Pike Finance suffered nearly $2 million in losses due to two attacks
On April 30, assailants attacked the DeFi protocol ⛰Pike Finance, extracting 99,970 ARB, 64,126 OP, and 479 ETH, amounting to roughly $1.68 million.
🤷 Just a few days prior to this, on April 26, another breach occurred when hackers exploited a different vulnerability to steal about $300,000 in USDC.
🙀Pike developers revealed that the thefts were enabled by a flaw in the initializing smart contract, allowing the thieves to circumvent the external security system without needing administrator`s access, which led to the fund withdrawals.
✔️In response, the protocol team is offering a 20% reward of the recovered assets or for information leading to the identification of the culprits.
On April 30, assailants attacked the DeFi protocol ⛰Pike Finance, extracting 99,970 ARB, 64,126 OP, and 479 ETH, amounting to roughly $1.68 million.
🤷 Just a few days prior to this, on April 26, another breach occurred when hackers exploited a different vulnerability to steal about $300,000 in USDC.
🙀Pike developers revealed that the thefts were enabled by a flaw in the initializing smart contract, allowing the thieves to circumvent the external security system without needing administrator`s access, which led to the fund withdrawals.
✔️In response, the protocol team is offering a 20% reward of the recovered assets or for information leading to the identification of the culprits.
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Bitcoin remain sideway as Federal Reserve maintains current interest rate
📉 Federal Reserve left interest rate unchanged, maintaining the highest level in over 23 years.
🪑Fed Chair Jerome Powell remains cautious, indicating no imminent rate hikes and suggesting that rate cuts are unlikely until there's greater confidence in achieving a sustainable 2% inflation target.
👀 This decision continues to impact the crypto market, with Bitcoin and Ethereum trading sideways.
📉 Federal Reserve left interest rate unchanged, maintaining the highest level in over 23 years.
🪑Fed Chair Jerome Powell remains cautious, indicating no imminent rate hikes and suggesting that rate cuts are unlikely until there's greater confidence in achieving a sustainable 2% inflation target.
👀 This decision continues to impact the crypto market, with Bitcoin and Ethereum trading sideways.
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Changpeng Zhao is in prison, Roger Ver is arrested. 👀 Should Jack Dorsey get ready?
🇺🇸 U.S. federal prosecutors are examining the financial transactions of Jack Dorsey’s companies—alleging that Square processed thousands of transactions involving sanctioned countries and conducted several crypto transactions for 💣 terrorist groups.
✔️ Previously, U.S. authorities sentenced the founder of Binance to 4 months in prison, and also charged Roger Ver with fraud and tax evasion.
🇺🇸 U.S. federal prosecutors are examining the financial transactions of Jack Dorsey’s companies—alleging that Square processed thousands of transactions involving sanctioned countries and conducted several crypto transactions for 💣 terrorist groups.
✔️ Previously, U.S. authorities sentenced the founder of Binance to 4 months in prison, and also charged Roger Ver with fraud and tax evasion.
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MicroStrategy has announced a Bitcoin-based identity verification protocol
🔬MicroStrategy has unveiled the 🍊 Orange Decentralized Identity, a new protocol for identity verification built on Bitcoin.
⌨️ This system utilizes unspent transaction outputs (UTXO) on the Bitcoin blockchain to store user information.
🪪 It allows for the creation and updating of documents with only minor restrictions on size and content, by leveraging SegWit technology.
🔬MicroStrategy has unveiled the 🍊 Orange Decentralized Identity, a new protocol for identity verification built on Bitcoin.
⌨️ This system utilizes unspent transaction outputs (UTXO) on the Bitcoin blockchain to store user information.
🪪 It allows for the creation and updating of documents with only minor restrictions on size and content, by leveraging SegWit technology.
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📉 DeFi's TVL dipped by $10 billion in April, a 7% fall, closing at $138.6 billion.
👆Despite the drop, Base and Bitcoin saw gains, each surpassing $1 billion in TVL.
🙀 Avalanche and Solana experienced the sharpest declines among top blockchains. Ethereum continues to lead with 69% of the total DeFi TVL.
💪 Bitcoin's growth, nearly 39%, was driven by new L2 infrastructure and industry hype, pointing to its expanding functionalities in DeFi.
👆Despite the drop, Base and Bitcoin saw gains, each surpassing $1 billion in TVL.
🙀 Avalanche and Solana experienced the sharpest declines among top blockchains. Ethereum continues to lead with 69% of the total DeFi TVL.
