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☆ Record $3.8 billion stolen in crypto hacks last year, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —A record $3.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen from various services last year, with much of those thefts driven by North Korean-linked hackers, according to a report Wednesday from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Some of the biggest crypto hacks of the year have since been attributed to North Korea. US officials worry Pyongyang will use money stolen from crypto hacks to fund its illicit nuclear and ballistic weapons program. While crypto hacks continued to rise last year, there is some cause for hope. Law enforcement and national security agencies are expanding their abilities to combat digital criminals, such as the FBI’s recovery of $30 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen in the Axie Infinity hack.

Binance was the only major crypto exchange among Bitzlato's top counterparties, FinCEN said. The Justice Department and FinCEN declined to comment. Bitcoin worth about $175 million was transferred to Binance from Bitzlato in that period, making Binance its largest receiving counterparty, the data show. The U.S. action against Bitzlato comes as the Justice Department investigates Binance for possible money laundering and sanctions violations. The Justice Department said Bitzlato exchanged more than $700 million in crypto with Hydra, either directly or through intermediaries.

Indeed, holders big and small are taking "self-custody" of their funds, moving them from crypto exchanges and trading platforms to personal digital wallets. As a percentage of total bitcoin supply, wallet addresses holding under 10 bitcoin now own 17.4%, up from 14.4% a year ago. "If you're just going buy and hold for the next 10 years, then it's probably worth making the investment and learning how to custody your assets really, really well." The stampede has been turbocharged by the FTX scandal and other crypto collapses, with large investors leading the way. David Wells, CEO of Enclave Markets, said trading platforms were extremely cautious of the risks of storing the investors' assets with a third party.

Binance was the only major crypto exchange among Bitzlato's top counterparties, FinCEN said. A Binance spokesperson said via email it had "provided substantial assistance" to international law enforcement to support their investigation of Bitzlato. Bitcoin worth about $175 million was transferred to Binance from Bitzlato in that period, making Binance its largest receiving counterparty, the data show. The U.S. action against Bitzlato comes as the Justice Department investigates Binance for possible money laundering and sanctions violations. The Justice Department said Bitzlato exchanged more than $700 million in crypto with Hydra, either directly or through intermediaries.

☆ A crypto exchange allegedly processed over $700 million worth of illicit funds before the Department of Justice shut it down
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Department of Justice and French authorities shut down an alleged money laundering destination for crypto criminals on Thursday. The Justice Department says Bitzlato promoted itself to criminals as a "no-questions-asked cryptocurrency exchange," which resulted in reaping hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of deposits. Bitzlato's largest trading partner in cryptocurrency transactions was Hydra Market, an anonymous, online marketplace for illegal goods such as narcotics, stolen financial information and money laundering services, according to the Justice Department. Hydra Market users exchanged more than $700 million in cryptocurrency with Bitzlato, either directly or through intermediaries, until Hydra Market was shuttered by U.S. and German law enforcement in April 2022, the DOJ reports. Crypto criminals relied heavily on Bitzlato for money laundering services, according to Chainalysis.

On a larger exchange like Binance or Coinbase , for example, many customers opt to let the platform custody their crypto tokens. In the four years that Bitzlato operated, only $52 million moved directly from the exchange to Binance, the same dataset shows. CNBC reviewed transaction data for the ten largest recipients of Bitzlato outflows, which collected over $45 million in Bitzlato-originated funds. Those wallets also received millions more in funds from other exchanges, including Huobi, FTX, Poloniex, Nexo, and WhiteBIT, a Ukrainian exchange. We also asked whether Binance was aware that Bitzlato was allegedly used to launder money and, if so, why funds from Bitzlato were custodied on its platform.

The U.S. has arrested a Russian national and founder of a cryptocurrency exchange on charges of allegedly laundering more than $700 million, the Department of Justice said Wednesday. Anatoly Legkodymov, the founder of Bitzlato, a Hong Kong-registered cryptocurrency exchange that touted its lax approach to verifying customers’ identity, was arrested in Miami Tuesday night. The Treasury Department also declared Bitzlato a “Primary Money Laundering Concern,” an extreme measure rarely used against financial institutions. “If the U.S. Treasury Department designates a financial institution as a ‘Primary Money Laundering Concern,’ the goal is to isolate them,” Redbord said. “Being cut off from the U.S. financial system, not being able to transact in U.S. dollars, is essentially a death sentence.”

☆ Davos panel talks about the prospects in blockchain after the crypto market crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDavos panel talks about the prospects in blockchain after the crypto market crashIn a CNBC panel, co-founder of Celo & President of the Celo Foundation, Rene Reinsberg, CasperLabs co-founder and CTO Medha Parlikar and Chainalysis CEO and co-founder Michael Gronager discuss what’s next for cryptocurrencies after the market crash.

