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☆ North Korean hackers have allegedly stolen hundreds of millions in crypto to fund nuclear programs
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The FBI claims North Korea-linked hackers were behind a $100 million crypto heist on the so-called Horizon bridge in 2022. Budrul Chukrut | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesNorth Korea-linked hackers have stolen hundreds of millions of crypto to fund the regime's nuclear weapons programs, research shows. "In recent years, there has been a marked rise in the size and scale of cyber attacks against cryptocurrency-related businesses by North Korea. And this is just obviously a much more efficient way for North Korea to make money. North Korean hackers' exploitsNorth Korea-affiliated hackers exploit vulnerabilities in the crypto ecosystem in a variety of ways.

Persons: Budrul Chukrut, TRM, Chainalysis, Nick Carlsen, Carlsen, cybercriminals, Mavis Organizations: FBI, Getty, TRM Labs, cryptocurrency, Labs, North, United Nations, UN, Democratic People's, CNBC, Korean, Street Journal, Sky Locations: North Korea, North, New York, Democratic People's Republic, Korea, Chainalysis

☆ Vietnam's digitalization efforts fuel startup scene
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Nyshka Chandran | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Vietnam's tech startups are reaping the benefits as the country sets its sights on becoming a fully digital society by 2030. In 2021, new startup support centers Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City were announced. It ranked third in terms of deal count in Southeast Asia, and fourth in deal value last year, the report said. Notably, domestic funds were the top investors in local startups last year, accounting for 45% of total deal value. However, the total value of investment in Vietnamese startups was only $634 million in 2022 — down 56% year-on-year from the record high of $1.4 billion in 2021, the report noted.

Persons: Momo, Sky Mavis Organizations: French IT, World Bank, Ventures, National Innovation Center, Ministry of Planning, Investment Locations: French, Ho Chi Minh City, Silicon, Hanoi, Da, Southeast Asia

LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Norway has seized a record $5.8 million worth of cryptocurrency that was stolen by North Korean hackers last year, Norwegian police said in a statement on Thursday. North Korean hackers stole $625 million in March 2022 from a blockchain project linked to the crypto-based game Axie Infinity. "This is money that can be used to finance the North Korean regime and their nuclear weapons programme," Norway's senior public prosecutor, Marianne Bender, said in a statement. North Korea has denied allegations of hacking or other cyberattacks. Norway's national economic crime unit, known as Okokrim, said it had seized 60 million Norwegian crowns ($5.84 million) in "one of the largest seizures of money ever made in Norway" and a record amount for a crypto seizure.

☆ These are the most important executives who joined Google Cloud in 2022 — and the ones who left
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Below is a list of the key executives who left Google Cloud in 2022 — and the most important new hires. At Google Cloud, Gearhart was responsible for the Google Cloud Platform and Google Workspace channel business around the world, according to her LinkedIn profile. Exit: Frank BienBien, a Looker vice president, left Google Cloud in February, two years after Google acquired the data-analytics company for $2.4 billion. A nearly 20-year Microsoft veteran, Jester joined Google Cloud in 2019 as part of an executive hiring spree initiated by Kurian, who had recently taken the helm of Google Cloud. Hire: Kevin MandiaMandia, Mandiant's CEO and cofounder, joined Google Cloud in September after Google completed its $5.4 billion acquisition of his cybersecurity firm.

☆ Former Google ads boss launches ‘Web3’ search startup with backing from Coinbase, top VCs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The round was led by Paradigm, a prolific crypto and "Web3" dealmaker, while Coinbase, Sequoia and Greylock — where Ramaswamy is a partner — also invested. Nxyz was conceived earlier this year by a team of engineers at Neeva, a search engine that doesn't include any ads and blocks online tracking tools. In a March blogpost on Neeva's website, nxyz is described as "an experiment bringing the same user-first ethos of Neeva search to web3." Unlike Neeva and Google — the "Web2" behemoth Neeva wants to disrupt — nxyz's Web3 search software isn't targeted at consumers. "I think it'll be a very different trajectory" to Web3 and crypto companies that have run into financial troubles, he said.

☆ OPINION: Play-to-earn games like Axie Infinity are blowing up right now, but they look a lot like Ponzi schemes
▼ + stars: | 2022-01-11 | by ( Paul Butler | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

He suggests Axie Infinity only creates value by taking money from new players and distributing it to established players. One of the most apparently successful examples of web3 that people point to, aside from art NFTs, is so-called play-to-earn games. NFT EconomyAxies, the tradable characters at the center of Axie Infinity, are tradable as NFTs outside of the official Axie Infinity game. I've focused on Axie Infinity because it's the prominent, genre-defining play-to-earn game. I fully suspect that the pitfalls that it has encountered are ones that all play-to-earn games will eventually encounter.

☆ I'm an investor who has put millions in cryptocurrencies. I'm betting that crypto games will be the next big thing— here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2021-12-28 | by ( Andrew Kiguel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For the uninitiated, the difference between P2E gaming versus traditional games can be compared to Pokémon cards versus traditional board games. We also have our eye on other fast-growing P2E games like Cryptoblades, Mobox, Illuvium, and Splinterlands. We see the migration by gamers from traditional games to P2E and we want to participate in that evolution. Hundreds of these gaming tokens will become available — but beware, they are volatile. Video games built on blockchain technology enable not just gaming, but the ability to earn, store and resell crypto and NFTs earned for winning.

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