An overview of current news in the crypto space

In our digest, we took a look at some important crypto industry news over the past week:

1. Fraudsters used Binance’s withdrawal from Russia for their own benefits;
2. Moscow Exchange considers issuing CFAs for artworks;
3. Bitcoin exchange rate down after US labour market data release;
4. Lava Pool launches – El Salvador’s first green bitcoin mining pool;
5. Mixin Network hack worth $200 million, TVL stays flat.

Now for more details. Reading time: 7 minutes.

1. Fraudsters used Binance’s withdrawal from Russia for their own benefits. Fake tokens of the cryptocurrency platform CommEx, which acquired Binance’s business in Russia, have appeared. CommEx representatives warn that they do not have their own token yet, and all projects with a name similar to CommEx are scams. Attackers also create phishing pages that look almost the same as the original ones. They create domains similar to the official name of the exchange, and several such pages have already been found. In addition, unofficial CommEx accounts have appeared on various social networks. Although there are no links to these accounts on the official CommEx website, they position themselves as official sources. Some channels and groups in Telegram discuss the crypto exchange, but CommEx does not confirm their authenticity. Scammers often use announcements of crypto exchanges and large companies for their scams. Recently, they released fake coins after announcing the launch of the PayPal payment system’s PYUSD stablecoin. Binance is completely withdrawing from Russia, selling its business to CommEX.  The migration of users will be done gradually and users will be informed about the transfer of assets to CommEX.
2. The Moscow Exchange is considering the possibility of issuing digital financial assets (DFAs) for works of art. According to experts, this market segment will become in demand. Nikolay Trunichkin, head of digital projects and products at Moscow Exchange, said that there are already almost 100 issues of DFAs on the market with a total value of RUB 30bn. Initially, it is proposed to issue CFAs with hybrid rights to art objects. For this purpose, it is necessary to attract professional investors, after which Moscow Exchange will be able to offer such investments to individuals. Standards development and reputation assessment will be key aspects of this initiative. CEO of Atomise, Ekaterina Frolovicheva, believes that CFAs for artworks will be an excellent tool for managing cultural heritage. The introduction of digital assets in this sector will depend on customer convenience, infrastructure development and functionality. Russia is also exploring opportunities for international settlement in CFAs and has already launched CFAs on the A-Token platform. The Moscow Exchange is exploring the issue of art CFAs, which could provide an opportunity to acquire shares of artworks. And we will share with you a ready-made solution on how to quickly create NFTs. Go to the telegram bot https://t.me/midjourneyfreebot, generate a picture. After that – in the Decimal console release NFT in 1 minute. And in our marketplace https://bit.team/nft you can put the created NFT token for sale.
3. Bitcoin exchange rate fell slightly after the publication of data on the US labour market. According to the new data, the number of employed in the US non-farm sector in September increased by 336 thousand people, exceeding market expectations. This is the largest increase since January 2023. The unemployment rate remained stable at 3.8%. As a result, bitcoin (BTC) fell 1.1%, starting at $27,758 and dropping to $27.4k by 16:00 Moscow time. This movement was repeated on other crypto assets including Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), BNB, and Ripple’s XRP. This cryptocurrency market reaction to the data means that the labour market has a meaningful impact on cryptocurrencies. Analysts also noted that the premise of the US Federal Reserve raising base rates could have a negative impact on the global economy and the cryptocurrency market.
4. Volcano Energy and Luxor Technologies announced the launch of Lava Pool, the first local bitcoin mining pool in El Salvador using renewable energy. The Volcano Energy startup is building a 241MW eco-friendly bitcoin mining farm in the city of Metapan, which will utilise solar, wind and local thermal energy. Gerson Martinez, head of security at Volcano Energy, emphasised that bitcoin mining will only be done through the new Lava Pool. Luxor Technologies will provide Lava Pool participants with hedging strategies for bitcoin-related risks to mitigate losses when the market is volatile. Volcano Energy previously announced that 23 per cent of its net revenue will be allocated to energy distribution infrastructure. This partnership opens new prospects for the development of mining activities in El Salvador and reaffirms the country’s commitment to green bitcoin mining.
5. The $200 million Mixin Network hack was one of the largest cryptocurrency exploits in 2023. Criminals attacked the cloud service provider, gaining access to private keys from depository addresses. Funds were withdrawn from around 10,000 wallets in descending order of balances. As a result of the incident, Mixin Network temporarily suspended deposit and withdrawal operations. Protocol representatives offered the hacker a reward of 10 per cent of the stolen funds for their return. Mixin founder Feng Xiaodong said users will be compensated a maximum of 50% for the stolen crypto assets, while the remainder will be distributed in the form of tokenised liability claims. In a statement, US Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Benham noted the need to regulate DeFi protocols and ensure robust cybersecurity. He called for being proactive and protecting customers’ interests, comparing the situation to seeing an unlicensed doctor. At the same time, blocked funds (TVL) in DeFi protocols remained at $38.5bn, while trading volume on decentralised exchanges (DEX) was $35.4bn in the last 30 days.

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