Speculation on Twitter that crypto exchange Huobi has laid off staff and shuttered internal communications have prompted the community to advise users to withdraw funds, despite an advisor to the exchange denying the rumors. In a Jan. 5 tweet, Huobi advisor Justin Sun addressed rumors of purported insolvency saying the business development of the exchange was “good” and the “security…
A group of FTX customers has filed a limited objection to FTX’s plan to sell four independently-operated subsidiaries, arguing that they should be privy to the sales process to ensure customer interests are represented. It has also shared concerns that “misappropriated customer funds” may have been used to acquire, or keep these firms running. The limited objection was filed on…
According to web portal darkdot.com and anonymous journalist Darkdotfail, the popular darknet forum Dread has been down for a month. The well-known forum, which was a place for darknet market (DNM) patrons to discuss operations security, rate specific vendors, and talk about stealth delivery ideas, has been absent for 30 days. However, the forum’s founder, “Hugbunter,” has stated that it…
Crypto token wash trading on centralized exchanges will be the cause of the next crypto “implosion,” according to billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner and crypto investor Mark Cuban. In an interview with The Street on Jan. 5, the billionaire investor opined that 2023 will not be short of crypto scandals following the numerous fiascos that rocked 2022. Cuban, who has backed several…
The Metaverse and Virtual Reality (VR) go hand in hand in the public’s imagination and platforms including Somnium Space, Crypto Voxels, and Meta’s Horizon Worlds already support the technology. But despite describing itself as a “decentralized virtual reality platform” on its website, the browser-based 3D metaverse platform Decentraland still lacks VR. Sean Ong, founder of extended reality specialists XR Dev…
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is in the process of seizing Robinhood shares, worth about $460 million, that are linked to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). “We believe that these assets are not property of the bankruptcy estate or that they fall within the exceptions … of bankruptcy code,” a DOJ attorney told the judge overseeing the FTX…
Digital Currency Group (DCG), the crypto conglomerate behind beleaguered crypto broker Genesis and digital asset manager Grayscale, confirmed Thursday that it is shuttering HQ, its wealth management division. “Due to the state of the broader economic environment and prolonged crypto winter presenting significant headwinds to the industry, we made the decision to wind down HQ, effective January 31, 2023,” a…
The U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday it had arrested and filed criminal charges against the founder of an NFT project it alleges “rug pulled” holders and defrauded them of $2.9 million in cryptocurrency. Aurelien Michel, 24, the founder of Ethereum NFT collection Mutant Ape Planet, was arrested last night at JFK airport in New YorkvCitvy by federal authorities on wire…
Francois Villeroy de Galhau, the Bank of France’s governor, has urged for more stringent licensing requirements for crypto companies in France, citing the current turmoil in the crypto markets. During a speech in Paris on Jan. 5, the central bank governor said France shouldn’t wait for upcoming EU crypto laws to enact obligatory licensing for local Digital Asset Service Providers…
While the world continues to reel from how far artificial intelligence has come with projects like ChatGPT, Chinese researchers recently claimed that they have been able to crack encryption using quantum computing—something scientists have assumed was years away from happening. A group of Chinese researchers published a “scientific paper” last month that said they used quantum computers to break a…
