This week in the cryptocurrency sphere was less optimistic and upbeat than the last. Bitcoin has not continued to rise in price but has dropped. The perennial crypto was also in the news for less desirable reasons, once again linked to terrorism and crime. In fact, the criminals of this world were quite busy, with PlusToken making headlines again. Here is our breakdown of the top stories this week:
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1 Crypto Terrorist in the Netherlands
A mail bomber has struck twice in the Netherlands and will commit more attacks unless he is paid in Bitcoin, local authorities have said. One of the bombs went off in the mailroom after a work tossed away the letter after hearing a noise inside. Local police have said that no one has been hurt in any of the attacks whilst failing to mention how much BTC the terrorist demanded. The attack is similar to those carried out in 2000 by Alex O, who also demanded Bitcoin.
2 Hacked Japanese Exchange report losses
BitPoint, an exchange that was hacked last July is facing monetary issues it was revealed in their financial report for 2019 (Q2,3,4). The company saw a 62.9% decline in sales in the 9 month period. The catalyst was, of course, the hack, which saw $32 million worth of assets stolen from 50,000 users. The exchange is not closing any time soon though but will rely on financial aid from other business entities related to the exchange.
3 PlusToken Funds on the Move
A multi-million dollar bitcoin transaction has been linked to the PlusToken scam. 12,000 BTC (118,852,619 USD) was moved from a wallet linked to the scam last Friday. Crypto transaction bot and watchdog for the industry, Whalealert, reported on Twitter that this mega transaction had happened and linked it to the PlusToken scam. Shortly after a second transaction split up 12,000 BTC into smaller amounts.
4 People’s Bank of China files Patents for Digital Currency
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has filed 84 patents with regards to its digital currency plans in details revealed by the Financial Times. The patents revealed more details about the project, with the currency to be integrated into the banking system alongside a wallet. The amount available will be triggered algorithmically based on loan interest rates and other factors.
The PBOC’s Digital Currency Research Institute has been cooking up the currency for a while now, and its project head, Changchun Mu, told the press in August last year that the project was “almost ready”.
5 Chinese group looks to purchase mining farms in Latin America
A Chinese mining group is negotiating the purchase of a Paraguayan-registered mining farm named CoinPY, a prominent Bitcoin figure in Latin America has told CoinTelegraph. With pressure from the Coronavirus and uncertainty at the legality of mining in China, some companies are looking to leave the People’s Republic. This is prompting among other things, the expansion towards countries like Iran, Paraguay, and Kazakstan.
