Bitcoin mining difficulty reaches new ATH; FTX, Binance US, Bittrex attacked by same phishing scam

The biggest news in the cryptoverse for Oct. 24 includes a recent spike in Bitcoin mining difficulty leading to a new ATH, FTX agreeing to compensate its users’ losses to a phishing attack, and on-chain data reveals Binance and Bittrex were also attacked. 

Bitcoin mining difficulty rises 3.4%, reaching new ATH

Another spike in mining difficulty was recorded on Oct. 24. It increased by 3.4% to reach 36.84 trillion, marking a new ATH. With that, the mining difficulty ribbon got compressed at the bottom, historically signaling a good buying opportunity for Bitcoin.

FTX compensating users who lost $6M to phishing attacks “just this once,” says SBF

FTX, and was exposed to phishing attacks via 3Commas on Oct. 12. 3Commas is a platform that enables users to build automated trading bots, and its FTC users were targeted by phishing attackers who used fake 3Commas websites.

12) Anyway–not only was this not FTX getting phished, it wasn’t even an FTX site.

And in general we can’t compensate for users getting phished by fake versions of other companies in the space! It isn’t FTX and we have basically no control over it.

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) October 23, 2022

FTX’s CEO Sam Bankman-Fried acknowledged the span of the attack and said FTX would compensate its users’ losses “as a one time ting” since it wasn’t “FTX getting phished, it wasn’t even an FTX site.”

On-chain data reveals Binance US, Bittrex also targeted by API attack used on FTX

According to a joint report by X-explore and WuBlockchain, Binance US and Bittrex were also attacked by the same phishing scam FTX suffered.

The report states:

“X-explore found that the attackers in the FTX&3commas API theft also attacked Binance US and Bittrex exchanges, stealing 1053ETH and 301ETH respectively. At present, the attack on Bittrex is still in progress.“

Crypto staking platform Freeway halts withdrawals, FatManTerra alleges Ponzi scheme

Crypto staking platform Freeway pointed out the market volatility as the reason and halted withdrawals and deposits. The announcement cited that the firm “has decided to diversify its asset base” to avoid market volatility in the future.

Two hours ago, Freeway halted all platform withdrawals. They also wiped the names of all team members from their website. It looks like it’s over. Another $100m+ rug. https://t.co/CUHZRygRGM pic.twitter.com/BJE4QMtkPy

— FatMan (@FatManTerra) October 23, 2022

Crypto influencer FatManTerra, cited the news and pointed out that the Freeway team deleted all their names from the website, saying that the Freeway protocol might be another rug pull.

FTX Sam Bankman-Fried hints at Cardano listing

FTX’s CEO Sam Bankman-Fried hinted that the exchange might soon list Cardano’s ADA for spot trading.

SBF made this comment via his Twitter account in response to a Cardano investor who said FTX refused to list ADA because it perceived the asset “as a threat to everything they want to control.”

Mango Market’s hacker rug pulls Mango Inu after warning investors would “definitely lose all your money”

The Mango Markets hacker, Avraham Eisenberg, tweeted about creating Mango Inu, which is a meme coin based on Eisenberg’s Mango Markets exploit.

The other day I deployed a shitcoin called Mango Inu and did absolutely no promotion. It got over 250k invested/gambled in like a half hour.

We’re still so far away from the bottom.

(to be clear if you buy this you will definitely lose all your money)

— Avraham Eisenberg (@avi_eisen) October 23, 2022

On Oct. 24, Eisenberg admitted to rug-pulling the Mango Inu project and claimed it was done legally since he warned the investors about “definitely” losing their money.

Cathie Wood $100k Bitcoin investment reportedly made over $7M profit

Founder of Ark Invest, Cathie Wood, revealed that she made a $100,000 investment in Bitcoin back when it was priced at $250. Today, her investment equals over $7 million in profit.

Ex-OpenSea exec dodges insider trading charge, wire fraud trial to continue

In early June, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged former OpenSea employee Nate Chastain with wire fraud and insider trading charges. The DOJ had claimed that Chastain allegedly misappropriated insider information from OpenSea.

On Oct. 24, Judge Jesse Furman decided that the insider trading charges must involve securities or commodities. Since neither was involved in Chastain’s case, the usage of the phrase “insider trading” in his case is misleading. Chastain’s trial on wire fraud will remain intact.

US DOJ charges two Chinese agents for bribing FBI agent with BTC

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged two Chinese intelligence agents for allegedly paying $61,000 worth of Bitcoin to an FBI double agent.

Chinese agents Guochun He and Zheng Wang allegedly bribed FBI agents to steal documents that revealed the government investigation strategy against a Chinese telecommunications company.

Quickswap to close lending market following $220K exploit

Decentralized exchange QuickSwap said that it would close its lending pool because of the Market XYZ exploit. Market XYZ was used with a flash loan attack on Oct. 24.

Wintermute CEO argues Crypto Twitter “doesn’t matter” as much as “U.S. regulators, politicians” in response to SBF discourse

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried shared his opinions about crypto regulations on Oct. 19. Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy tweeted on Oct.23 to ask for the community’s comments on SBF’s framework.

Gaevoy said that crypto Twitter  is a “tiny subset of the world” and “doesn’t matter.” Instead, he added, “U.S. regulators and politicians as well as broader user base matter way more.”

News from around the Cryptoverse

Hong Kong rolls its sleeves on crypto regulations

Hong Kong, Securities and Futures Commission, confirmed that they are considering allowing retail investors to trade crypto assets, according to local news sources directly.

In order to implement this change, Hong Kong will introduce a comprehensive crypto framework, including the digital Hong Kong dollar and a proper licensing and regulatory framework.

Crypto Market

In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin (BTC) decreased by -0.64% to trade at $19,347, while Ethereum (ETH) spiked by +1.42% to trade at $1,349.

Biggest Gainers (24h)

Biggest Losers (24h)