A Cybercriminal Steals USD 1 Million worth of Cryptocurrencies from another Vanity Address

Alexander Salazar
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A Cybercriminal Steals USD 1 Million worth of Cryptocurrencies from another Vanity Address

A cybercriminal recently stole a significant amount of funds from an Ethereum vanity address, siphoning 732 ETH and transferring it to Tornado Cash. The 1Inch Network warned about Profanity, which they view as unsafe since hackers could discover the private keys to vanity addresses through rough calculations.

Amid increasing violations against DeFi, a cybercriminal attacked another wallet from Ethereum vanity address generator Profanity. The malicious actor took advantage of a weakness in the tool to steal nearly USD 1 million worth of Ether (ETH).

The above situation happened one week after the DEX aggregator 1Inch found the vulnerability in the addresses generated by Profanity.

The Cybercriminal Steals 732 ETH and Transfers It to Tornado Cash

The blockchain security company Peckshield recently reported that a cybercriminal stole a significant amount of funds from an Ethereum vanity address. The thief had siphoned off 732 ETH and transferred it to crypto asset mixer Tornado Cash.

The company said 0x9731F might have stolen USD 950 thousand worth of crypto assets from an Ethereum vanity address. They explained that the hacker transferred around 732 ETH into the above platform.

The 1inch Network Warns that Profanity-Generated Addresses Are Unsafe

Some time ago, the 1Inch Network warned about the vanity address-generating tool Profanity, which features words or characters the owner chooses. The recent onslaught of breaches has caused them to view vanity addresses as unsafe.

While public keys allow the wallet owner to receive crypto assets from other users, private ones prevent unauthorized access.

The notice from 1Inch stated that hackers could discover the private keys to vanity addresses from Profanity through rough calculations.

The platform warned investors that their money was not safe in a wallet address generated with the Profanity tool.

Recent Crypto Asset Thefts Involve the Use of Vanity Addresses

Over a week ago, a cybercriminal drained more than USD 3 million from several Profanity-generated addresses. According to on-chain data, the malicious actor had previously robbed multiple wallets created by the tool.

Shortly after the breach, a Twitter blockchain expert identified the wallet address used by the attacker. However, the criminal had already moved most of the tokens into the liquidity pool Curve.

The ongoing wave of DeFi exploits also affected the leading liquidity provider Wintermute. Its CEO Evgeny Gaevoy announced that a hacker had stolen over USD 160 million through 13 transactions involving 90 assets.

The security firm Blockchain CertiK pointed out that the Profanity wallet might have played a role in the theft. The crypto researcher Ajay Dhingra said that the cybercriminal might have exploited an error in the smart contract for their hot wallet.

Meanwhile, Ether is trading at around USD 1,379 and has accumulated a 5.4% gain over the last 24 hours. While its daily trading volume is above USD 15.85 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 166.29, according to CoinGecko.

Cryptocurrencies play an increasingly relevant role in the economic system worldwide, which cybercriminals know well. That has led companies offering services with those assets to work on their security systems to prevent losing their funds.

By Alexander Salazar

Ethereum is 55% Complete: What’s next after the Merger?

Audy Castañeda
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Ethereum is 55% Complete: What’s next after the Merger?

The Surge, The Verge, The Purge and Splurge are the next Ethereum upgrades.

Ethereum successfully ‘merged’ on September 15, but more updates are coming to the network: the Surge, the Verge, the Purge, and the Splurge. Taken together, each of the updates will add a new layer of scalability and security to Ethereum’s Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

It’s an interesting evolution towards Ethereum’s long-term goal of becoming the “world’s computer.”

While The Merge transitioned from the Blockchain to the PoS ecological consensus mechanism, Ethereum’s transformation was only 55% complete, according to co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

Four more curious name updates are on the way, he said recently at a cryptocurrency conference in France. Buterin revealed that the planned “deep changes” are intended to improve the competitiveness of Ethereum by making it a more powerful and robust network.

When all five phases of the upgrades are complete, Ethereum will be able to process 100,000 transactions per second, Buterin said. Currently, the Blockchain processes between 15 and 20 transactions per second, something that has resulted in network congestion and higher fees.

Shanghai Update

However, since the Merger, the price of Ethereum (ETH), the eponymous token used for transactions on the network, has plummeted by 35%. The asset traded at $2,000 in the days leading up to the event.

A short-term dip, relative to the value of what the Ethereum Blockchain could offer, observers say, not just to the cryptocurrency, but to the world once all five upgrades are completed in the next few years.

