A blockchain analyst warned about a fake page of the HitBTC platform, on which scammers use phishing links to empty users’ cryptocurrency wallets

Hackers stole more than $15 million in various cryptocurrencies through a fake website. Which mimics the HitBTC cryptocurrency exchange page. This was reported by a blockchain security analyst at SlowMist. According to the company, scammers are stealing various cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT. They do this through a fake website that looks similar to the original exchange portal.

Analyst identified and published four cryptocurrency addresses of the attackers. He also explained that he discovered three ways in which hackers gain access to users’ wallets on this site.

The fake page may prompt users to verify the wallet’s connection. After a user clicks the Confirm button, hackers gain access to USDT tokens.

The second option was to go to the page for depositing funds, which is identical to the real page on the exchange. But in the field for the deposit address entered data hackers. In this case, they rely on the fact that the information in the standard fields will not be double-checked by the account owner.

In the third case, the scammers take advantage of the fact that the sidebar to sign the transaction on the site pops up automatically. And with the data already completely filled in, which are also usually not double-checked. When the user clicks on the transaction confirmation button, the hackers gain access to the assets.

Our experts point out that in February of this year, hackers spoofed the website of a major cryptocurrency conference. Where they offered users to connect MetaMask wallets and make a transaction that debited funds. To promote their site, the scammers even paid for advertising on Google. And rose to second place in search for a while.

Insider who pleaded guilty in a case related to cryptocurrency trading on Coinbase. He and his partners made $1.5 million by buying tokens before listing them on the cryptocurrency exchange

Former Coinbase manager Ishaan Wahi was sentenced to two years in prison for insider trading in cryptocurrencies, Reuters reports. The charge against him was filed last July. And last February, he pleaded guilty and was named in court as the first insider. Who pleaded guilty in a case involving cryptocurrency trading.

While working at Coinbase from June 2021 until April 2022, Wahi provided his brother Nikhil and their acquaintance Samir Ramani with confidential information. This information contained data about cryptocurrencies scheduled to be listed on this exchange.

Based on the information received from Ishaan Wahi, Nikhil Wahi and Ramani worked together to trade 55 different crypto-assets shortly before their listing on Coinbase. The scammers were able to make about $1.5 million from this.

Ishan and Nikhil Wahi were arrested on July 21; Samir Ramani was not reported to have been arrested. Nikhil Wahi pleaded guilty last September. And earlier this year, he was sentenced to ten months in prison.

At the May 9 court hearing, Wahi said he made a huge mistake “that will haunt him for the rest of his life.” At the same time, the assistant prosecutor noted that Wahi’s behavior was not a one-time mistake, his actions were committed over the course of ten months at Coinbase.

Our experts note that the prosecutors insisted that the defendant be imprisoned for more than three years. And the defense asked the court to sentence him no harsher than that of Nikhil Wahi. Judge Loretta Preska eventually sentenced Nikhil Wahi to two years in prison. He will now be sent to Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution in New Jersey.

Crypto-Upvotes experts reviewed the prospects of cryptocurrency BNB and told what will lead to an increase in its price

BNB is a cryptocurrency that supports the Binance Chain ecosystem. BNB is one of the most popular utility tokens in the world.

The token is a key asset in the launchpad system (launchpad, a platform for launching initial offerings of tokens) and sales on the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, which directly affects its value.

The need to keep the token on balance encourages those wishing to participate in exchange events to buy.

In terms of technical analysis, we have seen a very technical nudge towards the $325-340 level for a year now.

The “rising triangle” pattern generally warns traders of an impulsive upward price breakout soon. The pattern is characterized by ” pressing up” prices from below. The maximums remain at the same level. And minima increase, “pressing” the price to the upper boundary. This is followed by an impulsive upward price breakout and destruction of the counter resistance.

Chart BNB

The rising lows marked on the chart at $180, $225, $265 and $320 technically form an upward movement. In our opinion, the price is in the final point and the exit from which could provoke its rapid growth.

The smaller timeframe also suggests a local uptrend, which allows you to enter the trade with a small stop loss.

Trading plan:

Buy BNB/USDT at $317.
Risk: 10% of capital.
Stop loss: $300.
Take profit: $457.

Disclaimer:

Crypto-Upvotes does not provide investment advice. This material is for information purposes only. Cryptocurrency is a volatile asset that can lead to financial losses.

