Ya think that might be...suspiciousFoggy wrote: ↑Mon Dec 19, 2022 1:21 pm Still, I couldn't helpat the news.
Completely separate from how crypto is fake imaginary money, the idea that a CFO didn't have access to the billion-dollar company's financial accounts is just ludicrous. It's just metaphysically absurd, man.
This whole thing is more fun than makin' mudpies, I tells ya.
Binance's native token is hovering near 5-month lows and has shed 52% in 2022
Phil Rosen
Dec 19, 2022, 2:22 PM
Binance's BNB token is hovering near a five-month low, suggesting faltering confidence in the world's largest crypto exchange.
The crypto has lost more than half its value this year, and traders are worried it could drag down the rest of the sector.
Over recent weeks, customers have drained billions of dollars from Binance as concerns balloon over the firm's holdings of customer funds.
Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has seen its native token BNB shed more than half its value this year. It's currently hovering near a five-month low just above $249 per token, after starting 2022 above $528.
The faltering crypto suggests investors are losing faith in Binance, which emerged as a victor over Sam Bankman-Fried and his collapsed exchange FTX last month.
Over recent weeks, however, customers have drained billions of dollars from Binance as concerns balloon over the firm's holdings of customer funds.
The company had enlisted accounting firm Mazars to conduct a "proof of reserves" report in a bid to reassure customers, but legal experts have warned that the review shouldn't be viewed as bulletproof.
And last week, Mazars paused all proof-of-reserves work for crypto clients, citing "concerns regarding the way these reports are understood by the public."
A critical component to FTX's implosion was the steep sell-off of its native token, FTT. Shark Tank investor and former FTX spokesperson Kevin O'Leary alleged in a testimony last week that Binance intentionally put FTX out of business.
Last month, CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao said he was selling its holdings of FTT, setting off a liquidity crisis at FTX that led to its eventual bankruptcy filing.
Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange, is now under intense scrutiny after the FTX debacle. Here are 5 things you need to know.
Zahra Tayeb
Dec 18, 2022, 2:57 AM
Investors are worried that cracks are starting to appear at Binance after the shocking collapse of FTX.
The crypto exchange giant faces questions about its reserves, and it is under investigation by the DOJ.
As the crypto market lose confidence in the exchange, its CEO warned staff of "bumpy" times ahead.
Customers drained billions of dollars from Binance's crypto platform last week — just one reason the spotlight is on the company in the wake of the FTX implosion.
Spooked investors are on the alert for signs of trouble after the collapse of now-bankrupt FTX, the once-$32 billion crypto empire founded by Sam Bankman-Fried. Some are worried that cracks may be starting to appear at Binance.
Here are 5 things to know about what's happening at Binance, and why it's got the crypto community wondering.
People are worried about Binance's holdings of customers' funds
After FTX's bankruptcy showed its coffers were bare, crypto firms came under pressure to show their customers' holdings were safe and they could pay up if there was a rush of withdrawals.
On top of that, Reuters reported that FTX's Bankman-Fried quietly transferred at least $4 billion in user funds to sister trading firm Alameda Research after it suffered losses.
Binance sought to boost confidence in its own business by getting a "proof of reserves" report. It enlisted accounting firm Mazars to verify its holdings, to maybe reassure customers their funds are still in their accounts and not loaned out.
But legal experts and others said the platform's users shouldn't be satisfied with the Mazars report, as it didn't dig into how good the financial controls were. Even though it suggested Binance's situation was solid, it also showed bitcoin liabilities were $245 million bigger than assets, an the WSJ reported.
Nearly half of the company's $75 billion reserves are in its own stablecoin BUSD and its native token binance coin (BNB), according to Bloomberg.
On Friday, the accounting firm suspended its proof-of-reserves work with Binance and other crypto clients "due to concerns regarding the way these reports are understood by the public," the FT reported.
Customers pulled a net $3 billion in funds in the space of a day
Binance has seen heavy withdrawals in recent days as questions about its reserves and a DOJ investigation built. Meanwhile, the arrest of FTX founder Bankman-Fried eroded trust in crypto further.
On Tuesday, Binance logged its highest daily withdrawals since June, with net outflows of $3 billion over just 24 hours, according to Nansen data. The exchange was forced to temporarily freeze withdrawals of USD Coin while it boosted its holdings of the stablecoin.
Just over a month ago, the crypto giant held $69.5 billion in digital assets in publicly disclosed wallets, according to Nansen. That total's now $54.7 billion due to large withdrawals and price fluctuation, it said.
There's a DOJ investigation into Binance focused on money laundering
Adding fuel to the fire were reports the US Justice Department has been investigating Binance over the company's compliance with financial crime rules.
Prosecutors are considering whether to file criminal charges against its founder Changpeng Zhao and other executives, according to Reuters. These would cover money laundering conspiracy, unlicensed money transmission, and criminal sanctions violations.
Reuters calculated that Binance processed over $10 billion in illegal payments in 2022 and said it tried to evade regulators, which the crypto giant disputed.
