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മാറുന്ന കാലത്തിന് ഒപ്പം മാറുന്ന പണമിടപാട് , ബാട്ടർ സിസ്റ്റത്തിൽ നിന്നും കോയിൻലേക് ,കോയിനിൽ നിന്നും ബിറ്കോയിൻലേക് .. ഫോർ ഓൾ ബിറ്കോയിൻ ന്യൂസ് ,, ജോയിൻ നൗ.....
CoinDesk
Hut 8 Says Repairs to Damaged Crypto Mining Equipment Are Taking Longer Than Expected
The delays are impairing the miner's hashrate and bitcoin production.
CoinDesk
First Mover Americas: Binance.US Suspends Dollar Deposits
The latest price moves in bitcoin (BTC) and crypto markets in context for June 8, 2023. First Mover is CoinDesk’s daily newsletter that contextualizes the latest actions in the crypto markets.
CoinDesk
The Meaning of Community in Crypto Discussed at Consensus 2023
Consensus 2023 participants explored how user-focused design, cultural understanding, and gradual decentralization can drive mainstream crypto adoption
Bitcoin News
Ethereum Classic Hashrate Taps an All-Time High, ETC Hashpower Jumped 39% Higher in 4 Days
https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/etc-768x432.jpg On August 20, 2022, Ethereum Classic’s hashrate reached an all-time high at block height 15,776,674 as it tapped 38.37 terahash per second (TH/s). The crypto asset has seen its hashrate surge since Wednesday, August 17, jumping 39.22% higher from 27.56 TH/s to the all-time high (ATH). Ethereum Classic’s Hashpower Skyrockets to 38.37 Terahash* Roughly six years after ethereum classic (ETC) miners mined the first ETC block at block height 1,920,000, ETC’s hashrate tapped an ATH on August 20, 2022. ETC’s hashrate reached 38.37 TH/s at block height 15,776,674.
* The hashrate has been added to the ETC chain as Ethereum (ETH) approaches The Merge upgrade on or around September 15, 2022. Four days ago, on August 17, ETC hashrate was 27.56 TH/s and its jumped 39.22% higher since that day.
* ETC’s largest mining pool is Ethermine as it commands 8.05 TH/s, which is followed by Poolin’s 8.02 TH/s. Ethermine’s and Poolin’s combined hashrate of around 16 TH/s is more than 40% of ETC’s global hashrate.
* ETC was initiated after the DAO hack in 2016 and the first ETC block was mined on July 20, 2016. Proponents of ETC believe it is the original unchanged Ethereum blockchain as the DAO hard fork erased the event from the blockchain.
* In a commitment to sticking to proof-of-work, Ethereum Classic developers removed the difficulty bomb from the ETC chain. ETC’s difficulty bomb removal took place at block height 5,900,000.
* While Ethereum Classic (ETC) has seen a significant hashrate spike, other Ethash-based token networks like Ravencoin (RVN), Ergo (ERGO), and Beam (BEAM) have not see any substantial increases in hashpower.
* Ethereum Classic’s all-time hashrate high follows the many predictions that forecasted ETH’s hashrate would migrate to ETC. Last week, JPMorgan market strategists predicted that ETC would likely be one of the main beneficiaries of The Merge.
* Meanwhile, as ETC has seen a significant hashrate increase, roughly 1 petahash per second (PH/s) or 1,000 terahash (TH/s) is still dedicated to the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain.
What do you think about Ethereum Classic’s hashrate reaching an all-time on August 20? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
CoinDesk
Can Ethereum Fight Back Against the US’ Sweeping Censorship Attempt?
In a world where Ethereum users don’t want to be censored, the idea of a user activated soft fork offers one way to push back.
