Bakkt’s bitcoin futures market hits all-time high after months of trailing rival CMECrypto derivatives provider Bakkt has recently gained some ground in the market for bitcoin futures. The firm, which is set to launch a retail trading app in the coming weeks, has long trailed CME in daily bitcoin futures trading volumes. In recent days it has gained momentum. According to data from The Block, Bakkt clocked in $173 million worth of notional trading volumes on Tuesday—an all-time-high. By way of comparison, volumes for CME's bitcoin futures stood slightly above $383 million on Monday, according to data from Skew. Over the course of the last three months, Bakkt's daily volumes have struggled to top $100 million. In terms of the amount of bitcoin traded on Tuesday, the firm clocked in an all-time high of 15,995 bitcoin. Unlike rival CME, which has a cash-settled product, Bakkt's futures settle in physical bitcoin.  Editor's note: This piece has been updated to include accurate CME bitcoin volumeshttps://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/77872/bakkts-bitcoin-futures-market-surges-after-months-of-trailing-rival-cme
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We apologise for the time it has taken to get to this stage. We understand that not having access to your funds, particularly during the current climate, will not have been easy for a number of you. We are pleased to announce that the work on updating our compliance systems and controls is advancing well. - We’ll be taking advantage of innovation to offer you digital authentication processes, such as biometric technology
- We’ll be changing the way that individuals can make payments and get paid. Individuals will only be able to get paid by companies and will only be able to send money to their own account. The available payments channels will remain with bank wire, bank card, and alternative payment methods. You’ll also still be able to use your pre-paid card.
- We will no longer offer access to cryptocurrency
- Enhanced monitoring will help us to quickly understand if something has gone wrong and fix it quickly
https://blog.epayments.com/we-are-getting-ready-to-start-working-together-again/
No cryptocurrency, no life. |
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Hydra is the sixth-largest crypto service by volume in Eastern Europe. It’s more popular than Kraken, OKEx and Poloniex.A cryptocurrency-fuelled black market is one of the largest crypto services in Eastern Europe, according to a year-long study by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. In its 2020 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report, an excerpt of which was published today, Chainalysis found that darknet market Hydra is the sixth-largest crypto service by volume in the region, which comprises Russia, Ukraine among other countries. In fact, Chainalysis found that Eastern Europe is the world’s hub for darknet market activity, with 21% of the world’s darknet market activity winding up in the region. The region sends a total of $41 billion to illegal entities, or 1.4% of its total transaction volume.  https://decrypt.co/41775/eastern-europe-biggest-crypto-darknet-market
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Decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol bZx was attacked once again last night and lost a little over $8 million due to a faulty code in its smart contracts.The flawed code allowed an attacker to duplicate assets, or increase their balance of iTokens (interest-bearing tokens of bZx). Hours after noticing the bug, bZx paused minting and burning of iTokens and then unpaused it after a fix that corrected balances for duplications. The bug allowed the hacker to mint 219,200 LINK tokens (worth about $2.6 million); 4,503 ETH (~$1.6 million); 1,756,351 USDT (~$1.7 million); 1,412,048 USDC (~$1.4 million) and 667,989 DAI (~$680,000). That is $8.1 million in total. bZx said no user funds are at risk as the loss is being covered by its insurance fund. Marc Thalen, a lead engineer at Bitcoin.com, claims to have initially identified the bug. He said more than $20 million of bZx funds were at risk. Thalen himself tried the exploit out and created a loan using USDC (100 USD). "From this I retrieved iUSDC. I then sent this to myself practically duplicating the funds. I then created a claim for 200 USD," said Thalen. https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/77656/defi-protocol-bzx-attacked-lost-8-million-faulty-code
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Washington D.C., Sept. 11, 2020 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against five Atlanta-based individuals, including film producer Ryan Felton, rapper and actor Clifford Harris, Jr., known as T.I. or Tip, and three others who each promoted one of Felton’s two unregistered and fraudulent initial coin offerings (ICOs). The SEC also charged FLiK and CoinSpark, the two companies controlled by Felton that conducted the ICOs. Aside from Felton, all of the individuals have agreed to settlements to resolve the charges against them. The SEC’s complaint alleges that Felton promised to build a digital streaming platform for FLiK, and a digital-asset trading platform for CoinSpark. Instead, Felton allegedly misappropriated the funds raised in the ICOs. The complaint also alleges that Felton secretly transferred FLiK tokens to himself and sold them into the market, reaping an additional $2.2 million in profits, and that he engaged in manipulative trading to inflate the price of SPARK tokens. Felton allegedly used the funds he misappropriated and the proceeds of his manipulative trading to buy a Ferrari, a million-dollar home, diamond jewelry, and other luxury goods. https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-207
