Category: Cryptocurrencies

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Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Hackers Tokens

‘Multichain’ Hack Update: $2.6 Million in Crypto Recovered

Cross-chain router protocol Multichain has recovered nearly 50 percent of funds stolen in last month’s hack, amounting to US$2.6 million in cryptocurrencies.

After a month-long fight against the exploit, the Multichain team has also announced a compensation plan for affected users.

On January 10, blockchain security expert Dedaub alerted Multichain to two vulnerabilities in its liquidity pool and router contracts, affecting eight cryptocurrencies including wrapped ETH (WETH), wrapped BNB (WBNB), Polygon (MATIC) and Avalanche (AVAX):

Multichain Enacts Emergency Damage Control

A week later, the Multichain team advised users to revoke approvals for the vulnerable smart contracts as a means of immediate damage control. However, the warning announcement only encouraged more hackers to try the exploit, resulting in losses exceeding US$3 million:

Risk Remains for Users Yet to Revoke Contract Approvals

Multichain advised that the vulnerability of the liquidity pool had been fixed by upgrading the affected tokens’ liquidity to new contracts, but warned: “The risk remains for users who have yet to revoke approvals for the affected router contracts. Importantly, users themselves have to be the ones to revoke the approvals.”

Late last week, Multichain reported that 4,861 of the 7,962 affected users had revoked approvals while advising the remaining 3,101 addresses to take action as soon as possible. Of the 1,889.6612 WETH and 833.4191 AVAX stolen funds, the team was able to recover 912.7984 WETH and 125 AVAX (worth nearly US$2.55 million and $10,000, respectively).

“However, in spite of our best efforts, a total of 976.8628 WETH has been stolen,” confirmed Multichain. To be eligible for compensation through reimbursement of losses, Multichain asked users to submit a ticket on the website by February 18.

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Crime Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrency Law Ransomware Scams

FBI Announces Crypto Crime Division to Tackle Ongoing Ransomware Attacks

The US Department of Justice has announced the establishment of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET). The unit, which will specialise in crypto-related crime, has also appointed its first director – long-time prosecutor Eun Young Choi.

The Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) released a statement on February 17 detailing the announcement. NCET aims to counter the criminal misuse of digital assets, and the team will be composed of prosecutors with backgrounds in crypto, money laundering, forfeiture and cybercrime. The proliferation of ransomware will be a particular concern of the unit.

Director Choi, who has a decade’s experience as a cybersecurity prosecutor, has stated she is excited to lead the team:

https://www.pli.edu/faculty/eun-young---choi-28943

[As the world of] digital assets grows and evolves, the department, in turn, accelerates and expands its efforts to combat their illicit abuse by criminals of all kinds.

NCET director Eun Young Choi

The NCET announcement has stirred a lot of discussion on Twitter, with many questioning whether the US government has ulterior motives:

FBI’s Recent Crypto History

The US government has intervened in several crypto-related matters over recent years. Notably, the Justice Department impounded US$3.6 billion in bitcoin earlier this month. This was accompanied by the arrest of a would-be rapper and her husband on charges of conspiring to launder some of the funds, part of the proceeds of the notorious Bitfinex hack of 2016.

In late 2021, US law enforcement seized an impressive US$154 million in bitcoin that had been stolen from Sony Life Insurance Company Ltd. The money had been embezzled by a rogue employee using a business email compromise.

By Lauren Claxton, Crypto News Guest Author

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Crypto Exchange Cryptocurrencies Sports

Red Bull Racing Inks $150 Million Deal with Bybit

Red Bull Racing has entered a US$150 million partnership with cryptocurrency exchange platform Bybit, claimed to be largest per annum crypto venture in international sport. While the figure is yet to be made official, the deal is set to hold for three years.

Red Bull Enters Crypto Big League

Bybit will become the Red Bull team’s exclusive and principal cryptocurrency exchange partner. Red Bull’s media release proclaims it to be “the single largest per-annum cryptocurrency venture yet seen in international sport”.

Bybit is set to join the racing team to promote “crypto-literacy” and green technology growth. Beyond branding on the team’s vehicles, Bybit will also become Red Bull’s fan token issuance partner. The team’s CEO Christian Horner states Red Bull intends to “[enliven] the fan experience in F1 through digital innovation”.

This news comes only weeks after the announcement that tech giant Oracle had signed a title deal with Red Bull Racing worth US$695 million.

Crypto Shells Out on Sports Sponsorships

Oracle Red Bull is not the first team to agree to a million-dollar deal. Earlier this month, English Premier League football team Manchester United signed a US$27 million per annum deal with blockchain platform Tezos.

