$147.8K Bored Ape NFT Stolen in Latest Phishing Attack

• A blockchain security firm reported a phishing attack involving Bored Ape NFT #4587, the latest looting target of the address 0x43c922.
• The hacker has embarked on a series of heists since the beginning of February 2023.
• The account, now labeled fake_phishing38681 on Etherscan, has only been active for about 20 days and has performed 73 recorded transactions.

Bored Ape NFT Stolen in Latest Phishing Attack

Valued at $147.8k

Blockchain security firm CertiK shared an alert involving Bored Ape NFT #4587, which was the latest looting target of the address 0x43c922. Ancilia inc., a Binance-backed web3 cybersecurity partner, identified this NFT as being stolen by the hacker whose complete address is 0x43C922deB0827b9F5B1baC648677077A66F108e5. It was last valued at 89.9 ETH (~$147,800) in its last sale on May 9, 2022.

Previous Heist Included Yacht Club NFT #3097

The other theft from the same user targeted and stole bored ape yacht club NFT #3097 which was last sold on Jan 7th 2022 for 19.8 ETH (~$33,000). It was also stolen by address 0x43C922 which is now labeled as Fake_Phishing38681 on https://t.co/lb2v6r8JU0 .

FreeNFT OG Ticket 150 Also Affected

One token worth 7Ξ was stolen from address 0xe31f3cca152fbbe45d73ef64de25d81228f8f7a7 by the same hacker address as reported by @scamsniffer_. This happened to FreeNFT OG ticket 150 on Feb 15th 2023.

Address Flagged with Multiple Reports

Etherscan has flagged the address warning other users of interacting with it due to multiple reports associated with several phishing scams filed against it. This hack is a blow to both bored ape yacht club and whole crypto space alike as these phishing scams continue to haunt people in this industry.

Exercise Caution When Transacting With Address 0x43C922

It is advised that people exercise caution when transacting with this particular address (0x43C922) as it has only been active for about 20 days yet performed 73 recorded transactions within that period.

Andrew Tate’s Crypto Stash Seized by Romanian Authorities

• Andrew Tate, a social media influencer and five-time kickboxing champion, was recently arrested in Romania for human trafficking and sexual assault.
• Romanian police seized millions of dollars worth of luxury items from him, as well as hardware wallets containing digital assets worth over a hundred thousand dollars.
• Andrew had praised cryptocurrencies in the past, but his interest may be driven by personal gain and avoiding taxes.

Andrew Tate Arrested in Romania

British-American social media influencer and five-time world kickboxing champion Andrew Tate was arrested in Bucharest, Romania in December 2022 on charges of human trafficking, sexual assault and forming an organized criminal enterprise.

Romanian Police Seize Luxury Items & Digital Assets

Romanian police seized millions of dollars worth of luxury cars, homes, and watches from Tate and his associates. In addition to this, they also seized hardware wallets from Tate and his brother Tristan containing digital assets worth over a hundred thousand dollars together; this included five bitcoins (BTC) worth about $110k for Andrew and 16 bitcoins held by Tristan amounting to a total of $465k. These five seized bitcoins were held in Andrew’s girlfriend’s wallet.

Andrew Praises Cryptocurrencies

In December 2022, Altcoin Daily applauded Tate’s encouragement of crypto investment which he had expressed on various occasions including a mutual back-patting exchange with Michael Saylor CEO of MicroStrategy who stated “Fiat makes you weak – Bitcoin makes you strong”. However it appears that his enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies could be motivated by personal gain rather than conviction as he bragged about using crypto to dodge taxes with The Mirror report suggesting he made an impressive $600,000 a month employing 75 sex workers while dodging taxes using crypto.

Tate Involved With Pornography Business

Tate had also often showcased a controversial side to himself with boasting about setting up a pornographic webcam business despite the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) listing bitcoin payouts to performers as employment income thus requiring taxable payments.

