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Showing posts from December, 2020

South African Court Grants Order to Liquidate Mirror Trading International After Investors Fail to Withdraw Their BTC

A South African High Court recently granted a provisional liquidation order against Mirror Trading International (MTI) following an application for relief by two investors who failed to withdraw their bitcoin. According to a statement released by lawyers of one of the aggrieved investors, this provisional order paves the way for the appointment of a liquidator to take control of MTI’s assets and liabilities. Provisional Order The order by the Cape Town court came after the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) reported receiving complaints from investors who failed to withdraw invested funds. The court’s decision also follows reports that Johann Steynberg, the CEO of the alleged online bitcoin scam platform, had skipped the country. At the same time, a statement released by MTI management alleges that Steynberg, who is no longer communicating with fellow executives, blocked his colleagues from accessing the company’s funds. The management team says it is now working with law ...
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Darknet Giant White House Market Drops Bitcoin, Supports Monero Payments Only

The prominent darknet marketplace, White House Market, has dropped bitcoin payments and now accepts monero only. The darknet marketplace administrators detailed that there was an issue with a payment processor blocking Tor exit nodes, but the full transition to monero was always planned. A number of crypto proponents have reported on the darknet marketplace, White House dropping bitcoin ( BTC ) payments in order to exclusively support monero ( XMR ). On December 28, one individual on Twitter wrote: “[One of the] largest darknet markets, White House Market, drops bitcoin support, now only uses monero.” News.Bitcoin.com confirmed the payment system change by visiting the White House market’s onion URL. The White House admins detail the issues with bitcoin ( BTC ) support stemmed from a third party service. “Bitcoin payments are no longer accepted,” the White House admins stressed. “The [third] party exchange API we used (Morphtoken) has suddenly decided to block access from Tor exit ...
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Bitfinex CTO: Tether Is Registered and Regulated Under FinCEN- USDT Not Next Target of the US SEC

The CTO at Bitfinex Paolo Ardoino has pushed back against rumours that the company’s Tether stablecoin may be the next target of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Bitfinex executive insists that the Tether stablecoin, whose market capitalization has now surpassed $20 billion, is a properly registered and regulated crypto. The Alleged Misinformation Campaign The CTO said while responding to rumours circulating on social media that the USDT stablecoin might fall into a predicament similar to that of Ripple’s XRP token. Immediately after the SEC filed to sue Ripple for allegedly violating the Securities Act, the XRP token’s value tumbled . Additionally, many crypto exchanges that are wary of the implications of the lawsuit have delisted the token. However, in his reply to Ki Young Ju, the CEO at Cryptoquant, Ardoino dismisses the rumours and accuses the former of spreading misinformation. The CTO goes on to claim that the company’s stablecoin adheres to regul...
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Gold Bug Peter Schiff’s Understanding of Money is Flawed, Says His Pro-Bitcoin Son

Gold bug Peter Schiff has been publicly confronted by his 18-year-old son, a bitcoin proponent, on the topic of value. Calling his dad’s understanding of money “Flawed,” Spencer Schiff made the statement in defense of TV Personality Max Keiser, who was having an argument with Peter on Twitter. ‘Your Understanding of Money is Flawed’ Gold bug Peter Schiff was confronted by his son, Spencer Schiff, on Monday after he accused TV personality and bitcoin proponent Max Keiser of not understanding the concept of fiat money. “According to Max Keiser, I oppose bitcoin because I’m a fiat addict. In the bizarro world of bitcoin, gold is the new fiat,” Peter Schiff tweeted. “Clearly, Max Keiser doesn’t understand the concept of fiat, or how it differs from legitimate currency or actual money. That explains his bitcoin fixation.” At the time of this writing, his tweet got 354 comments and was liked 877 times and retweeted 67 times. Among those who commented was his son, an 18-year-old bitcoin ...
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CyberGhost VPN Will Shield Your Bitcoin Transactions With a Special 83% off New Year’s Offer

