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Showing posts from May 5, 2021

South Korean Police Raid Crypto Exchange Allegedly Involved in a $214M Multi-Level Marketing Fraud

Authorities in South Korea have launched a major raid against a domestic crypto exchange allegedly involved in a millionaire multi-level marketing (MLM) fraud. The police accuse V Global platform of running an illicit operation that reportedly stole hundreds of millions of dollars from investors. Masterminds Could Have Defrauded Over 40,000 People According to Yonhap , police obtained a court order to conduct searches into 22 properties connected with the crypto firm, including its headquarters based in the financial district of Gangnam in Seoul. Although local media outlets refused to disclose the identity of the crypto exchange raided by the police in the first instance, social media users started to make their bets on V Global possibly being involved in the saga. In fact, Hanguk Kyungjae confirmed the news on Wednesday. Investigators involved in the case believe that the company’s CEO identified by the media as “Lee” could have been allegedly “selling cryptocurrency using mult...

Early Bitcoin bull market buyers are hodling strong, but short term trading increasing

Data from Glassnode shows that bulls who accumulated during the second half of 2020 are still holding strong, despite a surge in short-term speculation this year. Bitcoin buyers from the early phases of the bull run are still hodling despite BTC’s meteoric surge into new all-time highs, according to data shared by Glassnode. The on-chain analytics provider shared its “Realized Cap HODL Waves” chart, noting that the number of coins that were last realized on-chain in the past six months has nearly doubled from roughly 40% to 80% since the third quarter of 2020 — showing that much of the BTC purchased during this period has not been touched since. HODL Waves are used to estimate the time since BTC coins last moved on-chain, while the realized price is derived from the price the coins were last moved at, rather than the current price. As such, the colored bands shown in the Realized Cap HODL Waves chart increase in thickness “as coins mature or are spent into different age bands.” Th...

Much DAO: Open DeFi unveils DAO to support the entire ecosystem

Open DeFi’s new DAO will be community governed through a governance token. Decentralized finance alliance, Open DeFi, has announced it will create a decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, to support its vision for an open and global cross-chain DeFi ecosystem. The alliance launched in late 2020 with the goal of bringing together Western and Eastern DeFi projects and has since seen some of the sector’s top projects join its ranks including as Aave, Synthetix and Balancer. The responsibilities of the Open DeFi DAO, or OD DAO, will include launching DeFi products across multiple layer-one networks, and exploring multi-chain applications for emerging decentralized assets, including data tokens and nonfungible tokens. The DAO will also incubate early-stage protocols and infrastructure, and seek to “generate long-term value through community-based strategies.” Open DeFi’s Marek Laskowski stated: “The goal of Open DAO is to develop a truly integrated multi-chain DeFi ecosystem t...

Yearn Finance Founder Andre Cronje Set to Fight the Rug Pulled Crypto Messiah in a Dubai Boxing Match

South African crypto entrepreneur and Yearn Finance founder, Andre Cronje, is set to brawl Crypto Messiah in a physical fight at a Dubai crypto conference. The event, which has been dubbed the Cryptocurrency International boxing match, is scheduled to take place on October 15. Pledged Prize Goes to Charity According to organizers of the fight, the pledged $1 million prize money, which will be in the form of Phantom tokens, will be donated to a yet to be advised charity organisation. In a tweet, one of the boxing event organizers, Harry Yeh said both crypto world personalities have no interest in the prize. Yeh explained in a thread : Just an update to this thread. Confirmed – I am pulling the prize money. Both fighters just want to fight so instead I will donate the 1M USD of $FTM to a charity to be announced of my choosing. Cronje and Crypto Messiah Twitter Brawl In the same thread, Yeh also praises the Crypto Twitter community and the UAE Warriors for helping to make the boxi...

Court orders Kraken to provide information on user transactions to the IRS

A court in northern California has ordered Kraken to provide info on users who traded more than $20,000 between 2016 and 2020 to the IRS. Kraken has been ordered to provide information on its users to who conducted the equivalent of $20,000 in crypto transactions in any one year, between 2016 and 2020, to the Internal Revenue Service. A federal court in northern California authorized the IRS to serve a “John Doe summons” on Kraken yesterday. The exchange is not alleged to have done anything wrong. The IRS is after the records of an “ascertainable group or class of persons” who may have failed to comply with tax reporting and internal revenue laws In addition, the IRS will check if Kraken has been compliant with its record-keeping obligations such as the Know-Your-Customer rules. “This John Doe summons is part of our effort to uncover those who are trying to skirt reporting and avoid paying their fair share, ” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig in the court’s press release. Acti...

