{"id":21974,"date":"2022-02-24T23:14:20","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T23:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/?p=21974"},"modified":"2022-02-25T09:04:21","modified_gmt":"2022-02-25T09:04:21","slug":"news-opensea-phishing-attack-bitmex-execs-plead-guilty-2016-dao-hacker-maybe-found-cryptsy-indictment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/02\/24\/news-opensea-phishing-attack-bitmex-execs-plead-guilty-2016-dao-hacker-maybe-found-cryptsy-indictment\/","title":{"rendered":"News: OpenSea phishing attack, BitMEX execs plead guilty, 2016 DAO hacker maybe found, Cryptsy indictment"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>Back home, off NHS wifi and onto writing stuff again. Buy some <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2020\/11\/26\/get-signed-copies-of-libra-shrugged-and-attack-of-the-50-foot-blockchain\/\">signed author copies<\/a> of the books \u2014 \u00a325 the pair, plus postage \u00a36 UK, \u00a310 Europe or \u00a312 rest of the world. Each one signed and non-fungible!<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/davidgerard\"><strong>Subscribe on Patreon!<\/strong><\/a> Your $5 or $20 each month keeps the hits coming. Tell your friends and colleagues! Just the thing for the expense account!<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#byemail\">Click here and enter your email address<\/a> to get every new post emailed to you as it goes up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/02\/24\/news-opensea-phishing-attack-bitmex-execs-plead-guilty-2016-dao-hacker-maybe-found-cryptsy-indictment\/oopsea\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-21975\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-21975\" src=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/oopsea.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"510\" height=\"315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/oopsea.jpg 680w, https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/oopsea-300x185.jpg 300w, https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/oopsea-348x215.jpg 348w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 510px) 100vw, 510px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>&#8220;Please, God, I don&#8217;t ask for much from You. But give me this. A video of a sad cryptobro, trying to get a beat cop to make a police report about his stolen ape jpeg.&#8221;<\/h3>\n<p>The destiny of all cryptocurrency exchanges is to get hacked, and the same goes for NFT marketplaces. Some large OpenSea users suffered a phishing attack on 19 February \u2014 the users received an email that <i>looked<\/i> like it was from OpenSea, and clicking the link authorised a malicious smart contract. This let the attackers take the NFTs and sell them \u2014 on OpenSea! \u2014 netting 1,115 ETH ($2.9 million). The attacker returned some of the NFTs, and even gave some victims back some of the ETH from sales. [<a href=\"https:\/\/web3isgoinggreat.com\/?id=2022-02-19-1\"><i>Web 3 Is Going Great<\/i><\/a><i>;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MikeBurgersburg\/status\/1495216820390924292\"> <i>Twitter<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>One victim of the <em>previous<\/em> OpenSea hack has filed to sue OpenSea for the loss of his valuable Bored Ape. Decentralised! [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/63102526\/mckimmy-v-opensea\/\"><i>case docket<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Unofficial Minecraft NFT play-to-earn project Blockverse had a great launch \u2014 it sold out in just eight minutes, taking in 500 ETH, worth $1.2 million! There was 792 ETH in secondary sales of the NFTs! Then the anonymous developers deleted the project\u2019s website and Discord. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegamer.com\/minecraft-nft-discord-scam\/\"><i>The Gamer<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>The crypto used to buy Melania Trump&#8217;s NFT for $170,000 came from &#8230; the same entity that created the NFT. As usual, NFT promoters pull celebrities into their shenanigans, then leave the celebrity to take the reputational hit. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en\/article\/m7vpx8\/analyzing-the-very-bizarre-sale-of-melania-trumps-dollar170000-nft\"><i>Vice<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Rupert Murdoch goes NFT \u2014 with NFTs of front pages from The Sun. Can\u2019t wait for the NFT of<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ARA_General_Belgrano#The_Sun_newspaper's_%22Gotcha%22_headline\"> \u201cGOTCHA!\u201d<\/a> [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/2022\/feb\/16\/news-uk-explores-cashing-in-crypto-boom-nfts-sun-front-pages-photos\"><i>Guardian<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Snoop Dogg buys the trademarks to celebrated rap label Death Row Records, where he started his career! He plans to make Death Row Records \u201can NFT label.