Tech
Previously hacked Crypto.com customer accounts contained $34 million in cryptocurrency
Digital asset platform Crypto.com said customer accounts affected earlier this week by unauthorized withdrawals contained approximately $34 million in cryptocurrencies and cash. In a report released Thursday, the private company said that 4,836.26 Ethereum, 443.93 Bitcoin and $66,200 were stolen during Tuesday’s security breach. All customers have been fully refunded, the Singapore-based platform reiterated.
The cryptocurrency exchange, with more than 10 million users, suspended operations for 14 hours to investigate unauthorized withdrawals from 483 customers. The platform was the latest of many over the years to suffer disruptions from hackers exploiting network vulnerabilities.
The company’s insurance policy and account protection program cover users “in rare cases” of security breaches, security manager Jason Lau said in the statement.
Russia proposes ban on use and mining of cryptocurrencies
MOSCOW (Reuters) Russia’s central bank on Thursday proposed banning the use and mining of cryptocurrencies on Russian territory, citing threats to financial stability, citizens’ well-being and the sovereignty of monetary policy.
The move is the latest in a global crackdown on cryptocurrencies as governments from Asia to the United States fear that privately managed and highly volatile digital currencies could undermine their control over financial and monetary systems.
Russia has opposed cryptocurrencies for years, arguing that they could be used in money laundering or to finance terrorism. It finally gave them legal status in 2020 but banned their use as a means of payment nL1N2T110W.
In a report released on Thursday, the central bank said that speculative demand mainly drove the rapid growth of cryptocurrencies and that they have characteristics of a financial pyramid, warning of potential bubbles in the market, threatening financial stability and citizens.
The bank proposed to prevent financial institutions from carrying out any transactions with cryptocurrencies and to develop such mechanisms to block transactions aimed at buying or selling cryptocurrencies in exchange for fiat currencies.
The proposed ban includes cryptocurrency exchanges. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance told Reuters it was committed to cooperating with regulators and hoped the publication of the report would spark a dialogue with the central bank on protecting the interests of Russian cryptocurrency users.
There are no restrictions on cryptocurrency ownership, said Elizaveta Danilova, head of the central bank’s financial stability department.
Active cryptocurrency users, Russians have an annual transaction volume of about $5 billion, the bank said.
SHADOW ON CHINA?
The central bank said it will work with regulators in countries where cryptocurrency exchanges are registered to gather information on Russian customers’ operations. He highlighted measures taken in other countries, such as China, to curb cryptocurrency activity.
In September, China intensified its nL1N2QQ0MG crackdown on cryptocurrencies with a blanket ban on all crypto transactions and mining, hitting bitcoin and other major coins and putting pressure on cryptocurrency and blockchain-related stocks.
“For now there are no plans to ban cryptocurrencies similar to China’s experience,” Danilova said. “The approach we have proposed will be sufficient.”
Joseph Edwards, head of financial strategy at cryptocurrency firm Solrise Group, downplayed the significance of the report, saying no one outside Russia would lose sleep over it.
“Moscow, like Beijing, is always saber-rattling about ‘crypto bans,’ but Russia has never been a pillar of any aspect of the industry in the same way that China has sometimes been,” he said.
CRYPTO MINING
Russia is the world’s third-largest player in bitcoin mining, behind the United States and Kazakhstan, although the latter could see an exodus of miners over fears of tightening regulation following unrest earlier this month.
The Bank of Russia said cryptocurrency mining created problems for energy consumption. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are “mined” by powerful computers that compete with others connected to a global network to solve complex mathematical puzzles. The process consumes electricity and is often powered by fossil fuels.
“The best solution is to introduce a ban on cryptocurrency mining in Russia,” the bank said.
As of August, Russia accounted for 11.2% https://ccaf.io/cbeci/mining_map of the global “hashrate,” crypto jargon for the amount of computing power used by computers connected to the bitcoin network.
Moscow-based BitRiver, which operates data centers in Siberia that host bitcoin miners, said it did not see a complete ban on cryptocurrencies as likely, expecting a balanced position to develop once different ministries discuss the proposals.
The central bank, which is planning to issue its own digital ruble, said the spread of cryptocurrencies would limit the sovereignty of monetary policy, with higher interest rates needed to contain inflation.