Signs the Bitcoin hashrate is starting to move away from China

The U.S. is slowly increasing its share of the Bitcoin hashrate. Although the majority of Bitcoin mining is still based in China, there are signs it is beginning to shift elsewhere. Chun Wang, the co-founder of one of Bitcoin’s largest mining pools, F2Pool, reported that China represented less than half of its hash rate during April 2020. Wung noted it was the first time the pool had seen Chinese miners represent a minority of hash rate in its eight years of operation. "The shifting is real," he said. Here at @f2pool_official , in April 2021, the first month in our 8 years of operation, we have seen more $BTC hashrate coming from outside of China than from the inside. The shifting is real. https://t.co/nf2gBy62re — Chun @ dogecoin.org (@BocaChicaDoge) May 3, 2021 Wang reposted data published April 22 by Digital Currency Group’s Barry Silbert, which revealed that the U.S.-based Bitcoin mining pool, Foundry, had climbed to rank among the top 5 pools globally during Apr...

The NFL Gets a Taste of Crypto as Grayscale Partners With the New York Giants

The world’s largest cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale Investments has announced the first partnership with a National Football League (NFL) team. Grayscale will be the official digital currency asset management partner for the New York Giants and will sponsor a number of events. Grayscale Investments Partners With the New York Giants Following a number of NBA teams getting in on crypto-asset acceptance and partnering with crypto companies, Grayscale Investments has revealed a partnership with the NFL team the New York Giants. Grayscale, a crypto asset manager with over $46 billion in assets under management (AUM) will join the Giant’s list of corporate sponsors. Additionally, Grayscale will provide the Giants a service by becoming the team’s official digital currency asset management partner. Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein explained during the announcement that the company’s origins are tied to New York. “Our partnership with the Giants is incredibly meaningful because ou...

VanEck and BetaShares apply for Aussie crypto ETFs as family offices snap up BTC

Numerous institutional crypto product applications have been lodged as Australians buy more Bitcoin. Family offices in Australia are reportedly piling into digital assets as fund managers compete to list the country’s first cryptocurrency-backed exchange-traded fund. VanEck and BetaShares have each lodged submissions with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) following a rejection of industry speculation in March that the exchange was opposed to such products. The ASX confirmed that had received formal applications from several other investment managers eager to launch their own Bitcoin ETFs. Earlier this week VanEck Asia-Pacific chief executive Arian Neiron stated that the crypto asset movement had become more mainstream and thaa Bitcoin ETF on the ASX could democratize crypto assets for all types of investors. Australian ETF provider BetaShares also confirmed an ASX application but did not specify whether it was planning a Bitcoin product or one more broadly backed by digit...

PayPal says its crypto efforts are producing 'really great results' on earnings call

PayPal’s CEO believes crypto assets are forging a more equitable and inclusive financial system. During PayPal's Quarter 1 2021 investor update call, president and CEO, Dan Schulman said digital assets had performed strongly for the company and that he believes crypto and central bank digital currencies will be a driving force in forging “a more equitable financial system.” Following the success of PayPal’s move to embrace crypto assets , much of the call centered around the firm’s recent and future plans for digital assets. “We believe the current technological underpinnings of our financial system will be substantially upgraded over the coming years,” Schulman said, adding this would help efforts to recover from the pandemic: “Both cryptocurrency and central bank-issued digital currencies can play a critical role in shaping a more inclusive recovery and a more equitable financial system.” The CEO stated the payments provider has an extensive crypto roadmap planned, noting i...

