Tag Archives: Cryptocurrency

Sam Bankman-Fried Convicted : Guilty Of FTX Fraud!

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has been found guilty and convicted on all counts of defrauding customers of his crypto-exchange, FTX!

 

Sam Bankman-Fried Convicted : Guilty Of FTX Fraud!

Sam Bankman-Fried, who is also known simply as SBF, has been found guilty on all counts of defrauding the customers of his crypto-exchange, FTX, on Thursday, 2 November 2023.

The former crypto billionaire stood and faced the jury that delivered its verdict after just four hours of deliberations. He was found guilt on all seven counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money, and now faces decades in prison at a separate sentencing hearing set for 28 March 2024.

The jury verdict brought an end to nearly a month of court proceedings, which saw his closest friends and partners turn witness against the former crypto king, and one of cryptocurrency’s most public faces.

Sam Bankman-Fried perpetrated one of the biggest financial frauds in American history – a multibillion-dollar scheme designed to make him the King of Crypto. This case has always been about lying, cheating, and stealing, and we have no patience for it.

– Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams

SBF maintained his innocence right to the end, maintaining that while he made mistakes, he acted in good faith. After his conviction, his lawyer issued this statement:

We respect the jury’s decision. But we are very disappointed with the result. Mr Bankman-Fried maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him

– Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, Mark Cohen

It is currently unknown if SBF plans to appeal the verdict. In any case, this won’t be the last we see of him, as Bankman-Fried is also set to go on trial on a second set of charges brought by prosecutors earlier this year, for alleged foreign bribery and bank fraud conspiracies.

Recommended : SBF Allegedly Hid $8 Billion In Korean Friend Account!

 

Sam Bankman-Fried Conviction : Warning To Other Fraudsters

After the jury convicted SBF, Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams warned other fraudsters to take note of his fate.

When I became US attorney, I promised we would be relentless in rooting out corruption in our financial markets. This is what relentless looks like. This case moved at lightning speed – that was not a coincidence, that was a choice.

This case is also a warning to every fraudster who thinks they’re untouchable, that their crimes are too complex for us to catch, that they are too powerful to prosecute, or that they are clever enough to talk their way out of it if caught.

Those folks should think again and cut it out. And if they don’t, I promise we’ll have enough handcuffs for all of them.

Recommended : SEC Charges Reveal Fraud Committed By SBF In FTX!

 

Sam Bankman-Fried Conviction : All But Guaranteed

Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction was all but guaranteed after three of his former close friends and colleagues, including former on-off girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against him in hopes of reducing their own sentences. They are to be sentenced at a later date.

They helped convict SBF by presenting evidence that the crypto-trading firm Alameda Research received deposits on behalf of FTX customers from the early days of the exchange, when traditional banks were unwilling to let it open an account.

Bankman-Fried was accused of swindling FTX customers out of some $10bn. Prosecutors said that his fraud extended from 2019 to November 2022, when FTX collapsed under the weight of a liquidity crisis, caused by the lending of customer funds to Alameda Research, without FTX customer’s knowledge or approval.

Instead of safeguarding FTX customer funds, SBF used the money to repay Alameda lenders, buy property and make investments, as well as political donations. When FTX went bankrupt in November 2022, Alameda owed it US$8 billion.

He took the money. He knew it was wrong. He did it anyway, because he thought he was smarter and better and that he could figure his way out of it.

– Assistant US Attorney Nicolas Roos

Recommended : Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Plead Guilty To FTX Fraud!

Before FTX’s collapse of his companies, Sam Bankman-Fried was known for appearing frequently in Washington and in the media to promote cryptocurrency. Despite a market downturn, the rapid growth of FTX earned him the moniker – king of crypto, which now appears to be a mirage.

Caroline Ellison testified that Sam Bankman-Fried directed her to shuttle customer funds into Alameda after the spring 2022 crypto downturn. Alameda was saddled with billions of dollars in open-term loans, and lenders started demanding their money back that summer. Alameda couldn’t repay the loans, and Bankman-Fried blamed Ellison for not hedging the fund’s money earlier that year.

Wang similarly implicated his former friend, naming “Sam Bankman-Fried, Nishad Singh and Caroline Ellison”, when the prosecution asked, “Who are the main people you committed these crimes with?”

Wang also told jurors that Sam Bankman-Fried wasn’t shocked by FTX’s massive debt. After telling him about the debt, SBF said “that sounds correct” with “a neutral demeanor”.

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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SBF Accused Of Bribing Chinese Officials With $40 Mil!

SBF has just been accused of bribing Chinese officials with “at least $40 million” to unlock frozen trading accounts in China! Here is what you need to know…

 

SBF Accused Of Bribing Chinese Officials With $40 Million!

Sam Bankman-Fried, better known as SBF, has just been hit with fresh charges by US officials, who accuse the crypto-preneur of authorising a bribe of “at least $40 million” (about £32.5 million) to unlock frozen trading accounts in China!

In the updated indictment (PDF download), SBF was said to have approved the $40 million bribe after Chinese authorities froze Alameda Research trading accounts that were holding roughly $1 billion or £811 million worth of cryptocurrencies.

… in or about 2021, SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a “SBF”, the defendant, authorised and directed a bribe of at least $40 million to one or more Chinese government officials.

The purpose of the bribe was to influence and induce one or more Chinese government officials to unfreeze certain Alameda trading accounts containing over $1 billion in cryptocurrency, which had been frozen by Chinese authorities.

SBF now faces a total of 13 criminal charges, including this new additional charge. He could potentially be jailed for more than 100 years if convicted.

Recommended : Bitcoin Revolution : Fake Celebrity Endorsements Exposed!

 

How SBF Allegedly Bribed Chinese Officials With $40 Million!

In early 2021, Chinese authorities froze some Alameda Research accounts on two of China’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, freezing approximately $1 billion in cryptocurrency stored in those accounts.

At that time, SBF believed that the accounts were frozen as part of an ongoing investigation into another company that was trading with Alameda Research.

At least, SBF and others working for him tried “numerous methods” to unfreeze those accounts, including:

  • retaining lawyers in China to lobby for the Alameda accounts to be unlocked,
  • communicating with the Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges, and
  • opening new accounts on those Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges using several individuals unaffiliated with FTX (the “Fraudulent Accounts”) and then attempting to transfer cryptocurrency from the frozen accounts to those Fraudulent Accounts.

After months of failed attempts to unlock those frozen accounts, SBF and unnamed partners discussed and “ultimately agreed” to a multi million dollar bribe to unfreeze those accounts.

The indictment specifically called out SBF for authorising and directing the “illicit transfer of cryptocurrency” to “induce and influence one or more Chinese government officials to unfreeze the Accounts”.

Recommended : SBF Allegedly Hid $8 Billion In Korean Friend Account!

Following SBF’s authorisation and instructions, Alameda Research employees transferred cryptocurrency worth about $40 million from the Alameda main trading account to a private cryptocurrency wallet in November 2021, after which the Accounts were unfrozen.

After confirming that the accounts were unfrozen, SBF then authorised the transfer of “additional tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency to complete the bribe“.

Thanks to the unfreezing of its accounts, Alameda was able to continue funding its trades, and continue what the government says was a fraud upon its customers and investors for another year.

FTX and Alameda would later implode in November 2022, with SBF arrested in December and charged with defrauding FTX customers, investors and lenders, as well as conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defraud the Federal Election Commission.

 

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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BitiCodes Scam Alert : Fake Celebrity Endorsements!

You may have seen celebrities endorsements of BitiCodes or Biti Codes circulating on Facebook and Instagram, but they are all FAKE.

Find out why there are so many fake celebrity endorsements of Biticodes / Biti Codes, and how they are doing it!

 

BitiCodes / Biti Codes : Fake Celebrity Endorsements

BitiCodes or Biti Codes claims to be “the crypto industry’s most accurate AI auto-trading app“, which “works by automatically placing trades… using trading bots to strengthen your chances of making a profitable trade.”

If you never heard of it, you won’t be alone, because it’s mainly promoted via advertisements on Facebook, Instagram, etc. They are also promoting it through Google Ads like these examples, which will often appear in completely legitimate websites.

Clicking on those advertisements will lead to legitimate-looking articles from local or crypto publications, often with a celebrity endorsing Biticodes / Biti Codes.

Here in Malaysia, people will see Biticodes being endorsed by the likes of local politicians like Lim Guan Eng or Dr. Mahathir. But those in the cybersecurity industry will quickly realise that these articles are familiar because they are almost exact copies of scam articles used in the previous Bitcoin Revolution scam.

Looking for reviews of Biticodes or Biti Codes is pointless, because they appeared to have paid for advertorials in legitimate media outlets, which are (intentionally?) wrongly listed as “reviews”. Only at the very bottom do they include a disclaimer that it was a sponsored post.

Outlook India

Biticodes Reviews : Today we’ll be talking about one platform called Biticodes that you can use to make an extra source of income. It’s safe, and you do not need to worry about anything. It may help you earn good money in very less time.

Disclaimer : This is sponsored review content posted by us. All the information about the product is taken from the official website (and not fact-checked by us). Contact customer care phone number given on product’s official website for order cancellation, return, refund, payment, delivery etc. related issues. Must consult any financial specialist before investing in BitiCodes Auto-Trading Software.

Tribune India

Biticodes is real or scam review 2022 : With an astonishing success rate of 90%, BitiCodes has what it takes to be your go-to platform for cryptocurrency trading. It can execute multiple deals per second – a rate that even the most experienced cryptocurrency traders would be hard-pressed to match.

Disclaimer : The views and opinions expressed in the above article are independent professional judgment of the experts and The Tribune does not take any responsibility, in any manner whatsoever, for the accuracy of their views. Biticodes are solely liable for the correctness, reliability of the content and/or compliance of applicable laws. The above is non-editorial content and The Tribune does not vouch, endorse or guarantee any of the above content, nor is it responsible for them in any manner whatsoever. Please take all steps necessary to ascertain that any information and content provided is correct, updated, and verified.

In other words, those are NOT legitimate reviews, and the media outlets did not even test Biticodes / Biti Codes. Their disclaimers show that their “reviews” were paid content, written by Biticodes / Biticodes.

 

Avast Explains How BitiCodes Scam Works

In an August 2022 article, the cybersecurity company explained how the BitiCodes (also known as TeslaCoin) scam works:

The scam encourages people to pay to create an account and invest into a fraudulent crypto investment platform. There are two ways the campaign reaches potential victims: Through Facebook ads and email. Ultimately, victims can end up losing at least $250.

At the bottom of the page is a webform requesting site visitors to enter their name, email address, and phone number in order to register for the platform. The victim receives an email from a bot sparking a conversation in the victim’s language.

After a brief example exchange, the bot sends a link to a payment gateway, and asks the victim to transfer $250 in order to activate their trading account. Another scenario involves the bot emailing potential victims with steps to login to a cryptocurrency broker page, and after a few more emails, the bot sends a link to a payment gateway, asking the victim for a $250 initial investment.

I also investigated the articles and the BitiCodes website, and noticed that they are all using highly-suspicious domains and links:

  • celesteal.xyz/biticodes for the BitiCodes website (registered 23 Nov. 2022)
  • thedailypressbriefing.com/my for the BTC-News website (registered 29 Jan. 2023)
  • saveontaxesthisyear.tax for the BTC-News website (registered 6 Feb. 2023)

As you can see, the domains are not only completely unrelated to the article / websites, they are almost brand new! And if you go to their domain root, nothing loads. That is not how legitimate websites function. If you do a WHOIS lookup, you will discover that the owners of these domains are hidden.

