Archive for the ‘Cryptocurrency’ Category

Founders of Three Arrows, Failed Crypto Fund, Are Living Large – The New York Times

Mr. Zhu said he was tuning out the criticism. On Twitter, he responded to a negative article in The Wall Street Journal by quoting John F. Kennedy: We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.

Ive already created 75 jobs, he said over dinner in Singapore. At least these people like me.

This month, Open Exchange unveiled its own cryptocurrency, called OX, like the animal. The price shot up over a couple of days. Im getting early 3AC vibes all over again, Mr. Davies wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. Nothing compares to the energy of a startup.

Privately, Mr. Davies has been encouraging Three Arrows creditors to trade their bankruptcy claims on Open Exchange. In January, he invited creditors to an ad hoc 3AC creditor meeting. But on the call, Mr. Davies spoke the entire time, according to two people familiar with the matter; he ended the session just as someone was trying to ask a question.

In Barcelona last month, Mr. Davies seemed relaxed, and spoke glowingly of the amazing cafes on Las Ramblas, a busy thoroughfare that cuts across the heart of the city. One Saturday night, he ate a late dinner at Els Pescadors, a seafood restaurant near the beach, ordering oysters, croquettes, local wine and three rounds of whiskey.

By the end of the meal, Mr. Davies was rattling off business ideas. In Dubai, he said, he has made inquiries about opening a chicken restaurant, possibly in the form of a cloud kitchen, with no storefront. For a while, he and Mr. Zhu considered making a film about Do Kwon and the collapse of Luna. Our idea was basically that we would do an empathy piece, he said. We had a whole team that was going to produce it at Sundance or whatever.

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Founders of Three Arrows, Failed Crypto Fund, Are Living Large - The New York Times

Iowan says he was robbed of $232,000 in cryptocurrency-romance scam – Iowa Capital Dispatch

A Webster County man is suing a group of unknown individuals behind a growing cryptocurrency-romance scam that allegedly cost him $232,793 and resulted in threats to harvest his organs.

The alleged theft occurred through an increasingly common scheme known as a pig butchering. In this sort of scam, victims are befriended by online perpetrators, then gradually fattened for financial slaughter. The victims are tricked into making investments though a website that mimics a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange.

Such scams are alleged to be responsible for more than $2 billion in losses incurred during 2022 alone.

In a newly filed federal lawsuit, Brian Hoop of Fort Dodge alleges that in September 2022, he received a text message on his cell phone from an unfamiliar phone number. The sender of the text introduced herself as Emma and indicated the text was intended for someone else.

Over the next six months, Hoop and Emma continued to text daily and eventually exchanged intimate messages and photos, with Hoop treating her as his girlfriend. Three months into their virtual relationship, in December 2022, Emma told Hoop she created substantial income for herself through carefully timed trades in cryptocurrencies and volunteered to assist Hoop in executing his own trades on what appeared to be a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange called Energise Trade.

Over the next several weeks, Hoop liquidated his retirement and savings accounts, borrowed money from a bank and from his mother, and ultimately delivered $232,793 to Energise Trade, believing his investment had resulted in $1.1 million in returns.

When he attempted to access those funds, he was asked to pay an additional $100,000 as payment of taxes. After he refused, Emma attempted to extort money from Hoop by threatening to expose his intimate conversations and photographs to others, and by threatening his safety and that of his family. The lawsuit alleges Emma specifically claimed to have hired agents who would ambush him, torture him and harvest his organs to be sold on the black market.

The lawsuit accuses the individual known only as Emma and 20 John Does, all believed to reside in China, with conversion, racketeering, conspiracy, unauthorized disclosure of intimate images, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Also named as a defendant is a Delaware corporation named MEXC Global, which allegedly controls the accounts into which Hoops money was deposited.

The defendants actions, the lawsuit claims, are not isolated events and are part of a widespread scheme to defraud other unsuspecting victims for the same or similar purposes and to achieve the same or similar results.

The lawsuit seeks actual damages of at least $232,793; trebled damages, as allowed under federal law, of $698,378; statutory damages, as allowed under state law, of $10,000; punitive damages of at least $931,171; plus attorneys fees.

The defendants have yet to file a response to the lawsuit.

