Popular crypto wallet provider MetaMask warned investors against ongoing phishing attempts by scammers attempting to contact users through NameCheap’s third-party upstream system for emails. On the evening of Feb. 12, web hosting company NameCheap detected the misuse of one of its third-party services for sending some unauthorized emails — which directly targeted MetaMask users. Namecheap described the incident as an "email gateway issue." ⚠️MetaMask does not collect KYC info and will never email you about your account! Do not enter your Secret Recovery Phrase on a website EVER. If you got an email today from MetaMask or Namecheap or anyone …

Recently reported planned enforcement action against Paxos by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over Binance USD (BUSD) has many in the community questioning how the regulator could see a stablecoin as a security. Blockchain lawyers told Cointelegraph said that while the answer isn't black and white, there exists an argument for it if the stablecoin was issued out in the expectation of profits or are derivative of securities. A report from the Wall Street Journal on Feb. 12 revealed that the SEC is planning to sue Paxos Trust Company in relation to its issuance of Binance USD, …

A crackdown by the United States securities regulator on crypto staking could have unintended consequences for decentralized finance (DeFi), according to the head of business development at Lido DAO. In a Feb. 13 Bloomberg report Jacob Blish, who leads business development at Lido's decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), said the most significant risk would be if the SEC eventually concluded that no U.S. citizen can interact with crypto staking services, including protocols. "The biggest risk I personally see as a U.S.-based person is if they come down and say you can no longer even interact with or contribute to these types …

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has now made at least two substantial contributions to help the victims of last week’s devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The Turkey-Syria 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck on Feb. 6. Its death toll has now risen to 33,000 — one of the nation’s worst in decades. Over the week, the Ethereum co-founder has been one of many actively donating Ethereum to support relief efforts in Turkey. His latest donation on Feb. 12 was for 50 ETH, or approximately $77,000, to Anka Relief as reported by blockchain security firm PeckShield. Anka thanked the Ethereum co-founder for his …

The ill-gotten crypto from one of the industry’s largest exploits is on the move again, with on-chain data showing another $46 million of stolen funds has just shifted from the hacker’s wallet. The Wormhole attack was the third largest crypto hack in 2022 resulting from an exploit of Wormhole’s token bridge in February 2022. Around $321 million of Wrapped ETH (wETH) was stolen. According to blockchain security firm PeckShield, the hacker’s associated wallet has become active once again, moving d $46 million worth of crypto assets. This was made up of around 24,400 of Lido Finance-wrapped Ethereum staking token (wstETH), …

Eddy Alexandre, CEO of purported crypto trading platform EminiFX has pleaded guilty to commodities fraud in a New York district court, agreeing to pay back millions to investors who lost funds to his "cryptocurrency investment scam. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Feb. 10 that Alexandre submitted a guilty plea to one count of commodities fraud, and will pay over $248 million in forfeiture along with restitution yet to be specified. Alexandre was arrested and charged in May 2022 over his role in EminiFX and originally pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea on Feb. 10. He …

Crypto hardware wallet provider OneKey says it has already addressed a vulnerability in its firmware that allowed one of its hardware wallets to be hacked in one second flat. On Feb. 10, a video on YouTube posted by cybersecurity startup Unciphered showed they had figured out a way to exploit a "Massive critical vulnerability" in order o "crack open" a OneKey Mini. According to Eric Michaud, a partner at Unciphered, by disassembling the device and inserting coding, it was possible to return the OneKey Mini to “factory mode” and bypass the security pin, allowing a potential attacker to remove the …

Blockstream CEO Adam Back believes the price of Bitcoin (BTC) could reach $10 million by the end of the sixth halvening in 2032, as long as Bitcoin layer-2 technology and wallet infrastructure improves. In a Feb. 12 Twitter thread, Back, one of the contributors to Bitcoin core, was explaining to his 509,000 followers in what situation Hal Finney’s $10 million price prediction for BTC could come true. He noted that BTC has doubled in price year-on-year on average since 2013 and explained that if that trend continues, BTC price would reach $10M along with a $200 trillion market cap in …

Cryptocurrency lending firm Nexo Capital is set to terminate its yield-bearing Earn Interest Product for its customers in the United States roughly a month after it agreed to pay $45 million in penalties to U.S. regulators. Nexo announced the termination in a Feb. 10 blog post saying the product would be stopped on Apr. 1. The program allowed users to earn daily compounding yields on certain cryptocurrencies by loaning them to Nexo. An update for our U.S. clients.https://t.co/wRiDOPKEqg — Nexo (@Nexo) February 11, 2023 Nexo pointed to its Jan. 19 settlements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the …

Small esports tournament organizers have started dabbling in blockchain tech to host tournaments and distribute prize pools. However, don’t expect to see it in the big leagues just yet, says an investor. Esports, or electronic sports, is a form of organized competition via video games. Players sometimes referred to as esports athletes usually compete for prize money either individually or as a team. Dave Harris, managing director of esports investment firm Guinevere Capital, told Cointelegraph that he has begun seeing blockchain being used in amateur gaming competitions. In his opinion, however, it will take more time before the big titles …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly told blockchain infrastructure company Paxos that it plans to sue the firm for violations of investor protection laws alleging the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin is an unregistered security. Paxos is the creator and issuer of BUSD — a U.S. Dollar-collateralized stablecoin — since the firm struck a partnership with Binance in September 2019. It is the third largest stablecoin, with a market cap currently exceeding $16 billion. According to a Feb. 12 report in The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter, the SEC issued a Wells notice …

Crypto exchange Coinbase's executives are standing up for its crypto staking services, claiming it cannot be classified as a security, and threatening to bring the matter to the courts in the United States. Brian Armstrong, Coinbase CEO, posted on Twitter that the company will "defend this in court if needed." The move follows the agreement reached by crypto exchange Kraken with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Feb. 10 to stop offering staking services or programs to clients in the country. According to the SEC, Kraken failed “to register the offer and sale of their crypto asset staking-as-a-service program,” …