Market Watch | Bitcoin | $11,025 | 7 day: +6.5% | | Ethereum | $367 | 7 day: +2.4% | | All crypto | $351b | 7 day: +5.4% | | Bitcoin dominance | 58.2% | 7 day: +1.6% | Prices as of 3 p.m. EDT
| |
Tether (USDT) recovers $1m using its centralized power. - On September 8, a user sent approximately $1m to a Swerve Finance (SWRV) contract address found in an anonymous Chinese chat group.
- SWRV is a fork of another decentralized finance (DeFi) project, Curve Finance (CRV).
- Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino offered to help, indicating that recovery of ERC-20 Tether (USDT) is possible.
- Ardoino subsequently announced the recovery of the $1m worth of USDT on Twitter on September 11.
- Ardoino utilized Tether's controversial, centralized platform controls. He froze the address to which the user had sent the funds, ensuring that the lost tokens cannot re-enter circulation, and then minted new tokens.
- The relationship between stablecoin issuer Tether and Bitfinex exchange has been under scrutiny since 2017.
- In April 2019, N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James formally alleged that Bitfinex concealed an $850m loss by borrowing that amount from Tether. James called respondents to produce documents and information.
- Bitfinex and Tether have delayed the lawsuit by 17 months and counting.
Decrypt 
| |
Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Zaif sues Binance. - Owners of a Japanese crypto exchange known as Zaif, which was hacked in 2018, have sued Binance for lax policies that have allegedly enabled hackers to launder approximately $9.4m worth of stolen cryptocurrencies.
- Hackers stole funds from Zaif in September 2018; the exchange lost approximately $63m worth of cryptocurrency in the attack.
- Zaif's parent company, Fisco, filed a complaint in U.S. court on September 14. Zaif alleges that hackers used Binance's exchange to launder 1,451 bitcoin, enabled by Binance's absence of strict know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) practices at the time.
- In the complaint, Fisco claims that Zaif hackers were able to create several accounts at Binance and make thousands of transactions, each valued below Binance's new account threshold of two bitcoin. Therefore, hackers seem to have used Binance's exchange platform both as a receptacle and transmitter of stolen funds.
- In seeking a jury trial, Fisco claims that past attempts to contact Binance during the hacking incident with a request to freeze the hackers' accounts had failed due to Binance's negligence.
Coindesk
| |
 A message from RANGE Adapt your team to working from home with powerful Check-ins from Range. Check-ins from Range keep your team more productive, focused, and connected no matter where they’re working. In just a few minutes each day, you and your team can: -
Create a Check-in, covering what you plan to do and what you’ve recently accomplished. -
Enhance your plan by adding useful items from tools you use, like Google Docs, GitHub, or Asana. Bring all your work activity into your Check-in with a few clicks. -
Connect with your team by answering a team-building question and selecting an emoji that best represents your mood, fostering a culture of belonging and trust. -
Share your Check-in and the whole team can see what everyone is doing in Slack, email, or Range, making it easy to stay in sync and on track. No more micromanaging, no more unproductive status meetings, no more wondering how work is moving forward. See why teams at companies like Twitter, Medium, and Carta use them to fuel great remote teamwork. Range is free to try for 30 days, and totally free (forever) for teams up to 10 people. Get Started
| |
Jihan Wu regains legal representative status at Bitmain. The ongoing feud between Bitmain co-founders Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan has reached another milestone. - Per a Chinese business registration record update, Wu has been reinstated to the status of executive director and legal representative of Beijing Bitmain Technology.
- The dispute started in October 2019, when Zhan ousted Wu and filed a lawsuit against Wu in the Cayman Islands.
- Zhan further accused Wu in a Weibo post of fraud and theft of 10,000 expensive Antminers, which occurred in July 2019.
- The business registration update also mentions that Zhan will remain as a general manager of the company.
- Wu confirmed the status update in an announcement on Bitmain's Antminer WeChat account on September 15.