Conclusion

Andrew Tate has been involved with many questionable activities such as human trafficking & sexual assault as well as promoting cryptocurrency use without proper acknowledgement or understanding of its legal implications along with bragging about dodging taxesusing cryptocurrency which can lead to serious consequences if not done correctly hence highlighting the importance for individuals to properly understand their actions before engaging in them .

BNB Rockets 38% as Binance Suspends USD Withdrawals, WazirX Dispute Continues

• Binance’s native token, BNB, has seen impressive YTD gains of over 38%.
• Binance recently suspended US dollar deposits and withdrawals.
• There is a current controversy with Indian crypto exchange WazirX.

Binance Native Token (BNB) Gains Over 38%

Binance’s native token, BNB, has had a roaring start to the year with its year-to-date (YTD) gains standing at over 38%. On Feb. 8, BNB reached an impressive 90-day high of $337.32 before suffering a minor retracement. Trading at $330.71 with a market cap of $52.22 billion as of this writing, BNB remains one of the top-performing crypto assets.

Suspension of US Dollar Withdrawals and Deposits

On Feb 6th, Binance announced that it would suspend US dollar deposits and withdrawals without providing any reason for the decision but directly informing affected customers. A company spokesperson stated that „0.01% of our monthly active users leverage USD bank transfers“ and that the company is working hard to restart the service as soon as possible. However, Binance US which is regulated by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is not affected by the suspension making it applicable only to non-US customers who transfer money to or from bank accounts in dollars.

Controversy With WazirX

WazirX, an Indian cryptocurrency exchange has refuted allegations from Binance claiming them false and unsubstantiated while also stating they will seek legal recourse according to a blog post published on Tuesday. In August 2022, there was dispute between two exchanges when Enforcement Directorate initiated an investigation over alleged money laundering against Zanmai Labs -the parent company of WazirX-. Changpeng Zhao CEO of Binance took to Twitter to state that his company does not own WazirX even though there was an announcement in 2019 declaring its acquisition of the exchange. This tussle between the two exchanges continues since then without any resolution yet seen in sight; however both parties remain adamant in their stance regarding this matter while users remain unable to use their funds through either platform due to this dispute continuing until further notice..

Impact on Price & Market Cap

The suspension of US dollar transactions coupled with the ongoing controversy with Indian exchange WazirX could mean uncertain future for BNB’s price and its market capitalization if not resolved quickly . Despite that ,BNB remains one top performing asset amongst others so far this year with its YTD gains standing above 38% despite minor retracements observed recently . As such , investors are expecting further upside for this asset in near future depending upon how these issues will be addressed by respective authorities in coming days .

Conclusion

In conclusion , although there are certain doubts regarding future performance of BNB due to recent events , investors still remain optimistic about its potential given its past performances . It will be interesting going forward how these issues get resolved and what impact they have on overall market performance ; only time will tell what comes next for this leading altcoin .

Ethereum Set to Surge in 2023: Price Analysis Shows Potential Gains

• Ethereum (ETH) has had a buoyant start to 2023, with the digital asset currently trading at $1,572.
• The launch of the Shanghai upgrade (EIP-4895) is ushering in a new era for Ethereum, transitioning from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
• Analysts are monitoring the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rate hikes and their possible impact on Ethereum’s price.

Ethereum Price Analysis

Ethereum price analysis indicates potential gains in 2023. After kicking off the new year at $1,192, ETH surged to a 90-day high of $1,674 on Jan. 21.

What Affects the Ethereum Price?

Various themes and questions will heavily influence Ethereum’s path such as scalability issues, user adoption and more.

The Shanghai Upgrade

The impending launch of the Shanghai upgrade (EIP-4895) is set to transition Ethereum from the traditional proof-of-work consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake (PoS) one. This transition will allow users to stake 32 ETH to become validators.

Federal Reserve Impact

The crypto market will be monitoring any potential impact that this may have on digital assets such as Ethereum with regards to the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rate hikes.

As various vital themes and questions continue to influence its path, how will ethereum settle throughout 2023?