2.2$ million versus 75$ thousand. It seems to me that the fine was given too sparing. |
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Due to regulatory requirements, customers who reside in certain countries (see full list below) can no longer use the Bittrex platform. This list was updated on September 2, 2020. List of Countries - Belarus
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Central African Republic
- Congo Democratic Republic of the
- Cote d'Ivoire
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Iraq
- Lao People's Democratic Republic
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Maldives
- Mali
- Myanmar
- Nicaragua
- Pakistan
- Panama
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
- Yemen
- Zimbabwe
https://bittrex.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360034965072
Update 12.09.2020:Why is Bittrex Global suspending service in the Ukraine, Belarus, Burundi, Mali, Myanmar, Nicaragua and Panama?Bittrex Global prides itself on being not only the safest and securest place to trade cryptocurrency but also the most strictly regulated. With that in mind, due to the current regulatory environment in certain jurisdictions, we were instructed by our Legal and Compliance teams that in the short-term, we would need to suspend service from a few countries, these include: Ukraine, Belarus, Burundi, Mali, Myanmar, Nicaragua and Panama. What do I need to do if I am from one of the affected countries?Please login to Bittrex Global and withdraw all of your funds before September 24th, 2020. For additional help please see our support article here. If you have two-factor enabled, you will need to enter your 6 digit code. If you do not have two-factor enabled, you will need to login to your email account and click the verification link sent to you. Please note if your balance is below the minimum withdrawal amount for the wallet, you will not be able to withdraw it. The minimum withdrawal for all coins must be greater than 3 times the fee. For example, your balance in BTC must be .00150001 or greater as the fee is .0005. When is the last day I will be able to access the funds in my account?Your account will be active until September 24, 2020, 23:59 UTC, after this time, service will be suspended. What happens if I do not access my funds by September 24th, 2020?We highly recommend that you withdraw your funds immediately. If funds remain in your account after September 24, 2020, 23:59 UTC, we cannot guarantee their withdrawal. In the event that you have not withdrawn funds from your account before the deadline, you may still be able to withdraw your funds, but will not be able to trade with the balance in your account. If any issues arise, please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Service team. There haven’t been any recent changes to the regulatory policies in my country, why is this happening now? Bittrex Global’s Compliance and Legal teams monitor the regulatory landscape in all countries it operates in, as well as the interaction of rules and regulations in all these jurisdictions. Although it is not an easy decision, at this time, our team believes that suspending services in the affected countries is the best course of action. https://bittrexglobal.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360016422699-Important-Account-Information-for-Bittrex-Global-Users-in-Ukraine-Belarus-Burundi-Mali-Myanmar-Nicaragua-and-Panama |
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Colin Wu: The Chinese exchange Gate.io, in the Guangdong office, was reported by users for Kimichi coins, and the police went to conduct a search. The reason is that Chinese exchanges are crazy about listing DeFi coins. Kimichi's plunge has caused investors to suffer heavy losses. They believe that Gate.io is suspected of causing counterfeit coins, but in fact it is because of investment losses. https://twitter.com/WuBlockchain/status/1304103680304537607 |
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The St. Petersburg police closed a cryptocurrency exchanger belonging to an organized group of scammers. They stole money from bank cards and transferred it into bitcoins.Fraudsters under the guise of bank employees phoned citizens and convinced them to transfer money to bank cards issued for dummy persons. Money was cashed through ATMs and transferred to bitcoin exchanges. 10 members of the criminal group have been identified. Seven of them were detained in Yalta, Kaliningrad, Ulan-Ude, Khabarovsk and St. Petersburg. The police received statements from at least 15 victims who transferred more than 2 million rubles to the fraudsters. To cover up their activities, the attackers launched a cryptocurrency exchanger. The police identified organizers, coordinators and operators of an underground office located in a business center on the Moika River embankment. https://forklog.com/v-sankt-peterburge-zaderzhany-organizatory-bitkoin-otmyvochnoj-na-milliony-rublej/
Translation from Russian.
