Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here is the latest news on daily trends and events impacting Bitcoin price, blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and crypto regulation.
Alex Mashinsky’s jury trial has been scheduled for September 2024. Blockchain analytics firm Match Systems has contacted an individual who is believed to be selling tokens linked to the recent CoinEx and Stake hacks at discounted prices. Meanwhile, Ethereum futures ETFs launched in the United States, though first-day investment volumes haven’t been too impressive.
Alex Maschinsky’s jury trial scheduled for September 2024
While former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial is in full swing in New York, former Celsius Network CEO Alex Maschinsky now knows when it’ll be his turn to be judged by courts in the same city.
Courts announced that Maschinsky, who’s been charged with allegedly committing securities fraud, will stand trial on Sep. 17 of 2024. In the meantime, as Cointelegraph reported, he’ll remain free on $40 million bail.
The Oct. 3 hearing marked some of the first movements in Maschinsky’s criminal case since his arrest in July. A number of Maschinsky’s assets, including his bank accounts and property, were frozen by courts in September
Sentiments on social media appeared fairly negative towards Maschinsky, with some users intimating that the impending trial would be a boon for the crypto industry:
The crypto community has been waiting for this day for a long time. Let's hope that justice is served and that Mashinsky is held accountable for his actions.
— Moses (@shorlamoses) October 3, 2023
Hackers selling discounted tokens linked to CoinEx, Stake hacks
Blockchain analytics investigators have uncovered an individual linked to a cryptocurrency laundering operation that is offering stolen tokens at discounted prices from recent high-profile exchange hacks.
Speaking exclusively to Cointelegraph, a representative from blockchain security firm Match Systems outlined how investigations into several major breaches featuring similar methods through the summer months of 2023 have pointed to an individual on Telegram who is allegedly selling stolen cryptocurrency tokens via peer-to-peer transfers.
The team confirmed that the user was in control of an address containing over $6 million worth of cryptocurrencies after receiving a small transaction from the corresponding address.
The exchange of stolen assets was then conducted through a specially created Telegram bot, which offered a 3% discount off the token’s market price. Following initial conversations, the owner of the address reported that the initial assets on offer had been sold and that new tokens would be available some three weeks later.
“Maintaining our contact, this individual notified us about the commencement of new asset sales. Based on the available information, it is logical to assume that these are funds from CoinEx or Stake companies.”
The Match Systems team has not been able to fully identify the individual but has narrowed down their location to the European time zone based on several screenshots they had received and timings of conversations.
Match Systems told Cointelegraph that the individual accepted Bitcoin (BTC) as a means of payment for the discounted stolen tokens and had previously sold $6 million worth of TRON (TRX) tokens. The latest offering from the Telegram user has listed $50 million worth of TRX, Ether (ETH) and Binance Smart Chain (BSC) tokens.
Blockchain security firm CertiK previously outlined the movement of stolen funds from the Stake heist in correspondence with Cointelegraph, with around $4.8 million of the total $41 million being laundered through various token movements and cross-chain swaps.
The FBI later identified North Korean Lazarus Group hackers as the culprits of the Stake attack, while cyber security firm SlowMist also linked the $55 million CoinEx hack to the North Korean group.
This is in slight contrast to information obtained by Cointelegraph from Match Systems which suggests that the perpetrators of the CoinEx and Stake hacks had slightly different identifiers in methodology.
Their analysis highlights that previous Lazarus Group laundering efforts did not involve Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) nations like Russia and Ukraine while the 2023 summer hacks saw stolen funds being actively laundered in these jurisdictions.
Ethereum futures ETFs see lukewarm reception on first day
Nine Ethereum futures ETFs launched on Oct. 2, marking the first ETFs of its kind in the United States.
However, while there was excitement about their potential approval last week, the new ETFs didn’t make as loud of a bang as its Bitcoin equivalent in 2021.
In total, all nine ETFs witnessed less than $2 million worth of trading volume as of midday EST on the first day of trading.
1/ Lots of excitement and media coverage today around the ETH futures ETF launch. But so far, very little coverage of Ethereum (ETH) itself.
I think ETH is one of the most compelling investor opportunities in the world today, for five reasons.
— Matt Hougan (@Matt_Hougan) October 2, 2023
The most popular of the futures ETF products was Valkyrie’s BTF — which tracks a combination of Bitcoin and Ether — racking up a total of $882,000 worth of volume.
This paled in comparison to that of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), which debuted in October 2021 during a roaring market for crypto assets. BITO witnessed more than $1 billion in trading volume on its first day.
Senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas called it a “pretty meh day of volume,” but admitted it the volume was still “quite a lot” compared to a regular traditional finance ETFs.
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