Somesing, South Korean Web3 Social Music Service, Faces Attack with $11.58 Million Loss

South Korean Web3 social music service Somesing announced that it suffered a security breach last Saturday, resulting in a loss of 730 million native tokens (SSX), approximately $11.58 million. This includes 504 million undistributed SSX tokens scheduled to circulate by the end of 2025 and 226 million SSX held by the Somesing Foundation, which are already part of its current circulation.  Somesing stated, “It has been confirmed that this hacking incident is not related to any member of the Somesing team. Considering the method of the attack, it may have been carried out by professional hackers who specialize in attacking virtual assets.” The platform has reported the hacking incident to the National Police Agency, initiating an investigation, and has pledged to inform INTERPOL.  Somesing is working with the local blockchain entity Klaytn Foundation and international law enforcement partner Uppsala Security to track the attackers. The platform plans to freeze relevant assets and take legal action once the perpetrators are identified.  

2024-01-29Deep Dive

Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Surges 74% in 2023 with 27 Total Adjustments

According to statistics, the Bitcoin mining difficulty experienced a total of 27 adjustments this year, with 20 increases and 7 decreases. Throughout the year, there was an approximate 74% increase in difficulty, with the largest increase of 10.26% occurring on January 16th and the smallest increase of 0.12% on August 9th. The most substantial decrease in difficulty was 3.59% on January 3rd, while the smallest decrease was 0.49% on February 12th. The 27th and final adjustment of the year occurred on December 24th.  Furthermore, according to BTC.com data, it is anticipated that the first Bitcoin mining difficulty adjustment in 2024 will take place around January 4th, with the difficulty potentially increasing by 2.25% to reach 73.62 T.  

2023-12-27Deep Dive

Hong Kong Police: JPEX Fraud Update - Another Arrest

Hong Kong police provide an update on the progress of the JPEX suspected fraud case: 1 more person arrested this week. As of 4 pm on December 6, a total of 2,628 victims have reported cases, involving an amount of approximately 1.61 billion yuan. 67 people have been arrested, and all those arrested have been granted bail pending further investigation. However, it is not ruled out that more individuals may be arrested.  

2023-12-07Deep Dive

Outlook: Potential Bitcoin Surge Beyond $40,000 as USDT Whales Increase Buying Power

Santiment data shows that the price of Bitcoin has reached $38,300 for the first time since May 5, 2022. Among many contributors, the top 100 largest Tether (USDT) addresses have accumulated $1.67 billion in USDT over the past six months, representing a purchasing power growth of 9.7%. If the purchasing power of these large USDT holders continues to increase, there is a possibility that the price of Bitcoin could soon surpass $40,000.  

2023-11-27Deep Dive

Grayscale's GBTC to Spot Bitcoin ETF Conversion Application Update

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart posted on the X platform, stating that Grayscale has submitted a new S-3/prospectus for the conversion of GBTC to an ETF. The most significant update is the plan to change the code from GBTC to BTC, confirming that Grayscale is in negotiations with the SEC. The product documents are being updated/changed following discussions and feedback from the SEC. Yesterday, James Seyffart mentioned on the X platform that Grayscale had a meeting with the SECs Trading and Markets division (responsible for approving or disapproving 19b-4 filings). There are rumors that other potential Bitcoin spot ETF issuers have also met with the SEC in the past week.  

2023-11-24Deep Dive

FTX Bankruptcy Trustee Sues Bybit to Recover $953 Million in Assets

FTXs bankruptcy trustee has filed a lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit Fintech Ltd and its two subsidiaries this Friday in a Delaware court. The suit seeks to recover approximately $953 million in cash and crypto assets that were withdrawn from the platform before FTXs collapse.  The lawsuit alleges that Mirana Corp., an investment arm under Bybit, possessed special VIP privileges that most FTX customers did not have, utilizing these privileges to move a significant portion of its assets out of FTXs platform during the FTX collapse. While FTX clients were waiting in line for withdrawals, Mirana exerted pressure on FTX employees to meet its withdrawal requests.  Another subsidiary named in the suit is Time Research Ltd.  

