Australian residents have been identified as one the primary targets of a sophisticated network of cryptocurrency call-center scammers — which are suspected to be run by Israel-based crime bosses. Evidence uncovered after a full-scale raid of four Serbian call centers and 11 residences by Serbian, German, Bulgarian and Cypriot authorities found that Australians were among the top countries being targeted. The raids saw fifteen people arrested and $1.46 million in cryptocurrencies seized, among others. Dramatic police raids in Belgrade, Bulgaria and Cyprus, following investigations in Germany, have uncovered evidence Australia is in the top tier of countries being targeted: https://t.co/zWv7I3N5Kg …

DZ Bank, Germany’s second-largest bank in terms of asset size, will fully integrate digital currencies into its asset management services in collaboration with the digital asset firm Metaco. According to the announcement sent to Cointelegraph, DZ Bank selected Metaco's custody platform Harmonize to offer digital currencies to its institutional clients. Nils Christopeit, an executive at DZ Bank, said that the Metaco Harmonize platform suits their requirements in terms of security and scalability. “With the offering, we can build by using this technology, we trust to create a durable and fast-growing business cooperation as well as an attractive solution for our …

105-year-old German bank DekaBank is planning to launch a blockchain-based tokenization platform as part of its collaboration with the digital asset firm Metaco. DekaBank targets the release of its blockchain platform sometime in 2024, while the infrastructure is expected to be ready in 2023, DekaBank’s digital asset custody executive Andreas Sack told Cointelegraph. “The tokenization platform infrastructure will be ready in the foreseeable future, and that will launch the first minimum viable product in our crypto custody solution,” Sack stated. He added that the first test transactions of the tokenization platform are likely to take place this year. DekaBank’s upcoming …

Deutsche Bank's asset management arm is in discussions to invest in two German crypto companies, according to people familiar with the matter. Per a Bloomberg report on Feb. 8, DWS Group CEO Stefan Hoops is currently in talks to buy a minority stake in Deutsche Digital Assets, a crypto exchange-traded products provider. It's also in talks with Tradias, a market maker firm owned by Bankhaus Scheich — a traditional finance market maker. Hoops has been bullish about the opportunities presented in the digital assets space. During a recent earnings call, the executive said that DWS has “started to assess strategic …

The human side of Bitcoin (BTC) is seldom explored in legacy or mainstream crypto media outlets. Even within the Bitcoin space, Bitcoin is “number goes up” technology, while catchphrases like “Bitcoin to the moon” and “have fun staying poor” rattle around like coins in a jar. Bitcoin documentaries tend to sensationalize Bitcoin as a panacea to the world’s problems instead of offering nuanced portrayals of Bitcoin’s impact on the individuals who form the decentralized movement. Moreover, while the price per Bitcoin has inflated, ballooned and popped over the past five years, a steady stream of new people is flowing into …

The Bitcoin (BTC) logo lit up the night sky in Berlin this weekend, adorning Germany’s tallest building with a giant orange B. On January 21, the Bitcoin logo illuminated the Berliner Fernsehturm tower–known as the TV Tower. German Bitcoiners took to Twitter and social media to share photos and videos of the illumination, then shared by prominent Bitcoin Twitter accounts. The man behind the B, a German Bitcoiner called Tilo told Cointelegraph why the idea came to him: "We just want to call attention on bitcoin! We’re fans of Guerilla actions like this and will keep on track." Tilo is …

While the United States holds the biggest share in Bitcoin (BTC) hash rate contribution and ATM network, the city hosting the most number of reachable Bitcoin nodes — the biggest pillar of the Bitcoin system — is Frankfurt, Germany. A Bitcoin node represents a computer system that works with other decentralized computers to help validate and relay Bitcoin blocks and transactions. Out of the total 43706 nodes hosted across 134 countries, the U.S. hosts 9999 or 30.53%, while Germany ranks second with 4529 (13.83%) nodes, confirms data from Bitnodes. However, when it comes to the contribution of individual cities, Frankfurt …

Financial authorities in Germany are raising the alarm amid the rapid spread of a new financial malware affecting banking and cryptocurrency applications. Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) released an official statement on Jan. 9, warning consumers of “Godfather,” a malware collecting user data in banking and crypto apps. BaFin emphasized that the new virus is targeting about 400 banking and crypto apps, including those operating in Germany. Godfather malware attacks users by displaying fake websites of regular banking and crypto apps, stealing their login data. According to the regulator, it is yet to be determined how the malware attacks …

Digital payments company Block Inc. is pursuing legal action against Roger Ver’s Bitcoin.com over alleged trademark infringement involving its newly launched Verse token, which concluded a $33.6 million private sale in May 2022. In a letter addressed to Bitcoin.com CEO Dennis Jarvis and the company’s legal counsel Joseph Collement, lawyers representing Block claimed that Bitcoin.com’s use of “Verse” constituted trademark infringement under German trademark law. The letter, dated Aug. 10, 2022, was a follow-up to a July 4, 2022 notice in which Block’s legal counsel, Bird & Bird, first laid out its trademark infringement case in Germany. A person familiar …

In an official blog post, Bitpanda announced that it has secured a crypto custody licence from the German financial authority, BaFin. Having obtained this licence, the Austrian-based crypto exchange can now legally market its services to residents of Germany. Bitpanda also claimed to be the first retail crypto exchange based out of Europe to have achieved this distinction. The collapse of the FTX crypto exchange has brought increased scrutiny to unregulated crypto exchanges that operate outside of a country’s jurisdiction. For this reason, many exchanges are seeking to gain licences in multiple countries to prove that they are legitimate. This …

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany, also known as BaFin, has issued an order related to the business organization of Coinbase’s local arm in accordance with the country’s banking laws. In a Nov. 8 notice, BaFin said it had issued the order to Coinbase Germany GmbH for violations of “proper business organization” under the German Banking Act. According to a copy of the legislation made available by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Coinbase’s Germany arm should have “suitable arrangements for managing, monitoring and controlling risks and appropriate arrangements by means of which the institution’s financial situation can …

The $9 billion-valuated German fintech N26 launched crypto trading on its mobile app. Starting from Austria and rolling out to other countries in the upcoming months, N26 Crypto will let its customers buy and sell 200 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The Berlin-based fintech announced on Oct. 20 that the launch in Austria addresses “strong local demand,” with 40% of N26 users either actively trading or have expressed interest in investing in cryptocurrencies. N26 plans to roll out its crypto trading service to other key markets in the next 6 months. N26 customers with a verified identity can …