Eitan Lavi, co-founder of crypto bridge ChainPort, told BeInCrypto the following:

“Unlike what many understand, The Merger is just one of the five key stages of evolution that the Ethereum protocol is billed for in order to be labeled as a fully efficient Proof-of-Stake protocol.”

Over the next six months, the next major upgrade to the Ethereum network will be Shanghai. This particular update will allow validators, the ETH holders who help secure the Blockchain, to withdraw a portion of their ETH and staking rewards.

The Surge

While The Merger’s number one goal was to reduce Ethereum’s energy usage, which it did by as much as 99.5%, the next major update is expected to bring a new feature called sharding in 2023, which “divides the entire network of a Blockchain into smaller partitions, known as ‘shards,'” said crypto analyst Miles Deutscher.

The Verge

“The Verge” is expected to dramatically reduce Ethereum’s reliance on nodes as a store of history and data. It will introduce so-called “Verkle Trees,” “a powerful upgrade to Merkle tests that allow for much smaller test sizes,” says Deutscher.

The Purge

“The Purge” is expected to significantly reduce the amount of space required to store ETH on a hard drive. This update will eliminate the use of nodes to store Ethereum history, freeing up space, a constant headache for developers.

The Splurge

The last scheduled update is “The Splurge“. This includes what is described as miscellaneous but important extras, “ensuring the network runs smoothly after the previous four updates.”

“The post-Merger design of Ethereum is projected to handle a large amount of data that generally requires enhanced security across the board,” Eitan Lavi, co-founder of ChainPort, told BeInCrypto, emphasizing that:

“Through the evolution of Merkle and Verkle Trees, as well as other innovative technology to be introduced with subsequent updates, the protocol will be able to support early data loading.”

By Audy Castaneda

Mi primer Bitcoin Launches Crowdfunding Campaign to continue its Educational Project

Audy Castañeda
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Mi primer Bitcoin Launches Crowdfunding Campaign to continue its Educational Project

The organization has launched an online crowdfunding campaign with the purpose of positively advancing its BTC education project.

Mi Primer Bitcoin, an NGO focused on BTC education in El Salvador, has launched a strategic online crowdfunding campaign with the purpose of positively advancing its BTC education project in the country.

Mi Primer Bitcoin has mentioned that the educational program has been a proven success in different educational centers in the country, also pointing out that its first step will be the expansion of the project to the rest of the Salvadoran territory.

“The Bitcoin Diploma has been a complete success in the schools of El Salvador. The next step is to expand throughout the country. Find out how to help us here!”

So far, the NGO reports that there have been more than 300 graduates of the Bitcoin diploma. However, over time it is necessary to expand the scope of the project, which is why the community has opted for the crowdfunding mechanism through Tallycoin to obtain the necessary funds to complete its mission.

“More than 300 students completed the Bitcoin Diploma Now hundreds of other young people in El Salvador can learn about Bitcoin thanks to you! Find out how…”

Tallycoin is a Bitcoin crowdfunding platform where all donations go to a wallet under your control. The app is characterized by its exclusivity with BTC and by offering zero transaction costs.

Tour to the corners of El Salvador

The organization has been very active lately, trying to take the project to the most remote parts of the country. An example of this is the recent trip to Usulutan -one of the departments of El Salvador, located to the south of it, near its marine coastal zone-. The educational trip involved 14 mayors of that department.

The organization is noted for its focus on bringing free BTC education to as many people as possible, and while its target group is high school students, Mi Primer Bitcoin has previously emphasized that no distinction is made for those interested in Bitcoin.

“Bitcoin is for everyone. Without distinguishing race, nationality, religion, culture, socioeconomic status, language, age, educational level, sex or gender, physical or mental condition, political position… Bitcoin is free, neutral and impartial.”

Mi Primer Bitcoin mission continues

Mi Primer Bitcoin is an initiative that has stood out for its focus on secondary education in the country. The NGO offers a structured study plan on Bitcoin to high school students – equivalent to secondary education in El Salvador. Students who successfully complete the program; they will receive a diploma in Bitcoin that will accompany their formal studies.

To date, Mi Primer Bitcoin has already graduated several promotions of its diploma. In view of the results, the project seeks to expand to more educational centers, thus promoting greater knowledge of Bitcoin among Salvadoran youth.

Among its greatest achievements, the project recently published a study book for a diploma course that they have implemented in several secondary schools in the country. The book “Diplomado en Bitcoin” is part of a program that has been studied by dozens of students in schools in El Salvador since April of this year, and that already has three promotions.

