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$3.6B in Bitcoin vanishes in ‘hack’ along with owners of South African crypto platform

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Around 69,000 Bitcoin has vanished from a South African investment platform along with two brothers who owned the crypto firm.

Although the facts are yet to be proven in court, if it turns to be an exit scam rather than a hack, it would be the biggest in history according to Bloomberg. There were warning signs for investors either way, with users reportedly promised returns of up to 10% a day.

AfriCrypt was founded in 2019 and operated by brothers Ameer and Raees Cajee. It had reportedly amassed around 54 billion rands worth of BTC, or $3.6 billion USD at the time, when it sent a message to investors on April 13 claiming the platform had been hacked.

The firm said it would halt operations while it began the process of “attempting to retrieve stolen funds and compromised information.”

South African law firm Hanekom Attorneys, which has taken the case on behalf of affected users, said suspicions were aroused as the message included the warning that: “clients may proceed the legal route, but we ask clients to please acknowledge that this will only delay the recovery process.”

“We were immediately suspicious as the announcement implored investors not to take legal action,” Hanekom Attorneys said. The law firm also claimed that “Africrypt employees lost access to the back-end platforms seven days before the alleged hack.”

Hanekom Attorneys alleges that the brothers transferred the 69,000 BTC — which is now worth $2.2 billion after the recent price tumble — from AfriCrypt’s accounts and client wallets, and subjected the funds “to various dark web tumblers and mixers, resulting in severe fragmentation” to make the funds untraceable.

The brothers have been unreachable, with calls going directly to voicemail, while the AfriCrypt website is also down. The law firm has reported the case to an elite unit of the national police dubbed the “Hawks.”

South Africa’s Gauteng South High Court has granted a provisional liquidation order against the Cajee brothers, and they have been given until July 19 2021 to respond to the order.

Related: Scams are driving South African authorities to regulate crypto trading

According to African online crypto news outlet BitcoinKe, AfriCrypt drew in clients by targeting high net worth investors and urging them to refer their friends, while also offering returns of up to 10% daily.

The eye watering daily return puts the 10% monthly return promised to users of South African crypto Ponzi scheme Mirror Trading International (MTI) into the shade.

MTI has been described as the biggest Ponzi-scheme the country had ever seen, pulling in 23,000 BTC from investors ($774 million at today’s prices) with MTI’s CEO, Johann Steynberg reportedly fleeing to Brazil to escape punishment when the firm was placed under provisional liquidation in 2020.

$3.6B in Bitcoin vanishes in \’hack\’ along with owners of South African crypto platform

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A big raise of $105M by US miner to recycle waste coal into crypto

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The US miner company Stronghold announced a total raise of 105 million dollars to support techniques to recycle coal waste during bitcoin mining. 

The huge raise became possible as the Bitcoin community is becoming more and more environmentally conscious. 

The announcement of Tesla regarding resuming the bitcoin payments has compelled the Coal-powered mining industry to consider environmental aspects of the processes.

Stronghold, a digital mining firm based in Pennsylvania, has recently shared a statement to the news media that the company’s very first power generation infrastructure, “The Scrubgrass Power

Generation Plant” uses coal waste to produce energy in order to mine cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. The

The company also mentioned that the scale of power generation by the Scrubgrass power plant situated at Venango County is equivalent to a big-scale hydropower generation plant.

The waste coal that the Stronghold company recycles is assumed to be the result of coal mining operations in the 19th and 20th centuries. The power generation methodologies of the company enable it to restore vast regions of land that were previously wrecked due to the coal acid drainage (AMD) caused by the accumulation of coal waste.

AMD can be described as a cycle in which snow or rain gets mixed with the sulfur elements of the coal waste. This poisonous mixture then runs into water passages, thereby affecting marine life. Stronghold company has shown a desire to donate rehabilitated lands back to regional communities.

Statements from the Co-chairman of Stronghold 

In his recent interaction with the news media, Bill Spence, co-chairman of stronghold company, has said that the poisonous gases from burnings of coal waste have always been a devastating issue for Pennsylvania, his home-state, since the past hundreds of years.

He continued by saying that they only utilize advanced crypto mining procedures with an aim to remediate the unpleasant effects of coal mining operations of the 19th and 20th-century in many of the environmentally overlooked areas of the United States.

Furthermore, the Stronghold has given out an estimated report regarding cryptocurrency mining done by the company; the report states that they eliminate around 200 tonnes of coal waste for every cryptocurrency it mines. 

