The damage from break-ins exceeded $30 billion
Losses associated with cyberattacks in the field of cryptocurrencies have exceeded $30 billion. This is the result of 1101 successful hacks, according to experts from SlowMist. The peak of hacker activity was observed between 2019 and 2021. In terms of withdrawn funds, centralized exchanges top the list - the amount of their losses exceeded $10 billion. While news of CEX hacks is becoming less frequent, the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector is experiencing an increasing number of attacks.
Buterin: Ordinals and BRC-20 are good for Bitcoin
Vitalik Buterin, one of the founders of Ethereum, on July 7, as part of a discussion on Twitter Space with bitcoin and Ordinals activists Eric Wall and Udi Wertheimer, expressed his recognition of the Ordinals protocol, which serves to create NFTs, and the BRC-20 token standard. In his opinion, these innovations reflect a departure from a stagnant doctrine in the context of the first cryptocurrency.
Buterin emphasized that with the help of Ordinals, the spirit of action is returning. There is a feeling that there is really resistance to the "laser gaze" movement, and this is encouraging. Most of the two-hour discussion was devoted to the issue of scalability. Wall expressed his confidence that the Lightning Network layer 2 solution will not be able to handle future workloads and often runs into problems processing even mid-sized payments. In response, Buterin suggested focusing efforts on implementing various L2 solutions and finding effective ways to improve the operation of the Bitcoin base layer.
Mastercard called for the integration of blockchain and traditional finance
The head of digital at Mastercard, Jörn Lambert, is convinced of the urgency of synthesising traditional financial systems and blockchain technology. He believes that such a combination contributes to the widespread adoption of distributed ledger technology, overcoming the barrier of a lack of trust in this industry. Lambert suggests considering the use of tokenized deposits as one of the reliable methods for digitizing commercial bank assets.
According to Lambert, the integration of blockchain technologies and traditional financial industry is currently facing the problem of the lack of a "secure platform for interaction." He argues that blockchain has the potential to facilitate international payments, trade, and insurance through the tokenization of assets and the ability to program transactions. Lambert emphasizes that centralized digital currencies (CBDCs) are not able to solve the problem of trust, as they face difficulties in scaling.
The number of "sleeping" Bitcoin coins has reached a historical maximum
In June, statistics showed that 70% of the total volume of the first cryptocurrency remained static for more than a year, thus reaching a record value. Information about this was provided by the research agency ARK Invest in its monthly report.
Experts say that this indicator reflects the confidence of holders and institutional investors regarding the long-term potential of bitcoin, the so-called digital gold. At the end of the month, the bitcoin rate settled at $30,460, showing an increase of 11.9%. The experts noted that the crypto-asset rallied on significant technical support at the 200-week moving average, trading 14% above that level.
Binance and Cristiano Ronaldo Launch NFT Collection
Binance, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, is launching an NFT series called "Forever CR7: The Goat NFT", which includes highlights from the football star's career. Owning one of these NFTs gives you the opportunity to enter the lottery for individual training with Ronaldo himself. All travel and accommodation costs are covered by Binance.
User tracked whale wallets and earned $25 million
The user claimed to have earned over $25 million using the crypto whale tracking technique. His tactic was that he studied the dynamics of the movement of assets in the wallets of whales and reproduced their transactions. In total, he monitored the activity of 14 crypto whales.
Teens from Canada stole over $4 million in BTC and ETH
Two 17-year-olds from Hamilton, Canada are facing charges of stealing $4.2 million worth of cryptocurrencies from a US citizen through phishing attacks, according to local news outlets. The investigation into this case started in June 2023. According to preliminary data, the suspects pretended to be the support service of the well-known cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and deceived the victim, swindling her out of $4.2 million in the form of Ethereum and Bitcoin.
Some of the stolen assets were used to acquire the @zombie Instagram account. During the arrest, the suspects were found to have more than $13.4 million in cryptocurrencies. They are charged with embezzlement of more than $5,000, as well as possession of property obtained by criminal means.