💪 Bitcoin's growth, nearly 39%, was driven by new L2 infrastructure and industry hype, pointing to its expanding functionalities in DeFi.
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Daily outflow from spot Bitcoin ETFs reached a record $526 million
🗒 On May 1st, the outflow from spot Bitcoin ETFs hit a 🏔 peak since the approval of the products—$563.8 million. BlackRock's IBIT recorded a negative trend for the first time—minus $36.93 million.
👀 From Fidelity's FBTC, clients withdrew $191.1 million—more than from Grayscale's GBTC ($167.3 million).
🙀 In ARKB from Ark Invest, the outflow amounted to $98.1 million—the third largest in history.
🤔 The total inflow into these products since their registration has decreased to $11.2 billion. By the end of April, this figure had dropped by $343.5 million.
Looks like institutions are quite disappointed in Bitcoin 😁
🗒 On May 1st, the outflow from spot Bitcoin ETFs hit a 🏔 peak since the approval of the products—$563.8 million. BlackRock's IBIT recorded a negative trend for the first time—minus $36.93 million.
👀 From Fidelity's FBTC, clients withdrew $191.1 million—more than from Grayscale's GBTC ($167.3 million).
🙀 In ARKB from Ark Invest, the outflow amounted to $98.1 million—the third largest in history.
🤔 The total inflow into these products since their registration has decreased to $11.2 billion. By the end of April, this figure had dropped by $343.5 million.
Looks like institutions are quite disappointed in Bitcoin 😁
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🔔 New Bill on Crypto Staking Taxation in the US!
🇺🇸 US Congressmen Wiley Nickel and Drew Ferguson have introduced the "Tax Clarity for Digital Assets Act." This legislation aims to amend the current IRS guidelines by taxing cryptocurrency staking rewards only at the time of their sale, rather than when earned.
👀This change is intended to prevent the double taxation that can occur under the current system, where staking rewards are calculated as part of taxable income even if not sold.
🤔 The bill responds to IRS amendments from August 2023, which required staking rewards in Proof-of-Stake networks to be included in taxable income calculations.
🚖 New proposal ensures that taxes are only levied upon the actual realization of the income, simplifying the process for investors and aligning with the fair market value declarations.
🇺🇸 US Congressmen Wiley Nickel and Drew Ferguson have introduced the "Tax Clarity for Digital Assets Act." This legislation aims to amend the current IRS guidelines by taxing cryptocurrency staking rewards only at the time of their sale, rather than when earned.
👀This change is intended to prevent the double taxation that can occur under the current system, where staking rewards are calculated as part of taxable income even if not sold.
🤔 The bill responds to IRS amendments from August 2023, which required staking rewards in Proof-of-Stake networks to be included in taxable income calculations.
🚖 New proposal ensures that taxes are only levied upon the actual realization of the income, simplifying the process for investors and aligning with the fair market value declarations.
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AI has learned to detect money laundering through bitcoin
🙀 Elliptic company has developed an artificial intelligence-based system capable of efficiently detecting 🧺 money laundering through bitcoin transactions.
📉 The team used a dataset of nearly 200 million transactions on which the model was trained to identify not just individual illegal operations, but entire "subgraphs".
⌨️ System testing on an unnamed cryptocurrency exchange showed high accuracy: out of 52 suspicious transaction chains, 14 were confirmed as related to money laundering. 🧐 On average, only one in 10,000 accounts is marked as such, indicating the model's effectiveness.
🤯 Using external data, the system can detect money laundering schemes that are inaccessible to traditional analysis methods.
The model enabled the identification of a number of previously unknown wallets used by entities associated with Ponzi schemes, darknet markets, and other illegal activities.
🙀 Elliptic company has developed an artificial intelligence-based system capable of efficiently detecting 🧺 money laundering through bitcoin transactions.
📉 The team used a dataset of nearly 200 million transactions on which the model was trained to identify not just individual illegal operations, but entire "subgraphs".
⌨️ System testing on an unnamed cryptocurrency exchange showed high accuracy: out of 52 suspicious transaction chains, 14 were confirmed as related to money laundering. 🧐 On average, only one in 10,000 accounts is marked as such, indicating the model's effectiveness.
🤯 Using external data, the system can detect money laundering schemes that are inaccessible to traditional analysis methods.
The model enabled the identification of a number of previously unknown wallets used by entities associated with Ponzi schemes, darknet markets, and other illegal activities.