Binance CEO "CZ" isn't fazed and says it's business as usual
Zhao, commonly known as "CZ", has doubled down on trying to ease customers' worries about Binance's liquidity. He's pushed back against what he sees as "FUD" — the spread of baseless fear, uncertainty and doubt.
"People can withdraw 100% of the assets they have on Binance. We will not have an issue at any given day," he told CNBC on Thursday. "Crypto businesses have to hold user assets one-to-one, and that's what we do."
Earlier in the week, Zhao shrugged off the heavy outflows from the exchange as "business as usual". And after Binance lifted its freeze on USDC withdrawals, he welcomed the welcomed the events as a credibility-building "stress test" of the exchange's resilience.
But he warned Binance staff there's a "bumpy" road ahead
While Zhao played down concerns, issues remain. The young billionaire told staff that FTX's problems have put "a lot of extra scrutiny and tough questions" on Binance, which need to weather a confidence crisis.
"While we expect the next several months to be bumpy, we will get past this challenging period — and we'll be stronger for having been through it," he said in a memo viewed by Bloomberg.
Slarti the White wrote: ↑Thu Dec 22, 2022 8:25 pmApparently he only has around $100,000. Security for his $250 million bail includes his parents' house and a couple of high net-worth individuals.
I think the Bahamas government confiscated all his properties on the island, so those assets aren't available.
(original: TechCrunch)YouTuber Logan Paul's CryptoZoo NFT project is a total mess
Amanda Silberling
Fri, January 6, 2023 at 7:41 PM GMT+1
Given Logan Paul's dubious history on YouTube, it probably doesn't come as a surprise that his CryptoZoo NFT project has allegedly turned out to be a scam. Some investors ended up losing up to half a million dollars, according to independent YouTube reporter Coffeezilla. The development of CryptoZoo has been stalled due to alleged nonpayment of coders.
The 27-year-old Paul rose to prominence in 2013 by posting sketches on Vine; but when the short video platform shut down, he transitioned to YouTube and even fights in the WWE. In August 2021, Paul took to his YouTube podcast to announce his NFT project.
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/yout ... 17750.html
The Coffeezilla videos are a fun watch. I suspect a new one will be coming out soon to cover the lawsuit drama.
You can do that if the structure isn't very complicated. QB carries enough significant digits to handle pretty big companies, if, as I say, the GL isn't too obnoxiously complicated.
I didn't want to touch it with a ten foot pole. (original: CoinDesk)Letter From US Senators 'Inappropriate,' Won’t Sway Me, FTX Bankruptcy Judge Says
Jack Schickler
Wed, January 11, 2023 at 3:27 PM GMT+1
A bipartisan letter from four U.S. senators is an “inappropriate” intervention in bankruptcy proceedings that won’t sway judicial decisions, Delaware Judge John Dorsey told a court hearing Wednesday.
The letter, from John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) called for an independent examiner to be appointed to investigate the collapse of the crypto exchange.
The letter is an “inappropriate ex parte communication,” Dorsey said, using a legal term for court interventions that don't give all parties the chance to be represented.
“I will make my decisions on the matters referred to in the letter based only upon admissible evidence and the arguments of parties and interest presented in open court,” Dorsey said. The bankruptcy court judge added that the letter “will have no impact whatsoever on my decisions in this case which will only be based upon the facts and law presented by the parties."
The senators’ letter raised questions about the ability of law firm Sullivan & Cromwell to impartially represent the crypto company's new executives. FTX filed for bankruptcy Nov. 11.
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/lett ... 33824.html
Crypto's Hotel California Traps the Winklevoss Twins
It’s hard to check out when there’s a $900 million tab.
You can get into crypto any time you like, but can you ever leave? A fierce $900 million Bitcoin feud between the billionaire Winklevoss twins and Barry Silbert suggests the virtual currency bubble’s main legacy is a version of Hotel California, with clients desperately hoping for fresh money to pick up the tab — or a change in management that will let them check out.
At the heart of the dispute is a crypto lending business that blew up in spectacular fashion last year after bringing Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Silbert together. As relatively early Bitcoin adopters, the moguls no doubt recognized one big challenge in crypto: How to earn money from a pile of virtual tokens with no intrinsic value.
The result was a cottage industry of platforms, including the Winklevii’s Gemini Earn. Gemini took crypto from depositors and lent it to Silbert’s crypto brokerage Genesis, which in turn entrusted it to investors including Three Arrows Capital (3AC) looking to juice returns. In the frothy times of everything going up, everyone checked in: Eye-popping interest rates of 7%, the promise of instant withdrawals and the names involved meant few really read the fine print.
But when markets went south, the new structure became yet another gilded cage: Everyone wanted to leave but nobody could settle the bill. When 3AC went bankrupt in July, Silbert’s Digital Currency Group had to cover some of Genesis’ debts with a $1.1 billion promissory note, while FTX’s downfall in November meant platforms everywhere froze withdrawals — including Gemini and Genesis. More than 340,000 Gemini Earn custom...
