Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

James Zhong, Silk Road Hacker, Gets One Year in Prison for Wire Fraud

As per the official statement released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the Southern District of New York, James Zhong, the individual accountable for the security breach of the Silk Road marketplace, has been convicted of wire fraud offenses and has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year. In September of 2012, Zhong illicitly acquired in excess of 50,000 units of the digital currency known as bitcoin from the darknet marketplace (DNM). As per the statement of Damian Williams, an attorney at the Department of Justice, Zhong employed a bitcoin mixing service, a global cryptocurrency exchange, and a sophisticated set of technological instruments to impede tracing endeavors.　　As per a legal record, the United States government intends to vend 41,000 seized bitcoins (BTC) in the current year. As per the records of the New York Department of Justice, James Zhong was sentenced to a year in jail by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe on March 14, 2023, following the sale of 9,861.1707894 BTC.　　Zhong stole from the Silk Road DNM by establishing nine Silk Road accounts and generating 140 transactions that deceived the DNMs withdrawal mechanism into releasing 50,000 BTC to addresses under his control. Interestingly, Zhong

2023-04-20Exposure

Beware of Bitcoin Investment Scams: Indian Businessman Loses Rs. 33.65 Lakhs

A 37-year-old businessman from Mira Road in Thane has reportedly lost Rs. 33.65 lahks after falling victim to a Bitcoin (BTC) investment scam promising high returns. The incident was reported to the police on Monday, who have registered a case against two individuals under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.　　The victim was introduced to the accused parties via a WhatsApp group, where he was approached by the group administrator and another individual in February 2022. The duo urged the businessman to invest in Bitcoin for lucrative returns, to which he agreed. Although he initially received good returns, he eventually suffered losses and stopped trading.　　However, the accused individuals reconnected with the businessman and promised him guaranteed returns, demanding a 20% commission in return.　　The victim noticed a sum of $2,47,210 (approximately Rs. 2 crore) in his Bitcoin account but was unable to withdraw the amount due to technical issues. After a few days, he received a message claiming that the Bitcoin application was frozen as the “contract has expired”. Following this, the accused individuals became unresponsive, prompting the businessman to file a complaint with the police..　　At present, no arrests have been made, and an investigation is ongoing. Bitcoin is a virtual

2023-04-20Deep Dive

3 Silvergate Investor Lawsuits Combined Against FTX

A California court has consolidated three investor cases against the collapsed crypto bank Silvergate Bank including the crypto exchange FTX.　　Four former investors filed three lawsuits against Silvergate. According to an April 19 Law360 report, the lawsuits of Matson Magleby, Golam Sakline, Nicole Keane, and Sonam Bhatia will stay distinct from other federal proceedings against FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried but will be joined by mutual consent of the claimants. Three lawsuits were filed in February.　　The three cases will be momentous, according to United States District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of the Northern District of California. Each accuses Silvergate of facilitating investor fraud via the defunct crypto exchange FTX.　　“The Silvergate cases involve common questions of law and fact, as they name common defendants, arise from the same alleged course of conduct, and assert overlapping causes of action, such that the Silvergate cases are appropriate for consolidation,” the order said.　　The plaintiffs claim that Silvergate assisted and facilitated FTXs significant wrongdoing. Processing unlawful transfers of FTX client monies to its sibling trading company Alameda Research was among the actions taken.　　FTX declared bankruptcy in November of last year, and the subsequent crypto market slump exacerbated liquidity issues for Silvergate.　　Federal officials seized the crypto-friendly

