Connect with us

Crypto

Bitcoin sees sharp plunge amid uncertainty with crypto bank Silvergate

Published

on

Bitcoin sees sharp plunge amid uncertainty with crypto bank Silvergate

Bitcoin dropped rapidly on Friday after speculators started to doubt the well being of a serious crypto agency, with the flagship cryptocurrency falling by about 5%.

The sharp sell-off comes as shares of crypto financial institution Silvergate Capital get hammered. Silvergate introduced this week that it wouldn’t be submitting its annual 10-Okay report on time, which is required by the Securities and Change Fee and particulars the corporate’s fiscal situation. Silvergate mentioned that it could want a pair extra weeks and is “presently analyzing sure regulatory and different inquiries and investigations.”

The delay is elevating considerations that one of many largest banks within the cryptocurrency house is struggling to remain in enterprise. As of Friday morning, shares of Silvergate have been down a staggering 64%. Much more stunning, the crypto financial institution has shed greater than 95% of its worth because the begin of the brand new 12 months.

“The Firm is presently within the technique of reevaluating its companies and techniques in gentle of the enterprise and regulatory challenges it presently faces,” Silvergate mentioned concerning the scenario.

FTX DEBTORS SET DEADLINE FOR POLITICIANS TO RETURN FUNDS FROM BANKMAN-FRIED

Advertisement

The financial institution mentioned that there have been quite a lot of causes for its struggles, together with main cryptocurrency bankruptcies final 12 months, the most important of which being FTX’s dramatic implosion, in addition to basic market volatility over the past a part of 2022.

That uncertainty at Silvergate is now filtering right down to anxiousness within the cryptocurrency markets.

Bitcoin has declined to $22,300 after lastly punching above $25,000 final month in what has usually been a superb couple of months for bitcoin, which has appeared to be bounding again after sharp losses within the wake of the FTX collapse. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, was off by about 3.7% on Friday and was hovering round $1,560.

Markus Thielen, the top of analysis at digital asset platform Matrixport, mentioned the dips are intently tied to Silvergate’s flailing enterprise operations.

“The drop is as a result of steady fallout from Silvergate Financial institution, as there may be now extra uncertainty about fiat on-and-off ramp,” he informed Coin Telegraph. “As well as, there at the moment are wider trade considerations that U.S. regulators are attempting to chop off additional banking relationships between crypto companies and FDIC-insured banks.”

Advertisement

This week apart, bitcoin and different main cryptocurrencies have had a 12 months marked by restoration.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

On New 12 months’s Day, bitcoin was buying and selling at about $16,500 and was usually under $17,000 for more often than not after FTX’s dramatic implosion in mid-November. However as of Friday, the flagship digital asset was buying and selling up greater than 35% from that point. Ethereum has grown by some 30% throughout that very same interval.

“The numerous factor about this climb is that is again to the extent it was earlier than the FTX implosion for each bitcoin and ethereum,” John Berlau, a senior fellow and director of finance coverage on the Aggressive Enterprise Institute, lately informed the Washington Examiner.

Advertisement

Crypto

North Korean hackers linked to hack of 4,500 bitcoins from Japanese crypto exchange – SiliconANGLE

Published

on

North Korean hackers linked to hack of 4,500 bitcoins from Japanese crypto exchange – SiliconANGLE

North Korean hackers linked to the infamous Lazarus hacking group have been identified as being behind the theft of more than 4,500 bitcoins from Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin earlier this year.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, in conjunction with the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center and National Police Agency of Japan, has revealed that hackers who go by the name of TraderTraitor, an arm of Lazarus, successfully stole the equivalent of $308 million from DMM in May and have detailed how the North Korean hackers did so.

The investigation into the hack found that in late March 2024, a North Korean cyber actor pretending to be a recruiter on LinkedIn contacted an employee at Ginco, a Japanese enterprise cryptocurrency wallet software company. The threat actor sent the target, who maintained access to Ginco’s wallet management system, a URL linked to a malicious Python script under the guise of a pre-employment test located on a GitHub page. The victim copied the Python code to their personal GitHub page and was subsequently compromised.

With the access gained, the TraderTraitor hackers sat patiently, waiting until May to exploit their access. To steal the bitcoin, the actors exploited session cookie information to impersonate the compromised employee and successfully gained access to Ginco’s unencrypted communications system. With this access, it’s believed that the hackers then manipulated a legitimate transaction request from a DMM employee, resulting in the theft of 4,502.9 bitcoin.

The stolen bitcoin was subsequently transferred to TraderTraitor-controlled wallets, which ultimately lead back to the North Korean government.

