The Crypto Currier 11th October

This week's biggest news in blockchain and crypto in the Crypto Currier:

Crypto exchange Binance is hacked, the FBI has warned how crypto ATMs are being used by scammers, and Mastercard launches a new crypto fraud prevention tool. Malaysia is launching a national blockchain infrastructure, and Citi has made its first crypto investment, leading a funding round for a Hong Kong-based digital asset investment startup. And the new startup accepting digital assets as collateral for mortgages.

Partnership to Operate Malaysia's National Blockchain Infrastructure Sealed

Malaysia has launched a partnership to launch a national blockchain infrastructure for all levels of its government and commercial sectors. It'll be jointly created and operated by a Malaysia-based layer 1 blockchain structure, Zetrix, and MIMOS Technology Solutions. (CoinDesk) Read More

Binance hacked, about $100 million worth of its BNB tokens stolen 

The Binance BNB Chain has been exploited by a hacker. However, instead of directly stealing funds, they brought new BNB coins into circulation in one of the largest hacks recorded in crypto so far. The hack happened on the Binance Bridge, where the attacker convinced the bridge to send them two waves of 1 million new BNB tokens, resulting in over $500 million worth of coins being sent into circulation. The Chain was paused by the team before more damage could be done and some of the coins gained by the hacker were reportedly frozen, still apparently leaving the hacker with about $100 million of gains. CEO CZ tweeted "The issue is contained now. Your funds are safe. We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide further updates accordingly". (NewsBTC) and (Cointelegraph)

$4M in Crypto Sent to Pro-Russia Militias in Ukraine: Report

An estimated $4.2 million in crypto has been sent to sanctioned pro Russia military groups. A report combining input from cryptocurrency-tracing firms Chainalysis, Elliptic and TRM Labs, along with investigators at Binance found that at least $4 million has been sent to groups supporting Russia's military in Ukraine. According to the report, Chainalysis traced roughly $1.8 million in funding to the militias in just the past two months, where in the five months prior, the groups received $2.2 million. Binance found that $4.2 million in crypto was sent to Russian military groups since February, with the findings between the two firms not entirely overlapping. (CoinDesk) Read More

Latest EU Sanctions to Restrict Russians’ Access to Crypto Services in Europe

EU member states have discussed new sanctions against Russia which allegedly include restricting European companies from providing crypto wallet, account, or custody services to all Russian citizens and entities, according to a report. Earlier this year, the EU banned only “high-value” crypto-asset services to Russian residents and companies, with restrictions applied to digital funds exceeding €10,000 (now $9,803). The new measures aim to further restrict the ability of Russians to transfer wealth using digital assets. Jewellery and precious stones are also allegedly on the list, according to a confidential source. (Bitcoin .com) Read More

Mastercard launches new crypto fraud protection tool

Mastercard has launched a new crypto service aimed to help banks find and prevent fraud on crypto merchant platforms. Mastercard's Crypto Secure platform, run by Ciphertrace which it acquired last year, uses artificial intelligence, blockchain data and public records of crypto transactions to gauge crime-related risks of crypto exchanges within its network. (Cointelegraph) Read More

Citi Dips Toe into Crypto Waters, Leading $6 Million Round in xalts

Citi Ventures has led an investment round in Hong Kong-based digital asset investment startup xalts, which received $6 million in funding. The round, co-led by Citi Ventures and Accel, was the first digital asset manager Citi has invested in. xalts, founded earlier this year, is a global digital investment firm that helps financial institutions across the globe access digital assets while remaining compliant. (Finovate) Read More

A lawyer's take by Charles Kerrigan, CMS: We see this in Europe too. It’s hard for financial institutions to build entirely new things. So these investments allow them to get exposure to a business that might solve a meaningful problem faster than an incumbent could. The benefit for the crypto firm is the investment (obviously) but also profile, access to customers, networks and a deep understanding of how regulated firms operate. For the bank, there is the opportunity to see the inside of a different kind of tech firm and to learn new things. A successful investment is one that enhances the brand of both parties and this, happily, looks like an example of that.

