Crypto Account Manager

Crypto lender Blockfi is moving closer to returning funds to clients after a bankruptcy judge confirmed its Chapter 11 plan on Tuesday. The plan outlines a process for the company to distribute the remaining assets to clients and attempt to recover additional funds. Blockfi Advances on Client Asset Reimbursement Following Chapter 11 Plan Approval With over 90% of voting creditors approving the plan, Blockfi expressed optimism about providing client recoveries relatively quickly compared to similar crypto bankruptcies. The plan confirmation comes after Blockfi originally filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2022, amid the broader crypto market downturn. Under the approved plan, Blockfi will first distribute the remaining digital assets back to clients with funds in Blockfi Wallet accounts. The company will then make an initial distribution to clients with funds in Blockfi Interest Accounts (BIAs) and retail crypto-backed loans. “Over the coming months, you will receive an e...

Bitcoin.com, one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency wallet developers and news portals, has partnered with the Busan International Film Festival as a major sponsor. The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), held annually in South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in all of Asia. By sponsoring the event Bitcoin.com seeks to support artistic endeavors and reach new audiences. The 28th Busan International Film Festival will take place on October 4-13, 2023 at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea. The festival will showcase the best of Asian cinema and feature various events and programs, such as master classes, open talks, hand-printing ceremonies, and awards ceremonies. The opening film will be Because I Hate Korea by Jang Kun-jae, and the closing film will be The Movie Emperor by Ning Hao. The festival will also honor Hong Kong star Chow Yun-fat with the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award. You can find more information about the festival on its offici...

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has explained why the securities regulator is taking a litigation-heavy strategy to regulate the crypto industry. The SEC chair insisted that enforcement actions against crypto firms are not brought with a political agenda, emphasizing that he is protecting the American public. “This is a field where the American public is at risk and being harmed every day on these platforms that are commingling and often trading against their customers,” he cautioned. Gensler Reveals Why SEC Focuses on Litigation in Regulating Crypto The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, testified before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. During the hearing, several members of Congress raised questions about cryptocurrency and the regulation of crypto tokens. Congressman John Rose (R-TN) asked Gensler: “Regarding cryptocurrencies … I’m interested in why you have pursued a litigation-hea...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s former head of internet enforcement says former U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-crypto stance may change dramatically . He further predicted that if a Republican is elected U.S. president, a Republican-appointed SEC chair would, at a minimum, approve a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) and “may even slow down considerably SEC crypto-related enforcement efforts.” Former SEC Official on Donald Trump’s Anti-Crypto Stance Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official John Reed Stark has argued that former President Donald Trump could “dramatically” change his position on cryptocurrencies. Stark is currently president of cybersecurity firm John Reed Stark Consulting. He founded and served as chief of the SEC Office of Internet Enforcement for 11 years. He was also an SEC enforcement attorney for 15 years. Trump is running for president in 2024. “Former President Trump is on record as being strongly anti-bitcoin and anti-c...

Numerous reports have detailed that a darknet marketplace (DNM) by the name of Tor2door reportedly pulled off an exit scam, making off with a “massive crypto escrow balance.” Discontent began brewing among Tor2door users when the site vanished from the deep web on September 14, 2023, as per narratives emerging from individuals on the DNM forum Dread. Tor2door’s Alleged Exit Scam Sends Ripples Through DNM Communities This week several accounts have surfaced, pointing to a potential exit scam by the Darknet Marketplace (DNM) known as Tor2door, leaving its users and vendors high and dry. The revelation caught eyes on social media platform X, when DNM and Tor researcher ‘Dark Fail’ shed light on the market’s downfall. “Tor2door darknet market exit scammed this week, stealing a massive crypto escrow balance of pending orders between their narcotics buyers and sellers,” remarked Dark Fail. Kick-started in July 2020, Tor2door served as a hub for illegal drug transactions, while also of...

The Israel Land Authority has called for blockchain experts to determine the different applications of distributed ledger technology in real estate. Implementing this technology could ostensibly present several advantages compared to traditional real estate transactions, which are qualified by Israeli media as being “time-consuming” and having high operational fees. Israel Examines Blockchain Real Estate Opportunities Israel is mulling the application of blockchain tech in the real estate sector. According to Israeli media , the national Land Authority has called for blockchain experts to examine the various applications of blockchain in the real estate sector, and how it might benefit from such implementations. Some of the applications that the Israeli Land Authority believes blockchain tech might expedite include registration of property and license management, selling and purchasing property using smart contracts, and the creation of a blockchain resident national property regis...