In March, the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned consumers of a huge spike in pig-butchering scams that are based on cryptocurrency exchanges. The bureau said the perpetrators were using fictitious identities to develop relationships with victims, often targeting people through dating apps, social media platforms, professional networking sites or encrypted messaging apps. Newer iterations of the scheme include so-called liquidity miningandplay-to-earn games, according to the FBI.

In February, the Federal Trade Commission said that in 2022, nearly 70,000 people had reported being victimized in various romance scams, with their collective losses totaling $1.3 billion.

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Iowan says he was robbed of $232,000 in cryptocurrency-romance scam - Iowa Capital Dispatch

How to Earn Daily Passive income with Cryptocurrency Cloud Mining – Analytics Insight

HappyMiner is a licensed cloud mining company that gained traction among cryptocurrency enthusiasts in recent years. With HappyMiner, more than 2,800K people from all around the world currently make money through cryptocurrency.

To address the latest innovation, HappyMiner offers cloud mining services for constant income through cryptocurrency. Like any certified hash provider, HappyMiner owns industrial facilities with a big tech park of professional Bitcoin mining rigs. With its user-friendly interface and efficient mining processes, more than 2,800K people from all around the world currently make money through cryptocurrency.

At the HappyMiner, several cryptocurrency contracts are accessible, and Power and overhead costs are free. They offer round-the-clock online support for their users. HappyMiners system is also protected by SSL and DDoS. The platform is easy to use. The platform is designed with a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy for beginners to get started with cloud mining. Additionally, the mining process is fully automated, meaning users can start mining with just a few clicks. HappyMiner provides exceptional services around-the-clock.

HappyMiner operates under a United States license. This business has obtained cloud mining certification. The platform uses SSL to protect users financial and personal data, which provides 24-hour payout guarantees. Users are allowed to register with valid email addresses to protect the security of the cloud mining operation. The funds of HappyMiner users are always secure.

In addition, HappyMiner teams provide several cloud mining pricing packages, such as $10, $100, $1200, and $6400 packages, among others. Each has a specific contract length and offers a unique return on investment.

Furthermore, HappyMiner customers have a unique referral link, which can be shared with anyone that the users like to invite to start using HappyMiner. Any new user who registers using their referral link becomes a lifetime referral. With its ease of use, reliability, competitive pricing, and customer support, it is easy to earn passive income through HappyMiner cloud mining.

HappyMiner is a licensed cloud mining company founded in 2018 that gained traction among cryptocurrency enthusiasts in recent years. Like any certified hash provider, HappyMiner owns industrial facilities with a big tech park of professional Bitcoin mining rigs. Data centers are located in Iceland, Norway, and Canada. With HappyMiner, more than 2,800K people from all around the world currently make money through cryptocurrency.

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How to Earn Daily Passive income with Cryptocurrency Cloud Mining - Analytics Insight

Russian Nationals Charged With Hacking One Cryptocurrency … – Department of Justice

The Justice Department unsealed charges related to the 2011 hack of the cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox and the operation of the illicit cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e.

According to court documents, Alexey Bilyuchenko, 43, and Aleksandr Verner, 29, both Russian nationals, are charged with conspiring to launder approximately 647,000 bitcoins from their hack of Mt. Gox. Bilyuchenko is also charged with conspiring with Alexander Vinnik to operate BTC-e from 2011 to 2017.

This announcement marks an important milestone in two major cryptocurrency investigations. As alleged in the indictments, starting in 2011, Bilyuchenko and Verner stole a massive amount of cryptocurrency from Mt. Gox, contributing to the exchanges ultimate insolvency. Armed with the ill-gotten gains from Mt. Gox, Bilyuchenko allegedly went on to help set up the notorious BTC-e virtual currency exchange, which laundered funds for cyber criminals worldwide, said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Departments Criminal Division. These indictments highlight the departments unwavering commitment to bring to justice bad actors in the cryptocurrency ecosystem and prevent the abuse of the financial system.

As cyber criminals have become more sophisticated in their methods of thievery, our career prosecutors and law enforcement partners, too, have become experts in the latest technologies being abused for malicious purposes, said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. As alleged, Alexey Bilyuchenko and Aleksandr Verner thought they could outsmart the law by using sophisticated hacks to steal and launder massive amounts of cryptocurrency, a novel technology at the time, but the charges unsealed demonstrate our ability to tenaciously pursue these alleged criminals, no matter how complex their schemes, until they are brought to justice.

