Microsoft to vote on Bitcoin, Peter Todd hiding, and more: Hodler’s Digest, Oct. 20

Peter Todd forced into hiding after HBO doc claims he invented Bitcoin

Canadian cryptographer and computer scientist Peter Todd says he’s been forced into hiding for fear of his safety after an HBO documentary alleged he was the inventor of Bitcoin.

Microsoft shareholders proposes firm look into investing in Bitcoin

Microsoft shareholders are set to vote in December on whether the tech giant should publicly assess adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet, a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission reveals.

Additionally, the research firm noted that Bitcoin remains volatile but could serve as a hedge against inflation and corporate bond yields. “At minimum, companies should evaluate the benefits of holding some, even just 1% of its assets in Bitcoin,” it said.

Hacker behind fake Bitcoin ETF X post pleads not guilty

Eric Council Jr., the individual charged over his involvement in allegedly hacking the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account and posting a message suggesting that Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) had been approved, has pleaded not guilty in a DC courtroom.

Bitfinex wallet hacker returns most of the $20 million back to US gov’t

The malicious actor who drained a United States government wallet of approximately $20 million on Oct. 24, containing seized funds from the 2016 Bitfinex hack, returned $19.3 million to the government wallet less than 24 hours later.

Homeowner lawsuit over $170K crypto theft rejected on appeal

A homeowner’s attempt to sue his insurer for failing to cover his $170,000 loss to a crypto scam was rejected by a United States appeals court, with a three-judge panel ruling there had been no error in dismissing his case.

A Virginia District Court judge ruled in 2024 that Ali Sedaghatpour had no breach of contract claim against Lemonade Insurance because his homeowner’s policy only covered “direct physical loss” of property.

Sedaghatpour sued Lemonade Insurance in 2022 for not covering $170,000 in crypto stolen from him in a scam. This case was unique as a crypto user tried to claim that crypto is personal property under a home insurance policy.

The appellate judges explained that under Virginia law, “direct physical loss” requires material destruction or harm, which the digital theft of digital currency does not qualify as.

Bitcoin is at $67,075, Ether at $2,484, and XRP at $0.51 at the end of the week. The total market cap is $2.29 trillion according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the biggest gainers of the week are Goatseus Maximus (GOAT), Safe (SAFE), and ApeCoin (APE), while the biggest losers are Aerodrome Finance (AERO), MANTRA (OM), and Mog Coin (MOG).

“I’ll happily say that I think Saylor’s comments are batshit insane.” – Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum.

“By 2024 end, we expect Wall Street to replace Satoshi as the top Bitcoin wallet.” – Bernstein Research.

“At the end of the week, Bitcoin is at $67,075, Ether at $2,484, and XRP at $0.51. The total market cap is at $2.29 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.”

“Whoever will win the elections, I think it is very, very important that crypto regulation, sensible crypto regulations, and stablecoin regulations will come to fruition in a way that will protect the end-users.” – Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether.

Bitcoin analyst Timothy Peterson predicts a $100,000 BTC price may come within three months as Bitcoin is in the early stages of a bull run after consolidating for nearly eight months. “Within reason,” he stated.

FUD of The Week

Jailed crypto scammers blew stolen funds on shark tank, hookers: Report

Five individuals were sent to prison for their involvement in a $21.6 million crypto scam where they reportedly used the stolen money to purchase a shark tank, private jet rides, sex workers, and a luxury car.

The criminals managed to collect $21.6 million (20 million euros) from approximately 40,000 investors through various investment schemes, including the EXW Wallet and the EXW crypto token, as reported by Austrian news outlet Heute on Oct. 23.

Two of the accused were given five-year sentences, two received 30 months, and one got 18 months in prison. Five others were acquitted, while some are still evading authorities.

The trial for fraud at the Klagenfurt Regional Court was the largest in Austrian history, according to Heute. Judge Claudia Bandion-Ortner handed down the sentences on Oct. 23 following a two-month trial and 300 hours of negotiations. The fraudsters, as per Heute, lived lavishly, partying in exclusive Dubai clubs and traveling between cities in private jets. They even bought a shark tank located in a villa, as reported by news and review site BehindMLM.

Radiant Capital hacker moves $52M in stolen funds

The hacker responsible for the recent theft from decentralized finance protocol Radiant Capital has transferred nearly all of the stolen funds from layer-2 protocols to Ethereum, possibly to hide its location.

On Oct. 24, blockchain security firm PeckShield reported that addresses linked to the Radiant Capital exploiter had moved “almost all” of the illicit crypto from the exploit from layer-2 network Arbitrum and the Binance BNB Chain to the Ethereum network.

The total amount transferred was about 20,500 Ether, valued at around $52 million, according to PeckShield. Radiant Capital advised users on Oct. 23 to secure their wallets by revoking approvals to affected smart contracts to prevent their funds from being drained.

The cross-chain DeFi lending protocol paused its lending markets after being exploited for over $50 million in a cybersecurity breach on Oct. 16.

Lazarus Group exploited Chrome vulnerability with fake NFT game

The North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group utilized a fake blockchain-based game to exploit a zero-day vulnerability in Google’s Chrome browser and install spyware to steal wallet credentials. Kaspersky Lab analysts discovered the exploit in May and reported it to Google, which has since patched it.

The hackers’ multiplayer online battle arena game, called DeTankZone or DeTankWar, was playable and promoted on LinkedIn and X. It used non-fungible tokens as tanks in a global competition.

Users were infected with spyware from the website, even if they did not download the game. The hackers based the game on an existing DeFiTankLand.

The hackers employed malware named Manuscrypt followed by a previously unknown “type confusion bug in the V8 JavaScript engine.” This was the seventh zero-day vulnerability found in Chrome in 2024 through mid-May. Kaspersky’s principal security expert Boris Larin expressed that the campaign’s significant effort suggests ambitious plans with a potentially broad impact on users and businesses globally.

Magazine Stories of The Week

The rise of Mert Mumtaz: ‘I probably FUD Solana the most out of anybody’

Mert Mumtaz, Solana’s most prominent advocate, played a significant role in the blockchain’s resurgence. He is not a maximalist when it comes to SOL.

India is considering a new crypto ban to support CBDC, and the Lazarus Group is suspected to be involved in another hack.

A strange cult is forming around AI-created memecoin ‘religions,’ raising the question of whether it is a serious belief or just a meme. Professors predict that the AI bubble will burst.

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Editorial Staff: Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article. Paragraph 1:
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