Regardless of whether BitiCodes / Biti Codes itself is legitimate, you should avoid any article that do not tally with the official website, or with irrelevant domains.

Don’t fall for the scam. Avoid these BitiCodes / Biti Codes advertisements and fake celebrity endorsements.

Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!

 

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Support my work through a bank transfer /  PayPal / credit card!

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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2023 Turkey Earthquake : Fake Photos + Scam Alert!

Please watch out for fake photos + videos, as well as donation scams capitalising on the devastating 2023 earthquake in Turkey!

 

2023 Turkey Earthquake : Fake Photos Alert!

Many people have been sharing photos of the massive earthquake that devastated both Turkey and Syria on 6 February 2023.

Unfortunately, quite a number of fake photos on WhatsApp and social media. They also appear in TikTok and YouTube videos. Here are a few notable examples.

Old Man With Bread

This photo of an old man with bread is being shared as a lesson on why we should be humble, respectful and kind.

It took just 17secs to change his status from the owner of 33 buildings to a person who’s surviving on bread and finding shelter where he can.

#TurkeyEarthquake teaches us an important lesson that life is unpredictable and nothing is permanent. Be humble, respectful and kind.

How being humble, respectful and kind could have helped this poor man was not explained. Neither did the people sharing this “lesson” explain why this photo has been circulating since 1999…

Yes, this photo was taken by photographer, Abdurrahman Antakyalı, almost 24 years ago, after the Düzce Earthquake that occurred on 12 November, 1999.

Needless to say, that old man was not a rich man who owned 33 buildings. It is incredible that people who create a fake story about this poor man. If there is a lesson to be learned, it is that everyone should “verify before sharing“!

Recommended : Did Turkey Earthquake Cause Nuclear Plant Explosion?!

Dog Looking For Survivor

Many people are sharing photos of dogs looking for survivors, like this example below, which was shared with messages like:

The little heroes will save many lives. Pray for Turkey.

This is incredible! A dog in Turkey was seen digging trying to rescue its owner. When the dog failed to move the heavy debris, he started barking to ask for help while holding one of his owner’s fingers!

Syrian🇸🇾 Turkish🇹🇷 Earthquakes!

Dogs are sensitive to their owner ❤️😊

The truth is – that is one of many stock images of “dogs looking for people in earthquake” available online.

That photo, and similar examples featuring the same dog as well as others dogs were posted by Czech photographer, Jaroslav Noska, on November 2020.

This suggests that the photos were staged for use as stock photos, and not actual photos of a real disaster area, or even real rescue dogs.

Tryon The Rescue Dog

Many people shared this photo of a dirty-looking dog, claiming that it just saved 10 lives in the 2023 earthquake in Turkey.

This dog worked all night last night and saved 10 lives

This dog hero who worked the whole night and saved 10 lives in Turkey.

The truth is – this is Tryon the rescue dog who helped to search for victims of a deadly mudslide near Oso, Washington, in the United States.

This photo was taken by Rick Wilking, a freelance photographer for Reuters, on March 30, 2014. He provided the following caption for this photo:

Tryon the rescue dog waits to go through the decontamination area at the mudslide after searching for victims in Oso, Washington March 30, 2014.

Recommended : Did FedEx + Southwest Jets Almost Collide In Video?!

 

2023 Turkey Earthquake : Donation Scam Alert!

People are not just posting those fake photos to “virtue signal” or increase their popularity, some are using them for donation scams!

Photos of Tryon the rescue dog above, for example, is being used to solicit donations for the people in Syria.

(Need Some reputable or NGO in Syria to pay or food. Shelter, blankets the Earthquake affects from the donations if gathered from this page.

As Sanction Syria from all over the world needs our help. Turkey has been helping by many.

He (Reputable) or NGO must be at the Earthquake affected areas of Syria and make video or come live while giving blankets, food, donation etc. Thanks )

– Those who want to Help/Donate. Message us. Thanks!

Even more egregious is this photo of a firefighter holding a child with a Turkish flag on his sleeve.

Friends, we have launched an aid campaign to reach people who have experienced an #earthquake disaster in Turkey.

#btc B : 1)n3C4GiFCzERTWd6nvCc4hTzvK8Viz88y

#eth: Ox2cff2ad875£68bf4ec5a478e505767c348dd61d

#Suns suns

The trouble is – the photo isn’t real! It was created by Major General Panagiotis Kotridis of the Aegean fire brigade using the AI image generator called Midjourney.

While they are capable of creating really realistic images, such artificial intelligence image generators often leave tell-tale mistakes.

In the viral photo below, you can see that the firefighter has six fingers on his right hand with an abnormally long thumb. His left hand is also missing, with a third “hand?” right next to it.

Recommended : Scam Alert : Fake Damar Hamlin Donation Requests!

The BBC investigated further, and found that one of the crypto wallet addresses had been used in scam and spam tweets since 2018, while the other crypto wallet address had been posted on VK – the Russian social media website, together with pornographic content.

Ax Sharma, a cybersecurity expert at Sonatype, also pointed out that scammers are creating fake disaster relief accounts on social media to cheat people. One example is @TurkeyRelief on Twitter, which was created in January 2023 with just 31 followers and asked for donations using PayPal.

Scammers are also using TikTok Live to ask for donations, using captions like “Let’s help Turkey”, “Pray for Turkey” and “Donate for earthquake victims” over their videos. According to the BBC, TikTok takes up to 70% of the proceeds of these digital gifts.

So please WATCH OUT for such donation scams, which use real or fake photos / videos to trick people into sending them money.

If you want to help, please donate DIRECTLY to reputable organisations like the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Médecins San Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), OxFam, or the nearest Turkish embassy.

Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!

 

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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SBF Allegedly Hid $8 Billion In Korean Friend Account!

The CFTC just alleged that Sam Bankman-Fried (better known as SBF) hid $8 billion of Alameda liabilities in a “Korean friend” account on the FTX crypto exchange!

 

SBF Allegedly Hid $8B Liabilities In Korean Friend Account!

In the spring of 2022, Alameda Research experienced a large number of margin and loan recalls following a major downturn in the crypto markets. To meet its external debt obligations, the trading firm “greatly increased” its usage of customer funds.

By the middle of 2022, Alameda’s total fiat liability with FTX was around $8 billion. That was when, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) alleged, Sam Bankman-Fried (better known as SBF) directed his executives to move approximately $8 billion of Alameda liabilities into an unknown customer account, which he would later refer to as “our Korean friend’s account” and/or “the weird Korean account”.

The CFTC added that even though this was a sub-account under Alameda, it was labelled as “FTX fiat old” and did not have the usual @alameda-research.com email account identifier. Instead, it was stored in an internal account in the FTX database as “fiat@ftx.com”

This allowed the liabilities in that account to be hidden on FTX ledgers. Yet, the “Korean friend” account had the same privileges as Alameda’s other accounts, including exemption from liquidation characteristics.

Recommended : SBF Flew Business As Judge Recuses From FTX Case!

 

FTX Korean Friend Account Had Special Privileges!

The “Korean friend” account had privileges to execute a transaction on FTX, even if it did not have the funds to do so. It was accomplished through a piece of code labeled as “allow negative flag”.

Separately, Bloomberg reported on December 14, that a GitHub account under the name Nishad Singh (FTX’s former engineering director), created or annotated code linked to that “Korean friend” account.

Looking back at what SBF said about Alameda, the signs were there that Alameda Research was likely losing money hand over fist.

Back in September 2022, SBF said that they should have shut down Alameda Research a year ago – before it was hit by the crypto winter.

I only started thinking about this today, and so haven’t vetted it much yet. But I think it might be time for Alameda Research to shut down. Honestly, it was probably time to do that a year ago.

By the time he made that comment, SBF probably knew that it would be a matter of time before his house of cards came falling down…

 

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer /  PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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SBF Flew Business As Judge Recuses From FTX Case!

The FTX drama continues as SBF was seen flying business class, while Judge Ronnie Abrams recused herself from the case!

 

Judge Ronnie Abrams Recuses From SBF FTX Case!

The FTX drama continues with the shocking announcement by US District Judge Ronnie Abrams over a potential conflict of interest.

On Friday afternoon, December 23, Federal Judge Ronnie Abrams of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York recused herself from the FTX case.

The judge’s husband, Greg D. Andres, is a partner at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, which advised FTX in 2021. Though Andres himself did not personally advise FTX, Abrams chose to recuse herself from the case “to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one.

The order also stated that Davis Polk & Wardwell previously represented parties “that may be adverse to FTX and Defendant Bankman-Fried,” though Andres allegedly did not represent those clients either.

RONNIE ABRAMS, United States District Judge:

It has come to the Court’s attention that the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, at which my husband is a partner, advised FTX in 2021, as well as represented parties that may be adverse to FTX and Defendant Bankman-Fried in other proceedings (or potential proceedings). My husband has had no involvement in any of these representations. These matters are confidential and their substance is unknown to the Court. Nonetheless, to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one, the Court hereby recuses itself from this action. See 28

U.S.C. § 455.

This decision came just one day after Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was released from custody pending trial on eight criminal charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and violations of federal campaign finance laws.

It is unknown why Judge Ronnie Abrams chose to wait until now to recuse herself from the FTX case. But it should be pointed that it was a different judge – Gabrial Gorenstein, who approved the record-setting $250 million bond that did not require SBF to pay a single cent up front.

A new judge from the Southern District of New York will now have to be selected to oversee Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial.

Read more : SBF Released On “No Cash” $250 Million Bail Bond!

 

SBF Free + Flying Business On “No Cash Up Front” FTX Case Bail!

In the meantime, the disgraced FTX co-founder was spotted “chilling” in the American Airlines Greenwich Business Class lounge located at Terminal 8 of the John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City.

Sam Bankman-Fried was accompanied by his parents, FBI agents and lawyers. He had full access to what looks like an Acer Predator gaming laptop, and a smartphone. When he was asked for a photo, SBF replied, “Haha maybe not today“.

You may recall that, on December 9, SBF claimed that he did not have access to (much of) his professional or personal data, despite having obvious access to a laptop and a mobile phone.

1) I still do not have access to much of my data — professional or personal. So there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won’t be as helpful as I’d like. But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th.

SBF was later spotted in the Business class section of an American Airlines flight, “disguised with a beanie”. He appeared to be engaged in conversation with a suited executive.

The suited executive could be his lawyer, Mark Cohen, who may have been accompanying the disgraced FTX co-founder to his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California, where he has to serve his house arrest while awaiting trial.

Recommended : Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Plead Guilty To FTX Fraud!

 

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Support my work through a bank transfer /  PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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SBF Released On “No Cash” $250 Million Bail Bond!

Sam Bankman-Fried, better known as SBF, has been released on a “no cash up front” $250 million bail bond!

 

SBF Released On “No Cash Up Front” $250 Million Bail Bond!

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, better known as SBF, has been released on a $250 million bond, but guess what – it does not actually require him to come up with the cash.

Instead, the release agreement showed that SBF was being released on a $250 million personal recognisance bond that was secured by his parents’ five-bedroom home in Palo Alto.

If SBF fails to appear in court, or violate other conditions of his bail, then the property would be seized. That property is estimated to be worth only $4 million.

In addition to his two parents, the bond must be signed by two other people (one of whom cannot be a relative) by January 5, 2023; and they would all be on hook for the $250 million bail.

