Crypto Markets Witness Hacks and Scams
This week, the crypto market experienced a series of security breaches and scams. Upbit, a South Korean exchange, faced a challenge involving counterfeit tokens worth $3.4 billion. These fake tokens, called ‘ClaimAPTGift’ coins, tried to infiltrate the exchange but were detected before any damage was done.
In response to the increasing number of scams in the crypto space, Chase U.K. decided to ban all cryptocurrency payments starting from October 16th. This move reflects their concerns about fraudulent activities associated with cryptocurrencies.
HTX (formerly Huobi) suffered a hack that resulted in the theft of 500 Ether (ETH) worth approximately $8 million. HTX took responsibility for compensating affected users and offered a 5% reward, worth $400,000, to the hackers if they returned the stolen assets.
Mixin Network, a major blockchain player, temporarily suspended deposit and withdrawal services after a hacker stole $200 million from their cloud service provider’s database. They ensured that internal crypto transactions within their network continued as usual.
Binance announced its exit from Russia, with CommEX taking over its local business gradually over the next year. Binance reassured Russian users that their funds would remain secure during this transition.
MicroStrategy continued its Bitcoin acquisition strategy by investing $147.3 million in BTC between August 1st and September 24th. This increased their Bitcoin holdings to $4.6 billion as they aimed to reduce cash holdings and protect against inflation.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin revealed that Russia is developing a blockchain-based system for international settlements using digital financial assets. This announcement comes amid increasing trade and investment connections between Russia and China.
The U.S. Representative Don Beyer introduced the Off-Chain Digital Commodity Transaction Reporting Act, which requires trading platforms to disclose transaction data to registered repositories to protect investors against fraud and manipulation.
Hong Kong authorities arrested twelve individuals involved in the JPEX crypto exchange issue and seized assets worth $10.8 million.
The U.S. SEC postponed the decision on the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF until January 2024, while Bloomberg analysts suggested that an Ethereum futures ETF could be approved as early as next week.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler faced scrutiny from policymakers for withholding documents related to the FTX situation and maintaining an ambiguous stance on Bitcoin’s regulatory identity.
Su Zhu, co-founder of Three Arrows Capital, was unexpectedly detained in Singapore, and Sam Bankman-Fried’s bid for pre-trial release was denied by a New York court.
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