PRDT Crypto Spotlight: 20 Feb 2024

Hello, PRDT Community! We’re excited to bring you another edition of our bi-weekly Crypto Spotlight article, where we spotlight and go a bit in depth into a few of the most pivotal events and developments that have shaped the crypto world over the past weeks. So, let’s unravel the narratives that got everyone talking!

Last month, an Australian police officer was accused of stealing 81 bitcoin from a drug dealer’s digital wallet in 2019. William Wheatley allegedly transferred over $450,000 worth of bitcoin from the seized wallet into his own bank accounts over several years.

The case began when police raided a suspected illegal steroid dealer as part of a drug trafficking investigation in January 2019. During the raid, officers discovered steroids, a computer, and a digital wallet containing a large amount of bitcoin. Not knowing how to access the wallet, one officer texted Wheatley, who worked in the police’s cyber crime unit, asking if he had experience with cryptocurrency wallets.

Several weeks later, investigators noticed that 81 bitcoin, worth about $450,000 at the time, had disappeared from the seized wallet. Initially believing an accomplice of the dealer was responsible, police lacked the proper resources to trace the crypto theft. But in 2021, authorities linked the stolen bitcoin to IP addresses from the police headquarters building.

A detective on the case stated he “formed the opinion that a police member may have been involved.” Further investigation revealed Wheatley had allegedly transferred the bitcoin into his personal bank accounts between 2019 and 2022, stealing over $6 million worth of the cryptocurrency.

Wheatley was arrested last year and charged with theft, dishonestly benefiting himself financially, and dealing with property suspected to be linked to criminal activity. His defense lawyer argues the case is circumstantial. Wheatley is now awaiting a court hearing this week to determine if the case will go to trial.

The case highlights concerns over limited police training to handle cryptocurrency investigations as digital assets become more mainstream. It also underscores the need for law enforcement personnel to uphold strict ethical standards when tasked with overseeing criminal evidence.

The presidential election results in Indonesia indicate victory for Prabowo Subianto as president and his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka as vice president. With nearly 60% of votes counted in early polls, their ticket claims a win. These quick count results typically reflect the final outcome accurately.

If confirmed, this outcome suggests continued crypto-friendly policies in Indonesia. The current president Joko Widodo, also Gibran’s father, has tried supporting the local economy by taking advantage of strong local interest in cryptocurrencies. Indonesia actually has more registered crypto investors than stock market traders.

During the campaign, Prabowo said his administration would increase supervision of tax compliance for stock and crypto traders. Meanwhile, Gibran discussed using crypto and blockchain to create more jobs for Indonesian youth. He wants to develop young experts in these technologies. Their team aims to nurture “future talents with future skills” in these areas.

The election of Prabowo and Gibran may indicate upholding existing crypto-friendly policies. Their win could also pave the way for even more positive regulations and support for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

The cryptocurrency exchange FixedFloat was hacked for over $26 million worth of Bitcoin and Ether coins, the company confirmed Saturday. The decentralized trading platform, which does not require user registration or identity verification, initially claimed “minor technical issues” were causing frozen transactions and missing funds.

However, on-chain data showed that more than 400 Bitcoin worth approximately $21 million and over 1,700 Ether worth nearly $5 million were drained from FixedFloat wallets Friday. The company later admitted on social media, “We confirm that there was indeed a hack and theft of funds.” Technical teams are still investigating the cyber attack’s exact causes and working to improve security and eliminate vulnerabilities before restoring customer services.

Over one quarter of FixedFloat’s web traffic comes from United States users, according to digital marketing data. The exchange uniquely integrates Bitcoin’s Lightning payment network to facilitate faster transactions. However, decentralized platforms like FixedFloat are frequent targets for hackers using advanced techniques like bit-flip attacks or ransomware.

Cybersecurity firm Chainalysis reports that supply chain attacks netted criminals over $1 billion in 2023, including ransom demands against high-profile companies and infrastructure. As cryptocurrencies continue growing in popularity, exchanges must prioritize protecting user assets from phishing scams, security bugs, and other digital threats. Strong encryption, multi-factor authentication, penetration testing, and vigilance against emerging attack strategies are essential.

The recently launched PIXEL token by the popular blockchain game Pixels has seen over $1.2 billion in trading volume just one day after its release. This makes PIXEL the 10th most traded cryptocurrency at the moment, surpassing well-known coins like Avalanche (AVAX), Dogecoin (DOGE) and Polygon (MATIC).

PIXEL’s launch has been eagerly anticipated in the crypto gaming community. Over the last few months, Pixels has seen a surge in players after migrating to the Ronin network. The game used play-to-earn campaigns to drive engagement and reward around 28,000 top players. These players were gifted 20 million PIXEL tokens in a surprise airdrop over the weekend.

The token is already up about 16% to around $0.62, giving it a market capitalization of $450 million based on the circulating supply of 771 million PIXEL. Yesterday it reached as high as $0.69 before settling down again by nearly 15%. PIXEL has vastly outpaced other gaming tokens in trading volume over the last day.

The successful launch of PIXEL shows the growing popularity and profitability potential of blockchain gaming. As more players get into crypto games, tokens like PIXEL can see surges in demand. The past day shows gaming cryptos have the capacity to quickly rise up the ranks among the top traded digital assets.

Popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced it will stop supporting several high-risk Bitcoin and Ethereum investment products starting later this month.

Binance provides many ways for users to invest in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Some of these methods allow investors to use leverage, meaning investors can take on a lot of risk with a small amount of their own money. While leverage can produce big profits, losses can also be dramatic if cryptocurrency prices change only a little bit.

On Sunday, the exchange said it has decided to stop offering three leveraged investment products tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Binance Coin. The affected products go by names like BTCUP and ETHDOWN.

Trading and new investments in these products will end in late February. Then in early April, Binance will fully delist the products. It is urging users to convert their investments into other assets before the deadline. If they do not, Binance will automatically liquidate the investments into a stablecoin.

In its announcement, Binance explained that leveraged tokens allow traders to gain exposure to cryptocurrency price movements without putting up collateral. While this provides potential benefits, leveraged investments also come with amplified risks. The exchange appears to have decided that certain products posed excessive dangers to users.

As cryptocurrencies continue maturing into mainstream assets, regulators are increasingly focused on investor protections. Binance and its rivals are proactively eliminating some of their highest-risk offerings. While more cautious, this helps the long-term viability of the industry.

That concludes this week’s PRDT Crypto Spotlight article, having looked at the latest developments in the crypto world more in depth. Stay informed with our Crypto News Roundups, Deep Dives and Crypto Spotlights, we’ll keep you updated on the latest developments in the crypto space. Happy trading!