Conclusion 

Till present, Stronghold has reportedly restored Pennsylvania land of around 1000 acres that were previously enlisted under the category of unusable lands by working in a coalition with some active regional environmental authorities. Not only has the company successfully removed more than 98% of NOx, mercury, and SO2 emissions, but also the company’s production procedure generates fly ash that can be employed as a fertilizer.

By 2022, Stronghold strives to get 28,000 plus cryptocurrency miners operational and is planning to have facilities with the potential to generate more than 200 megawatts of electricity.

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council. 

A big raise of $105M by US miner to recycle waste coal into crypto

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Hedge fund that shorted GameStop closes as $1.13B GME stock offer completes

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One of the hedge funds badly burned in the infamous GME social media driven short squeeze is closing down, while GameStop itself has just completed its $1.13 billion equity offering.

According the Financial Times, London-based White Square Capital operated by Florian Kronawitter has closed its main fund and will return capital to investors.

White Square Capital reportedly had $440 million in assets under management (AUM) at its peak. The hedge fund was one of many that suffered double digit percentage losses from short positions in January, when the Wall Street Bets subreddit helped pump GME’s price from $21 on Jan. 12 to around $345 on Jan. 27.

However the FT reported a source as saying the fund’s closure was unrelated to its GameStop misadventure. In a letter to investors, co-founder Kronawitter cited the traditional equity long-short model was being “challenged” in the current financial climate, as there are “way too many fish in the pond” that operate with the same long-short strategy.

“The traditional edge is being arbed away [eroded by other investors], there’s an oversupply of capital,” Kronawitter said.

The co-founder also highlighted that the hedge fund’s opportunities for arbitrage have “diminished” due to the “onslaught of capital caused by central bank monetary interventions.”

These factors are also accompanied by the relative ease of access to information and cheaper investment alternatives, with Kronawitter asserting that it brings it to question how the management fees from hedge funds can be justified in the current market.

In a Reddit thread discussing the news on the r/wallstreetbets subreddit, members of the group shared their delight, with user “turtleduck77” likening hedge funds that shorted GME to dominoes falling, noting that its “Time to invest in dominoes! The game not the pizza.”

Related: New decentralized crypto exchange is inspired by r/Wallstreetbets

GameStop completes ATM offering

Yesterday GameStop announced the completion of an at-the-market (ATM) equity offering, with the company selling five million shares of common stock generating almost $1.3 billion before commissions and offering expenses.

“GameStop will use net proceeds from the ATM Offering for general corporate purposes as well as for investing in growth initiatives and maintaining a strong balance sheet,” the announcement read.

One of the growth initiatives likely to be funded is GameStop’s NFT marketplace set to be launched on Ethereum.

While details are sparse at this stage, the firm’s blockchain division is reportedly headed by the former business operations leader of Ethereum and Loopring DEX, Matt Finestone.

The smart contract platform is based on the ERC-721 NFT standard and was created by foobar, a developer who has worked on wrapper solutions for the classic version of Crypto Punks, HD Mooncats, and MooncatHelper NFT projects in the past.

While top crypto assets and memecoins have been in a major down trend since May 12, GME’s meme stock has increased 36.6% within that time frame, increasing from $161 on May 12, to $220 as of today, according to TradingView.

In comparison, data from CoinGecko shows that crypto’s nearest equivalent in meme coin Dogecoin has cooled down, has dropped 64% — declining from a price range of $0.50 on May 12, to $0.18 today.

Hedge fund that shorted GameStop closes as $1.13B GME stock offer completes

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Dogecoin Price Hits $0.176 after a 22% Dip – Where to Buy DOGE

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Altcoins are having a hard time recovering, with the majority of them deep in the red zone. One of the worst-hit tokens is dogecoin, which has lost 22% in the past 24 hours.

In the past month, DOGE has lost nearly half of its value. However, those who invested at the beginning of the year are still in profit since the token’s current price is almost 7,000% higher than what the coin was trading at the beginning of the year.

At the time of writing, DOGE had sunk below critical $0.20 support levels and traded at $0.176 on major exchanges.

Dogecoin Price Analysis

It seems that DOGE’s glorious days may be coming to an end. The meme coin gained popularity after Elon Musk affiliated himself with it and promoted it on his Twitter account. However, Musk is yet to come to the rescue of DOGE this time round. His silence comes weeks after a threatening video by the Anonymous hacker group was released, criticizing him for misusing his power over the crypto market.

