US Justice Department Seeks 5 Years in Prison for Ilya Lichtenstein for Bitfinex Hack and Bitcoin Theft
The US Justice Department is seeking a five-year prison sentence for Ilya Lichtenstein, who is accused of hacking the Bitfinex crypto exchange in 2016 and stealing 120,000 bitcoins. The department said it reduced the sentence because Lichtenstein actively cooperated with the investigation and testified in other investigations, including one against the operator of cryptocurrency mixer Bitcoin Fog earlier this year.
His wife and accomplice, Heather Morgan, will receive a shorter sentence because Lichtenstein was found to be primarily responsible for the Bitfinex hack. According to the case materials, he agreed to compensate for the damage by transferring crypto assets worth more than $6 billion to the Bitfinex crypto exchange.
Liechtenstein was arrested in February 2022 and pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally obtain funds from Bitfinex in August 2023.
Former owner of WEX crypto exchange detained in Warsaw on US warrant
Former owner of WEX crypto exchange Dmitry Vasiliev was detained in Warsaw. This was reported by Exved CEO Sergey Mendeleev in his Telegram channel.
"Dima was arrested by Interpol in Warsaw on a US warrant in connection with charges of assisting in evading anti-Russian sanctions. The extradition process has been launched," he wrote. According to Mendeleev, local lawyers are working with Vasiliev, and his projects are "in the safe hands of his closest partners."
In July 2018, WEX stopped withdrawing funds due to "technical work." In August of the same year, it became known that the exchange had gone bankrupt and that its work had been suspended. An initiative group of exchange clients calculated that the damage exceeded $400 million, of which Vasiliev is credited with withdrawing $200 million. In the spring of 2019, Kazakhstan law enforcement officers recognized Vasiliev in absentia as a suspect in fraud and put him on the interstate wanted list.
In July 2019, Vasiliev was arrested in Italy, where he spent several weeks in prison. In September 2021, he was detained again and arrested in Warsaw. However, in December of the same year, he was released, after which he returned to Russia. At that time, the lawyer said that the court had not yet made a final decision on the issue of Vasiliev's extradition to Kazakhstan.
Later, an unknown person withdrew 100 ETH from one of the WEX wallets, which were then transferred to the Binance exchange.
Crypto companies' losses from hacks in October fell by 56% — Immunefi report
According to a report from Immunefi, crypto companies suffered losses from hacks in the amount of $55.1 million in October, which is 56.6% less than in September ($126.9 million).
There were seven incidents during the month. Most of the losses were associated with two projects: the hack of the Radiant Capital DeFi protocol for $50 million and the Tapioca DAO exploit for $4.4 million.
P719, Morpho Labs, Ramses Exchange, HYDT and Fire were also affected. Analysts noted that there were no cybercrimes recorded in the CeFi segment in October.
Hackers most often attacked the BNB Chain network, which accounted for 50% of all attacks last month. The remaining exploits occurred in the Ethereum and Arbitrum networks (25% each).
According to analysts, since the beginning of the year, the total market losses have exceeded $1.4 billion as a result of 179 incidents.
In a commentary for The Block, Immunefi representatives explained the decrease in monthly losses of crypto companies by improving internal security measures, including audits, smart contract improvements, bounty programs, and hiring experienced specialists.
Researchers from Zimperium have discovered an improved version of the FakeCall Android Trojan, which can now intercept user calls to the bank and redirect them to the attackers' numbers. The main goal of such an attack is to steal confidential information and money from the victims' accounts.
FakeCall was first reported in April 2022. During 2023, the Trojan learned to disguise itself as more than 20 different financial institutions and use third-party applications to make calls, which complicates its detection.
The new version of FakeCall is capable of becoming the main call handler on an infected device, which allows it to intercept both audio and video streams. The Trojan has also acquired additional mechanisms to protect against detection.
Telekom MMS and Bankhaus Metzler Launch Green Bitcoin Mining Project
Deutsche Telekom subsidiary Telekom MMS has launched a project with Bankhaus Metzler to mine Bitcoin using excess and renewable energy. Deutsche Telekom noted that increasing renewable generation requires stabilizing the power grid, as output is dependent on weather conditions and creates irregular peaks. Telekom MMS plans to test the mining infrastructure using electricity that is not used due to storage limitations in the grid.
