Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

The Biggest Fear of The CryptoCurrency Community

Cryptocurrency has rapidly emerged as a revolutionary technology and an alternative to traditional forms of currency. However, like any other technology or system, it is not immune to failures, risks, or vulnerabilities. In this context, the worst nightmare in cryptocurrency would be a catastrophic event that could lead to its downfall, rendering it obsolete or losing its credibility as a viable and reliable form of currency. In this article, we will explore some of the potential worst nightmares in cryptocurrency that might happen.　　A Massive Cyber Attack: One of the significant threats to cryptocurrency is cyber-attacks, which have been on the rise in recent years. A cyber attack on a cryptocurrency exchange or a blockchain network could lead to the theft of digital assets, causing significant losses to investors and users. A successful cyber-attack on a major cryptocurrency exchange could also lead to a loss of confidence in the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem.　　Regulatory Crackdown: As cryptocurrency gains wider adoption, governments and regulatory authorities around the world are increasingly taking a closer look at it. A regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrency could make it difficult for investors and users to access digital assets, leading to a decline in its adoption and price. Additionally, a

2023-02-15Deep Dive

Sam Bankman-Fried, Family, Former Executives Receive Subpoenas

As part of FTXs bankruptcy proceedings, subpoenas have been issued to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, his father Joseph Bankman, and other family members, as well as former FTX and Alameda Research executives including Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh. The subpoenas require these individuals to attend court proceedings and provide all the documents requested as outlined in the subpoena, as per court filings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.　　On February 16, Joseph Bankman, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh or their representatives must submit various documents related to questionable spending by FTX insiders, such as Bankman-Frieds parents spending $16.7 million on Bahamian real estate and the purchase of a Washington, D.C., headquarters building by an advocacy organization founded by the Bankman-Fried brothers. Recently, FTX obtained court approval to issue subpoenas to former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and all other affiliates. While Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to fraud allegations, former Alameda CEO Ellison and FTX co-founder Wang have admitted to fraud and are cooperating with federal prosecutors.　　A judge has ordered former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to not use a virtual private network to access the internet, as prosecutors allege that he has been using

2023-02-15Deep Dive

Certain FTX assets, tokens, and equity shares are allowed to be sold by the court.

The sale of a few subsidiaries and financial investments by FTX has been given court approval. According to a study by The Block Research, FTX and Alameda invested 473 investments totaling almost $5.3 billion through various subsidiaries. The amount of money invested ranged from huge cheques, such $100 million into Mysten Labs, the company that created the Sui blockchain, to several smaller ones, including $1 million checks into firms Limit Break and Messari.　　In a motion submitted on January 18 by the exchanges liquidators, it was stated that several investors had indicated a strong desire to repurchase FTXs interests in order to allow obtaining more funding from other shareholders.　　On February 13, the request was granted by the U.S. bankruptcy court for the district of Delaware, approving the sale or transfer of specific assets with “relatively de minimis worth” in comparison to the total investment portfolio of FTX. According to FTXs initial motion, 185 investments totaling less than $1 million were received.　　Including shares, notes payable, future total equity, future token interests, options, tokens, and merited on tokens, as well as assets in privately or publicly held enterprises, the order allows and certifies the purchase or transfer of these types of investments. Additionally,

2023-02-15Deep Dive

$480,000 in CEL token sales from the previous CEO of Celsius's wallet

A wallet connected to former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky allegedly sold 90,000 Celsius tokens (CEL) for $480,000 on February 14, according to blockchain research company Peckshield. The wallet “0x4833,” which acquired the assets straight from Celsius Network Wallet four years ago, is where the sold tokens came from.　　According to data from CryptoSlate, the CEL coin has suffered as a result of the sales, falling by about 4% in the last day to $0.51774 as of press time. According to Mashinsky and other senior executives of the insolvent company, Celsius, the court-appointed independent examiner found that the sales of CEL tokens had been profitable. According to the study, Mashinsky earned $68.7 million individually from the token sales.　　According to the research, Celsius ran its business like a Ponzi scheme and used consumer funds to support its coin. Since leaving his job at the company on September 17, 2022, Alex Mashinsky has been the target of numerous accusations of malfeasance. According to reports, Mashinsky withdrew $10 million from the company a few weeks prior to the company freezing client funds and declaring bankruptcy. Additionally, the former CEO was charged with deceiving investors and clients.　　About Celsius　　The idea of Celsius was to function much like

