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Worth nearly $50 million in Ethereum, 342,000 ether was hacked from South Korea’s Upbit exchange. The hack occurred during maintenance and is one of the largest Ethereum thefts ever. The exchange has suspended operations for at least a couple of weeks but plans to repay users for the loss. It remains unknown how the attack was conducted.
In yet more bad exchange news, East Asian exchange IDAX Global reported that its CEO had vanished, reason unknown. All withdrawals and deposits have officially been halted, although some users had already reported having issues withdrawing their funds. These issues, along with the CEO’s disappearance have led to rumours of an exit scam.
Ethereum dev, Virgil Griffith, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for contravening the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Against warnings, Griffith went to North Korea to present information which could be used by the regime to evade international sanctions or launder money. Griffith faces up to 20 years in jail.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has patented a self-learning compliance enforcer that shutters “bad” user accounts. The U.S Patent and Trademark Office-issued patent, describes an automated system accompanied by a scoring mechanism that together root out non-compliant user accounts – specifically ones suspected of trafficking in illegal activity.
And finally, German parliament has passed a new bill which would allow German banks to sell and store crypto, beginning in 2020. The bill still awaits approval from Germany’s states, but it stands as a sign that crypto adoption and mainstream financial integration has gathered serious momentum.
That’s what’s happened this week in Bitcoin. See you next week.
