Cryptocurrency news by Protos

A leading Bitcoin Core developer has claimed that a hacker has compromised his Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) key and stolen more than 200 bitcoin ($3.5 million).Luke Dashjr, a Core developer since 2011, has made over 200 contributions to Bitcoin’s code and maintains the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) section of Bitcoin’s GitHub repository. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The collapse of centralized crypto firms became the biggest news stories in 2022, with Celsius and FTX dominating mainstream coverage.CeFi also experienced its share of hacks, such as exchanges Crypto.com, Deribit and the more than $400 million from FTX during its chaotic implosion last month.DeFi has taken a hammering, too. CeFi’s failures can mainly be chalked up to mismanagement, opacity, and fraud. Many of the following DeFi hacks and exploits are down to smart contract vulnerabilities, from which there is generally no recourse.Let's take a look at the top five DeFi hacks and exploits that happened this year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2021, the excitement around NFTs could barely be contained. Headlines were glowing and frenzied, and art collections and virtual land plots sold fast.While this excitement — and the market — has cooled considerably, NFTs still make big news on a regular basis. Here’s a look back at some of the most significant NFT stories of 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A recovering gambling addict lost $300,000 to an online casino after the site showed him how he could use crypto to bypass banking restrictions and licensing laws. Australian Blake Barnard was winning his fight against his gambling habit after his bank stepped in and canceled his casino deposits.However, as detailed in an interview with ABC, once online betting platform Luckystar noticed the canceled deposits it emailed Barnard, recommending that he try using his Visa or crypto. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tether, the first — and probably most controversial — stablecoin, has spent seven years promising transparency and audits. But a promise of transparency isn’t transparency. What Tether has proven, if anything at all, is that, sometimes, a promise may be enough. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former chief exec of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, has entered a plea deal with the Southern District of New York, along with FTX’s co-founder Gary Wang.Former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried has not pleaded guilty, but has landed on US soil after agreeing to extradition from the Bahamas, and is now in the custody of the FBI. Combined, the three face up to 275 years in prison. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Love them or hate them, NFTs have created a buzz around blockchain in 2022. Sadly, they have also ushered in a wave of tasteless, corrupt, and in some cases outright mad NFT projects — resulting in a colorful year, to say the least.The one color it’s seemingly lacking, however, is green. NFT trading volume has dropped 97% since early January highs. Numbers for NFT marketplace OpenSea are bleeding: active traders, sales, and monthly volume are all down by 61%, 75%, and 96% respectively since January. Indeed, some six figure NFTs are down almost 99% this year.To celebrate the wild ride, here’s a recap of some of the most ridiculous NFTs of the year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Saylor, executive chairman and former chief exec of MicroStrategy, shared some new insights in an interview with George Gammon and private fund manager and commodities analyst Doomberg.In an hour and a half live discussion on Tuesday, Saylor reiterated his theory that bitcoin is the best hedge against the debasement of fiat currency. Then, he faced a series of tough questions and divulged more information on his decision to go all-in on bitcoin. It’s the first time that Saylor has spoken so candidly about his quest to turn MicroStrategy into a highly leveraged bitcoin bet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grayscale Investments has informed investors of a contingency plan to deliver some capital to GBTC shareholders ⏤ even if it loses its appeal of the SEC’s decision to block GBTC from converting into a spot bitcoin ETF. Grayscale might institute a 20% share buyback. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group (DCG) could be forced to pay back $350 million to financier and Chelsea FC owner Todd Boehly if its brokering subsidiary Genesis goes under, according to people familiar with the company’s finances.As reported by the Financial Times (FT), Boehly led a debt raise for DCG through his Eldridge investment group in November 2021. This raise included a $600 million loan from the group and a number of other investors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During a dramatic day in court on Monday, former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried voluntarily agreed to be extradited to the US, the Washington Post reports. The decision comes as the crypto exchange seeks to recoup money spent by Bankman-Fried and his cabal, such as political donations.A Monday morning court session in which Bankman-Fried was expected to agree to extradition lasted only 10 minutes thanks to a public outburst. Jerome Roberts, a local lawyer representing the curly-haired entrepreneur, said the court session happened without his knowledge — things were moving “prematurely,” he said. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), who has repeatedly promised transparency, reiterated his vow in the wake of the FTX bankruptcy. However, Reuters this week accused Binance of hiding its liabilities and concealing financial details.Reuters even questioned whether Binance executives have an interest in market-makers that trade against customers of the exchange — as was the case at BitMEX, FTX, and other exchanges sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The outlet cited a comprehensive review of regulatory filings around the world, including interview requests sent to dozens of regulators. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bitcoin briefly traded above $24,000 on the Waves blockchain-powered WX Network as holders scrambled to exchange their coins and withdraw their money from the decentralized exchange.The rush to the exit was sparked after DEX saw a number of its tokens' withdrawal gateways shut down for an upgrade, including those of bitcoin and tether. Traders could deposit crypto to the exchange but couldn't withdraw it. Those who panicked at the news sought to sell their tokens at high prices in order to buy tokens that still had their withdrawal gateways open -- namely the Waves token. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MPC wallets enable parties to share the responsibility of signing and encrypting data without any single party holding a complete private key. Cryptographic applications use multi-party computation (MPC) to generate digital signatures or decrypt data without sharing private inputs.Organizations like exchanges, custodians, and other large digital asset businesses often prefer MPC wallets because this technology prevents trust in any single employee with a single key to assets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Australian bank Cuscal was listed in FTX’s bankruptcy filings as one of the group’s banking partners. It was listed alongside Omipay, an Australian payments processor that focuses on offering payments to and from China.Omipay also works with authorized representatives like Bano which provide other payment services, and it operates payment platform Monix/Monixfin. Protos previously reported that FTX used Monix to access banking services in Australia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finder Wallet, the cryptocurrency offshoot of Finder, has been sued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for its Earn product which offered customers a way to earn yield on their cryptocurrency.They allege that the Australian financial services comparison firm was providing illegal financial advice and was offering Finder Earn without the appropriate licensure. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On what was a strange Thursday for US-based mapping service Hivemapper, the firm’s CEO and co-founder Ariel Seidman suggested that the project’s upcoming HONEY token will represent ownership in the platform. This is a curious revelation, as any token that represents equity would likely have to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MicroStrategy has been a regular favorite stock for short-sellers looking for big drawdowns. The US-based software firm was listed as the eleventh most-shorted stock. Interestingly, just ahead of it in tenth spot is crypto bank, Silvergate Capital Corporation which, in March, lent MicroStrategy $205 million, collateralized with bitcoin, to purchase around 4,000 more bitcoin.The interest rate for this loan was never published and, bizarrely, MicroStrategy chief Michael Saylor once claimed that the firm holds custody of all of its bitcoin, implying that Silvergate may not have access to the assets against which Saylor borrowed his money. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before it filed for bankruptcy in November, crypto exchange FTX was this year’s largest advertiser among crypto companies. Needless to say, it overspent ⏤ but not before hordes of influencers convinced their followers to deposit money into FTX. The exchange then proceeded to “lose” $8 billion of its customers’ money.Some celebrities backtracked on their endorsements after FTX collapsed, claiming that they were fooled along with the rest. However, FTX investors aren’t buying it. Some have sued big names like Larry David and Tom Brady for the part they played in misleading customers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

European crypto exchange Bitvavo is part of the so-called creditors’ committee that is trying to wrestle more than $1.8 billion back from Barry Silbert’s Genesis Trading and its parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG). This is according to sources familiar with the matter who spoke directly to Protos.When Bahamas-based exchange FTX collapsed in November, Genesis was forced to suspend redemptions. As a result, in addition to freezing $175 million of Genesis’ trading assets, it also left Genesis and DCG owing three major creditors — $900 million to the Winklevoss twins’ Gemini, $350 million to a group of investors led by investment firm Eldridge, and $300 million to Bitvavo.As part of their efforts to claw back their money, Gemini and Bitvavo have formed a creditors’ committee. They have also retained law firm Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel and global investment bank Houlihan Lokey as financial advisor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve issued its latest interest rate increase in response to inflation. Federal funds rates have been hiked up to a target of 4.5%.Surprisingly, the Fed’s projections for the duration and value of interest rates may be higher than predicted. Almost all board members estimate that an interest rate slightly above 5% will be appropriate for next year, even as far as Q4.So, are prolonged and higher interest rates a new critical blow for bitcoin and crypto? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How far can a digital asset exchange go to shut down somebody’s account? As famous trader CoinMamba discovered, a centralized exchange like Binance can close accounts for the same vague, hand-wavy reason as any other financial institution — especially when its account owner threatens to create social media drama.This week, Binance placed an account belonging to an influential trader who goes by the name ‘CoinMamba’ in withdraw-only mode after he claimed to have been a victim of an exploit of his account’s API key. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Crypto exchange FTX, trading firm Alameda Research, and news of the hundreds of other companies exposed to their collapse has kept the spotlight off a few floundering projects. Take, for instance, Justin Sun’s personal “algorithmic” stablecoin USDD.FTX withdrawals stopped functioning on November 6 and 7. Two days later, something broke for USDD. Price briefly spiked to $1.01 on November 9 and then began to drop. USDD slipped from its $1 peg, falling to as low as $0.97.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Tuesday, it was announced that Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of crypto exchange FTX, had been arrested and indicted. Various fraud and money laundering charges filed against him by three US authorities provide new insight into how he operated.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) states in its complaint: “Bankman-Fried was orchestrating a massive, years-long fraud, diverting billions of dollars of the trading platform’s customer funds for his own personal benefit and to help grow his crypto empire.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recently appointed chief exec of crypto exchange FTX, John J. Ray III, provided new insight into the firm’s collapse in prepared testimony on Tuesday.At a US House Financial Services hearing on the subject, Ray explained that the firm seems to have failed due to “the absolute concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of grossly inexperienced and unsophisticated individuals who failed to implement virtually any of the systems or controls that are necessary for a company that is entrusted with other people’s money.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is conflicted on whether a longstanding investigation into Binance and its executives should end with indictments or a plea, according to an investigation by Reuters.Sources told the outlet that the charges under investigation are unlicensed money transmission, money laundering conspiracy, and sanctions violations. Law firm Gibson Dunn, which represents the crypto exchange, reportedly met with the Justice Department to discuss outcomes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Attorney General of the Bahamas has announced the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). The FTX founder is being detained by the Royal Bahamas Police and awaits criminal extradition to the United States. The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York confirmed the arrest on Monday and its intent to unseal the criminal indictment on Tuesday. In addition to criminal charges, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also charging SBF on civil charges of securities violations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The infamous co-founder of failed crypto stablecoin TerraUSD, Do Kwon, has been spotted by authorities in Serbia. He continues to evade an Interpol arrest warrant on charges of fraud and tax evasion in South Korea. It's unclear what Kwon is doing in the country, or how much freedom the crypto entrepreneur currently enjoys. However, Kwon frequently denies that he's on the run.Indeed, there’s too much to see and do in Serbia’s capital Belgrade to stay indoors. The city has a rich culture, with plenty of hidden gems for Kwon to enjoy. A few curated recommendations by the Protos team. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, the European Council proposed anti-money laundering regulations, including a new EU rule which would demand crypto exchanges conduct due diligence on every crypto transaction worth €1,000 or more.The rule, which applies to all crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), has yet to be approved by the European Parliament. However, it's likely to go through -- legislative processes are in their final and concluding stages. