As the FTX collapse left many users yearning for the return of lost funds, scammers are using the opportunity to take advantage of the already injured victims, posing as government officials. In a post, the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) warned crypto investors that there are fake applications and websites put up by scammers aiming to take money but give nothing in return. The DFR urged traders to make sure to “do their homework” before sending any of their funds to crypto trading platforms. As an example, the DFR also spoke of an incident concerning a website that claimed …

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, founders of Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, are reportedly facing a new lawsuit from investors over interest-earning program Gemini Earn. Disgruntled investors have filed a lawsuit against Gemini founders, accusing the firm of fraud and violations of the securities laws, according to a report by Bloomberg. Filed on Dec. 27 in Manhattan federal court, the complaint states that Winklevoss brothers refused to “honor any further investor redemptions” after halting those due to exposure to troubled trading firm Genesis Global Capital. The plaintiffs alleged that the products have not been registered, which prevented them from receiving disclosures to better …

While the government agencies are queuing to sue the FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried, the group of former customers made an effort to get their money back first. A class lawsuit initiated by four individuals demands priority access to frozen funds of the company for its customers, not investors. The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 27 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Four plaintiffs claim to be representing the whole class of former FTX customers, which might amass up to 1 million individuals. What the lawsuit seeks to obtain are the priority rights to …

The crypto wallets associated with now-bankrupt trading firm Alameda Research, the sister company of FTX, were seen transferring out funds just days after the former CEO Sam Bankman Fried was released on a $250 million bond. The transfer of funds from Alameda wallets raised community curiosity, but more than that, the way in which these funds were transferred grabbed the community’s attention. The Alameda wallet was found to be swapping bits of ERC20s for ETH/USDT, and then the Ether (ETH) and USDT (USDT) were funneled through instant exchangers and mixers. For example, a wallet address that starts with 0x64e9 received …

China’s wallet app for its digital yuan central bank digital currency (CBDC) introduced a feature for users to send money in an electronic version of traditional “red packets” to try to attract new users. The new feature was released over the weekend, around one month ahead of the Chinese New Year on Jan. 22, as reported by the South China Morning Post on Dec. 26. The “red packets,” called hongbao in China, are traditionally used for gifting money around the Chinese New Year and other celebrations as a gesture of good luck. The rising use of digital payments has seen …

Six executives from the $1.5 billion (2 trillion won) South Korean crypto exchange fraud V Global have received prison sentences up to eight years — but three were not detained so they could fight certain charges in court. V Global operated between July 2020 and April 2021, and roped in around 50,000 investors by promising 300% returns on investments alongside sizable payments for referring new customers. According to a translation of Dec. 26 reports from South Korean media outlets such as Economist.co.kr, two high-ranking execs, named Mr Yang and Mr Oh, got eight years and three years apiece for their …

The crypto trader behind the $110 million exploit of decentralized exchange Mango Markets has been arrested in Puerto Rico — and charged with market manipulation and fraud. According to a previously sealed complaint filed with the Southern District of New York made public on Dec. 27, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pinned Avraham Eisenberg with one count of “commodities fraud” and one count of “commodities manipulation” in relation to his exploit of Mango Markets. Eisenberg’s Oct. 11 exploit of Mango Markets worked by manipulating the value of the platform’s native token MNGO, artificially inflating its price relative to USD …

According to a Bloomberg report published on Dec. 27, the U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the whereabouts of approximately $372 million in missing digital assets from now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX and FTX US. On Nov. 12, amidst bankruptcy and internal collapse, FTX warned customers of abnormal wallet activity regarding at least 228,523 Ether (ETH) transferred out of the exchange from an unknown perpetrator. On Nov. 11, or the night of the company's bankruptcy filing, FTX US' general counsel Ryne Miller confirmed that the transactions were unauthorized and that the subsidiary exchange had moved all crypto to …

BlueNoroff, part of the North Korean state-sponsored Lazarus Group, has renewed its targeting of venture capital firms, crypto startups and banks. Cybersecurity lab Kaspersky reported that the group has shown a spike in activity after a lull for most of the year and it is testing new delivery methods for its malware. BlueNoroff has created more than 70 fake domains that mimic venture capital firms and banks. Most of the fakes presented themselves as well-known Japanese companies, but some also assumed the identity of United States and Vietnamese companies. BlueNoroff introduces new methods bypassing MoTWhttps://t.co/C6q0l1mWqo — Pentesting News (@PentestingN) December …

After the height of the FTX collapse, the Philippine government warned investors within the country about using unlicensed crypto exchanges. The Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) in the Philippines issued an advisory to the public against using unregistered cryptocurrency exchanges that are operating within the country. Within the warning, the SEC did not directly mention the FTX exchange but said that the warning considers “the recent collapse of a large international cryptocurrency exchange.” Citing the laws within the country, the government agency reiterated that any entity intending to conduct business within the country is required to register with the SEC. …

Before the rise of centralized exchanges (CEXs), over-the-counter (OTC) trading was the go-to method to buy or sell cryptocurrency for many crypto investors. The FTX collapse could trigger a bigger demand for crypto OTC services as investors are looking for alternative methods to convert from and to fiat due to weaker trust in CEXs. Cointelegraph spoke with BestChange, a Russian OTC crypto exchange aggregator, to learn more about the current state of OTC markets. “The role of OTC is sometimes underestimated amid the all-encompassing marketing of centralized exchanges,” BestChange chief analyst Nikita Zuborev said. According to the exec, OTCs often …

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried landed in the United States on Dec. 21. And, at least till the end of his court cases, he will live with his parents in Palo Alto, California. A bail was granted to SBF on the conditions of a $250 million bond, home detention, location monitoring and the surrender of his passport. His parents secured his bail with the equity in their house. Some Twitter users found this development either amusing or suspicious. One of the key witnesses in the ongoing FTX investigation, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, would have to pay a thousand …