This “no cash up front” bail deal was worked out between SBF’s legal team and US prosecutors, which included his agreement to be extradited to the United States.

New York federal court Judge Gabriel Gorenstein released him, subject to detention at his parents’ home while wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, with mandatory mental health counselling and substance abuse treatment.

SBF had to surrender his passport under the bail agreement, and was stricter to travel to the Northern District of California, or the Southern and Eastern districts of New York for court appearances.

Recommended : Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Plead Guilty To FTX Fraud!

This was a fraud of epic proportions. If that was the only test, detention would likely be appropriate. But he voluntarily consented to extradition. That should be given weight.

If he had resisted, we would have opposed release. But his assets have diminished. This is a financial crime and he no longer works for FTX or Alameda. So the risk to the community is a marginal consideration. We propose a restrictive bail package.

– Assistant US Attorney Nick Roos

Sam Bankman-Fried faces up to 115 years in prison if convicted on all eight counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud, money laundering, and violating campaign finance laws in his cryptocurrency exchange company, FTX.

His next hearing is set for January 3, 2022, and his defence is expected to be complicated by the fact that two of his chief lieutenants – Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang pleaded guilty and are now cooperating with investigations.

But until that he is convicted, SBF will be free to enjoy life at home, catching up on Netflix or the computer games he loves to play. Living with his parents may not be what every 30+ young man likes, but it sure beats jail in the Bahamas!

 

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Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Plead Guilty To FTX Fraud!

Both Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang just pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange!

 

Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Plead Guilty To FTX Fraud!

Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang – two close partners of Sam Bankman-Fried, plead guilty to criminal charges related to the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. They are now helping investigators with their investigations, in exchange for reduced sentencing.

The charges, guilty pleas and their cooperation with investigators occurred earlier, but was kept quiet until Sam Bankman-Fried (better know as SBF) was safely on a flight to the US from the Bahamas after he agreed to voluntary extradition.

SBF landed in New York at 10 PM local time on December 21, and Southern District of New York attorney Damian Williams announced that Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang pleaded guilty to charges “related to their roles in the fraud that contributed to FTX’s collapse”.

As I said last week, this investigation is ongoing and moving very quickly. I also said last week’s announcement would not be our last and let me be clear once again, neither is today’s.

I’m announcing that SDNY has filed charges against Caroline Ellison […] and Gary Wang […] in connection with their roles in the frauds that contributed to FTX’s collapse. Both Ms. Ellison and Mr. Wang have plead guilty to those charges and both are cooperating with the SDNY.

Caroline Ellison was the head of Alameda Research – the trading firm started by SBF, which allegedly had “a virtually unlimited line of credit” funded by FTX customers. A former Google employee and MIT graduate, Gary Wang co-founded FTX with Sam Bankman-Fried.

Ellison plead guilty to seven charges, which could result in up to 110 years of jail time. Gary Wang plead guilty to four charges. However, more charges could follow if investigators find evidence of other crimes.

Read more : SEC Charges Reveal Fraud Committed By SBF In FTX!

 

Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang Also Faces SEC Charges

These criminal charges were paired with civil charges by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which accused Ellison, Wang and Sam Bankman-Fried of securities violations related to FTX’s cryptocurrency, FTT.

The SEC also noted that both Ellison and Wang are cooperating with its ongoing investigations.

Washington D.C., Dec. 21, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and Zixiao (Gary) Wang, the former Chief Technology Officer of FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX), for their roles in a multiyear scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX, the crypto trading platform co-founded by Samuel Bankman-Fried and Wang. Investigations into other securities law violations and into other entities and persons relating to the alleged misconduct are ongoing.

According to the SEC’s complaint, between 2019 and 2022, Ellison, at the direction of Bankman-Fried, furthered the scheme by manipulating the price of FTT, an FTX-issued exchange crypto security token, by purchasing large quantities on the open market to prop up its price. FTT served as collateral for undisclosed loans by FTX of its customers’ assets to Alameda, a crypto hedge fund owned by Wang and Bankman-Fried and run by Ellison. The complaint alleges that, by manipulating the price of FTT, Bankman-Fried and Ellison caused the valuation of Alameda’s FTT holdings to be inflated, which in turn caused the value of collateral on Alameda’s balance sheet to be overstated, and misled investors about FTX’s risk exposure.

In addition, the complaint alleges that, from at least May 2019 until November 2022, Bankman-Fried raised billions of dollars from investors by falsely touting FTX as a safe crypto asset trading platform with sophisticated risk mitigation measures to protect customer assets and by telling investors that Alameda was just another customer with no special privileges; meanwhile, Bankman-Fried and Wang improperly diverted FTX customer assets to Alameda. The complaint alleges that Ellison and Wang knew or should have known that such statements were false and misleading. 

The complaint also alleges that Ellison and Wang were active participants in the scheme to deceive FTX’s investors and engaged in conduct that was critical to its success. The complaint alleges that Wang created FTX’s software code that allowed Alameda to divert FTX customer funds, and Ellison used misappropriated FTX customer funds for Alameda’s trading activity. The complaint further alleges that, even as it became clear that Alameda and FTX could not make customers whole, Bankman-Fried, with the knowledge of Ellison and Wang, directed hundreds of millions of dollars more in FTX customer funds to Alameda.

The SEC is calling for a civil penalty, and a ban for Ellison and Wang to ever serve as a company director or officer, as well as “disgorgement of their ill-gotten gains”, and an injunction against future securities violations and limiting them to only buy and sell securities for their own accounts.

 

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Major Bitcoin Miner Core Scientific Files For Bankruptcy!

Core Scientific – one of the world’s largest bitcoin miner, just filed for bankruptcy protection with debts of between $1 to $10 billion!

 

Major Bitcoin Miner Core Scientific Files For Bankruptcy!

One of the world’s largest bitcoin miner, Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ), just became the first publicly-listed cryptocurrency mining company to file for bankruptcy protection.

On Wednesday, December 21, 2022, Core Scientific filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the Southern District of Texas, with estimated liabilities of between $1 to $10 billion, to around 1,000 to 5,000 creditors.

Core Scientific appears to have reached an agreement with some of its creditors before filing for Chapter 11, in what appears to be a prepackaged bankruptcy. It expects some support from its convertible potholders in the form of two debtor-in-possession (DIP) facilities worth up to $75 million.

 

Core Scientific Plans To Sell Mining Facilities Under Development

Core Scientific operates around 243,000 mining rigs, which account for about 10% of computing power on the Bitcoin network.

  • 143,000 of its own mining rigs, with 14.4 exahash per second (EH/s) capacity
  • 100,000 of hosted mining rigs for other companies, with 10 EH/s capacity

Core Scientific will continue to mine Bitcoin during its bankruptcy process, but is exploring the sale of up to one gigawatt worth of mining facilities that are under development for launch in 2023.

The likelihood of us

Core Scientific currently operates mining facilities with 850 megawatts of computing capacity.

 

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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SEC Charges Reveal Fraud Committed By SBF In FTX!

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, popularly known as SBF, has just been charged with fraud by the SEC.

Take a look at the charges the SEC brought against SBF, and find out what they reveal about the fraud committed at FTX!

 

FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

On Monday, December 12, 2022, the Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried who is popularly known as SBF in the cryptocurrency community.

SBF was arrested after the United States government formally notified the Bahamas government that it filed criminal charges and is likely to request his extradition.

The Attorney General of the Bahamas then ordered SBF’s arrest, to hold him in custody until a formal request for extradition comes forth. Then the Bahamas intends to process the extradition request “promptly”.

Read more : FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

 

SEC Charges Reveal Fraud Committed By SBF In FTX!

On Tuesday, December 13, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged SBF with “orchestrating a scheme to defraud equity investors in FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX)”.

The SEC also sought injunctions against future securities law violations, an injunction against SBF participating in securities (except for his personal account), the disgorgement of his “ill-gotten gains”, a civil penalty, and barring him from being an officer or director of any company.

“We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “The alleged fraud committed by Mr. Bankman-Fried is a clarion call to crypto platforms that they need to come into compliance with our laws.”

FTX Customer Funds Funnelled To Alameda

The SEC accused SBF of funnelling FTX customer funds to Alameda Research, which were then used to fund speculative investments, and provide large loans to Bankman-Fried and top FTX executives.

Customer Funds Used For Real Estate Purchases

SBF allegedly used the commingled funds from Alameda to pay for massive real estate purchases, including office space and luxury condominiums in The Bahamas.

“FTX operated behind a veneer of legitimacy Mr. Bankman-Fried created by, among other things, touting its best-in-class controls, including a proprietary ‘risk engine,’ and FTX’s adherence to specific investor protection principles and detailed terms of service. But as we allege in our complaint, that veneer wasn’t just thin, it was fraudulent,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

Recommended : Terraform CEO Do Kwon Found Hiding In Serbia!

Customer Funds Used For Political Contributions

The SEC also alleged that SBF used commingled funds to fund political contributions. He was one of the top political donors in the 2022 election cycle.

SBF Was Both Borrower + Lender

According to the SEC, Sam Bankman-Fried was both the borrower and the lender in two instances. SBF also executed more than $1 billion from promissory notes for loans from Alameda Research.

SBF Accused Of Misleading Investors

The SEC also alleged that SBF misled investors into believing that FTX was a safe and responsible crypto asset trading platform, thus allowing FTX to raise more than $1.8 billion in funds from 90 US investors.

FTX Exposure To Alameda Not Disclosed

The SEC also alleged that Sam Bankman-Fried failed to disclose FTX’s deep exposure to Alameda, or how he was diverting FTX customer funds to Alameda for its own trading operations, or other purposes that SBF saw fit.

There was no meaningful distinction between FTX customer funds and Alameda’s own funds. Bankman-Fried thus gave Alameda carte blanche to use FTX customer assets for its own trading operations and for whatever other purposes Bankman-Fried saw fit.

Recommended : Binance Smart Chain Halts After $100M Crypto Theft!

The complaint alleges that, in reality, Bankman-Fried orchestrated a years-long fraud to conceal from FTX’s investors

(1) the undisclosed diversion of FTX customers’ funds to Alameda Research LLC, his privately-held crypto hedge fund;

(2) the undisclosed special treatment afforded to Alameda on the FTX platform, including providing Alameda with a virtually unlimited “line of credit” funded by the platform’s customers and exempting Alameda from certain key FTX risk mitigation measures; and

(3) undisclosed risk stemming from FTX’s exposure to Alameda’s significant holdings of overvalued, illiquid assets such as FTX-affiliated tokens.

The complaint further alleges that Bankman-Fried used commingled FTX customers’ funds at Alameda to make undisclosed venture investments, lavish real estate purchases, and large political donations.

In addition to the SEC charges, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also announced charges against Sam Bankman-Fried.

 

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, popularly known as SBF, has just been arrested in the Bahamas, and is awaiting extradition by US authorities!

 

FTX Founder SBF Arrested, Awaiting US Extradition!

On Monday, December 12, 2022, the Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried who is popularly known as SBF in the cryptocurrency community.

SBF was arrested after the United States government formally notified the Bahamas government that it filed criminal charges and is likely to request his extradition.

Attorney Damian Williams for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) confirmed that the request was made by the US government based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY.

The Attorney General of the Bahamas then ordered SBF’s arrest, to hold him in custody until a formal request for extradition comes forth. Then the Bahamas intends to process the extradition request “promptly”.