Executives and investors of Coinbase, the second largest cryptocurrency exchange, are accused of selling $2.9 billion worth of shares. Which they did before the publication of negative information, which influenced the collapse of prices. Crypto-Upvotes expert review

The head of Coinbase, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, Brian Armstrong. As well as its board member Mark Andriessen and other company officials avoided more than $1 billion in losses while using insider information, according to a lawsuit filed by one of the company’s investors.

He estimated that they sold Coinbase (COIN) stock within days of the cryptocurrency platform’s public offering two years ago. In doing so, knowing of “bad news” that would affect the further collapse of quotations.

The company’s board of directors conducted a so-called direct listing. Instead of a typical initial public offering and quickly sold off $2.9 billion worth of stock before Coinbase management disclosed “significant negative information. Which negated the market’s optimism after the company’s first quarterly earnings report. said in a complaint filed in Delaware state court.

“In five weeks, the value of these shares fell by more than $1 billion. And Coinbase’s market capitalization fell by more than $37 billion,” claims Adam Grabski, speaking on behalf of investors. He says he has held Coinbase stock since April 2021.

Armstrong sold $291.8 million worth of Coinbase stock in a direct listing. Says the complaint, and Andrissen’s venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, sold $118.6 million worth of stock.

“As the most popular and only publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. We are sometimes the subject of bizarre litigation,” Coinbase representatives wrote in a commentary for Bloomberg.

The lawsuit lists the main beneficiaries of the stock sale. Among them are Andreessen Horowitz Group (sold $118.6 million worth of stock) and CEO Brian Armstrong (sold for $291.9 million). As well as COO Emily Choi (sold for $223.9 million), co-founder and board member Fred Ehrsam (sold for $219.4 million) and others.

Union Square Ventures, an investment firm owned by Fred Ehrsam, sold $1.8 billion worth of stock. According to the lawsuit, the company led the Series A funding round for Coinbase. In doing so, it invested $5 million at 20 cents a share, valuing the company at about $20 million. The stock sale was “the largest exit in the firm’s history,” Grabski claims.

European Parliament members voted in favor of new rules for the digital asset industry in the European Union

European Parliament members in favor of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) bill to regulate cryptocurrencies. The EU became one of the first jurisdictions in the world to introduce comprehensive rules for cryptoassets. As well as consumer protection, financial stability and innovation, the European Commission said in a statement.

The MiCA project, the main provisions of which were agreed upon last year. It will allow cryptocurrency exchanges and cryptocurrency storage companies to offer their products legally in the EU. The document also establishes rules for stablecoins issuers.

Once the law enters into force, cryptocurrency companies will have to obtain registration in one of the EU member states. This will allow them to work in the entire European Union.

The law will come into force in July after being formally approved by the 27 member states of the bloc, expects European Commissioner Mairid McGuinness. In this case, some provisions of the act will come into force gradually. For example, the rules governing stablecoins will apply from July 2024.

European Banking Authority (EBA) and European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). They will ensure that crypto platforms comply with the rules. And use the necessary risk management processes.

Our experts note that European Parliament members voted in favor of a law to regulate transactions. This document requires operators of cryptocurrency platforms to identify their clients in order to prevent money laundering.

The authorities claim that the damage from the illegal activities of ex-managers of Terraform is not less than this amount. That is why the suspects’ property was seized during the investigation. Crypto Upvotes expert review

The Financial Crimes Investigation Unit of the Seoul South District Prosecutor’s Office seized property of former Terraform Labs employees worth 200 billion KRW ($153.6 million), local newspaper KBS News reported.

According to the South Korean law enforcers, the total damage from financial crimes. Terraform Labs creators are suspected of at least 200 million KRW, according to the report. Authorities have seized the property of eight former Terraform employees for that amount, including real estate. This will prevent the suspects from disposing of the property while they are under investigation.

Among those whose assets were seized is the company’s co-founder, Daniel Shin. The South Korean prosecutor’s office suspects him of making about $105 million in illegal profits from the sale of LUNA tokens. And it has already twice asked the court for a warrant for his arrest. Both times, the court refused, citing the vagueness of the charges and the fact that Shin is unlikely to destroy any evidence or flee.

Sheen faces charges of scam, breach of duty and capital markets laws. He denies all of the charges and claims that when he left Terraform Labs in 2020, he was no longer involved in its operations.

Do Kwon, the former head of Terraform Labs, was arrested in late March. This happened in Montenegro while trying to fly to Dubai with false documents. He is now in a local prison awaiting trial on a document forgery case. South Korean authorities have already requested his extradition. However, he will first have to serve his sentence in Montenegro if the local court finds him guilty.

