Topics

1

Cryptocurrency Gaming & Gambling / No Deposit Casino Bonuses

« on: April 05, 2022, 05:01:53 PM »

What is a no deposit casino bonus? That is just one type of many kinds of bonuses offered by various online casinos. Typically, casinos offer such bonuses to clients when they first register a new account. One can usually use them to play as if they had real money in their account or to try out the various games on the casino’s website instead. No deposit bonuses are rated based on a number of characteristics – the bonus value, its terms and conditions, the games available to play with it, the wagering requirements, the countries where bonuses are valid in and the casino’s own reputation.
It is important to take all these in mind to pick a casino – and no deposit bonus – that fits the best one’s needs as a player.

2

Crypto Discussion / U.S Department of Justice Recovers Stolen BTC from 2016 Bitfinex Hack

« on: February 26, 2022, 08:24:05 PM »

Back in 2016, Bitfinex, which at the time was one of the most famous crypto exchanges in the world, got hack and the hackers made off with billions of US dollars. Recently, however, the US Department of Justice revealed that they had recuperated some 3.6 billion US dollars of the stolen money.
American prosecutors apparently managed to trace some 120k BTC using meticulous procedures to navigate the complicated web of transactions that had been used to hide where those funds originated from.
US authorities arrested two people – a pair of spouses – who were apparently involved in the hack. The suspects are Ilya Lichtenstein 34, and Heather Morgan 31. They were arrested in Manhattan, appeared before an American court the same day as when they were arrested. The charges against them are conspiracy to commit money laundering and to defraud the United States government.
It’s amazing that after all this time the criminals were still found and so much of the stolen money were recovered. There have been many other crypto exchange hacks since then, hopefully there will be justice for those as well.

3

Crypto Discussion / Which is your favourite cryptocurrency?

« on: June 10, 2021, 01:35:52 PM »

Which currency do you like investing in the most? Bitcoin is generally the most popular one, but not necessarily everyone invest in it.

4

Crypto Discussion / China Introduces Major Crackdown on Crypto Market

« on: May 27, 2021, 02:11:14 PM »

Three leading institutions in China made the decision to crack down on the crypto industry - the National Internet Finance Association of China, the Payment and Clearing Association of China, and the China Banking Association. They are banning financial services and payment companies from making any transactions or providing any services. According to the new rules:
-Financial institutions cannot offer any crypto-related services, no registrations, clearing trading and settlements.
-They cannot provide trust, savings, or pledging services of any crypto asset.
-They cannot issue any products related to cryptos.
-They cannot accept payments in the form of digital coins and they cannot use such as payment, nor can they provide rypto exchange services between foreign currencies and the yuan.
Source
I am not surprised - their CBDC they can control, but they cannot control decentralized cryptocurrencies.

5

Crypto Discussion / UK-Based Diem Takes Legal Action Against Newly-Rebranded Facebook Crypto Project

« on: December 08, 2020, 07:42:52 PM »

Facebook’s cryptocurrency project once known as Libra and now as Diem just cannot catch a break.
A British fintech company called Diem is looking to take legal action against Facebook’s project for obvious reasons.
The British diem is a startup that deals in offering instant selling of consumer goods and issues its very own Diem debit card and planned to have a soft launch this October.
For the moment, the UK Diem has only issued a cease and desist letter, but its CEO and founder had this to say:
“As a small startup, we are concerned that customer confusion resulting from Libra’s actions will significantly impact our growth.”
Source
I confess I find this situation and its utter absurdity really quite funny.

6

Crypto Discussion / Binance Blocks US Customers From its Main Platform

« on: November 10, 2020, 07:39:31 PM »

Binance, which is among the largest crypto exchanges in the world, announced that it will begin blocking American clients from its main platform. All clients in that jurisdiction have 90 days to withdraw their money.
The exchange will enforce this rule by blocking people based on their IP-address. American clients who click on the “I’m not American” box in the registration form will receive the following email:
We noted your account may be associated with the U.S. due to an IP address you connected from in the past. In-line with regulatory requirements, we are unable to provide services to U.S. citizens or residents”.
Binance has been hinting at these intentions for over a year now, apparently
Source
I wonder if other exchanges will follow suit.

7

Crypto Discussion / It’s Official: FCA Imposes a Ban on Crypto Derivatives Retail Trading

« on: October 07, 2020, 07:24:43 PM »

The FCA officially banned cryptocurrency derivatives on UK soil this week. The FCA additionally banned the sale of exchange-traded notes (ETNS).
According to the FCA, digital coin instruments are untrustworthy and they come with in-built unreliable aspect, can be easily manipulated by scammers and are very hard to predict.
The agency issued out a statement:
“The FCA considers these products to be ill-suited for retail consumers due to the harm they pose”
The agency also considers British investors incompetent in regards to trading crypto derivatives – they believe that locals don’t have the skill or knowledge to do so.
Source
I think this is a bit of an overreach on the FCA's part, traders don't need that much handholding.

8

Scam Reports & Crypto Crime / Singapore’s KuCoin Hacked for $150 Million

« on: September 29, 2020, 07:04:07 PM »

The Singaporean cryptocurrency exchange got hacked on the 26th September and the hackers managed with withdraw Bitcoin and other cryptos from hot wallets to another wallet. The total sum that was loss was 150 million USD.
According to a statement issued by the Chief Executive of KuCoin, Johnny Lyu, the hackers obtained the private keys of the exchange’s hot wallets. The moment the exchanged noticed the withdrawal they transferred the rest of the funds to other hot wallets.
The theft is being investigated by law enforcement. KuCoin also issued the following statement:
“rest assured, if any user fund is affected by this incident, it will be covered completely by KuCoin and our insurance fund,”
Source
The good news is that they are ensured at least, but still this theft just shows how the cryptocurrency industry needs to be more secure.

9

Crypto Discussion / $25 Million Crypto Coin Ponzi Scheme Exposed by US Authorities

« on: September 24, 2020, 06:08:00 PM »

The US Securities and Exchange Commission frozen the assets of one Jose Arman, founder of Argyle Coin, and has charged him with fraud. According to the agency, the company, which is based in Florida, has been running a Ponzi scheme. It has allegedly misappropriated 10 million USD that the abovementioned individual has used for his personal expenses, as well as paying investors in other companies owned by him. He would ensure future investors in Argyle Coin that their money would remain available and would promise them an increase of revenue if they invested more.
The company behind the scam was founded with the supposed purpose of developing a Blockchain platform for trading diamonds and precious metals and the value of the coin would be guaranteed by diamonds worth over 25 million USD, rather unheard of in the industry.
Investigation against the company started back in May 2019.
Source
Another typical Ponzi scam that was nonetheless ridiculously profitable while it lasted. Why do people keep falling for the same lie.

10

Crypto Discussion / Leaked EU Document Suggests Plans to Regulate Crypto Market

« on: September 19, 2020, 07:14:57 PM »

If you have wondered whether the European Union had any plans for cryptocurrency regulation then you need to wonder no more because a document was leaked revealing that yes, there are such plans. The European Commission is, indeed, preparing such plans and they also intend to control the introduction of new cryptocurrencies.
The document is 168 pages long and will likely be released by the end of September. That said, the recommendations in it won’t be added to official EU legislation until 2022.
A major part of the leak is the intention in bringing Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) for digital assets, which goes in the same direction as Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), which regulates the forex market and forex brokers throughout the EU.
The draft is also focused on stablecoins – much more so than any other digital currencies. That focus is likely prompted by Facebook’s Libra plans.
Source
Frankly, I am only surprised it took this long, as this was inevitable.