Now, anyone in the world can download a copy for free, and apply it for non-commercial purposes, according to their license type.

By Audy Castaneda

The Sanctions against Tornado Cash Prove the Need for Decentralized Tools

Alexander Salazar
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The Sanctions against Tornado Cash Prove the Need for Decentralized Tools

The effectiveness of sanctioning DeFi protocols at discouraging hackers remains questionable as it is easy to fork the code. The actions against Tornado Cash put financial privacy and freedom at risk as they might lead to harming those seeking to protect their funds.

John Shutt and Mhairi McAlpine from UMA said the actions of the US Treasury against Tornado Cash might still have to take twists and turns. The possible impact of the sanctions on the crypto-mixing service charged with laundering money through crypto assets needs to settle.

Criminals have allegedly used Tornado Cash to launder over USD 7 billion worth of cryptocurrencies since its creation in 2019. The US Department of the Treasury said The Lazarus Group had stolen more than USD 455 million of those assets.

The government of North Korea (DPRK) sponsors the activities of the hacking group The Lazarus Group. The United States sanctioned it in 2019 for the most significant theft of cryptocurrencies until now.

The department did not clarify why they thought USD 7 billion worth of crypto assets derived from criminal activity. They also did not explain why their estimates were much higher than those by independent third parties.

The Effects of the Sanctions against Tornado Cash on DeFi

While sanctioning DeFi protocols may improve overall crypto security little, its effectiveness in discouraging hackers remains questionable. That is because it is easy to fork the code and use the original protocol directly on the chain.

That situation proves the need for increasingly robust tools and protocols that improve decentralization, a crucial factor in protecting privacy.

Centralized Asset Managers Experience Fear and Uncertainty

Fear and uncertainty probably grip centralized asset managers due to these sanctions. DeFi developers received a reminder about the importance of censorship resistance.

A global system that allows blocking users might force its creators to decide whether to do it arbitrarily.

The sanctions against Tornado Cash may challenge personal financial privacy and freedom. That might unintentionally harm those investors seeking to protect their economic history.

The current sanctions might set a precedent by putting well-intended actors into the sights of various authorities.

US Regulators have Their Sights on Cryptocurrency Wallets

The above sanctions allow sending transactions to any wallet without prior consent or knowledge, leading to banning that address.

Following the announcement of the ban, someone sent 0.1 ETH from Tornado Cash to publicly known people, implying negative consequences for any crypto user.

In other words, these wallets might enter a ban list at regulated services like Coinbase without engaging with the sanctioned address. That situation raises an issue for crypto users as their on-chain funds risk being subject to a blockade.

The Sanctions against Tornado Cash Reveals the Need for More Decentralization

The Tornado Cash situation shows why further decentralization is necessary within teams, projects and DAOs.

Although the US sanctions are a sloppy interfering intervention, Tornado Cash is only one of many privacy protocols. The crypto industry will develop new tools to protect users while cryptocurrency trading platforms are still open and usable.

The US government might face legal battles, as the sanctions may be unconstitutional. Since cryptocurrencies are fundamentally sophisticated mathematics, the authorities will find it hard to ban them.

By Alexander Salazar

Telecommunications Data Breach Used for Crypto Alerts Australia

Audy Castañeda
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Telecommunications Data Breach Used for Crypto Alerts Australia

Australia has announced its intentions to tighten privacy regulation following a data breach at the country’s second-largest telecommunications company.

The personal data of up to 10 million customers, about 40% of the population, has been compromised by hackers, reported Optus, which is owned by Singapore Telecoms Ltd.

While Optus stressed that payment details and account passwords remained secure, some customers have had their addresses, driver’s licenses and passport numbers exposed.

Those whose driver’s licenses or passport numbers were stolen have been alerted, the telecommunications company said, adding that it would provide hard-hit customers with free credit monitoring and identity protection through credit bureau Equifax for a year.

Although the company neglected to explain how the security breach occurred, it did say that the attacker’s IP address appeared to be moving around every country in Europe. According to local reports, an unidentified party had requested $1 million in cryptocurrency in exchange for the data on an online forum, although Optus had not confirmed its authenticity.

“Big wake-up call” – Prime Minister

In response to one of the country’s biggest data breaches, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for more responsible privacy regulations that would force companies to notify banks faster when they experience cyber hacks.

Calling the incident a “huge wake-up call” for the corporate sector, Albanese acknowledged that some state actors and criminal groups want access to people’s data.

