Crypto LVL

2023-12-11 16:02:14 HTX Sees $258 Million in Net Outflow Since Resuming Operations Last Month

Justin Sun-linked crypto exchange HTX has seen $248 million in net outflow since resuming operations after a major security breach last month. The breach resulted in the loss of $30 million worth of crypto tokens and prompted HTX to temporarily halt withdrawals and deposits.

According to DefiLlama data, the substantial outflow occurred between the exchange’s November 25 restart and December 10, indicating that some clients were not reassured after the security incident. Despite the exchange’s assurances of a thorough investigation and a commitment to fully compensate for the losses from HTX’s hot wallet, concerns persist among users.

Justin Sun, a key figure linked to HTX, is also associated with the Poloniex exchange and the HECO Bridge, both of which experienced hacks in November, resulting in the theft of approximately $200 million in crypto.

Sun has faced scrutiny, with the TRX token from the Tron blockchain, which he launched in 2017, at the center of US fraud allegations. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit in March accusing Sun and his firms of market manipulation to artificially inflate TRX trading activity. Open / Comment

2023-12-08 16:02:26 El Salvador Partners Tether to Launch Freedom Visa On Bitcoin and USDT Investment

El Salvador has announced a citizenship-by-investment scheme powered by Tether, the company behind stablecoin, USDT that allows people to acquire citizenship through Bitcoin (BTC) and USDT investments.

The stablecoin issuer disclosed the partnership in a Dec 7 press release rolling out the El Salvador Freedom Visa Program where people can contribute to the country’s development and earn citizenship status as a reward.

"This visa program is designed to foster an environment where individuals contribute to shaping a new socio-economic landscape for El Salvador, a growing hub of international tourism, and attract individuals deeply committed to catalyzing economic expansion and driving transformative societal change."

Targeted at high net worth individuals, the policy sees investors as positioning El Salvador as a global hub for technology and financial innovation to obtain a passport.

According to the release, the program will incentivize support for the region’s development, cultural enrichment, and upliftment. The first step toward application is a non-refundable $999 deposit in Bitcoin or USDT and necessary Know-your-customer (KYC) requirements. Open / Comment

2023-12-05 16:01:25 Number of Russians Trading Crypto Is Falling

Russia’s Central Bank says there has been a drop in the number of citizens trading crypto – with citizens staying away from major overseas trading platforms. Per RBC, the bank’s data shows Russians’ crypto activity “decreased in the second and third quarters of 2023.”

The bank said it had recorded a fall in Russian visits to “the websites of the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platforms.” The bank added that it had noticed a drop in “the volume of [Russian-owned] cryptocurrency flowing” on exchanges.

Furthermore, the bank said, Russians have now effectively turned their backs on centralized crypto exchanges (CEXs) in favor of the P2P and OTC markets. Earlier this year, a crypto security provider claimed that some $296 million worth of P2P crypto trades are made available every day in Russia.

The bank said that P2P transactions are now Russians’ “main channel for acquiring cryptoassets.” Additionally, the bank claimed the average monthly volume of Russian P2P crypto transactions had “increased by 53.9% compared to the same period last year.”

The bank said Russian credit institutions were “becoming better at identifying transactions related to P2P crypto trading.” Open / Comment

2023-12-02 16:00:36 Forkast Cuts Majority of Editorial Staff After CryptoSlam Merger

Forkast Labs has laid off a majority of its editorial staff after completing a merger with data provider CryptoSlam.

According to sources cited by The Block, the crypto news site underwent a series of layoffs throughout the year, leading to the eventual decision to suspend editorial operations by the end of November.

In January, ForkastNews merged with CryptoSlam to form a “Web3-focused data intelligence and media platform” under the new brand Forkast Labs. However, the crypto news site seems to have ceased publishing articles and video content last month, with the latest article dated November 22.

“ForkastNews is now Forkast Labs,” the website currently says.

