Sachs in 1979, spending 18 years with the firm. He later served as assistant secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton administration, as a senior advisor for U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes, and currently works as a professor of the practice of global economics and management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He also led the Biden administration’s transition team on financial policy and securities regulations.