NewsBriefs - Top minds join Sam Altman's Worldcoin to bolster privacy and security

Jul 2, 1:52 PM The Block

Top minds join Sam Altman's Worldcoin to bolster privacy and security

Worldcoin, the crypto project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has strengthened its team by hiring former executives from Apple, Google, Meta, Tesla, and X. These executives, including new Chief Device Officer Rich Heley and Chief Privacy Officer Damien Kieran, aim to enhance the project's security, privacy, and technology as part of their efforts to develop Worldcoin's biometrically-based digital identity system, World ID. This initiative seeks to distribute a global digital currency equitably and is currently preparing to transition to its Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain.

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• Nov 18, 6:28 AM Coindesk

  Metaplanet announces ¥1.75B bond sale to purchase more Bitcoin

  Tokyo-listed Metaplanet plans to issue one-year bonds valued at 1.75 billion yen ($11.3 million) to finance the purchase of additional bitcoin. The company aims to increase its bitcoin holdings, which currently stand at 1,018 BTC, as a hedge against local economic instability. Since April, Metaplanet has been actively buying bitcoin and employing options strategies to enhance its investments.

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• Nov 15, 2:30 PM Globe Newswire

  Nasdaq-listed Thumzup Media adopts Bitcoin as treasury reserve asset

  Thumzup Media Corporation, listed as TZUP on Nasdaq, has authorized the acquisition of up to $1 million in Bitcoin for its treasury reserves. This decision reflects the company's recognition of Bitcoin as a stable reserve asset, bolstered by the growing institutional support and its qualities of limited supply and resistance to inflation.

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• Nov 15, 9:11 AM Cointelegraph

  Korea's financial watchdog detects up to 600K KYC violations at Upbit during license renewal

  South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has identified between 500,000 and 600,000 potential Know Your Customer (KYC) violations at the cryptocurrency exchange Upbit. During its license renewal process, the FIU discovered that Upbit may have allowed the use of blurred IDs for customer verification, compromising the rigorous KYC standards required for crypto exchanges in South Korea. The breach could lead to substantial fines and affect Upbit's business license renewal.

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• Nov 14, 2:52 PM The Block

  Royal Government of Bhutan transfers 365 BTC to Binance amid BTC price rally

  The Royal Government of Bhutan has transferred approximately 365 BTC, valued at $33.3 million, to a Binance deposit address as Bitcoin reaches new highs over $90,000. This movement follows a previous transfer of 929 BTC to Binance in October. Despite these transactions, Bhutan maintains a balance of over 12,206 BTC, positioning it as the fifth-largest nation-state holder of Bitcoin worldwide. Bhutan uses its hydroelectric resources to mine bitcoin, boosting its reserves while being eco-friendly.

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• Nov 14, 1:58 PM The Block

  Coinbase climbs US Apple App Store rankings, secures top spot in finance category

  Coinbase significantly improved its position in the US Apple App Store, entering the top 10 following a rise in Bitcoin prices driven by pro-crypto policies from newly elected President Donald Trump. The app ranked 8th overall and first in the finance category, demonstrating a strong correlation between its app store ranking and Bitcoin market performance, which soared to new highs exceeding $93,000.

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• Nov 14, 6:20 AM Crypto.com

  Crypto.com acquires Australian brokerage Fintek Securities to expand financial product offerings

  Crypto.com has acquired Fintek Securities Pty Ltd., an Australian brokerage with a Financial Services License, allowing it to expand its offerings to include derivatives, securities, and other financial products. This acquisition, regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, marks Crypto.com's continued expansion into traditional brokerage capabilities, following a previous acquisition of Watchdog Capital, LLC. CEO Kris Marszalek highlighted this step as part of Crypto.com's strategy to provide a comprehensive set of financial services to its users.

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• Nov 14, 4:15 AM Cointelegraph

  Phantom releases emergency update for iOS app after wallet resets impact users

  Phantom, a provider of a Solana-based DeFi wallet, issued an emergency iOS update after users reported app resets that locked them out of their wallets, requiring recovery phrases to regain access. The company advised users to securely store their seed phrases and pushed a new update to prevent further issues. Responses on social media suggest some users experienced significant losses and were logged out or had their balances deleted following the update. Phantom, being a non-custodial wallet, offers limited recovery options for those who lost their seed phrases.