2023-04-20Deep Dive

MetaMask Denies Security Issues That Cause 5000 ETH Exploited

Key Points:　　MetaMask said that recent tweets by Taylor Monahan falsely claimed that large-scale wallet theft resulted from MetaMasks vulnerability.　　Developer data shows that 5,000 ETH was stolen from different addresses on 11 blockchains.　　The security team is working with others in the Web3 wallet space to investigate the source of this exploit.　　MetaMask had denied allegations of wallet vulnerability when a developer claimed that a large amount of ETH was stolen from MetaMask in late 2022 because of this issue.　　Web3 wallet MetaMask said on Twitter today that recent tweets by Taylor Monahan claimed that large-scale wallet theft resulted from a MetaMask vulnerability, which is incorrect.　　The claim that 5,000 ETH was stolen from MetaMask is incorrect. The data shows that 5,000 ETH were stolen from different addresses on 11 blockchains.　　According to Monahan, a MetaMask developer, approximately 5,000 ETH has been taken from the wallets of crypto veterans across different chains since December 2022.　　The continuing breach specifically targets “OGs who are pretty safe,” the developer said on Twitter, however, it is unclear how the clever hacker is doing this.　　According to the developer, the hacker would perform a secondary steal in the hours after their original heist in order to acquire assets and dust that they

2023-04-20Deep Dive

Many crypto wallets were extracted for unknown reasons

This week, the crypto community on Twitter was in an uproar when there was information about a series of crypto wallets that had been suspiciously extracted.　　This information was shared by the Twitter account “Tay” (a member of the MetaMask wallet builder), “In the past 48 hours, I have witnessed a lot of crypto wallets being drained. I dont know how serious this is, but since December 2022, 5,000 ETH has been stolen, including tokens, NFTs, and foundation coins on over 11 different blockchains. Right now, no one knows what the reason is.”　　This account shares further. There is no sign of being related to phishing sites. And the worrying thing is that the hacked addresses are all OGs (old wallets) instead of newly created wallets and just joined the market.　　In addition, some common features of these hacked accounts include:　　The key is generated from 2014-2022.　　There is a lot of activity in the crypto market, owning many accounts.　　Tay said: “My guess right now, it may be because some people have stored a large amount of cache data from a year ago, from which they can find the key - the key of the wallets. But this is just a guess, I dont know.

2023-04-20Deep Dive

FCA Warns Investors Against Unauthorized TITAN LIMITED Broker

The UKs Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a warning to potential investors against TITAN LIMITED, a company that offers financial services and products without proper authorization from the regulator. The FCA also cautioned investors against dealing with unregulated financial firms. The company, which operates under different brand names, is based in Ajeltake Island, Majuro, Marshall Islands, a location known for unregulated brokers. The FCA has previously censured this broker, but the website https://titanftx.net still appears to be available to potential customers in the UK.　　TITAN LIMITED has previously raised regulatory concerns, with the Ontario Securities Commission issuing a warning against the broker targeting Ontario investors, and Frances financial market regulator including it in a list of websites that offer online trading without authorized investment services providers. All businesses and individuals that offer financial products or services in the UK must be authorized by the FCA.　　The regulator urged customers to avoid engaging in transactions with the company, or any other unregulated company and requested that clients report any firms suspected of conducting business in Britain without proper authorization. Investors are also reminded to check the Financial Services Register, which lists authorized firms, as well as the Interim Permission Register, which shows

2023-04-19Exposure

Pepe The Frog (PEPE) Gained 21,000% In 3 Days, Proving That “Dogs’ Days” Are Over!

Key Points:　　The most recent meme coin craze is being led by Pepe the Frog, which has seen its value soar by 21,000%.　　According to the page announcing the project, the days of dogs are over, and the new PEPE is the meme-coin with the highest concentration of memes of any that currently exist.With a 21,000% increase, Pepe the Frog leads the latest meme-coin frenzy.　　The community has seen a significant spike in BTC, ETH, and many other Altcoins in recent days. When people say “Altcoin season has arrived,” this is also when meme-coin currencies began to make waves.　　If the past “meme-coin seasons” were driven by DOGE and dog-type currencies like SHIB, FLOKI, and so on, the crypto community is seeking for new and “unique” possibilities this time around. And so, PEPE was born, taking its name from the famous meme about a green frog known as Pepe the Frog, which circulated widely throughout the Twitter crypto community.　　Even though it wasnt available until April 16, the price of this meme coin skyrocketed by up to 21,000% in just three days after it was released, and a total trading volume of 30 million USD was reported. At the moment, the coin is exclusively listed