The crypto world is full of malicious hackers and other serious threats to your digital assets. CyberGhost VPN, which is trusted by over 36 million users globally, can help protect your security when making online transactions and payments. The service accepts bitcoin and you can now save over 80% from the regular price with a CyberGhost VPN New Year’s offer . Make Online Security Your New Year’s Resolution The incredible wealth stored in digital assets has attracted to the crypto world some of the smartest hackers out there. They plague both companies and individuals using sophisticated methods such as spear phishing, trojans and SIM-swapping, and security breaches have become the norm. For this reason, maintaining excellent online security is an absolute must for crypto users and having a VPN (virtual private network) is considered a vital tool for achieving this. Using a VPN for encrypting your data when you trade makes it more difficult for hackers to spy on transactions. It al...
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Production of $2.7 Million-per-Episode: South Korean Crypto-Related TV Drama Series Is Set to Start in 2021

A major South Korean TV series with crypto and blockchain-related topics is set to launch its production stage at the beginning of 2021, directed by Gemstone Film, in collaboration with firms in China and the United States. South Korean Crypto-Related TV Drama Series ‘Pumping Time’ Is Set to Start in 2021 According to Financial News , “Pumping Time,” the tentative name for the drama series, is planned for a total of 10 seasons with 20 episodes per each one. The producers estimate that each episode will have a duration of 30 minutes. Gemstone Film will allocate an ambitious budget of $2.7 million per episode. Although they didn’t provide full details on the drama series’s stories, the producers gave some hints about the topics to be featured, such as crypto-related frauds, blockchain technologies, and central bank digital currencies (CBDC). K-Play Content financially backs the production, and the producers already hired Choi Wan-kyu, a well-known drama writer in South Korea, who wi...
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Nasdaq Listed Greenpro Capital to Set up Bitcoin Fund Using a $100 Million Loan

The Nasdaq listed Greenpro Capital Corporation has revealed plans to set up a bitcoin fund using $100 million in borrowed funds. In addition to the borrowed funds, Greenpro, through its subsidiary Cryptosx, says it plans to use its own cash resources to acquire the digital asset. The financial services firm which has its headquarters in Hong kong joins the growing list of banks, hedge funds, insurance companies and institutions holding bitcoin. In a statement announcing plans to set up the fund, Greenpro shares its “belief that bitcoin, as the world’s most widely-adopted cryptocurrency, is a reliable future store of value.” The statement also adds: We believe the strategic management of our balance sheet, combined with the implementation of our BTC Fund and crypto strategy will produce significant future value for the company. Furthermore, according to the statement released on December 28, the firm’s CEO CK Lee has already instructed Greenpro’s “investment bankers to raise deb...
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Ripple Assails the SEC, Claims the $1.3 billion Lawsuit is an ‘Attack on the Entire Crypto Industry Here in the United States’

Ripple has hit back at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accusing it of creating more uncertainty and failing in its duty to protect the crypto community. In panning the SEC’s decision to designate its XRP token as a security, the company claims the regulator’s lawsuit against it amounts to an attack on the entire crypto market in the US. XRP Token Holders Affected The latest comments by the Ripple team follow reports of the delisting of the XRP token by Coinbase. In a short statement released on December 29, the firm, which is promising another “response in a few weeks to address these unproven allegations against Ripple”, starts by claiming that the public and the media are currently only aware of the SEC’s narrative. The Ripple team then assails the SEC’s $1.3 billion lawsuit against the company arguing that it has affected “innocent XRP retail holders.” Since the announcement of the lawsuit, the XRP token has now lost more than 50% of its value and the ...
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Elon Musk Endorses Cryptocurrency for Martian Economy

Spacex and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, widely believed to be the man taking humanity to Mars and building a permanent settlement there, tweeted his approval of the idea that Mars’ economy will run on cryptocurrency. Elon Musk Envisions Mars’ Economy Run on Cryptocurrency Elon Musk believes that Mars’ economy will be run on cryptocurrency. He said early this month that he is “highly confident” that his company Spacex will land humans on Mars “about six years from now.” He further noted that it could even come as early as 2024 “if we get lucky.” Musk previously said that his aim is to set up a “self-sustaining city on Mars as soon as possible.” The subject of cryptocurrency running Mars’ economy briefly came up on Twitter last week. AI researcher Lex Fridman tweeted, “Mars economy will run on crypto.” In response, Twitter handle Elon’s World suggested, “Marscoin.” Musk himself replied with just a “Yes.” It is not clear if Musk was referring to the cryptocurrency called “marscoin” that wa...
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US Treasury Warns of Increasing Ransomware Campaigns Against Coronavirus Vaccine Research Institutions

