Author: Faith Yakubu

South Korea is taking proactive measures to address the surge in cryptocurrency-related crimes by considering the transformation of its temporary crypto-crime investigative unit into a permanent department, as per a local report. The nation witnessed a substantial increase in suspicious transaction reports from crypto companies, prompting the government to enhance its efforts in combating fraudulent activities.

According to a report by Segye Ilbo, the Justice Ministry and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety are set to begin discussions in early May regarding the elevation of the Joint Virtual Asset Crime Investigation Unit to an official department. By formalizing the unit’s status, which currently operates under the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office, South Korea aims to bolster its effectiveness through the appointment of additional prosecutors and budget allocation.

Established in July 2023, the unit comprises approximately 30 experts from seven financial and tax regulatory authorities, marking South Korea’s first dedicated investigative body focused on digital asset crimes. According to a February report by South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit, the country has observed a significant increase in crypto-related criminal activities. Local crypto companies reported 16,076 suspicious transactions in 2023, marking a 49% surge from the previous year.

Moreover, South Korea is set to implement its inaugural comprehensive crypto regulation on July 19, aimed at safeguarding investors. The new regulation imposes stricter penalties for market manipulation, including the possibility of life sentences in certain cases. These initiatives underscore South Korea’s commitment to curbing illicit activities in the cryptocurrency space and fostering a safer environment for investors and stakeholders.

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Ether has demonstrated strong performance against Bitcoin for two consecutive weeks, indicating a growing interest in altcoin gains following recent market developments, according to analysts at Bitfinex. Despite bitcoin’s halving event, ether recorded a notable 7.5% increase in its trading pair with BTC, marking its most significant weekly gain against bitcoin since early January.

Bitfinex’s Alpha report underscored ether’s resilience, even amidst regulatory challenges. Concerns regarding the potential SEC classification of ether as security and scrutiny over the Metamask software have raised uncertainties in the market. Nevertheless, ether’s ability to outpace bitcoin suggests a shifting sentiment among investors and market dynamics within the altcoin space.

The decline in bitcoin dominance further supports this narrative, with attention gradually shifting towards altcoins following the halving event. Historically, such events have prompted a surge in altcoin activity, leading to a decline in Bitcoin’s dominance. Currently, bitcoin’s dominance stands at 50.5%, while ether commands a dominance of 15.9%, according to Coingecko data.

Meanwhile, early Monday trading saw a significant depreciation in the Japanese yen, prompting bitcoin to trade at a slight premium against the weakening currency. On the Japanese crypto exchange bitFlyer, the bitcoin-Japanese yen pair traded at a 0.2% premium to bitcoin’s dollar-denominated price on Coinbase. However, as the yen rebounded amidst speculation of intervention by the Bank of Japan, the BTC/JPY pair retreated to trade at 9,797,502 JPY at the time of reporting.

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A recent griefing attack on the Bitcoin testnet has caused significant disruption, leading to the generation of three years’ worth of blocks in just one week. Griefing attacks involve intentionally spamming transactions on a network, increasing its workload, and disrupting its normal operations. Jameson Lopp, co-founder and Chief Security Officer of Casa, publicly claimed responsibility for the attack, generating over 165,000 blocks within the past week.

Lopp explained that the purpose of the attack was to advocate for a reset of Bitcoin’s test network, ensuring that testnet coins have no value and developers can test their software without incurring costs. He also highlighted a bug in the testnet’s consensus code that allows for the creation of massive block amounts in a short time, urging developers to address this vulnerability.

Hashrate and difficulty data on the Bitcoin network testnet indicated a spike to 2,315 TH/s on April 19 before returning to 346 TH/s on April 28. The attack caused interruptions in node syncing, making it impossible to reach the tip due to the high volume of new blocks.

Leo Weese, technical content lead at Lightning Labs, observed the disruption, expressing concerns about the future of permission-less testing networks. While the Bitcoin testnet didn’t suffer significant harm, it did disrupt the testing efforts of open-source Bitcoin application builders.

Despite Lopp’s characterization of the incident as a “free stress test,” it faced backlash from the crypto community. Francis Pouliot, co-founder of Bull Bitcoin, emphasized the impact on legitimate testing efforts, highlighting the wasted time and resources of developers.

While the Bitcoin testnet withstood the attack, the incident underscores the challenges of maintaining open and accessible testing environments in the crypto space amidst malicious activities.

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Trust Wallet has made a swift return to the Google Play Store after experiencing a temporary removal on Monday morning, causing concern among Android users relying on the crypto wallet service.

The company addressed the issue via its official channels, acknowledging Google’s decision to temporarily remove the app from the Play Store. Despite submitting an appeal weeks prior, Trust Wallet was taken down while awaiting a response from Google.

During the removal period, Trust Wallet advised Android users to download an Android Package Kit (APK) from its website to access the wallet service. However, the company reassured existing Android users that their funds remained secure and unaffected by the app’s removal.

Furthermore, Trust Wallet highlighted that users who had uninstalled the app would need to wait for Google to relist it before being able to download it again. While the iOS version and Google Chrome Browser Extension of Trust Wallet remained unaffected, the company expressed concerns about potential scams involving fraudulent applications impersonating the legitimate wallet service.

Fortunately, Trust Wallet’s hiatus from the Google Play Store was short-lived, with the company announcing its swift return by 7:30 a.m. EST. The Android version of the app was restored on the Play Store, much to the relief of users and the Trust Wallet team alike.

In the wake of Trust Wallet’s brief removal, the native coin of the wallet service, Trust Wallet Token (TWT), experienced a 5.2% decline in value as of Monday morning.

The incident with Trust Wallet’s removal raised concerns among users, especially in light of increased regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. surrounding self-custody crypto wallets. Notably, Wasabi Wallets recently announced a ban on U.S.-based users due to regulatory uncertainties, following money laundering charges against the founders of another self-custody wallet service, Samourai Wallet.

As regulatory pressures mount, the status of self-custody crypto wallets like Trust Wallet remains uncertain, with potential implications for their classification and regulatory oversight in the future.

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Tether, the prominent issuer of stablecoin USDT, announced on Monday a significant investment of $200 million to acquire a majority stake in Blackrock Neurotech, a pioneering brain-computer interface company. Through its venture capital arm, Tether Evo, the company aims to support the development and commercialization of Blackrock Neurotech’s groundbreaking medical devices.

Blackrock Neurotech specializes in the creation of medical devices driven by brain signals, with a focus on assisting individuals affected by paralysis and neurological disorders. It’s worth noting that the technology firm is distinct from the asset management giant BlackRock.

The infusion of capital from Tether will facilitate the deployment and market entry of these innovative medical devices. Additionally, funds will be allocated towards ongoing research and development initiatives to further enhance the company’s offerings, as highlighted in the press release.

With a market capitalization of $110 billion, Tether stands as a leader in the stablecoin market. In recent times, the company has diversified its interests by establishing four divisions beyond stablecoin issuance.

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, expressed the company’s commitment to fostering emerging technologies with transformative potential. He emphasized the belief in the revolutionary capabilities of Blackrock Neurotech’s Brain-Computer Interfaces, which can revolutionize communication, rehabilitation, and cognitive enhancement.

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