2023-04-19Deep Dive

Bitcoin Is Showing A Bullish Signal Unseen Potential From 2021

Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrency tokens were trading lower on Tuesday as financial turbulence calmed, treasury rates climbed, and investors avoided riskier assets.　　Some analysts say that cryptos are losing part of their attraction since the hazards associated with financial upheaval seem to be fading. Nonetheless, this is still a “safe” price zone, and a lesser-known but accurate Bitcoin price indicator has turned positive, indicating the start of a large bull market.　　According to blockchain analytics startup Glassnode, Bitcoins reserve risk multiple has gone over zero, becoming positive for the first time since October 2021. Previous above-zero crosses cleared the door for parabolic price surges.　　Reserve risk, according to Glassnode, is a long-term cyclical indicator that compares the incentive to sell at the prevailing market price to long-term holders who resist the desire to liquidate. A lower number shows great conviction among HODLers, or long-term cryptocurrency investors, and vice versa.　　Vetle Lunde, a crypto markets analyst at K33 Research, said in an interview on CoinDesk TV‘s “First Mover” show on Monday that there are similarities between Bitcoin’s current climb from the doldrums of 2022 and its price trend from 2018 into 2019.　　Lunde said that negative to neutral futures sales, notwithstanding recent price rises, were

2023-04-19Deep Dive

US CFTC President: Binance Willfully Violates CFTC Regulations

Key Points:　　CFTC President Rostin Behnam said that exchange operator Binance intentionally violated CFTC rules.　　He emphasized that the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange must be registered with the CFTC and comply with the law when it intends to offer futures contracts in the United States.　　The crypto crackdown by regulators in the United States is still in full swing.　　CFTC President Rostin Behnam says exchange operator Binance knowingly violated CFTC rules following a lawsuit accusing Binance and its chief executive Changpeng Zhao (CZ) last month of compliance has been made artificially.　　According to Bloomberg News, Rostin Behnam, Chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), it was said at an event hosted by Princeton University on Thursday that Binance had knowingly violated its regulations. Futures contracts must be registered with this US regulatory agency and comply with the law when offered to US traders.　　“They are starting large companies and offering futures contracts and derivatives to US customers.”He said.　　Aside from the lawsuit against the world‘s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Behnam remained steadfast and reiterated that Ethereum and stablecoins are commodities. The giant token, Bitcoin, is greatly accepted by US regulators as a commodity. Still, there is more significant disagreement about which other virtual coins should

2023-04-19Deep Dive

The Demo Trading Worldcup 2023 winners list has been released as scheduled.

About Demo Trading Worldcup 2023　　In order to promote the development of the industry and reduce the threshold of transactions, WikiGlobal, adhering to the concept of “making transactions easier”, launched a new generation of demo trading software in 2023. The WikiGlobal demo trading competition is a top demo competition for global trading users. The contest is adhering to the concept of “finding excellent traders and spreading high-quality trading strategies” and insisting on the principles of openness, fairness, and justice, aiming to provide a stage for participants to show their trading ability and discover more outstanding traders.　　The winners list (1-100) is now available to the public. Take a look at the winners of the contest (see below).　　These participants could not have won this award without their own talent and deep understanding of forex trading. We congratulate the winners.　　WikiGlobal reserves the right to interpret the winners list of this competition.　　Why April 17th？　　Some of you may have a question: Since the World Cup ended on March 31st, 2023, why dont you release the name list of contest rankings right after the end of the contest？　　The reason we are not able to announce the list of winners quickly right after the closure of the contest（such

2023-04-18Deep Dive

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