\u201d Perhaps he could sell NFTs of the piss he&#8217;s taking. [<a href=\"https:\/\/nme.com\/news\/music\/snoop-dogg-wants-to-make-death-row-records-an-nft-label-3162676\"><i>NME<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Apparently, <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/02\/16\/news-bbc-pulls-crypto-documentary-sports-nft-failures-mining-in-siberia\/\">NFT marketplace Cent shut down<\/a> due to actually having any ethics. CEO Cameron Hejazi seems to have wanted to set up a genuine art market \u2014 but then encountered crypto\u2019s little ways. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en\/article\/bvn5q4\/nft-marketplace-ceo-on-counterfeits-this-is-an-ecosystem-wide-problem\"><i>Vice<\/i><\/a><i>;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/beta.cent.co\/~features-n-feedback\/+4pt2p7\"> <i>blog post<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p><em>Section heading by Klyith on SomethingAwful.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Several people took exception to my comments on crypto and informed me that crypto is the inevitable future, so let me be clear. If I&#39;m ever forced to interact with cryptocurrency, if I ever have to maintain a crypto wallet as a normal part of my life, I&#39;m becoming a terrorist.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Financial Pro-Tip (@FinancialProTip) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FinancialProTip\/status\/1486248150906150912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 26, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>GOU <i>So Much For Subtlety<\/i>*<\/h3>\n<p><small>* yes, yes, I know <i>Subtlety<\/i> is actually a <a href=\"https:\/\/theculture.fandom.com\/wiki\/List_of_spacecraft\">GSV<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n<p>The US Department of Justice announces a new National Cryptocurrency Enforcement team, with Eun Young Choi as its first director. Choi has been a Justice Department prosecutor for the past decade. Choi\u2019s focus will be on ransomware and other uses of cryptocurrency in crime. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/justice-department-announces-first-director-national-cryptocurrency-enforcement-team\"><i>press release<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>BitMEX founders Arthur Hayes and Ben Delo were <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2020\/10\/10\/news-mcafee-and-bitmex-busted-dont-pay-your-ransomware-morgan-beller-leaves-libra-sec-beats-kik\/\">charged in October 2020<\/a> with violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. They&#8217;ve pleaded guilty. Each will pay a $10 million fine, with possible further sentencing. No word on Sam Reed. [<i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-sdny\/pr\/founders-cryptocurrency-exchange-plead-guilty-bank-secrecy-act-violations\">Department of Justice<\/a><\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>Crypto lender BlockFi is paying a $100 million settlement to the SEC. BlockFi is not to open any new interest-bearing accounts. Old accounts can continue to exist, but can\u2019t add new funds. BlockFi assures us that paying a $100 million fine is <i>good<\/i> news for regulatory clarity. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/news\/press-release\/2022-26\"><i>press release<\/i><\/a><i>;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/litigation\/admin\/2022\/33-11029.pdf\"> <i>order<\/i><\/a><i>, PDF;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/blockfi.com\/regulatory-developments\/\"> <i>blog post<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>In the course of writing<a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/01\/17\/news-el-salvador-phone-tapping-bitcoin-in-tonga-associated-press-nfts-books\/\"> her book on Ethereum,<\/a> Laura Shin thinks she found the guy who<a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/the-dao\/\"> hacked The DAO in 2016<\/a> \u2014 Toby Hoenisch of TenX. Hoenisch denies it, but evidently Shin thinks the evidence is good enough to put it in a book. Hoenisch was one of the many who warned The DAO that Slock.it\u2019s buggy smart contract would get hacked the moment it went live. The interesting bit is that Chainalysis think they can analyse transactions going through the Wasabi Wallet mixer. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/laurashin\/2022\/02\/22\/exclusive-austrian-programmer-and-ex-crypto-ceo-likely-stole-11-billion-of-ether\/\"><i>Forbes<\/i><\/a><i>,<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.fo\/jCUiq\"> <i>archive<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Bitcoin old-timers may remember the Cryptsy exchange \u2014 which claimed a &#8220;hack&#8221; in 2014, and shut down in early 2016, then blockchain data showed that founder Paul Vernon had taken the bitcoins. Coinbase had to pay out nearly $1 million to Cryptsy\u2019s victims after letting Vernon use Coinbase to cash out the coins. Anyway, the IRS has <i>finally<\/i> indicted Vernon over the Cryptsy fraud. [<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/markets\/2016\/01\/15\/cryptsy-threatens-bankruptcy-claims-millions-lost-in-bitcoin-heist\/\">CoinDesk<\/a>, 2016; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/markets\/2016\/08\/11\/cryptsy-ceo-stole-millions-from-exchange-court-receiver-alleges\/\">CoinDesk<\/a>, 2016;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/markets\/2020\/01\/13\/coinbase-hands-nearly-1m-to-cryptsy-victims-after-settling-class-action-lawsuit\/\"> CoinDesk<\/a>, 2020;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/compliance\/criminal-investigation\/ceo-of-major-online-cryptocurrency-exchange-company-indicted-for-defrauding-companys-customers-destroying-evidence-and-tax-evasion\"> IRS press release<\/a><\/em>]<\/p>\n<p>If crypto prices keep going down, have you considered becoming an SEC or CFTC whistleblower? You get paid in actual money, not illiquid <i>minor altcoins<\/i>. Start collecting your Discord chats now!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Pumping and dumping, bank fraud, money laundering is pretty experiential compared to traditional finance, and it&#39;s going to get harder for journalists to report on this stuff if they&#39;re prohibited from participating in pumping and dumping, bank fraud, and money laundering. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AsIOHR0u01\">pic.twitter.com\/AsIOHR0u01<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Bitfinex\u2019ed \ud83d\udd25 (@Bitfinexed) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Bitfinexed\/status\/1495105432578363395?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 19, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Regulatory clarity<\/h3>\n<p>The EU proposes requiring <i>all<\/i> crypto payments to have full Know-Your-Customer details \u2014 with no minimum limit. The current draft regulation removes a previous proposal to let through transactions under 1000 EUR \u2014 see page 13 of the draft for the change. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/doceo\/document\/CJ12-PR-704888_EN.pdf\"><i>draft<\/i><\/a><i>, PDF<\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>The draft Russian bill on cryptocurrency, <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/02\/07\/news-world-wildlife-nft-diem-sale-details-eccb-dcash-offline\/\">from the Ministry of Finance,<\/a> will forbid the use of cryptos in payments \u2014 cryptos will just be a tightly-regulated investment vehicle, with full KYC at every step. This is the soft option on the <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/01\/28\/news-twitter-hexagons-binance-plays-at-compliance-bitcoin-widow-tour-russia\/\">Bank of Russia\u2019s proposal<\/a> to ban just about everything about cryptos. [<a href=\"https:\/\/minfin.gov.ru\/ru\/press-center\/?id_4=37774-minfin_rossii_napravil_v_pravitelstvo_rossii_proekt_federalnogo_zakona_o_tsifrovoi_valyute\"><i>MinFin<\/i><\/a><i>, in Russian<\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>The Financial Stability Board releases \u201cAssessment of Risks to Financial Stability from Crypto-assets.\u201d The threat is still at \u201ccould\u201d level \u2014 but the FSB underscores \u201cthe need for timely and pre-emptive evaluation.\u201d Crypto-assets don\u2019t interact much with the real economy <i>yet<\/i> \u2014 but that\u2019s what they&#8217;re warning regulators to watch out for. There\u2019s a whole section about Facebook\u2019s Libra \u2014 er, &#8220;global stablecoins&#8221;. If you&#8217;re in crypto and want to know why regulators are all up in your business lately,<a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/libra\/\"> blame Facebook.<\/a> [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fsb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/P160222.pdf\"><i>FSB<\/i><\/a><i>, PDF<\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">At this point I kind of assume an announcement that a public official is taking his salary in crypto is just an open invitation to bring a thumb drive to your meetings \u201cto drop your proposal off\u201d with<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; warrior cop (@wyatt_privilege) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wyatt_privilege\/status\/1492774151731490818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 13, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Baby&#8217;s on fire<\/h3>\n<p>Digiconomist estimates Bitcoin mining\u2019s total power usage in 2021 as 134 terawatt-hours. The International Energy Association puts the total world electricity consumption in 2021 at 26,444 TWh. So in 2021, Bitcoin mining used 0.5% of the energy consumption of the <i>entire world.