Meanwhile, last month the Australian Football League struck a five-year deal with crypto.com for A$25 million. The deal will cover both the men’s and women’s competitions, a move inspired by Australian women’s higher-than-average willingness to take up crypto.

By Lauren Claxton, Crypto News Guest Author

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Banking CBDCs Cryptocurrencies NFTs

Mastercard to Offer Crypto and NFT Consulting Services, May Help Develop CBDCs

Mastercard has announced plans to cater to open banking, ESGs, open data, and crypto and digital currencies, by expanding its payments-focused consulting service. It is believed the move may help it develop central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which has been met with contempt from the industry.

https://www.mastercard.com/news/press/2022/february/mastercard-expands-consulting-with-practices-dedicated-to-crypto-open-banking-and-esg/
Mastercard Consulting Practices. Source: Mastercard

Mastercard Sets Eyes on the Future

In a February 15 press release, Mastercard announced new offerings, directed at banks and merchants, intended to cover crypto and NFT strategies, along with loyalty programs and crypto cards.

Mastercard is also exploring the possibility of developing CBDCs, having previously expressed interest in the potential of digital currencies by working on crypto cards for BitPay and Wirex.

Raj Seshadri, Mastercard’s president of data and services, has said that payments are only the beginning, and that the company will continue to help its clients “understand and navigate” the challenges and opportunities thrown their way.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/seshadriraj/

This evolution of consulting is in recognition of the changing world and of our changing business. It’s about helping customers navigate today’s challenges and anticipating what’s next.

Raj Seshadri, Mastercard’s president of data and services

While consulting efforts are set to cover topics from early-stage education to bank-wide crypto and NFT strategies, those within the industry are not so sold on the idea of CBDCs:

Securing its Place in the Industry

In mid-January, Mastercard solidified a partnership with crypto exchange giant Coinbase, which seeks to enable easier NFT purchases for users. And, in late 2021, the company secured a deal that enables consumers to buy, sell and hold assets through the crypto trading platform Bakkt.

By Lauren Claxton, Crypto News Guest Author

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Cosmos Cryptocurrencies DeFi Injective

DEX Token ‘Injective Protocol’ Soars 100% on Futures Listing Announcement

The utility and governance token for the DEX Injective Protocol (ticker symbol INJ) rallied more than 100 percent in a single day last week following the February 9 listing of Cosmos (ATOM) perpetual futures on the platform. 

Injective Protocol is a decentralised exchange that offers a variety of financial products usually associated with centralised exchanges, such as margin trading, derivatives trading and other exotic assets. The platform also features cross-chain trading, supporting assets across the Ethereum, BSC and Cosmos networks.

The price of INJ exploded from the upper US$3 range in early February to a high of US$10.08 on February 11 following the listing of ATOM perpetual futures. At the same time, its 24-hour trading volume spiked 1,756 percent to a high of US$306 million.

ATOM Listing a First for a DEX Platform

This listing by Injective Protocol is the first time ATOM perpetual futures have been listed on a  decentralised exchange, marking a significant milestone for the platform. 

It builds on a string of recent positive developments for Injective Protocol, including the listing of Cosmos-based project Chihuahua (HUAHUA) and the release of Injective Bridge V2 in January, which drastically improved users’ experience.

In the days since its rally, INJ has backtracked somewhat and is now trading in the low US$6 range.

The growth of more exotic financial products on DEXs is part of a larger trend in crypto as the industry seeks to expand into a more diverse range of investment classes, such as the tokenisation of real estate.

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Australia Crypto News Cryptocurrencies ETFs Regulation

ASX Chief Executive: More Crypto Companies to List on Australian Stock Exchange  

Dominic Stevens, chief executive of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), predicts that more companies with crypto ties could be listed on the Australian sharemarket in the coming year as cryptocurrencies start to play a bigger role in the tech industry.

With an eventful year of crypto companies making it into the mainstream, it seems 2022 may have some more of the same in store. The soon-to-retire ASX chief announced in his retirement speech last week that his mission over the past five years has been to expand the small role of tech companies in Australia’s mining and bank-heavy sharemarket.

Stevens has attempted to do this by allowing Australia to make strides in access to crypto but also by competing globally in the development of the blockchain industry. According to Max Cunningham, group executive of listings at the ASX, the exchange was establishing a framework for other companies backed by blockchain to debut by the middle of this year.

“We are moving on it and our goal is to bring investment-grade opportunities in various crypto asset classes to the ASX in the coming months and years,” Cunningham told The Sydney Morning Herald.

I think as the industry matures, you may see Square-like companies listing into the future, but we’re protective of the quality of the companies on our exchange, and it is a very fast-moving space.