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Bitcoin is on the charge in 2023, dragging the crypto market off the floor and electrifying bonk, a new meme coin. Few crypto tokens have benefited more than bonk, which was launched at the end of December on the Solana blockchain and had rocketed 5,000% by early January. Other meme tokens are also up, with dogecoin and Shiba Inu up 19% and 27% respectively in 2023. The Solana token has now indeed jumped as bonk has gained traction: it's up 131% in 2023, the biggest gainer among major cryptocurrencies. The dollar value of bitcoin trading volumes on major exchanges over a 7-day period jumped to $151 million, the highest in nearly two months, according to data from Blockchain.com.

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBitcoin hits $19,000, and SEC alleges Gemini, Genesis sold unregistered securities: CNBC Crypto WorldCNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and provides viewers with a look at what's ahead with high-profile interviews, explainers, and unique stories from the ever-changing crypto industry. On today's show, Kimberly Grauer of Chainalysis discusses data showing that crypto crime hit a record of more than $20 billion in 2022 as transactions involving companies targeted by U.S. sanctions soared.

Jan 12 (Reuters) - U.S. crypto company Digital Currency Group (DCG) is at the center of the industry's latest meltdown after one of its companies, Genesis, froze customer withdrawals in November. Here is what we know about the many companies Digital Currency Group owns:COINDESKDCG acquired crypto news website CoinDesk in 2016 after previously investing in the outlet. Genesis' crypto lending arm, Genesis Global Capital, announced in November its crypto lending arm would stop making new loans and blocked customers from withdrawing funds, citing the market dislocation caused by the collapse of FTX. Genesis Global Capital had partnered with a number of other crypto companies, including crypto exchange Gemini, to offer a crypto lending product. DCG itself owes $1.675 billion to Genesis' crypto lending arm, according to a November letter Silbert sent to shareholders.

Even as overall crypto transaction volumes fell, the value of crypto transactions related to illicit activity rose for the second year running, Chainalysis said. Transactions associated with sanctioned entities increased more than 100,000-fold in 2022 and made up 44% of last year's illicit activity, Chainalysis said. The volume of stolen crypto funds rose 7% last year, but other illicit crypto transactions including those related to scams, ransomware, terrorism financing and human trafficking, saw volumes fall. "We've found in the past that crypto scams, for instance, take in less revenue during bear markets." Chainalysis said its $20.1 billion estimate only includes activity recorded on blockchain, and excludes "off-chain" crime such as fraudulent accounting by crypto firms.

☆ Cryptocurrency industry will recover from FTX collapse, says Chainalysis
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCryptocurrency industry will recover from FTX collapse, says ChainalysisMichael Gronager of Chainalysis says there have been similar situations in the past and the crypto ecosystem will recover.

☆ Bitcoin Family is moving more than $1 million into decentralized exchanges after Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX disaster
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

The Taihuttu family in November, days after moving back to Phuket. Didi TaihuttuZoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards The Taihuttu family in Lagos, Portugal on the day they adopted Teddy, their Pomeranian puppy. Thumb drive-size devices like a Trezor or Ledger offer a way to secure crypto tokens "cold." When asked why he is going all in on DEXs instead of keeping his crypto cold, Didi pointed to ease of access. Under it all, the Bitcoin Family still believes that the original cryptocurrency is a solid bet.

☆ Brazil's congress backs law for more crypto regulation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 29 (Reuters) - Brazil's lower house of Congress late Tuesday approved a bill that aims to boost oversight of the country's cryptocurrency sector, after one of the world's largest crypto exchanges collapsed earlier this month. The new rules would apply to legal entities that exchange virtual currencies for local or foreign currencies, exchange virtual assets, conduct transfers or are involved in financial services connected to issuers or vendors of virtual assets. The move follows this month's collapse of Bahamas-based crypto exchange FTX, which prompted investigations by Bahamian and U.S. authorities. Brazilian crypto advocates have backed the bill, saying it was important to establish rules in the industry. The country is one of the top 10 active markets globally for crypto, according to 2022 Chainalysis data.

☆ FTX Hires Ex-Regulators to Investigate Firm’s Collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, whose recent collapse has led to questions about lacking regulatory oversight, has hired a fitting team to help untangle the mess: former senior U.S. regulators. FTX said this week it has been in contact with investigators, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. FTX, which is based in the Bahamas, also has hired Nardello & Co., an investigations firm that specializes in anti-corruption and fraud cases, Mr. Bromley said in court Tuesday. The name of the cybersecurity company wasn’t disclosed because of concerns over continuing cyberattacks on FTX, he said. The collapse of FTX has set off the largest crypto-related bankruptcy ever, and court filings are already shedding light on what went wrong and how complicated things could get.

