Crypto rises, content creators invest in MoonPay, crypto expert jailed for helping North Korea

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency internationally, traded higher on Wednesday, rising by 0.32 percent to $40,204.12 as of 9:00 a.m. Riyadh time.

Ether, the second most traded cryptocurrency, was priced at $3,067.40, up by 1.79 percent, according to data from Coindesk.

Content creators invest in crypto firm MoonPay

Crypto startup MoonPay, which provides payment infrastructure for crypto and NFT transactions, expects content creators to increasingly use NFTs to engage with their fans and market their work.

On Wednesday, it announced that more than 60 high-profile investors have pledged $87 million to create digital content and engage with fans, according to Reuters. These high-profile investors include Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, Maria Sharapova and Bruce Willis.

The investments come from the firm’s Series A round of investments, disclosed in November last year, for which the company was valued at $3.4 billion.

Other investors in the crypto firm include rapper Aubrey Drake Graham and Adel Future Nur’s company Dreamcrew, Gwyneth Paltrow-led Kinship Ventures, Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary-backed Sound Ventures, singer Abel Tesfaye and his manager Amir Esmailian.

Crypto expert lands in jail for helping North Korea

A New York judge sentenced a cryptocurrency expert to 63 months in prison for advising North Korea on how to circumvent US sanctions on its nuclear program using cryptocurrency services and blockchain technologies.

To reduce the sentence for a crime that can carry up to 20 years in jail, Griffith, 39, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate US law.

Prosecutor Damian Williams said, “There is no question North Korea poses a national security threat to our nation. The regime has shown that it will stop at nothing to ignore our laws for its benefit.”

“Griffith had admitted that he took actions to evade sanctions, which are in place to prevent (North Korea) from building a nuclear weapon,” the prosecutor said.