Binance Pushes for Global Expansion

Last month, #Binance unveiled its joint venture crypto exchange Binance Thailand, which came in collaboration with Gulf Innova, a subsidiary of Gulf Energy Development.

Binance Thailand, abbreviated as Binance TH, provides a platform for digital asset exchange services with Thai baht trading pairs.

It has also integrated with local banks in Thailand and forged a partnership with Binance Kazakhstan for brokerage services, all under the watchful supervision of Thailand’s SEC.

The move came as Binance.US and its global parent company, Binance, have faced regulatory scrutiny in recent months.

In June, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiated an enforcement action against them, alleging the sale of unregistered securities.

The SEC lawsuit named Binance founder Changpeng Zhao as one of the defendants, accusing him of controlling Binance.US despite claiming it operated independently.

In November, Zhao stepped down as CEO and pleaded guilty to an anti-money laundering violation, agreeing to pay a $50 million fine.

Binance, as a company, also settled with the Justice Department, the Treasury Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control, paying a hefty $4.3 billion in penalties
#Write2Earn #Thailand #USACryptoTrends $BNB

Crypto Widget WordPress Plugin Flagged as “Critical” Cybersecurity Risk

A crypto widget plugin for the web content management system WordPress was named as a “critical cybersecurity risk” yesterday.

A security bulletin released by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) noted that a plugin, called “The Cryptocurrency Widgets – Price Ticker & Coins List” has been identified as a cybersecurity risk and could potentially be exploited to extract sensitive information.

The crypto widget obtained a base score of 9.8/10, placing it in the “critical” group of vulnerabilities the CSA uses to refer to vulnerabilities with a minimum score of 9/10.

The National Vulnerability Database (NVD), the U.S. government repository for standards-based vulnerability management data, said that the WordPress crypto plugin is susceptible to SQL Injection through the ‘coinslist’ parameter in versions 2.0 to 2.6.5.

This vulnerability arose from insufficient escaping on the user-supplied parameter and inadequate preparation on the existing SQL query. It permitted the extraction of sensitive information from the database, enabling unauthenticated attackers to add additional structured language queries to the existing ones.

According to the security firm CVE Program, the widget was supplied by a vendor identified as “narinder-singh,” and versions 2.0 through 2.6.5 were identified as containing the vulnerability.
#cybersecurity #Write2Earn #CryptoGuidance $BTC

Crypto at the Center of $300M Fraud Case in China.

21 people were sentenced in a case involving converting 'dirty' $USDC to RMB.

A court in Tongliang, #China – located near Chongqing – has sentenced 21 people for their role in transferring the proceeds of online fraud and illegal casinos denominated in Tether (USDT) to Chinese Yuan (RMB), totaling 2.25 billion RMB ($307 million).
According to a bulletin from the court, two defendants, with the surnames Jiang and Zheng, worked to recruit 19 other money mules. The group, according to court documents, used a decentralized wallet called Bitpie (similar to Metamask) to move the USDT to local P2P exchanges on virtual currency platforms to convert it to Reminbi.
They then withdrew the fiat currency in different cities around the country using false pretenses like project payments and workers’ wages when asked for a reason for the transfer. Court documents say that Jiang profited 22.62 million RMB ($3 million) for his efforts.
The court found the group guilty of disguising and concealing criminal proceeds, sentencing them to various prison terms and imposing fines, with Jiang getting six years, three months, and a 500,000 RMB fine. In comparison, Zheng was also fined the exact amount and was sentenced to 6 years.
Although the court document isn’t specific about where this USDT came from, it’s a popular digital asset used by fraud rings operating in Southeast Asia. In his new book, Number Go Up, Bloomberg journalist Zeke Faux documents how these gangs are effectively powered by Tether.
#Write2Earn #Scams $BTC $ETH

South Korean Crypto Crime on the Rise?

South Korean courts are becoming increasingly busy with crypto-related cases. Many of these pertain to little-known altcoins and bogus exchanges.

Earlier this month, two crypto exchange executives were jailed on altcoin price manipulation charges.

And a report claimed that South Korean public spaces are now “polluted” with crypto-powered dru*s left by narcotics dealers.