When unsealed, charges that SBF potentially face include wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering. SBF could potentially face a life sentence in prison.

 

FTX Founder SBF Arrested : Official Statement

Here is the official statement issued by the Office of the Attorney General & Ministry of Legal Affairs, of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Statement from the Attorney General of The Bahamas Sen. Ryan Pinder KC on the arrest of Sam Bankman-Fried

On 12 December 2022, the Office of the Attorney General of The Bahamas is announcing the arrest by The Royal Bahamas Police Force of Sam Bankman-Fried (“SBF”), former CEO of FTX.

BF’s arrest followed receipt of formal notification from the United States that it has filed criminal charges against BF and is likely to request his extradition.

As a result of the notification received and the material provided therewith, it was deemed appropriate for the Attorney General to seek BF’s arrest and hold him in custody pursuant to our nation’s Extradition Act.

At such time as a formal request for extradition is made, The Bahamas intends to process it promptly, pursuant to Bahamian law and its treaty obligations with the United States.

Responding to BF’s arrest, Prime Minister Davis stated, “The Bahamas and the United States have a shared interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with FTX who may have betrayed the public trust and broken the law. While the United States is pursuing criminal charges against BF individually, The Bahamas will continue its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX, with the continued cooperation of its law enforcement and regulatory partners in the United States and elsewhere.

December 12, 2022
Office of The Attorney General & Ministry of Legal Affairs
Commonwealth of The Bahamas

 

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Terraform CEO Do Kwon Found Hiding In Serbia!

South Korean authorities just confirmed that Terraform CEO Do Kwon has been hiding out in Serbia!

Here is what you need to know!

 

Terraform CEO Do Kwon Found Hiding In Serbia!

South Korean authorities just confirmed that Do Kwon is hiding out in Serbia, and will be working with Serbian authorities to detain him.

The 31 year-old Terraform CEO was charged with fraud and breaches of the South Korean capital markets law after his company’s TerraUSD stablecoin and Luna cryptocurrency crashed in May 2022.

He fled Singapore in September to an unknown country, and has been on the run since, even though he denied trying to run away.

I am not ‘on the run’ or anything similar – for any government agency that has shown interest to communicate, we are in full cooperation and we don’t have anything to hide.

According to a 11 December report by Chosun Media, South Korean authorities received a tip-off about Do Kwon’s location in Serbia, and were able to confirm it.

Recently, we obtained intelligence that CEO Kwon was in Serbia, and it was found to be true.

South Korea and Serbia do not have an extradition treaty with each other, but both countries have agreed to requests under the European Convention on Extradition.

 

Terraform CEO Do Kwon : A Quick Refresher!

Do Kwon (born Kwon Do-Hyung on 6 September 1991) is the South Korean co-founder and CEO of Singapore-based Terraform Labs, which created the stable coin TerraUSD and the Luna cryptocurrency.

Both TerraUSD and Luna collapsed in May 2022, wiping out almost $45 billion of its market capitalisation in just one week, while causing hundreds of billions of dollars to be wiped out in the crypto market.

With approximately 200,000 South Korean investors affected by the crash of TerraUSD and Luna, the South Korean government announced that it would pursue criminal charges against Do Kwon. However, Do Kwon moved to Singapore in April – just before the crash.

On September 14, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant against Do Kwon for allegedly committing fraud and violating South Korea’s capital market laws.

Unfortunately, Do Kwon left Singapore around that time, flying to Dubai on the way to an unknown country.

Interpol then issued a Red Notice for Do Kwon on September 26, and the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordered him to surrender his passport on 6 October 2022, to which he responded:

Oh, I’m not using it anyway, so it doesn’t, I can’t see how that makes a difference to me.

In addition to Do Kwon, South Korean authorities also issued arrest warrants for five other people, who have not been named, over links to the TerraUSD stablecoin and the Luna cryptocurrency token.

 

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Olga Taran Refutes Kremlin + Crypto Links To Husband’s Death!

Olga Taran refutes claims of Kremlin and crypto ties to her Russian billionaire husband, Vyacheslav Taran, who died in a helicopter crash!

 

Earlier : Russian Billionaire Vyacheslav Taran Dies In Helicopter Crash!

Russian billionaire Vyacheslav Taran died in a helicopter crash in rather mysterious circumstances on Friday, November 25, 2022.

On that fateful day, he was flying from Lausanne, Switzerland in a single-engined H130 helicopter back to his home in Monaco, when it crashed near the resort town of Villefranche-sur-Mer in good, clear weather.

He was supposed to be travelling with another unidentified passenger on this flight, but that passenger cancelled at the last minute.

Both Vyacheslav Taran, 53, and the 35 year-old French helicopter pilot were killed in the crash.

The deputy public prosecutor of Nice who visited the crash scene, said that the fault of a third party could not yet be ruled out.

Vyacheslav Taran is the co-founder of the trading and investment platform, Libertex, as well as the founder and CEO of the Forex Club group of companies.

Recommended : Russian Billionaire Vyacheslav Taran Dies In Crash!

As I noted earlier, Taran’s unexpected death will likely spur conspiracy theories, coming just two days after Tiantian Kullander died in his sleep, and just weeks after Nikolas Mushegian apparently drowned after tweeting about an alleged plot by the CIA and Mossad to murder him.

It also seems to be a dangerous time for Russian businessmen, who are dying in mysterious circumstances both in Russia, and overseas. Just in September alone:

  • 28 September 2022 : Pavel Pchelnikov allegedly shot himself on the balcony of his Moscow apartment.
  • 21 September 2022 : Anatoly Gerashchenko died after falling down a flight of stairs in Moscow.
  • 10 September 2022 : Ivan Pechorin fell from his boat and drowned at Cape Ignatyev in Vladivostok.
  • 1 September 2022 : Ravil Maganov – the chairman of Lukoil, “fell out of a window” in the Kremlin Hospital.

 

Olga Taran Refutes Kremlin + Crypto Links To Husband’s Death!

Vyacheslav Taran’s wife – Olga Taran – who is the Editor-in-Chief of HelloMonaco, spoke out just days after the accident against the allegations that her husband was involved with the Kremlin, or was a Russian spy.

She also pointed out that Vyacheslav left Russia in 2008, and supported Ukrainian charities since 2014.

As you know, Viacheslav Taran died in a tragic helicopter crash last week. I have lost a loving husband and a father of three of our children. It is intolerably painful for me to realize that we will never see him again. But, it is even more difficult to stay silent when someone is spreading lies about my beloved Viacheslav.

The Ukrainian news website UNIAN.net published a story that my husband allegedly was a billionaire and was involved in money laundering for Russian elites and on top of that they claimed him to be a Russian spy. All of this is outrageous and manifests an absolute and utter lie. My husband never had any connections to the Russian government or any political affiliations. He left Russia to pursue and focus on his business interests back in 2008.

Moreover, since 2014 my late husband has constantly supported charitable foundation Changeonelife.ua and since the very first days, when the war broke down, Viacheslav with his friends created Pristaniste.me a charitable foundation for Ukrainian refugees in Montenegro which accepted first refugees on 5th of March, 2022 and still is actively helping the Ukrainians in need.

This attack is unfair to Viacheslav who always actively supported supported Ukrainian people through his charity foundations, especially children who lost their parents.

Furthermore, I urge all Western journalists who cite UNIAN.net to stop spreading the lies (Will Steward and Rachael Bunyan from Daily Mail, Aliki Kraterou from The Sun). My children have already been bullied because of these accusations and I am concerned for their safety.

I understand that you do not know Viacheslav personally and reading these cynical articles one may consider them to be true, but everyone who knows Viacheslav, including the entire Monaco community knows it to be an absolute lie.

Please do not tarnish his good name and memory. We still have not received Viacheslav’s body due to the investigation and each day brings unbearable pain.

Olga Taran

Recommended : Tiantian Kullander Dies Unexpectedly At 30!

Olga Taran later issued another statement, refuting that her husband’s death was anything “mysterious”, or related to the recent deaths of crypto entrepreneurs like Tiantian Kullander and Nikolai Mushegian.

She pointed out that cryptocurrency was simply one of the markets he invested in, and that he was not a “crypto billionaire” because he invested more into blockchain and cryptocurrency than he ever got out of it.

Following the tragic death of Vyacheslav Taran, a devoted husband and loving father of three, we have been greatly distressed by the publication of false and inaccurate information that has tarnished his name and we would like to set the record straight.

Vyacheslav Taran was a successful businessman and serial entrepreneur, who was also an investor in various fintech startups, including some that worked with cryptocurrencies. He was definitely not a “crypto billionaire” and one might argue that he invested more in blockchain and crypto technology than he ever got out of it.

We categorically deny that he was involved in any way with the Russian Intelligence services or the Russian government in any capacity and we also categorically deny that he was involved in money laundering for Russian “elites” or in any other illegal activity. These are completely unfounded fabrications and outright lies, which have compounded our grief at this very difficult time.

Vyacheslav Taran was born in Russia but had lived and worked overseas since 2008, before settling in Monaco with his family more than a decade ago.

The circumstances surrounding the accident are still being investigated, mainly because of the nature of the accident. It is obviously a lengthy process, as is any investigation into accidents involving any type of aircraft. There is nothing “mysterious” about it and everyone should wait until the investigation is fully completed before jumping to conclusions or speculating about crazy conspiracy theories. We fully support the authorities in their investigation and eagerly await their findings being made public in due course.

Our beloved Vyacheslav was also a great philanthropist, having contributed to numerous charity organisations and was the co-founder of the Change One Life Foundation, which to this day has helped more than 30,000 orphaned children find families and live fulfilling lives.

Above all, he was a loyal and supportive friend, husband and father and we would politely request that his memory is not dishonoured by false information or baseless speculation.

 

Please Support My Work!

Support my work through a bank transfer /  PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Russian Billionaire Vyacheslav Taran Dies In Crash!

Russian crypto billionaire Vyacheslav Taran has died after his helicopter crashed near Monaco!

 

Russian Crypto Billionaire Vyacheslav Taran Dies In Helicopter Crash!

Russian billionaire Vyacheslav Taran is now the third cryptocurrency entrepreneur to die under mysterious circumstances in recent weeks.

Vyacheslav Taran is the co-founder of the trading and investment platform, Libertex, as well as the founder and CEO of the Forex Club group of companies..

On Friday, 25 November 2022, he flew from Lausanne, Switzerland in a single-engined H130 helicopter back to his home in Monaco, when it crashed near the resort town of Villefranche-sur-Mer in good, clear weather.

He was supposed to be travelling with another unidentified passenger on this flight, but that passenger cancelled at the last minute.

Both Vyacheslav Taran, 53, and the 35 year-old French helicopter pilot were killed in the crash.

The deputy public prosecutor of Nice who visited the crash scene, said that the fault of a third party could not yet be ruled out.

Recommended : Tiantian Kullander Dies Unexpectedly At 30!

Taran’s unexpected death will likely spur conspiracy theories, coming just two days after Tiantian Kullander died in his sleep, and just weeks after Nikolas Mushegian apparently drowned after tweeting about an alleged plot by the CIA and Mossad to murder him.

It also seems to be a dangerous time for Russian businessmen, who are dying in mysterious circumstances both in Russia, and overseas. Just in September alone:

  • 28 September 2022 : Pavel Pchelnikov allegedly shot himself on the balcony of his Moscow apartment.
  • 21 September 2022 : Anatoly Gerashchenko died after falling down a flight of stairs in Moscow.
  • 10 September 2022 : Ivan Pechorin fell from his boat and drowned at Cape Ignatyev in Vladivostok.
  • 1 September 2022 : Ravil Maganov – the chairman of Lukoil, “fell out of a window” in the Kremlin Hospital.

