Weekly Update #34
Mark Collins & Demetrius TSEAS
regulation:
Four people have been indicted on charges of laundering millions of dollars. cryptocurrencyCryptocurrency (or cryptocurrency) is a digital asset. Investment Fraud: Four U.S. citizens have been indicted on charges of swindling nearly $80 million as part of a cryptocurrency investment scam. Individuals set up shell companies and bank accounts to launder money to be extracted from victims lured by scammers through dating apps, instant messaging platforms and social media. Fraudsters can now face up to 20 years in prison. DOJ
A US court has upheld an order requiring Binance to pay $2.7 billion to the CFTC. A US federal judge has approved an order requiring cryptocurrency giant Binance to pay $2.7 billion over money laundering charges. It follows the CEO’s admission that he had violated US anti-money laundering laws, one of the largest in the world. cryptocurrency exchangeCryptocurrency exchanges allow customers to… See more. The Business Times
Spain’s central bank has partnered with three companies to test CBDCs. On January 3, Spain’s central bank, the Bank of Spain, issued a resolution announcing partnerships with Cecabank, Abanca, and Adhara. blockchainBlockchain is a shared digital ledger or… Read More., testing wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The wholesale CBDC test involves simulating the processing and settlement of interbank payments using a single tokenized wholesale CBDC and multiple wholesale CBDCs issued by multiple central banks, while another part of the experiment involves simulating transactions using wholesale CBDCs. Pay. Mock tokenized bonds.
Central Bank of Nigeria approves issuance of Nigerian Naira currency stablecoinStablecoins can also be privately issued cryptocurrencies or algorithms.: The African Stablecoin Consortium (ASC), a consortium of Nigerian financial institutions, fintechs, and blockchain experts, plans to launch a compliant Nigerian Naira (cNGN) stablecoin on February 27, 2024. cNGN is a stablecoin 1:1 pegged to Nigeria. Naira (1 cNGN=1NGN) is 100% backed by ASC reserves and can be easily moved across the blockchain. ASC, through its website, ensures that cNGN adheres to the regulatory requirements and standards set by the CBN, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), ensuring compliance, consumer protection and transparency.
Huobi Korea, service scheduled to end serviceGeneral services including non-profits, forums, news sheets…See more January 29, 2024: Following the closure of domestic exchanges such as Cashierest and Coinbit last November, Huobi Korea announced that it would end its services on January 29, 2024, citing a difficult ‘business environment’.
South Korean regulators weigh in on banning cryptocurrency purchases with credit cards: The Financial Services Commission of Korea (FSC) is considering banning the use of credit cards to purchase cryptocurrency. addressIn the context of cryptocurrency, an address is encrypted information. Concerns about illegal outflow of domestic funds abroad. Additionally, the FSC previously proposed rules to protect cryptocurrency exchange users, mandating that at least 80% of customer deposits be held in cold wallets and requiring exchanges to compensate customers for the use of their deposits. FSC and press releases
Hacks and Exploits:
Hacking statistics for 2023: In 2023, hackers and fraudsters caused a total of $1.8 billion in losses, 17% of which was attributed to the North Korea-linked Lazarus Group, according to a report by Immunefi. The biggest hacks of the year included Mixin Network ($200 million), Euler Finance ($197 million), and Multichain ($126 million), with law enforcement targeting $309 million linked to the Lazarus Group. We identified a 52% reduction in losses compared to the previous year. . immune
Supply chain attacks on cryptocurrency hardware walletA wallet is a device (a hardware device, program, or service). $600,000 was stolen through the ledgers.: Threat actors targeted cryptocurrency hardware wallet Ledger and stole $600,000 worth of virtual assets. Using phishing emails containing malicious scripts, the attackers targeted a module within Ledger’s default package manager and uploaded a cryptocurrency drainer. Nonetheless, the Ledger security team was able to tell Tether who had frozen the addresses after removing the malware and deleting the malicious module. security issues
Atomic Wallet Launches $1 Million Bug Bounty Amid Hacking Lawsuit Atomic Wallet developers have launched a $1 million bug bounty to help white hat hackers find vulnerabilities in the open source code. Severe risk vulnerabilities can receive up to $100,000 in coverage. The announcement comes amid a class action lawsuit against the company after $100 million worth of cryptocurrency was leaked. Cointelegraph
Former Amazon engineer pleads guilty to stealing $12.3 million worth of cryptocurrency in first-of-its-kind hacking incident smart contractSmart contracts are computer protocols for digitalization.: A former security engineer hacked the code of two cryptocurrency exchange platforms, resulting in the theft of $12.3 million in cryptocurrency. Engineers exploited vulnerabilities in the platform’s smart contracts to submit false statements that earned them millions of dollars. The hack comes amid a growing number of attacks targeting the open source code of smart contracts. business insider