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WSJ: Robinhood facing SEC investigation over dealings with high-frequency trading shops Popular millennial stock and options brokerage is said to be under civil fraud investigation into its failure to properly disclose how it routes client orders to high-frequency trading shops, according to The Wall Street Journal. Per the report, the investigation — conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission — is in an "advanced stage" and could result in a $10 million fine. Robinhood makes a good portion of its revenues through a practice known as payment for order flow. Under a PFOF deal, a broker will sell off client order flow to high-speed traders like Citadel Securities, which internalizes and matches the orders. A deal could be announced this month and "the two sides haven't formally negotiated a proposed fine," according to the Journal. Robinhood has previously been slapped with fines relating to its order routing practices. At the end of 2019, FINRA announced a $1.25 million fine against Robinhood for improperly routing orders. https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/76781/wsj-robinhood-sec-investigation
They will pay fines and keep working. |
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AlphaBay darknet moderator, who was paid in bitcoin, is sentenced to 11 years in prisonBryan Connor Herrell, a 26-year-old resident of Colorado and former moderator of now-defunct darknet marketplace AlphaBay, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the news on Tuesday, saying that Herrell settled disputes between vendors and purchasers of AlphaBay and was paid in bitcoin (BTC) for his services. Herrell, who went by the monikers "Penissmith" and "Botah," also served as a scam watcher, to monitor attempts to defraud AlphaBay users. "Herrell's sentence sends a clear message to criminals that the darknet is no safe haven for illegal transactions," said Sean Ragan, special agent in charge of the FBI's Sacramento Field Office. Herrell pleaded guilty in January of this year. Bitcoin remains the most popular choice of crypto among darknet marketplaces, as The Block Research found out recently. Among the 49 darknet markets surveyed, about 98% of them support bitcoin. Monero is the second-most popular cryptocurrency — it's used by 45% of markets. https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/76699/alphabay-moderator-bitcoin-sentenced-11-years-prison
It looks like you can't feel completely safe on the darknet either. It is interesting how they managed to de-anonymize him, because such characters are very vain regarding their anonymity and security. It is not possible that in the future we will face multiple arrests of the owners of the darknet.
