Coinpedia - Fintech & Cryptocurreny News Media| Crypto Guide

Bitfinex, a major cryptocurrency exchange, faces turmoil following reports of a significant data breach. However, Tether’s CEO, Paulo Ardoino, questioned the legitimacy of the breach and said it “seems fake”. Approximately 2.5 TB of data and sensitive information from around 400,000 customers have been leaked. This has spread concerns among users about asset security. Despite the alarming situation, the CEO points out inconsistencies in the breach and indicates that only a small portion of leaked emails match Bitfinex user credentials. Investigations continue to clarify and safeguard Bitfinex users.

Three former Cred executives, including co-founder Daniel Schatt, are indicted on charges related to wire fraud and financial mismanagement. A defunct crypto lender, Cred, filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and faced liabilities between  $100 million to $500 million. However, the company’s failure led to mishandling of funds and undisclosed and risky lending practices. Current allegations include diverting funds to a Chinese micro-lender and misleading marketing via retail exchange Uphold. Also, a lawsuit against Uphold was dismissed, but there’s a pending class action suit from the creditors.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), the leading bitcoin ETF, recorded its first daily net inflow since January, adding $63 million on Friday, according to Farside Investors. It lost billions in assets since January and currently faces competition from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). However, GBTC remains to be dominant as its assets now stand at  $18.1 billion compared to IBIT’s $16.9 billion. 

400 million XRP tokens have been released from escrow, raising speculation on price movements. A blockchain tracking platform, Whale Alert has disclosed this major unlock, valued at $213.9 million. However, the wallet’s owner remains undisclosed. The source of this unlock remains elusive unlike typical XRP escrow unlocks by Ripple Labs Inc. In fact, this incident coincides with a significant price hike of XRP, currently trading at $0.5318, marking a 2.01% increase. Ripple previously unlocked 800 million XRP leading to a 2.74% price dip. Hence, Ripple’s motive behind these moves sparks speculation, specifically amidst the Ripple vs SEC lawsuit.

The crypto market leader, BTC price, has successfully reclaimed the $63,000 mark after recording a jump of 7.95%, from a low of $58,884 to a high of $63,566 and a 24-hour trading volume of $32,668,233,031 Billion. Furthermore, Grayscale has recorded its first inflow of $63 Million in the BitcoinETF since its launch hinting at a strong bullish price action in the coming time.

An anonymous user lost WBTCs worth roughly $71 Million today to a scammer. A few hours ago, a guy created a new wallet and transferred 0.05 ETH to his new address. However, a scammer generated an address with similar initials and endings and transferred 0 ETH to him so the transfer appeared in his transaction history. While transferring the funds from his old wallet to the new wallet, the user accidentally sent the WBTC to the scammer’s wallet.

After venture capital firm Stratos got 300x profits by investing in Dogwifhat (WIF), other hedge funds started to consider investing. It had invested in WIF in December when it was around $0.01 and it’s still holding onto it which is now trading for $2.76. The founding partner of Stratos believes that taking time for due diligence before investing does not work for meme-coins. He further included that the reason they designed the fund the way it is is because they had been in crypto long enough to know how it works and that alternative assets like meme-coins have taken center stage.

Block, led by CEO Jack Dorsey in April began using 10% of its gross Bitcoin profits to accumulate more BTC and continue this for the rest of the months in 2024. With $80 million gross BTC profits in the first quarter, if the profit level continued throughout the year, it could add $24 million worth of BTC to its balance sheet, with an already substantial amount of BTC holdings. It has also disclosed its Bitcoin Blueprint For Corporate Balance Sheets with the process through which it is able to acquire large amounts of the crypto without unduly moving the market, and how it custodies, insures, and accounts for the holdings.

FriendTech, a leading Web3 social media platform, has launched the Friend token officially which is actively trading on its DEX, currently valued at $3 per unit with a supply of 14.5 million tokens. With its innovative approach to social networking through exclusive networking service that leverages social tokens known as “Keys.” These Keys grant users access to specialized chats and premium content from creators. FriendTech also initiated a token airdrop with new features to enhance the overall experience. Despite a slight delay, the platform prepares for a token airdrop for May 3, as it makes its way through the decentralized social media landscape.

Emomotimi Agama, the pro-crypto Director General of Nigerian SEC is set to meet local and foreign crypto CEXs at an event on May 6th amidst its regulatory battle. The meeting is for setting up a progressive regulatory course for the Crypto sector in the country. The news comes in as Nigeria fights a legal battle with Binance. Binance was charged with money laundering and tax evasion where two Binance execs were also held, of which one of them who escaped is expected to be extradited back.

Michael Saylor, A strong Bitcoin Spokesman, who now believes that any other digital currency is inferior in tech and decentralization, predicts that a spot Ethereum ETF will not be approved this summer. He also mentioned that when the ETH ETF is not approved, it will be clear that is a commodity where he indirectly hinted at other Altcoins like BNB, SOL, ADA, and XRP being unregistered securities. He also said that none of these altcoins will ever get to be a spot ETF product. Ethereum is also facing many roadblocks on its way to secure ETFs.

Speculation is going on as to whether Musk’s social media platform is testing for XRP payments. The rumor picked up as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse just mentioned ‘X’ in a recent interaction on the platform. Amelie, a UAE-based crypto influencer pointed out as to why Brad made such a mention, which might signal the intent of a payment system incorporating XRP into it. A transaction on the XRP ledger with a user named ‘Musk’ was also presented by the crypto influencer who hints that it looks like XRP payments have actually tested on X. The wallet had recent transactions from 2023.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is enthusiastic about the growth of XRP-related community events. His recent tweet shows his excitement over the number of XRP-led events growing, with XRP Gold Coast in March and XRP Las Vegas starting tomorrow. Brad is also looking forward to meeting more people at the XRP Ledger Apex 2024, a community summit set in Amsterdam in June. He believes the future is going to be bright as the momentum keeps growing with new native capabilities and projects building on the ledger.

On Monday, 29th April, Dutch crime investigators arrested a 26-year-old man for fraud and money laundering related to a rug pull scheme of the ZKasino. During the house search, the officials seized real estate and cryptocurrencies worth €11.40 Million ($12.2 Million U.S. Dollars). The ZKasino project is considered one of the biggest crypto scams as more than 10,000 investors were prevented from reclaiming their bridged ether tokens worth approximately $33 Million.