10,000 BTC tied to Mt Gox Hack Moved After 7 Years

 It is worth noting that funds have not moved from the now-defunct Mt.Gox exchange’s cold wallets since 2018.

A crypto wallet attributed to the failed BTC-e linked to the 2014 Mt. Gox hack moved 10,000 Bitcoin, now worth over $165 million, to a group of personal wallets, exchanges, and other services on November 23rd.

A report by Chainalysis suggested that the funds’ movement marks the largest withdrawal by the Russia-focused cryptocurrency exchange – BTC-e’s controllers. The US authorities ceased its operations in 2017 due to its role in laundering funds associated with other forms of cybercrime, including crypto stolen in the 2014 Mt. Gox exchange hack.

BTC-e and another exchange called WEX, believed to be the successor entity, sent small amounts of Bitcoin to a Russian electronic payments platform – Webmoney – on October 26th. Over two weeks later, BTC-e conducted a test payment out of its wallet before moving nearly 100 Bitcoin indirectly to an exchange on November 21.

According to the blockchain analysis company, around 9.950 BTC are currently being held in personal wallets of the total sent in the last several days. The rest of the funds were found to have been moved through a series of intermediaries to four deposit addresses at two large exchanges.

Chainalysis believes a Russian exchange may have acted as an intermediary to launder this BTC-e money.

Blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant co-founder and CEO Ki Young Ju also confirmed the illicit transfer of funds. He also added that 65 BTC was moved to HitBTC and advised the crypto exchange to suspend the account.

For the uninitiated, BTC-e was shut down, and its funds were seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2017. Despite this, it still held a significant amount of Bitcoin. A year later, it transferred more than 30,000 BTC out of its service wallet.

Alexander Vinnik is alleged to be the owner and operator of the BTC-e. The Russian national is also accused of large-scale money laundering through the now-defunct trading platform and other crimes.

Core Scientific warns of 'substantial doubt' to continue operations, posts $435 million loss

 Bitcoin miner Core Scientific will need extra liquidity to keep operations going past November 2023 — and it's facing a steep uphill battle to do so. The miner also posted revenue of $162.6 million in the third quarter, down 0.9% from the previous period. 

The company had already warned that it might run out of cash by the end of the year and that it would not make payments in late October. Core's woes reflect the struggles of the industry, which has faced rising power costs combined with decreased bitcoin prices and higher mining difficulty. Compute North has already filed for bankruptcy, while Argo said it was facing negative cash flow.

FTX Group has cash balance of $1.24 billion, new bankruptcy filing shows

FTX Group, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11, has a combined cash balance of $1.24 billion, according to a new court filing. The latest figures are "substantially higher cash balances than the Debtors were in a position to substantiate as of Wednesday, Nov. 16," it reads.

The cash balances are divided among four silos — the Alameda silo, dotcom silo, ventures silo and West Realm Shires (WRS) silo — and include amounts of both their debtor and no-debtor entities. About $751 million is held in debtor entities and the rest, $488 million, is in non-debtor entities, per the filing. FTX Group collapsed amid a sudden liquidity crisis.

Shiba Inu Army Reaches New Major Milestone in Just 2 Days

According to data shared by WhaleStats platform that track the largest wallets on Ethereum and several other chains, over the past two days, the amount of SHIB holders has become several thousand bigger. The price of the meme coin has remained unaffected, though.

On average, the 100 largest wallets on Ethereum chain hold slightly more than 2 billion SHIB coins. In the meantime, SHIB adoption continues to expand. As reported by U.Today earlier, an Australia-based Shiba Wings diner I expected to open “really soon”. The restaurant is fully crypto integrated thanks to NowPayments crypto gateway and is ready to integrate Shibarium when this long-expected upgrade is ready and gets rolled out.

💰 Solana Bear That SBF Dunked On With $3 Offer Gets the Last Laugh

Back in January 2021, when Solana was a relatively new blockchain network and Sam Bankman-Fried wasn’t quite the mythical crypto figure he’d soon become, the FTX founder publicly antagonized a trader who was bearish on Solana’s prospects.

The tweet became legendary in crypto. But now, following the collapse of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried's bankruptcy, the tables have turned. On November 11, when Bloomberg estimated SBF’s post-FTX-bankruptcy net worth at just $3, CoinMamba tweeted, “I'll buy everything you have, right now, at $3. Sell me all you want. Then go fuck off.”