☆ There will be many investors interested in picking up distressed assets, Chainalysis says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThere will be many investors interested in picking up distressed assets, Chainalysis saysJonathan Levin of Chainalysis discusses cryptocurrency exchange FTX's collapse and says many of those with "deep conviction" in cryptocurrency markets are considering doing so.

☆ Crypto exchanges enabled online child sex-abuse profiteer
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +22 min

These sites often included links for users to pay via crypto exchanges, the IWF told Reuters, declining to name companies. “For those people looking to make money from child sexual abuse, crypto has lowered the barrier,” said Dan Sexton, the IWF’s chief technology officer. The Dark Scandals website, owned by Michael Mohammad, instructs users to send tokens to a Dark Scandals digital wallet to purchase content. While banks and payment platforms demanded more details from online merchants, many crypto exchanges for years requested little or no information from clients. The IWF received more reports last year of websites selling child abuse imagery for crypto than any year prior.

The U.S. Justice Department, in a report this September, said many crypto exchanges still "make little or no effort to comply" with know-your-customer requirements. These sites often included links for users to pay via crypto exchanges, the IWF told Reuters, declining to name companies. While banks and payment platforms demanded more details from online merchants, many crypto exchanges for years requested little or no information from clients. Asked at his trial for his opinion of crypto, Mohammad noted, "Privacy is something that a lot of users value." The IWF received more reports last year of websites selling child abuse imagery for crypto than any year prior.

Nov 22 (Reuters) - As the crypto castle crumbles, some true believers say the answer is to double down on DEX. Decentralized exchanges, that is. "It is now clear that there can be risk associated with holding assets in a centralized entity," said Varun Kumar, CEO of decentralized crypto exchange Hashflow. "Data is showing that users are turning to decentralized trading solutions." Many market participants see both centralized and decentralized exchanges coexisting.

That puts Hong Kong in a league of its own. The competitive tension between Hong Kong and Singapore is greater than ever. The danger is that Hong Kong’s new embrace of virtual assets will set up a regulatory race to the bottom, even if FTX’s collapse means it might happen at a slower pace. The policy statement notes that retail investors in other markets have been granted exposure to virtual assets including through exchange-traded products. Column by Thomas Shum in Hong Kong, Pranav Kiran in Bengaluru.

☆ Protecting customers from bad actors in the crypto space, with Chainalysis' CEO Michael Gronager
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailProtecting customers from bad actors in the crypto space, with Chainalysis' CEO Michael GronagerChainalysis co-founder and CEO Michael Gronager joins 'TechCheck' to discuss FTX exposure, market changes in Bitcoin and expectations for FTX bankruptcy in court.

Hackers who stole around $477 million worth of cryptocurrency from collapsed exchange FTX have started to launder the funds into bitcoin . Blockchain analytics company Elliptic estimates that around $477 million worth of cryptocurrency had been stolen from FTX. The theft adds insult to injury to FTX, a once $32 billion crypto empire who collapse has sent shockwaves across the industry. Crypto compliance software company Chainalysis in a tweet on Sunday also confirmed that hackers are moving funds. The implosion of FTX has left Bankman-Fried a paper pauper and investors left unable to access their crypto assets.

☆ Ether falls as the FTX hacker dumps $74 million worth of the token and swaps it for bitcoin
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ether fell as much as 7% Monday as the hacker who looted FTX began dumping tokens. Over the last week, the hacker gradually converted the stolen FTX funds to ether, CoinDesk reported. About $74 million of ether has been laundered into bitcoin using RenBridge, CNBC reports. Elliptic's cofounder, Tom Robinson, told CNBC Monday that hackers were converting the ether into bitcoin using a blockchain bridge product called RenBTC. Per the report, roughly $74 million has been moved to bitcoin from RenBTC so far.

☆ Crypto watchdogs have a giant offshore problem
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The European Union’s mammoth crypto regulation would help. Known as MiCA and recently agreed by lawmakers, the rulebook forces custodians to segregate clients’ crypto holdings from the firm’s own assets. Security firm Chainalysis reckons almost three-quarters of stolen crypto in 2021 was taken from DeFi services. Take Binance, by the far largest crypto exchange. Reuters GraphicsFollow @liamwardproud on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSFTX suffered a “severe liquidity crisis” that led to its bankruptcy, according to court filings dated Nov. 14.

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