<\/i> A pet rock would use much less power, and for only seven less transactions per second. Note that Bitcoin\u2019s daily power consumption is way up \u2014 the rate right now, over an entire year, would add up to 204 TWh. [<a href=\"https:\/\/digiconomist.net\/bitcoin-historic-sustainability-performance\/\"><i>Digiconomist<\/i><\/a><i>;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/iea.org\/reports\/electricity-market-report-january-2022\"> <i>IEA<\/i><\/a><i>;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/digiconomist.net\/bitcoin-energy-consumption\"> <i>Digiconomist<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Bitcoin incentivises renewable energy \u2014 where &#8220;incentivises&#8221; is a word meaning &#8220;absolutely doesn&#8217;t actually do this at all in reality&#8221;. Like how &#8220;blockchain could&#8221; means&#8221;blockchain doesn&#8217;t.&#8221; Back in the real world, what Bitcoin incentivises is &#8230; restarting obsolete fossil fuel plants. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2022\/feb\/18\/bitcoin-miners-revive-fossil-fuel-plant-co2-emissions-soared\"><i>Guardian<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>The EPA tackles the US crypto mining industry\u2019s habit of restarting fossil fuel plants \u2014 if the financial regulators won&#8217;t do anything about bitcoin mining, the EPA sure can. Specifically, the power plants have been banned from adding further coal ash to existing toxic waste disposal sites. With quotes from me. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eenews.net\/articles\/epa-tackles-coal-to-crypto-industry-trend\/\"><i>E &amp; E News<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>The European Union has been working on MiCA (Markets In Crypto-Assets) guidelines for a few years now, to take effect as of 1 January 2025. The Socialist, Green and Left Party groups, particularly from Germany, have proposed restricting proof-of-work crypto mining. Stefan Berger of the centre-right EPP, who\u2019s running the MiCA process, considers it a bill to regulate assets, and not somewhere for technological details \u2014 but he thinks this new proposal is likely to go through. I can\u2019t find the actual proposal text \u2014 anyone? [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.btc-echo.de\/news\/bitcoin-spd-gruene-und-linke-fordern-verbot-in-der-eu-135678\/\"><i>BTC-ECHO<\/i><\/a><i>, in German;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/eu-parliamentarians-push-limit-bitcoin-114902741.html\"> <i>Yahoo! News<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Kazakhstan increases taxes on crypto miners from 1 tenge (0.23c) to 5 tenge (1.2c) per kWh. Marat Sultangaziev, First Vice-Minister of Finance, proposes taxes on crypto mining equipment \u2014 whether running or not \u2014 and removing the VAT exemption on computing equipment from mining hardware. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inform.kz\/ru\/kakie-nalogi-budut-platit-maynery-v-kazahstane_a3895225\"><i>KazInform<\/i><\/a><i>, in Russian;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblockcrypto.com\/post\/133366\/kazakhstan-floats-500-tax-increase-on-bitcoin-miners-leading-some-to-eye-relocation\"> <i>The Block<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Zhejiang Province in China is <i>still<\/i> trying to get rid of its crypto miners. Schemes include a power surcharge of <i>seventy-nine<\/i> cents per kWh. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/policy\/2022\/02\/23\/chinas-zhejiang-province-implements-punitive-electricity-prices-for-crypto-mining\/\"><i>CoinDesk<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Bitcoin is such a world changing paradigm that multiple companies spent millions on super bowl ads begging me to buy their money.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Buttcoin (@ButtCoin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ButtCoin\/status\/1493683330369273856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 15, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Putta block<\/h3>\n<p>Kickstarter sort of backs down from its \u201cblockchain\u201d plans \u2014 though without the bit where it meaningfully backs down from anything. But the company hopes not to <i>completely<\/i> alienate the project founders and funders the company relies on. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/articles\/we-won-t-make-changes-to-kickstarter-without-you\"><i>blog post<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Kickstarter COO Sean Leow talks to Comics Beat about the blockchain controversy. Leow appears to have no idea what any of this is, and has no answers to the obvious questions that the company\u2019s entire C-level would have been expected to ask \u2014 such as \u201cwhat does this in fact do better than not doing it this way?