Bitcoin News
Reports Say FTX Warns Customers Not to Interact With Aztec Network, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Responds
https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ftxs-768x432.jpg According to reports on social media, a number of users have complained that FTX has blocked a transaction that was associated with the Aztec Network’s zkmoney privacy technology. Following the accusations, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried explained that transactions are monitored for AML compliance but it “does not mean any accounts were frozen.” Journalist Wu Blockchain Says an FTX User’s Account Was Frozen After the User Transacted With the Aztec Network’s Privacy Enhancing ZK-RollupsOn August 18, the China-based journalist, Colin Wu ‘Blockchain,’ published a tweet that said a user who transacted with Aztec Network’s zkmoney tech, had their account frozen. Aztec Network is a privacy and scaling network, and similar to Optimism and Arbitrum it uses ZK-rollups, but Aztec Network’s zkmoney tech is privacy enhancing. Aztec’s technology uses a zk-SNARK scheme called “Plonk,” a general-purpose zero-knowledge proof mechanism.
So while the average Ethereum network fee is 0.0014 ether or $2.29 using today’s ETH exchange rates, to send ether via the Aztec Network will cost only $0.40 per transfer. “Recently, FTX froze a user account who sent coins to [Aztec Network’s] zkmoney,” Wu Blockchain tweeted on Thursday. “According to FTX, Aztec Connect – Aztec network / zk money has been identified as a mixing service, which is a high-risk activity prohibited by FTX.”
The journalist added:
FTX said Industry-leading third-party transaction monitoring tools ensure users do not interact with high-risk addresses, it is recommended not to use the mixing service in the future, otherwise, it may endanger the FTX account. FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Responds, Aztec Network Insists ‘Privacy Is Legitimate’Following the tweet, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried responded to Wu Blockchain’s statement and explained that while FTX monitors transactions, it doesnt mean the exchange has frozen any accounts. “To be clear — this is getting garbled,” Bankman-Fried said. “We are constantly monitoring transactions for AML compliance, and do enhanced due diligence on certain transactions, but that does not mean that any accounts were frozen.” Additionally, the official Aztec Network Twitter page tweeted about the issue.
“We are aware of reports that FTX is warning users not to interact with Aztec,” the team said. “As a result, we want to underscore our current and ongoing risk-reduction framework: 1) Implement practical deterrents 2) Measure their effectiveness — Privacy is legitimate.” Aztec Network continued:
We want to start by reiterating our mission — Empowering individuals with on-chain privacy. Our belief is that privacy is a fundamental precursor to — Discretion, Security, [and] Creativity — In other words, normalcy. As a result, our approach has always been one of practical deterrence: Ensuring users have access to privacy on-chain while deterring money-laundering and illicit activity.
The Aztec Network news follows the ongoing complaints about Tornado Cash being banned by the U.S. government. Furthermore, reports show the decentralized exchange (dex) platform Uniswap has blocked 253 Ethereum-based addresses from the frontend using TRM Labs technology. Further, 12 days ago, the software developer Banteg reported that Centre Consortium blacklisted 75,000 USDC tied to the Tornado Cash pool.
What do you think about the reports that allege FTX froze an account from someone who used the Aztec Network? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
Bitcoin News
US Authorities Warn of ‘Pig Butchering’ Crypto Scam Becoming Alarmingly Popular
https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/pig-butcher-768x432.jpg U.S. authorities have warned about the rising popularity of a crypto scam known as “pig butchering.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) explained: “The fraud is named for the way scammers feed their victims with promises of romance and riches before cutting them off and taking all their money.”
‘Pig Butchering’ Crypto Scam on the Rise
U.S. authorities have been warning about a type of cryptocurrency scam called “pig butchering” that has been growing in popularity at an alarming rate.
Lakewood Police Public Information Officer John Romero detailed:
The term pig butchering basically comes from a farmer fattening up the pig before they slaughter it. And in this case, it’s the suspect who was fattening up their victim.
The police officer explained that the pig butchering scam usually starts on social media or dating sites like Linkedin and Tinder, where the scammer finds and convinces the victim to hand over some funds. The scammer then puts the money into a crypto account which appears to grow in value, making the victim want to add more funds to the account. The scammer then disappears with a large amount of the victim’s cryptocurrency.