The Hashgraph Association and Dar Blockchain recently said they will be working “to nurture projects, facilitate growth, and profoundly shape the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) technology landscape.” The two entities said they hope to achieve the set objectives via meetups, hackathons, and university groups. Shaping the MENA Region Technology Landscape The Hashgraph Association, a non-profit organisation promoting the use and adoption of the Hedera network, recently said it had entered into a partnership with the Tunisia-based Dar Blockchain. Through this collaboration, Hashgraph Association and Dar Blockchain said they hope “to nurture projects, facilitate growth, and profoundly shape the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) technology landscape.” According to a press statement, the two entities hope to achieve the set objective via meetups, hackathons, and university groups. In addition, the two groups said they will be publishing a monthly podcast. Commenting on their orga...

The city of Buenos Aires has announced that it will roll out a blockchain-based, privacy-focused digital ID wallet starting in October. The Quarkid project, previously known as Tangoid, will allow its users to download a “self-sovereign” wallet to hold their birth and marriage certificates, with more digital documents to be added later this year. Buenos Aires to Roll Out Blockchain-Based ID Program The City of Buenos Aires government announced the deployment of a digital, blockchain-based “self-sovereign” ID project for its citizens. The wallet, called Quarkid, formerly known as Tangoid and scheduled to be operating by last January, will supposedly allow its users to exert full ownership of their data, granting only trusted and permissioned third parties access. The Quarkid wallet will use Zksync Era, a zero-knowledge (ZK) Ethereum L2 (Layer 2) protocol, as its base, allowing the use of this kind of mathematical proof for privacy and confidentiality purposes. Quarkid was co-creat...

A calendar has been set for the upcoming trial of United States v. Bankman-Fried, with jury selection beginning October 3, 2023. The FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was denied temporary release from prison but will be allowed to use an “air-gapped,” internet-disabled laptop for note-taking in the courtroom. In the coming month and a half, the public will likely hear testimonies from FTX senior personnel such as Zixiao (Gary) Wang, Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Ryan Salame. The Bankman-Fried Trial Kickoff Next week, the co-founder and former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is set to face trial following charges leveled by the U.S. government. The litany of accusations against him includes wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, commodities fraud conspiracy, securities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering. The charges are associated with FTX’s collapse after the once-$32 billion crypto empire failed in November 2022. Bankman-Fried is the only one named in the lawsuit and on September 2...

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its decisions on the spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) proposed by several companies. The delays of the applications of financial powerhouse Blackrock, asset manager Valkyrie and others come ahead of an expected government shutdown that would affect the SEC. U.S. Securities Regulator Pushes Back Verdicts on Multiple Bitcoin ETF Applications The future of a number of attempts to issue spot bitcoin ETFs in the United States remains unclear after the country’s regulatory body overseeing the securities market delayed its decisions again. The move concerns the high-profile application of investment giant Blackrock as well as those of Valkyrie, Bitwise, and Invesco, according to filings on Thursday. The development follows the postponing of the verdict on the Ark 21shares and Global X spot bitcoin ETFs earlier this week. The first was jointly proposed by Cboe BZX Exchange, 21shares, and Ark Invest, while the second was...

Virginia’s Democratic representative Don Beyer has ushered in a fresh bill mandating the documentation of off-chain transactions and over-the-counter (OTC) crypto engagements by cryptocurrency exchanges, to be catalogued in a repository under the purview of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. New Legislation Targets Off-Chain Transfers in Crypto Industry Representative Don Beyer (D-VA), has unveiled a new legislative piece reportedly aimed at safeguarding stakeholders in the digital assets arena. Titled the “Off-Chain Digital Commodity Transaction Reporting Act,” this bill mandates “trading platforms to report all transactions to a repository registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).” Beyer posits that crypto trading platforms bear the responsibility for “reporting all such transactions to a registered digital asset repository of transactions as soon as technically practicable after the execution of each such transaction.” Under Beyer’s legislatio...

Numerous reports foretell an imminent U.S. government shutdown, given the anticipated failure of a spending bill to secure passage by Saturday evening — a measure meant to sustain operations till mid-November. On the cusp of this shutdown, bitcoin ( BTC ) has been on an ascent, catching the eye of many. Coinshares analyst Luke Nolan notes a buoyant sentiment among some traders, who view the government’s looming closure with a favorable lens. Bitcoin Rides the Wave of Uncertainty as U.S. Braces for Government Shutdown The U.S. government could shut down this weekend if Democrats and Republican policymakers can’t come to an agreement on spending. Currently, there’s a bill on the table that aims to extend the government’s pay until mid-November, but a number of Republicans and Kevin McCarthy, the current House of Representatives speaker, are not budging on negotiations. The two chambers find themselves at a deadlock, and should the bipartisan proposal aimed at averting a shutdown fai...

Su Zhu, a founding member of the now-insolvent Three Arrows Capital, was apprehended in Singapore at Changi Airport on Friday, as per the firm’s liquidator, Teneo. Zhu received a four-month prison sentence for failing to cooperate in the bankruptcy proceedings, Teneo revealed. Crackdown at Changi Airport: 3AC’s Su Zhu Detained, Associate Kyle Davies Fugitive Teneo, overseeing the liquidation of Three Arrows Capital, reported that co-founder Su Zhu was seized and sentenced to four months’ incarceration. His associate, Kyle Davies, remains at large; however, Teneo confirmed he was given an identical penalty. Zhu allegedly tried to flee Singapore when he was intercepted at Changi Airport, situated approximately 25 miles east of Singapore’s Downtown Core. The Singapore court decreed that Zhu and Davies had not been collaborating with the liquidation procedure – an issue previously reported by the media months prior to his apprehension. The defunct Singapore-based cryptocurrency hedge ...

Amid the soaring network difficulty, Bitcoin’s hashrate remains resilient, firmly holding above the 400 exahash per second (EH/s) frontier. A total of 43 mining pools channel their hashpower at the Bitcoin blockchain, yet, it’s Foundry USA’s pool that ruled the roost this month, seizing a 29.36% share of the total hashrate over the past 30 days. Bitcoin Miners Unfazed: Hashrate Remains Strong Despite Soaring Difficulty The forthcoming difficulty adjustment, slated for October 3, 2023, looms, yet the climb to a formidable 57.12 trillion in difficulty hasn’t swayed miners. Metrics spanning seven days signal that the hashrate has averaged at a robust 417 EH/s, especially after cresting to an all-time high (433 EH/s) on September 19 concerning seven-day averages. On Friday, September 29, a collective of 43 mining pools are channeling their SHA256 hashrate into the network. A mere two days ago, Bitcoin’s hash price index dipped beneath the $60 per petahash daily marker, yet with BTC ’s ...

Crypto exchange Binance is closing down all exchange services and business lines in Russia. The company has entered into a sales agreement with Commex. A Binance executive explained that operating in Russia is not compatible with the company’s compliance strategy. “We remain confident in the long-term growth of the Web3 industry around the world and will focus our energy on the 100+ other countries in which we operate,” he emphasized. Binance Fully Exiting Russia Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced Wednesday that it will fully exit Russia. According to the announcement: “ has entered into an agreement to sell the entirety of its Russia business to Commex.” According to its website, Commex is “a centralized cryptocurrency exchange backed by top-tier crypto VC.” Binance added that to “ensure a smooth process for existing Russian users, the off-boarding process will take up to one year.” Noting that the financial details of the deal will not be disclosed, the crypto exchange str...

PRESS RELEASE. LBank recently concluded its Launchpad for MetaExpand, securing a total investment of 52,186,338 USDT from 35,229 participants. $UMM will be listed on LBank and open for trading on September 29th at 6 AM(UTC). This event was highly anticipated, following the immense success of the previous $PINS Launchpad, which garnered a substantial total investment of 51,556,343 USDT and experienced a 2003% increase in value. $PINS’s success yielded significant returns for its 34,587 participants. This year, LBank has emerged as a pivotal player in the cryptocurrency market, earning a prominent position in spot trading volume and establishing a noteworthy presence in various cryptocurrency sectors, including the MEME coin sector, according to the latest market data. LBank persists in offering its over 9 million global users specialized financial derivatives, expert asset management services, and a secure trading environment, fostering global adoption of cryptocurrencies. The pa...