\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.comicsbeat.com\/kickstarter-blockchain-controversy-interview\/\"><i>Comics Beat<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8230;so here&#39;s my impression of what happened in the Kickstarter Management office back in December. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pvSZdSG1P7\">pic.twitter.com\/pvSZdSG1P7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; you wouldn&#39;t crop a hexagon (@ErinPtah) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ErinPtah\/status\/1488627861489692676?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 1, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>New facts emerge<\/h3>\n<p>What happens when you actually try to use a blockchain for your CBDC \u2014 Eastern Caribbean Bank <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2022\/02\/07\/news-world-wildlife-nft-diem-sale-details-eccb-dcash-offline\/\">DCash is <i>still<\/i> offline, since 14 January,<\/a> as they try to upgrade Hyperledger. Bitt Inc., who built DCash, also run the eNaira in Nigeria. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-02-21\/eastern-caribbean-dcash-outage-is-test-for-central-bank-digital-currencies\"><i>Bloomberg<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m shocked, shocked to hear that when you try to get your capital out of crypto lender <a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2021\/11\/28\/news-celsius-arrest-el-salvador-journalists-hacked-senate-vs-stablecoins\/\">of flawless repute<\/a> Celsius, they suddenly need more KYC. Send them a video of yourself eating a bug. &#8220;I hastily submit the requested info. They still haven&#8217;t answered until now.&#8221; [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Buttcoin\/comments\/t02pdw\/celsius_unbank_yourself\/\"><i>Reddit<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Ken Kurson, founder of half-dead crypto news site Modern Consensus, was<a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2020\/11\/04\/news-filecoin-coindesk-money-laundering-busts-libra-barred-until-2023-bitmex-and-rokos-basilisk\/\"> charged with cyberstalking,<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2021\/01\/27\/news-craig-wright-copyright-claims-grayscale-mt-gox-reddit-on-ethereum-the-french-bitcoin-neo-nazi\/\"> pardoned by President Trump,<\/a> then<a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2021\/08\/22\/news-facebook-abandoning-diem-soulja-boy-vs-atari-kurson-arrested-again-el-salvador\/\"> charged again at state level<\/a> by New York. Anyway, Kurson\u2019s taken a plea deal with a minimal penalty, which knocks the original felony charges down to misdemeanors. [<a href=\"https:\/\/lawandcrime.com\/crime\/jared-kushner-friend-who-got-trump-pardon-after-being-accused-of-cyberstalking-ex-wife-pleads-guilty-to-state-crimes\/\"><i>Law And Crime<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Celebrity PR guru Ronn Torossian achieved the public relations failure mode of becoming the story when he<a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2017\/12\/01\/bitfinex-tether-and-5w-pr-mount-the-worst-public-relations-campaign-ive-seen-in-a-while\/\"> took on Bitfinex\/Tether as a client<\/a> in late 2017, and saw what happened when you try to<a href=\"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/2017\/12\/05\/bitfinex-rattles-legal-sabres-at-critics-tether-fails-to-redeem-usdt-1m-for-dollars\/\"> treat the finance press like the gossip press.<\/a> He\u2019s become the story again, with the tale of how he bought PR industry news site Everything-PR in 2014, used it to defame his competitors, and denied he was running the site. [<a href=\"https:\/\/adage.com\/article\/agency-news\/ronn-torossians-5wpr-secretly-scrubs-site-it-bought-tout-itself-bash-rivals\/2400751\"><i>AdAge<\/i><\/a><i>,<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/WdBUN\"> <i>archive<\/i><\/a><i>;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crainsnewyork.com\/media\/ronn-torossian-5wpr-secretly-scrubs-industry-news-site-it-operated-tout-itself-bash-rivals\"> <i>Crain\u2019s<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Galt\u2019s Gulch, but on the blockchain, yet again \u2014 Antony Welch owns Latoro Island in the Vanuatu archipelago. He\u2019s now trying to sell shares in it to 21,000 bitcoiners, claiming it will be a regulation-free tropical paradise as \u201cSatoshi Island.\u201d Welch previously tried to sell the island in 2017. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2022\/feb\/12\/bitcoin-paradise-briton-creates-crypto-utopia-in-south-pacific\"><i>Guardian<\/i><\/a><i>;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sC7PAdUwaRU&amp;t=3s\"> <i>YouTube<\/i><\/a><i>, 2017<\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Wework: office space co run like a tech startup.<br \/>Fyre: festival run like a tech startup.<br \/>Theranos: medical hardware co run like a tech startup.<br \/>Crypto: currency run like a tech startup.