Hackers have stolen a total of $255.8 million in cryptocurrencies and another $31.5 million in NFTs since the beginning of this year

Hackers made 26 hacks of crypto projects in March. In doing so, they stole $211.5 million in cryptocurrencies, according to PeckShield. In addition, attackers stole $10.9 million worth of NFT.

The largest amount in cryptocurrency was stolen in the attack on DeFi-platform Euler Finance. About $197 million was stolen here, but the hacker later apologized and returned $182.7 million to the project.

The second largest loss was the SafeMoon ecosystem hack. Hackers there withdrew about $9 million worth of assets, followed by the ParaSpace protocol attack with $5.2 million in losses and the hack of the General Bytes ATM network, which claimed $1.7 million.

A total of $255.8 million worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen in the first three months of this year. $8.8 million was stolen in January and $35.5 million in February.

In addition to cryptocurrencies, $10.9 million worth of NFTs were stolen in March. Half of the stolen tokens were sold on trading floors within the first two hours of the theft. About 74.9% of the NFTs were sold on the Blur Marketplace, while 19.5% were sold on OpenSea.

Since the beginning of the year, a total of $31.5 million worth of NFTs were stolen. In January they stole $4.4 million worth of tokens, in February – $16.2 million. Our experts recommend everyone to be careful and closely study the site before you connect your wallet.

Our experts have analyzed the situation on crypto market and told how it can change in the short term and what will happen to Bitcoin price

The final week of March on the crypto market began with a decrease in the pair BTC/USDt. Bitcoin fell by 5.81% to $28,484. The fall was caused by negative news in the crypto industry. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against the head of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, and the heads of three other organizations that run the Binance platform. The regulator claims that the exchange failed to register as a platform that trades cryptocurrency derivatives. And therefore had no right to provide services to U.S. clients. However, it actively worked with U.S. investors, ignoring legal regulations.

In zone $26.5-26.6 thousand buyers regrouped and fought back on the positive news from the banking sector and the rise of American indices. The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced that deposits and loans from bankrupt Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) are going to U.S. First-Citizens Bank.

On March 29, bitcoin recouped earlier losses, returning to the $29,184 level. Risk appetite returned for market participants as concerns about the banking sector eased following congressional hearings on the SVB bankruptcy.

Rising movement did not continue. The buyers, having met sellers’ volumes, started to fix profits from long positions. It was a purely technical factor, because this day external background was on the side of buyers. Also the dollar index was declining and S&P 500 futures were rising.

In the evening the buyers’ activity might have been low because of the speeches of the U.S. Federal Reserve representatives, who supported the further tightening of the monetary policy, despite the collapse of the three American banks.

On Friday (March 31), the price corrected to $27,511 and then went back to $28,656. Buyers have so far ignored the U.S. crackdown on Binance, Coinbase and TRON founder Justin Sun. This comes amid a rally in stock indexes and weakness in the U.S. dollar.

The S&P 500 index rose 3.23% to 4,109 points for the week and 6.88% for the quarter. Bitcoin in the first quarter of 2023 rose 72.08% against the dollar to $28,465.

Waiting for a level test of $30,000 for Bitcoin

In this week of April 3-9, the focus of market participants will be on U.S. statistics. These statistics will include: business activity in the manufacturing and services sectors, industrial production data, the labor market report for March. In Europe, it is a shortened week. Europeans will celebrate Good Friday on Friday (April 7) and Easter on Monday (April 10). Liquidity will affect the dollar, and through the currency market, the crypto market.

According to our experts’ estimates, the quarterly timeframe indicates a price recovery to $34,000. At the same time, the monthly – to $43,000 by August (with a very positive external situation). If the market gets stormy because of the actions of U.S. regulators or new bankruptcies, then by mid-September. Here we need to look at what wave structure of upward movement will be formed when the level of $34,000 is reached. Therefore, we are waiting for the test of $30,000 for Bitcoin this week.

Crypto Upvotes experts evaluated the effectiveness of airdrop Arbitrum and told how ARB token exchange price may develop in future

After the sensational airdrop project Arbitrum (March 23), 1 billion ARB tokens were released to market. Which were distributed among 625 thousand addresses. The total market capitalization of token stabilized at $1.63 billion.

At the time of publication, the price of ARB is at $1.28. Having analyzed the experience of projects such as Optimism, Aptos and Blur, whose tokens have also entered the market as part of large-scale airdrops. Our experts told us how the rate of ARB token may behave in the future.