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The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has reportedly seized South Korea's largest crypto exchange Bithumb for alleged fraud. South Korea's oldest newspaper, the Seoul Shinmun, reported the news on Wednesday, saying that Bithumb's offices have been raided. The exchange is reportedly accused of pre-selling native BXA tokens worth about 30 billion won (~$25 million) to investors and then not listing the token, which has allegedly led to losses to investors. Bithumb is said to have issued BXA tokens in 2018 concerning its acquisition by Singapore-based BK Group. But that deal reportedly didn't materialize. Bithumb chairman Lee Jung Hoon is also said to be under investigation by police on charges of escaping property. The Block has reached out to Bithumb for comments and will update this story should we hear back. https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/76692/police-reportedly-seize-bithumb-south-korea-crypto-exchange |
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Messaging giant LINE has launched a wallet for users to manage digital assets and a blockchain platform where developers can issue their own tokens, tokenize digital assets, and run decentralized applications (dapps).LINE’s development platform aims to allow companies to easily introduce blockchain technology, CoinDesk Japan reported. LVC Corporation, operator of the company’s crypto and blockchain businesses, and LINE TECH PLUS PTE unveiled the platform, LINE Blockchain Developers and BITMAX Wallet on Wednesday. The wallet services are now only available in Japan, where LINE is particularly well-known. The company is developing the proprietary LINE Blockchain and issued its own token LINK (LN) for trading against several major crypto assets such as bitcoin and ether in 2018. LINE also started offering trading services via its crypto exchange Bitbox. It was approved for a crypto business license in September 2019. The company established the LINE Blockchain Lab in April 2018, which has been tasked to build the LINE Token Economy. LINE, with more than 84 million users in its messaging app, aims to leverage its existing network to jumpstart the development of its token economies and accelerate adoptions of many dapps built on its proprietary blockchain platform. The company is one of a handful of messaging apps that have tried to develop blockchain technology and issue their own tokens, but it stands out for the progress it has made. Canadian messaging company Kik and Russia-originated Telegram have met with lawsuits from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for their controversial fundraising processes called Initial Coin Offering (ICO), while American messaging giant Facebook’s stablecoin project Calibra is stalled and facing major challenges from the U.S legislators and financial authorities. https://www.coindesk.com/line-launches-digital-asset-wallet-and-blockchain-development-platform
It looks like Telegram is targeting the wrong country.
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Coinbit, South Korea’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, has reportedly been seized by police over allegations it faked most of its trading volume.According to a report from Seoul Newspaper on Tuesday, local police raided and confiscated the company's Gangnam headquarters and other premises. Accused of fraud, the firm's owner, Choi Mo, and other managers are said to have artificially inflated volumes on the exchange by using "ghost" accounts to make fake trades, a practice known as wash trading. In its report, Seoul Newspaper said it had been informed by insiders of corruption at Coinbit months ago and that up to 99% of trading volume was "manipulated" on the platform. Police allege wash trading at Coinbit had produced over 100 billion won ($84 million) in faked income. The newspaper said it had put off reporting its findings until the raids at the request of the Investigation Department of the Seoul Metropolitan Government. An accounting firm had reportedly refused to work with the firm after viewing its books. Seoul Newspaper said it had seen the books and that 99% of recorded trades could not be associated with deposits or withdrawals. https://www.coindesk.com/south-korea-crypto-exchange-coinbit-seized-allegations-fraud-wash-trading
Coinbit https://coinbit.co.kr/ not Coinsbit https://coinsbit.io/
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Sberbank, the largest state-owned bank in Russia, is working with a major domestic airline company to introduce a blockchain-based ticket sale system.Russia’s largest bank is reportedly collaborating with S7 Airlines on a new ticket sale platform that will enable corporate clients with instant settlement through smart contracts and tokens. According to an Aug. 26 report by local newspaper Kommersant, the new system is planned to roll out in September 2020. This would be the first time virtual tokens are used for payment and settlement in Russia, the report notes. As reported, the new system is only targeting corporate clients at the current stage of development. The blockchain-powered system intends to cut settlement time from as many as 10 days to just 20 seconds, representatives at Sberbank and S7 reportedly said. According to Kommersant, the new ticket sales system uses a proprietary blockchain platform that allows companies to develop their own blockchain applications as well as create smart contracts. As such, S7 Airlines has already placed its blockchain ticketing app on the platform by Sberbank, Kommersant states. https://cointelegraph.com/news/russia-s-sberbank-and-s7-airlines-to-sell-flight-tickets-for-tokens
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A Bitcoin whale, who accumulated 9,000 BTC in late 2018, has sold after 22 months and two capitulation phases.A Bitcoin (BTC) whale — an individual investor who holds a large amount of BTC — took profit after two years. Data from Whalemap suggests the whale purchased nearly 9,000 BTC in the third quarter of 2018. The whale held on to the BTC for nearly 22 months, through two major capitulation phases. Bitcoin dropped to sub-$4,000 level twice, first in January 2019 and second in March 2020. The investor waited through both periods, ultimately selling at around $12,000. https://cointelegraph.com/news/this-bitcoin-whale-sold-at-12-000-btc-price-after-hodling-for-2-years
Who said that bitcoin is no longer profitable? 
