Monat: Februar 2023

• Elliptic conducted a report on the use of crypto assets and technology by both sides in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
• The report found that more digital asset donations have gone to Ukraine than Russia, with $212 million worth of cryptocurrency donated to support Ukraine’s war efforts.
• Pro-Russian entities have raised around $4.8 million for the Russian military and associated militias, with 10% coming from illicit sources.

Analysis Unveils War Efforts Funded By Cryptocurrency

The two sides in the bitter conflict in Ukraine have been relying on crypto assets and technology to support their military and humanitarian activities, Elliptic says in a report. According to the blockchain forensics company, the targeted nation has attracted more digital asset donations than the invading power.

Donations To Support Ukraine

Both Russia and Ukraine have employed blockchain technology to secure funding for their war efforts since Russian forces attacked on Feb. 24, 2022, Elliptic revealed in a report exploring the evolving role of cryptocurrencies in the conflict. The study is based on data compiled by the crypto analytics firm over the past year. On the anniversary of the invasion, it was reported that „many campaigns have sought to harness core developments in the crypto ecosystem to aid their fundraising – from decentralized finance (defi) to crypto pre-paid cards.“

The digital cash was used for various purposes, from humanitarian causes to financing sanctioned groups. The analysis of transactions traced by Elliptic shows that over $212 million worth of cryptocurrency went towards supporting Ukraine’s efforts while anti-government organizations in Belarus received only around $0.7 million and pro-Russian groups raised approximately $4.8 million for its military activities and associated militias.

Illicit Sources Of Funding

More than 10% of these donations came from illicit sources according to Elliptic’s report which included darknet markets, sanctioned entities and stolen credit card vendors as well as less than 2% originating from such sources into funds allocated towards Ukrainian activities . Similarly , Pro-Russian entities collected around $400,000 between late February till late September as per TRM Labs data and Chainalysis reported that 54 such groups collectively received over $2.2 million worth of cryptocurrency since May 2022 .

Ukraine’s Digital Minister Claims Majority Of Military Suppliers Accept Crypto

Many fundraising initiatives on Ukrainian side utilized cryptocurrency where activists supporting Russia increased their funding since May 2022 raising more bitcoin & ether than Ukrainians . Furthermore ,Ukrainian Digital Minister claimed majority military suppliers accepted cryptocurrency payments further expanding reach & variety methods available via blockchain aiding country during times of crisis .

Conclusion

With rapid development & adoption new technologies ,cryptocurrencies are playing an increasingly important role when it comes support war efforts fuelling either side within ongoing conflict between Russia &Ukraine offering citizens & supporters platforms enabling them send funds directly without relying third parties

• The Summer token halving will take place on the 6th of March, reducing the rate of production from one token every 4.3 seconds to one token every 8.6 seconds.
• The halving will cause Summer tokens to become scarcer and more expensive while Autumn tokens become more abundant.
• Investors have a short time left to obtain Summer tokens before they become scarce, and can increase their holdings by trading between the four Seasonal Tokens.

End of an Era for the Seasonal Tokens Economy: Summer Tokens to Become Scarcer

Halving Process

Once every nine months, the rate of production of one of the four Seasonal Tokens is cut in half, with Spring having been most recently halved in June 2022. This process is similar to Bitcoin’s halvings, where the rate at which new coins are produced is reduced over time as a way to control inflation.

The Impact on Summer Tokens

On March 6th, the rate of production for Summer tokens will drop from one token every 4.3 seconds down to one token every 8.6 seconds, making them harder and more expensive to obtain as time goes on. As a result, prices are expected to adjust accordingly with Summer becoming the most expensive token out of all four seasonal tokens due its decreased supply relative to demand.

Benefits for Investors

Unlike Bitcoin where early investors have an advantage over later investors due its limited supply over time, investors in Seasonal Tokens can increase their holdings over time by trading between them depending on their current prices in relation to each other; when buying cheaper tokens then selling them when they become more expensive again increases your total amount invested overall without any extra cost incurred.