MAS Explains Reasons for Not Alerting Local Users About FTX

 The Singaporean regulator explains the difference between Binance and FTX.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore stated that there was no reason to caution investors against FTX crypto exchange as it did with Binance because the former did not actively solicit users in Singapore.

This comes amid earlier speculations stating that the regulator’s action against Binance caused Singaporean users to shift to FTX thereby causing them to be caught in the exchange’s collapse.

FTX Did Not Solicit Singapore Users

In a statement published on Monday (November 21, 2022), MAS responded to “questions and misconceptions” following FTX’s downfall. The Singaporean financial regulator said it was not possible to protect locals who used the Bahamas-based FTX as the crypto exchange was not licensed by the agency and operated offshore.

MAS also addressed concerns about its treatment of the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance, and FTX. The regulatory watchdog said that while both crypto exchanges were unregulated in Singapore, there was a difference between them.

The regulator received several complaints about Binance between January and August 2021, adding that the exchange giant was soliciting Singapore users without having a license. Consequently, MAS placed Binance on the Investor Alert List (IAL). Also, the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) investigated Binance for possible violation of the Payment Services Act (PSA) on MAS’ referral.

Meanwhile, FTX did not go through the same treatment as its rival because, according to the regulator, it did not specifically solicit users in Singapore and did not conduct trades in the local currency, even though residents could access the Bahamas-based platform online. There was also no evidence that the firm violated the PS Act.

“While both Binance and FTX are not licensed here, there is a clear difference between the two: Binance was actively soliciting users in Singapore while FTX was not. Binance in fact went to the extent of offering listings in Singapore dollars and accepted Singapore-specific payment modes such as PayNow and PayLah.”MAS Repeats Warning About Crypto Risks

MAS also reiterated its warning about the crypto industry, stating that the FTX crisis was an example that engaging in cryptocurrency was risky.

“The ongoing turmoil in the crypto industry serves as a reminder of the huge risks of dealing in cryptocurrencies. As MAS has repeatedly stated, there is no protection for customers who deal in cryptocurrencies. They can lose all their money.”

The collapse of one of the largest crypto exchanges has affected all facets of the industry, both retail and institutional actors. As previously reported by CryptoPotato, court filings revealed that the bankrupt FTX owed over $3 billion to its top 50 creditors.

Gemini Is Working With Genesis to Find Solution for Earn Users

 The report comes as possible bankruptcy looms over Genesis as it struggles to raise fresh capital.

Crypto exchange Gemini revealed working closely with Genesis Trading and its parent company Digital Currency Group, Inc, to find a solution for Earn users to redeem their funds.

In a seris of tweets, the Winklevoss-led platform noted that it is working to provide a material informational update soon.

“This remains our highest priority and we understand Genesis and DCG remain committed to exploring every possible option to fulfill their obligations to Earn users.”

Gemini assured that the turmoil had not impacted any other products and services on its platform and that rest of its operations are working normally.

The Unraveling

The on-chain activity revealed that Genesis had significant interactions with Alameda, Gemini, and BlockFi via their OTC trading desk. FTT was also a top token received and sent in those transactions. However, Genesis is yet to share more information to bring clarity on the extent of the exposure and capital required to make customers whole.

Due to the exposure to the bankrupt FTX and its sister trading firm, Alameda, Genesis Trading – touted as the backbone infrastructure of the institutional investor base for the crypto market – is now scrambling for more liquidity injection. Genesis and its subsidiaries are owned by Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group (DCG). Reports suggest it had around $175 million locked in a trading account with FTX.

CryptoPotato reported earlier that the platform sought a $1 billion emergency loan from its investors. But it failed to score the funding, which prompted its decision to suspend withdrawals from its lending arm, citing “abnormal withdrawal requests which have exceeded its current liquidity” on November 16. To keep operations running smoothly, its parent firm, Digital Currency Group, initially poured in $140 million.

In response to Genesis suspending withdrawals, Gemini halted withdrawals from its Earn product, in which the former is a lending partner.

In the Brink of Bankruptcy?

Genesis is now looking to raise more fresh funding for its lending unit from potential investors. However, a failure to do so may push the company to file for bankruptcy, according to a new report. Despite this, a representative of for Genesis told Bloomberg that it has no plans to file for bankruptcy imminently and went on to add,

“Our goal is to resolve the current situation consensually without the need for any bankruptcy filing. Genesis continues to have constructive conversations with creditors.”

Genesis reportedly aprached Binance for an investment as well as private equity giant Apollo Global Management for support. The CZ-led crypto exchange, however, has turned down the request.