The general bullish trend continues

After listing on exchanges, tokens of projects with airdrops tend to exhibit high volatility. Therefore, there can be both sharp price jumps and drawdowns of tens of percent all at once. Overall, ARB is in line with the “most positive trend.” That’s because the token price didn’t collapse after the start of trading on Bybit, Kucoin, MXC, Huobi, Okex. And then on Binance, although it experienced serious fluctuations. On Huobi, the exchange rate was as high as $11 per token on listing day, though the price went down almost immediately.

First of all, such volatility is due to the fact that those who received ARB tokens during the Airdrop. And then decided to lock in profits immediately after listing, which put pressure on exchange rates. On another note, our Crypto Upvotes experts observed that a significant number of sell orders were placed well in excess of the market price, pushing the rate higher.

If you compare listing of ARB on exchanges with other large tokens with airdrop. The similarity can be seen in the high volatility at the start of trading. The major difference is the “general bullish sentiment” of investors regarding ARB. And this is favored by such data as the growth of total blocked value (TVL) of Arbitrum network by a quarter during the last week. According to DefiLlama, Arbitrum’s TVL stands at $2.18 billion, while its closest competitor, Optimism, has $907 million of locked-in capital in its ecosystem.

Predicting the price of Arbitrum after trading starts is difficult

Starting ARB trading was marked by the fact that on some exchanges trading started a little later than announced. And also the fact that the influx of users led to disruptions in the resources for receiving tokens and on exchanges. Listing of Arbitrum on exchanges was immediately accompanied by high trading volumes, which further attracted crypto-traders. This gives big players an opportunity to form positions without much damage to the average purchase price.

Our experts note that it is difficult to predict the further development of ARB price. Because the price levels have not been fully formed yet. In the short term it is necessary to focus on the level of $1, as it will be a psychological support. In case of a positive scenario, we should be attentive at the price level of $1.5. If this level of resistance is exceeded, the price is likely to quickly approach $2.

Why airdrop Arbitrum became successful

The effectiveness of an Airdrop depends directly on marketing work that the project has done before distributing these tokens. First, the project needs to develop their community, to attract new capital. And constantly pointing to the possibility of a profitable airdrop for active participants. Under such conditions, you can talk about success – even if some of the users in the community decide to sell ARB tokens.

The effectiveness of such a model is good for the popularity a project – it’s an excellent marketing move, our experts say. In the case of Arbitrum, the popular topic media “literally bursting with news”. Because people like to get something for free, especially if it will bring good profits in the future.

However, most traders will fix some part of the received tokens, e.g. 20-30%. The rest will go into stacking or long-term storage waiting for price growth if the project really deserves it. According to experience of our experts, even now we can see that large participants of crypto market actively accumulate ARB in their wallets.

U.S. exchange regulators are pressing charges against Binance and trying to disconnect it from the U.S. market. Our experts tell us who can take advantage of this situation and what the risks are for Binance and its users

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a lawsuit against Binance and its executives. The regulator intends to completely deprive Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange of the U.S. market. It also accuses it of facilitating illegal activities and trade manipulation.

The text of the indictment took 74 pages. Citing quotes from internal chats, to which the agency managed to gain access, the service representatives accuse the exchange, its head Changpeng Zhao and former director of compliance Samuel Lim. That they knowingly allowed Americans to trade cryptocurrency derivatives without a license, in flagrant violation of U.S. law. The CFTC also alleges that Binance circumvented money laundering laws (AMLs). And “know your customer” (KYC) rules deliberately helped large U.S. clients circumvent their own compliance procedures.

What are the goals of U.S. regulators ?

The CFTC seeks a complete ban on Binance in the U.S. and return all trading revenues and commissions received from transactions of users from the U.S. Because, in their opinion, they were obtained illegally. The CFTC estimates that in 2019 and 2020, 18 to 20% of Binance’s revenues were generated by “illegal” transactions of U.S. citizens, although no data for later periods are provided. The exchange’s management supposedly turned a blind eye to the violations to maintain its market share in a key jurisdiction.

The document alleges that the exchange offered U.S. residents to trade leveraged futures and options contracts on Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin without registering with the CFTC as a futures commodities trader (FCM). The agency considers these assets to be commodities, which is at odds with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which considers most crypto assets to be securities.

Our experts point out that different agencies in the U.S. have different views on what is going on. This inconsistency in itself can create more doubts. But lawyers can also use some language against others in their defense strategies. Even if a serious trial were to begin on any of the named charges. Then the investigation itself will require many months of work by lawyers on both sides of the conflict, our Crypto-Upvotes experts say.

