Crypto Shake

2023-05-19 11:30:00 ​‘Trusted’ marketplace sold fake Trezor wallets stealing crypto: Kaspersky

Amid the rising popularity of hardware cryptocurrency wallets, the Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has reminded users about the importance of using authentic crypto devices.

Kaspersky cyber incident expert Stanislav Golovanov on May 10 reported on an issue with fake hardware wallets impersonating major wallet firm Trezor. The incident occured in March 2022.

According to the blog post, the fake Trezor wallet allowed fraudsters to steal Bitcoin via a replaced microcontroller, which enabled attackers to take over control of the user’s private keys.

The victim reportedly purchased a tampered hardware wallet that posed as Trezor’s advanced crypto wallet Trezor Model T. The fake wallet appeared to be exactly the same as a genuine Trezor Model T wallet, providing a standard set of wallet functions.

“When handling the wallet, nothing felt suspicious either: all the functions worked as they should, and the user interface was no different from the original one,” Golovanov wrote. Open / Comment

2023-05-15 12:00:09 ​Russian Companies ‘Actively’ Using Crypto, Russia to Adopt 4 Relevant Laws, Official Says

Russian lawmakers intend to soon approve four bills designed to regulate various aspects of cryptocurrencies, a high-ranking member of the Russian parliament announced. Meanwhile, Russian companies are already using digital assets in cross-border settlements, the official noted.

The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, plans to adopt four crypto-related laws during its spring session which ends on July 30, according to Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the parliamentary Financial Market Committee.

The bills are tailored to regulate cryptocurrency mining, cross-border crypto payments, taxation of digital assets, and liability for their illegal use, the lawmaker detailed, quoted by the Interfax news agency. He emphasized that the draft laws are well thought through.

Aksakov remarked that large Russian companies are already actively using cryptocurrency in foreign trade settlements, but they want to see legislation outlining the legal framework for such transactions. Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum, he stated:

Now we have come to the point where four bills are in the stage of practical adoption … It is quite possible that we will adopt all the laws in the spring session. Open / Comment

2023-05-12 11:00:07 ​Arbitrum's DAO to receive over 3,350 ETH revenue from transaction fees

Proceeds come from base fees and surplus revenue generated from network transactions. The incentive follows a recent clash between Arbitrum's team and its community.

Ethereum layer-2 blockchain Arbitrum will distribute ETH tokens worth nearly $6.2 million to its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), the project announced May 9 on Twitter. ARB holders must claim the rewards.

The funds to be collected are base fees and surplus revenue generated from network transactions. According to Arbitrum's tweet, a total of 3,352 ETH will be collected by its DAO. As internet-native organizations, DAOs are collectively owned and managed by their members. They have treasuries and make decisions through proposals voted on by the group.

Arbitrum is a popular scaling network used by many decentralized applications (dApps) and blockchain developers. All users pay a fee during transactions on Arbitrum One. Open / Comment

2023-05-10 11:00:06 ​The Ethereum Foundation just sold $30M in Ether — But will ETH price fall this time?

Ethereum Foundation's previous big sale of ETH preceded a bear market, but there's little evidence that such sales affect the general market trend.
On May 6, Ethereum Foundation transferred nearly $30 million in Ether to the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange, causing jitters in the market about a potential selloff event.

ETH price fell 4.8% to $1,900 on the day, but the decline has been negligible so far amid a wider recovery trend.
Ether's price recovered modestly to $1,920 on May 7 after testing its 50-day exponential moving average (50-day EMA; the red wave) near $1,850 as support a day ago.

Notably, the 50-day EMA has capped Ether's downside attempts so far in 2023, barring the early March selloff that saw the price briefly falling below the red wave. Meanwhile, testing it as support has prompted the ETH price to pursue a breakout above $2,000. Open / Comment

2023-05-07 13:00:03 ​Bitget pledges $10M for Blockchain4Youth corporate responsibility project

Blockchain4Youth will provide courses through Bitget Academy and host university lectures on the topic of Web3.