 

Libertex Group On Death Of Co-Founder, Vyacheslav Taran

In an official statement, the Libertex Group confirmed its co-founder’s death, and described Taran as “kind-hearted, polite and humble”.

It is with great sadness that Libertex Group confirms the death of its co-founder and Chairman of Board of Directors, Vyacheslav Taran, after a helicopter crash that took place en route to Monaco on Friday, 25 November 2022.

The Board of Directors of Libertex Group and company employees extend their most heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the Taran family. Vyacheslav is survived by his wife Olga and three children.

Vyacheslav Taran was a fintech entrepreneur and a published author, with long-standing experience in the financial industry. In 1997, he co-founded what was to eventually become the trading and investing platform Libertex.

A well-known and highly respected businessman, described as kind-hearted, polite and humble by everyone who was fortunate enough to know him, Taran was a true visionary. His vision and direction have made Libertex what it is today: his “dream company to work for” that he often described to colleagues in speeches and internal memos as “a company whose services and products I use myself and am willing to recommend to my relatives and friends.”

Taran was also devoted to giving back to the community and always rushed to help those in need, particularly children. He co-founded Change One Life, a charitable foundation helping children from orphanages and child-care institutions to find families and live fulfilling lives. To this day, Change One Life has helped more than 30,000 orphaned children.

Vyacheslav Taran will be missed more than words can express, and everyone at Libertex will eternally be grateful for what he has accomplished.

We kindly ask that during this difficult and extremely painful time, the family’s privacy is respected.

Libertex Group would also like to extend its condolences to the family of the pilot.

 

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Tiantian Kullander Dies Unexpectedly At 30!

Tiantian Kullander – the co-founder of cryptocurrency company Amber Group, has died unexpectedly at 30 years of age!

 

Tiantian Kullander Dies Unexpectedly At 30!

The co-founder of cryptocurrency company Amber Group, Tiantian Kullander, has died unexpectedly at 30 years of age.

According to a spokesperson for the Hong Kong-based Amber Group, Kullander passed away in his sleep on Wednesday, November 23, 2022, but provided no cause of death.

Known as TT, Kullander began as a market trader for Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley, before co-founding the Amber Group in 2017. He is survived by his wife and son.

Kullander’s sudden and expected death will likely spur rumours amongst anti-vaccination activists, as well as conspiracy theorists, coming just weeks after another crypto millionaire died unexpectedly.

On October 28, 2022, Nikolas Mushegian – an early developer of MakerDAO died at 29 years of age, apparently drowning a few hours after tweeting about an alleged plot by the CIA and Mossad to murder him.

Recommended : Died Suddenly : More Lies In Antivax Video Exposed!

 

Amber Group On Death Of Co-Founder, Tiantian Kullander

The Amber Group is a cryptocurrency trading platform, whose success propelled him to make the Forbes 30-under-30 list in the Asian Finance and Venture Capital category in 2019.

The Amber Group was valued earlier this year at US$3 billion, and was in the process of raising another $100 million.

In an official statement, Amber Group said that Kullander had devoted his heart and soul to the company, leading by example:

It is with the deepest sadness and a heavy heart that we inform you of the passing of our friend and co-founder, Tiantian Kullander, who passed away unexpectedly in his sleep on November 23, 2022.

Tiantian (or “TT”, as he was lovingly known) was instrumental to the founding of Amber and a pillar of our success. He put his heart and soul into the company, in every stage of its growth. He led by example with his intellect, generosity, humility, diligence and creativity.

TT was a respected thought leader and widely recognized as a pioneer for the industry. His depth of knowledge, his willingness to collaborate and his desire to always help others benefited countless start-ups and individuals. His insights and creativity inspired many projects, people and communities.

Besides co-founding Amber and building it into a multi-billion fintech unicorn, TT sat on the Board of Fnatic (one of the world’s most successful e-sports organizations) and founded KeeperDAO (the first on-chain liquidity underwriter) before giving it back to its community.

We lost a great partner and a true friend in TT and words cannot express our sorrow at this time. TT’s legacy will live on and we will work even harder to make Amber the category-defining leader of our industry, as this was TT’s ambition and dream.

TT was a devoted husband, a loving father and a fierce friend. His passing is a tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with his family. He is survived by his wife and their beloved son. We kindly request that you respect their privacy during this difficult time.

 

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Binance Smart Chain Halts After $100M Crypto Theft!

Binance just shut down its blockchain, after getting hacked and losing over $100 million in crypto coins!

The shutdown prevented an even bigger loss of $566 million, but it defeated a key purpose of the blockchain – decentralisation.

 

Binance Smart Chain Halts After $100M Crypto Theft!

On Thursday, 6 October 2022, Binance Smart Chain was hit by a hacker who targeted 2 million Binance coins (BNB) worth $566 million.

The attack appeared to have started at around 2:30 PM EST, with the attacker’s wallet receiving two transactions of 1 million BNB coins.

Soon after that, the hacker tried to liquidate the BNB coins into other assets, by using a variety of liquidity pools.

Binance acknowledged the security incident several hours later, at 6:19 PM, and halted the BNB Smart Chain.

AT 7:51 PM EST, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao confirmed that an exploit was used in the BSC Token Hub to transfer the BNB coins to the attacker, and that they asked all validators to temporarily suspend the Binance Smart Chain. He also claimed that the funds are safe.

An exploit on a cross-chain bridge, BSC Token Hub, resulted in extra BNB. We have asked all validators to temporarily suspend BSC. The issue is contained now. Your funds are safe. We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide further updates accordingly.

 

Binance Smart Chain Almost Lost $566 Million!

The majority of the 2 million BNB coins worth $566 million remained on the BNB Smart Chain, and was made inaccessible to the hacker, after BSC was shut down.

This is rather ironic since blockchains like BSC are supposed to be decentralised, and not meant to be so easily turned off – a fact BNB Chain acknowledged.

Decentralized chains are not designed to be stopped, but by contacting community validators one by one, we were able to stop the incident from spreading. It was not that easy as BNB Smart Chain has 26 active validators at present and 44 in total in different time zones. This delayed closure, but we were able to minimize the loss.

Even so, a BNB Chain spokesperson later confirmed that about $100 to $110 million in funds were taken off the Binance Smart Chain, and CZ said that the impact was about a quarter of the last BNB burn.

Of the funds taken off-chain, BNB Chain was able to freeze about $7 million with help from their partners in the cryptocurrency community.

So far, about $2 billion has been lost in crypto hacks in 2022, with cross-chain bridges used to transfer tokens across blockchains a popular target.

BNB Chain said that it would introduce a new on-chain governance mechanism to fight and defend against future possible attacks.

 

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Kim Kardashian Fined $1.26 Mil For Promoting Crypto!

Kim Kardashian just agreed to pay a $1.26 million fine for promoting cryptocurrency on Instagram! Here is what you need to know…

 

Kim Kardashian Fined $1.26 Million For Promoting Crypto!

On Monday, October 3, 2022, Kim Kardashian agreed to pay a $1.26 million fine for promoting the cryptocurrency, EthereumMax (not to be confused with Ethereum) on Instagram.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged that the reality TV star received $250,000 to advertise EthereumMax without disclosing she was paid to promote it.

She also agreed not to promote any crypto assets / securities for three years.

This case is a reminder that, when celebrities or influencers endorse investment opportunities, including crypto asset securities, it doesn’t mean that those investment products are right for all investors.

We encourage investors to consider an investment’s potential risks and opportunities in light of their own financial goals.

– SEC Chair Gary Gensler

The settlement comprised of a $1 million fine, seizure of the $250,000 payment she received, plus interest, coming up to a total of $1.26 million.

Despite the large sum, the fine will not bother Kim Kardashian too much. With a net worth estimated at $1.8 billion, the $1.26 million fine is roughly equivalent to an $85 fine for a typical US family with a net worth of $122,000.

Her lawyers hinted as much in the statement they released :

Ms. Kardashian is pleased to have resolved this matter with the SEC.

Kardashian fully cooperated with the SEC from the very beginning and she remains willing to do whatever she can to assist the SEC in this matter.

She wanted to get this matter behind her to avoid a protracted dispute. The agreement she reached with the SEC allows her to do that so that she can move forward with her many different business pursuits.

As you can tell – the fine was more like dust in her eyes than a lesson to learn from. I doubt it even feels like a slap on the wrist to her.

 

How Kim Kardashian Got Into Trouble Promoting Crypto…

On June 13, 2021, Kim Kardashian promoted a new cryptocurrency called EthereumMax (not to be confused with the famous and more established Ethereum) on Instagram.

Are you guys into crypto???? This is not financial advice but sharing what my friends told me about the Ethereum Max token!

A few minutes ago Ethereum Max burned 400 trillion tokens – literally 50% of their admin wallet giving back to the entire E-Max community.

#EMax #DisruptHistory #EthereumMax #WTFEMax #GIOPEmax @EthereumMax #Ad

Swipe up to join the E-Max Community

She had 225 million followers on Instagram at that time, and EthereumMax paid her $250,000 for that post.

Despite the misleadingly similar name, EthereumMax has no legal, business or technical connection to the Ethereum cryptocurrency. One could be forgiven for thinking that they were trying to mislead people into thinking that they are the same – they are not!

In January 2022, Kim Kardashian, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr, basketball player Paul Pierce and the creators of EthereumMax were sued by investors who alleged that the celebrities collaborated to “misleadingly promote and sell” the cryptocurrency in a “pump and dump” scheme.

In plain terms, EthereumMax’s entire business model relies on using constant marketing and promotional activities, often from ‘trusted’ celebrities, to dupe potential investors into trusting the financial opportunities.

The class action lawsuit filing pointed out that such promotion caused EthereumMax to increase more than 1,300% in value (the pump) before plummeting to “an all-time low” just over a month after Kim Kardashian promoted it.

It alleged that this enabled the defendants to sell EthereumMax tokens for “substantial profits” (the dump) before the inevitable crash in value.

It is unknown how many investors were hurt, but after the initial celebrity-fuelled surge, EthereumMax quickly tanked and never recovered.

This is another lesson in why you should not take investment advice from celebrities, especially when they are only famous for … being infamous?

 

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Did China Make 7nm Chips In Spite Of US Sanctions?!

Did China successfully fabricate 7nm chips, despite US sanctions on advanced chip manufacturing technology?

Well, yes, but not quite. Here is what you need to know about China’s mysterious 7nm chips!

 

China Made 7nm Chips In Spite Of US Sanctions!

A TechInsights report recently concluded that China has successfully created 7nm chips since last year.

This caused quite a ruckus, because it essentially meant that China jumped two generations ahead in chip manufacturing technology!

The TechInsights team bought a MinerVa mining ASIC which used a custom chip that has been manufactured by China’s SMIC since July 2021.

When they examined the chip, they discovered that it was fabricated on a 7nm process that appears to be a “close copy” of a 7nm process used by TSMC – the Taiwanese foundry giant.

The MinerVa chip is small – at just 19.3 mm², with 120 chips populating the MinerVa board. Each mining ASIC has 3 of these boards, for a total of 360 chips and a total power consumption of 3300 watts.

This discovery is deeply concerning to many people, because it meant that China has more advanced chip manufacturing technology than is even available in the United States or EU.