2023-02-15Deep Dive

Under pressure from regulators, issuer Paxos burns $700 million USD on Binance in 27 hours

Blockchain data reveals that Paxos, the company responsible for the $16 billion Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin, has destroyed more than $700 million worth of BUSD tokens after announcing on Monday that it would cease releasing the cryptocurrency due to increasing legal pressure. A Paxos Treasury cryptocurrency wallet moved $703 million worth of BUSD tokens to a burn handle over the course of 27 hours beginning on Monday morning, effectively removing the currencies from existence, according to data from blockchain intelligence company Nansen.　　Just under two hours after the introduction, at 13:47 UTC on Monday, Paxos Treasury sent the initial transaction for $144.5 million worth of BUSD, according to statistics from blockchain monitoring tool Etherscan. In the following 27 hours, eight additional trades totaling $559 million took place. BUSD is a dollar-pegged stablecoin that holders can exchange for dollars at any moment thanks to its backing by short-term treasury and other assets that resemble cash. According to rules from the New York Department of Financial Services, the states primary financial regulating body, U.S.-based fintech company Paxos releases the token.　　The action indicates that investors are quickly selling BUSD. The repurchase of $700 million in a little over a day amounted to almost 6%

2023-02-15Deep Dive

Another $61 million in ETH is moved by Solana's Wormhole Exploiter

Of the $320 million that the attacker took from Wormhole last year, $213 million has already been transferred.　　The hacker who moved an additional $61 million in ether (ETH) of the stolen money using Solanas cross-chain bridge Wormhole a year ago.　　On Sunday, blockchain security company PeckShield revealed that the exploiter had transferred some of the assets to MakerDAO, an Ethereum-based decentralized platform.　　Wormhole Attacker Transfers Stolen Money Once More　　Remember how Wormhole Bridge was abused in February 2022？ A flaw in the system allowed an attacker to mint wrapped ETH (wETH) without first depositing their own ETH. One of the largest hacks in 2022, the criminal got away with 120,000 wETH worth about $320 million.　　The exploiter stayed silent, and the account was abandoned despite Wormhole creators offering a $10 million prize in exchange for returning the taken property. After almost a year, CryptoPotato revealed last month that the hacker had transferred for the first time ETH worth $155 million from the wallet to the decentralized exchange (DEX) OpenOcean.　　For algorithmic stablecoin DAI and staked ETH (stETH) purchases, the exploiter has since transferred a new batch of the commodities to MakerDAO. The hacker immediately moved $46 million worth of assets, comprising 24,400 wrapped staked ETH

2023-02-14Deep Dive

US regulatory agencies start taking action against BUSD

It is clear that the US is continually tightening its regulations of cryptocurrencies in the wake of FTXs crash. In the past two weeks, rumors of US cryptocurrency legislation have been substantiated.　　The US SEC may outlaw cryptocurrency staking services for retail investors, according to speculations that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed on February 9th, 2023. The US SEC said on February 10th that Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange, will “immediately” stop providing crypto staking services to US clients and pay a $30 million fine to resolve allegations of providing unregistered securities.　　According to numerous sources, US financial regulators are reportedly taking aggressive measures last week to force banking firms to refuse bank accounts to cryptocurrency businesses, severing the link between the two industries.　　It has been reported today that they are aiming for BUSD, the most popular stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market. The US SEC threatened to prosecute BUSD issuer Paxos on February 13th, according to The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has asked Paxos to halt issuing new BUSD stablecoins.　　Furthermore, according to Binance, Paxos Trust has informed the exchange that it has been told to halt creating new BUSD stablecoins. This implies that the market