According to one victim of the pig butchering scam, initially, he was able to make a few withdrawals from the crypto account without a problem. Everything looked legit until he received a message telling him he had to pay more than $204K in deposits to be able to access his account.
U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Shawn Bradstreet commented:
Once they [the victims] see how easy it is to invest, they see a rise in their screen account and then they end up investing their entire life savings in a matter of days.
He added: “The counterfeit sites used can look legitimate, but the money is going straight to the criminals.”
The Singapore-based Global Anti-Scam Organization is a non-profit staffed 24 hours a day to help victims of pig butchering. Grace Yuen, a Massachusetts-based spokesperson for the organization, described:
We are seeing an influx of victims from the Bay Area … The scam continues to get more advanced, where fake platforms are made, impersonating legitimate crypto-trading sites.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) detailed in April: “The fraud is named for the way scammers feed their victims with promises of romance and riches before cutting them off and taking all their money.” The law enforcement agency added:
It’s run by a fraud ring of cryptocurrency scammers who mine dating apps and other social media for victims and the scam is becoming alarmingly popular.
The Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase also warned about Sha Zhu Pan (pig butchering) investment scams last week. “Coinbase has seen a concerning increase in fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms that are sourcing victims through connections on dating apps and social media. We are encouraging our users to be vigilant against this type of social engineering scam,” the exchange wrote.
What do you think about the pig butchering cryptocurrency scam? Let us know in the comments section below.
CoinDesk
Bankrupt Lender Celsius CEO Owes Creditors Transparency, Crypto Lawyer Says
If Celsius Network’s CEO, Alex Mashinsky was “being transparent,” there would be “no need to pull in an independent examiner," Sasha Hodder, founder of Hodder Law Firm, said on CoinDesk TV's "First Mover."
CoinDesk
Sports Tokens Surge After Socios.com Gets Regulatory Approval in Italy
Fan token market cap is up almost 100% from last month, according to CoinGecko data.
Bitcoin News
FDIC Issues Crypto-Related Cease and Desist Orders to 5 Companies Including FTX US Exchange
https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/fdic-768x432.jpg The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has sent a cease and desist letter to five companies, including crypto exchange FTX US. CEO Sam Bankman-Fried explained that FTX does not have FDIC insurance, stating: “We never meant otherwise, and apologize if anyone misinterpreted it … to be clear FTX US isn’t FDIC insured.”
FDIC Orders 5 Firms to Cease and Desist
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued crypto-related cease and desist orders to five companies Friday. The agency regulates and insures the deposits of FDIC-insured community banks and other financial institutions.
The letters demand that the five companies and their officers “cease and desist from making false and misleading statements about FDIC deposit insurance.” They must also “take immediate corrective action to address these false or misleading statements.”
The five companies are FTX US, Cryptonews.com, Cryptosec.info, Smartasset.com, and FDICCrypto.com.
The FDIC detailed:
Each of these companies made false representations — including on their websites and social media accounts — stating or suggesting that certain crypto–related products are FDIC–insured or that stocks held in brokerage accounts are FDIC–insured.
According to the FDIC, Cryptonews.com has reviews on its website claiming that Coinbase, Etoro, and Gemini crypto trading platforms are FDIC insured. Cryptosec.info and Smartasset.com provide a list of FDIC-insured crypto exchanges that includes Crypto.com, Luno, Robinhood, and Voyager. Meanwhile, FDICCrypto.com blatantly registered a website with FDIC in its domain name.
FTX US Ordered to Cease and Desist
FTX US is one of the crypto firms that received a cease and desist letter from the FDIC.
Although FTX and FTX US are two separate trading platforms, they are both founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, who is currently the CEO of both companies. Global exchange FTX does not allow U.S. residents to trade on its platform.