After all, US sanctioned the sale of advanced chip manufacturing technology to China – which was meant to crippled China’s ability to manufacture such chips.

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer used this report to stress the danger of delaying the $50 billion subsidy package for semiconductor manufacturing in the United States.

Members of both sides know that America’s chips crisis is sending shock waves across the economy.

It is endangering our national security. […] China’s top chips maker has now likely advanced its tech by two generations, threatening U.S. competitiveness.

But the situation really isn’t as dire as many people make it out to be…

 

SMIC / China Barely Made Those 7nm Chips

After the report was released, the Internet fell into two main camps – American politicians and China hawks bemoaning the “loss” of Western chip making advantage, and pro-CCP netizens celebrating it.

First, let me start by congratulating China / SMIC on achieving this feat despite being hobbled by US sanctions on crucial chipmaking technology.

Whether China / SMIC “copied / stole / bought” the technology knowhow from TSMC whose 7nm process it closely resembles, it is still a remarkable achievement.

That said, SMIC / China barely made those 7nm chips, and here are the reasons why…

SMIC manufactured these 7nm chips using older Deep Ultraviolet Lithography (DUV) machines, instead of the state-of-art Extreme Ultraviolet Light (EUV) lithography machines made by Dutch company ASML.

This isn’t extraordinary in itself – TSMC and Samsung had much earlier developed 7nm process nodes using the older DUV machines. However, this comes at the cost of “increased process complexity and design rule restrictions“.

That is likely why the MinerVa chip is not only very small, it actually lacks SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) that is critical in processors that run our computers and smartphones.

The simpler design and small size allow SMIC to obtain sufficient workable chips, even with a poor yield. However, the cost of chip would be much higher than if it was manufactured on a higher-quality process.

So for all intents and purposes – this should be considered as a niche / prototype 7nm process, and not a true 7nm process node.

On top of that, SMIC apparently isn’t capable of producing large quantities of these 7nm chips, suggesting either a yield problem, or difficulty in scaling up.

MinerVa has not been able to deliver the mining ASICs based on these SMIC 7nm chips in large numbers. A Bitcoin mining company – Stronghold Digital Mining, for example, said that it ordered 15,000 miners from MinerVa but only received about 3,200 units as of March 2022.

For China / SMIC to present a true “threat” as far as chipmaking is concerned, it would have to be capable of manufacturing MILLIONS of chips, not thousands.

Regardless of whether the Americans are howling in despair, or the pro-CCP netizens are howling in delight, China really does not have true 7nm chipmaking capability for mass production yet.

And even if they somehow manage to improve and scale up this 7nm DUV process, they cannot make more advanced chips without EUV machines made by ASML.

As long as the Dutch government holds firm on blocking sale of ASML’s EUV machines to China, this is likely as far as they can go… unless they invade Taiwan, which is where TSMC is based and has the world’s most advanced chip manufacturing facilities.

 

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Putin Signs Law Banning Crypto Payments In Russia!

Russian President Vladimir Putin just signed into law a national ban on crypto payments in Russia!

Find out what’s going on, and what it means for cryptocurrencies in Russia!

 

Putin Signs Law Banning Crypto Payments In Russia!

On July 16, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin just signed into law a national ban on crypto payments in Russia.

This move comes after the Central Bank of Russia proposed an outright ban on using cryptocurrencies for payments or investments.

This ban does not go so far – it only bans payments using cryptocurrencies, while allowing people to continue investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereal, as well as digital assets like NFTs.

The new Russian law, as translated by Google, states that :

It is prohibited to transfer or accept digital financial assets as a consideration for transferred goods, performed works, rendered services, as well as in any other way that allows one to assume payment for goods (works, services) by a digital financial asset, except as otherwise provided by federal laws.

While it prohibits individuals and companies from paying for, and receiving, cryptocurrencies for goods and services, it allows the Russian government to use cryptocurrencies.

It also does not prohibit investing in cryptocurrencies or digital assets like NFT, leaving that open for now.

Read more : Bill Gates Mocks Crypto + NFTs As Assets For Fools!

 

Partial Crypto Ban Reflects A Russia In Quandary

This partial ban on cryptocurrency reflects Russia’s precarious financial situation after invading Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The Russian government had, prior to that, been skeptical, if not hostile, about cryptocurrency. But US and European sanctions are forcing them to hold back.

The lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, for example, just approved a draft bill on June 28 that would exempt cryptocurrency issuers from the Value Added Tax (VAT).

If passed by the upper house and signed into law by Putin, the lower house bill would also lower tax rates on income earned from selling cryptocurrencies – falling from 20% to just 13% for Russian companies, and 15% for foreign companies.

More recently, the Head of Russia’s Financial Policy Department even suggested that Russia could use cryptocurrencies to settle international payments.

Even Putin himself said that Russia had “certain competitive advantages” including a “surplus of electricity and well-trained personnel” to participate in crypto-mining, even though he is against using cryptocurrencies domestically.

If the Russian government chooses this path, it would be considered hypocritical in light of this ban on crypto payments in Russia. Cryptocurrencies are bad for the people, but good for the Russian government.

 

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Crypto Hedge Fund 3AC Filed For Chapter 15 Bankruptcy!

Cryptocurrency hedge fund, Three Arrows Capital (3AC) just filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy! Here is what you need to know…

 

Crypto Hedge Fund 3AC Filed For Chapter 15 Bankruptcy!

The 2022 Crypto Winter continues to blow hard and cold…

On Friday, July 1, 2022, Singapore-based cryptocurrency hedge fund, Three Arrows Capital (3AC) filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York.

Representatives from the law firm Latham & Watkins filed the Chapter 15 bankruptcy filing to legally protect its US assets from creditors in the United States.

In the legal filing, they stated that “the Debtor’s business has collapsed in the wake of extreme fluctuations in cryptocurrency markets” and “the Debit commenced a liquidation processing before the BVI Court” on June 27, 2022.

This move came after a British Virgin Islands court ordered the liquidation of 3AC on Monday, June 27, 2022.

Voyager Digital revealed that 3AC failed to make payments on loans made up of US$350 million in USDC and 15,250 BTC (worth US$306 million), and issued them a notice of default on the same Monday, June 27.

 

3AC Founders Remain Silent On Bankruptcy, Location Unknown

Founded in 2012 by Zhu Su and Kyle Davis, 3AC managed about $10 billion in assets as recently as March 2022, but that sank to just $3 billion a month later.

3AC was dogged by persistent insolvency rumours in the last few weeks, with rumours of more than US$400 million in losses when the cryptocurrency markets collapsed between May and June 2022.

Zhu and Davis admitted in a WSJ interview that 3ACa lost their $200 million investment following the collapse of Luna and its sister coin, TerraUSD.

8 Blocks Capital chief executive Danny Yuan also alleged that 3AC had misappropriated US$1 million of its funds to pay off their margin calls.

Both co-founders have remained silent over the implosion of 3AC, and its bankruptcy. Zhu’s last Twitter post was on June 15, in which he sought to allay rumours of insolvency, while Davies has not said a word.

According to the lawyers from Latham & Watkins, their current locations are unknown, and they are “rumoured” to have left Singapore.

The foreign representatives understand and believe that while the debtor has had certain operations in Singapore, Mr. Davies and Mr. Zhu’s current location remains unknown. They are rumored to have left Singapore.

 

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Bitcoin Rebounds Above $20K, Ether Shoots Over $1,100!

Bitcoin rebounded above $20,000 while Ether shot over $1,100, after experiencing record lows! Here is what you need to know…

 

Bitcoin Rebounds Above $20K, Ether Shoots Over $1,100!

After a terrible week, cryptocurrencies are getting a big respite with Bitcoin rebounding above $20,000. and ether shooting over $1,100!

Last Saturday, Bitcoin crashed through the $20,000 line, and smashed right through the $19,000 and $18,000 support lines. It hit a record low of $17,663.80, wiping out 12% of value in less than a day.

The $20,000 mark was psychologically-important because Bitcoin first hit it in December 2020. It was also the peak of its last bull run, when it hit a high of $19,834 in December 2017. Bitcoin had, for the first time, fallen below the peak of its prior bull run.

But it gradually recovered over Sunday, and actually rose above the $20,000 mark at 7 PM. After a short sell-off early Monday morning, it recovered to above $20,000.

Ether had a terrible Saturday too, falling from $1,069.70 to just $903.23 – wiping out 15.6% of its value in less than 24 hours!

But it recovered quickly, breaching $1,000 by Sunday morning, and then the $1,100 mark by Sunday evening.

Like Bitcoin, Ether saw a sell-off on Monday morning, but it recovered again and stayed above $1,100

 

Bitcoin + Ether Rally May Be Shortlived

Cryptocurrency investors and traders are sure to be relieved by the rally, which kept both Bitcoin and Ether above those psychologically critical $20,000 and $1,000 price levels, even though they had already breached them two days ago.

The rally seems to be fuelled by investors and traders looking to buy cheap coins. Both Bitcoin and Ether were over 70% and over 80% below their all-time highs of $68,990.90 and $4,865.57 respectively.

However, the Bitcoin rally seemed rather weak – it was vacillating around the $20,000 mark, unable to push above $21,000. Ether did better, staying above $1,000 and rising above $1,100 on Sunday and Monday.

It seems likely that this rally will be short-lived, and could be a short respite before a larger sell-off.

As inflation remains red hot, with rapidly rising interest rates amidst recession fears, there is significant pressure to sell risky cryptocurrencies.

Even though both cryptocurrencies are holding steady right now, be prepared for more sell-offs that could trigger a vicious cycle of forced selling and falling prices.

The 2022 Crypto Winter may have been delayed, and spring isn’t coming soon.

 

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Crypto Prices Tank : Bitcoin Below $19K, Ethereum Below $1K!

Cryptocurrency prices continue to tank, with Bitcoin dipping below $19,000 and Ethereal sliding below $1,000!

Here is what you need to know…

 

Crypto Prices Tank : Bitcoin Below $19K, Ethereum Below $1K!

The week is ending on a bad note for cryptocurrencies, as prices continued to tank.

On early Saturday morning, Bitcoin crashed through the $20,000 line, and smashed right through the $19,000 line, trimming 7.4% of its value in less than 1.5 hours!

The $20,000 mark was psychologically-important because Bitcoin first hit it in December 2020. It was also the peak of its last bull run, when it hit a high of $19,834 in December 2017.

Bitcoin has, for the first time, fallen below the peak of its prior bull run; which may well spook traders, if not the HODLers.

It hit the bottom (so far) of $18,811.40 at 8:20 AM, before recovering slightly to hover around the $19,000 to $19,500 range.

Ethereum did even worse, falling from $1,069.70 to just $977.37 – wiping out 8.6% of its value in less than 2 hours!

It recovered, but hovered under $1,000 for most of the day, before dipping to another low of $978.91 at 4:50 PM.

Ethereal first hit $1,000 in January 2018, and never dropped below $1,000 after January 2021.

 

Will Bitcoin, Ethereum Prices Continue To Tank?

Bitcoin and Ethereum are now trading almost 60% lower, compared to last year; and Bitcoin is down over 72% from its all-time high of $68,990.90.

While many HODLers and crypto traders are hoping that this is the bottom, this may only be a short respite before a larger sell-off.

Investors may be forced to liquidate their positions after these psychological lines were breached, possibly triggering a vicious cycle of forced selling and falling prices.