2023-02-14Deep Dive

VISA will introduce cryptocurrency and Bitcoin cards in the UK and 40 APAC nations

In order to increase its presence in the UK and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, leading cryptocurrency payments platform Wirex has established a long-term strategic agreement with payment behemoth Visa (NYSE: V).　　According to a press statement from the cryptocurrency payment company on February 13, Wirex will immediately issue crypto-enabled debit and prepaid cards for assets like Bitcoin (BTC) to more than 40 countries as part of the cooperation. The relationship will facilitate further cooperation between the two nations in important markets like Europe, the United States, and Asia-Pacific.　　Expanding the use of cryptocurrency payments　　For Wirex, which has more than five million users worldwide with the UK as its largest customer base and quick growth in APAC, the development marks another significant turning point. More consumers should be able to obtain cryptocurrency benefits thanks to the cooperation.　　“Visa wants to bring more payment options to consumers by connecting digital currencies with our network of banks and merchants. Were excited that Wirex is expanding their focus on Asia Pacific, making it easy and seamless for people to spend their crypto balance at the millions of merchants that accept Visa in the region,” stated by Matt Wood, Head of Digital Partnerships, Asia Pacific at Visa. 　　Svyatoslav

2023-02-14Deep Dive

Withdrawal effects from Binance Increase as Paxos-BUSD Drama Impacts the Exchange

According to statistics from blockchain intelligence company Nansen, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume, has seen net outflows totaling $831 million over the last day. Investors are reportedly selling off more of their assets on the marketplace as a result of a regulatory crackdown on the Paxos-issued Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin.　　According to Nansens blockchain data, customers have withdrawn more digital assets in the last 24 hours than they have deposited ($2.8 billion versus $2 billion).　　The withdrawals happened after the New York Department of Financial Services ordered Paxos to stop issuing the $16 billion BUSD stablecoin on Monday. Additionally, the United States is preparing to take punitive action. Commission for Securities and Exchange (SEC). The third-largest stablecoin and source of 35% of the total trading activity on Binance is BUSD, which is distributed under the Binance name. According to a data dashboard by cryptocurrency investment product company 21Shares, Mondays action also represented the greatest, daily net outflows from Binance since November, topping outflows from December when the exchanges weak disclosure about its reserves scared traders.　　Again, Binance reserves were tested.　　The regulators move is extremely damaging to the exchange because, according to Nansen statistics, BUSD, which has a

2023-02-14Deep Dive

The Aave community proposes a BUSD freeze as Paxos prepares to stop issuing tokens.

In light of Paxos decision to stop minting BUSD, the Aave community is now debating a proposal to freeze the BUSD reserve on the Aave V2 market. On February 13, BUSDs issuer Paxos declared that it would stop minting BUSD as of February 21, 2023, but that the token would continue to be fully supported by Paxos and receivable by consumers through at least February 2024.　　Marc Zeller, the Aave integration lead, has proposed freezing the BUSD holding on Aave V2 because he thinks the amount of BUSD in circulation would eventually drop to zero because there is no chance for BUSD to grow further.　　“It seems that the most reasonable path for Aave is to freeze this reserve and invite users to switch to another stablecoin among the diversity present in Aave,” Marc said.　　Currently, the Aave V2 Ethereum market supplies roughly $11.57 million worth of BUSD, whereas the DAO collector contract holds about $10,500 BUSD. The proposition will go through the usual governance procedure, and the Aave community will decide which is the best option to keep the DAO Treasury. After the Paxos-BUSD freeze, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao stated that if the problem persisted, his exchange might stop utilizing BUSD as

2023-02-14Deep Dive

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