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Pip Labs Raises $80 Million at a $2.25 Billion Valuation to Protect IP via Blockchain
23.8.2024
Pip Labs has raised $80 million in a Series B funding round led by VC firm A16z, reaching a valuation of $2.25 billion. The round aims to extend the development of Story, a blockchain aiming to tokenize and protect what Pip Labs calls the “multi-trillion-dollar” asset class...
FBI Recovers $5 Million From Pig Butchering Crypto Scam
23.8.2024
Authorities in North Carolina have seized nearly $5 million in cryptocurrency linked to an investment fraud scheme. The scheme, known as “pig butchering,” involved criminals creating fake romantic relationships to deceive victims into investing in fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms....
Tim Draper Leads $2.5 Million Funding Round for Ark Labs to Advance Bitcoin Payment Solutions
23.8.2024
Ark Labs has secured $2.5 million in pre-seed funding led by Tim Draper, aimed at advancing the Ark protocol for simplifying bitcoin payments. This funding will help Ark Labs enhance their user-friendly, non-custodial payment system, making bitcoin more accessible for global commerce. Ark Labs...
Paypal Launches PYUSD Rewards Program With Anchorage Digital
23.8.2024
Anchorage Digital has launched its first stablecoin rewards program for Paypal USD (PYUSD) holders, offering institutions a secure way to earn rewards. Available through Anchorage Digital’s platform and the Porto self-custody wallet, the program emphasizes security by avoiding...
Donald Trump Pushes New Crypto Platform to Challenge Big Banks and Financial Elites
23.8.2024
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has promoted his family’s new cryptocurrency platform, “The Defiant Ones,” to his 7.5 million followers on Truth Social, framing it as a response to financial inequality. The Trump Organization’s crypto initiative, which has garnered...
Mercado Libre, Latam’s Largest Company, Launches Own Dollar Stablecoin
23.8.2024
Mercado Libre, the largest public company in Latam by market capitalization, has announced the release of its own dollar-pegged stablecoin, the meli dolar, for the Brazilian market. The development was completed in partnership with Ripio, an Argentine cryptocurrency exchange, and is issued by Meli...
El Salvador to Educate 80,000 Public Servants on Bitcoin
22.8.2024
The Bitcoin Office of El Salvador announced that 80,000 public servants will receive bitcoin instruction and certification through an educational module that is part of the Higher School of Innovation in Public Administration (ESIAP) program. The module also includes training in the areas...
QR Code Scams: TN Attorney General Issues Warning
22.8.2024
The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office has issued a QR code scam alert, warning consumers about fraudulent QR codes used in various scams, including fake cryptocurrency investments. Consumers are urged to verify sources, check codes for tampering, and use secure scanner apps. Tennessee...
Crypto Fund Settles With NFA Over $2.5M Bitcoin Loan
21.8.2024
Cryptocurrency fund Ikigai Strategic Partners has agreed to pay a $150,000 fine to the National Futures Association (NFA) following allegations of an illicit bitcoin loan, according to an Aug. 20 decision by an NFA hearing panel. The fine addresses the fallout from the industry-wide liquidity...
Highest Court of China Moves to List Virtual Asset Transactions as a Money-Laundering Tool
21.8.2024
The Supreme People’s Court of China, the highest court of law in the country, and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate have issued a joint document that interprets the current money laundering law and defines several issues related to its application. In this interpretation, the...
Woman Sentenced to Prison for Bitcoin-Funded Dark Web Murder Plot
21.8.2024
A Utah woman, Krista Renae Stone, 23, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for attempting to orchestrate a murder-for-hire using the dark web, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Monday. Stone targeted her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend, arranging to pay $5,000 in bitcoin to...
7 Arrested in Illegal Bitcoin Mining Crackdown in Malaysia
21.8.2024
Seven individuals were arrested in Malaysia during a special operation targeting illegal bitcoin mining in Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi and Taman Putra Perdana. The operation, which involved coordinated efforts by law enforcement, focused on detecting and stopping bitcoin mining activities linked...
Former Bank CEO Sentenced to Prison for $47M Crypto Fraud Leading to Bank Collapse
21.8.2024
The former CEO of failed Heartland Tri-State Bank was sentenced to over 24 years in prison for embezzling more than $47 million in a fraudulent crypto scheme that caused the bank’s collapse. He funneled the stolen funds into cryptocurrency wallets linked to a “pig butchering”...
Tether to Launch USDT Stablecoin on Aptos Blockchain
20.8.2024
Tether, the issuer of USDT, the largest dollar-pegged stablecoin in the crypto market, has announced the launch of its star product on Aptos, a scalable and rapid blockchain. Tether seeks to offer rails with “extremely low gas fees” for USDT users, opening opportunities for...
AI Depin Project Grass Concludes Closed Beta and Outlines Airdrop Details
20.8.2024
Grass, a depin AI web crawling project, has announced the end of its closed beta phase and outlined the requirements that users must fulfill to be eligible for an upcoming airdrop. The project announced that it will provide more details about the distribution of its token rewards, but that weighted...
Russian Finance Minister Discloses That Over 90% of Bilateral Trade With China Is Settled Outside the U.S. Dollar System
20.8.2024
Anton Siluanov, the Russian Finance Minister, pointed out that a majority of the bilateral trade with China is being conducted outside the U.S. dollar system. He stressed that over 90% of these transactions have been completed using national currencies (rubles and yuan) due to the risks associated...
Latam Insights Encore: El Salvador Bitcoin’s Allure Might Help Bukele Reactivate the Country’s Economy
20.8.2024
Welcome to Latam Insights Encore, a deep dive into Latin America’s most relevant economic and cryptocurrency-based news from last week. In this edition, we discuss the possibilities of making Bitcoin an important part of the proposed economic overhaul plan of El Salvador. Latam Insights Encore:...
Circle’s Euro-Pegged Token EURC Surpasses €50 Million Market Cap
20.8.2024
EURC, a Euro-pegged stablecoin by Circle, the issuer of USDC, has reached a market cap of over €50 Million ($55.37 million). According to Patrick Hansen, Circle’s Senior Director, EU Strategy & Policy, the stablecoin has experienced significant growth, registering a 36% increase in...
Optimism Finds Vulnerabilities in Fault Proof System, Proposes Upgrade to Patch Them
20.8.2024
OP Labs, a software development company focusing on the Optimism ecosystem, has proposed an upgrade for the Optimism rollup called Granite, which comes to fix a series of vulnerabilities in the chain’s fault-proof system. While some high-severity vulnerabilities were encountered during...
Financial Analysts Estimate Gold Might Reach $3,000 Propped up by Rate Cuts
20.8.2024
Several financial analysts predict that gold prices will continue to gain ground, supported by forecasts that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year. According to Patrick Yip of American Precious Metals, the $3,000 mark could be reached as soon as next year if geopolitical...