As inflation remains red hot, with rapidly rising interest rates amidst recession fears, there is significant pressure to sell risky cryptocurrencies.

So look forward to more sell-offs, and both Bitcoin and Ethereum breaching more resistance levels. The 2022 Crypto Winter may well be here…

 

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Bill Gates Mocks Crypto + NFTs As Assets For Fools!

Bill Gates is no fan of crypto – labelling crypto assets including NFTs as 100% based on greater fool theory!

Here is what you need to know…

 

Bill Gates Mocks Crypto + NFTs As Assets For Fools!

Speaking at a TechCrunch conference on Tuesday, 14 June 2022, Bill Gates described digital assets like cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as something that’s “100% based on greater fool theory“.

The greater fool theory refers to the idea that investors can make money on worthless or overvalued assets, as long as they can fool other people into paying more for them.

In other words, the value of these digital assets are not inherent in their worth, but entirely dependent on whether you can hype them up so “greater fools” will buy them.

Read more : Crypto Boom Scam Alert : Fake Celebrity Endorsements!
Read more : Did Bill Gates Call For Withdrawal Of COVID-19 Vaccines?

 

What Bill Gates Invests In, Instead Of Crypto / NFTs

Bill Gates said that he was not interested in crypto at all – “I’m not involved in that. I’m not long or short any of those things“.

He shared that was only interested in asset classes that actually produce something, “like a farm where they have output, or like a company where they make products“.

He mocked the Bored Apes Yacht Club non-fungible token collection, calling them “expensive digital images of monkeys” that will “improve the world immensely“.

His comments come as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies tumbled sharply. Bitcoin – the leading cryptocurrency – crashed from a high of $69,000 in November 2021, to less than $23,000 that day.

It didn’t help that Celsius, a crypto lending firm, paused all account withdrawals, feeling fears of its insolvency and the crypto world as a whole.

The crypto exchange, Coinbase, also announced that it was laying off 18% of its employees as the cryptocurrency market continue to crater.

 

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Crypto Boom Scam Alert : Fake Celebrity Endorsements!

Please watch out for the Crypto Boom scam involving fake celebrity endorsements, and warn your family and friends!

 

Crypto Boom Scam Alert : Fake Celebrity Endorsements!

You may have seen advertisements and posts on Facebook and Twitter, claiming that certain celebrities are sharing the secrets of their success.

Here is a recent example involving Jono Armstrong and Tony Fernandes. It’s an extremely long post, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

NEWS THAT SENT SHOCKWAVES: Jono Armstrong And Tony Fernandes Partnership Is Shaking The Financial World And Big Banks Are Terrified

Big banks are loosing their chokehold of the financial markets. Malaysian citizens are from what private investment banks want off the market. Is it a real deal?

 

Crypto Boom : Yet Another Cryptocurrency Scam

Crypto Boom appears to be yet another “automated trading app”, claiming to use a trading robot to generate “daily ROI of up to 60%”.

Cryptocurrency is unregulated, and these cryptocurrency trading apps are of unknown provenance and ownership.

So unless proven otherwise, you should consider such cryptocurrency apps as SCAMS, including Crypto Boom for these reasons…

Fact #1 : That Malaysiakini Article Is Fake

There is no such Malaysiakini article. It’s completely FABRICATED. You can search Malaysiakini’s website if you don’t believe me.

The website it made to look like Malaysiakini, but does not have a Malaysiakini link, but an AWS cloud server link.

https://malaysia2022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/MalaysiaJono.html

The Malaysia2022 website does not even exist. The only page on that server slice appears to be that MalaysiaJono.html page.

Fact #2 : Tony Fernandes Never Partnered With Jono Armstrong

As far as we can tell – Tony Fernandes has never met Jono Armstrong, much less partnered with him to bring Crypto Boom to Malaysia.

There was no such interview of Tony Fernandes and Jono Armstrong on Selamat Page Malaysia. Neither was there ever a threatening call by Farid Alias – the Group President and CEO of Maybank.

Fact #2 : Crypto Boom Is A Technology, Marketing + Advertising Service

While Crypto Boom claims to be an automated trading software that can give you “an average daily ROI of up to 60%“, their fine print states otherwise.

If you scroll down to the bottom of their official website, they clarified that they are merely a “technology, marketing and advertising service“.

They also clarified that they are “only used as a marketing tool by third party advertisers and brokers to receive more customers“.

Crypto Boom also warned, in their fine print, that when you sign up – “a broker is automatically assigned to you“, but that “it is your obligation to check if the Broker applies to all local rules and regulations“.

Crypto Boom is a software created by a development company and does not provide investment or brokerage services.

Crypto Boom does not gain or lose profits based on your trading results and operates as a technology, marketing and advertising service.

Crypto Boom does not operate as a financial services firm and is only used as a marketing tool by third party advertisers and brokers to receive more customers. When you signup to Crypto Boom a broker is automatically assigned to you.

It is your obligation to check if the Broker applies to all local rules and regulations and is regulated in your jurisdiction and is allowed to receive customers from your location. If you find out the Broker that was assigned to you is not duly regulated in your jurisdiction please contact us using the support menu in the software.

Fact #3 : No Celebrity Has Endorsed Crypto Boom

You may see other variants of this fake news, localised to the media in your country, with different celebrities endorsing Crypto Boom.

The truth is – no celebrity or business person of any note has ever publicly endorsed Crypto Boom.

If you do a quick online search, you will note that those celebrities have never mentioned Crypto Boom, much less endorsed it.

The fake story claims that Crypto Boom is backed by Richard Branson, Elon Musk and Bill Gates among others, but Crypto Boom themselves admitted that all those “rumours” are false.

The picture of Richard Branson and Bill Gates that was used in the fake Crypto Boom article was not taken at CES 2022. It was taken at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting, in London on 26 October 2016.

This is the same kind of fake celebrity endorsements that drive the marketing campaigns of other cryptocurrency scams like Bitcoin Revolution.

Read more : Bitcoin Revolution Fake Celebrity Endorsements Exposed!

Fact #4 : SEC Warned About Such Scams

Many financial regulatory agencies like the SEC are warning investors and the public about fraudulent digital asset and “crypto” trading websites.

There have been many cases of people getting defrauded by such “get rich quick” schemes, including pump-and-dump and rug pull scams.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Office of Customer Education and Outreach (CFTC) warn investors to scrutinize investment opportunities through websites purporting to operate advisory and trading businesses related to digital assets. These websites often contain “red flags” of fraud including claims of high guaranteed returns and promises that the investments carry little or even no risk.

SEC and CFTC staff have recently observed investment scams where fraudsters tout digital asset or “cryptocurrency” advisory and trading businesses. In some cases, the fraudsters claim to invest customers’ funds in proprietary crypto trading systems or in “mining” farms. The fraudsters promise high guaranteed returns (for example, 20-50%) with little or no risk.

After the investors make an investment, typically using a digital asset such as Bitcoin, the fraudsters in some cases stop communicating with the investors altogether. These fraudsters can quickly send your money overseas, with little chance of you being able to get it back. Sometimes the fraudsters direct investors to pay additional costs (such as purported taxes) to withdraw fake “profits” earned from the investment. This is an example of an advance fee fraud scam, where investors are asked to pay a bogus fee in advance of receiving proceeds, money, stock, or warrants.

If anyone tells you that their software or trading service will automatically generate you high ROI, without effort or risk, that’s a scam.

Anyone who develops such a magical system does not need you to invest – they would be keeping it to themselves, and making BILLIONS with no effort or risk.

Please help us fight against such scams – SHARE THIS FACT CHECK with your family and friends!

 

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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Mega PS4 Crypto-Mine : How Much Can It Make?

The Ukrainian Security Service just raided an illegal crypto-mining operation using 3,800 PS4 consoles!

Take a look inside this Ukrainian PS4 crypto-mine, and find out how much they’re making!

 

Ukrainian Crypto-Mine With 3,800 PS4 Consoles Raided!

Cryptocurrency miners have turned the gaming world upside down, buying up graphics cards and even gaming laptops in bulk. As long as it has a GPU, they are snatching it up!

But their demand for more computing power does not seem to be sated, and they even turned their attention to old PS4 consoles!

While many have pooh-poohed the possibility of mining cryptocurrency using PS4 consoles, the Ukrainians went ahead and did it!

On 8 July 2021, the Ukrainian SBU (Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrayiny, Security Service of Ukraine) raided the LARGEST illegal crypto-mine in Ukraine, finding :

  • 3800 PS4 gaming consoles,
  • more than 500 graphics cards,
  • 50 processors,
  • documents accounting their power consumption,
  • notebooks, phones, and flash drives.

By hiding inside the former premises of JSC Vinnytsia Oblenerho – a leading Ukrainian power supply company, this crypto-mine conveniently and quietly stole power from the JSC Vinnytsia Oblenerho network!

According to preliminary estimates, they were siphoning about 5 to 7 million Ukrainian Hryvnia (approximately US$180,000 to 260,000 / RM770,000 to 1.08 million) every month!

 

How Much Can This Ukrainian PS4 Crypto-Mine Make?

The PS4 and PS4 Slim use a custom AMD Radeon 7970M GPU, with 18 compute units and 8 GB of GDDR5 memory with 176 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

It is roughly 20% slower than the AMD Radeon 7970M mobile GPU, but cryptomining is less about processing power, and memory bandwidth.

So let’s just call PS4 Slim equivalent to the Radeon 7970M for mining purposes, which delivers a hash rate of about 8.35 H/s.

Each PS4 console would be fast enough to generate 0.00013896 BTC worth US$4.62 per month, as of 12 July 2021.

So that Ukrainian PS4 crypto-mine with 3,800 PS4 consoles should generate about 0.528048 BTC worth US$18,041 per month, as of 12 July 2021.

That’s really not a lot of profit to be honest, especially when you consider how much electricity they are actually using!

In fact, it is really a loss-making operation if they actually paid for their electricity – they would lose $9 for every dollar they make!

 

Ukrainian SBU : Official Statement On PS4 Crypto-Mine

This is the English translation of the official statement by the Ukrainian SBU on the illegal PS4 crypto-mine :

The Security Service of Ukraine has exposed and documented the illegal extraction of large amounts of electricity in Vinnytsia. The attackers exchanged cryptocurrency directly in one of the former premises of JSC Vinnytsiaoblenerho. Currently, it is the largest underground crypto-farm discovered by Ukrainian law enforcement agencies: almost 5,000 units of computer equipment were seized.

SBU officers established that the illegal crypto-farm was created by residents of Kyiv and Vinnytsia. They used one of the former warehouses of Vinnytsiaoblenerho JSC, which is located on the company’s industrial site.

The attackers illegally took electricity from the networks of JSC Vinnytsiaoblenerho. To hide their activities, they used conventional means of accounting for electricity consumption.

According to preliminary conclusions of experts, the monthly amount of losses from such activities can range from 5 to 7 million UAH. At the same time, the illegal withdrawal of electricity could lead to more global consequences – entire neighborhoods of Vinnytsia could be left without electricity.

Militiamen registered criminal proceedings under part 2 of Art. 188-1 (theft of water, electricity or heat through its unauthorized use) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

During the authorized searches at the place of operation of the farm and at the addresses of the defendants, the following were seized:

  • 3800 game consoles;
  • more than 500 video cards;
  • 50 processors;
  • draft documentation on electricity consumption accounting;
  • notebooks, phones, flash drives.