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📉 BTC Dips But Altcoins Show Resilience! 🚀
🤷 Amid recent setbacks including CZ's arrest and a failed BTC-ETF launch in Hong Kong, Bitcoin has fallen to $56,000, sparking market-wide panic. 👆However, unlike usual trends where Bitcoin's dominance rises in such times, altcoins are showing unexpected strength!
📉Despite the drop, altcoins remain stable, holding above their recent lows while Bitcoin remains sideways. 💡This indicates a possible shift in investor focus from Bitcoin to altcoins and Ethereum, suggesting a strategic rebalancing by 🐳 whales. Maybe they accumulating alts at lower prices? 🤔
🤷 Amid recent setbacks including CZ's arrest and a failed BTC-ETF launch in Hong Kong, Bitcoin has fallen to $56,000, sparking market-wide panic. 👆However, unlike usual trends where Bitcoin's dominance rises in such times, altcoins are showing unexpected strength!
📉Despite the drop, altcoins remain stable, holding above their recent lows while Bitcoin remains sideways. 💡This indicates a possible shift in investor focus from Bitcoin to altcoins and Ethereum, suggesting a strategic rebalancing by 🐳 whales. Maybe they accumulating alts at lower prices? 🤔
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🙀 Fear is setting in!
The Fear and Greed Index has dropped to 43, indicating fear. While it's mild, it's definitely present. 👀 This suggests it might be a good time to start building your positions gradually, or at the very least, start monitoring tokens if you haven't already. 🧐
The Fear and Greed Index has dropped to 43, indicating fear. While it's mild, it's definitely present. 👀 This suggests it might be a good time to start building your positions gradually, or at the very least, start monitoring tokens if you haven't already. 🧐
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US senators call for action against cryptocurrency mining in Iran
🇺🇸 Senators Elizabeth Warren and Angus King have sent a request to the Joe Biden administration for details on combating Iran's evasion of cryptocurrency 🔨mining sanctions. They are concerned that since 2019, when Iran legalized mining, the country has earned 💵 millions of dollars that go towards financing terrorism and circumventing sanctions.
Warren and King note that 🇮🇷 Iran is one of the world's leading producers of bitcoins and uses the digital asset to 🧺 launder money, which threatens national security. They point ➡️ to the Binance exchange, which has processed $8 billion worth of Iranian crypto transactions over four years.
✔️ The senators are asking for information on mining revenues in Iran from 2021, the connection between digital assets and the Iranian government, and steps to address national security threats by May 16.
🇺🇸 Senators Elizabeth Warren and Angus King have sent a request to the Joe Biden administration for details on combating Iran's evasion of cryptocurrency 🔨mining sanctions. They are concerned that since 2019, when Iran legalized mining, the country has earned 💵 millions of dollars that go towards financing terrorism and circumventing sanctions.
Warren and King note that 🇮🇷 Iran is one of the world's leading producers of bitcoins and uses the digital asset to 🧺 launder money, which threatens national security. They point ➡️ to the Binance exchange, which has processed $8 billion worth of Iranian crypto transactions over four years.
✔️ The senators are asking for information on mining revenues in Iran from 2021, the connection between digital assets and the Iranian government, and steps to address national security threats by May 16.
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Block will allocate 10% of its profits to buy Bitcoin
💲 Jack Dorsey's payment firm, Block, has begun dedicating 10% of its monthly gross profit from Bitcoin-related activities to purchasing 🫰 more Bitcoin. This strategy is set to continue through the end of 2024.
In the first quarter, Block's gross 💰 profit from Bitcoin transactions reached $80 million, marking a 59% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Should this trend persist throughout the year, the company plans to spend $24 million on 👌 acquiring more Bitcoin.
👀 As per BitcoinTreasuries, the 8,027 BTC on Block’s balance sheet are currently worth $476.9 million, reflecting a 2.17-fold increase on the initial investments made between 2020 and 2021.
It raises questions whether this financial strategy is linked to an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Federal Prosecution into Block’s financial operations. 🤔
💲 Jack Dorsey's payment firm, Block, has begun dedicating 10% of its monthly gross profit from Bitcoin-related activities to purchasing 🫰 more Bitcoin. This strategy is set to continue through the end of 2024.
In the first quarter, Block's gross 💰 profit from Bitcoin transactions reached $80 million, marking a 59% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Should this trend persist throughout the year, the company plans to spend $24 million on 👌 acquiring more Bitcoin.
