{"id":11898,"date":"2019-01-26T22:20:51","date_gmt":"2019-01-26T22:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/?p=11898"},"modified":"2019-01-26T22:24:37","modified_gmt":"2019-01-26T22:24:37","slug":"news-me-in-greece-quadrigacx-pay-your-taxes-crypto-malware-tezos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2019\/01\/26\/news-me-in-greece-quadrigacx-pay-your-taxes-crypto-malware-tezos\/","title":{"rendered":"News: Me in Greece, QuadrigaCX, pay your taxes, crypto malware, Tezos"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t forget \u2014 this news blog runs on your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/davidgerard\/overview\">helpful subscriptions.<\/a> If you&#8217;d buy me a pint about once a month for this, that&#8217;s about $5 right there. Tell your friends and colleagues, and <a href=\"#byemail\">sign up for new posts via email!<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nI&#8217;m speaking at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sgt.gr\/eng\/SPG2234\/\">Blockchain: Utopia or U-turn?<\/a> at the Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens, Greece on Sunday 17 February \u2014 my bit&#8217;s 7:30-8:00pm, talking about <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/book\/\"><em>Attack of the 50-Foot Blockchain.<\/em><\/a> Jemima Kelly from FT Alphaville is on straight after me. &#8220;The entrance is free and on a first come, first served basis. The distribution of entrance tickets begins one (1) hour before each event.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2019\/01\/26\/news-me-in-greece-quadrigacx-pay-your-taxes-crypto-malware-tezos\/onassis-cultural-centre\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11917\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/onassis-cultural-centre.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"231\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11917\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/onassis-cultural-centre.jpg 500w, https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/onassis-cultural-centre-300x139.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ccn.com\/please-do-not-store-crypto-on-any-exchange-warns-ceo-of-major-crypto-exchange-kraken\/\">Please Do Not Store Crypto on Any Exchange,<\/a> Warns CEO of Major Crypto Exchange Kraken. Well, you can&#8217;t say he didn&#8217;t warn you.<\/p>\n<p>The traditional banking partners that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/quadrigacx-crypto-exchange-users-say-they-still-cant-get-their-money-out\">QuadrigaCX<\/a> needs to work with are not able to keep up with the demands of the growing Bitcoin economy.\u00a0 Ever since the announcement of <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2019\/01\/18\/news-us-investors-lose-1-7b-on-bitcoin-lightning-network-cryptopia-hack-quadrigacx-founder-ceo-dies-tether-timeline-update\/\">the death of their CEO<\/a> \u2014 for which there&#8217;s still no documentary evidence, such as an obituary \u2014 their only Twitter output has been a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/QuadrigaCoinEx\/status\/1088616584367632385\">warning<\/a> of a fake support account. Fiat withdrawals are marked &#8220;completed&#8221; without the money <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sh_shueshirley\/status\/1088850479528824832\">showing up in the customer&#8217;s bank account.<\/a> Complaints on Reddit \/r\/quadrigacx go unanswered, if they aren&#8217;t just <a href=\"https:\/\/snew.notabug.io\/r\/quadrigacx\">silently removed.<\/a> There&#8217;s reports <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CasPiancey\/status\/1086418659021545472\">you can&#8217;t even get cryptos out.<\/a> When I wrote <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2017\/12\/23\/why-you-cant-cash-out-pt-2-bitcoin-and-know-your-customer-anti-money-laundering-laws-kyc-aml\/\">&#8220;why you can&#8217;t cash out&#8221;<\/a> a year ago, a pile of people told me Quadriga was <em>vastly<\/em> more reliable for withdrawals than Coinbase &#8230; What&#8217;s the verifiable evidence that any of the principals of QuadrigaCX, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Buttcoin\/comments\/aia7qb\/quadriga_an_interesting_article_on_the_background\/eem8wki\/\">uh, exist?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Be our own bank \u2014 South Korean crypto exchange CoinZest loses 6 billion KRW (around $5.3 million) in bitcoins that it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/south-korean-exchange-loses-5-million-in-accidental-bitcoin-airdrop\">accidentally credited to its customers.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hacked Know Your Customer data collected from crypto exchanges is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cryptolinenews.com\/2019\/01\/hacked-kyc-data\/\">for sale on the dark web.<\/a> Your name, social security number, phone number, address, photo ID, email\/password and birth certificate are snafu. Binance and Kraken <a href=\"https:\/\/decryptmedia.com\/4629\/darknet-hacker-provides-evidence-binance-hack-kyc-fake\">claim it wasn&#8217;t from them.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Executives at Korean crypto exchange Komid have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblockcrypto.com\/tiny\/executives-at-a-korean-exchange-komid-sentenced-to-jail-for-faking-volume\/\">jailed for three years for faking volume.<\/a> (<a href=\"https:\/\/blockinpress.com\/archives\/12614\">Original report.<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">So the price dumps all the way back to where the last low was. Right on the same dollar.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s almost as if this market is really illiquid and is being moved around by a select group of players \ud83e\udd14 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dwrElnKLkS\">pic.twitter.com\/dwrElnKLkS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Bitfinex Parody (@Bitfinex2) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Bitfinex2\/status\/1087018180042809344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 20, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Swedish bitcoiner Linus Dunkers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.svt.se\/nyheter\/inrikes\/linus-dunkers-salde-bitcoin-blev-skyldig-skatteverket-8-miljoner\">owes 8 million SEK in taxes<\/a> after transacting Bitcoin since 2014. He didn&#8217;t declare it on his taxes for four years, and he didn&#8217;t keep proper records of his expenses \u2014 he bought the bitcoins with undocumented cash. And the tax man is treating it as business profits rather than private capital gains. So Dunkers estimates that he&#8217;s likely up for about three times his profits. He was also living quite lavishly. The case is going to administrative court.