United States prosecutors have filed charges against a Nebraska man accused of a cryptojacking scheme that allegedly defrauded two cloud providers – one headquartered in Seattle and the other in Redmond, Washington – of $3.5 million. Prosecutors allege that the cryptojacking scheme yielded cryptocurrency mining valued at almost $1 million. Cryptojacker Charged in $3.5 Million...Read More
Animoca Brands reported $558 million in digital assets on its balance sheet, as per its latest unaudited financial disclosures. Since December 2023, the company has acquired an additional $266 million in digital assets through various recent investments and token launches. According to the official announcement released earlier this week, the Hong Kong-based Web3 giant disclosed...Read More
Crypto privacy protocol Railgun has denied accusations that it is being used by North Korea and other United States-sanctioned entities to launder digital assets. This development comes as the crypto privacy protocol nears $1B total volume. Railgun Denies Lazarus Group Association Responding to claims made by crypto reporter Colin Wu through an X post, Railgun...Read More
Bybit’s Institutional Report 2024 revealed a significant increase in monthly trading volumes across several centralized exchanges (CEXs) from October 2023 to March 2024. During that timeframe, the crypto sector’s market cap surged from slightly above $1 trillion to over $2.5 trillion. Bullish Trends and BTC as a Hedge According to the report, OKX’s trading volumes...Read More
Kraken, the second-largest crypto exchange in the U.S., has introduced its self-custodial mobile wallet. Dubbed Kraken Wallet, the product follows in the footsteps of prominent platforms such as Binance, OKX, Coinbase, Bitget, and Bybit. Kraken Wallet’s Focus on Privacy and Self-Custody Kraken Wallet offers users a solution for managing their tokens, NFTs, and DeFi across...Read More
Prominent global agencies have flagged a newly-emerged ransomware group named Akira, estimated to be just a year old, for its widespread cyber intrusions, breaching over 250 organizations globally and raking in nearly $42 million in ransom payments. Investigations led by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have revealed that Akira has been actively...Read More
Ernst & Young (EY) has launched OpsChain Contract Manager (OCM), an Ethereum solution that leverages zero-knowledge proofs technology. The solution will help private businesses efficiently manage and execute intricate business agreements while ensuring confidentiality, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness. EY Launches the OpsChain Contract Manager EY, one of the top “big four” accounting firms alongside Deloitte, KPMG,...Read More
Hong Kong authorities have arrested over 70 individuals linked to the HK$1.6 billion JPEX cryptocurrency scandal that shook the city-state. According to the latest report by SCMP, approximately HK$230 million – worth around $29.37 million – in assets has been frozen, as disclosed by Police Commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee. Hong Kong Authorities Crack Down on...Read More
Riding in the coattails of a broader market resurgence, the NFT trading space witnessed in 2024 Q1, with volumes across the top 10 marketplaces soaring to $4.7 billion. According to CoinGecko’s latest report, Blur maintained its stronghold as the leading NFT marketplace during this period. During the first quarter of 2024, Blur recorded $1.5 billion...Read More
The Korean crypto markets have recently experienced a surge in trade volume, reaching heights not seen in over two years. According to a report from Kaiko, the first quarter of 2024 marked an important milestone as the South Korean Won (KRW) surpassed the U.S. Dollar (USD) in terms of cumulative trade volume. Competition and Shifting...Read More
MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor has sold up to 370,000 shares of his brainchild over the past four months. This follows his entry into a stock-sale agreement with the company last year. Under the agreement, he has the authorization to unload up to 400,000 shares until April of this year. Saylor to Offload 400,000 Shares Michael...Read More
Yuga Labs, creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, has announced the sale of the intellectual property rights for two of its games. This move is part of Yuga Labs’ previously declared commitment to refocus its organizational efforts. Yuga Labs Hands Over Gaming IPs to Faraway In an April 17 announcement on...Read More
Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan remained entangled in a legal battle with Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with his bail application hearing being postponed yet again. The Federal High Court in Abuja adjourned his case after the EFCC’s lawyer requested more time to respond to new issues Gambaryan’s defense team raised. Gambaryan’s Appeal Adjourned...Read More
It may sound counter-intuitive that a decentralized network can generate a profit, but that is exactly what Ethereum has done so far this year. According to an April 18 Token Terminal report, the Ethereum blockchain generated a $369 million profit in the first quarter of 2024. If this level of profit is sustained, the blockchain...Read More
With the Bitcoin (BTC) halving only hours away, analysts are at odds over whether the one-in-four-years event is already “priced in” to the crypto market. According to Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, the answer is yes – but it comes with some important nuance. The Bitcoin Halving And Efficient Markets In a Twitter thread posted on...Read More
