Blockchain

Hackers infecting computers to mine Bitcoin have discovered multinational corporations do not even have passwords for their admin consoles.

Bitcoin’s growth has not only been noted by those online, Roma Gypsies in the Russian town of Obninsk have also used the digital currency’s popularity to make a few quick rubles in a scam of their own.

Global investment management firm BlackRock Inc. chief executive Larry Fink claimed in early October 2017 that the significant increase in the popularity of Bitcoin and other digital currencies such as Zcash, Monero, among others, reflects the extent of money laundering activities occurring around the world. It is believed that digital assets like Bitcoin are being used for tax evasion, money laundering, and online gambling.

Where Wall Street was once a united front in running the financials of America, and to an extent, the rest of the world, it is suffering a polarization as Bitcoin disrupts opinions.

On Aug. 28, a user reported that his OKEx account was logged in by a German IP and participated in BTC-ETC trading. The hacker sold all the Bitcoins and canceled all the pending orders within one hour.

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced in a press release in late September 2017 that it filed charges against two startup firms and their founder, businessman Maksim Zaslavskiy, due to the alleged violation of the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws.

A gang of youngsters, who thought they could make a quick buck by posing as Bitcoin traders and robbing businessmen, have been arrested by the Delhi police.

The SEC has made good on its warning to ICOs regarding tokenization schemes as unregistered securities. The charges were leveled at REcoin and DRC (Diamond Reserve Club), both ICOs founded by Maksim Zaslavskiy.

Yet another high-profile criticism came against Bitcoin, this time from the “Wolf of Wall Street” himself, Jordan Belfort.

Mike Novogratz, the macro manager who left  Fortress Investment Group in shame after two years of losses, is looking to start a $500 mln hedge fund to invest in cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings and related companies.

A 30-year-old man from Bath, England has denied eight charges of fraudulent activities involving the use of Bitcoin. The accused, Ryan Kennedy, was arraigned at the Bristol crown court on September 11, The Sun reports.

Assumed BTC-e CEO Alexander Vinnik has publicly stated his innocence and even offered to help Vladimir Putin as a digital technology specialist.

Three Equifax investors sold $17.8 mln in shares days before the company announced it had suffered one of the biggest hacks in history.