2023-11-13Deep Dive

SushiSwap CEO Proposes "Deploying New SUSHI Token Economics"

SushiSwaps newly appointed CEO, Jared Grey, has initiated a community proposal to deploy a new tokenomics for SUSHI. The proposal is currently undergoing a community poll. The new token model is built upon principles of protocol sustainability, enhanced token utility, and fund diversification, and includes:  Liquidity Subsidies: Improving the efficiency of liquidity subsidies to reduce the annual cost of SUSHI emissions.  Value Alignment: Aligning SUSHIs revenue with sustainable emissions.  Financial Stability: Addressing the current emissions-to-revenue ratio affecting economic viability to enhance stability.  LP Incentives: Realigning incentives for liquidity providers to remain competitive.  Staking Mechanism: Consideration of modifications to the xSushi staking.  xSushi Distribution: Providing fairer value distribution among participants for xSushi staking.  Additionally, the new economic model is designed to strategically expand through DEX innovations and includes:  Transaction Fees: The primary source of income from trading in liquidity pools.  Routing Fees: Income from transaction fees acquired through Aggregation Router.  Staking Fees: Potential revenue from staking rewards.  Partnerships: Opportunities for income growth through strategic partnerships.  

2023-11-08Deep Dive

Gemini CTO Departure Reflects Crypto Industry Struggles

Gemini CTO departure occurs amidst ongoing staffing challenges. Tiwana, also CEO for Gemini APAC, worked to revamp the companys culture. Gemini faces regulatory scrutiny and a legal battle with Genesis and Digital Currency Group.  Pravjit Tiwana, the global chief technology officer of Gemini Trust Co., is leaving the firm founded by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss. Tiwana, who is also the chief executive officer for Gemini APAC, the companys business in Asia, is departing this month.  This news comes amidst Gemini‘s battle with crypto lender Genesis and its parent company, Digital Currency Group, which has involved public disputes between DCG’s founder Barry Silbert and the Winklevoss twins.  Gemini CTO Departure Amidst Controversies and Disputes  Before joining Gemini in January 2022, Tiwana spent over six years as a general manager at Amazon Web Services. During his tenure at Gemini, Tiwana aimed to transform the company‘s culture to resemble Amazon’s, resulting in some employees leaving. His responsibilities included overseeing product, engineering, and design, as well as establishing the companys operations in India.  Gemini is currently facing regulatory scrutiny, with the US Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that Geminis partnership with Genesis, known as the Earn program, involved an unregistered offer and sale of securities.  Tyler Winklevoss has dismissed the

2023-11-08Deep Dive

Insider Sources: Silicon Valley Investment Firm Proof Group Bidding to Relaunch FTX

According to a report by Coindesk, two anonymous sources have revealed that Proof Group is bidding to relaunch FTX. Proof Group, a Silicon Valley investment company, is part of the Fahrenheit alliance, which successfully bid to acquire the bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius.  In prior reports, FTX was considering proposals from three bidders to potentially restart the exchange, with a decision on how to proceed expected to be made before mid-December. Currently, FTX is in negotiations with investors regarding the details of potentially binding offers.  In response to the news, FTT experienced a short-term price surge, breaking the 1.2U mark and achieving a 24-hour gain of 8.27%.  

2023-11-07Deep Dive

SafeMoon Founders Accused of Multimillion-Dollar International Fraud Scheme

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of New York, accusing the cryptocurrency company SafeMoon LLC and its founders Kyle Nagy, SafeMoon US LLC, CEO John Karony, and CTO Thomas Smith of conducting a large-scale fraudulent scheme involving the unregistered cryptocurrency asset SafeMoon. The charges include securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  The SEC alleges that the defendants promised to pump up the tokens price but instead wiped out billions in market value, withdrew more than $200 million worth of cryptocurrency assets from the project, and misappropriated investor funds for personal use.  The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York has announced the arrests of John Karony and Thomas Smith earlier today.  SafeMoons price skyrocketed over 55,000% from March 12 to April 20, 2021, reaching a market cap of $5.7 billion. However, when the public learned on April 20, 2021, that SafeMoons liquidity pool was not locked as claimed, its price dropped nearly 50%.  

2023-11-02Deep Dive
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