U.S. federal authorities say they seized over $3.36 billion in Bitcoin during an investigation into fraud on the Silk Road dark web marketplace.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said about 50,676 in Bitcoin was seized last November, and was valued at the time at more than $3.36 billion.

It was, at the time, the largest cryptocurrency seizure in DOJ history.

As Axios reported, the move signals the federal government's growing interest in recovering cryptocurrency payments linked to cybercrimes.

The Silk Road was in operation between 2011 and 2013 and worked as a dark web marketplace, but collapsed after operator Ross Ulbricht was arrested.

Ulbricht, 31-years-old at the time, was given five sentences, including two for life, in 2015. They would be served concurrently with no chance of parole, the Guardian reported.

Bahamas authorities announced that billions in assets connected to the downfall of the crypto currency exchange FTX is being held after its founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested there at the request of U.S. authorities.

Bankman-Fried did not fight extradition and was under the watch of U.S. law enforcement, facing criminal charges for defrauding investors before the crypto exchange collapsed.

He is accused of taking billions of dollars in one of the worst crypto currency failures in recent history.

RELATED: Sam Bankman-Fried plea to come in fraud case over FTX cryptocurrency exchange

Rebecca Blackwell/AP

As Reuters reported, the Securities Commission of the Bahamas announced that it will hold assets from FTX totaling around $3.5 billion and will do so based on market pricing at the time of transfer.

Authorities in the Caribbean nation will hold those assets on a temporary basis, it was announced, before they are handed over to creditors and customers of the exchange, who own those funds.

There are currently three cryptocurrency facilities now operational in Niagara Falls, New York. One of them, run by the company Blockfusion, which mines Bitcoin, gave a look inside their facility.

"Our company has more than 10,000 miners and more the 50 MW of clean power that is constantly running to mine cryptocurrency," said Alex Martini, the Chief Executive Officer of Blockfusion.

The New York-based company made its way to Western New York for one reason: Niagara Falls.

"We came to Niagara Falls to harness the power of the falls. It is one of the most powerful natural landmarks when it comes to hydropower...and our company, different from all the rest, uses as much renewable energy as possible. We're at about 90% at this point," said Martini.

Blockfusion says they want to embrace Western New York and shape the company with the community.

"We are here to work with Western New York, bring in jobs, industry, capital, and immerse ourselves in your community," said Martini.

The company has already hired over 60 Western New York residents and is actively looking for more talent, specifically graduating college students.

"Blockfusion will become Western New York. Let's work together," said Martini.

However, residents in the area have raised concerns about the volatility of cryptocurrency mining facilities. The Niagara Falls City Council said that at least 20 complaints have been filed against the extreme noise the facilities make. Those complaints have had a focus specifically on one U.S. Bitcoin facility in Niagara Falls.

"We don't believe those accusations apply to us, as we are not in a residential area...we will continue to work with local government and local ordinances," said Martini.

Due to the noise issue, Niagara Falls Mayor Rob Restaino issued a 180-day moratorium on new cryptocurrency development and facilities in the Falls.

In a statement the Mayor said:

This story was originally published by Ryan Arbogast of WKBW.

New York Mayor Eric Adams says he plans to receive his first paycheck as mayor in the form of the cryptocurrencies bitcoin and ethereum.

Mayor Adams made the remarks Thursday, as Reuters reported, amid an increasing rush by investors, countries, and companies to be more open to understanding the currencies, which run on blockchain technology.

Adams' Friday paycheck will be switched into cryptocurrency using an online platform called Coinbase Global Inc., Adam's said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Earlier this month one of the nation's largest retailers, Walmart, was said to have reportedly filed multiple trademark applications in late December to sell virtual goods. The retailer signaled in the filing that the company plans to possibly get involved with NFTs, the acronym for "non-fungible tokens," which are virtual items sold with a physical certificate of authenticity. Walmart also plans to delve into the cryptoconcurrency space as well, as Engadget reported.

Bitcoin prices plummeted overnight to a low of about $43,000.As of 10:30 a.m. EST Saturday, the cryptocurrency had dropped more than 13% in the previous 24 hours, from $56,294 to $48,309 — a loss of almost $8,000.That's a stark contrast from its all-time high of just last month, when Bitcoin reached almost $69,000 on Nov. 9.It's a slight rebound from a plunge of more than 17% earlier in the day.Ether, the second most popular cryptocurrency, fell almost 10%.The drop for Bitcoin follows a volatile week for financial markets. Global equities and benchmark U.S. bond yields tumbled on Friday after data showed U.S. job growth slowed in November and the omicron variant of the coronavirus kept investors on edge.Data from another platform, Coinglass, showed that nearly $1 billion worth of cryptocurrencies had been liquidated over the past 24 hours, with the bulk being on digital exchange Bitfinex.

