Spanish | Crypto

Spain joined a growing list of national authorities restricting or banning prediction market platforms amid concerns over unlicensed gambling activities. Spain’s gambling regulator blocked local users from Polymarket and Kalshi “as a precautionary measure” as authorities there address allegations the prediction markets platforms were in violation of gambling laws.  On Tuesday, Spain’s Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) said the country’s Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption, and Agenda 2030 had opened legal proceedings against the two companies, as they appeared to be operating without necessary licensing. The DGOJ issued an order blocking Spanish users from Kalshi and Polymarket until the proceedings were resolved, expected in three to four months. “The DGOJ wishes to remind the public that, in Spain — in line with other European jurisdictions — prediction markets are deemed to constitute games of chance when bets are placed on uncertain future outcomes,” according to a Tuesday notic...

Researchers bought 97 BTC in 2012 for a blockchain study. Thirteen years later, they’re selling the stash to fund quantum research projects. A Spanish public research institute is preparing to sell a long-forgotten Bitcoin stash, worth over $10 million, which was purchased for just $10,000 in 2012 as part of a blockchain research project. The Institute of Technology and Renewable Energies (ITER), overseen by the Tenerife Island Council, acquired 97 Bitcoin (BTC) more than a decade ago to study blockchain technology. The council is now finalizing plans to divest the holdings, according to a report from Spanish-language newspaper El Día. Juan José Martínez, Tenerife’s innovation councillor, told the outlet that the council is working with a Spanish financial institution authorized by the Bank of Spain and the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) to facilitate the sale. Read more

Spanish law enforcement has dismantled a sprawling underground financial network that allegedly laundered more than €20 million through crypto transactions for organized crime groups based in China and the Arab world, local media reported on May 14. The criminal ring, which police described as one of the largest clandestine crypto-banking operations uncovered in Europe, operated […] The post Europol, Spanish police dismantle ‘mafia crypto bank’ laundering funds across continents appeared first on CryptoSlate.