Dogecoin Has ‘Remarkably Strong Fundamentals’ Despite Deficiencies, Says Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital

Bitcoin bull Mike Novogratz’s company, Galaxy Digital, has analyzed dogecoin and concluded that “despite its deficiencies, dogecoin has remarkably strong fundamentals and powerful forces supporting its rise.” Novogratz admitted that he had been too bearish on the cryptocurrency. Dogecoin Should Not Be Ignored, Says Galaxy Digital Galaxy Digital Research published a report on Tuesday entitled “Dogecoin: The Most Honest Sh*tcoin.” The report outlines the history and progress of Dogecoin, noting that its appeal “has always been its honesty.” The authors described that “Unlike many other cryptocurrency projects, Dogecoin does not seek, or even pretend, to be anything more than to be the world’s most fun currency.” The report also adds that “with no pre-mine or ICO, Dogecoin’s fair launch positions it more closely to Bitcoin than most other projects in the space, ensuring that no hidden group of insiders stands to benefit disproportionately from its rise.” While acknowledging that doge...

Revolut app announces Bitcoin withdrawals… within limits

Revolut has rolled out its Beta launch of Bitcoin withdrawals to U.K.-based Metal customers, who will be allowed to withdraw 500 to 1000 pounds a month in its initial stages. Europe’s leading financial app Revolut has finally enabled Bitcoin withdrawals four years after it first provided crypto trading services to some users, and a year after it extended trading to all 7 million users worldwide. Revolut first added Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum trading for premium users back in 2017, however they have only been able to withdraw it as fiat until now. The financial tech firm announced today the beta launch of Bitcoin withdrawals with exclusive access first given to its U.K.-based top-tier Metal customers. Revolut also plans to roll out withdrawals worldwide — it has users in the U.S., Australia and elsewhere — and to other client tier-bases in the future. The move follows a similar pathway to Paypal which launched U.S. crypto trading in late 2020, with many noting at time that ...

It’s Time: UFC to Launch Fan Token for Millions Around the World

UFC, the world’s largest MMA promotion, is preparing to mint its own token. The company, which has played a key role in the rise of the combat sport’s popularity, now wants to provide a growing fan base with access to exclusive content, rights, and rewards using blockchain technology. UFC Fan Token to Have a Maximum Supply of 20 Million The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced this week it’s going to launch the $UFC Fan Token next month. The coin will be minted in partnership with Chiliz , a blockchain company that provides services to the sports and entertainment industries. The move is expected to increase fan engagement among millions of fans around the world. UFC detailed on its website: The $UFC Fan Token is scheduled for launch on Socios.com in June and will have a maximum lifetime supply of 20 million. European soccer giants such as FC Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester City are already working with Chiliz. The company has also held talks ...

Galaxy Digital to acquire crypto custodian and services provider BitGo

Under the acquisition's terms, BitGo shareholders will get 33.8 million in newly issued shares of Galaxy Digital, in addition to $265 million in cash. Galaxy Digital, a crypto and blockchain-focused financial services and investment manager founded by Mike Novogratz, is set to acquire institutional crypto custodian service and wallet operator BitGo. According to an announcement on May 5, Galaxy Digital Holdings will pay $1.2 billon in stock and cash to settle the deal. Under the acquisition's terms, BitGo shareholders will get 33.8 million in newly issued shares of Galaxy Digital, in addition to $265 million in cash. To fund the cash part of the acquisition payment, Galaxy will use its balance sheet and defer a large part of the sum to be settled up to 12 months after the deal's closure. It is currently expected to close by the end of the fourth quarter of this year. At the deal's closure, Galaxy will issue incremental shares to BitGo's shareholders in exchange...

Only whales move DOGE: Data suggests major Dogecoin wealth gap

Relatively few hands are moving a large amount of DOGE. It was Doge day afternoon all over again on Wednesday as Dogecoin ( DOGE ) continued its assault on the cryptocurrency market capitalization rankings. The meme coin overtook XRP to become the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by implied market capitalization after climbing to a per-coin valuation of $0.69 — a target that was specifically set by traders on social media. But cryptocurrency’s latest media darling may not be as wholesome as it seems. For all the hype surrounding Dogecoin (and its de facto master , Elon Musk), publicly available data suggests relatively few people are actually using the blockchain, and those who do use it account for an incredibly large portion of its overall activity. Consider that the dollar value of coins sent across the Dogecoin blockchain on Tuesday exceeded $58 billion. That figure was 70% higher than the amount transferred on Bitcoin ($34 billion) and 260% higher than on Ethereum ($16 bill...

