The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled with the founders of Bitqyck Inc. after it accused them of issuing two fraudulent token sales. According to a release issued by the federal agency, the founders allegedly defrauded over 13,000 investors of $13 million through two tokens, BitqyM and Bitqy. They were also accused of operating an unlicensed exchange to issue the Bitqy token. Bitqyck agreed … Continue reading SEC Settles With Founders of Fraudulent Token Sales

The French police have taken down a global malware network that infected over 850,000 systems, mostly based in Latin America. The hackers employed cryptojacking to use remote computers for mining cryptocurrencies. They also stole personal data from Israeli hospitals and conducted ransomware operations. In this case, the cryptocurrency being mined was Monero and the botnet army responsible for the infection was based in the Paris … Continue reading France Cracks Down On Cryptojacking Operation That Infected 850,000 Computers Worldwide

Messaging app Telegram is planning to launch its Gram tokens on October 31. According to a New York Times report, the app also plans to make digital wallets available for 200 million (out of a total of 300 million) users on its platform. Telegram envisages Gram tokens as a payment mechanism for user transactions on the Telegram Open Network (TON) – a blockchain-based payment system. … Continue reading Messaging App Telegram To Release Gram Tokens to its Users On October 31

U.S. district courts have sentenced five drug dealers, who used cryptocurrencies to evade authorities and conduct illegal transactions, to prison sentences ranging from 5 to 20 years. Four of the criminals were sentenced in Arizona, while a fifth, Wyatt Pasek, based in California was sentenced to 17.5 years for drug-related offenses. A False Sense of Security According to the Department of Justice release, the four … Continue reading Five Drug Dealers Who Used Crypto Sentenced to Prison

A Los Angeles – based 25-year-old man, who ran a bitcoin exchange service, has pleaded guilty to owning and running a money transmitting service without license. Federal authorities accused Kunal Kalra of using the crypto exchange service to transact up to $25 million in cryptocurrency and cash for various people, including drug dealers from the Dark Web. The lawsuit further alleged that the criminals and … Continue reading LA Man Pleads Guilty to Running Crypto Money Transmission Service Without License

The White House issued advisories on illegal drug purchases in the US yesterday, specifically addressing the use of cryptocurrencies to purchase fentanyl, a controlled drug. The two advisories were targeted at online payment platforms as well and financial firms. These advisories stated that cryptocurrencies, especially those that were easy to convert to fiat including Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin, Monero, and Ethereum, could be used for drug … Continue reading White House Issues Advisories Regarding Opioid Crisis Drug Purchases Made Using Crypto

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), acting under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Act, has sanctioned three Chinese drug lords and their crypto addresses. It is alleged they broke laws related to drug smuggling and money laundering. Fueling the Opioid Crisis  The US Treasury charged Fujing Zheng, Xiaobing Yan, and Guanghua Zheng as “significant narcotics traffickers” and froze their properties within U.S. jurisdiction. Their email … Continue reading OFAC Sanctions Chinese Druglords Using Bitcoin For Money Laundering

The worlds of cryptocurrency, which promises anonymity and privacy, and identity theft through SIM hijacking collided in a curious case of theft recently. The Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against nine individuals last week for stealing cryptocurrencies worth approximately $2.4 million through identity theft. The individuals, who called themselves “The Community”, conducted seven attacks against the victim’s phones, eventually taking over control, and used … Continue reading Hackers Use Identity Theft To Steal Cryptocurrencies