Coindesk
| |
 Chainalysis report Chainalysis reveals an even larger darknet and ransomware industry in Eastern Europe than previously suspected. - A new report by the blockchain analytics firm suggests that Eastern Europe plays a leading role in the illegitimate usage of cryptocurrencies.
- 1.4% of Eastern Europe's $41b in total cryptocurrency transaction volume was sent to illicit entities. This percentage ranks second only to Latin America's 1.6%. Despite having the fourth-largest crypto market, Eastern Europe accounts for the second-highest share of illicit transactions in the world.
- Ukraine and Russia are the first and second-ranked countries in terms of cryptocurrency adoption.
- Eastern Europe accounts for more global darknet market activity than any other region. Its massive darknet marketplace, Hydra, is one of the largest in the world. Hydra generated over $1.2b worth of cryptocurrency activity between June 2019 and July 2020, according to Chainalysis.
Chainalysis
| |
 A message from SLACK Reduce friction and increase output with Slack and Atlassian See how Slack integrates with Atlassian products to boost deployment transparency and topple communication silos that slow down development. Watch Now
| |
 Examples of Crypto.com banner ads Crypto.com is enjoying the benefits of its aggressive marketing strategies. - Crypto.com provides cryptocurrency debit cards and other trading services.
- Its token (CRO) has rallied 300% YTD by offering various promotions such as referrals, discounts, and a recently launched a liquidity swap platform, riding the decentralized finance (DeFi) boom. Crypto.com also offers interest exceeding 8% for some tokens. The company has purchased premium ad placements in the Unchained podcast, and at the top of CoinMarketCap, among others.
- Crypto.com Token (CRO) is now the ninth highest market capitalization cryptocurrency.
- In August, Crypto.com's marketing material announced that CRO holders could buy a small amount of bitcoin and other tokens at 50% discounts. It has also advertised millions of dollars in bonus pools and offered bitcoin in giveaway rewards equal to approximately $50,000 for its so-called Syndicate users.
- Crypto.com's predecessor, Monaco, claimed to issue Visa-branded payment cards, yet did not have Visa's permission. Later on, the fraudulent German company Wirecard said that it had approved the card. Crypto.com has distanced itself from both claims.
Bloomberg
| |
| |
Quick Hits: - Nigeria's securities and exchange regulator has issued guidelines for digital currencies and crypto-based firms/start-ups. Laws aim to protect investors and implement transparency throughout the country.
- An ECB central banker received a ceremonial silver-backed digital collectible cryptocurrency called LBCOIN. It was sent via an email from Lithuanian Central Bank Governor on September 14, containing a link to an e-wallet storing six digital tokens. Governor Vitas Vasiliauskas awaits feedback regarding this experiment.
- On September 11, the Bank of Thailand announced a new blockchain-based platform for issuing Government Savings Bond. The central bank claims the system could improve the buying experience, operational efficiency, and cost structure of government bond issuances.
- Binance exchange's United States arm, Binance.US, opened services for Alabama-based clients on September 13.
- Cryptocurrency news outlet, Coindesk has published a detailed review of the oft-delayed, now-imminent launch of Filecoin.
- U.S. prosecutors have charged three Chinese nationals for a crypto-jacking scheme that affected over 100 companies.
- Slack is gathering industry leaders and product experts at Slack Frontiers, a free virtual conference dedicated to digital transformation.*
*This is a sponsored post. Inside is hiring! Check out our available positions:
| |
 |  | Written and curated by wide-eyed bitcoin watcher since $1, Aaron Wise. Streaming headline junkie, Associated Press fanboy, eye-strained news terminal watcher, 2017 founder of Cryptocurrency Newsfeed. Temporarily based in Florida while awaiting the construction of cryptopia. |  | | Editor | Edited by Eduardo Garcia in New York. Eduardo is a graduate of the Columbia Journalism School M.A. Science program and writes regularly for the New York Times Climate Fwd: newsletter. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
Keep your team more productive, focused, and connected with Range. | |
| |
