The body of Kevin Mirshahi, a 25-year-old cryptocurrency influencer who had been missing since June, was found dead.

Mirshahi’s body was discovered in Montreal’s Île-de-la-Visitation Park, as confirmed by the Sûreté du Québec, according to the Montreal Gazette. 

A passerby came across his decomposing body, prompting an investigation that identified him through an autopsy.

The case, which marks Montreal’s 32nd homicide of 2024, has highlighted a concerning pattern of violence within the crypto community, raising questions about the safety of high-profile figures in the sector.

Timeline of Mirshahi’s disappearance and death

Mirshahi’s disappearance occurred on June 21. Early that morning, he and three others were allegedly abducted from a condo building in Old Montreal.

Montreal police were alerted after receiving a 911 call about a disturbance at a residence near de la Commune and St-Hubert Streets, according to The Gazette.

While the three other abductees were quickly located, Mirshahi remained missing, prompting police to escalate the investigation to the SQ.

During the initial investigation, police identified Joanie Lepage, a 32-year-old woman from Les Cèdres, Quebec, as a suspect, per The Gazette.

In August, she was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and involvement in Mirshahi’s abduction. Authorities allege that Lepage played a role in concealing Mirshahi’s death, though investigations are ongoing to determine if other suspects may have been involved.

Mirshahi’s background in crypto 

Mirshahi was a prominent figure in Montreal’s cryptocurrency scene, primarily due to his management of a private investment firm called “Crypto Paradise Island,” per The Gazette.

His activities in the crypto space attracted public and regulatory scrutiny, particularly from Quebec’s investment authority, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers.

The AMF placed restrictions on Mirshahi in 2021, barring him and two associates from acting as investment advisers or conducting securities transactions. Two weeks after his disappearance, this ban was reinforced in July 2024, limiting his online activities and requiring him to cease promoting related content on social media.

This case isn’t the first crypto-related crime that happened in Canada this month. On Nov. 6, Toronto police investigated the kidnapping of WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka, who was abducted in downtown Toronto and released after a $1 million ransom was paid electronically.

“This report tells the story of progress and calculated risk, the use of a diverse set of strategies to leverage opportunities and most of all, the continued belief in the market’s long-term potential to reshape traditional financial markets” Lucas Schweiger, Sygnum Digital Asset Research Manager and report author, said in the press release shared with CoinDesk.

Binance will be the first platform to launch the stablecoin USUAL on Nov. 19. The crypto exchange will provide trading support for USDT and USUAL trading pairs.

In a notice published on Nov. 14, Binance announced the 61st project that will be launched on Binance Launchpool, the stablecoin Usual. The webpage for Usual is expected to be available 12 hours before the pre-market launch on Nov. 19 at 10:00 UTC.

Usual Labs is a decentralized fiat stablecoin issuer backed by Kraken, Mantle, Starkware and GSR, as well as more than 150 investors. The token will be launched on the Ethereum network.

According to the announcement, users will be able to receive airdrops for the USUAL tokens in the form of BNB (BNB) and FDUSD (FDUSD) within four days. Farming for USUAL will start on Nov. 15 at 00:00 UTC.

According to Usual’s X post, the stablecoin uses a revenue-based model that prioritizes its community members.

According to data from CoinMarketCap, the Usual stablecoin went up by 0.08% and is current trading hands at $0.9991. The stablecoin has a market cap of $345.71 million and a total supply of 346 million USUAL tokens.

Binance provides a total token supply of 4 billion USUAL tokens, with 7.5% of the supply being allocated to rewarding users. The initial circulating supply for the stablecoin’s listing will be 12.37% of the total token supply, amounting to 494,600,000 USUAL.

Usual will be available for pre-market trading in USUAL/USDT trading pairs. At the moment, it is only available for pre-market trading with the exchange stating that the pre-market closing time and spot listing time will be announced at a later date.

Last week, the stablecoin issuer completed a round of community funding which raised a total of $1.5 million. The Echonomist, Breed Syndicate, and Comfy Capital were among the investors participating in the community round.

Usual introduced the stablecoin USD0 in February 2024, describing it as a permissionless stablecoin backed by real-world assets. It also serves as a governance token that allows users to vote on the network’s future.