🌐 US prosecutors accused North Korean hackers of stealing more than $ 100 million from cryptocurrency firms
The US Department of Justice has filed charges against three North Korean hackers. They are accused of numerous cybercrimes and hacking into hundreds of companies, including cryptocurrency firms.
According to US prosecutors, Kim Il, Jon Chang Hyok and Park Jin Hyok were members of the General Intelligence Directorate, the military intelligence unit of North Korea. They were involved in stealing $ 1.3 billion from various companies around the world, including cryptocurrency firms such as NiceHash.
“The scale of the criminal activity of North Korean hackers is striking and continued for a long time. This is the actions of a criminal state that will stop at nothing to get revenge and get money to support its regime, ”said US Attorney Tracey Wilkison.
In total, North Korean hackers stole $ 111.7 million from cryptocurrency companies, including $ 75 million from a Slovenian firm in December 2017, $ 24.9 million from an Indonesian company in September 2018, and $ 11.8 million from a New York firm in August 2020, according to the ministry. Also, the American authorities believe that the defendants were involved in the Marine Chain Token fraudulent scheme:
“Kim Il and other defendants used fake names to communicate with investors and persuade them to invest in Marine Chain. They did not disclose that they are citizens of North Korea. "
If the defendants are found guilty, they can face up to 35 years in prison for cybercrime and banking fraud.
Earlier, Reuters, citing a "confidential UN report", reported that North Korean hackers from late 2019 to November 2020 received $ 316.3 million as a result of hacking cryptocurrency services, and the funds were used to purchase and develop weapons.
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🌐 Mastercard to Issue Sand Dollar Debit Card
Mastercard has signed an agreement under which it will issue a debit card with support for the state digital currency of the Bahamas - Sand Dollar.
In addition to the Central Bank of the Bahamas, the Island Pay payment service will participate in the issue of the plastic card. Residents of the Bahamas will be able to pay for goods and services using the national cryptocurrency - conversion into fiat money will take place automatically.
Raj Dhamodharan, Executive Vice President of Digital Assets and Blockchain Products of Mastercard, emphasized that the payment giant is delighted to create new opportunities related to new forms of payments for states.
“This partnership is an example of how the private and public sectors can rethink new opportunities while maintaining high levels of consumer protection and regulatory compliance,” Dhamodharan said.
Earlier Mastercard announced that this year users of the company's services will have access to cryptocurrencies. It looks like the Sand Dollar support has become part of this initiative.
Recall that the launch of the national currency of the Bahamas took place in October 2020. The cryptocurrency is pegged to the local fiat currency, the Bahamian dollar, at a 1: 1 ratio.
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🌐 Bank of Sweden extends digital krona study until 2022
The Reserve Bank of Sweden (Riksbank) has extended a pilot project aimed at creating a digital version of the Swedish krona until February 2022.
The pilot program for the creation of the state cryptocurrency "e-krona" was launched by the Bank of Sweden together with the international consulting company Accenture.
The Riksbank said that cash may soon be phased out in the country, so a dedicated solution needs to be developed to complement fiat currencies. This is the digital Swedish krona.
Earlier it was reported that "e-krona" will operate on the basis of the R3 Corda blockchain. Unlike the open blockchains of Bitcoin and Ethereum, users must receive an invitation to join the Corda network.
The Riksbank said it has not yet made a final decision on issuing its own digital currency. However, this year the bank will continue to explore the potential of state-owned cryptocurrencies and plans to complete this work by February 2022.
In the coming months, the Bank of Sweden will focus on testing the e-krona functionality and attracting external participants. Particular attention will be paid to improving performance and scalability, and testing the stand-alone features of the digital crown.
Bank of Sweden began considering the possibility of issuing a digital currency at the end of 2019. Last year, Riksbank Chairman Stefan Ingves called on the Swedish parliament to legalize the use of the state stablecoin as a means of payment.
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🌐 Medical marijuana maker SynBiotic SE invests in bitcoin
The German medical marijuana company SynBiotic SE plans to hedge the risks of fiat currency depreciation by investing in bitcoin.
An article appeared on the company's website stating that SynBiotic SE "will become the first German publicly traded company to hedge the devaluation of the euro using bitcoin." The publication quotes SynBiotic SE CEO Lars Muller:
“Our decision is not related to volatility, but rather to the risk of depreciation of the euro and dollar. Bitcoin is completely opposite to traditional currencies - the amount of BTC is limited to 21 million. This is a fixed and unshakable limit, and its inviolability is ensured by the decentralized nature and security of the blockchain from hacking. Therefore, in the long term, we are more confident in bitcoin than in the euro and US dollar, which are backed by centralized institutions subject to political will. Politicians can infinitely increase the money supply. "
Müller also noted that the medical marijuana industry already has a positive track record of using Bitcoin to pay for supplies quickly and easily. In addition, some of SynBiotic's subsidiaries accept payments in BTC.
It looks like Litecoin founder Charlie Lee was right when he said that after Tesla, many companies will start buying bitcoins. Recall that Elon Musk's company bought BTC for $ 1.5 billion.
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🌐 Blockchain.com Raises $ 120 Million From Venture Investors
Blockchain.com cryptocurrency platform has completed a strategic round of funding, which raised about $ 120 million from large macro investors.
Blockchain.com co-founder Peter Smith said the investors included Moore Strategic Ventures, Access Industries, Rovida Advisors, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Google Ventures, Lakestar, Eldridge and others. When the project tried to raise funds in late 2014, Smith said it received the backing of only a handful of venture capital firms.
Back then, bitcoin was worth hundreds of dollars, and Blockchain.com managed over 2 million wallets. Now bitcoin has reached the historical mark of $ 50,000 and even exceeded it. Smith writes that since 2012, 28% of all Bitcoin transactions went through Blockchain.com, which is billions of transactions.
Smith noted the optimistic attitude of institutional investors towards cryptocurrencies. The current bull rally is due to the large institutions, mutual funds and traditional Fortune 500 companies that are driving the flow of funds into Bitcoin. With some of the world's largest macro investors participating in the latest round of funding, this proves once again that institutions are serious about digital assets. The head of Blockchain.com said that in times of the pandemic, cryptocurrencies are beginning to seem like a salvation for finance, as the popularity of decentralized networks is growing. Companies are investing in bitcoin, and central banks are exploring the possibility of issuing their own digital currencies and are monitoring the development of decentralized finance (DeFi).
“Our mission is to enable anyone, anywhere, to control their money. For this we are expanding our services. It may seem to the world that cryptocurrencies appeared overnight. But those in the industry understand that technology and innovation need to work day in and day out to advance. There is still much to be done. It's time to bring billions of people and millions of organizations around the world to the cryptocurrency industry to create a new financial system, ”wrote the co-founder of Blockchain.com.
Earlier, Blockchain.com announced the integration with the BitPay payment system. This allowed Blockchain.com wallet users to make payments to merchants using BitPay as a payment processor.
