News – Page 58

Millions Stolen in UK Courier Fraud

Courier fraud is a ‘devastating crime’ that specifically targets older and vulnerable people, says City of London Police. In courier fraud scams, perpetrators pose as authority figures, including police officers and bank officials, to gain the trust of their victims. They employ high-pressure tactics to create a sense of urgency and force victims to comply with their demands. One prevalent tactic involves convincing victims to withdraw substantial sums of money from their bank accounts and place it in envelopes or bags. The fraudsters then dispatch couriers to collect the cash from the bags.

Source: Written by Erika Di Benedetto, 2023-06-09; https://www.occrp.org/en/daily//en/daily/17725-millions-stolen-in-uk-courier-fraud

Over $35 Million Reportely Stolen From Atomic Wallet Users

The largest amount lost by a user in the Atomic Wallet hack was $7.95 million in Tether (USDT) on the Tron blockchain. Further investigation that the five biggest losses account for a whopping $17 million. In the latest update, ZachXBT, who had previously receiving numerous messages from the wallet users regarding their lost funds, estimated that the total funds stolen may have surpassed $35 million. Atomic Wallet, in a on June 5th, said that less than 1% of its monthly active users were affected.

Source: Chayanika Deka, 2023-06-06; https://cryptopotato.com/over-35-million-reportely-stolen-from-atomic-wallet-users/

Dip Buying Sentiment Slides as Bitcoin Drops to Long-Term Support

On-chain analytics provider Santiment observed that Bitcoin traders often buy short-term, small crypto price dips but have been scared to buy the longer-term bigger ones. It added that mentions of buying the dip are dormant at the moment, suggesting very weak market sentiment. “Historically, this kind of #FUD has been good to capitalize on,” it said. Bitcoin prices have almost 15% since its rally to just under $31,000 in mid-April.

Source: Martin Young, 2023-05-26; https://cryptopotato.com/dip-buying-sentiment-slides-as-bitcoin-drops-to-long-term-support/

Bitcoin Payments App Strike Adds Support for Tether’s USDT

Strike, a Bitcoin payments company and remittance app, announced the integration of the world’s largest stablecoin, Tether’s USDT. The integration aims to address key challenges hindering the widespread acceptance of the industry, including the volatility aspect of crypto-assets. Tether said users will gain the ability to convert their digital assets into fiat currency swiftly with its stablecoin as an intermediary and, in the process, overcome “liquidity challenges that have previously hindered adoption”

Source: Chayanika Deka, 2023-05-24; https://cryptopotato.com/bitcoin-payments-app-strike-adds-support-for-tethers-usdt/

Cocaine Found Hidden in Chocolate Candies

The 19-year-old woman was arrested on Tuesday at Rio de Janeiro International Airport. She was found to be carrying the cocaine in 500 candies from a traditional Brazilian chocolate brand. The young woman intended to board a commercial flight that would make a stopover in Paris, France, before heading to her final destination in Nice. The suspect was arrested and faces charges of transnational drug trafficking, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison. The region known for its luxury and sophistication.

Source: Written by Vinicius Madureira, 2023-05-02; https://www.occrp.org/en/daily//en/daily/17574-cocaine-found-hidden-in-chocolate-candies

Hotbit Closes Operations as Centralized Exchanges ‘Becoming Increasingly Cumbersome’

Shanghai-based cryptocurrency exchange – Hotbit – announced its decision to stop all its operations starting May 22. The team behind the platform believes centralized exchanges are “becoming increasingly cumbersome.” It further added that the highly complex and interconnected businesses are difficult to comply with, whether for compliance or decentralization and are ‘unlikely to meet long-term trends.’ “Hotbit’s decision was announced on May 22, 2014.

Source: Chayanika Deka, 2023-05-23; https://cryptopotato.com/hotbit-closes-operations-as-centralized-exchanges-becoming-increasingly-cumbersome/

Ripple (XRP) Enters a $250 Million Deal to Acquire Metaco

Ripple announced the acquisition of Swiss-based crypto custody provider Metaco. The deal, worth $250 million, surfaces as Ripple continues to defend against the long-drawn lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Ripple is expected to ramp up its enterprise offerings providing customers the technology to custody, issue, and settle any type of tokenized asset. Metaco will continue to operate as an independent brand and business unit, while its founder and CEO, Adrien Treccani, will lead its operatio.

Source: Chayanika Deka, 2023-05-19; https://cryptopotato.com/ripple-xrp-enters-a-250-million-deal-to-acquire-metaco/

US Indicts Dozens of Drug Trafficking Suspects Linked to White Supremacists

A grand jury in the United States has indicted 27 people for drug trafficking. Many of the defendants have links to the “Aryan Family,” a white supremacist prison gang. The alleged leader of this drug trafficking organization, Jesse James Bailey, is also a prominent member of the Aryan Family. According to the indictment, Bailey trafficked large amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other drugs in Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. U.S. Attorney Nick Brown says having people who are associated with Aryan prison gangs distributing drugs and using guns in the community poses a significant threat to the safety and well-being of that community.

Source: Written by Vinicius Madureira, 2023-03-30; https://www.occrp.org/en/daily//en/daily/17466-us-indicts-dozens-of-drug-trafficking-suspects-linked-to-white-supremacists

Stacks Soars 115% Weekly, Bitcoin Eyes $28K: Weekend Watch

The US banking crisis harmed bitcoin’s price performance at the end of last week as the asset tumbled below $20,000 for the first time in two months. Bitcoin began adding a couple of grand daily, which resulted in breaking above $26,000 on Tuesday. After its initial retracement to $24,000, the cryptocurrency went on a roll once again on Thursday and Friday. This time, BTC above $27,000 and even came inches away from tapping $28,000. This became its tag since June 2022.

Source: Jordan Lyanchev, 2023-03-19; https://cryptopotato.com/stacks-soars-115-weekly-bitcoin-eyes-28k-weekend-watch/

US Banking Turmoil Has Reinforced Crypto’s Long-Term Outlook: Coinbase

A recent report by David Duong, the head of institutional research for leading American crypto exchange Coinbase, suggests that crypto is the solution to the point of failure in the existing financial system. The researcher opined that the recent U.S. banking turmoil has caused more people to see and appreciate the value proposition of having an alternative to the system. “Overall, we believe the medium to long-term outlook for cryptocurrencies has been reinforced to the upside,” said Duong. The technology behind open, trustless blockchains and transparent smart contracts stands in stark contrast to the poor risk management practices that led to the recent banking distress.

Source: Mandy Williams, 2023-03-21; https://cryptopotato.com/us-banking-turmoil-has-reinforced-cryptos-long-term-outlook-coinbase/

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