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.
Crypto advocacy group Coin Center has critcized aspects of the recently unsealed indictment against two co-founders of crypto mixer Tornado Cash, arguing the facts used do not show any clear violations of money-transmission laws. Meanwhile, Shopify merchants will soon be able to accept USD Coin payments through Solana Pay and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified six Bitcoin
wallets linked to North Korean hacker group Lazarus and has warned crypto firms to be vigilant.
Crypto advocacy group questions indictment of Tornado Cash founders
Crypto advocacy group Coin Center has criticized the latest indictment of two former Tornado Cash developers, arguing that the facts offered don’t show any clear violations of money-transmitting-related offenses.
In an opinion piece, Coin Center research director Peter Van Valkenburgh argues that the claims in the indictment appear to run counter to guidance from the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network — arguing that Tornado Cash only provides the software to transmit money rather than transmitting money itself.
https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=cointelegraph&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1694476945713475612&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Fwhat-happened-in-crypto-today&sessionId=615e5cdee71eca90209aace066fee64c993cc1b9&siteScreenName=cointelegraph&theme=light&widgetsVersion=aaf4084522e3a%3A1674595607486&width=550px
“The only thing the indictment claims regarding the defendants’ unlicensed money transmission is that they ‘engaged in the business of transferring funds on behalf of the public’ and did so without registering with FinCEN,” wrote Valkenburgh.
But does the indictment state any facts that actually show that the defendants engaged in any activities that qualify as money transmission under the relevant law?
Coin Center first voiced its opposition toward the U.S. Treasury in October when it sued the agency for its unprecedented and unlawful sanctioning of Tornado Cash.
The OFAC indictment claims Storm and Semenov ran an unlicensed money transmission service by engaging in the business of transferring funds on behalf of the public. The enforcement agency claimed the developers should have registered with FinCEN.
Advertisement
Claim your wallet ID and do crypto on/off-ramp, effortlessly. Ready, set, XGo!
Shopify merchants will soon be able to accept USDC payments: Report
E-commerce juggernaut Shopify will soon enable its merchants to accept USD Coin
payments through Solana, potentially opening the door to wider stablecoin adoption.
On Aug. 23, it was reported that Shopify will provide the USDC payment option through Solana Pay, a peer-to-peer payment platform that gives merchants the ability to accept crypto transactions.
According to Josh Fried of Solana Labs, the intersection of digital assets and payments represents the next “killer app for crypto.” Fried said Solana Pay can significantly reduce transaction costs compared to credit card processing. The Solana network currently charges an average of $0.00025 per transaction.
Shopify says that roughly 10% of all e-commerce transactions in the United States are facilitated through its platform. In dollar terms, that amounts to $444 billion. The company has been expanding its reach into Web3, having recently launched a suite of blockchain commerce tools.
FBI flags six Bitcoin wallets linked to North Korea, urges vigilance in crypto firms
The FBI has flagged six Bitcoin wallets linked to North Korean state-backed hacking group Lazarus. The six wallets contain 1,580 BTC worth $40 million believed to have been hoarded from various cryptocurrency hacks over the past year.
In its investigation, the FBI found that Lazarus Group moved approximately 1,580 BTC linked with several crypto exploits. These funds are currently sitting in the following Bitcoin addresses:
- 3LU8wRu4ZnXP4UM8Yo6kkTiGHM9BubgyiG
- 39idqitN9tYNmq3wYanwg3MitFB5TZCjWu
- 3AAUBbKJorvNhEUFhKnep9YTwmZECxE4Nk
- 3PjNaSeP8GzLjGeu51JR19Q2Lu8W2Te9oc
- 3NbdrezMzAVVfXv5MTQJn4hWqKhYCTCJoB
- 34VXKa5upLWVYMXmgid6bFM4BaQXHxSUoL
The FBI warned crypto companies that the movement of funds linked to the infamous North Korean hacking group could be a sign that they are looking to sell. The agency advised crypto companies to keep an eye out for the six BTC wallets and use blockchain data to keep track of any movement of funds.
“Private sector entities should examine the blockchain data associated with these addresses and be vigilant in guarding against transactions directly with, or derived from, the addresses.”
The North Korean hacking group has been actively involved in multiple crypto-linked exploits over the years, stealing billions of dollars worth of crypto assets. A recent report from TRM Labs suggests that the North Korean hackers have stolen nearly $2 billion in crypto since 2018. The group was most active in 2022, having stolen nearly $1 billion worth of crypto assets last year alone.
The year 2022 saw some of the biggest decentralized finance exploits, and Lazarus Group was identified as the mastermind behind Harmony’s Horizon Bridge and Sky Mavis’ $625 million hack on a bridge for Ethereum-linked sidechain Ronin last year.
Although crypto-linked exploits due to code vulnerabilities in platforms and protocols have increased due to the sophistication in methods used by these hackers, blockchain technology still makes it problematic for exploiters to launder or move their ill-gotten gains due to the public ledger that makes it possible to track the movement of funds.
Law enforcement agencies like the FBI, along with crypto companies, have worked together on several occasions in the past to freeze funds linked to such exploits. In February this year, Huobi and Binance froze $1.4 million worth of crypto assets linked to North Korea. Similarly, $63 million worth of assets linked to the Harmony Bridge hack was also frozen by crypto exchanges.
Leave feedback about this