On May 4, cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Bitget announced it would allocate $10 million over five years for its novel corporate social responsibility project. Dubbed "Blockchain4Youth," the project will provide blockchain courses and certifications through Bitget Academy and host campus lectures in partnership with universities worldwide. In addition, Bitget staff wrote:

"The platform will also collaborate with other leading blockchain firms to incubate innovative projects by young entrepreneurs and host U30 (Under the age of 30) hackathons to identify the most promising ones."

Blockchain4Youth will commence this month with a series of campus lectures on Web3 held in universities across Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand. Bitget Academy courses will also be available around the same time. The exchange says it is open to partnerships with educators for its novel initiative. Currently, Bitget has around 8 million users across more than 100 countries. Open / Comment

2023-05-05 10:00:09 ​Arbitrum’s Chronos reaches $217M TVL with staking, becomes 8th largest DEX

Chronos set a new TVL milestone just seven days after its launch on the Arbitrum blockchain as DEXs draw traders amid regulatory uncertainty in the United States.

Decentralized exchange (DEX) Chronos set a new milestone on May 4, reaching $217 million in total value locked (TVL) at the time of writing, just seven days after its launch on the Arbitrum blockchain.

With the new TVL figures, Chronos ranks eighth among the largest decentralized exchanges, according to DefiLlama. In DeFi, TVL represents the funds held or staked within a protocol.

The TVL milestone was achieved during the first hours of the day after the protocol kicked off Epoch 1, which enabled Chronos (CHR) token emissions to liquidity pools. The initiation of Epoch 1 also allowed stakers to begin collecting rewards. Open / Comment

2023-05-03 09:30:01 ​Bhutan has been mining Bitcoin with hydropower since BTC price was $5,000

Bhutan uses Himalayan rivers to generate energy used to mine Bitcoin, local reports reveal.

Bhutan is bullish on Bitcoin. Following the revelation that the small Himalayan kingdom has been quietly accumulating crypto, the country is also mining Bitcoin. Moreover, the country of less than 800,000 people leverages green energy to power its Bitcoin mining operations.

Known for its focus on “Gross National Happiness” and picturesque landscapes, Bhutan has found ways to harness its immense hydroelectric potential, which accounts for 30% of its gross domestic product.

First reported in an exposé in local Bhutanese news and followed by inquiries from Forbes, Bhutanese officials confirmed that mining began when the price of Bitcoin was around $5,000 in April 2019. The price per Bitcoin has since soared to roughly $28,000 per coin at the time of writing. Open / Comment

2023-05-01 11:00:06 ​Argentina to Settle Chinese Imports in Yuan to Safeguard Dwindling Dollar Reserves

The economy minister of Argentina, Sergio Massa, announced that starting this month, payments for imports coming from China will be settled using the Chinese yuan. The agreement, which will allow the country to safeguard its dwindling dollar reserves, involves the disbursement of more than $1 billion in April.

China is currently Argentina’s international partner, and this move will ostensibly allow the country to lessen the weight of imports on the weakened state of Argentine reserves.

The Chinese concession given to Argentina by Chinese President Xi Jinping allows the central bank to focus its attention on the devaluation and inflation spiral Argentina is currently experiencing by injecting resources to stabilize its fiat exchange rate, which reached record lows last week against the U.S. dollar. Open / Comment

2023-04-28 09:00:06 ​Argentina Debates Dollarization in the Midst of Rampant Devaluation and Inflation

Javier Milei, a presidential candidate for the next election in Argentina, has presented a dollarization plan to fix the economy of the country if elected.

The proposal, which has supporters and detractors, would aim to solve the historic devaluation of the Argentine peso and the 100%+ interannual inflation that Argentina registered in March. Open / Comment

2023-04-26 11:00:05 ​Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Discuss Potential BRICS-Saudi Arabia Collaboration

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud discussed potential collaboration between Saudi Arabia and the BRICS on Friday.

In addition, Putin and the Saudi Crown Prince “expressed satisfaction with the level of coordination at OPEC Plus aimed at ensuring the global oil market stability,” the Kremlin press service details. Open / Comment