Suranis wrote: ↑Sun Jan 22, 2023 4:05 pm I dont have a bloomberg account so this was all I could copy. But it sounds like everyone is trapped because no-one can find a Paul with enough money to pay Peter. Or wiling to pay them enough money for their worthless code so they can get out of Crypto. And they cant just drop it as that will be admitting they are paupers.
Lazarus hackers use new service to hide $100 million in stolen crypto
By Ionut Ilascu
February 13, 2023 11:00 AM 0
North Korean hackers laundered $100 million in crypto using new mixing service
North Korean hackers have found a way around U.S.-imposed sanctions to launder the cryptocurrency proceeds from their heists, according to evidence discovered by blockchain analysts.
The Lazarus Group, as the threat actor is typically referred to, has laundered about $100 million in stolen Bitcoin since October 2022 through a single crypto-mixing service called Sinbad.
Lazarus behind major crypto heists
Last year, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against the cryptocurrency mixing services Blender and Tornado Cash, which Lazarus had used to launder close to $500 million in illicitly obtained cryptocurrency.
The measure was taken after more than $600 million in crypto assets were stolen from Axie Infinity’s cross-chain bridge in a hack later attributed to the North Korean Lazarus group.
Hackers often use cryptocurrency mixers/tumblers because, for a fee, they allow hiding the origin and owners of the funds by blending the assets of a larger number of users.
Blender crypto-mixer
While the OFAC sanctions did not stop Tornado Cash, they put a stop to Blender, whose operator disappeared after reportedly taking from the mixer almost $22 million in Bitcoin.
According to blockchain analysis company Elliptic, Blender’s operator very likely started in early October 2022 a new service called Sinbad, which is being used by Lazarus to launder assets.
Switching to new mixer
Tom Robinson, Elliptic co-founder and chief scientist, told BleepingComputer that the connection emerged after the Harmony Horizon crypt heist in June 2022 that lead to about $100 million in losses.
Soon after the hack, Elliptic found strong links to Lazarus, something that the FBI confirmed earlier this year, by following the funds through the Tornado Cash mixing service.
Typically, the actor combined Tornado Cash crypto mixing with a custodial-based service, like Blender. This time though, they used another Bitcoin mixer called Sinbad.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/s ... en-crypto/
Crypto firm with links to parliamentary groups appears to have vanished
Apparent disappearance of Phoenix Community Capital leaves some investors fearing they have lost large sums of money
Phoenix Community Capital case shines light on UK’s lobbying problem
Rowena Mason Whitehall editor
Thu 23 Feb 2023 16.49 GMT
A cryptocurrency investment firm with links to two all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) appears to have disappeared, leaving some investors fearing they have lost tens of thousands of pounds and raising the prospect of further questions being asked about the role of APPGs in parliament.
Phoenix Community Capital established itself last year as a cryptocurrency project and investment scheme, which it said at one point was valued at $800m (£665m). It was a sponsor of one APPG, and its co-founder, Luke Sullivan, spoke at an event for a second APPG , as well as appearing as a panellist for events hosted by peers in parliament.
However, the company appears to have vanished in September last year, with its website going offline and the investment portfolios, known as “nests”, becoming inaccessible to an estimated 8,000 investors after that date.
Some investors, including a former Premier League footballer, claim to have lost tens of thousands of pounds each.
Some of the firm’s assets and its name appear to have been sold to a new company run by an individual called “Dan”, who has told investors it has no obligation towards them, but that it would still try to make them some returns.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... e-vanished
Let me help you: if we imagine the crypto blockchain as a 17 dimensional space which can be collapsed onto a 5 dimensional Kalabi-Yau manifold we can approximate its wave function via the Hamiltonian of the renormalization group. This is, of course, non-algebraic so we solve the transcendental equations by Monte Carlo simulation and multi-axis quadrature giving us a maximum likelihood estimator of … unicorns!!humblescribe wrote: ↑Fri Feb 24, 2023 3:14 pm We need Starti here to fix my errors...
Since √-1 =i, an imaginary number, therefore we can state the crypto as some factor of i:
(x)(√-1), where x is the amount of crypto alleged owned.
Easy peasy.
convoluted Wikipedia wrote:In algebraic geometry, a Calabi–Yau manifold, also known as a Calabi–Yau space, is a particular type of manifold which has properties, such as Ricci flatness, yielding applications in theoretical physics. Particularly in superstring theory, the extra dimensions of spacetime are sometimes conjectured to take the form of a 6-dimensional Calabi–Yau manifold, which led to the idea of mirror symmetry. Their name was coined by Candelas et al. (1985), after Eugenio Calabi (1954, 1957) who first conjectured that such surfaces might exist, and Shing-Tung Yau (1978) who proved the Calabi conjecture.
Calabi–Yau manifolds are complex manifolds that are generalizations of K3 surfaces in any number of complex dimensions (i.e. any even number of real dimensions). They were originally defined as compact Kähler manifolds with a vanishing first Chern class and a Ricci-flat metric, though many other similar but inequivalent definitions are sometimes used.