Advertisement

“The FBI, National Police Agency of Japan and other U.S. government and international partners will continue to expose and combat North Korea’s use of illicit activities — including cybercrime and cryptocurrency theft — to generate revenue for the regime,” the FBI noted in a statement.

The involvement of both North Korea and an arm of Lazarus in the hack comes as no surprise, as the hack of DMM isn’t the first time Lazarus has targeted cryptocurrency exchanges.

In 2022, Lazarus was linked to the hack on the Ronin Network that led to the theft of $615 million in cryptocurrency, and more recently, in July, the group was linked to the theft of $234.9 million in cryptocurrency from India-based cryptocurrency exchange WazirX.

Image: SiliconANGLE/Ideogram

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto

Japan, US blame North Koreans for $300 million crypto theft

Published

on

Japan, US blame North Koreans for 0 million crypto theft

INQUIRER.net stock images

Tokyo, Japan — A North Korean hacking group stole cryptocurrency worth over $300 million from the Japan-based exchange DMM Bitcoin, according to Japanese police and the United States’ FBI.

The TraderTraitor group — believed to be part of Lazarus Group, which is allegedly linked to the Pyongyang authorities — carried out the heist, Japan’s National Police Agency said Tuesday.

Article continues after this advertisement

Lazarus Group gained notoriety a decade ago when it was accused of hacking into Sony Pictures as revenge for “The Interview,” a film that mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Advertisement

READ: Philippines ranks 2nd in cryptocurrency ownership globally — study

The FBI detailed “the theft of cryptocurrency worth $308 million US dollars from the Japan-based cryptocurrency company DMM by North Korean cyber actors” in a separate statement dated Monday.

Article continues after this advertisement

It described a “targeted social engineering” operation where a hacker pretended to be a recruiter on LinkedIn to contact an employee of a different crypto wallet software company.

Article continues after this advertisement

Advertisement

They sent the employee what appeared to be a pre-employment test, which actually contained a malicious line of code.

Article continues after this advertisement

That allowed the hacker to compromise their system and impersonate the employee, the FBI said.

“In late May 2024, the actors likely used this access to manipulate a legitimate transaction request by a DMM employee, resulting in the loss of 4,502.9 Bitcoin, worth $308 million at the time,” it said.

Article continues after this advertisement
Advertisement

“The FBI, National Police Agency of Japan, and other US government and international partners will continue to expose and combat North Korea’s use of illicit activities — including cybercrime and cryptocurrency theft — to generate revenue for the regime,” it said.

North Korea’s cyber-warfare program dates back to at least the mid-1990s.



Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.


Your subscription has been successful.
Advertisement

It has since grown to a 6,000-strong cyber-warfare unit known as Bureau 121 that operates from several countries, according to a 2020 US military report.

Continue Reading

Crypto

North Korean hacker group identified in theft of DMM Bitcoin assets

Published

on

North Korean hacker group identified in theft of DMM Bitcoin assets

A North Korea-linked hacker group stole digital assets worth 48.2 billion yen ($307 million) from Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin Co. in May, Japanese police said Tuesday.

The hacker group was identified by the police as TraderTraitor following an investigation conducted in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

DMM Bitcoin said earlier this month it will go out of business after suspending some of its services following the detection of the unauthorized leakage of funds on May 31.

Photo illustration shows a visual representation of the digital cryptocurrency Bitcoin. (Getty/Kyodo)

The police tracked the flow of stolen bitcoin to an account managed by the group, which is suspected to be linked to the Lazarus hacking group allegedly sponsored by the North Korean government.

Advertisement

The investigation found that an employee at a company that manages DMM Bitcoin’s cryptocurrency accounts was contacted via the LinkedIn social network by a person purporting to be a headhunter.

The perpetrator then breached the wallet management system by planting malware and falsified transaction amounts as well as the destinations of remittances, the police said.

In September, Japan’s Financial Services Agency ordered the exchange to improve operations, saying its risk management structure was inadequate.

No customers suffered financial damage as the exchange secured 55 billion yen from a group firm to cover the lost assets.

The police, the FBI, and other U.S. government and international partners will “continue to expose and combat North Korea’s use of illicit activities,” including cybercrime and cryptocurrency theft, to generate revenue for the regime, they said in a statement.

Advertisement

Related coverage:

Japanese publisher paid $3 million to hacker group after cyberattack

Japan’s DMM Bitcoin to end business after losing 48 bil. yen in leak

Shiba Inu of “doge” meme fame leaves enduring legacy, online and off


Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending