Tag: Bitcoin

Lil Kim Goes After Bitcoin

North Korea has been notorious for their hacking for years now….and now those hackers are going after the fortunes of Bitcoin investors….

North Korean hackers have ramped up efforts to steal cryptocurrency, with losses attributed to them reaching more than $2 billion so far this year—a record haul, according to researchers at Elliptic. These thefts account for roughly 13% of the country’s estimated GDP, per United Nations figures. While North Korean hacking groups such as the Lazarus Group have long targeted crypto companies, investigators now say there’s a growing shift toward wealthy individual holders, who often lack the robust security systems used by businesses, reports the BBC.

Elliptic’s chief scientist, Tom Robinson, points out that attacks on individuals are less likely to be reported, suggesting the true scale of North Korea’s crypto theft may be even higher. “We are aware of many other thefts that share some of the hallmarks of North Korea-linked activity but lack sufficient evidence to be definitively attributed,” he notes.

Western security agencies believe the regime uses these illicit funds to support its nuclear and missile programs. The largest known single incident this year occurred in February, when hackers reportedly siphoned $1.4 billion from the Bybit exchange. Other notable attacks include $14 million taken from WOO X users, $1.27 million from LND.fi, and $1.2 million from Seedify, per NK News. Elliptic says its analysts have tied more than 30 attacks to North Korea this year, with the largest theft from an individual coming in at $100 million.

The cumulative value of crypto assets stolen by North Korea now exceeds $6 billion. The regime has denied involvement in hacking, but researchers continue to trace stolen funds via blockchain transactions. Meanwhile, North Korea is also suspected of operating fake IT worker schemes to generate additional revenue and circumvent international sanctions, per the BBC.

What happened to all that cyber-security measures?

I realize I do not know much about all this crypto craze but it seems there is a safer place to put ones money….but that is just me.

Would greed dictate money to be put into crypto?

(Please do not try to explain Crypto to me….I am old and not really interested)

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Another Trump Business?

Today is all Trump all day!

I thought the big news would be that Trump rules out a third debate….

Republican nominee Donald Trump said on Thursday he would not participate in another presidential debate against Kamala Harris ahead of the Nov. 5 election, after several polls showed his Democratic rival won their debate earlier this week.
“THERE WILL BE NO THIRD DEBATE!” the former president wrote on social media site Truth Social. Trump had participated in a debate against President Joe Biden in June before his debate against Harris on Tuesday.
After having his butt handed to him by Harris I can understand that decision.
But the bigger news, at least for me, is his new business adventure.

Over the years Trump has had many failed businesses….a university, a casino, steaks, water, vodka and the list goes on…..and now news he has a new adventure to scam the public…..crypto

Donald Trump plans to deliver remarks next Monday about cryptocurrency and the launch of the company World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform controlled by his sons Donald Jr. and Eric. “We’re embracing the future with crypto and leaving the slow and outdated big banks behind,” Trump said in a video posted Thursday to X, the social media site that will also host his address on the subject at 8pm EDT on Monday from his Mar-a-Lago home. The launch of the business will come just 50 days from Election Day, per the AP.

As part of his presidential campaign, Trump has pledged to turn the United States into the “crypto capital of the planet.” He has received big donations from some industry leaders, including from twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, notes the New York Times. The new business could raise conflict-of-interest concerns if Trump wins reelection and his economic policies benefit the new company.

Cryptocurrencies are forms of digital money that can be traded over the internet without relying on the global banking system. The trading often depends on online marketplaces that charge fees for transactions, so that the cryptocurrencies can be exchanged for US dollars and other currencies. Trump opposed crypto during his presidency, but he has since warmed to the sector. He has suggested the government create a strategic reserve of bitcoin and has vowed to block the creation of a Federal Reserve-administered Central Bank Digital Currency, a digital form of central bank money that would be available to the public.

This from a guy that is peddling the Bible for profit.

Do I smell another Trump failure?

Crypto has all the makings for a scam….just look at those that have been arrested for fraud.

My daughter’s adventure into bitcoin has not been good and all I can say to the gullible out there….’buyer beware’.

If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.

Do not fall victim to a scam….do the research and do NOT take anyone’s word for it.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Another Tulip Craze

Tulip craze?

Bitcoin is going through the roof and there may be a historic event that it mirrors……

Tulip Mania, also called Tulip Craze, Dutch Tulpenwindhandel, a speculative frenzy in 17th-century Holland over the sale of tulip bulbs. Tulips were introduced into Europe from Turkey shortly after 1550, and the delicately formed, vividly coloured flowers became a popular if costly item. The demand for differently coloured varieties of tulips soon exceeded the supply, and prices for individual bulbs of rare types began to rise to unwarranted heights in northern Europe. By about 1610 a single bulb of a new variety was acceptable as dowry for a bride, and a flourishing brewery in France was exchanged for one bulb of the variety Tulipe Brasserie. The craze reached its height in Holland during 1633–37. Before 1633 Holland’s tulip trade had been restricted to professional growers and experts, but the steadily rising prices tempted many ordinary middle-class and poor families to speculate in the tulip market. Homes, estates, and industries were mortgaged so that bulbs could be bought for resale at higher prices. Sales and resales were made many times over without the bulbs ever leaving the ground, and rare varieties of bulbs sold for the equivalent of hundreds of dollars each. The crash came early in 1637, when doubts arose as to whether prices would continue to increase. Almost overnight the price structure for tulips collapsed, sweeping away fortunes and leaving behind financial ruin for many ordinary Dutch families.

(britannica.com)

Bitcoin started at a low price and just recently went over $1000…..is this possibly a Tulip Craze again?

Over the festive season, the conversation in my household inevitably turned to the phenomenal rise — and fall — in the US dollar price (exchange rate) for Bitcoin during December (Figure 1). The roller-coaster ride of the blockchain-based currency has been front-page news for the mainstream media, where it has been both likened to and disassociated from the boom-and-bust of the infamous 1637 Dutch tulip craze.

http://www.aei.org/publication/is-bitcoin-the-tulip-craze-of-the-21st-century-or-something-else/

Will history repeat itself?  Will this situation be a bubble that burst and sends the economy into a tail spin?

It seems the “Oracle of Omaha” (?)…..sees it as a bubble also…..

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Wednesday that he would never invest in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, and predicted the wildly popular assets are in for a fall.

“I can say almost with certainty that cryptocurrencies will come to a bad end,” Buffett told CNBC in an interview.

Buffett’s comments were backed by Charlie Munger, his longtime partner at his investment company Berkshire Hathaway, who described the soaring values of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies as “bubbles”. Munger said investors “are excited because things are going up at the moment and it sounds vaguely modern. But I’m not excited.”

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jan/10/bitcoin-and-cryptocurrencies-will-come-to-a-bad-end-says-warren-buffett

If it does find the bottom and people will lose big…… I am sure that it will be Obama’s fault or maybe Clinton’s also….

More On Bitcoin

Bitcoin has made the news in a big way….I even did a post recently trying to help my readers understand just what Bitcoin is and how it works……

https://lobotero.com/2017/12/14/what-the-hell-is-bitcoin/

The Bitcoin craze gets crazier….

It had to happen sooner or later.

Digital cryptocurrencies have been on a rocket ride in 2017. The most famous, bitcoin, rose from under $1,000 at the start of the year to $5,000 in October. Then it blasted off to nearly $20,000 per bitcoin by mid-December. Other cryptocurrencies were carried along by the craze.

The thing is, it’s always been hard to identify a “there” there. Digital cryptocurrencies like bitcoin aren’t very good mediums of exchange or stores of value. Nothing seems to be fueling the price rise other than, well, excitement over the price rise.

http://theweek.com/articles/744889/when-bitcoin-craze-becomes-panic

Bitcoin is making in roads in the shadowy world of terrorism……it is a grand way to launder money but can it be used to finance terrorist networks?

Signs are increasing that jihadist groups are looking to capitalize on the rising value of bitcoin, as massive price increases for the cryptocurrency in recent months garner growing public attention. Cold, hard, untraceable cash remains their preferred medium for transmitting funds, but new online activity shows that some jihadist groups are soliciting bitcoins, which can be acquired and spent without any government or banking intermediary.

Terrorist networks cannot easily transact in the formal banking system, so they often employ innovative methods to gain resources. Multiple media outlets that promote al-Qaida or Islamic State (IS) propaganda have asked supporters in recent weeks to send funds to specific bitcoin addresses. In some cases, these have been Salafi Jihadist news websites purportedly seeking donations for site maintenance. But one campaign–still live as of Dec.20–asks for funds to support fighters in Syria.

https://www.thecipherbrief.com/article/exclusive/international/terrorist-networks-eye-bitcoin-cryptocurrencys-price-rises

Just another aspect of terrorism that must be monitored……but with the turmoil in DC are our Intel agencies capable of watching everything they need to watch?

What will be the future of the Bitcoin craze?

This is a financial bubble….kinda like the tech stocks in the 90’s……