For years, Bilyuchenko and his co-conspirators allegedly operated a digital currency exchange that enabled criminals around the world including computer hackers, ransomware actors, narcotics rings, and corrupt public officials to launder billions of dollars, said U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey for the Northern District of California. The Department of Justice will work tirelessly to identify cyber criminals, no matter where they are. And Bilyuchenko and his co-conspirators will learn that the Department of Justice has long arms and an even longer memory for crimes that harm our communities.

Southern District of New York indictment

According to court documents unsealed in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), in or about September 2011, Bilyuchenko, Verner, and their co-conspirators allegedly gained unauthorized access to the server holding the cryptocurrency wallets for Mt. Gox. At the time, Mt. Gox was the largest Bitcoin exchange in existence, servicing thousands of users worldwide. Mt. Gox stored the cryptocurrency wallets containing its customers bitcoin, and the corresponding private keys used to authorize bitcoin transfers from those wallets, on a computer server in Japan.

The FBI will continue to work with our U.S. government and international partners to relentlessly pursue and disrupt malicious cyber actors wherever they may reside, said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBIs Cyber Division. When cyber criminals engage in fraudulent activity, such as hacking and illicitly operating cryptocurrency exchanges, it is critical that we impose cost on the bad actors and ensure they face justice.

Bilyuchenko, Verner, and their co-conspirators allegedly used their unauthorized access to Mt. Goxs server to fraudulently cause bitcoin to be transferred from Mt. Goxs wallets to bitcoin addresses controlled by Bilyuchenko, Verner, and their co-conspirators. From September 2011 through at least May 2014, Bilyuchenko, Verner, and their co-conspirators allegedly caused the theft of at least approximately 647,000 bitcoins from Mt. Gox, representing the vast majority of the bitcoins belonging to Mt. Goxs customers. Bilyuchenko, Verner, and their co-conspirators allegedly laundered the bulk of the bitcoins stolen through Mt. Gox principally through bitcoin addresses associated with accounts Bilyuchenko, Verner, and their co-conspirators controlled at two other online bitcoin exchanges.

Cryptocurrency offers a new way for criminals to steal and launder money, but greed and deceit are nothing new, said Chief Jim Lee of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). IRS-CI is specially equipped to follow the complex financial trail left by criminals, and we are dedicated to holding those accountable for crimes committed. IRS-CI is proud to stand with our law enforcement partners to announce this indictment.

In furtherance of the money laundering scheme, in or about April 2012, Bilyuchenko, Verner, and their co-conspirators allegedly negotiated and entered into a fraudulent contract (the Advertising Contract) to provide purported advertising services to a Bitcoin brokerage service based in the Southern District of New York (the New York Bitcoin Broker). Under the guise of the Advertising Contract, in order to conceal and liquidate the bitcoins stolen from Mt. Gox, Bilyuchenko and Verner allegedly made regular requests to the owner and operator of the New York Bitcoin Broker to make large wire transfers into various offshore bank accounts, including in the names of shell corporations, controlled by Bilyuchenko, Verner, and their co-conspirators. In accordance with these requests, between in or about March 2012 and in or about April 2013, the New York Bitcoin Broker allegedly transferred more than approximately $6.6 million to overseas bank accounts controlled by Bilyuchenko, Verner, and their co-conspirators. In exchange for the wire transfers, the New York Bitcoin Broker allegedly received credit on Exchange-1, through which Bilyuchenko, Verner, and their co-conspirators allegedly laundered more than 300,000 of the bitcoins stolen from Mt. Gox. The fraudulent Advertising Contract with the New York Bitcoin Broker allegedly enabled Bilyuchenko, Verner, and their co-conspirators to conceal and liquidate bitcoins stolen through the Mt. Gox Hack.

Mt. Gox ceased operations in 2014 after the theft was revealed.

Northern District of California indictment

According to court documents unsealed in the Northern District of California (NDCA), Bilyuchenko allegedly worked with Vinnik and others to operate the BTC-e exchange from 2011 until it was shut down by law enforcement in July 2017. During that time period, BTC-e was one of the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchanges and was one of the primary ways by which cyber criminals around the world transferred, laundered, and stored the criminal proceeds of their illegal activities.

BTC-e served over one million users worldwide, moving millions of bitcoin worth of deposits and withdrawals, and processing billions of dollars worth of transactions. BTC-e received criminal proceeds of numerous computer intrusions and hacking incidents, ransomware events, identity theft schemes, corrupt public officials, and narcotics distribution rings.

