Crypto Money Laundering, Fraud and Mining Malware Drive Increase in FinCEN SARs

Colleagues, over the past year Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) – a branch of the US Treasury - has reported a significant increase in Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). Money laundering, fraud and mining malware complaints by financial institutions have all contributed to a rise in SARs to over 1500 per month. It is no wonder that the rise in SARs is directly correlated with in growth in cryptocurrency market capitalization. And in turn, cybercrime – which are at the core of SARs – also correlates the number and trading volume of cryptocurrencies. FinCEN offers an online SAR Stats reporting tool in their web site. Bottom line: The Cryptocurrency Academy and Cyber Security Defender propose the formation of cybercrime protection alliance between the US Treasury, financial institutions, crypto exchanges and security vendors with the goal of reducing cybercrime related to the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Share your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/) 

How will Bitcoin’s emerging crypto monopoly impact global cryptocurrency markets?

Colleagues, despite an aggregate decline in total cryptocurrency market cap since early CY2018, Bitcoin’s percent of total market value has reached staggering 50% threshold. Data also reveal that the top 5 cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple – control almost 60% of the global crypto market. View the data from CoinMarketCap tracking stats. The Cryptocurrency Academy and the Cyber Security Defender draw two key conclusions from these numbers. First, is the definitive market vale concentration – which is nearing monopoly status – around Bitcoin. Thus, the extended crypto ecosystem needs to serve customers by developing tools and applications which are purpose-built for Bitcoin. Second, is the rapid bi-furcation of the global cryptocurrency market between the “Big 5” and the second-tier cryptocurrencies which serve niche geographic- and application-specific markets. We believe that bad actors – such as Russia, Iran, North Korea, Syria, ISIS, and AOAP - will be the primary users of this cryptocurrency underclass of as they seek to evade economic sanctions and conduct nefarious financial transactions with little-to-no transparency. Share your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/) 

Does Bitmain’s Plans Signal a Major Wave of Crypto IPOs?

Colleagues, by most accounts China-based Bitmain is the world’s largest cryptocurrency mining operator and manufacturer of mining CPU-GPUs. Potentially valued at some $18 B Bitmain’s IPO could usher in a major trend for crypto-blockchain companies with plans to move out of the shadows and go public. Bitmain controls about 40% crypto mining pools and over 66% of mining equipment. The Cryptocurrency Academy does not find this move a surprise. Rather, we fully expect several IPOs over the coming 12-24 months of industry-leading crypto and blockchain ecosystem players to go public. This includes crypto exchanges, mining equipment vendors and mining operators, blockchain software firms and custody service companies as the industry matures. Which firms come to mind? Crypto exchange Binance and OKEx, Mining pools and Bitmain competitors BTC.com and AntPool. Blockchain software players Kik Interactive, Coindesk and EOS.io just to name a few. Such IPOs are in addition to the tsunami of cryptocurrency ICOs witnessed during the past two years. Share your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)  

Cyber Attacks Targeting Crypto Mining Continue to Infect Hundreds of Thousands of Devices

Colleagues, 2018 has seen the meteoric rise in cyber-attacks focusing on crypto mining applications. Thus, it is no surprise that over 170,000 consumer devices in Brazil which operate under MicroTik routers were infected with Coinhive mining software. Both SkyBox and Trustwave security firms affirms such attacks. We reported earlier this week that some 32% of cyber-attacks now involve crypto mining which far outweighs the relatively modest 8% of ransomware attacks. The weakest link in the crypto ecosystem appears to be network routers. Our previous post cited Cisco routers. Now MicroTik is also on the target list. Bottom line: Whether corporate or service provider networks, router hygiene is of utmost importance. Keeping all security software and patches up-to-date has become more critical than ever. We recommend that IT professionals managing routers increase their vigilance by:  A) Tracking security threats, and B) Maintaining security software. Each router vendor maintain security threat alerts and mitigation tactics on their web sites. Bottom line: The cyber threat against network routers by nefarious crypto miners is likely to get much worse until vendors can make a quantum leap forward in their security measures. Share your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/) 

How susceptible are Twitter and Facebook to spreading malicious cryptocurrency botnets?

Colleagues, yesterday Duo Security reported that some 88 million Twitter accounts fell prey to a malicious botnet spreading a fraudulent cryptocurrency giveaway program. Many of us, myself included, saw messages from this botnet and simply paid no attention. Nonetheless, the security issued a paper at the Black Hat 2018 conference entitled “Don’t @ Me – Hunting Twitter Bots at Scale.” The paper describes the “Anatomy of a Twitter Bot” on page 14 of the report. We know that Facebook and Twitter have purportedly taken major steps to reinforce their platform and account security in recent months given pressure from the US Congress and the European Union. Bottom line: How secure are social media platforms against penetration by and in turn spreading malware such as the Twitter botnet? The fact that the about 88 million accounts we effected strongly suggests that social media take a quantum leap in security to ensure their users remain secure. As of this writing Twitter has not publically affirmed this attack. Duo Security plans to publish mitigation tactics for this malware on GitHub in the coming days. Share your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)  

Will the LevelTradingField Derivatives Exchange Offer More Opportunity Than Risk for Cryptocurrency Traders?

Colleagues, crryptocurrencies are commonly viewed as a high risk asset among traders and investors alike. Moreover, crypto exchanges are very susceptible to fraud and cyber security vulnerabilities. To top it offer, derivatives – not unlike options trading – is only for the most sophisticated financial professionals. Enter the new LevelTradingField Derivatives Exchange is based upon the Ethereum Blockchain. Known as CADE this new exchange will cater to elite financial pros who have both extensive crypto and derivatives expertise. The launch of CADE is yet another proof-point in the ever expanding cryptocurrency ecosystem. Bottom line: While CADE may be attractive to less experienced crypto traders, the exchange and crypto traders much be approached with caution and only allow elite financial professionals to participate. Share your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)  

What impact will NASDAQ’s moves to regulate cryptocurrencies have on speeding market adoption?

Colleagues, the Cryptocurrency Academy has previously reported that Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman anticipates that cryptocurrencies will rapidly move out of the shadows and into the mainstream of financial trading and investing on the NASDAQ … and likely other traditional financial exchanges. Nonetheless, she also sees formal regulation of Bitcoin, Ethereum, EOS, Litecoin, etc. as a vital prerequisite for crypto trading on the NASDAQ. Therefore it comes as no surprise that Friedman recently met with leaders of several leading crypto ecosystem entities. The nexus of NASDAQ and cryptos is clear: Both want legitimate and sustainable growth that is credible for traders and institutional investors alike. Bottom line: How and when with the US SEC implement a viable securities framework for cryptocurrencies? The Cryptocurrency Academy predicts that the US SEC will offer its proposed regulations for comment by the US cryptosphere within the next 12 months and then rapidly push for Congressional approval in 2020. Share your comments today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)