**[Empire Market Co-Founder Sentenced to 40 Years, Agrees to Forfeit Approximately 1,230 Bitcoins]** Odaily Planet Daily News – On October 5, Empire Market co-founder Raheim Hamilton was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison in Chicago and fined $5 million. His plea agreement includes the forfeiture of approximately 1,230 Bitcoins, 24.4 Ether, and three properties in Virginia. Empire Market operated from 2018 to 2020, facilitating over 4 million transactions between buyers and sellers, with a total transaction value exceeding $430 million. Investigators seized $75 million worth of digital assets, cash, and precious metals in the case. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that the platform required buyers and sellers to transact exclusively in cryptocurrency and encouraged the use of coin-mixing services and encrypted communication. Buyers could also rate sellers on how effectively they concealed drug packages, with drug-related sales on the platform amounting to nearly $375 million. (Source: (Bitcoin.com) News)