Mixin Network, a decentralized peer-to-peer network, has lost nearly $200 million in a mainnet hack.
The hack compromised the database of a third-party cloud service provider
Mixin Network has taken to X.com to confirm that its services are down as a hack has compromised its cloud service provider database, resulting in a $200 million loss. It explained that it was hacked on Sept 23, Hong Kong time, but they have contacted Google and SlowMist to work together to secure the protocol.
Mixin Network suspends transactions as investigations are underway
The platform has immediately suspended all deposit and withdrawal services to prevent further draining of funds. The protocol has appointed SlowMist and Google to help with investigations as its team attempts a recovery.
During the time of the attack, the protocol held assets amounting to $141.32 million in its portfolio, according to on-chain data analytics firm PeckShield. The analytics firm outlined the assets held by Mixin Network as follows:
Ether: $94.48 million
DAI: $23.55 million
Bitcoin: $23.3 million
This event is not a standalone hack. Recently, billionaire Mark Cuban suffered a hack that drained his crypto wallet. Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Buterin also had his X.com account hacked and used to advertise scam links.
Crypto hacks and scams have been rampant as the industry is young, and most people do not know how to avoid them. Every year, billions of dollars are lost in scams and attacks, sensitizing the public about the need for more resilience in the markets. Keep watching Fintech Express for more updates on this and other fintech-related developments.
The SEC vs. Justin Sun case on possible Tron (TRX) market manipulation has seen a new development after the presiding judge granted a defense extension till December 8, 2023, to explore possible resolution before motion practice.
Justin Sun’s legal team gets more time to explore possible resolutions with the SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) case against Tron Network’s Justin Sun kickstarted in March 2023 as the regulator alleged that Sun, Tron Foundation, BitTorrent Foundation, and a company named Rainberry had illegally exposed investors to Tron (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT) tokens as unregistered securities.
The commission added that Sun was plotting to manipulate the market prices of Tron tokens (TRX). In a court order dated September 14, 2023, Sun and Rainberry’s legal defense teams asked the court to give them more time to find an amicable resolution to the debacle, which Judge Edgardo Ramos granted.
This development is not new in complex legal cases, especially where out-of-court settlements and resolutions could be reached. The defendants and the prosecution will now have time to discuss their differences and develop a mutual agreement that will benefit both.
It will also provide more time for further investigations to be carried out, defining more clearly who is in the wrong if court proceedings resume. While the specifics of the case remain confidential, the crypto industry will be keenly watching this case as it is part of a broader effort by the SEC to regulate crypto assets it sees as securities. Keep watching Fintech Express for more updates on this and other fintech related developments.
Brazilian lawmakers are working on a law that could see crypto enter the debtor’s protected assets list.
This means that significant crypto holdings might start being protected from seizures on behalf of creditors in the country.
Brazilian lawmakers are discussing a motion that seeks to grant strong protection to significant crypto savings as part of a bill to protect the savings assets of debtors.
Crypto may become part of debtors’ personal savings category protected from seizures in Brazil
Bill 4.420/2021, Written by Deputy Carlos Bezerra, has been tabled to the committee on the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship in the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress of Brazil, seeking to amend the Code of Civil Procedure of 2015 to protect private savings of debtors equals to 40 minimum wages from potential seizure on behalf of their creditors.
The bill’s initial version did not include crypto assets but has now been rewritten to include tokenized assets as well. This discussion is a landmark in the crypto industry as governments are increasing their efforts to streamline the adoption and usage of these assets worldwide.
The new version of the bill refers to digital assets as
“Digital representations of value that can be traded or transferred via electronic means and used for making payments or investments.”
This legal development is not a set-apart event. In August, the Brazilian Congressional Committee approved amendments to a bill that seeks to raise taxes on crypto assets held overseas. Keep watching Fintech Express for more updates on crypto and other FinTech-related developments.
Stanford University has indicated that it intends to reimburse millions to FTX after confirming illegal donations by Sam Bankman Fried.
FTX legal counsel has increased efforts to crawl back all donations that were made by EX-CEO Sam Bankman Fried using customer deposits
Stanford University has confirmed receiving donations from FTX for pandemic-related prevention and research but will fully refund it. The institution is complying with calls from FTX liquidation officials to refund the money which had been part of customer deposits.
FTX continues ploughing back illegal donations
FTX, under Sam Bankman Fried’s leadership, had dished out multiple donations, which are alleged to have come from customer deposits. The CEO sought political and other strategic allies, giving out those donations.
Following the collapse of the multi-billion dollar company, it has been understood that there were a lot of fraudulent activities and mismanagement of customer funds, which has hurt customers and creditors. While Sam Bankman Fried is facing charges in the United States, FTX is under a liquidation process to repay its creditors and refund customer deposits.
As part of the repayment process, the current leadership has moved to reclaim all donations made illegally. The California-based institution, Stanford University, falls in the entity category that is to refund all donations issued to them.
The university received $5.5 million between November 2021 and May 2022. In a Sept. 19 email, the institution’s spokesperson said that its administration had been discussing with FTX legal counsel to recover the gifts received and intended to refund the defunct exchange.
Similar efforts and reports of donations being ploughed back are still expected to happen with time as the FTX debtor’s legal counsel seeks to gather as much funds as possible from the liquidation process. Keep watching Fintech Express for more updates on crypto and other fintech-related fields.
The United Kingdom Treasury has released a consultation paper seeking to understand the effects of a blanket ban on crypto-related cold calls.
The new fieldwork seeks to understand the impacts such a crypto regulation would have on businesses and the economy at this time.
The U.K. has continued to push its limits regarding crypto regulation after His Majesty’s Treasury released a consultation paper that seeks to gauge what the impacts of a blanket crypto cold calls ban would have on the economy.
U.K. crypto regulatory efforts continue
The United Kingdom government is increasing its oversight on crypto assets as it considers the industry risky to its citizens. Some of its regulators have been issuing tighter restrictions, like the UK FCA and advertising boards, to control what it considers a ‘mayhem’ in the industry.
On May 3, it announced an ambitious fraud strategy that created new jobs in a push to review policies around emerging technologies sectors. The country’s National Crime Agency estimates that fraud costs are approximately $8.7 billion annually, an arrangement the government will not “tolerate.”
Now, the Treasury’s Economic Secretary, Andrew Griffith, has said that an increasing number of cold calls, often used to target vulnerable members of society, leads to fraudulent activities. As a result, the Treasury is now weighing whether to impose a blanket ban on crypto related cold calls.
In the consultation paper, the Treasury highlighted numerous cold calls being responsible for significant loses of monetary value from citizens via crypto assets. Though it has imposed several prohibitions, scammers are finding new ways of bypassing the law an arrangement the U.K. government won’t tolerate anymore.