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been a weird month for everyone in the cryptocurrency industry, to say the least. A CoinDesk article put its parent organization, into a bit of a bind; the mainstream media seemed to whitewash Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) at first blush; and now it comes to light that The Block’s former CEO borrowed money from SBF to buy the controlling interest in the company. Not to mention, a crippling crypto bear market has impacted readership, ad revenue, and other parts of every media company’s business practices.It’s hard to take it all in — but here’s why I’m still bullish on my favorite journalists in the cryptocurrency industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A crypto scam network stole as much as $500 million through impersonating mainstream banks and crypto companies in order to convince their victims to purchase fake stocks, NFTs and crypto.The scam ring, named CryptoLabs, has been targeting French speakers through a network of over 300 fake domains, ranging from crypto and fintech organisations to banking and asset management industries. One victim alone lost over $1.6 million to the scam. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In an interview with CNBC on December 8th, it was revealed that Kevin O’Leary made a $4.3 million profit from his FTX investment. Despite this, he publicly claims to be angry about losing money on the exchange. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two weeks ago the infamous “Volcano Bitcoin Bond” finally made its way to the El Salvador legislature for final approval — a legislature completely controlled by Nayib Bukele’s New Ideas Party.While final rubber-stamping occurs through an economic commission, also made up almost exclusively of New Ideas party members, it’s worth talking about more than just why the Volcano Bitcoin Bond has been widely mocked by financial experts. Specifically, why two companies deeply intertwined in the crypto industry — Bitfinex and Blockstream — are supporting a fascist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

US prosecutors in Manhattan are said to be probing Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) involvement in the collapse of stablecoin terraUSD and its sister token, luna. According to sources close to the matter, SBF “steered the prices” to benefit his various crypto firms, including FTX and Alameda Research, the New York Times reports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As of last year, when bitcoin -- and crypto in general -- were riding the wave of exorbitantly high prices, the dominance enjoyed by the world's leading crypto took a dip as money flowed into altcoins and other crypto tokens.Indeed, bitcoin's dominance dropped significantly from 63% in January 2021 to just 42% by May. It then slipped even further to a bottom of 40% during December.The altcoin bull run that followed bitcoin's price hike last year was a much-expected and predictable reaction to the currency's surging value. What wasn't expected: for bitcoin’s dominance to remain low in a bear market. B Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fir Tree, the hedge fund that previously announced it was shorting tether, has now filed a lawsuit against the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) alleging misconduct and seeking records to help determine that.Fir Tree alleges that Grayscale has breached the trust agreement by not allowing shareholders to review relevant documents. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Outgoing Republican congressman Madison Cawthorn has been fined $15,000 by the House Ethics Committee for pumping the short-lived Let’s Go Brandon coin and, in the process, breaking conflict of interest rules.Let’s Go Brandon (LGB) was a meme-inspired crypto associated with an offensive anti-Joe Biden chant and was dubbed “America’s Free Speech Coin.” It was also briefly approved as a Nascar sponsor in December 2021 but the sport's governing body blocked the deal, claiming that it had been given the go-ahead by an employee without the authorization to do so. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three Arrows Capital (3AC) co-founders Su Zhu and Kyle Davies will be required to hand over “any recorded information” relating to the bankrupt crypto hedge fund after a federal judge greenlit subpoenas to be dished out to the firm’s former leadership.The subpoenas will demand that Zhu and Davies give up anything from company documents and papers to financial records and account details.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Genesis Trading and its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) owe over $900 million to Gemini Earn, as the contagion from FTX's rapid collapse continues to spread. Gemini’s billionaire founders, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, have kept a relatively low profile during the fallout. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caroline Ellison was the sole chief exec of Alameda Research at the time of its demise. Her company used money from customers of its sister company FTX without their consent and in direct violation of FTX’s own terms of service.Like SBF, Ellison previously worked at quantitative trading firm Jane Street Capital. Ellison then moved to Alameda Research in March 2018, where she shared CEO duties with Sam Trabucco. When Trabucco resigned in August this year -- just three months before bankruptcy -- she became CEO.Here's an insight into her life at FTX. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