The cryptocurrency mining equipment is located in Backnang, Germany, on the premises of Riva GmbH Engineering, a metalworking company. A team of Telekom MMS engineers is responsible for maintenance. In Germany, as in other countries such as the United States and Finland, mining is seen as an effective way to manage excess capacity, and the Telekom MMS project is intended to prove this approach.
Bankhaus Metzler sees the project as an opportunity to expand its services related to cryptocurrency and blockchain.
FTX Files $1.8 Billion Lawsuit Against Binance and Founder Changpeng Zhao
Managers of bankrupt exchange FTX have filed a $1.8 billion lawsuit against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao, Bloomberg reports. The lawsuit states that in July 2021, Zhao and other Binance executives received funds from FTX as part of a share buyback deal with exchange co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried. As part of the deal, Binance sold 20% of its shares in FTX's international division and 18.4% in its U.S. branch. Bankman-Fried paid for the buyback with FTX token (FTT) and Binance coins (BNB and BUSD), which were then valued at $1.76 billion.
FTX's lawsuit alleges that the exchange and its fund Alameda Research were already insolvent in early 2021 and that the buyback deal was fraudulent. FTX also accused Zhao of posting misleading tweets before the exchange collapsed in order to harm a competing platform.
Despite bankruptcy proceedings that began in late 2022, the FTX token continues to trade on exchanges, including Binance. In August, Delaware District Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey approved a plan to distribute payments to FTX's creditors.In August, Delaware District Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey approved a plan to distribute payments to creditors of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
User Loses Access to $25.8 Million After Sending Error
A user using the pseudonym qklpjeth reported that he lost access to 7,912 ezETH tokens (worth about $25.8 million at the time of writing) after sending them to the wrong address. According to qklpjeth, on June 19, he accidentally copied the wrong data and transferred the tokens to a smart contract that does not allow withdrawals.
The victim tried to solve the problem with the help of the Renzo platform developers, who could update the code and unlock the funds, but, as qklpjeth reported, the team refused to help due to “regulatory restrictions”. After this, on November 10, the user reached out to the community for support, promising 10% of the amount (~$2.5 million) as a reward to anyone who helps return the funds.
The situation has sparked discussion in the crypto community. One commenter noted that qklpjeth's problems are related to shortcomings of the ERC-20 standard that have existed since 2017. He explained that a similar transaction with ETH would have resulted in an error, but this mechanism does not work in the case of tokens. SPACE ID Platform Development Director Harrison Seletsky called the incident a "wake-up call", emphasizing the need to improve the user experience in the industry.
Investors Drop Appeal in Musk’s Dogecoin Manipulation Case
Investors have formally dropped their appeal in the case in which Elon Musk was accused of manipulating the price of Dogecoin. The move marks the formal end of a long-running legal battle that has been closely watched by legal experts and the crypto community alike. The lawsuit centered on allegations that Musk’s public statements and actions, including his social media activity, artificially inflated the price of Dogecoin.
The withdrawal of the appeal marks the final point in a contentious legal battle that has long been debated internationally. The original lawsuit alleged that Musk’s tweets and public statements about Dogecoin were part of a deliberate strategy to manipulate the market for personal gain. However, with the withdrawal of the appeal, the case has concluded without further escalation or continuation.
The conclusion of the case is significant in the context of debates about the influence of public figures on the value of cryptocurrencies. Elon Musk, known for his active presence on social media, has been criticized for causing wild price swings in digital assets, including Bitcoin and Dogecoin. The final resolution of this dispute could set an important precedent for future cases, especially given the ongoing influence of social media on financial markets.
Prosecutors accuse Ptitsyn of distributing Phobos malware, which hackers used to extort $16 million from more than 1,000 organizations around the world. The main targets were schools, medical institutions, and government agencies. According to investigators, Ptitsyn and his accomplices sold the program on the darknet using the pseudonyms derxan and zimmermanx.
Phobos, which appeared in 2019, operates on the RaaS model. The software encrypts data obtained through phishing emails or RDP hacking, and then demands a ransom for its recovery.