Dominic Stevens, chief executive, ASX

Dorsey’s Block Lists on ASX

Stevens’ comments came just as Jack Dorsey’s Block (formerly Square) was listed on the ASX on January 20 after acquiring the Australian buy-now pay-later firm, Afterpay. The merged company will trade under the ticker SQ after being the first cryptocurrency-related company in the bourse’s history to be listed.

Aussie Crypto Progression

Initially, the ASX was cautious of how it approached crypto-affiliated companies but, as 2021 showed, Australia has been a hotbed for development in the nascent crypto industry. In October the ASX gave the go-ahead to investors to invest in crypto-based ventures through an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The following month, Australia also welcomed Chainalysis, one of the leading blockchain analytics firms, to establish a new office in Canberra after partnering up with the Commonwealth Bank to meet increased demand for its products.

Stevens further revealed that the ASX was looking into adding “pure” cryptocurrency ETFs to allow investment directly into the top cryptocurrencies:

At the end of the day if you look out to 2030, there will only be more technology companies, not less, and it will be a bigger section of the index because that’s just the way the world’s going. To not actually focus on that would have been a mistake.

Dominic Stevens, chief executive, ASX
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Bitcoin Bitfinex Crypto Exchange Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Hackers Illegal Tokens

Bitfinex Token LEO Soars 60% Amid BTC Seizure from 2016 Hack

Bitfinex’s UNUS SED LEO token (LEO), an altcoin most had forgotten since it launched in 2019, has just surged 60 percent in value following the seizure of almost US$4 billion in Bitcoin lost in an infamous 2016 hack.

LEO Price Hits All-Time High

LEO went from trading at US$4.97 to US$8.04, according to data from CoinMarketCap, reaching an all-time high. The price has settled since to US$6.84, but the surge seems to be related to the seizure of stolen crypto assets that formerly belonged to Bitfinex users.

On February 8, the US Department of Justice announced it had recovered 94,000 BTC stolen in the infamous hack of the crypto exchange Bitfinex. The 2016 hack saw 119,754 BTC stolen, worth about US$72 million at the time. The value of the stolen crypto is now almost worth US$4 billion. On February 1, an estimated US$3.5 billion in BTC was moved from wallets associated with the hack into a single wallet, alerting authorities to the stolen Bitfinex BTC.

Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino took to Twitter to express his gratitude:

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement: “Today’s arrests, and the department’s largest financial seizure ever, show that cryptocurrency is not a safe haven for criminals.” The statement also named Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan as the two culprits charged with attempting to launder the stolen property.

According to the FBI, Morgan and her husband Lichtenstein spent part of the proceeds on gold, NFTs and other items. Each faces up to 25 years in federal prison should they be convicted.

LEO Buys Back

In 2019, Bitfinex sold its Leo token and raised US$1 billion in 10 days. The token is a basic exchange utility token, so using it on Bitfinex lowers trading fees. However, LEO has an additional unique property. According to its whitepaper, the firm pledged to use most of any recovered BTC from the hack to purchase LEO on the open market and burn it after.

The whitepaper indicates: “Bitfinex and its subsidiaries will use an amount equal to at least 80 percent of the recovered net funds from the Bitfinex hack …. to repurchase and burn outstanding LEO tokens.”

The whitepaper also gives the firm 18 months to dispose of the BTC, thereby allowing it to do so at a time-weighted average price rather than shock the market with one giant sale.

In a statement following the news of the seizure, Bitfinex said: “We want to express our appreciation for the dedication and hard work by the DoJ team that led to this great success. We will continue to support their efforts.”

LEO comes from the Latin phrase, “unus sed leo”, a line in the Aesop’s fable The Lioness, and the moral of the story is quality over quantity. If all goes according to plan, there will soon be considerably fewer LEO tokens in circulation.

Categories
Bitcoin Blockchain Crypto News Cryptocurrencies

Institutional Adoption Grows as $9.5 Trillion BlackRock Moves to Offer Crypto Trading

According to three anonymous insiders, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has plans afoot to launch a crypto trading service to its investor clients.

Not BlackRock’s First Rodeo

Unsurprisingly, the Wall Street titan is no stranger to the world of crypto. For starters, BlackRock owns 16.3 percent of MicroStrategy, whose current Bitcoin exposure is north of US$5 billion.

And then last year it started “dabbling” in Bitcoin futures and, most recently, it filed for a blockchain ETF (exchange traded fund), which purports to track the performance of companies exposed to blockchain technology within the US and abroad.

But it doesn’t end there – BlackRock is also seemingly building up internal blockchain development capacities, based on a recent job posting for its wealth management platform, Aladdin.