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• Nov 13, 5:40 PM Cointelegraph

  Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht expresses hope for sentence commutation from Trump

  Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, currently serving a life sentence, expressed hope via social media that President-elect Donald Trump would commute his sentence. Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 for multiple charges including money laundering and narcotics trafficking. Despite prior advocacy and Trump's promises during his campaign, there is skepticism among some in the crypto community regarding Trump's commitment to fulfilling this promise.

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• Nov 13, 11:01 AM The Block

  Linea announces LINEA token launch for Q1 2025 and new governance association

  Linea, incubated by Consensys, is set to decentralize further by establishing the Linea Association in Switzerland to govern its Layer 2 Ethereum network. The Association plans to launch the LINEA token by Q1 2025, advancing Linea's zkEVM mainnet development and decentralization via tokenholder governance. It aims to enable more autonomous community and developer involvement in the protocol's future, with tokens distributed to ecosystem contributors.

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• Nov 13, 3:30 AM Bitcoinist

  Federal judge denies former Celsius CEO's dismissal request in fraud case

  Former Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky faces ongoing legal challenges as a US federal court has denied his motion to dismiss charges of crypto price manipulation and fraud. This ruling by Judge John Koeltl ensures that Mashinsky will contend with all seven charges against him related to his leadership at the defunct crypto platform. The judge dismissed the arguments that the same conduct should not lead to multiple charges under different acts, reinforcing the seriousness of the allegations.

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• Nov 12, 9:55 PM Cointelegraph

  Italy's government proposes reducing planned crypto tax increase to 28%

  Italy's government has revised its plan, proposing to increase the capital gains tax on crypto from 26% to 28%, rather than the previously considered 42%. Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti supported this new proposal, which is still under review by Italian lawmakers.

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• Nov 12, 6:39 PM Coindesk

  El Salvador and Bhutan see significant growth in bitcoin holdings amid market rally

  El Salvador's bitcoin holdings surpassed $500 million, while Bhutan's exceeded $1 billion after a recent bitcoin market rally. Bhutan's BTC now represents over one-third of its GDP, compared to El Salvador's 1.5%. Despite fiscal concerns by the International Monetary Fund, El Salvador continues to show improvement in its financial strategies by intending to buy back $2.5 billion of its dollar-denominated debt.

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• Nov 12, 11:40 AM Coindesk

  Ethereum researcher Justin Drake unveils Beam Chain, a comprehensive redesign of the consensus layer

  Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake introduced the Beam Chain at the Devcon Conference in Bangkok, a significant redesign of Ethereum's consensus layer. This proposal incorporates major upgrades including enhanced block production, staking processes, and integrated zero-knowledge cryptography. Beam Chain aims to consolidate these big changes into one package, improving transaction finality and frequency. Although no immediate changes will occur, this marks a pivotal shift in Ethereum's developmental focus and strategy, potentially addressing technical debts and optimizing future upgrades

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• Nov 12, 7:26 AM Cointelegraph

  GIGA investor loses $6M in phishing scam involving fake Zoom link

  A crypto investor lost $6.09 million after falling victim to a phishing attack through a fake Zoom invitation link. The attack led to the theft and sale of 95.27 million Gigachad (GIGA) tokens, which were exchanged for Solana and then stablecoins, before being transferred across wallets. The investor has reported the incident to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and remains optimistic of recovering the funds amidst an ongoing bull market.

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• Nov 11, 2:35 PM The Block

  Global crypto funds reach new peak of $116 billion in assets under management

  Global crypto funds have seen five consecutive weeks of net inflows, adding $1.98 billion recently, which brings this year's total to $31.3 billion. Following the US election, total assets under management surged to an all-time high of $116 billion. US-based funds contributed the majority with $1.95 billion of the inflows, while Bitcoin and Ethereum products recorded significant inflows of $1.8 billion and $157 million respectively last week. Additionally, blockchain equities added $61 million, showing broad support across crypto assets.

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