The Dirksen Courthouse is pictured in Chicago. (Capitol News Illinois)

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago announced it seized approximately $1.4 million of cryptocurrency, which will be now returned to people who lost their money through an alleged fraud scheme.

Text, in yellow, announcing cryptocurrency lender BlockFi’s bankruptcy filing, appears on the company’s website on a smartphone, Nov. 28, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo / Peter Morgan, File)

In a span of less than 12 months, nearly all of the biggest cryptocurrency equivalent of a banks have failed spectacularly. Last week, Genesis filed Chapter 11, joining Voyager Digital, Celsius and BlockFi on the list of companies that have either filed for bankruptcy protection or gone out of business.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García. (WTTW News)

Now indicted Sam Bankman-Fried spent millions of dollars to boost the chances of Democratic candidates in this year’s elections.

President Joe Biden sits in the Oval Office of the White House, on March 4, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo / Patrick Semansky)
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The Biden administration views the explosive popularity of cryptocurrency as an opportunity to examine the risks and benefits of digital assets, said a senior administration official who previewed the order Tuesday on the condition of anonymity, terms set by the White House.

The NFT gallery imnotArt hosts the NFT drop for “Souvenir” by artist Brendan Fernandes on Nov. 12, 2021. (WTTW News)

A special kind of art gallery in Chicago is emerging as a brick-and-mortar trailblazer in the digital art world. The art space imnotArt in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood bills itself as the city’s first physical NFT gallery and one of the first of its kind in the world.

(David McBee / Pexels)

Thieves claiming to be affiliated with ComEd are contacting Illinois residents and threatening to shut off their electricity unless a purportedly “past-due” bill is paid immediately via Bitcoin, according to a warning from Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

In this Feb. 9, 2021 file photo, the Bitcoin logo appears on the display screen of a crypto currency ATM at the Smoker’s Choice store in Salem, N.H. (AP Photo / Charles Krupa, File)

Even by Bitcoin’s standards, last week was pretty wild. The price of the famously volatile digital currency fell nearly 30% at one point after the China Banking Association warned member banks of the risks associated with digital currencies.

Because this room of mirrors allows this NFT to fully encompass a physical space, that makes “Quantum Mirror” the very first NFT sculpture. (WTTW News)

As the development of NFTs—non-fungible tokens—gives artists more autonomy over their work and how it’s shared in a digital capacity, a new exhibit is showcasing how this digital art can take over physical spaces.

University of Chicago paleontologist Neil Shubin appears on “Chicago Tonight” via Zoom on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. (WTTW News)

The soaring price of Bitcoin has many environmentalists concerned. University of Chicago paleontologist Neil Shubin has more on that and other science stories making headlines around the world.

(Photo by Windows on Unsplash)

In the art world and beyond, NFTs – or non-fungible tokens – are all the rage right now. But what are they? Law professor Donna Redel explains.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Committee on Financial Services on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019. (WTTW News)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced tough questions Wednesday from members of Congress about his social media platform’s digital currency project. We discuss the billionaire tech entrepreneur’s plans for Libra.

(rawpixel / Pixabay)

On Tuesday, Facebook formally announced plans for Libra – a cryptocurrency the social network plans to release in 2020. How it’s different, and why some are calling for a halt to its development.