If the charges are confirmed, Ptitsyn faces up to 20 years in prison for fraud, 10 years for hacking, and five years for conspiracy. In February, hackers used a version of Phobos to attack Romanian clinics, which confirmed the scale of the threat.
Germany Searches for OneCoin Founder in South Africa
German law enforcement agencies have begun checking information about the possible whereabouts of Ruja Ignatova, the creator of the OneCoin cryptocurrency pyramid, in Cape Town, the capital of South Africa.
Ignatova has been on the FBI's list of 10 most wanted criminals since 2022. According to the new documentary Die Kryptoqueen, shown on the German TV channel WDR, she may be alive and hiding in South Africa.
German police have confirmed that they have no reliable information about her death, and therefore the search is ongoing. However, the details of the investigation are not disclosed.
The United States has announced a $5 million reward for any information that will help detain Ignatova. She is accused of organizing one of the largest cryptocurrency scams, which caused billions of dollars in damage.
Rudja Ignatova disappeared in 2017 after the investigation into OneCoin attracted the attention of international law enforcement agencies.
TON Foundation Unveils New Project with Tokenized Bitcoin
The Open Network (TON) team has unveiled a White Paper for the TON Teleport BTC inter-network bridge project, which connects the TON blockchain with the first cryptocurrency via tokenized Bitcoin tgBTC. The new tool will allow users to transfer BTC to and from the TON network.
The TON Foundation said that TON Teleport BTC will open access to interaction with exchanges, lending platforms, and DeFi applications in the TON ecosystem. The tgBTC token will provide holders not only with high liquidity due to its peg to Bitcoin, but also the ability to generate profits using the asset in decentralized financial instruments.
“TON Teleport BTC improves existing yield generation methodologies and paves the way for a future where Bitcoin’s liquidity and utility are enhanced by decentralized systems based on TON,” the document states.
In addition, tgBTC can be used to borrow stablecoins, support liquidity pools and other operations in the network ecosystem.
Dogecoin has surpassed the German automaker Porsche in market cap. According to Cointelegraph, Dogecoin has reached $57.8 billion, while Porsche's capitalization remains slightly above $56 billion.
The main reason for the growth was the interest of American billionaire Elon Musk, who actively mentions the memecoin on social networks and in public speeches. In addition, the excitement around the coin was increased by the news of the creation of the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will be headed by Musk. The similarity of the department's name to the acronym of the cryptocurrency has generated increased interest from investors.
Another catalyst was the announcement by Valour of the launch of the first exchange-traded product based on Dogecoin in Sweden. This tool allows investors to gain access to the crypto asset without having to buy it directly.
TRON (TRX) saw a 103.4% gain on December 3, hitting a new all-time high of $0.45. However, at the time of writing, the daily gain has slowed to 63.6%, with the price sitting at $0.381. The cryptocurrency has fallen to 11th place by market cap ($32.5 billion) after briefly being in the top 10.
Rachel Lucas of BTC Markets linked the TRX rally to political instability in South Korea.
“TRX’s role as a widely used token for transfers between exchanges makes it a tool for traders looking to quickly move funds between platforms,” she explained.
She believes that restrictions on trading on Upbit, which sometimes accounts for more than 80% of digital asset turnover in South Korea, may have contributed to the increase in TRX trading volume.
Presto Research analyst Min Jeong doubted the impact of the political crisis on the crypto asset's dynamics, noting that the growth was also supported by projects like Iota and Vechain.
TRON founder Justin Sun did not ignore the rally:
"Six years later. Still here. Still #BUIDLing. Everything has changed, but one thing has not changed: TRON remains a contender for a place in the top 10," he commented.
UAE Central Bank Approves First Dirham-Pegged Stablecoin
The UAE Central Bank has approved the creation of the country's first stablecoin pegged to the national currency — AED Coin. The developers of AED Coin said that this stablecoin will become a reliable and stable payment instrument, meeting the needs of both the population and businesses. The main goal of the project is to provide a modern financial instrument for access to technologies such as e-commerce, money transfers and decentralized finance.
The launch of AED Coin is fully consistent with the "UAE Digital Development Strategy", the company said. This will be an important step towards the digitalization of the country's financial system, ensuring the security and stability of transactions. Earlier, Tether also announced its intentions to create a dirham-pegged stablecoin.