Mastercard Finds 4 in 10 People Plan to Use Cryptocurrency in the Next Year

Global payments giant Mastercard has conducted a survey of 15,569 consumers in 18 countries and found that 4 in 10 people plan to use cryptocurrency in the next year. Meanwhile, 93% of people will consider using at least one emerging payment method, such as cryptocurrency. Mastercard’s Crypto Survey Mastercard published on Tuesday the results of a survey it conducted online of 15,569 consumers in 18 countries in four regions worldwide between Feb. 26 and March 10. The research was conducted by The Harris Poll and Mastercard Global Foresights, Insights, and Analytics. The company explained that “The Mastercard New Payments Index, conducted across 18 markets around the world, shows 93% of people will consider using at least one emerging payment method, such as cryptocurrency, biometrics, contactless, or QR code, in the next year.” In addition, “nearly 90% of in-person transactions globally take place at a contactless-enabled merchant.” Mastercard further described that “digital curr...

Three reasons why the ‘other Ethereum’ has pumped 130% in the last week

Ethereum Classic has almost matched Dogecoin’s massive pump in the last seven days. Ethereum Classic (ETC) continues to maintain its parabolic price action advance that began in late March. Data from crypto market aggregator Coingecko shows ETC is up almost 50% in the last 24-hour trading period as of the time of writing. Indeed, the 20th-ranked crypto by market capitalization is currently at an all-time high above $76. Source: TradingView The first likely reason for this current price action advance is that it is a continuation of ETC’s positive performance since the end of Q1 2021. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, major forks like ETC and Bitcoin Cash ( BCH ) had been seeing significant upward moves . ETC was a consequence of the Ethereum hard fork that ensued after disagreements on the best course of action to rectify the decentralized autonomous organization debacle of July 2016. Retail hype is also building on ETC especially as the token is available to buy on t...

Investment app Betterment still not ready to offer crypto services, says CEO

After posting record-breaking growth in Q1 2021, digital wealth platform Betterment is still studying whether it needs to add crypto to its services. Betterment, a major financial advisory company providing robo-advising and cash management services, has not yet decided whether it will introduce cryptocurrencies to its platform. Betterment is still researching a potential expansion of its services to inclue digital assets like Bitcoin ( BTC ), CEO Sarah Levy said. “We’re believers that if we can provide the right kind of context and advice, that it’s OK to participate in some of these newer asset classes,” Levy said in a Tuesday interview at Bloomberg’s Wealth Summit. “I’d like us to find a way to responsibly offer crypto, but I can’t say that we’re there yet. I think we’re still in kind of a watch-and-learn mode,” she added. Founded back in 2008, Betterment is a popular platform in the United States, helping clients to invest in a globally diversified portfolio of stocks and bon...

May 8 'day to watch' for Dogecoin amid warning DOGE can suffer XRP style crash

Elon Musk's upcoming TV appearance could ultimately spell a Dogecoin Doomsday, one analyst says as price action mimics XRP in 2018. Dogecoin ( DOGE ) is surging and Bitcoin ( BTC ) is limping, but one analyst predicts that this week will burst the DOGE bubble. In a series of tweets on May 4, popular Twitter account lowstrife highlighted similarities between Dogecoin and XRP among warning signs that “the end” is nigh. "Final push As Cointelegraph reported , DOGE/USD has continued to climb this week, reversing previous losses to take out its previous sky-high peak of $0.47. Year-to-date, the pair is up 7,000%. With major proponent Elon Musk due to make his promised appearance on Saturday Night Live as “The Dogefather” on May 8, however, that date is quickly becoming a line in the sand for the meme-based altcoin’s fortunes. Musk, who has made headlines throughout the year for his alleged adoration of Dogecoin, has likewise fuelled acceptance of its gains as being based ...

Researchers Spot New Cryptocurrency Stealing Malware Advertised Under a Subscription Model

A cryptocurrency-related malware program has been advertised on darknet forums as the “leading way to make money in 2021,” raising alarms among the cybersecurity community. Palo Alto Networks published a report on the malicious app Westeal, detailing the author’s ties with other types of malware that steals major streaming services accounts. Westeal Claims to Be Immune Against Major Antivirus Software According to the cybersecurity firm , “Westeal” is an evolution of “Wesupply Crypto Stealer,” another malicious crypto software that has been sold since May 2020. Findings suggest that Wesupply’s evolution has been advertised since mid-February 2021. The study points out that Westeal was designed to basically steal bitcoin ( BTC ) and ethereum ( ETH ) coming in and out of the victim’s wallet through their clipboard. Moreover, people who acquire the malicious app get access to a web panel to handle all the operations, including a “victim tracker panel.” A detail that raises concerns ...

Jim Cramer still owns ‘a lot’ of Ether he first bought for an NFT auction

The CNBC host may have gotten a better deal by eventually holding on to the Ether rather than trading it in for a TIME magazine NFT auction earlier this year. In the latest sign that crypto continues to filter through into the mainstream, CNBC host Jim Cramer has spent the week discussing the large quantity of Ether ( ETH ) he holds. On CNBC's Squawk Box on May 4, Cramer said he owns “a lot of Ether,” explaining that he first bought it when he was trying to “buy some nonfungible token on TIME magazine . So they made you buy Ether first. I didn't get it so I just kept the Ether.” Cramer was referring to TIME's recent auction of magazine covers in the form of nonfungible tokens when each cover eventually sold for between $100,000–$250,000. Keeping the Ether, however, now “seems like a better deal,” his interviewer quipped, in light of Ether's current rally to trade above $3,300 — up 130% just this week. "I'll buy a house with Ether," Cramer half-joked...

Swedish crypto broker's IPO oversubscribed by 1,200%

Stockholm-based crypto brokerage Safello saw its IPO oversubscribed by nearly $60 million, or 1,240% from the planned $5 million. Safello, a Stockholm-based cryptocurrency brokerage, is seeing massive demand from investors for its upcoming initial public offering on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market. The company said Wednesday that its planned IPO was oversubscribed by 502 million Swedish krona ($59.3 million), up 1,240% from the planned 40.5 million krona ($4.8 million), Reuters reports . Safello CEO Frank Schuil said that the company expects its listing on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Stockholm on May 12. The exec told Cointelegraph that the allocation rules were set in the prospectus and Safelo followed those rules. "Our approach has been to create the widest distribution after pre-subscription in the spirit of decentralized ownership," Schuil said. “Safello will continue to follow its roadmap. The listing on Nasdaq First North opens new venues for growt...

Another 50% daily gain for Dogecoin confirms 'alt season' as Bitcoin slumps

Dogecoin rally sparks speculation about the arrival of alt season as Ether celebrates its eighth-straight day reaching a new high. The cryptocurrency market awoke to the sight of Dogecoin ( DOGE ) price surging to as high as $0.69 in the past two days, leading many to wonder if the recent performance of the world's most popular meme token is now the leading indicator for the arrival of alt season. Long-time crypto fans mark the fourth of May as a special day for the Bitcoin community as a whole for being the birthday of one of the earliest known supporters of the Bitcoin network Hal Finney, who would have celebrated turning 65 . Data from Cointelegraph Markets and Tradingview shows that while the world's attention was focused on Dogecoin, Bitcoin ( BTC ) faced selling pressures, which began the night before and dropped the price of BTC back below the $55,000 support level by mid-day on Tuesday. BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView While BTC continues to trade...

Venezuelan Minimum Wage Reaches $3 as More Venezuelans Take Refuge in Cryptocurrencies

The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, approved a minimum wage raise increase last week that took it to three dollars monthly, a very low income for the citizens of the country that are facing a strong economic crisis since 2013. However, the crypto environment has been growing, and now Venezuelans are flocking to exchanges like Binance and Localbitcoins, platforms that are now serving thousands of Venezuelan users monthly with their peer-to-peer offerings destined to preserve the value of their money. Venezuela’s Minimum Wage Raised to $3 Monthly Earlier this week. Nicolas Maduro, president of Venezuela, announced a minimum wage raise through its Labour minister, Eduardo Piñate, in a public support rally to Maduro’s government. The raise of 300% takes the minimum wage to an approximated value of three U.S. dollars monthly, a number that is insufficient to cover the basic needs of a family even for a day. According to ground reports, one kilogram of meat costs about $3.75, ma...