Online Cash Bitcoin Could Challenge Governments, Banks

"Hackers steal more than $600 million from maker of Axie Infinity

Axie Infinity has emerged as one of the most popular online games that uses blockchain technology as the basis for its in-game economy...

The hackers targeted Ronin, a blockchain service run by the owners of Axie Infinity, which is an online game that attracts around 2 million daily users and sees tens of millions of dollars in daily sales volume. Ronin said Tuesday in a blog post that hackers were able to essentially take control of the network and send 173,600 ethers, worth about $600 million, to an anonymous ethereum wallet. The hackers were also able to withdraw about $25.5 million of USD coin, which is a digital currency pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar..."

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/hackers-steal-600-million-maker-axie-infinity-rcna22031

[Axie Infinity is an non-fungible token-based online video game developed by Vietnamese studio Sky Mavis, known for its in-game economy which uses Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies. Players of Axie Infinity collect and mint NFTs which represent creatures known as Axies.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/hackers-steal-600-million-maker-axie-infinity-rcna22031]

 

Government Sets Out Plan To Recognise Stablecoins

https://www.silicon.co.uk/e-marketi...sets-out-plan-to-recognise-stablecoins-450651

 

"Crypto mixer Blender sanctioned by US Treasury for involvement in $600m Ronin theft

[Blender.io operates on the Bitcoin blockchain and essentially scrambles transactions together before transmitting them to their intended destination, effectively making the payments much harder to trace]

The US Treasury has sanctioned cryptocurrency mixing service Blender.io for its involvement in the Ronin sidechain in March. According to the Treasury, Blender.io provided services for the cyber attackers behind the Ronin attacks, resulting in a $600 million profit for the cybercriminals. Blender.io has also been blocked from completing transactions with US persons as a result of the attack...

This marks the first time ever that the Treasury has sanctioned a virtual currency mixer..."

https://www.oodaloop.com/cyber/2022...treasury-for-involvement-in-600m-ronin-theft/

 

"Wormhole Awards $10M to White-Hat Hacker in Bounty Program

Wormhole has awarded $10 million to a white-hat hacker who reported a bug in its Ethereum core bridge contract. This is part of the bounty program announced in February after losing $323 million to an exploit..."

[Wormhole is a popular cryptocurrency platform that offers bridges between multiple blockchains]

https://beincrypto.com/wormhole-awards-10-million-to-white-hat-hacker-in-bounty-program/

 

"Bitcoin slumps below $20,000 as cryptocurrency rout rolls on....

Bitcoin traded below $20,000 on Saturday, extending the slide that has wiped out trillions in market value from cryptocurrencies...

Bitcoin traded down 8% to $19,029, extending a slide from its November peak of $68,924.78...

Broader signs of trouble in crypto markets emerged with the May collapse of the Terra blockchain, and got worse this week following crypto lender Celsius Network Ltd.’s decision to halt withdrawals..."

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/b...y-rout-rolls-on-11655546613?mod=mw_quote_news

 

"Elaborate hack of 'Axie Infinity' tied to fake LinkedIn job offer...

...The hackers infiltrated Axie Infinity owner Sky Mavin's network by sending a spyware-filled PDF to one employee. That person thought they were accepting a high-paying job from another firm, but it turns out that company never existed. According to the US government, North Korean hacker group Lazarus was behind the attack..."

https://www.engadget.com/axie-infinity-blockchain-hack-fake-job-offer-210017305.html

 

"Nearly $200 million drained from crypto bridge Nomad in latest crypto hack...

In a matter of two hours on Monday evening, the total value of crypto assets held on Nomad dropped from $190.3 million to $11,815 as of early Tuesday morning New York time...

As a bridge protocol, Nomad allows users to send crypto tokens between different blockchains, a feature not normally available as most tokens aren’t compatible with multiple blockchains..."

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nomad-hack-stolen-funds-125623615.html

 

"Hack Drains Millions of Dollars From Thousands of Solana Crypto Wallets

Unknown hackers reached their fingers into over 8,000 first and third-party connected crypto wallets. Losses are estimated at over $5.2 million...

'The attack is still on-going'...the number of affected wallets keeps increasing. The total lost funds is hovering somewhere over $5.2 million, but that will likely increase...

White Hat hackers are apparently DDoSing their own servers to slow down the hack..."

https://gizmodo.com/solana-hack-crypto-1849364846

 

U.S. Justice Department forms national network of prosecutors focused on crypto crime

The U.S. Justice Department has tapped more than 150 federal prosecutors across the country to bolster law enforcement’s efforts to combat the rise in crime linked to the use of cryptocurrencies.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/just...igital-assets-and-launches-nationwide-network

 

"Hacker Steals Over $570m from Binance Bridge

Cyber-criminals have stolen an estimated two million Binance coins (BNB) from a popular cross-chain bridging service, potentially landing them with a haul of over $570m at today’s exchange rates..."

https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/hacker-steals-over-570m-from/

 

FTC Reaches Settlement with Crypto Platform Celsius Network
July 13, 2023
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/new...rk-charges-former-executives-duping-consumers

 

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...-explained-meaning-securities-regulator-tweet