“The majority of editorial operations have been incorporated into Forkast Labs as a result of the merger between Forkast and CryptoSlam earlier this year,” according to an internal memo the company shared with its staff last month. “There will be an increased focus on the data side going forward.”

According to its website, Forkast Labs is focused on exploring new frontiers in Web3, NFTs, and the metaverse. Back in March, the company unveiled a suite of indices, including the Forkast 500 NFT Index, showcasing its commitment to staying at the forefront of digital trends. It also formed a partnership with The Sandbox, signaling its entrance into the world of metaverse indexing. Open / Comment

2023-11-29 16:02:07 KyberSwap’s $47 Million Hacker to Propose Deal in Upcoming Statement

The KyberSwap hacker has indicated plans to propose a deal, with a statement expected on November 30.

Following last week’s $47 million exploit of KyberSwap, the hacker has left a message on the network reinstating the inclination to negotiate, with plans to release a detailed statement on a potential agreement tomorrow.

“I said I was willing to negotiate. In return, I have received (mostly) threats, deadlines, and general unfriendliness from the executive team. That’s ok, I don’t mind,” said the hacker in an Ethereum transaction. “I have prepared a statement concerning our (potential) treaty. I plan to release it on Nov. 30 at Noon UTC, sharp.”

The hacker also left an on-chain message when they first exploited the decentralized crypto exchange on Nov. 23, stating, “Negotiations will start in a few hours when I am fully rested. Thank you.”

Recently the company engaged with the operators of frontrunning bots that withdrew approximately $5.7 million from KyberSwap’s pools on Polygon and Avalanche amid the security breach. Following discussions, these operators consented to return 90% of the extracted user funds, resulting in a recovery of $4.67 million by KyberSwap. Open / Comment

2023-11-26 16:01:21 Coinbase COIN Rallies 49.7% in 24 Hours Reaching Highest Level Since May 2022

Coinbase is experiencing a swift turnaround in its fortunes following a significant rally in its stock price. Listed on the Nasdaq trading floor, the COIN stock price has rallied over 49%.

The crypto-backed stock started November at $77 but has since skyrocketed to $115.93 in the last 24 hours. This strong bullish momentum is the highest price COIN has attained since May 2022, after which the nascent crypto market went into a year-long bearish run.

COIN has since rallied above its 50-day moving average (MA) price of $82.42; its 200-day MA price of $72.62 is also positively bullish. The stock has also broken into the overbought zone in its relative strength index (RSI) following a figure of 82.83.

Despite these gains, COIN’s current price remains substantially lower than its 2021 listing price. The exchange’s stock reached an all-time high (ATH) of $350 before experiencing a significant decline in early 2022 due to industry-wide market downturns.

Now, COIN is looking to make a comeback given its key role in the ongoing race for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval for several legacy-based asset management firms. Open / Comment

2023-11-23 16:01:30 Bullish Brazilian Bank Nubank Adds Five More Altcoins to Banking App

The Brazilian neobanking unicorn Nubank is stepping up its crypto adoption drive, adding trading capabilities for five more altcoins to its banking app. Per the Brazilian media outlet Livecoins, the bank added support for Polkadot (DOT), Avalanche (AVAX), Stella Lumens (XLM), Arbitrum (ARB), and Optimism (OP) on November 22.

The bank launched crypto trading functions on its banking app in May 2022, offering its bank customers access to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). It has since expanded its range of crypto offerings and earlier this year added Polygon (MATIC) and Uniswap (UNI) trading functions.

Nubank has become one of the nation’s most prominent crypto bulls, last year announcing its intention to buy Bitcoin (BTC) using its balance sheet. The company said it wanted to convert 1% of its available funds to Bitcoin via its holding company.

