Private currencies

Cryptocurrency cleaned up its act this week as spot Bitcoin ETFs made their Wall Street debut in January. The digital tokens are looking almost unrecognizable from what the industry represented just a few years ago, leading to the question, is Bitcoin still crypto?Why Should Crypto Currencies be Called Securities? | Gizmodo InterviewThe “decentralized” part of cryptocurrency is up for interpretation these days. Ever since the Security and Exchange Commission’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 1o, cryptocurrency looks…

Photo: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg (Getty Images)Well, that’s one way to see your investment pay off. In 2014, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Mt. Gox, suffered a notorious hack that stole 850,000 Bitcoins from the platform. Victims are finally starting to get their money back on Tuesday, nearly 10 years later. However, some are reporting Mt. Gox accidentally sent “double payments” and the trustees are asking for some of it back.He Tossed His Bitcoin, Now He Wants It Back“Due to a system issue, the transfer of…

The US Justice Department seeks $4 billion from Binance to end a years-long investigation into the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, according to Bloomberg. Negotiations are reportedly underway that could subject Binance co-founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (aka CZ) to criminal charges in the US.Why Should Crypto Currencies be Called Securities? | Gizmodo InterviewBloomberg cites “people familiar with the discussions” as saying that the Justice Department alleges money laundering, bank fraud, and sanctions violations…

Photo: Lukas Gojda / Shutterstock.com (Shutterstock)Bitcoin wallets older than 2016 could have a vulnerability that puts over $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency at risk, according to a report in the Washington Post. Why Should Crypto Currencies be Called Securities? | Gizmodo InterviewAccording to Unciphered, a cryptocurrency recovery company, an untold number of crypto wallets were designed with baked-in flaws that leave a backdoor in the code that hackers could easily break open. Encrypted software systems like crypto…

The co-founder and former CEO of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange Celsius was arrested on fraud charges Thursday, Bloomberg reported.Crypto Exchanges Restrict WithdrawalsAlex Mashinsky, 57, was also charged with attempting to manipulate cryptocurrency markets, per Bloomberg. The Department of Justice accused Mashinsky and Roni Cohen-Pavon, Celsius’ chief revenue officer, of ​​a, “years long scheme to mislead customers,” according to Coindesk. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued the company and Mashinsky…

A chapter of internet history has come to a close. One of the cybercriminals behind 2020's major Twitter hack was sentenced to five years in U.S. federal prison on Friday. Joseph O’Connor (AKA “PlugwalkJoe”), a 24-year-old British citizen, previously pleaded guilty to seven charges associated with the digital attack. He was arrested in Spain in 2021 and extradited to the U.S. in April of this year.He Tossed His Bitcoin, Now He Wants It BackIn addition to the five years of jail time, O’Connor was also sentenced to three…

The bitcoin mining machines in the Whinstone Bitcoin mining facility in Rockdale, Texas, owned and operated by Riot Blockchain.Photo: MARK FELIX/AFP /AFP (Getty Images)At least one big bitcoin mining operation in Texas that was not actually mining much bitcoin during this season’s record-breaking heat netted millions of dollars in profits—more than they would have if they just kept on mining without any shutdowns. It’s thanks to power purchase agreements signed with the local grid, allowing them to sell electricity they…

Photo: Sharaf Maksumov (Shutterstock)Coinbase Tracer, the analytics arm of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, has signed a contract with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement that would allow the agency access to a variety of features and data caches, including “historical geo tracking data.” Coinbase Tracer, according to the website, is for governments, crypto businesses, and financial institutions. It allows these clients the ability to trace transactions within the blockchain. It is also used to “investigate…

Photo: YURI CORTEZ/AFP (Getty Images)A new study on bitcoin calls into question whether the digital currency is truly as decentralized and anonymous as its biggest devotees would have you believe. Researchers from Baylor, Rice, and the University of Houston analyzing the best-known cryptocurrency’s early days found that, among other things, the “wealth, income, and resources in the bitcoin community were highly centralized,” and that new data analysis techniques have the ability to “de-anonymize” users.While the study…