A Turkish court overturned a previous verdict that Thodex CEO Faruk Fatih Özer and his two brothers were guilty of creating a criminal organization. The court overturned guilty verdicts for 16 defendants, but only 4 of them were completely acquitted and released.

Faruk and the Özer brothers were sentenced to 11,196 years for charges like aggravated fraud and money laundering in addition to this organized crime charge. They will remain in prison, although they demand a retrial.

Faruk Özer’s Thodex Rug Pull

Faruk Fatih Özer founded the exchange Thodex with his brothers Güven and Serap, and they committed one of the biggest rug pulls in crypto history. Together, they reportedly stole around $2 billion in crypto, and Faruk remained at large after his brothers’ arrest.

However, in 2022, he was caught in Albania and later extradited to Turkey.

This monumental theft impacted hundreds of thousands of users and damaged the industry’s broader reputation, so prosecutors tried to throw the book at these brothers. They tried to give Faruk and 20 other Thodex employees sentences of up to 40,000 years.

These men were found guilty, and the former CEO was sentenced to 11,196 years. However, this sentencing didn’t end the legal battle.

According to local media, an appeal launched by Faruk and the other Thodex executives has finally yielded results. The 22nd Criminal Chamber of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice overturned several of these convictions.

This week, 16 defendants were cleared of the aggravated fraud charge, and four were released outright. The Özer brothers, however, were not so lucky.

“Overturning the local court’s verdict, the Chamber ruled that the defendants Faruk Fatih Özer, Güven Özer and Serap Özer be released separately on charges of establishing a criminal organization. The Chamber ruled that the defendants should remain in custody for other crimes and sent the file back to the local court,” local reports claimed.

In other words, Faruk and the top-level Thodex executives are still on the hook. Nonetheless, the Özer brothers’ legal team is demanding a retrial, alleging that public perception and media narratives contributed to the long sentence.

For example, although news reports initially claimed thefts around $2 billion, today’s indictment asserts that they only stole $7 million.

“Those who want to get rich overnight in crypto will get scammed by thodex. They buy the shares of companies whose worth is unknown at inflated prices on the stock exchange and go bankrupt,” popular Turkish investor Efe Yakup Karahanlı wrote back in 2024.

For now, it’s unclear exactly how long Faruk Özer and the remaining Thodex employees will actually stay in prison. For example, a few of the named lesser charges still carried sentences of 6-18 years.

There is a chance that some of these men may be released from prison during their lifetime, but even that is unlikely.

Artificial intelligence (AI) coins have seen strong movements in the last week of January, with some projects rebounding from recent lows and potentially bringing more gains in the first week of February.

MorpheusAI (MOR) surged 47% as it regained momentum in the AI sector, while Morphware (XMW) jumped 32%, fueled by expectations of a golden cross. Bittensor (TAO) climbed 19% after bouncing off its lowest level since September 2024.

MorpheusAI (MOR)

MorpheusAI is an Arbitrum-based network that calls itself the “first peer-to-peer network for general-purpose artificial intelligence.” Launched in May 2024, MOR, its native token, initially reached prices around $128 but saw a sharp decline after that.

MOR has gained 47% in the last seven days, pushing its market cap close to $100 million. It briefly touched $115 million yesterday before experiencing a slight correction, but momentum remains strong.

If the rally continues, MOR could retest $37 and potentially climb to $40 or even $45 for the first time since June 2024. However, if the trend reverses, MOR price could test support at $22, with a further drop to $16.2 if that level breaks.

Morphware (XMW)

Morphware is an Ethereum-based Layer 3 AI application that aims to provide a decentralized machine-learning platform.

XMW, its native token, has surged 32% in the last seven days, with a 26% jump in the last 24 hours, pushing its market cap to $75 million. Launched in September 2024, XMW reached an all-time high of $0.18 on December 12, 2024.

EMA lines suggest that XMW could soon form a golden cross, potentially pushing its price toward key resistance levels at $0.10 and $0.12.

However, if the trend reverses, the $0.082 support is crucial—losing it could send XMW down to $0.062.

Bittensor (TAO)

TAO is the biggest artificial intelligence crypto, with a market cap of around $3.8 billion, surpassing competitors like RENDER, FET, and VIRTUAL. It aims to create a decentralized machine-learning network using blockchain technology.

TAO price has gained 19% in the last seven days after hitting a low of $362 on January 23, its lowest level since September 2024. This recent bounce suggests growing interest as the AI crypto narrative recovers momentum.

EMA lines indicate that TAO could soon form a golden cross, potentially driving its price toward resistances at $480 and $498. If AI hype strengthens, TAO could surge to $521 or even $586. However, if the trend reverses, key supports at $458 and $435 must hold, or TAO could revisit $386 or $362.

Tether just released its latest financial report, revealing $13 billion in net yearly profits and $113 billion in US Treasury holdings.

CEO Paolo Ardoino is looking to the future with new research areas and a proactive approach to potential US stablecoin legislation.

Tether’s Report Shows Huge Wins in 2024

Tether, one of the world’s leading stablecoin issuers, reached record growth in 2024. Last December, MiCA severely reduced the firm’s EU operations, but this had little impact on its dominance. USDT continues to dominate the stablecoin market by a large margin, and its yearly financial report reflects the demand.

Tether’s latest Attestation Report shows $13 billion in net yearly profits and all-time-high US Treasury holdings. CEO Paolo Ardoino, however, is focused on the future:

“In the following months we aim to launch several new products across all Tether pillars: from Artificial Intelligence platforms and apps to telecommunications, from new financial tools and services to broader educational efforts. Thank you very much to everyone for your support. We’re unstoppable together. Nothing else matters,” Ardoino said.

Ardoino’s bullish comments reflect a number of changes at Tether. This month, the company relocated its main headquarters to El Salvador after receiving the relevant licenses in that jurisdiction. The report claims that this move will support Tether’s ambition to support financial inclusion and innovation worldwide.

Even before today’s financial report was released, there were clear signs that Tether was making huge profits. In December, the firm invested $775 million into Rumble while transferring $700 million worth of Bitcoin to the company’s reserves.

At the time, BeInCrypto reported a $10 billion profit surge at Tether, but it overshot this number by a significant margin.

“Tether Investments holds $12.5 billion in assets, stablecoin excess reserves account for most of the rest. In 2024 Tether USDT reached the impressive milestone of 400 million users globally, mostly distributed among emerging markets and developing countries,” wrote Ardoino.

In addition to these profits, the report also claimed that Tether has $113 billion in direct and indirect US Treasury holdings. In December, the Treasury acknowledged the vital role of stablecoins in the rising crypto economy.

Tether’s CEO anticipates new rules requiring stablecoins to put reserves in Treasury bonds, and he’s taking a proactive approach.

All in all, the report reflects Tether’s exceptionally strong financial state. A few other relevant numbers include $157.6 billion in consolidated total assets and $45 billion in new token issuance. With resources like these, Tether has the flexibility to explore other ventures and business avenues beyond crypto.