Court Approves U.S. Extradition for Alleged BTC-e Operator
A Greek court has given the green light for the U.S. extradition of Alexander Vinnik, the alleged former operator of bitcoin exchange BTC-e.
Make us preferred on Google
A Greek court has given the green light for the extradition of alleged bitcoin money launderer Alexander Vinnik to the U.S.
Said to be the former operator of defunct bitcoin exchange BTC-e, Vinnik is wanted by authorities in both Russia and the U.S. on different charges. As previously reported by CoinDesk, Vinnik had appealed to the court to be extradited to his native Russia where he faces lesser fraud charges. He has also denied his role as the operator of BTC-e, claiming he had merely worked as a technician at the exchange.
According to Reuters, the Greek supreme court yesterday rejected his appeal that he be returned to Russia. It is now up to the Greek justice minister to make the final decision on the matter, according to the news source.
Russia has previously criticized the decision to comply with the U.S.'s request for extradition. The county's Ministry for Foreign Affairs said at the time that it "noted with regret" that the court had opted not to return Vinnik to Russia.
Vinnik was arrested in Greece in late July, accused of laundering billions of dollars in bitcoin through BTC-e.
In July, international law enforcement officials moved to shutter the BTC-e exchange, with U.S. prosecutors later unveiling a number of charges against both BTC-e and Vinnik, while a $110 million fine was handed down from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
By September, the platform had gone back online, and claimed that it would refund users who lost money in the raids. Later that month, its operators launched a new exchange platform called WEX.
Law image via Shutterstock
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
How a 'perpetual’ stock trick could solve Michael Saylor’s $8 billion debt problem
The bitcoin treasury firm is using perpetual preferreds to retire convertibles, offering a potential framework for managing long-dated leverage.
What to know:
- Strive upsized its SATA follow on offering beyond $150 million, pricing the perpetual preferred at $90.
- The structure offers a blueprint for replacing fixed maturity convertibles with perpetual equity capital that removes refinancing risk.
- Strategy has a $3 billion convertible tranche due in June 2028 with a $672.40 conversion price, which could be addressed using a similar preferred equity approach.