Conclusion

Investors who wish to take advantage of this opportunity only have a short amount of time left before scarcity sets in and future investors won’t be able access these plentiful summer tokens ever again; however those who do get involved now could potentially see great rewards from their investments if done correctly and strategically planned out over time!

• Hackers attacked the domain registrar Namecheap on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023 and compromised their email account.
• The hackers leveraged the company’s email account through a third-party provider, Sendgrid, to send out phishing emails claiming to be from Metamask and DHL.
• Namecheap CEO Richard Kirkendall confirmed the issue and disabled Sendgrid services, while Metamask warned users not to enter their recovery phrase on any website.

Hackers Attack Domain Registrar Namecheap

On Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, hackers attacked the domain registrar Namecheap’s email account. Subsequently, a large number of individuals received phishing emails claiming to be from Metamask and DHL that originated from the email platform Sendgrid.

Namecheap Confirms Email Account Compromise

Namecheap CEO Richard Kirkendall confirmed the compromise and said the firm has disabled Sendgrid services in response. Multiple reports indicate that hackers leveraged the company’s email account through a third-party provider to send out malicious emails with links leading to a phishing campaign attempting to steal private information from users.

Metamask Warns Recipients

Metamask also tweeted about the Namecheap emails and told recipients to ignore them as they do not collect KYC information nor will they ever ask for someone’s recovery phrase via email. They reiterated that people should never enter their secret recovery phrase on any website under any circumstances.

Phishing Attacks Commonly Used by Hackers

Phishing attacks have been common in recent years and hackers have used various methods to access people’s private information such as financial data or mnemonic phrases from wallets like Metamask. The DHL phishing email attempted to provide users with an invoice in order for them to enter payment information for a fake issue which would enable hackers access funds from their accounts if successful.

Namecheap Takes Immediate Action

Beehive Cybersecurity noted that when they notified Namecheap of this breach they acted promptly and treated it seriously as per best practices in cybersecurity; this is what companies should strive for when responding quickly and efficiently when faced with such crises.

• FTX debtors are seeking to claw back millions of dollars given to U.S. political action committees and political figures.
• Confidential letters have been sent requesting the return of funds by Feb. 28, 2023.
• 196 U.S. lawmakers, or one out of every three members of Congress, took direct contributions from SBF or FTX executives.

FTX Debtors Demand Return of Funds

FTX debtors are seeking to claw back millions of dollars given to U.S. political action committees (PACs) and political figures by sending confidential letters requesting the return of funds by Feb. 28, 2023 via a designated email account, with the threat that they reserve the right to take legal action in bankruptcy court for any unpaid claims with interest accruing from the date of initiation if necessary. Estimates indicate that Sam Bankman-Fried and other top executives from FTX donated an estimated $90 million to U.S bureaucrats and political organizations since its inception, with 196 U.S lawmakers taking direct contributions from SBF or FTX executive officers – one out every three members of Congress respectively receiving payments from them directly or indirectly.

US Political Elite Under Pressure

The announcement reads that „recipients are requested to return the funds to the FTX debtors by Feb 28th 2023“. In addition to this press release released on February 5th 2021, Twitter account Unusual Whales also released a list breaking down which US bureaucrats and PACs received funding from SBF and top executives of FTX exchange.

Manchin & Smith Pledge Donations To Charity

So far Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Tina Smith were two US politicians who have already pledged their donation amounts received from SBF & FTX exchange team to charity.

Unusual Whales Release Contributions List From Exchange Team

Research shows that 196 US lawmakers or one out every three members in Congress took direct contributions either directly or indirectly either from Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) himself or other top executives at FTX – making it one out every three members in Congress respectively receiving payments from them directly or indirectly through various entities such as PACs etc., while Unusual Whales released a list breaking down all these details on their twitter handle recently.

FTX Debtors Reserve The Right To Take Legal Action

FTX debtors have specified that funds can be returned through a designated email account before February 28th 2023 after which they reserve the right „to initiate actions in bankruptcy court“ if necessary for any unpaid claims with interest accruing from the date of initiation.