US heavy metal giants Metallica have warned fans to steer clear of crypto giveaway scams looking to piggyback on the news of the band’s upcoming new album and tour.Despite the warnings, more than $7,000 worth of bitcoin and ether has been sent to crypto addresses linked to the con. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) FTX may have serious repercussions for the Bahamas as a financial services jurisdiction and its ongoing efforts to be seen as a legitimate jurisdiction for crypto exchanges.Politicians and regulatory authorities in the region are certainly aware of this risk and there's a consistent air of panic in their statements on the subject. And who can blame them when the stakes are so high.Last week, member of parliament James Kwasi Thompson made a statement in support of the attorney general's comments on FTX. He also criticized the Bahamian government for causing "irreputable damage" to the country with its silence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Relm Insurance, a subsidiary of the Deltec International Group, the parent company of Deltec Bank & Trust, has issued a statement attempting to distance itself from the fallout from FTX and Alameda – companies it was, at least partially, insuring.In a statement from CEO, Joseph Ziolkowski, Relm admits to insuring West Realm Shires (aka FTX US), FTX Australia Pty. Ltd., and "companies that have been compromised due to their relationship with FTX and Alameda.”"Following a detailed review of our entire portfolio, we remain confident that we will continue to be well-capitalized to serve the needs of the industry as the fallout from this event evolves," wrote Ziolkowski. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Trabucco, former co-CEO of bankrupt crypto investing firm Alameda Research, purchased two luxury apartments in San Francisco last year, documents verified by Protos reveal.Trabucco announced an early retirement just months before Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX and Alameda collapsed in November. He appears to have vanished entirely from social media — yet went on a massive all-cash property shopping spree in the run-up to the complete financial ruin of the company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DeFi has had a rough two years. During the halcyon days of DeFi Summer 2020, it promised to build an alternative to banks and the traditional financial system. Two years later, bad actors have stolen billions of dollars through a series of hacks, scams, and pyramid schemes and many are questioning how decentralized DeFi really is -- or ever was.Returning to the word “decentralized,” many critics now view the descriptor as misleading. Is a DeFi protocol actually decentralized if it has, say, fewer than 50 liquidity providers, fewer than 50 controlling voters, or fewer than 50 Discord participants? What about if it has fewer than 50 GitHub commits or fewer than 50 administrators selecting governance topics and tabulating Snapshot.org votes?By any of those standards, only a small handful of DeFi protocols would qualify. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2021 sale of FTX equity owned by Binance in exchange for FTX Token (FTT) and BUSD was purchased by Alameda Research, according to documents distributed as part of the Series B-1 that Protos reviewed. This confirms the reporting about FTX equity being on Alameda Research’s balance sheet as provided by Sam Bankman-Fried to Forbes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A compromised private key has led to an ‘infinite mint’ exploit targeting Ankr, with the fallout causing amplified collateral damage to stablecoin project Helio Money.Ankr provides liquid staking services on Binance’s BNB blockchain, among others. Users can deposit BNB which is locked up to secure the chain under the Proof of Stake model, receiving a deposit token in return.The exploited token, aBNBc, accumulates staking rewards via Ankr while allowing users to use their capital elsewhere in DeFi, or effectively withdraw their staking position by swapping back to BNB. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As more and more of the tentacles from Alameda, FTX, and Sam Bankman-Fried are exposed within the financial system, regulators continue to be asked difficult questions in the wake of the devastation.In a previous discussion with Protos, the Federal Reserve admitted, “Bad things can happen, even when you think things are in order.”Most recently, we reached out to the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), which had a much different perspective on the current state of regulatory affairs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Crypto lender BlockFi is blaming its recent bankruptcy on now-infamous Bahama’s-based exchange FTX, citing an unpaid and uncollateralized debt of $275 million.However, despite the money owed from Sam Bankman-Fried’s imploding empire, BlockFi also lists more than $1 billion in additional uncollateralized debt to other borrowers and massive amounts of supposedly collateralized debt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Videogame giant Rockstar has announced new user guidelines for its roleplaying servers, that effectively outlaw the buying and selling of blockchain products.As reported by TechRadar, the new measures will have a particular effect on Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto Online servers. Some gamers had been using these servers, many of which are not officially supervised by Rockstar, to trade digital assets like cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.