The Secret Service has a long tradition of pursuing and bringing to justice those who aim to exploit our financial systems and target innocent victims, said Special Agent in Charge William Mancino of the U.S. Secret Services Criminal Investigative Division. Working together with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate criminal organizations that operate in the ever-evolving cyber domain.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) continues to investigate cyber criminals illicitly operating in virtual spaces, and we are proud to have worked collaboratively with our law enforcement partners to bring these two individuals to justice, said Acting Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of HSI. Our special agents continue to investigate transnational criminal organizations operating in emerging technologies, leveraging our broad authorities to identify, and dismantle those behind sophisticated crypto-scams.

The SDNY indictment charges Bilyuchenko and Verner with conspiracy to commit money laundering. The NDCA indictment charges Bilyuchenko with money laundering conspiracy and operating an unlicensed money services business.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New Yorks Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit is handling the SDNY case. The FBI and IRS-CI are investigating the case and SDNY Assistant U.S. Attorney Olga I. Zverovich is prosecuting the case.

The Corporate and Securities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California and the Criminal Divisions Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) are handling the NDCA case. The FBI; IRS-CI Oakland Field Office and Cyber Crime Unit in Washington, D.C.; U.S. Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division; and HSI are investigating the case. CCIPS Trial Attorney C. Alden Pelker and NDCA Assistant U.S. Attorney Claudia Quiroz, both members of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, and NDCA Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Lloyd-Lovett are prosecuting the case. The Justice Departments Office of International Affairs provided invaluable assistance.

A criminal indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Russian Nationals Charged With Hacking One Cryptocurrency ... - Department of Justice

Why is the Cryptocurrency Market Down Today? What to expect in … – Captain Altcoin

Home Journal Why is the Cryptocurrency Market Down Today? What to expect in the upcoming days?

The cryptocurrency market has been experiencing a downturn, with the global crypto market cap decreasing by 6.15% to $1.04 trillion.

The last time the total market cap of the cryptocurrency market was lower than the current level was on May 28, 2023. On that day, the total market cap was approximately $1.042 trillion, slightly lower than the current market cap of $1.043 trillion. (source: coinmarketcap) This indicates that the market has been relatively stable over the past couple of weeks, despite the recent downturn.

The leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), has seen a decrease of 4.06% in the last 24 hours, bringing its price to around $25,604.75. Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, has also experienced a decline, with its price falling by 6.02% to around $1,741.42.

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The crypto markets decline can be attributed to several factors. One of the main reasons is the regulatory actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the industrys biggest exchanges, Binance and Coinbase. This has created a sense of uncertainty in the market, leading to a decrease in prices.

Another significant factor is the decision by Robinhood to delist certain tokens, namely Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), and Polygon (MATIC), from its online trading platform beginning June 27. These tokens, deemed unregistered securities in the SEC lawsuits, were among the worst performers on June 10, with ADA, SOL, and MATIC falling 22%, 25%, and 30% on the day, respectively.

Additionally, reports of Binance dumping $4.4 billion in crypto assets in recent weeks may have also contributed to the downward price pressure. The Bitcoin price drop also caught bullish options traders by surprise, liquidating long positions worth over $340 million in just 24 hours.

Despite the current downturn, there are signs that the market could rebound. The duration of the crypto market decline has coincided with an increase in the supply of Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin by market capitalization. This suggests that there are considerable flows from cryptocurrencies to Tether addresses, which could indicate that investors are preparing to buy back into the market when the time is optimal.

However, from a technical perspective, the crypto market cap has broken below its key long-term support of the 200-week exponential moving average (200-week EMA), which raises its downside prospects in 2023. If the market cap declines further below the 200-week EMA, it could potentially reach a market cap of $875 billion next, down 25% from current levels.

On the other hand, bulls will argue that the weekly chart has painted an inverse-head-and-shoulders (IH&S) pattern, whose price target for 2023-2024 sits around $2.23 trillion, more than double the current worth.

In conclusion, while the cryptocurrency market is currently experiencing a downturn, there are signs of potential recovery. However, the market remains volatile and unpredictable, and investors should conduct their own research and exercise caution when making investment decisions.

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Why is the Cryptocurrency Market Down Today? What to expect in ... - Captain Altcoin