Police say that buyers pay dealers in crypto. The latter then leave bags of dr*gs hidden in water meters, elementary school playgrounds, apartment mailboxes, and drainpipes.
#SouthKorea #TrendingTopic #Write2Earn $XRP $SOL $ADA

Deadline Looms for Hong Kong-Based Crypto Exchanges

Hong Kong has been positioning itself as a crypto hub to attract new capital and talent. It also appears to want to reclaim its position as a global financial hub, looking to tap into growing industry interest and investment.

The government is keen to embrace the crypto ecosystem. This is evident through implementation of fresh regulations to oversee crypto exchanges and en$able trading for retail investors.

Earlier this week, Hong Kong’s SFC issued a warning to crypto investors. They advised using only licensed trading platforms and urged verifying the status of the exchanges they’ve signed up for.

The announcement comes as Hong Kong-based virtual asset trading platforms must apply for licenses by Feb. 29 or cease operations by the end of May.

Hong Kong is also set to follow the US in approving spot Bitcoin ETFs. In December, both the SFC and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced they would accept applications for virtual asset spot ETFs. They also provided standards of conduct for intermediaries looking to distribute these funds.
#Write2Earn #ETFDecision #HongKong $BTC $BNB $ETH

Spotting the FTC’s most reported crypto scams

If the cryptocurrency craze feels like a tempting way to make money, or you think you’re missing out, read on. Because, according to the FTC’s new data spotlight, scammers are banking on what you don’t know about cryptocurrency — or scammers’ tricks. And that could cost you serious money.

The FTC’s new data spotlight shows crypto is a common way for scammers to steal money, with over 46,000 people reporting losing more than a billion dollars in crypto to scams since the start of 2021. Many crypto scams begin with ads, posts, or messages on social media. And most crypto is lost to investment scams, where scammers get you to “invest” money, promising they’ll make you more — quickly. That’s a lie. You won’t make money and you’ll lose your initial “investment.”

Scammers lurk in online dating apps and on social media, too. These scams might also involve an investment: your new love interest might boast about being rich and offer to help you get started in crypto investing. Don’t do it — those “investments” go straight into their pockets.

Scammers also impersonate major companies and the government. They’ll use messages or pop-ups to claim there’s a problem with your accounts, or a security breach, and the only way to “protect” yourself is to put your money in crypto. Don’t. It’s a scam.

To steer clear of crypto cons:

Know that only scammers guarantee big payouts or fast, easy money. These lies get you to “invest” — but you won’t get any of your money back.
Don’t mix online dating and investment advice. If a new online love interest wants to show you how to invest in crypto, it’s a scam.
Spot the scammers asking you to send crypto. Real companies and government agencies will never tell you to buy cryptocurrency to sort out a problem or protect your money.
#Write2Earn #STX #Launchpool #

How to report a crypto scam

Anyone who believes they have seen a cryptocurrency scam or were part of a scam should report it immediately. Here are some organizations to report it to:

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC): CFTC.gov/complaint.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC): ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): ic3.gov.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): sec.gov/tcr.
In addition to the agencies listed above, the person should also immediately report to the cryptocurrency exchange used for the transaction.
#Write2Earn #DYM #ARB

How to protect your #BTC and cryptocurrency

To protect against cryptocurrency scams, some of the common red flags include the following:

Promises of large gains or double the investment.

Only accepting cryptocurrency as payment.

Contractual obligations.

Misspellings and grammatical errors in emails, social media posts or any other communication.

Manipulation tactics, such as extortion or blackmail.

Promises of free money.

Fake influencers or celebrity endorsements that seem out of place.

Minimal details about money movement and the investment.

Several transactions in one day.

Protect digital wallets from scammers by practicing good digital security habits such as To protect against cryptocurrency scams, some of the common red flags include the following:

Promises of large gains or double the investment.
Only accepting cryptocurrency as payment.
Contractual obligations.
Misspellings and grammatical errors in emails, social media posts or any other communication.
Manipulation tactics, such as extortion or blackmail.
Promises of free money.
Fake influencers or celebrity endorsements that seem out of place.
Minimal details about money movement and the investment.
Several transactions in one day.
Protect digital wallets from scammers by practicing good digital security habits such as strong passwords, using only secured connections or VPNs and choosing safe storage. There are two types of wallets: digital and hardware. Digital wallets are hosted online and have a higher rate of getting hacked. Hardware wallets store information, such as the cryptocurrency wallet and keys, offline within a device.

Cryptocurrency is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, so keeping it safe is vital. Never give wallet keys or access codes to anyone.
#Write2Earn #ETH