Julian Assange Free - Kraken IPO - June News Roundup

Julian Assange has arrived in Australia after walking free from an American court following a deal with US authorities.

What did Julian Assange do?

Mr Assange ran Wikileaks, an internet site that released numerous personal or main records connected to war, reconnaissance, as well as corruption. In 2010 it launched a video clip from a United States armed forces helicopter that revealed private citizens being eliminated in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. It likewise released countless personal papers provided by previous United States Army knowledge expert Chelsea Manning. These recommended that the United States armed forces eliminated numerous private citizens in unreported events throughout the battle in Afghanistan. The discoveries came to be a massive tale, causing a response from all sides of the world plus causing extreme examination of American engagement in international disputes. The United States claimed the leaks had threatened the lives of American employees. Mr Assange was presumed of conspiring to burglarize its army data sources to obtain delicate info and also was accused of 18 offenses. Initiatives were made to bring him to the United States for prosecution - which he defended for 14 years in a few of the globe's highest possible courts. Mr Assange has constantly said that he revealed significant misuses by United States armed forces together with that the situation versus him was politically encouraged.

Why has Julian Assange been released now?

Mr Assange's release from a UK prison comes after a deal under which he pleaded guilty to one charge under the US Espionage Act. He will spend no time in a US jail. Mr Assange's supporters said the agreement was reached after intense diplomatic efforts and pressure from Australia. The country's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the case had "dragged on too long". The hearing occurred in the Northern Mariana Islands, an American region in the Pacific Sea.

Kraken Seeks over $100M Funding Ahead of Potential IPO

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is looking for over $ 100 million prior to a prospective going public (IPO) Bloomberg reported. The crypto exchange established in San Francisco in 2011 has actually long reviewed going public. This action is apparently sustained by a rise in capitalist passion as well as an regarded conditioning of laws versus electronic possessions.

In current months United States regulatory authorities as well as political leaders have actually revealed a much more positive position towards crypto. The SEC accepted exchange-traded funds spending straight in Bitcoin in January and also made actions towards accepting comparable funds for Ether in May. Crypto has become a political concern with governmental prospects trying to show up crypto-friendly.

Information concerning Kraken going public initially arised in 2021 when the exchange introduced that it was thinking about a public listing in 2022 with a straight market listing. At first the exchange prepared for a typical IPO or a merging.

Later, Kraken clarified that it was only considering a direct stock market listing as the company was too big for a SPAC merger. In a direct listing, the company goes public without issuing any additional stocks.

Additionally, the company engaged investors to raise fresh capital that will boost its valuation to more than $10 billion. Sources disclosed a potential fundraising round with Fidelity, Tribe Capital, and General Atlantic for an unknown sum, but none of them officially confirmed the report.

Week 1:

• Binance to restrict 'unauthorized' stablecoins in EU starting June 30, urges users to switch to regulated tokens
• Spanish court grants bail for Roger Ver in extradition fight related to US tax fraud charges
• Robinhood to buy crypto exchange Bitstamp in effort to expand outside the U.S
• Kraken said to be in talks for pre-IPO fund raising round, seek to raise more than $100 million
• Trump says he will advocate for bitcoin miners in White House

Week 2:

• Biden campaign in talks to accept crypto donations through Coinbase Commerce
• Nigeria drops tax charges against Binance executives
• Gemini to pay $50 million to settle New York crypto fraud claim
• T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom will soon mine Bitcoin in addition to running nodes

Week 3:

• US SEC closes investigation in Ethereum 2.0, ‘major win’ for industry: Consensys
• The number of mobile wallet users in crypto is now at an all-time high of 28 million
• MicroStrategy has acquired an additional 11,931 BTC for $786.0M using proceeds from convertible notes & excess cash for $65,883 per Bitcoin
• Gemini's founders, the Winklevoss brothers, donated $2 million in Bitcoin to Trump

Week 4:

• Bitcoin payments app Strike launches in the UK following European rollout
• US government sends 3940 BTC ($243M) of funds from the Silk Road hack to Coinbase
• Julian Assange lands in Australia a free man