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ben Conway (@shaolinpunk_uk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/shaolinpunk_uk\/status\/1493783920839516167?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 16, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Hot takes<\/h3>\n<p>Hilary Allen: \u201cI just posted my new essay, DeFi: Shadow Banking 2.0? TL;DR: DeFi is neither decentralized, nor very good finance, so regulators should have no qualms about clamping down on it to protect the stability of our financial system and broader economy.\u201d [<a href=\"https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4038788\"><i>SSRN<\/i><\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>This essay is good, and also much more understated in its descriptions and prescriptions than I would have been. Also, the DeFi pumpers are shrieking like stuck pigs at the essay, which is a considerable number of points in its favour.<\/p>\n<p>Still my favourite commentary on Solidity, which from now on I\u2019m calling JavaScript With A Concussion. But this is from 2017 \u2014 I&#8217;m sure that every one of these issues has been fixed by now, five years later. [<a href=\"https:\/\/news.ycombinator.com\/item?id=14691212\"><i>Hacker News<\/i><\/a><i>, 2017<\/i>]<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">New book haul! \u2728\ufe0f<\/p>\n<p>No I don&#39;t have a book buying problem, shush \ud83d\ude05 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rBDS8yvFZy\">pic.twitter.com\/rBDS8yvFZy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Stephanie Brown \u2615 Artist on Patreon \ud83d\udc7b (@OffbeatWorlds) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OffbeatWorlds\/status\/1494413250670346243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 17, 2022<\/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=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I just want to thank <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidgerard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@davidgerard<\/a> for writing a book containing this many comprehensive bullet lists of incompetence in the crypto community <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RlEs40O7NC\">pic.twitter.com\/RlEs40O7NC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Georgia Entertainment System\u2122\ufe0f (@Geoiac) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Geoiac\/status\/1496458495339765767?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 23, 2022<\/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=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is the page just before the introduction to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidgerard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@davidgerard<\/a>&#39;s &quot;Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain&quot; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/z23Vzl9iaD\">https:\/\/t.co\/z23Vzl9iaD<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nOdyaKVr0O\">pic.twitter.com\/nOdyaKVr0O<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Micah Loewinger (@MicahLoewinger) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MicahLoewinger\/status\/1496164691952996359?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 22, 2022<\/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>\u201cPlease, God, I don\u2019t ask for much from You. But give me this. A video of a sad cryptobro, trying to get a beat cop to make a police report about his stolen ape jpeg.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[2763,1355,2015,1067,74,1795,2751,916,2753,100,2759,1988,2756,657,1984,2762,2757,466,1320,2764,64,2761,674,2529,2032,751,2671,6,2752,1717,2020,2181,2760,286,137,33,2755,643,1854,184,2754,2758,1824],"class_list":["post-21974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-antony-welch","tag-arthur-hayes","tag-ben-delo","tag-bitmex","tag-blockchain","tag-blockfi","tag-blockverse","tag-celsius","tag-cent","tag-china","tag-cryptsy","tag-dcash","tag-death-row-records","tag-digiconomist","tag-eccb","tag-epa","tag-eun-young-choi","tag-europe","tag-fsb","tag-hilary-allen","tag-hyperledger","tag-iea","tag-justice-department","tag-kazakhstan","tag-ken-kurson","tag-kickstarter","tag-laura-shin","tag-links","tag-melania-trump","tag-mining","tag-nft","tag-opensea","tag-paul-vernon","tag-ronn-torossian","tag-russia","tag-sec","tag-snoop-dogg","tag-solidity","tag-tenx","tag-the-dao","tag-the-sun","tag-toby-hoenisch","tag-wasabi-wallet"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/oopsea.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21974","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=21974"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22009,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21974\/revisions\/22009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davidgerard.co.uk\/blockchain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}