Good morning Bitcoin: extortionist of Dutch entrepreneurs convicted

Good morning! We have listed the latest news for you. Start the day with a bitcoin breakfast.

Brian P., known as the ‘tattookiller’, has been sentenced by the judge to a prison term of 4.5 years for attempted extortion and arson. RTV Osst reports this on its website.

In addition, he must still serve a previously imposed prison sentence of more than four years. Together with his brother and two others, Brian is also linked to the death of Onno Kuut from Enschede. This matter will be dealt with at a later date. According to reports from RTV Oost, Brian and a 26-year-old man from Rotterdam tried to force the founders of a bitcoin company to pay. This was accompanied by sending threatening letters and arson. The accomplice was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.

In the summer of 2022, the founders of the bitcoin company received threatening letters and bullets at their home, demanding to contact them via an encrypted communication platform. Contact was made under police supervision, during which Brian and an as yet unidentified individual made serious threats not only to the founders but also to their families, including threats of physical violence.

The LockBit hackers claimed more than 2,000 victims, who together made more than $120 million in payments. This can be read in a press release from the American Department of Justice.

Treasury’s sanctions watchdog is adding nearly a dozen bitcoin and ethereum addresses to its global blacklist, claiming they were used by the hackers.
The Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) has charged Artur Sungatov and Ivan Kondratyev, two Russian nationals, with charges related to the deployment of ransomware. Ten bitcoin and ether addresses have been identified (none of which contained funds at press time), with the US graft. The authorities forbid them to provide any form of financial services to the two. According to OFAC and the US Department of Justice, they are part of the LockBit ransomware group, one of the world’s most prolific ransomware distributors, accused of stealing more than $120 million from more than 2,000 victims in recent years.

Michael Saylor, chairman of MicroStrategy Incorporated, has of course long been known for his support of bitcoin. During a recent interview on Bloomberg TV, he re-emphasized his commitment to bitcoin, stating that he plans to keep buying bitcoin forever. Saylor’s optimism about bitcoin is based on its potential as a hedge against inflation and its intrinsic value as a store of wealth.

Since its first investment in bitcoin in 2020, Michael Saylor has led MicroStrategy toward an aggressive purchasing policy of bitcoin, making it one of the largest corporate holders of bitcoin. Saylor’s plea goes beyond just investing; he sees bitcoin as an essential asset that should be adopted by institutions and companies as a reserve investment for the treasury.