Tether Freezes $435M in Criminal Funds, Shakepay's Security Breach, and Future Bitcoin Predictions
Summary:
Tether has frozen $435 million in USDT linked to criminal activities, as part of its increased cooperation with US law enforcement. Shakepay, a Canadian Bitcoin payment app, revealed a security breach that compromised personal customer information. No financial details were affected. Tap Protocol, a German-based development platform, successfully raised $4.2 million in a recent funding round led by Sora Ventures. They aim to develop more decentralized finance, tokenization, and gaming applications on Bitcoin. Lastly, VanEck CEO Jan van Eck predicted that Bitcoin will exceed its current all-time high of $69,000 over the next 12 months.
Tether, the company behind the stablecoin USDT, has recently frozen 326 accounts linked to criminal activities, amounting to a total of $435 million as of December 15. This is part of Tether's increased cooperation with US law enforcement agencies. USDT's 435 million frozen wallets were revealed in a letter from company CEO Paolo Ardoino to US Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative French Hill. Tether has also partnered with the United States Secret Service to enhance its adherence to US regulation, and is in the process of collaborating with the FBI.
A criminal scheme using Tether's stablecoin was thwarted by the company, acting upon requests from the Department of Justice. Senator Lummis and Representative Hill claimed that the terrorist organization Hamas has been using cryptocurrencies, including Tether, in its attacks on Israel that began in October. Tether maintains a robust system of transaction monitoring, customer authentication, and a proactive approach in identifying and freezing suspicious accounts.
In unrelated news, Shakepay, the Canada-based Bitcoin payment application revealed on December 15 that some client information has been compromised due to suspicious activities on an employee's work device. Although no financial details were affected, personal information, including names, contact details, occupations, account balance, and transaction activities of a small number of customers were exposed. The company recommends customers to enhance their account's security measures and to be wary of potential phishing attempts.
In response to the security breach, Shakepay offers two-year free credit monitoring to affected clients. The company has also reported the incident to local authorities and is actively cooperating in the investigation.
On another topic, a German-based company called Tap Protocol, which pioneers in technology based on Bitcoin, announced a successful $4.2 million fundraising event led by Sora Ventures. Tap Protocol is committing to utilize the newly raised funds in decentralizing more finance, tokenization, and gaming applications on Bitcoin.
Lastly, explaining a positive outlook on Bitcoin, Jan van Eck, the CEO of investment management firm VanEck, estimates that the cryptocurrency will outperform its current record price of $69,000 within the next year. He believes the US securities regulator will likely approve several spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund applications by January 5-10, which would consequently fuel a surge in Bitcoin's price. The CEO dispelled rumors of Bitcoin being in a bubble, claiming that an asset in a bubble would not continue to outperform itself each market cycle. VanEck currently manages $76.4 billion in assets.
Published At
12/18/2023 7:57:32 AM
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