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Showing posts with label Tether. Show all posts
Tether
Bitcoin Citizenship cryptocurrency Cyber Security El Salvador El Salvador Government Tether

El Salvador to Offer Citizenship for a $1 Million Bitcoin ‘Investment’


Last week, the El Salvador government, along with the stablecoin company Tether, joined in an initiative called ‘Adopting El Salvador Freedom,’ which will enable foreigners to obtain a Salvadoran passport in exchange for a million dollars in Bitcoin.  

This initiative, which has a 1,000-participant annual cap, seeks to attract high-net-worth individuals by providing them with residency and eventual citizenship in exchange for their investment. 

The initiative will require the ‘participant’ to make a $1 million investment in BTC or USDT, and successful applicants will be eligible for a Salvadoran passport and citizenship. According to a Bitcoin news source, Adriana Mira, El Salvador's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, emphasized the program as a critical step for anyone hoping to contribute to El Salvador's economic future. 

However, Tether needed to make it clear where the funding will take place.  

In September, El Salvador became the first nation to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender. The country required companies to accept the popular cryptocurrency as payment and launched a digital wallet named "Chivo" to encourage its citizens to use it by offering a $30 sign-up bonus in Bitcoin.

However, this plan evoked controversies among the Salvadoran public, with them protecting against the action – and President Nayib Bukele's alarming shift towards autocracy ensued – a vast majority of them continuing the use of cash. According to Fortune, Bitcoin's price fell from an all-time high of over $69,000 in November 2021—when Bukele announced the building of a “Bitcoin City”— to less than $17,000 by the start of 2023 as a result of Bukele's disastrous use of tens of millions of federal funds on the cryptocurrency.

How Did Bitcoin Boost The El Salvador’s Tourism

Despite the controversy revolving around the initiative, the country has gained popularity among Bitcoin enthusiasts worldwide. The country’s tourism minister announced in May that travellers were coming to the nation in unprecedented quantities because of its dedication to cryptocurrency. This included a huge number of the most well-known “Bitcoin maxis” in the world, such Swan Bitcoin, a powerful business that established a home in El Zonte, a surf town that is primarily responsible for sparking the nation’s Bitcoin experiment.  

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Ukraine
Bitcoin Crypto Currency Darknet Technology Tether Ukraine

Eastern Europe is a Hotspot for Illegal Cryptocurrency Trading

 

According to a new study, Eastern Europe is a hub for illicit cryptocurrency operations. According to Chainalysis data published on Wednesday, Eastern European cryptocurrency addresses contributed $815 million to investment ponzi scams that attract customers with false promises of large returns between June 2020 and July 2021. Ukraine, in particular, provided a large amount of traffic to fraud websites in the region, outnumbering the United States by about 20 million visits.

Eastern Europe is the region that sends the most cryptocurrency to darknet markets. This is attributable in great part to activities at Hydra Market. Hydra is the largest darknet market in the world, although it mainly serves Russian-speaking users in Eastern Europe. 

Finiko, a scam, received half of the money sent to the region. Finiko was a Ponzi scheme established in Russia that collapsed in July 2021, shortly after participants reported being unable to withdraw payments from their accounts. Finiko encouraged customers to invest with Bitcoin or Tether, promising monthly profits of up to 30%, and then established its own cryptocurrency that was sold on various platforms. 

Finiko was led by Kirill Doronin, a popular Instagram influencer who has been linked to numerous Ponzi scams, according to the Moscow Times. Finiko received approximately $1.5 billion in Bitcoin in over 800,000 distinct donations between December 2019 and August 2021.

While Eastern Europe is primarily thought of as a recipient of illicit cryptocurrency funds, the research points out that due to the region's economic instability, it is also home to an increasing number of victims. Scam payments outperformed all kinds of crime in Eastern Europe, as well as every other region analyzed by Chainalysis, despite the constant rise in ransomware assaults. 

Eastern Europe came in second place in terms of ransomware funds received, at $46 million. However, due to overlap in services, some of the $51 million in activity attributed to Western Europe could be credited to Eastern Europe, according to researchers. 

Cryptocurrency scams have also grown in popularity in the United States, which came in third in terms of scam payments after Eastern and Western Europe. Despite this, the firm discovered that fraudsters have amassed tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency ransomware payments.
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Tether
Bitcoin ransom Cyber Crime Deltec OAG Tether

Tether says it is a Victim of a 500 BTC Ransom

 

Only days after the conclusion of its long-running fight with the Office of the Attorney General of New York, Tether says it is currently a victim of an extortion attempt. As indicated by the stablecoin issuer, the blackmailers are taking steps to release documents they guarantee "will hurt the bitcoin environment" if their demand for the payment of 500 bitcoins isn't met. 

Be that as it may, in its statement dismissing the threat, Tether says the blackmailers were attempting to extort money utilizing “forged documents.” According to Tether, the documents indicate to show an association between Tether personnel and representatives of Deltec Bank. All things considered, in a Twitter thread, Tether says it won't send the 500 BTC which the blackmailers want to be paid by March 1. 

"It is unclear whether this is a basic extortion scheme like those directed at other crypto companies or people looking to undermine Tether and the crypto community as a whole," Tether says. "Either way, those seeking to harm Tether are getting increasingly desperate." Then, in his own tweet, Bitfinex and Tether CTO Paolo Ardiono similarly dismisses the ransom demand. He rehashes the case that while the assault is apparently focused on Tether, the attacker's“main goal is to discredit bitcoin and all crypto.” 

The CTO additionally proceeds to share the screenshot of a February 27 tweet from a client going by the name Trolly McTrollface. As indicated by the screenshot, McTrollface professes to be in possession of a leaked email from Tether to Deltec which the client says “is a crucial piece of the puzzle.” Following the conclusion of the long-running investigation, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) discovered that both Tether and Bitfinex had “recklessly and unlawfully covered-up massive financial losses to keep their scheme going and protect their bottom lines.” 

However, in its statement, the OAG just recognizes that the Bahamas-based Deltec Bank is Tether's banker. The OAG didn't utter a word about the indicated email dated May 3, 2020, wherein Tether personnel are asking Deltec representatives for help “in presenting their reserves in the best possible light.”
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