Bankman-Fried apologized for the confusion regarding FDIC insurance on Twitter. “Clear communication is really important; sorry!” he tweeted. “FTX does not have FDIC insurance (and we’ve never said so on website etc.); banks we work with do. We never meant otherwise, and apologize if anyone misinterpreted it.” In a follow-up tweet, he stressed: “To be clear, FTX US isn’t FDIC insured.”
https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/sbf-tweet-696x494.jpg
This was not the first time the FDIC has taken action against crypto companies. The regulator and the Federal Reserve Board issued a letter to Voyager Digital last month demanding the crypto lender cease and desist from making false or misleading representations of deposit insurance status. Voyager filed for bankruptcy protection last month.
What do you think about the FDIC issuing crypto-related cease and desist orders to five companies? Let us know in the comments section below.
CoinDesk
Canadian Bank Regulator Details Crypto Liquidity, Backing Rules
Canada joins U.S., European central banks in explaining how their supervised entities can engage with crypto.
CoinDesk
Bitcoin Retraces 3 Weeks of Gains as Analysts Blame Macroeconomic Turmoil
Bitcoin is holding at around $21,340 after slumping for the sixth consecutive day.
CoinDesk
The Coming Privacy Wars
Whether governments like it or not, demand for privacy is growing – and will perhaps even accelerate the more they try to suppress it.
CoinDesk
Bankrupt Crypto Lender Celsius Now Says It Likely Has Enough Cash to Last Through End of Year
The company’s CFO testified the company will receive additional funds in maturing loans and sales and use tax savings in a bankruptcy hearing with creditors.
CoinDesk
Bitcoin cae a mínimo en dos meses y frustra expectativas de recuperación
La criptomoneda líder por capitalización de mercado cayó a su nivel más bajo desde el 27 de julio la madrugada del viernes.
CoinDesk
Bitcoin Trades at Narrow Discount on Binance.US
News of a possible halt in U.S. dollar withdrawals sparked an increase in bitcoin trading as customers looked to remove their assets from the exchange, one observer said.
CoinDesk
Defiant by Default: Why Regulators Must Understand, Not Police, DeFi
Consensus 2023 visitors discussed DeFi's growth, its need to comply with regulations, and the challenges of balancing crypto-native concepts with traditional finance requirements.
CoinDesk
Former CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert Joins Circle as Chief Legal Officer
Tarbert will guide the company’s global strategy as it contends with regulatory issues in the U.S.
CoinDesk
Arrest of Tornado Cash Developer Draws Dutch Crypto Community Protest
After the detention of Alexey Pertsev, campaigners worry holding developers accountable for malicious use of code could have a dangerous, chilling effect.
Bitcoin News
Schiff Says US Inflation Decline ‘Only Temporary,’ Mark Cuban Sued, JPMorgan CEO on Recession, Axie Infinity Update — Bitcoin.com News Week in Review
https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/shutterstock_2151794065-768x432.jpg Gold bug and economist Peter Schiff has warned that the seeming ease in inflation for the United States economy is nothing to get too excited about, as Shark Tank star billionaire Mark Cuban is facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly promoting a “massive Ponzi scheme.” In other news, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon thinks “something worse” than a recession could be coming, and popular play-to-earn (P2E) blockchain game Axie Infinity hits $4B in sales and announces the removal of SLP rewards from classic mode. This is the Bitcoin.com News Week in Review.
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Peter Schiff Warns US Faces a ‘Massive Financial Crisis,’ Economist Expects Much Larger Problems Than 2008 ‘When the Defaults Start’
The economist and gold bug Peter Schiff usually has a lot to say, and this past week Schiff explained during an interview that he believes the U.S. will face a financial crisis worse than 2008’s ‘Great Recession.’ Schiff explains that the U.S. has a lot more debt than it did back then, and insists America’s economic downturn “is going to be a much bigger crisis when the defaults start.”
Read More
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Billionaire Mark Cuban Sued for Allegedly Promoting a Massive Crypto ‘Ponzi Scheme’
Shark Tank star and the owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, is facing a class action lawsuit for promoting Voyager Digital’s crypto products. The plaintiffs claim that Voyager was “a massive Ponzi scheme” and Cuban “duped millions of Americans into investing.”