Currently, operational and investigative actions are underway to establish the full range of persons involved in illegal activities, including the involvement of officials of JSC “Vinnytsiaoblenergo”.

Exposure measures were carried out by the State Security Counterintelligence Protection Service in the field of economic security of the SBU together with the USBU in Vinnytsia Oblast and the Main Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine and under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

 

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PS4 Consoles Now Used To Mine Cryptocurrency?

Is it possible that cryptocurrency miners are now using Sony PS4 consoles to mine Bitcoin or Ethereum?

Take a look at the viral photo, and tell us what you think!

Read more : Ukrainian Crypto-Mine With 3,800 PS4 Consoles Raided!

 

PS4 Consoles Now Used To Mine Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency miners have turned the gaming world upside down, buying up graphics cards and even gaming laptops in bulk. As long as it has a GPU, they are snatching it up!

But their demand for more computing power does not seem to be sated, and it appears that they may have turned their attention to PS4 consoles!

Take a look at this viral photo of a very ghetto-looking mining rig made up of sixteen PS4 Slim consoles.

 

How Much Money Can This PS4 Mining Rig Make?

We have no idea if it’s actually running, or just a work in progress though, because we never heard of anyone actually mining cryptocurrency on the PS4.

The PS4 and PS4 Slim use a custom AMD Radeon 7970M GPU, with 18 compute units and 8 GB of GDDR5 memory with 176 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

It is roughly 20% slower than the AMD Radeon 7970M mobile GPU, but cryptomining is less about processing power, and memory bandwidth.

So let’s just call PS4 Slim equivalent to the  Radeon 7970M for mining purposes, which delivers a hash rate of about 8.35 H/s.

Each PS4 console would be fast enough to generate 0.00013896 BTC worth US$7.62 per month.

And that 16-console PS4 mining rig above would generate about 0.00222336 BTC worth US$121.92 per month.

Even if they are stealing electricity, that’s really not a lot of profit, to be honest…

 

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Cybercafe Converts RTX 3080 PCs Into Cryptomining Rigs!

Take a look at why this cybercafe converted their GeForce RTX 3080 gaming PCs into cryptomining rigs!

 

Cybercafe Converts RTX 3080 PCs Into Cryptomining Rigs!

The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated the cybercafe industry, with many closing down and selling their gaming PCs and accessories.

However, this Vietnamese cybercafe did something different – they began converting their GeForce RTX 3080 gaming PCs into cryptomining rigs!

The Star Gaming cybercafe in Ho Chi Minh City showed how they were transforming their business due to the COVID-19 pandemic, converting their gaming PCs into cryptomining rigs.

Instead of hosting gamers, the cybercafe is now hosting a slew of new cryptomining rigs.

It is possible that they are also building completely new cryptomining rigs. In this picture, you can see that each rig holds at least eight GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards.

 

How Much Money Can Each RTX 3080 Cryptomining Rig Make?

Just how much money can this cybercafe make from their RTX 3080 cryptomining rig?

Officially, GeForce RTX 3080 cards start at $699, but due to the shortage of cards, they are now selling for about $1,199 each.

So eight of them would cost approximately $9,592. Let’s call it a flat $10,000 for the whole 8-card rig, plus power supply.

The average commercial electricity rate in Vietnam is VND 2,666 per kWh (about US$0.12 per kWh). So electricity should cost about $225 per month. Let’s make that $300 per month (+33%) to account for cooling costs.

As of 21 February 2021, each GeForce RTX 3080 has a hash rate of 86.5 MH/s using the Ethash (Phoenix) algorithm, which should generate approximately 0.18100503 ETH worth US$361 every month.

So each 8-card rig should generate a net profit of US$61 per month or US$732 per year. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a pretty decent ROI of 7.3% per annum.

It would certainly be much better than operating a cybercafe with little to no customers due to lockdown / biosecurity measures.

In fact, their costs would be very much lower if they are converting their existing RTX 3080 gaming PCs into mining rigs, with significantly higher ROI.

This is, arguably, a better solution for cybercafes to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic, than to give up and sell out.

 

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ZOTAC RTX 3070 Cryptomining : Why The Outrage?

Don’t be outraged about the ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3070 cryptomining rig.

The truth is they are just being honest about who their biggest clients really are.

 

Why Gamers Are Outraged By ZOTAC RTX 3070 Mining Rig?

It’s no secret that graphics card brands LOVE cryptominers who are buying up their cards by the pallets.

ZOTAC probably wanted to send them some love when they tweeted this picture of a cryptomining rig built using eight ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 White graphics cards.

What they probably should not have done was to use the #PcGaming #Gaming #Gamers #PcMasterRace hashtags, because really… what does cryptomining have to do with the PC?

Gamers have very little love for cryptominers, who are at least partly to blame for the shortage and high prices of graphics cards.

The ZOTAC tweet naturally triggered their outrage, because it was actual proof that ZOTAC would love to sell even more of their limited supply of graphics cards to cryptominers.

But the truth is – ZOTAC was finally being honest about who their biggest clients really were. Not gamers, for sure!

After all, which gamer will ever buy EIGHT ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3070 graphics cards?

 

Why ZOTAC Loves Cryptominers Buying Their RTX 3070 Cards

Let’s be frank – cryptominers are far more willing to pay top dollar for graphics cards, than gamers.

Thanks to high cryptocurrency prices, they can still make a ton of money even if they pay insane prices for these graphics cards.

And they don’t just buy one card for their gaming pleasure. They buy these cards by the dozens and hundreds! And why not?

This mining rig, which uses 78 GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards, generates a net profit in excess of US$128,000 per year!

Read more : 78-Card GeForce RTX 3080 Mining Rig Powered Up!

The profitability of cryptomining has gone up so much that Chinese cryptominers have resorted to buying up hundreds of GeForce RTX 3060 gaming laptops instead!

This Chinese mining farm is being built using 900 GeForce RTX 3060 gaming laptops, and have the potential to generate over US$2.3 million in profit every year!

Read more : This RTX Laptop Mining Farm Could Make $3.5 Million / Year!

So, don’t be so mad at ZOTAC. At least they had the guts to admit their preference for cryptominers.

The other brands are the same. They just don’t have the guts to admit it, for fear of losing support from their fans.

The secret to having your cake, and eating it too? Keep quiet about cryptomining, and promote fanboyism to keep the hoi polloi loyal to the brand.

It’s all about the money, guys…

 

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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This RTX Laptop Mining Farm Could Make $3.5 Million / Year!

Take a look at this crypto-mining farm that could make $3.5 million a year using just 900 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 gaming laptops!

 

Hundreds Of RTX Laptops Used In Crypto Mining Farms!

Not only gamers are affected by the limited supply of graphics cards in the market. So are cryptominers!

Chinese cryptominers now have to resort to buying up whatever GeForce RTX gaming laptops they can find, literally hundreds of them!

Instead of ASIC miners or GPU mining rigs, they are now powering their cryptomining operations with RTX gaming laptops!

We earlier highlighted the new trend of using RTX gaming laptops to mine cryptocurrency. It looks as this is more extensive that we first thought.

A Weibo blogger called 神鱼BTCer just shared even more pictures of RTX laptop-based mining operations, big and small.

Many appear to be pretty ghetto, placing the laptops in a kind of “tent mode” for better cooling, wherever there’s space – on tables, chairs or the floor.

But he also showed a seriously big crypto-mining farm being built using these GeForce RTX 30-series gaming laptops.

He even shared a short clip (part of the video we posted above), showing the cryptocurrency mining farm partially operational, with more being set-up.

There are 10 laptops per shelf, with each shelving unit capable of accommodating 60 laptops.

While not particularly large, this cryptocurrency mining farm has at least 15 visible shelving units, so that’s a total of 900 RTX gaming laptops when it’s fully operational.

Currently, it’s only partially complete, with about 200 or so laptops running, with many boxes of laptops left to open and setup.

 

How Much Money Can This RTX Laptop Mining Farm Make?

We had earlier shared about how a Bilibili content creator used an RTX 3060 laptop to mine 0.00053009 ETH while she sipped her coffee at Starbucks for 2 hours.

Based on her experience, we can guesstimate that the average GeForce RTX 3060 laptop will be able to produce :

  • 0.000265045 ETH per hour
  • 0.00636108 ETH per day
  • 0.1908324 ETH per month (30 days)
  • 2.3217942 ETH per year

Chinese electricity costs about RMB 0.545 (US$0.084) per kWh. Assuming each laptop uses about 250 watts of power (including whatever external fans they may be using), that works out to about RMB 1,200 or US$186 per year.

As of 11 February 2021, Ethereum is priced at US$1740. So here’s roughly how much this cryptocurrency mining farm would make, at that price :

  • 100 laptops : $385,392 per year
  • 200 laptops : $770,784 per year
  • 300 laptops : $1,156,177 per year
  • 400 laptops : $1,541,569 per year
  • 500 laptops : $1,926,961 per year
  • 600 laptops : $2,312,353 per year
  • 700 laptops : $2,697,745 per year
  • 800 laptops : $3,083,138 per year
  • 900 laptops : $3,468,530 per year

So there you have it – this small cryptocurrency mining operation can potentially make almost US$ 3.5 million in a single year.

But what’s the ROI, you say?

The Chinese OEM, Hasee, offers a GeForce RTX 3060 gaming laptop with a starting price of just RMB 6,499 (approximately RM4,089 / US$1,005 / £732 / A$1,309 / S$1,340).

And the video shows that this mining operation is using the same, or similar, Hasee RTX gaming laptops.

Let’s say they paid a 20% scalper’s premium, and purchased all 900 Hasee RTX 3060 laptops for a cool US$1,085,400.

Let’s further round that up to US$1.1 million for miscellaneous costs – shelving units, lights, fans, etc. including US$500 per month for rental.

Based on those assumptions, their net profit for the 900-laptop mining farm would be US$2,368,530 per year, at current prices.

That’s an incredibly high ROI of 17.9% per month, which is 67% higher ROI than the 78-card GeForce RTX 3080 mining rig!

After recovering the cost of the entire mining farm ($1.1 million) in just over 3 months, everything else they make after that is pure profit (after deducting rental and electricity costs), unless they are stealing the electricity!

With such great ROI, you can count on cryptocurrency miners to buy up ALL the GeForce RTX 30 series laptops they can get their hands on!

 

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Illegal Bitcoin Cryptomining Operation Seized!

The Pahang police and TNB SEAL team just busted and seized an illegal cryptomining operation, and arrested a suspect there!

 

Illegal Bitcoin Cryptomining Operation Seized!

On 9 February 2021, the Pahang police D7 JSJ team and the TNB SEAL team (seriously, that’s what they call themselves) busted and seized an illegal Bitcoin cryptomining operation.

The Bitcoin cryptomining operation occupied two shoplots in a three storey building at Batu 3, Jalan Gambang in Kuantan, Pahang.

The police also arrested a suspect who was found at the cryptomining operation.

According to the Pahang Deputy Chief of Police Dato’ Mohd Yusri bin Hj. Hassan Basri, the suspect had illegally tapped into the electricity at both premises, and will be investigated under :

  • Section 379 of the Penal Code for stealing electricity
  • Section 427 of the Penal Code for committing treason

We should point out that cryptomining is not illegal in Malaysia, whether it’s for Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency.

What’s illegal is the theft of electricity to run such cryptomining operations for maximum profit.

That’s why the TNB SEAL team was involved, and not just the police.

 

More Pictures From The Illegal Cryptomining Operation Raid

 

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