PRESS RELEASE. September 28, 2023 – The 2023 Global Digital Mining Summit (WDMS) concluded successfully in Singapore, exploring the future trends and investment opportunities in the Web 3.0 mining ecosystem. During the event, Bitmain unveiled its latest high-hashrate miner, the S21, and commenced accepting pre-orders. As Bitmain’s exclusive cloud mining partner, BitFuFu platform has opened the S21 miner pre-purchase. The S21 miner boasts an impressive energy efficiency rating of only 17.5 J/T, significantly enhancing mining efficiency. Furthermore, the S21 miner offers a hashrate of up to 200 T/TH, marking a new performance peak and solidifying its position as one of the world’s most powerful BTC miners. BitFuFu is introducing an attractive product package, combining mining machine purchases with hosting services: The platform supports purchases starting from just one miner, offering an integrated service of machine procurement and hosting by BitFuFu, which includes transportatio...

While both attackers and smart contract auditors are motivated to find vulnerabilities in code, according to Eyal Meron, the co-founder and CEO of Spherex, the former “is always more incentivized as the protocol’s total value locked (TVL) grows.” To overcome this challenge, Meron told Bitcoin.com News that decentralized protocols will need to put in place what he called “asymmetric countermeasures.” Human Error and Smart Contract Vulnerabilities The Spherex boss also suggested deploying an exploit prevention solution as another way protocols can prevent attackers from using errors in code to steal digital assets worth millions. Meron, a senior veteran of the elite Israeli 8200 cyber unit, nevertheless admits that most smart contract vulnerabilities are often the result of human error which in many cases is “inevitable.” One common error, which according to Meron is almost impossible to detect, often occurs when developers “overlook how every code line affects the contract dependin...

Layer one (L1) and layer two (L2) blockchains offer different approaches to scaling distributed ledger networks. While developers of L1 blockchains focus on improving the base protocol, L2 programmers have moved transactions off-chain to enable faster and cheaper transactions. What Are Layer One Blockchains? Layer one or L1 refers to a base blockchain protocol like Bitcoin or Ethereum. These networks operate on a decentralized ledger secured by proof-of-work (PoW) mining or proof-of-stake (PoS) staking . L1 chains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum offer unparalleled security. However, during peak times, both of these chains grapple with sluggish transaction speeds and steep fees. Developers from several L1 networks are working to improve layer one scaling through methods like increasing block size, sharding , and introducing proof-of-stake consensus. However, substantial layer one upgrades require coordination among node operators and can take years to implement. Some blockchains inte...

U.S. authorities are seeking to recover cryptocurrencies linked to the popular pig-butchering crypto scam. “Law enforcement was able to trace cryptocurrency involved in the fraud and money laundering to two Binance accounts, where it was seized,” the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts has revealed. US Continues to Crack Down on Pig-Butchering Crypto Scam The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced Tuesday that it has filed “a civil forfeiture action to recover cryptocurrency alleged to be the proceeds of a ‘pig-butchering’ fraud scheme targeting a Massachusetts resident and involved in money laundering.” The announcement details: Specifically, the government seeks to forfeit 412,543.555 tether ( USDT ) and 100.896 Binance coin ( BNB ) seized from two accounts located at Binance.com, a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian. The U.S. Attorney’s Office added: “Collectively, this cryptocurrency has a current estimate...

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has expressed concerns about the Federal Reserve potentially raising interest rates to 7% and that the U.S. economy could experience stagflation. “I am not sure if the world is prepared for 7%,” he stressed, adding that there is “a range of outcomes.” Jamie Dimon’s Economic Warnings The CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, discussed various aspects of the U.S. economy, including the impact of further interest rate hikes, in an interview with the Times of India, published Tuesday. When asked about the possibility of a hard landing in the U.S., the JPMorgan boss replied: “No one knows. There is a range of outcomes. It will be affected by everything else — Ukraine, oil, gas, war, Europe.” The executive added: “I would be cautious … We have to deal with all these serious issues over time, and the deficits can’t continue forever. So rates may go up more. But I hope and pray there is a soft landing.” Dimon explained: “When rates go up sharply, there is stre...