Prominent Nubank backers include Warren Buffet, whose investment vehicle bought a $500 million stake in 2021. The bank launched an initial public offering in 2021, with a valuation of over $45 billion. It has since launched its own cryptoasset, Nucoin, which it also trades on its app, as well as a crypto-specific division named Nubank Cripto. Open / Comment

2023-11-20 15:31:28 Mastercard Partners With AI Firm Feedzai to Curb Crypto Scams

Mastercard is intensifying its efforts to identify and prevent fraud within crypto exchanges. Mastercard announced a partnership with Feedzai, a regulatory technology platform leveraging artificial intelligence to combat online money laundering and crypto scams.

Through this collaboration, Feedzai will directly integrate with Mastercard’s CipherTrace Armada platform, designed to assist banks in monitoring transactions from over 6,000 crypto exchanges for fraud, money laundering, and suspicious activities.

Unlike the traditional use of an API, Feedzai will embed CipherTrace Armada directly into its technology, allowing for real-time alerts on questionable crypto transactions.

Feedzai CEO Nuno Sebastio emphasized the partnership’s potential to enhance fraud detection, protecting consumers and identifying potential money laundering and mule accounts—accounts exploited by fraudsters to launder illicit funds.

Approximately 40% of scam transactions currently involve funds moving directly from a bank account to a crypto exchange, according to Feedzai data. The collaboration will grant Mastercard access to Feedzai’s AI capabilities, enabling quick identification and blocking of suspicious transactions while recognizing legitimate ones.

Feedzai’s RiskOps platform analyzes transactions totaling over $1.7 trillion annually, with the firm holding nearly 100 patents to safeguard its technology. Open / Comment

2023-11-17 16:00:01 Aave Rebrands to Avara, Announces Latest Acquisition in Web3

Los Feliz Engineering, the acquired startup, is recognized for its development of the self-custody Ethereum wallet Family and the developer library ConnectKit. This acquisition brings Family and ConnectKit under Avara, now the parent entity of Aave Labs, Sonar, and Family.

Benji Taylor, the founder of Family, will also join Avara as the Senior Vice President of Product and Design, along with the entire engineering team from Los Feliz Engineering.

“I’m incredibly excited to collaborate with Avara and look forward to contributing our expertise to their already talented team,” said Taylor.

With the rebranding to Avara and the acquisition of Los Feliz Engineering, the company is broadening its scope in the web3 sector. This step signifies Avara’s commitment to expanding its offerings and integrating new technologies into its web3 portfolio.

Avara founder Stani Kulechov said, “We believe this transformation will foster new businesses and offer a fair playing field, creating a vibrant web3 ecosystem that benefits all participants – users, creatives, applications, networks, algorithms, protocols, and DAOs alike.”

“These are significant strides toward our ultimate mission: an open, decentralized internet that’s equitable, inspires participation and fosters innovation,” said Kulechov. Open / Comment

2023-11-14 16:01:21 FTX Foundation Member Denies Involvement In SBF Fraud, Insists on Unpaid Bonus

Ross Rheingans-Yoo, an employee of FTX Foundation has filed a response to FTX’s claim regarding his unpaid salaries and bonuses totaling $275,000. In a Nov 13 court filing, the foundation staff argued that he was entitled to $650,000 but was only paid $375,000 leaving an unpaid balance of $275,000 from his 2022 salary.

According to the filing, he argues that the money was due before the exchange filed for bankruptcy in 2022 after its infamous collapse which led to widespread losses.

Yoo, through his legal representatives, denied all allegations pointing to his involvement in Sam Bankman-Fried crimes as he claimed he was not a part of the inner circle and was not aware of anything.

This comes after the exchange sued Yoo and others to recover over $75 million it claimed benefited the defendants without FTX and Alameda Research. Denying all allegations, he added that Latona, the company in question, was a registered non-profit under the law.

“Rheingans-Yoo was not part of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle who knew about and facilitated the misappropriation of FTX customer funds. During Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial, none of the testimony implicated Rheingans-Yoo. Instead, Rheingans-Yoo was a faithful employee who found himself in a mess he did not create.” Open / Comment