Celsius Accidentally Doxxed Hundreds of Thousands of Users

Celsius Network has apparently accidentally revealed the financial details of all of its users. Last week, more than 29,000 pages of court documents revealing the details of around 600,000 customers who had kept money on the “neobank” Celsius, reportedly revealing their wallet addresses, transaction histories, crypto holdings, recent transactions and other information. It seems the information was released as part of standard bankruptcy procedure as the company goes through through the Chapter 11 restructuring process after freezing customer accounts in July. Celsius apparently pushed back on the information reveal, but it was a court order. The incident has raised serious concerns that this information could make Celsius users targets for harassment or theft. (CoinDesk) Read More

Celsius execs cashed out $21 million before bankruptcy

A financial disclosure form filed in New York this week has revealed that two top executives of the now bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network withdrew $21 million in crypto before freezing customer accounts. According to the report, between May and June 2022, ex-CEO Alex Mashinsky and ex-CSO Daniel Leon withdrew funds in the form of Bitcoin, Ether, USDC, and CEL tokens. Court documents show that Mashinsky withdrew $10 million and Leon withdrew $7 million and an additional $4 million in CEL. (Finextra) Read More

Crypto Used in Alleged $5.4M Drug Peddling Conspiracy Case

Cryptocurrency including Bitcoin was allegedly used to launder more than $5.35 million for a drug trafficking organisation. Drug sales reportedly included counterfeit pharmaceutical pills and other controlled substances across the US. The San Francisco man charged had used the dark web as a marketing portal. (Pymnts) Read More

Crypto Exchange Huobi Global to be Acquired by About Capital

Crypto exchange Huobi Global has agreed to be purchased by Hong Kong-based investment company About Capital Management's M&A fund. Huobi, top-10 exchange by trading volume, and one of the largest in the Asia markets, said About will “control the majority stake” of Huobi once the deal closes but that the ownership transfer will have no impact on trading operations. It's believed that its globalisation push will now accelerate on the news, on which Huobi's native token HT rose sharply. (CoinDesk) Read More

FBI: Crypto ATMs are Becoming a Prominent Scam Tool

The FBI’s field office in Miami has warned that crypto ATMs were becoming a prominent tool used by scammers to get cash from their victims. One trend has been scammers using 'pig butchering' scams- ie dating scams- where they gain their victims' trust, before directing them to make transfers using crypto ATM machines. Previously, prepaid cards and wire transfers were the primary means used to extract funds from their victims. Scammers posing as staff of local utility companies, law enforcement agents, or public officials have also long been using crypto ATMs, tricking victims into sending them payments to avoid further penalties. (Bankless Times) Read More

Korean police reportedly arrest first person involved in Terra collapse

Korean police have reportedly arrested the first person involved in the Terra blockchain ecosystem's $40 billion collapse, after months of investigation. Do Kwon, the founder and main man behind the ecosystem collapse still appears to be on the run with his location unknown. (Cointelegraph) Read More

Global Interest in Crypto Jobs Is Down 62% Since the Beginning of 2022

The employment sector in the cryptocurrency industry has witnessed a significant decline over the last year with crypto jobs reportedly down 62% since the start of 2022. The trend began earlier this year with 'crypto winter' when crypto prices started to crash, which has led many firms to either reduce their workforce or stop hiring new staff altogether. (Bankless Times) Read More

Is This Satoshi Nakamoto’s Long Lost Earliest Version Of The Bitcoin Code?

A bitcoin enthusiast claims to have found “the lost Bitcoin v0.1 raw data and files.” Satoshi Nakamoto’s original code disappeared from search engines and was considered lost for ten years, but “using some browser hacking”, a guy who goes by Jim Blasko claims he realised the files were still available. (Bitcoinist) Read More

Moon Mortgage Raises $3.5M to Bring Crypto Mortgages to Market

A cryptocurrency mortgage lending platform has raised $3.5 million in a seed round and aims to bring a mortgage lending product that will allow investors to collateralise crypto holdings for real estate investment. Moon Mortgage’s CryptoMortgage product says it will take the investor’s digital assets as collateral and provide 100% of the financing for owner-occupied and investment properties. (Fintech Finance) Read More

Over 12,000 Brazil companies declare crypto holdings in record high

The number of companies holding cryptocurrency in Brazil has reached new record highs as of August.This is attributed both to increased trust in cryptocurrencies and high inflation rates. 12,053 unique organisations declaring crypto on their balance sheets in August 2022. However, the number of individual Brazilian investors holding crypto fell down to 1.3 million in August, due to the state of the crypto market. (Cointelegraph) Read More

Sport tops the NFT charts by volume

In terms of transaction volumes, sport NFTs are dominating the charts. With Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) turning over $32.8 million over the last 30 days despite having 'just' 296 NFT transactions, sports is following closely. NFL All Day is second on the charts volume-wise, with 482,000 transactions and revenues of $15 million. Fantasy football collectibles Sorare, and NBA Top Shot are in slots four and six by number of transactions. Of the top 10 NFT collections by transaction volume, five are sports, three are games, and one is a game-related collectible. (Ledger Insights) Read More