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a warning that alerts financial institutions in the United States about increasing ransomware attacks against coronavirus vaccine research organizations. US Treasury Warns of Ransomware Attacks, Phishing Schemes Targeting Covid-19 Vaccine Research Institutions According to the alert , FinCEN says that fraud, ransomware attacks, and “similar types of criminal activity” target the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, which could affect their supply chains if proper actions are not taken on time. The alert reads as follow in regards to ransomware campaigns: Cybercriminals, including ransomware operators, will continue to exploit the Covid-19 pandemic alongside legitimate efforts to develop, distribute, and administer vaccines. FinCEN is aware of ransomware directly targeting vaccine research, and FinCEN asks financial institutions to stay alert to ransomware targeting vaccine delivery operations as wel...
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Bitcoin Price Touches $28,600, Crypto Asset’s Value Gains Over 288% in 2020

The price of bitcoin touched an all-time high at 3:12 a.m. (EST) during the early morning trading sessions reaching $28,600. The crypto asset’s market valuation is over $519 billion on Wednesday, as bitcoin markets command over 14 billion dollars in global trade volume. Bitcoin (BTC) markets soared again on Wednesday morning, as the price per unit jumped to an all-time high (ATH) of around $28,600. BTC ’s dominance index, in comparison to the 7,500+ crypto asset valuations in existence, is over 70% or $519 billion out of crypto economy’s $741 billion. Statistics show that BTC has gained over 20% during the last seven days, 41% over the course of the month, 162% in the last three months, and a whopping 288% for the year against the U.S. dollar. At a touch after 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning (EST), BTC /USD prices touched a high of $28,600 per unit on Bitstamp. Bitcoin has seen $19.28 billion in transaction volume during the last 24 hours. Moreover, BTC miners have captured $2.8...
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Attackers Drain Millions From Cover Protocol, Token Holders Attack Compensation Plan

Decentralized finance insurance project Cover protocol briefly suffered losses when an unknown attacker minted over 40 quintillion Cover tokens. However, after successfully cashing out tokens worth about $5 million, the attacker unexpectedly returned ether tokens valued at about $3.2 million before leaving a message for the Cover team. Exploit No Longer Possible Immediately after the attack, the value of the insurance protocol’s token plummeted by over 94% to $34 at the time of writing. After the incident, t he Cover team immediately acknowledged the attack and went on to warn investors against buying the token while investigations were underway. The team also urged the attackers to return the rest of the stolen funds. However, in their statement on December 28, the team tries to reassure investors that the vulnerabilities exploited by attackers had been fixed. The team says: The exploit is no longer possible. Please do not buy Cover tokens, and remove your liquidity from the Co...
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Publicly-Listed Bitcoin Mining Operations See Shares Skyrocket, Riot Blockchain Market Cap Reaches $1B

While bitcoin’s value has captured new all-time price highs, a number of publicly listed bitcoin mining operations have seen significant profits. The U.S.-based firm Riot Blockchain’s market valuation recently obtained a $1 billion capitalization. Meanwhile, a number of other bitcoin mining business operations have seen colossal demand for company shares. Riot Blockchain, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIOT) shares have increased a great deal and the company has recently captured a $1 billion market capitalization. After trading for $3.47 per unit during the first week of November 2020, shares climbed 332% and are now trading above the $15 range on December 29. 2020 stats show Riot’s shares have jumped more than 1,200% during the course of the year. Riot has also been part of the trend of enterprise companies purchasing mass quantities of bitcoin miners in 2020. The company bought 15,000 S19 Pro and S19j Pro Antminer mining rigs from Bitmain on December 23. In fact, Riot is not the only publicl...
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