Read More
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JPMorgan Boss Jamie Dimon Warns ‘Something Worse’ Than a Recession Could Be Coming
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has shared his predictions for the U.S. economy, including a chance of “something worse” than a recession. “There are storm clouds,” the executive said, citing interest rates, QT, oil, Ukraine, war, and China.
Read More
https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/dxz.jpg
Axie Infinity Surpasses $4 Billion in All-Time Sales, Team Removes SLP Rewards From Classic Game Mode
After recording more than $4 billion in all-time sales, Axie Infinity announced the game’s classic mode will no longer allow users to obtain smooth love potion (SLP), as SLP rewards have been added to the new Origin ranked gameplay mode. The team also introduced non-fungible token (NFT) runes and charms that can be minted on the Ronin network through the marketplace.
Read More
What are your thoughts on this week’s stories? Will inflation in the U.S. and globally ease soon, or is the worst yet to come? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below.
Bitcoin News
Moscow Exchange Prepares to List Digital Financial Assets by Year End
https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/shutterstock_224772961-768x432.jpg Russia’s largest market for equities, bonds, and derivatives, the Moscow Exchange, intends to launch a product based on digital financial assets by the end of the year, an executive has revealed. The trading platform is already working with a partner to organize the placement of digital tokens.
Russia’s Top Exchange to Facilitate Trading of Financial Instruments Based on Digital Assets
Releasing a product based on digital financial assets (DFAs) is in the plans for 2022, a high-ranking representative of the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) has indicated in a recent interview. The announcement comes after a turbulent period for Russia’s leading stock market when it had to deal with market volatility, sanctions pressure, and cyberattacks earlier this year.
Alongside ‘digital rights,’ DFAs is currently the main legal term in Russian law that applies to various digital assets, including cryptocurrencies according to some statements by Russian officials, but primarily those that have a specific issuer.
MOEX is now working with one of its partners to realize a project to place digital tokens, Managing Director for Information Technology and Member of the Board of the Moscow Exchange Andrey Burilov told the Tass news agency. He noted this is a company from the real economy and elaborated:
The main point here is to link the company’s fixed assets with the investment market using digital technologies.
Digitizing commodities creates added value for market participants, Burilov emphasized. MOEX aims to utilize DFAs in order to offer its customers another investment tool which offers a fundamentally new way to ensure information security.
Burilov also remarked that the main difficulty in terms of implementation is that this is a completely new product for the market, from regulation to software. Another challenge is its integration into the existing systems of the exchange and its clients, he pointed out.
In early July, the head of the Financial Market Committee at the lower house of parliament stated that a Russian digital asset exchange would be in the best position to process crypto transactions in the country. Anatoly Aksakov also suggested that the crypto trading platform may be established at the Moscow Exchange.
Do you think MOEX will fulfill its plan to start trading digital financial assets by the end of the year? Tell us in the comments section below.
CoinDesk
Voyager Customers Say No to 'Retention' Bonuses for Employees of Bankrupt Crypto Lender
A group of Voyager's creditors have formally objected to the beleaguered crypto lender's bid to pay "retention awards" to its current employees, saying Voyager has done nothing to reduce personnel costs.
CoinDesk
Market Wrap: Bitcoin’s Price Plummets on Global Inflation Concerns
The decline in crypto prices appears to be linked to poor inflation data in Germany. Bitcoin (BTC) sold off sharply in Friday trading, and was recently trading below $21,500, down more than 8% over the last 24 hours. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is down 13% for the week.The decline started during overnight trading, coinciding with unexpectedly high inflation data in Germany. Germany’s annual producer inflation figures rose to a record high of 37% in July, versus expectations of 32%.
CoinDesk
#FreeAlexPertsev: Protests Planned for Amsterdam Following Tornado Cash Developer’s Arrest
The jailed Tornado Cash developer has sparked controversy in crypto. Should open source contributors be held accountable for what others do with their creations?