DOGE Price Analysis 22 June 2021
Source: TradingView

The chart above shows how dogecoin has been performing this month. The highest downtrend for the token started this week, as can be seen above, which could be attributed to the lack of support from the broader crypto market. After BTC sunk to almost $31,000 at the beginning of the week, altcoins followed suit and dogecoin was not spared.

Dogecoin needs to push past $0.20 to prevent a further retreat. Currently, the meme coin is on the verge of losing its coveted position among the top ten cryptocurrencies. Losing its space could be devastating for the token.

Dogecoin holders are urging Elon Musk to step in and save the meme coin from any further turmoil. However, his silence on the matter could indicate that the billionaire is keeping his sentiments about the crypto market to himself ever since he was accused of manipulating the market and misusing his power in the sector. However, not all is lost, and we may see the CEO tweeting about his favourite coin soon.

The current price movement could be because of a market correction, given the coin’s massive gains. However, it is worth noting that DOGE’s price gains merely resulted from investor demand. If the token gains practical adoption for use in the real world, such as in global financial systems, its value will definitely shoot.

Dogecoin has a strong community of fans compared to other cryptocurrencies, which is one of DOGE’s strengths that will help it with its long-term value. Due to its growing fan base, dogecoin has been accepted as a payment method for Wag, a dog-walking app. An increase in use-cases for DOGE will boost demand and hence value.

How to Buy DOGE

To purchase dogecoin, you need to create an account on a crypto exchange. One of the exchanges that support DOGE is eToro. The exchange is highly secure and reliable. Besides, its trading fees are highly competitive, and it offers a wide array of outstanding features for new investors. In addition, the exchange is among the few that offer copy trading, and if you have never traded crypto before, the exchange will provide you with a demo account where you can learn.

Looking to buy or trade Dogecoin (DOGE) now? Invest at eToro!

75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Dogecoin Price Hits $0.176 after a 22% Dip – Where to Buy DOGE

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Portugal Grants First Crypto Exchanges Operating Licenses

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For the first time ever, Banco de Portugal has approved operating licenses to regional cryptocurrency trades.

Recently, the central bank gave out the statement that Portuguese-based trades “Mind the coin” and “Criptologia” are now enlisted as virtual assets service providers.

The central bank has issued only these two names in the list on their official website. Banco De Portugal took around nine months to finalize the decision. In September 2020, Criptojola was reported to perform its initial registration to give out its services as a virtual assets provider.

 Mind the Coin and Criptoloja have been given permission to perform crypto exchange services between fiat currencies and different virtual assets within the Portuguese region. Furthermore, they are also allowed to cover various transfer services, safeguarding, and administration works for such assets.

Banco De Portugal has been awarded as one of the most crypto-friendly nations in entire Europe, and the whole continent seems to be proud of it.

In May 2021, Jean Galea, a well-known investor, and blogger said that Portugal is becoming a haven for all the individuals involved in the crypto world in one of his write-ups. Cryptocurrency income continues to be immune from capital gains taxes and VAT in Portugal unless the income is associated with professional trading activity.

Which other European countries are involved in Crypto exchanges?

Nonetheless, Portugal isn’t the only European country to accept crypto trading and services with a warm welcome.

In the final week of May 2021, The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) granted “XCoins,” a country-based leading exchange provider,  the license to class 3 VFA (Virtual Financial Asset). 

The founder and CEO of XCoins, Rob Frye, stated that Xcoins is dominating the space of digital assets worldwide by standing as one of the earliest cryptocurrency platforms to reach this benchmark implies that they are completely capable of paving the path for an additionally secured and organized industry. 

This is another such authorization the Malta Financial Services Authority has consented to a crypto trade this year. The firstest crypto platform to obtain a VFA authorization of a similar degree was “Crypto.com.” By earning the milestone of receiving the license a couple of weeks before XCoins, the company called this achievement a historic moment for the cryptocurrency world.

Moreover, Crypto.com had previously made a plea to the MFSA to serve as a licensed financial institution, but the plea didn’t get approved. Again this year, the company has presented its plea to the Maltese authority; however, the regulator’s verdict is still not finalized. 

European countries like MFSA and Portugal are surpassing the crypto exchange milestone!

Conclusion 

Further, Criptoloja is currently seeking to bring Portuguese folk together who are interested in investing in crypto assets. However, the service provider company is not confident enough to start accounts in out-of-country trades. Nevertheless, investors say that the tremendous adoption of cryptocurrencies in Portugal is forming a new era of traders.

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council. 

Portugal Grants First Crypto Exchanges Operating Licenses

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Should you consider EOS for your blockchain development?

