As the crypto market rides the Trump pump, El Salvador’s controversial president is taking a victory lap.
President Nayib Bukele has advocated for purchasing bitcoin since 2021, and the country is thought to have accumulated about $513 million worth of the cryptocurrency. This week’s crypto rally put El Salvador’s unrealized bitcoin profit at just north of $100 million.
“I told you so,” Bukele wrote on X.
US Attorney David Metcalf announced Thursday the arrests of Ruslan Igorevich Tkachuk and Alexander Vladimirovich Ledenev, alleged senior members of AudiA6, a cryptocurrency money-laundering service believed to be responsible for laundering over $389 million.
The arrests coincided with a coordinated international takedown of AudiA6 and its infrastructure, involving the search of three properties, the seizure of servers and domains connected to the organization, as well as freezing cryptocurrency assets, according to a Department of Justice press release.
Tkachuk and Ledenev were “charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and one count of sting money laundering,” the DOJ said. If convicted, they face a maximum possible sentence of 20 years of incarceration.
Per the criminal complaint, AudiA6 offered services to conceal the origin of cryptocurrency linked to criminal activity, charging fees of up to 5% of the amount laundered.
The two defendants are in custody of Republic of Georgia authorities, and the US Attorney’s Office aims to seek their extradition to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
If you’ve got money locked up on-chain and an itch to gamble with it in a new way, has the World Series of Poker got good news for you. The WSOP announced it will integrate solana’s blockchain technology into the tournament through crypto payments firm MoonPay.
At its big summer event, players will have the option to buy into tournaments using crypto directly for the first time. In the WSOP’s Bahamas event in December, winners will be able to receive settlements in stablecoins on solana, reducing friction with international settlements.
The play is never the move. It's the mind behind it.
— Solana (@solana) June 10, 2026
The World Series of Poker. Now dealt by Solana. pic.twitter.com/EUPJikTWb4
“Solana’s ecosystem, like the WSOP, constantly challenges conventions and remains laser-focused on the consumer experience,” WSOP CEO Ty Stewart said in a statement. “Solana’s speed and efficiency mirror the fast-paced energy of our tournaments, and we are excited to showcase their technology to our global audience.”
The price of solana dipped slightly today, but has dropped more than 48% in 2026, data from CoinMarketCap shows.
Solana has been a popular network, in part from meme coin trading over the past two years, involving viral animal sensations as well as political figures such as President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump as well as Argentine President Javier Milei.