Bitcoin News
Leading Japanese Online Broker SBI to Pull Out of Russia’s Crypto Mining Sector
https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/shutterstock_2168383437-768x432.jpg SBI Holdings, the largest online brokerage in Japan, is shutting down its crypto mining business in the Russian Federation. Amid mounting uncertainty over the future of such investments due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, as well as decreased mining profits, the financial firm said it plans to sell its equipment and withdraw. Japan’s SBI Broker to Complete Withdrawal From Russian Mining IndustryAccess to low-cost power and suitable climatic conditions made Russia an attractive destination for cryptocurrency miners when China cracked down on the industry in May of 2021. However, sanctions imposed over Moscow’s decision to attack Ukraine this year have hit bitcoin mining, among other Russian industries.
One of the largest mining data-center operators with significant presence in Russia, Switzerland-based Bitriver, was targeted by the U.S. Treasury Department this spring. Then the U.S. company Compass Mining sought to liquidate $30 million in mining hardware installed in Siberia in order to avoid Western sanctions.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created uncertainty over the prospects of the mining business in the energy-rich region, while the crypto market’s downturn has made it less profitable to mint digital currencies, a representative of SBI, the biggest online broker in Japan, told Bloomberg. Chief Financial Officer Hideyuki Katsuchi unveiled that the company plans to sell its equipment and withdraw from Russia.
SBI entered the digital asset space earlier than other Japanese financial firms, but this year’s negative developments have led to a pre-tax loss of 9.7 billion yen ($72 million) from its crypto business in the second quarter, when the group also registered a 2.4 billion yen net loss (over $15.8 million), a first in a decade.
The Japanese brokerage suspended its mining activities in Siberia shortly after the war in Ukraine broke out, but it is yet to decide by when it will complete the withdrawal from Siberia, Katsuchi noted. The financial company has no other crypto business in Russia, the executive pointed out, but it intends to continue operating its Moscow-based commercial banking unit, SBI Bank. The move comes after in July, U.S. diplomats reportedly urged authorities in Tokyo to pressure Japanese crypto exchanges and miners to sever ties with Russia.
In April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned in a report that crypto mining may offer Russia and other sanctioned nations, like Iran for example, a way to circumvent economic and financial restrictions imposed by the U.S. and its allies. These countries can use their energy resources to power mining facilities and generate revenue from the extraction of cryptocurrencies and transaction fees.
According to a recent study, electricity consumption in Russia’s crypto mining sector has been constantly rising in the past few years, registering an almost 20-fold increase over the five-year period since 2017. Siberia’s Irkutsk, offering some of the lowest electricity rates in the country, is one of the most attractive regions for miners, alongside the capital Moscow where they can take advantage of well-developed energy and other infrastructure.
Do you know of other Japanese companies ending their crypto mining operations in Russia? Tell us in the comments section below.
CoinDesk
Many Bored Ape NFTs Are in Danger of Getting Liquidated as Borrowed Money Comes Back to Bite
The NFT lending platform BendDAO has collateralized almost 3% of the entire Bored Ape collection, and many NFTs have recently entered the “danger zone” of liquidation.
CoinDesk
FDIC Orders Crypto Exchange FTX US, 4 Others to Cease 'Misleading' Claims
The FDIC published five cease-and-desist orders Friday, including to FTX.US, alleging they mislead investors by suggesting they had coverage from the deposit insurance provider.
CoinDesk
How ‘the Merge’ Will Change the Weird World of Ethereum Mempools
Miner extracted value, MEV, is an expensive problem caused by Ethereum’s trustless architecture. A version is likely to occur even after the Merge turns off mining.
CoinDesk
It Doesn't Matter If They're Wrong, Central Bankers Set Guidance for Crypto, Too
CoinDesk
HUSD Stablecoin Returns to $1 Peg After Liquidity Problems
The HUSD stablecoin, which is issued by Stable Universal, has returned to its $1 peg after suffering "liquidity problems" in relation to a closed market maker account.