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Ethereum Classic Attacker Successfully Double-Spends $1.68M in Second AttackEthereum Classic’s second 51% attack Thursday resulted in a massive reorganization of 4,236 blocks and successful double-spend of $1.68 million worth of cryptocurrency, according to an investigation by Bitquery. The attacker tried to double-spend 465,444 ethereum classic (ETC), worth approximately $3.3 million, but only successfully double-spent 238,306 ETC, worth $1.68 million, according to the report. An additional 14,200 ETC were also claimed by the attacker via block rewards during the event. Bitquery found the hashpower required for the attack was probably bought from the same source as for the first attack: Nicehash DaggerHashimoto. Thursday's attack is the second on the Ethereum Classic platform within five days. The first attack occurred on Aug. 1 and was originally thought to be the result of software complications. Ethereum Classic Labs, the core development organization behind Ethereum Classic, announced Friday that it has retained law firm Kobre & Kim to investigate and pursue criminal charges against the perpetrators of both 51% attacks, according to a press release shared with CoinDesk. https://www.coindesk.com/ethereum-classic-attacker-successfully-double-spends-1-68m-in-second-attack-report
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Bitcoin Scammers Rebrand Jon Prosser’s YouTube Channel as ‘NASA’YouTube took down Jon Prosser’s channel with 262K subscribers after hackers used it to promote a free Bitcoin giveaway scam. Scammers have conned more YouTube viewers into sending them Bitcoin after hacking several more large verified accounts and posting ‘free giveaway’ videos. According to an Aug. 5 tweet posted by Jon Prosser, his Front Page Tech YouTube channel with 262,000 subscribers was hacked by bad actors who changed the name to “NASA [news]” and began live streaming a fake Bitcoin (BTC) giveaway video featuring SpaceX’s Elon Musk. “Hackers have made $4,000 in Bitcoin so far,” said Prosser. “YouTube tells me I need to fill out a form and wait ‘a few weeks.’” Seven years’ worth of Front Page Tech’s videos were deleted by the scammers. YouTube took the channel down roughly two hours after Prosser first noticed the breach, and it remains offline. https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-scammers-rebrand-jon-prossers-youtube-channel-as-nasa
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Hackers are reportedly selling the personal data of over a million Russians who voted electronically, using blockchain technology, during the recent constitutional amendment process.Over 1.1 million data points were stolen and put on sale for $1.50 each on the online forums, the Russian newspaper Kommersant wrote. The data, consisting exclusively of passport numbers, has little value on its own, the anonymous sellers admitted to Kommersant. But such data can be used for phishing attacks when combined with information from other leaked databases. Moscow’s Department of Information Technologies, which is responsible for the design of the voting system, denied the report in an email to CoinDesk. “The department is regularly monitoring the internet for publications of such data, including the darknet. The database mentioned in the publication has nothing to do with the list of voters who registered to vote online,” the department’s press office wrote, adding that the information on the Moscow city hall’s servers was properly protected and “there had been no leaks since the beginning of 2020.”
Remarkable is the fact that the database was available for purchase in early July, but the Moscow government denied this. However, as a result, the database appeared in the public domain. https://www.coindesk.com/russian-voters-data-on-sale-after-blockchain-vote-to-keep-putin-in-power-report
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Ethereum Classic Blockchain Splits Due to Reorg by a Single MinerOn August 1, several figures associated with Ethereum Classic (ETC) took to Twitter to inform the community of issues with the ETC blockchain. Among the first was Ethereum Foundation member Hudson Jameson who stated that: “Exchanges need to pause deposits and withdrawals.” The official Twitter page of ETC and James Wo, founder of Ethereum Classic Labs, both confirmed the issue. A Diagnosis report was soon released to explain what happened. Although the offending miner was identified, it was not clear if it was a deliberate attack on the network. https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-classic-blockchain-splits-due-to-reorg-by-a-single-miner
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