CHICAGO, Ill. — After soaring by 86,000% in just a matter of days, the explosive new cryptocurrency known as "SQUID" crashed to zero this week. It turned out to be a swindle with scammers making off with more than $3.3 million in investor money. Crypto can be risky. Still, it’s a gamble that’s attracting traders of all ages.

If you’ve never heard of cryptocurrency, you’re now in a small minority. New research suggests that only about 4% of American adults surveyed are in the dark about the digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security.

“The way you make money on cryptocurrency is by selling it to somebody who thinks it's going to be worth even more in the future than you think it's going to be. It's what's called ‘the greater fool theory’ of investing,” said James Royal, an analyst with Bankrate.com and author of the book "The Zen of Thrift Conversions." “I think hot potato is a good metaphor for thinking about what's going on in cryptocurrency markets right now.”

It’s been more than 10 years since decentralized digital currency Bitcoin was introduced and since then, countless competitors have launched their platforms in the race to create more digital currency.

“Fundamentally, what you're investing in with crypto is not an asset that's backed by something. It's not backed by cash flow. It's not backed by an underlying asset,” said Royal.

Investor confidence varies by generation with millennials leading the way.

According to a recent survey by Bankrate, 49% of millennials are at least somewhat comfortable with investing in crypto assets such as Bitcoin, compared to 37% of Gen X’ers and only 22% of baby boomers.

“We're looking at a period of time where real wages have not grown in decades for a lot of people. And so, I think a lot of people think cryptocurrency is a kind of lottery ticket,” he said.

But Royal says while that lottery ticket could yield substantial returns, it also comes with substantial risk. An estimated one-third of people have been scammed by some type of fake email and imposter website.

“In a fast-growing area like this, where it's not clear exactly who's real and who's fake, it's important to understand that you can get scammed,” he said.

Shady cryptocurrency projects can quickly turn into scams, something proven by the Squid Game-inspired cryptocurrency in the last few weeks.

“It lost it all, literally lost 100% of its value within minutes,” said Royal.

Royal says if you’re getting into digital currencies, be sure to use a reputable exchange or broker like Robinhood or Interactive Brokers. Try to avoid the get-rich-quick mentality of investing and be cautious of allocating too large of a portion of your portfolio to cryptocurrency.

“You're not analyzing assets or cash flow, you're analyzing the psychology of the rest of the market to figure out how you should act," said Royal.

Because in the end, he says virtual currency is driven by optimism and market perception.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says there’s been a “huge spike” in cryptocurrency investment scams over the past several months.

A new data analysis from the agency shows consumers have reported losing more than $80 million to these scams since October. That’s an increase of more than ten-fold year-over-year.

The FTC looked at nearly 7,000 reports received about these scams in the last quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. It found the average amount consumers report losing was $1,900.

The FTC says these cryptocurrency scams can take a variety of forms.

Sometimes, they start as an offer for investment “tips” or “secrets” in online message boards that lead people to phony investment websites.

Another common form of the scam involves a promise that a celebrity associated with cryptocurrency will multiply any cryptocurrency you send to their wallet and send it back, the FTC says.

Consumers have actually reported losing more than $2 million to Elon Musk impersonators alone since October, according to the FTC.

Officials found that consumers age 20 to 49 were over five times more likely than older age groups to report losing money to a cryptocurrency investment scam, and in the six-month period covered by the analysis, consumers in their 20s and 30s lost more money to investment scams than any other form of fraud. More than half of their investment scam losses were in cryptocurrency.

Learn more about avoiding cryptocurrency investment scams here.

"Tiger King's" Carole Baskin is getting into cryptocurrency.

According to the Big Cat Rescue founder, she is launching $CAT, a new digital fan token for supporters of her rescue.

The NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, will be arriving in the coming weeks.

According to the website, you'll be able to use $CAT to make purchases on walks around the sanctuary, conversations with Baskin and her team, and merchandise.

$CAT is available now with prices starting at $5.