Crypto Trading Offering

While BlackRock has declined to comment, it has been suggested that it intends to offer its clients leveraged crypto trading through Aladdin. In other words, clients (such as pension funds and hedge funds) would be allowed to trade using borrowed funds after posting crypto as collateral.

The move is somewhat anticipated, given the perpetual growth in institutional adoption within the space. This was seemingly confirmed by one insider who referred to an internal crypto working group of approximately 20, saying: “They see all the flow that everyone else is getting and want to start making some money from this.”

Another with knowledge of the matter, commented that BlackRock was “looking to get hands-on with outright crypto” and “looking at providers in the space”. Interpret this as you will, but the subtext appears to be that BlackRock is on the acquisition trail hoping to reel in crypto native companies.

Zooming out and focusing on macro trends, it’s been a big week for crypto, and Twitter knows it:

Categories
Australia Bitcoin Brisbane Cryptocurrencies

Crypto Meets Coffee in Brisbane

Crypto is now part of your daily coffee run, via a café in inner suburban New Farm, Brisbane. This one-of-a-kind venture – Crypto Coffee – allows patrons to pay with funds from a crypto wallet, using a business model developed in partnership with cryptocurrency platform Swyftx.

https://content.cryptonews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/crypto-coffee.jpg
Crypto Coffee exterior and counter, with live currency screens.

Crypto Coffee uses crypto in all its transactions, removing banks from the equation entirely. Cryptocurrency platform Swyftx, based in the Queensland capital, helped bring the idea to life, removing currency conversion hurdles and helping to convert crypto newbies by offering A$20 worth of bitcoin to new Crypto Coffee customers.

How to Buy Your Coffee with Crypto

Simply sign up to Swyftx with the QR code in-store. Once customers have a wallet, staff will help them place their orders. Swyftx also provides Crypto Coffee with links to live currency price charts that are displayed alongside the menu board.

All meals on offer at the café follow the crypto theme, adding extra novelty to the experience. Options include Shiba toast, Doge BLT, and the BTC chipotle chicken toastie.

Crypto-themed menu items from Crypto Coffee. Source: deliveroo.com.au

Word of mouth has been Crypto Coffee’s best promotional tool, with LinkedIn also spreading the news to the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), whose blockchain course further publicised the café. Crypto Coffee’s Instagram page garnered immense interest in the weeks prior to the café’s opening, further fuelling awareness of the venture.

Crypto Coffee is located at 572 Brunswick St, New Farm.

Crypto Moves into the Mainstream

Australia-wide, more and more industries are accepting crypto as a means of payment. These include online shopping, house renovations, solar installation and luxury properties. An example of the latter is a 2021 sale of a A$8 million Brisbane mega-mansion in a deal that allowed the use of crypto alongside standard payment methods for the purchase.

By Lauren Claxton, Crypto News Guest Author

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Charity Crypto News Cryptocurrencies

Crypto Donations Up 16x in 2021, ETH Beats BTC as Most Donated

More than US$69 million worth of cryptocurrency was donated in 2021, a 1,558 percent increase on the US$4.2 million figure in 2020. The data was released by The Giving Block, a platform that allows donations in cryptocurrency for non-profit organisations and individuals.

2021: The Year of Crypto Philanthropy

A total of 70 cryptocurrencies were donated, and for the first time Ether (ETH) surpassed Bitcoin (BTC) as the most donated cryptocurrency with US$30.79 million worth of ETH transferred to the The Giving Block.

Source: The Giving Block

Monthly Volume of Crypto Donations Skyrockets

More than 295 million crypto users globally donated using their preferred cryptocurrency. The Giving Block attributes the increase to the bull market and the growing adoption of crypto assets during 2021, but what’s interesting is that the volume of donations didn’t drop during market crashes – rather, it increased with each month.

At the close of the first quarter of 2021, the total donation volume was around US$1.69 million – by the end of Q4, it was $43.1 million.

2021 donations by month. Source: The Giving Block

Various NFT (non-fungible token) projects also contributed to The Giving Block with donations of more than US$12.3 million. These included Yuga Labs – creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club – who donated 66.45 ETH to the organisation.

This data reflects the growing popularity of digital assets among activist, nonprofits, and the general public throughout 2021, especially as it’s easier to donate using cryptocurrencies.

As an emerging source of fundraising, individuals from all corners of the crypto community – from anonymous donors to industry leaders to NFT artists – have shown an eagerness to embrace their capacity as supporters of important causes, from animal rights and disaster relief to mental health awareness and cancer research.

Pat Duffy, co-founder, The Giving Block