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/threatpost.com\/razy-browser-extensions-theft\/141181\/\">Razy malware for Windows<\/a> targets web browser extensions to scam crypto users \u2014 it edits them to replace cryptocurrency addresses and QR codes with its own addresses, modifies how the EXMO and YoBit crypto exchange websites are displayed, and spoofs Google and Yandex search results.<\/p>\n<p>How to get rid of <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/05\/22\/bitcoins-stupendous-power-waste-is-green-apparently-bad-excuses-for-proof-of-work\/\">Proof of Work?<\/a> The hAnt ransomware has a good old go \u2014 it&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zdnet.com\/article\/new-ransomware-strain-is-locking-up-bitcoin-mining-rigs-in-china\/\">locking up crypto mining rigs<\/a> made by Bitmain, unless they infect 1,000 other devices or pay a 10 BTC ransom. The miner&#8217;s controller is an embedded Linux system, that&#8217;s very likely behind on security patches. hAnt particularly targets AntMiner S9 and T9, though there are reports of infected L3 miners. (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.yibenchain.com\/news\/show\/5710.html\">Original report.<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>ICOx Innovations, one of the companies behind KodakOne, has another client\/subsidiary, BitRail, who I&#8217;ve <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/12\/10\/the-kodakcoin-ico-failed-and-now-everyone-wants-their-money\/\">mentioned previously.<\/a> They&#8217;ve successfully marketed their &#8220;FreedomCoin&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prlog.org\/12750283-gunbrokercom-introduces-freedomcoin-at-shot-show-2019.html\">to GunBroker.com.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Tezos class action \u2014 was it an offer of a security under US law? \u2014 has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblockcrypto.com\/2019\/01\/25\/class-action-against-tezos-is-it-a-securities-offering\/\">filed for class certification.<\/a> Part of this is citing the founders speaking to prospective investors using wording like &#8220;decided to invest in the crowdsale&#8221; &#8230; the sort of thing you should be super-careful not to even imply.<\/p>\n<p>The Bank for International Settlements\u00a0\u2014 the central bank for the central bankers\u00a0\u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/ftalphaville.ft.com\/2019\/01\/23\/1548238967000\/BIS-trolls-bitcoin\/\">exhaustively details<\/a> all the ways in which Bitcoin is a paper-and-string first draft pressed into production, and currently functions <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2018\/01\/04\/why-you-cant-cash-out-pt-3-bitcoin-is-not-a-ponzi-scheme-it-just-works-like-one\/\">very like a pyramid scheme.<\/a> And why the Lightning Network won&#8217;t save it.<\/p>\n<p>If we&#8217;re <em>very<\/em> lucky, enterprise Blockchain will end up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tapscape.com\/the-fall-of-the-blockchain-hype-men\/\">so entangled in spurious software patents<\/a> that nobody will try to use it any more.<\/p>\n<p>Exit John McAfee, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/officialmcafee\/status\/1087772979730239490\">pursued by the IRS<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 fleeing to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/officialmcafee\/status\/1087598432062185472\">Venezuela<\/a> to avoid <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/officialmcafee\/status\/887024683379544065?lang=en\">eating his own dick.<\/a> Here&#8217;s Ben Munster&#8217;s amazing story on McAfee&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/decryptmedia.com\/4611\/all-hail-the-king-of-the-jungle\">2020 Presidential Campaign in exile<\/a> \u2014 and this is only part one.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This sign is a pretty good indication that no one has any idea about what they\u2019re talking about in Davos. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tCxJ2cIAov\">pic.twitter.com\/tCxJ2cIAov<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ryan Mac \ud83d\ude43 (@RMac18) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RMac18\/status\/1087679473535860737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 22, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"lt\" dir=\"ltr\">Technical Analysis <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WYy4ghbDzk\">https:\/\/t.co\/WYy4ghbDzk<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6YjPaRKd3M\">https:\/\/t.co\/6YjPaRKd3M<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2Z9Vsj5GV6\">pic.twitter.com\/2Z9Vsj5GV6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; XKCD Comic (@xkcdComic) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/xkcdComic\/status\/1087215298321645568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 21, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<br><br><div align=\"center\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=8420236\"><img src=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/become_a_patron_button.svg\" alt=\"Become a Patron!\" title=\"Become a Patron!\" width=217 height=51><\/a><br><p style=\"align:center;\" class=\"patreon-badge\"><i>Your subscriptions keep this site going. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=8420236\">Sign up today!<\/a><\/i><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Come hear me speak at &#8220;Blockchain: Utopia or U-turn?&#8221; at the Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens, Greece on Sunday 17 February!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[568,738,1056,1126,1131,1125,1132,1130,9,832,808,1127,391,6,1128,938,1129,173],"class_list":["post-11898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-binance","tag-bis","tag-bitrail","tag-coinzest","tag-freedomcoin","tag-greece","tag-gunbroker-com","tag-hant","tag-ico","tag-icox-innovations","tag-john-mcafee","tag-komid","tag-kraken","tag-links","tag-linus-dunkers","tag-quadrigacx","tag-razy","tag-tezos"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11898"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11937,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11898\/revisions\/11937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}