The AED Coin project is being implemented with the support of the Phoenix Group cryptocurrency conglomerate, listed on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange, as well as the investment company Green Acorn.
Ledger User Reports $2.5 Million in Crypto Assets Theft
A Ledger hardware wallet owner has reported the loss of $2.5 million in digital assets, including 10 BTC worth $1 million and an NFT worth $1.5 million. The user, who goes by the pseudonym Anchor Drops, claims that the Ledger Nano S, which was purchased directly from the manufacturer, was used securely and that the seed phrase was never entered online. Despite this, the assets were stolen even though the wallet had not been used for two months, raising questions in the crypto community.
The opinions of the participants in the discussion are divided. Some believe that the problem is related to a long-standing vulnerability in Ledger or new security glitches. Others suggest that human error could be the cause, even if the user is confident in their own caution. The incident has added to the doubts about Ledger’s reputation, especially amid recent complaints about phishing attacks and suspicions of data collection through the Ledger Live software.
FASB Approves Rules for Measuring the Fair Value of Crypto Assets
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has adopted rules for measuring the fair value of crypto assets. This change closes a gap in corporate reporting, as crypto assets were previously reported solely at their purchase price.
Companies will now update their crypto asset value data each reporting period. According to FASB, the new standard makes accounting for cryptocurrencies more similar to accounting for traditional financial instruments.
The updated approaches will improve the transparency and accuracy of financial reporting, allowing investors to better assess the financial risks, cash flows, and performance of companies.
Users of Ledger hardware wallets have been hit by a new phishing attack aimed at stealing private keys and recovery phrases.
Scammers posing as Ledger support send messages about a leak of confidential data and ask users to check their recovery phrase. The links in these messages redirect to fake sites disguised as official Ledger services.
The phishing page checks the entered words against acceptable options and reports that the phrase is invalid. This forces the victim to re-enter the data, which allows the scammers to verify the correctness of the entered words.
Ledger reminded that the company never asks for a recovery phrase and warns users against sharing this information with third parties.
The EU’s new MiCA crypto asset rules require crypto exchanges to delist stablecoins without regulatory approval by December 30, 2024. Tether’s USDT may be at risk of delisting, as the company does not have a local license.
MiCA requires issuers of all stablecoins on EU exchanges to have a special permit. For example, Tether’s competitor Circle received such a license in July. In response, Tether announced the issuance of EURQ and USDQ stablecoins in partnership with Quantoz Payments. These tokens will comply with the MiCA standard and will be launched on the Hadron platform.
However, industry experts warn that delisting USDT could weaken Europe’s position in the crypto market, especially against the backdrop of a possible crypto boom in the US. According to them, such measures will lead to an outflow of liquidity and make the region less attractive to traders.
USDT is considered the most liquid stablecoin, and its exclusion will create difficulties for investors trading pairs with this token, which will lead to losses. Bloomberg notes that such actions risk turning Europe into a crypto backwater, especially against the backdrop of increasing pressure from the United States.
Turkey to Introduce AML Requirements for Crypto Transactions
From February 25, 2025, users in Turkey who have made digital asset transactions worth more than TRY 15,000 (~$425) will be required to provide identification data to crypto service providers.
The new AML regulation is aimed at combating money laundering and terrorist financing. Transactions with insufficient information about the sender will be classified as “risky” and may be rejected.
Crypto service providers are not required to collect data on transfers below the specified threshold. The changes will come into effect after the remaining provisions of MiCA are adopted on December 30.
Turkey, according to Chainalysis, ranks fourth among the world's crypto markets, behind only the US, India, and the UK.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has introduced new rules requiring “DeFi brokers” to report gross income from crypto asset transactions.
The changes will require DeFi brokers to collect data on their users’ trades and file Form 1099, which is used to report non-wage income. This simplifies the tax reporting process for good taxpayers.
The new rules will apply to front-end service providers that directly interact with clients. They will be required to disclose the names and addresses of users on tax returns.
The requirements will go into effect on January 1, 2027, and will affect 875 “DeFi brokers,” according to IRS estimates.
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