👀 As per BitcoinTreasuries, the 8,027 BTC on Block’s balance sheet are currently worth $476.9 million, reflecting a 2.17-fold increase on the initial investments made between 2020 and 2021.
It raises questions whether this financial strategy is linked to an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Federal Prosecution into Block’s financial operations. 🤔
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ZkSNACKs announces closure of CoinJoin anonymization service
🙀Wasabi Wallet developer ZkSNACKs will stop its CoinJoin anonymization service starting June 1, amid increasing pressure from law enforcement on cryptocurrency mixers. 🧐 This decision will also affect users of the Trezor Suite wallet and the BTCPayServer payment gateway.
🫣 Although CoinJoin positions its tools as more sophisticated and distinctly different from mixing services, its technology serves similar purposes.
🥦 Wasabi Wallet will continue to operate as a standard Bitcoin wallet. 😔
👀 Regulators worldwide are intensifying their rhetoric against cryptocurrency mixers. Specifically, FinCEN plans to designate them as "money laundering hubs" that pose a threat to the national security of the United States.
🙀Wasabi Wallet developer ZkSNACKs will stop its CoinJoin anonymization service starting June 1, amid increasing pressure from law enforcement on cryptocurrency mixers. 🧐 This decision will also affect users of the Trezor Suite wallet and the BTCPayServer payment gateway.
🫣 Although CoinJoin positions its tools as more sophisticated and distinctly different from mixing services, its technology serves similar purposes.
🥦 Wasabi Wallet will continue to operate as a standard Bitcoin wallet. 😔
👀 Regulators worldwide are intensifying their rhetoric against cryptocurrency mixers. Specifically, FinCEN plans to designate them as "money laundering hubs" that pose a threat to the national security of the United States.
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A suspect in fraud involving ZKasino has been arrested in the Netherlands.
🚓 On April 29, the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service of the Netherlands arrested a suspect in connection with the scam of the blockchain casino ZKasino.
👀 During the search of the 26-year-old man's apartment, digital storage devices were seized. Property worth over 11.4 million euros ($12.2 million), including real estate, a car, and cryptocurrencies, was confiscated.
🧐 The suspect is held in custody pending investigation. He is charged with fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering.
🎰 In April, ZKasino developers transferred 10,515 ETH worth $33.9 million to the Lido staking protocol and changed the wording on the website, removing the statement about ETH refunds. Early participants had deposited coins for farming the native token ZKAS. Some community members had warned of the scam.
🚓 On April 29, the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service of the Netherlands arrested a suspect in connection with the scam of the blockchain casino ZKasino.
👀 During the search of the 26-year-old man's apartment, digital storage devices were seized. Property worth over 11.4 million euros ($12.2 million), including real estate, a car, and cryptocurrencies, was confiscated.
🧐 The suspect is held in custody pending investigation. He is charged with fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering.
🎰 In April, ZKasino developers transferred 10,515 ETH worth $33.9 million to the Lido staking protocol and changed the wording on the website, removing the statement about ETH refunds. Early participants had deposited coins for farming the native token ZKAS. Some community members had warned of the scam.
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Tether and Chainalysis will develop a solution for monitoring the secondary market
👀 Tether, the issuer of USDT, and blockchain data platform Chainalysis have formed a partnership to create a system for tracking activity in the secondary market.
🤔 This concerns transactions that occur within the broader USDT ecosystem beyond limited liability companies that directly buy and sell the stablecoin.
💻 The solution will allow Tether to methodically track transfers, ensuring control over the USDT market and serving as a source of information for compliance specialists and investigators, enabling the identification of wallets that pose a risk or are associated with criminal and/or sanctioned addresses.🧐
👀 Tether, the issuer of USDT, and blockchain data platform Chainalysis have formed a partnership to create a system for tracking activity in the secondary market.
🤔 This concerns transactions that occur within the broader USDT ecosystem beyond limited liability companies that directly buy and sell the stablecoin.
💻 The solution will allow Tether to methodically track transfers, ensuring control over the USDT market and serving as a source of information for compliance specialists and investigators, enabling the identification of wallets that pose a risk or are associated with criminal and/or sanctioned addresses.🧐
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Bitcoin's average daily transaction fees return to Ethereum levels as Runes excitement wanes
😵💫After the hype around the Runes protocol launch, Bitcoin's average daily transaction fees have aligned with Ethereum's. Post-launch, Bitcoin fees surged, hitting 🏔a record $25.8M on April 24, dwarfing Ethereum's fees by fivefold. However, fees have since dropped to $4.1M, matching Ethereum's average.
🤯 The frenzy also saw individual Bitcoin transaction fees peak at $40, 10x Ethereum's rate, settling at $8.60 recently.
💧Despite the drop, fees remain a significant part of Bitcoin's economy, especially post-halving, with fees contributing 13% to total block rewards.
🗿The Runes protocol, by Ordinals' Casey Rodarmor, drove this spike, netting over $135M in its debut week, showcasing its efficiency over traditional methods.
😵💫After the hype around the Runes protocol launch, Bitcoin's average daily transaction fees have aligned with Ethereum's. Post-launch, Bitcoin fees surged, hitting 🏔a record $25.8M on April 24, dwarfing Ethereum's fees by fivefold. However, fees have since dropped to $4.1M, matching Ethereum's average.
🤯 The frenzy also saw individual Bitcoin transaction fees peak at $40, 10x Ethereum's rate, settling at $8.60 recently.
💧Despite the drop, fees remain a significant part of Bitcoin's economy, especially post-halving, with fees contributing 13% to total block rewards.
🗿The Runes protocol, by Ordinals' Casey Rodarmor, drove this spike, netting over $135M in its debut week, showcasing its efficiency over traditional methods.
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🚨Trader loses $68 million due to address spoofing scam!
🙀 An unknown user fell victim to "address poisoning," resulting in the loss of 1,155 "wrapped" bitcoins worth approximately $68 million, according to Cyvers Alerts.
🤷 The potential fraud was detected by an AI system used by researchers. CoinStats data shows that the trader lost over 97% of their assets.
👀 During "address poisoning," criminals deceive users or use technical tricks to make them send cryptocurrency to a deliberately incorrect address, which may resemble the real one at the first and last characters.
🙀 An unknown user fell victim to "address poisoning," resulting in the loss of 1,155 "wrapped" bitcoins worth approximately $68 million, according to Cyvers Alerts.
🤷 The potential fraud was detected by an AI system used by researchers. CoinStats data shows that the trader lost over 97% of their assets.
👀 During "address poisoning," criminals deceive users or use technical tricks to make them send cryptocurrency to a deliberately incorrect address, which may resemble the real one at the first and last characters.
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Pantera Capital has invested in TON
🐈⬛ Pantera Capital has invested in The Open Network (TON).
👍 According to Pantera Capital, TON has the potential to lead to widespread adoption of cryptocurrency due to its integration with Telegram.
💲 The amount of the investment is unknown.
🐈⬛ Pantera Capital has invested in The Open Network (TON).
👍 According to Pantera Capital, TON has the potential to lead to widespread adoption of cryptocurrency due to its integration with Telegram.
💲 The amount of the investment is unknown.
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🚨Tether has blocked two wallets with a combined amount of $14,214,355 USDT
Tether has previously pledged to block payments to organizations subject to OFAC sanctions.
On May 2, Tether and Chainalysis announced the development of a solution to monitor the secondary market in the USDT ecosystem.
Tether has previously pledged to block payments to organizations subject to OFAC sanctions.
On May 2, Tether and Chainalysis announced the development of a solution to monitor the secondary market in the USDT ecosystem.
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Santiment published statistics on the increase in the number of wallets with non-zero balances in leading cryptocurrencies over 6 months:
▪️Toncoin $TON 16.8K wallets (+110% growth)
▪️Dogecoin $DOGE 6.6M wallets (+27% growth)
▪️USDT 5.7M wallets (+23% growth)
▪️USDCoin $USDC 2.1M wallets (+16% growth)
▪️Ethereum 120.7M wallets (+11% growth)
▪️Bitcoin 53.9M wallets (+10% growth)
▪️XRPLedger $XRP 5.2M wallets (+7% growth)
▪️Chainlink $LINK 727K wallets (+6% growth)
▪️Cardano $ADA 4.5M wallets (+0% growth)
▪️Toncoin $TON 16.8K wallets (+110% growth)
▪️Dogecoin $DOGE 6.6M wallets (+27% growth)
▪️USDT 5.7M wallets (+23% growth)
▪️USDCoin $USDC 2.1M wallets (+16% growth)
▪️Ethereum 120.7M wallets (+11% growth)
▪️Bitcoin 53.9M wallets (+10% growth)
▪️XRPLedger $XRP 5.2M wallets (+7% growth)
▪️Chainlink $LINK 727K wallets (+6% growth)
▪️Cardano $ADA 4.5M wallets (+0% growth)
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