Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Crypto criminal's 2018 salary 💸

January 30, 2019

Crypto Criminals Grabbed $1.7 Billion From Theft and Scams in 2018

In a new report released Tuesday, crypto analytics company CipherTrace estimated that over $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency had been obtained illegally in 2018.

CipherTrace broke down the number into two categories:

$950 million coming from exchange hacks - 3.6x higher than 2017
$725 million coming from various scams like fake initial coin offerings, Ponzi schemes, and exit scams

Interestingly, despite sharp falling prices, the total dollar amount of crypto obtained illegally in 2018 still surpassed 2017 - showcasing a growing need for stronger security.

The threats you should know

Also included in the report, CipherTrace listed the top security threats in crypto right now.

Here are their top 5:

Sim swapping
Crypto dusting
Sanction evasion
Next-generation crypto mixers
Shadow money service businesses

Other notable threats include large-scale crypto hacking malware and even email extortion.

Regulation to the rescue

While these threats continued to be an issue in 2018, CipherTrace CEO Dave Jevans believes new regulation will crack down on crypto criminals quickly.

Jevans explained:

"Cryptocurrency criminal activity continues to evolve and accelerate. Fortunately, pending global legislation will hamstring many criminals, global gangs, and terrorist groups by greatly reducing their opportunities to launder."

INSTITUTION

Fidelity's Crypto Custody is Coming in March

First revealed on a Bloomberg terminal, it seems that financial giant Fidelity is looking to launch its crypto custody solution in March.

Initially, the custody will be centered around storing just Bitcoin. Soon after, the systems will begin to store other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum.

Instilling trust

Previously, an executive in charge of digital assets at Fidelity explained that many clients want to jump into crypto, but "needed a trusted platform provider" first.

According to a statement released Tuesday, Fidelity is already serving a small group of customers who trust its new service.

The statement continued:

"Over the next several months, we will thoughtfully engage with and prioritize prospective clients based on needs, jurisdiction and other factors."

LITECOIN

Litecoin Could Become a Privacy Coin

Litecoin, commonly considered the silver to Bitcoin's gold, could be looking to introduce private transactions - and make a new name for itself.

It all started when Litecoin founder Charlie Lee tweeted:

"Fungibility is the only property of sound money that is missing from Bitcoin and Litecoin. Now that the scaling debate is behind us, the next battleground will be on fungibility and privacy."

He then continued:

"I am now focused on making Litecoin more fungible by adding Confidential Transactions. "

The consequences of privacy

The move to make Litecoin private will bring more with it than just dark transactions - mostly from a regulatory perspective.

Exchanges that work closely with regulators may see some pushback since private transactions open the flood gates for money laundering.

Still, the change would give Litecoin a new edge in its pitch after being in Bitcoin's shadow all these years.

BITS

But wait, there's more...

🚀 SWIFT CEO reveals plans to launch new gateway with the help of blockchain software firm R3.
👎 AMD estimates an "absence" of GPU sales due to crypto miners in the first quarter.
👀 Crypto lender Genesis Capital processed nearly $1.1 billion in 2018.

MEME