Charges are directed at Binance, not a separate division of Binance.US

Binance.US is a separate division of Binance for the U.S. market. This division does not offer derivatives trading and is not mentioned in the complaint. There is a separate legal entity behind the platform, while Binance itself has no registration in the United States. And access to the exchange for American citizens is prohibited. In this case, the representatives of the CFTC precisely put forward charges against “global” Binance. They argument that the exchange falls under the U.S. law, working with local customers.

The CFTC complaint says that Binance not only serviced American users. But also deliberately didn’t take measures to block their accounts. Exchange executives also allegedly advised large institutional customers to move trading accounts to jurisdictions inaccessible to U.S. regulators. And they didn’t officially encourage the use of VPNs to bypass blockades. A spokesman for Radix Trading of Chicago confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that they had been trading on Binance for several years through offshore affiliates and a separate broker. While having legal backing for any cryptocurrency transactions.

The regulator also uncovered several other likely violations based on conversations from internal correspondence in work chats. In addition, the CFTC accused Binance of having about 300 internal trading accounts under its management. Which “directly or indirectly belonged to the head of Binance,” and the exchange failed to disclose their existence amid an anti-insider trading policy. Zhao responded in a statement, calling the allegations “an incomplete statement of facts.” And claims that Binance “under no circumstances” manipulates the market ! And “affiliates’ liquidity work” is under special control.

Who benefits from this?

The lawsuit against Binance is not the first precedent for a confrontation between the CFTC and the crypto business. In October 2020, the agency brought charges against BitMEX and its three founders, Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed. The exchange actually invented a new format for cryptocurrency derivatives – perpetual futures contracts. And it created an entire market around the instrument, whose popularity quickly led to its appearance on other trading platforms as well. The Commission also accused BitMEX of operating in the U.S. futures market without proper authorization and FCM status.

The case was closed when BitMEX agreed to pay a record $100 million fine for the crypto industry, as well as to forcibly close the accounts of all U.S. customers and implement proper anti-money laundering measures. Hayes and Delo resigned from the company and pleaded guilty. They each paid an additional $10 million fine and were sentenced to two years’ probation.

This ended BitMEX’s influence in the cryptocurrency derivatives market. Which, until August 2019, it controlled nearly 100 percent of. However, her absence led to the rise of other platforms that now dominate this niche. These include Deribit, ByBit, and Binance, which regularly lists perpetual futures on most liquid crypto assets in demand.

Our Crypto Upvotes experts believe that if Binance is forced to reduce its share of this market. ByBit, as the next largest exchange in terms of trading volumes on the futures market, will benefit the most from this. Kraken and Coinbase will be able to pick up the remaining volumes, given that both have the necessary statuses and licenses to operate in the US.

When it comes to the global crypto market, Binance’s role as a player in the U.S. is not as significant compared to other states. Binance.US has tried to increase its share and its weight by buying distressed companies’ assets. Which left the market in 2022, but U.S. authorities prevented Binance from doing so.

What are the risks for exchange users?

Coinbase, Gemini, eToro, Kraken and some other platforms are much more present in the U.S. market than Binance. And also the volume of trades is ahead of its U.S. division. In this regard, leaving Binance from the North American market will not create difficulties for U.S. investors. Which have alternative exchanges, causing less questions from regulators.

For quite a long time Binance has been under the scrutiny of U.S. regulators. Major business media outlets have released several investigations about the internal structure of the exchange’s business. At the same time accusing it of various manipulations or non-transparent practices. The day after the CFTC lawsuit, the British Financial Times spoke about Binance’s longstanding ongoing relationship with China. And at the same time referring to internal documents, which came to the journalists of this edition. A few days before that, the exchange experienced a technical failure due to which it stopped trading for four hours. The cumulative negative events inevitably affected traders’ actions – in less than a week $2.2 billion worth of assets were withdrawn from this exchange.

In the context of the CFTC’s lawsuit, the fact that there is access to the correspondence of Binance employees is alarming. Our experts think that it might be an indirect evidence of an authorized “high-level” surveillance. Which could be due to investigations into very serious allegations. But thanks to the fairly distributed structure of Binance, we do not see any real risks of a complete trading stop or paralyzing difficulties.

The decision to withdraw assets from centralized exchanges depends on each investor’s individual needs and strategy! All investors need to keep in mind that withdrawing tokens to non-custodial wallets in and of themselves can seriously reduce risks of holding cryptocurrencies.