Bitcoin’s fall to $61,000 over the weekend was a result of market participants reducing their exposure to the digital asset ahead of the halving slated for April 20, according to the latest CryptoQuant weekly report. Analysts said traders closed their long positions to take profits, and now, the volume of sell orders in the perpetual...Read More
A federal jury has convicted crypto trader Avraham Eisenberg of fraud and market manipulation. The charges stemmed from Eisenberg’s exploitation of Mango Markets, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol built on the Solana blockchain. Eisenberg Convicted for Market Manipulation Eisenberg, 28, was found guilty by jurors in a federal court in Manhattan on charges of commodities...Read More
For the past four days, fees paid by users on Bitcoin have exceeded those on Ethereum, according to data from Cryptofees, a data analytics platform. This surge in Bitcoin transaction fees has been associated with the growing anticipation surrounding the upcoming halving event and the Runes upgrade. Bitcoin Fees Surpasses Ethereum for 4 Consecutive Days...Read More
Leading stablecoin issuing company Tether announced the launch of its products, USDT and XAUT, on The Open Network (TON), a decentralized blockchain network formerly related to the popular messenger app – Telegram. According to a press release sent to CryptoPotato, the launch of USDT and XAUT on TON expands Tether’s presence across the crypto sphere,...Read More
Binance, once banned by the Indian government, is set to make a comeback after agreeing to pay a hefty penalty of approximately $2 million. According to a report by ET, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is preparing to re-enter the Indian market under the finance ministry’s oversight of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Binance’s India...Read More
Public interest in the ‘Bitcoin halving’ is gaining steam as Google searches for the term have now risen to their highest level in history. According to Google Trends data, interest in the term began steadily ramping up at the start of 2024. Beginning with a score of 9 in January, interest in the “bitcoin halving’...Read More
Binance has announced that it is converting its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) into Circle’s USD Coin (USDC). Following the $1B conversion into USDC, this stash now makes up approximately 3% of Circle’s total circulating supply, which is $32.6 billion. SAFU Assets Shift to USDC for Stability In an April 18 announcement by Binance,...Read More
Worldcoin, the project co-founded by Open AI CEO Sam Altman, which uses iris-scanning technology to verify a user’s “humanness,” is planning to launch an Ethereum layer-2 blockchain prioritizing verified humans over bots. Worldcoin currently has more than 10 million users, with 50% of them having verified their human identities using the project’s Orb. An Anti-Bot...Read More
Two of America’s largest banks are urging crypto investors to remain cautious around the upcoming Bitcoin halving, which analysts believe may not play out much like prior cycles. In a Wednesday report, JPMorgan predicted that Bitcoin’s price will not rise following the event, and is more likely to resume declines that began earlier this month....Read More
On April 17, the two pro-crypto Senators introduced the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act. The bill “solves key policy challenges that have lingered around previous proposals and provides prudential regulation and added consumer protections to stablecoin issuers,” said Lummis, who added, “But above all, it allows innovation to prosper.” The Senators have been drafting the bill...Read More
A recurring pattern that has been observed during each Bitcoin halving is volatility. With the following event right around the corner, Bitcoin dumped over 10% in the past week, sliding to $62,778. But despite a series of price corrections, the accumulation game remains strong among Bitcoin holders. Accumulation Addresses See Record Bitcoin Inflows Popular crypto...Read More
Contrary to the general belief circulating in the crypto community, Bitcoin Stock-to-Flow (S2F) model creator and analyst PlanB thinks this halving will not be different from previous events. According to a tweet, PlanB insists that Bitcoin’s price increases will again be around the halving. This Halving Will Not be Different Over the past weeks, several...Read More
Bitcoin has now retreated 18% from its all-time high of $73,737 on March 14, tapping $60,000 during late trading on April 17. Corrections are a healthy part of market cycles, however, and analysts agree that this one may not be over yet despite the halving being just a couple of days away. On April 17,...Read More
Bitcoin miners are experiencing a significant drop in stock prices as the upcoming halving is slated for later this week. The fourth Bitcoin halving, around April 20, will slash mining rewards by half to 3.125 BTC, currently valued at approximately $200,000. Bitcoin Miner Stocks Decline The stock prices of Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Blockchain (RIOT),...Read More
Ethena is a synthetic dollar protocol on Ethereum that issues the stablecoin USDe. The asset aims to be a censorship-resistant and scalable form of digital money pegged to the US dollar. On April 16, on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant took a deep dive into the Ethena ecosystem revealing risks with the latest stablecoin, which has seen...Read More
