This Week in Crypto
November 25, 2022
As everyone around the world is getting out their Christmas trees and holiday decorations, the crypto market also seems to be settling down for the holiday season. In this week’s episode of This Week in Crypto, we take a look at some of the latest developments in the crypto industry filling everyone’s minds.
Seven-Year-Old BTC Hacker Wallet Wakes Up
In an unexpected turn of events, the BTC-e wallet related to the Mt.Gox hack of 2014 has woken up from its seven year slumber. After making some BTC test transactions, the wallet proceeded to move 10,000 BTC, with a small portion of it being deposited to HitBTC and the large majority deposited to various personal wallets. While BTC-e was seized and shut down by the FBI as it was suspected of providing money laundering for criminals involved in the Mt.Gox hack, the movement of these Bitcoins indicates that not all of the wallets related to BTC-e and its subsidiaries may have been fully seized.
Key Takeaway
Could the movement of 10,000 BTC be related to any government agency actions? The fact that a portion of it went to be sold on HitBTC exchange and the other majority was split into various personal wallets indicates that these transactions do not belong to a government entity. The development of on-chain analysis tools compared to 7 years ago would make it easier to spot the related transactions and stop the perpetrators from cashing in. A coordinated sale of 10,000 BTC in the current market could easily be a catalyst of negative impact on the price of overall crypto assets. Cautious monitoring is required.
Paper Wallet Scams in Australia
If you are living in Australia, beware. The New South Wales police announced that there is an increasing number of scam attempts in which scammers are dropping seemingly genuine Bitcoin paper wallets on the streets. Once finders scan the QR code, they will be redirected to a website that will prompt them to connect their wallets to top up the street-found Bitcoin wallet to enable withdrawals. Blinded by the $16,000 AUD balance shown on the wallet, the finders would comply. Then, their crypto assets would be drained. Threads across various social media platforms have confirmed seeing these paper wallets on the street, in parks, on public benches, and in various other public places.
Key Takeaway
If something sounds too good, or too lucky, to be true, the chances are high that it is not what it seems. Finding a Bitcoin wallet on the street carrying around $10,000 in balance is enough to tempt anyone. However, users must always exercise caution when it comes to interacting with unknown entities or smart contracts in crypto.
Black Friday Begins
As the favorite shopping season for bargain hunters has returned for the year, we are celebrating Black Friday! Those interested in taking advantage of the discount season to secure themselves a passive, low-power crypto miner can look forward to the various discounts available for M2 Pro, provided at the courtesy of MatchX.
On Amazon, buyers can enjoy a 10% discount on M2 Pro, along with free shipping. On the MatchX website, buyers can get up to 350 euros off on their M2 Pro miner purchase with the discount code.