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Codezeros

The world has witnessed a massive technological advancement. People dealing in digital currencies demand a safe and secure environment. But the traditional forms of blockchain development have some loopholes. And the latest technologies are thus being introduced in the market. One such platform is EOS.

We will discuss everything you must know about EOS in this article so that you can ensure whether to consider EOS for your blockchain development or not.

What is EOS?

In short, EOS is a cryptocurrency. The smart contract platform of EOS blockchain development removes transaction fees and its potential to conduct millions of transactions every second. This particular fact is helping it to earn the blockchain investors’ trust.

Its primary objective was to offer a straightforward interface for facilitating blockchain development. Another attractive feature of EOS was that it eliminates the gas fees for transaction processing.

Should you consider EOS for your blockchain development?

Features of EOS:

The few features that make EOS preferred are given below:

  • Convenience:

EOS offers convenience in several aspects of developing blockchain, including EOS wallet development. The bare-bone interface is useful for developing DApps. It can also be used to deploy private, public, permissionless, and permissioned infrastructures of blockchain. The EOS smart contracts allow you to make custom business logic and programmable governance.

  • Performance:

It offers top-notch TPS rates. Thus, it is the best for developing mission-critical blockchain apps. EOS is also proved to show superior performance and eliminates the latency rate of sub-second block time. It also keeps the accuracy intact.

  • Upgradability:

EOS allows the developers to change and upgrade the code besides improvising it. This feature of EOS contributes to flexibility. The developer-friendly nature of EOS is another side that makes it a blockchain software that is preferred for expanding tools, products, and features.

  • Measurability:

It is proved that EOS can potentially process and measure millions of transactions every second. It is made possible by the incorporation of advanced DPOS technology that further enhanced the efficiency of the framework of EOS. Even with having a massive user base, there are no performance issues.

  • Consensus protocols:

The correct algorithms furnished with EOS give it an upper hand. DPOS mechanism in EOS enhances its functionality.

  • Parallel processing and Multiprocessing:

EOS successfully reduces the excessive load on a program, as there exist multiple processors. Horizontal measurability improves transaction speed. And vertical measurability boosts the processing power. Asynchronous communication fuels time management assets and smoothens communication.

The end-to-end encryption contributes to the security of EOS. All the verification standards and safety norms are used while developing EOS. Trouble-shooting is also added to the blockchain platform.

How does EOS work?

A validator’s coin or EOS token gets locked up as stakes. Then, the validation starts, and the betting system is activated.

The validators now think about the blocks that are possible to add to the chain and put a bet on them. If the block gets added, based on their bets, validators are rewarded.

Role of DPOS in EOS blockchain:

DPOS (delegated proof-of-stake) is a consensus system for seamlessly channelizing cryptocurrency transactions. Additionally, it is backed up with speed and security. In cases of malfunctions, it entertains the longest chain automatically.

DPOS protects blockchain as it depends on the voting process. Being a decentralized framework, it contributes to feasibility both for the business and the user. Besides being usable and reliable, it is faster, cheaper, and more efficient, making it ideal for a decentralized system.

The payment system in EOS:

EOS is a cryptocurrency of EOS.IO. Free transactions, a popular advantage of EOS for being a preferred software.

The holder’s EOS coin owns a network instead of any transaction fees or renting virtual machinery. For instance, if you possess EOS’ 3% of coin stakes, you own 3% of network strength for processing the transaction, thereby allowing free transactions. Just like any other crypto, one can possess, get, or give away funds among digital EOS wallet ledger.

Business application of EOS:

Blockchain can be beneficial to your business. And blockchain technology can be used in different ways in business. Some of the business applications of EOS are described below:

  • Cryptocurrency:

You can use EOS as a tool for investment in a cryptocurrency or crypto space. The proof-of-stake system provides mining power to the blockchain. Because of no transaction fee, it is popular among developers.

  • High-end transactional DApps:

EOS blockchain can be applied in DApps that require a massive capacity of transaction. EOS stabilizes user authentication at different levels. And thereby, it allows anyone to develop a DApp, run it, and authorize it while sharing data among users.

Conclusion:

EOS comes with countless features. And, this makes it one of the most assured blockchain platforms in the world of cryptocurrency. Opt for EOS development services for developing efficient apps.

Moreover, the business applications of EOS have already popularized it across the world. We can expect EOS to expand more in the foreseeable future and will overpower the traditional applications of blockchain.

Should you consider EOS for your blockchain development?

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