“We want to make sure that we change some of the privacy provisions there so that if people get caught in this way, it can be reported to the banks, so they can protect their customers as well,” he told radio station 4BC. .

Meanwhile, cybersecurity minister Clare O’Neil has held Optus responsible for the breach. He stressed that such failures in other jurisdictions would lead to fines of more than hundreds of millions of dollars, such as laws in Europe that penalize companies 4% of global revenue for privacy violations.

“An important question is whether the cybersecurity requirements we impose on large telecommunications providers in this country are fit for purpose,” O’Neil told Parliament.

Crypto scams on the rise in Australia

Although this case is more of a potential ransomware case, Australians have lost more than AU$242.45 million to cryptocurrency and investment scams so far this year, according to recent data from ScamWare.

In response, a new division of the Federal Police was recently established in Australia to combat money laundering based on virtual assets. Stefan Jerga, national head of criminal forfeiture at the Australian Federal Police (AFP), revealed that the new task force has already surpassed its 2024 target of reducing AUD 600 million in illicit profits.

In general terms, Blockchain technology is very secure, due to its cryptographic algorithm that protects cryptocurrencies. The algorithm is already a security measure against hackers.

If the hackers cannot hack the crypto itself, their obvious target will be the users. They will look for loopholes in security and hack the platform you use to store your digital assets to line their pockets. Therefore, the first and most important security tip is to take security measures and take them seriously. Some of these measures are the following: using complex passwords, avoiding public WiFi connections, being aware of phishing scams, not storing cryptocurrencies in exchanges, buying a hardware wallet, and keeping your cryptocurrency assets in private

By Audy Castaneda

The Devaluation of Fiat Currencies Helps the Competitors of Bitcoin and Gold Perform Better

Alexander Salazar
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The Devaluation of Fiat Currencies Helps the Competitors of Bitcoin and Gold Perform Better

Mike McGlone believes that falling prices of commodities and risk assets should support the value of gold and Bitcoin. According to Ran Neuner, the depreciation of fiat currencies may lead investors to seek alternatives, leaving BTC as the winner.

Amid rising inflation worldwide, fiat currencies like the US dollar (USD) begin to suffer the effects of devaluation. According to a study, the beneficiaries of that situation could be the cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) and the precious metal gold.

Bloomberg Intelligence forecasts that the outlook for the next ten years favors assets like Bitcoin and gold. The strategists compared them to other commodities, as the effects of the aggressive tightening by the Fed are in plain sight.

Mike McGlone believes that falling prices of commodities and risk assets could be the only solution with deflationary implications. The senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence said this should support the value of gold and its digital version, Bitcoin.

A crisis in the cost of living implies that only the wealthiest have enough money to invest in cryptocurrencies or gold. However, those assets might become the preferred investments when the current global recession ends.

The Pioneering Cryptocurrency Outperforms Gold in the Long Term

McGlone also said that the tightening action by the US Federal Reserve is about to end. Therefore, the risks against rewards could lean toward the resumption of the sustained bullish trend of Bitcoin, mainly against most commodities.

The expert considers that the relatively new asset and technology sector may outperform gold in the long term. He highlighted that Bitcoin has already retreated to an area of solid support.

He recalled that the Bitcoin-to-gold ratio at around 10x first occurred in 2017. Besides, he pointed out that the cryptocurrency has become the biggest competitor to the precious metal in an increasingly digital world.

Since early 2022, BTC has depreciated by 57%, while gold has also dropped 11%. By detaching from a two-year long-term picture, BTC has risen by 87%, while the metal has fallen by nearly 13%.

Furthermore, the supply and demand fundamentals and the side effects of aggressive tightening by the Fed might weigh down commodities.

Bitcoin Wins the Battle against Fiat Cryptocurrencies

Another relevant factor to consider is that fiat currencies are losing their value. Ran Neuner, a CNBC crypto trader, said investors might seek local currencies while the US dollar overtrades, leaving BTC as the winner.

Well-known market analyst Murad commented that many believe Bitcoin cannot be money due to its volatility, adding to the sentiment. However, he highlighted that the British pound (GBP) and the Japanese yen (JPY) have dropped by 22% and 20% in 2022.

The overall crypto market has remained range bound since mid-June, which makes the support zone stronger as it spreads. The total capitalization reached USD 1 trillion again after accumulating a 4.4% gain over the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is trading at around USD 20,138 and has accumulated a 7.1% gain over the last 24 hours. While its daily trading volume is above USD 47.47 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 385.88 billion, according to CoinGecko.

By Alexander Salazar

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