The US DOJ seizes $28M in crypto connected to the NetWalker Ransomware
Over $28 million in crypto has been seized in connection with the extradition of Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins, a former Canadian government employee, to the United States on accusations related to the Netwalker ransomware. Vachon-Desjardins has been charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and wire fraud, intentional damage to a protected computer, and transmitting a demand […]
The Ukraine-Russia War and Cryptocurrency
Amid the Ukraine-Russia War and Cryptocurrency donations, cyberattack could be employed at this time. Here is how you can report crypto fraud. Ukraine-Russia War Brief Summary The Ukraine-Russia war is no longer new to the world. The Russian invasion of Ukraine started on February 24, 2022, and since then lives were lost, properties were destroyed […]
Shift4 Acquires ‘The Giving Block’ for $300M
Shift4, a Pennsylvania based American payment processing firm on Tuesday, 1st of March 2022, announced its acquisition of crypto donation marketplace The Giving Block. The deal between The Giving Block and Shift4 Shift4 said in an investor presentation that the acquisition includes a $54 million upfront payment and a potential payout of up to $246 […]
The President of Ukraine has appealed to cryptocurrency exchanges to block Russian accounts
Ukraine’s administration has continued to request that Russia be subjected to harsher sanctions. Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, has urged cryptocurrency exchanges to freeze addresses linked to Russia and Belarus. Ukraine is concerned that cryptocurrency may reverse Russia’s sanctions. In a tweet , Federov stated that it had become necessary to undermine not only officials in both countries but also their population. I’m asking all major crypto exchanges to block addresses of Russian users. It’s crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users, Federov said. The international community has been working to put pressure on Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine. Several steps have been taken by the United States and European Union (EU) countries to impair Russia’s economy. The assets of Russia’s central banks have been frozen, and Russian domestic institutions have been barred from using the international financial messaging system SWIFT. However, there have been concerns that Russia’s government, banks, and billionaires may use cryptocurrency to easily circumvent sanctions. This is especially true given that blockchain technology is designed to be permissionless and impartial in such scenarios. According to market analysts, Russia could easily develop instruments to allow it to trade using cryptocurrency. If other countries agree to trade with it, the CBDC Russia is planning to launch could aid in sanction evasion. At this time, no major cryptocurrency exchange has stated that it intends to penalize Russia or Belarus. The sole crypto exchange to respond to Federov’s call for action was DMarkets, a Ukrainian NFT marketplace. The NFT marketplace announced that members from both countries’ accounts will be frozen, with the asset potentially being donated to the war effort. The current fight is still swaying Bitcoin and altcoins. Since the ear, the crypto market has experienced a huge decline in value. In the last week, Bitcoin has lost 2.11 percent of its value. It’s currently trading at $38,400, down 1.43 percent on the day. Other cryptocurrencies have also witnessed large declines in value, with the crypto market valuation plummeting by more than $200 billion. The market capitalization is at $1.8 trillion, down 1.1 percent from the previous day. However, cryptocurrency has been essential in supporting Ukraine. Crypto donations to help Ukraine’s troops and citizens have topped $18 million. Key cryptocurrency industry participants have also shown their support for Ukraine. Despite being a Russian, Vitalik Buterin has indicated that he supports Ukraine. TRON’s founder, Justin Sun, has also given donations to the country. Elon Musk, a long-time backer of Dogecoin, has aided Ukraine with Starlink satellites to maintain internet availability.
BTC addresses with Non-zero statements reach a new all-time high
The number of addresses with a non-zero BTC balance reached an all-time high of a 40million in February, indicating bullish sentiment for Bitcoin and also indicating a strong adoption of the cryptocurrency. Additionally, wallets with a positive BTC balance are hoarding their currencies more and more. According to statistics from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, the […]