Cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com at the last moment declined a five-year sponsorship agreement for €500 million with the UEFA Champions League, reports SportBusiness.

According to the publication, the company was to replace Gazprom as the tournament's title sponsor. The European soccer organization terminated its contract with the Russian holding in March after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The arrangements with Crypto.com envisioned the platform paying €100 million per season, compared to about €40 million from Gazprom.

According to SportBusiness sources, the sides agreed in principle on a deal and were close to signing an agreement. Supposedly, this turned out to be the most advanced stage of negotiations in the history of the soccer union, at which the commercial contract fell apart.

Interlocutors stressed that Crypto.com’s withdrawal of sponsorship is not related to the crisis gripping the cryptocurrency market. The company has run into legal problems in some key European countries, including the U.K., France, and Italy, over the scope of its licenses.

Phil Carling, managing director of Octagon, drew attention to the reduced financial flow to sports from the crypto industry:

“Until three months ago, this was a hot sector, and they were offering crazy money for premium rights. Now we don’t see that in any of the processes we accompany. I’m not saying it’s forever; it could come back. But for now, the big money deals and breakthroughs in terms of commissions that we were getting are gone.”

According to the publication, Crypto.com has recently committed more than $1 billion to sports sponsorships. This includes agreements with:

Staples Center Arena in Los Angeles ($700 million);
Formula One car racing series;
UFC mixed martial arts league ($175 million over 10 years);
Australian Football League;
FIFA for the Qatar World Cup;
French club Paris Saint-Germain (at least $25 million over three years).

As a reminder, Crypto.com, along with Coinbase and FTX, ran a record number of ads during the Super Bowl in February. The 30-second placement was worth $6.5 million.

https://altcoin.ng/crypto-com-has-decided-not-to-sponsor-the-uefa-champions-league-for-500-million-euros/

British District Judge Nicholas Rimmer denied a motion to stop extradition and dismiss the Christopher Hamilton case.

“Wherever the victims are, it is in their interest that those responsible be brought to justice. This factor speaks in favor of extradition,” the judge ruled.

Hamilton’s case will now be heard by Secretary of State Priti Patel, after which the defendant can appeal the judgment. U.S. authorities charged the Briton with money laundering and fraud involving cryptocurrencies.

Hamilton asked the court to leave the proceedings in the U.K. jurisdiction because the offense was committed outside of the United States.

Another co-conspirator in the fraud scheme, Robert McDonald, avoided extradition under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which includes the right to respect for private and family life. McDonald cares for his wife, who suffers from progressive multiple sclerosis, and, according to the judge’s written statement, separation from his spouse would be “extremely harsh in light of her poor health.”

The OneCoin crypto pyramid scheme, which international fugitive Ruja Ignatova is suspected of running, had as many as 3 million customers at its peak. Experts estimate that the Ponzi scheme brought in about $4 billion for the fraudsters. Since her disappearance, Ignatova is on Europol’s list of Europe’s most wanted. The FBI claims that OneCoin is the largest cryptocurrency scam in history.

https://altcoin.ng/crypto-queens-accomplice-is-being-extradited-to-the-usa/

“Bitcoin may fall to $12-9 thousand” Expert predicts market collapse

Bitcoin may fall in price to $12-9k, and Ethereum price will fall to $300-600, An expert wrote.

He called the current market situation “crypto-winter,” and predicted the final decline in price along with the unleashing of all geopolitical risks in Europe this coming fall.

“The market will be able to return to growth after the final decline and months of consolidation. Presumably, these conditions will be met by 2-3 quarters of 2023,” the expert predicted.

The expert cited stock market behavior and U.S. Federal Reserve rhetoric regarding lending rates and fighting inflation as major factors for the crypto market.

“When the fight against inflation is over, all markets will be able to move into growth,” The expert explained.

The current slight recovery in the bitcoin price is a technical rebound after Saturday’s drop, another expert added. He called the decline a reaction of the crypto market to the speech of Fed chief Jerome Powell on Friday, which confirmed the worst expectations of investors: the regulator intends to continue to fight high inflation by raising rates, despite the prospects of a slowing economy.

“Now we see a technical weak recovery of cryptocurrencies: in the short term bitcoin will be in the range of $19.5-21.5 thousand, as the main economic events for risky assets and global stock exchanges, will take place in the second half of September (Fed meeting, data on inflation in the US, etc.),” – concluded the expert.

https://altcoin.ng/bitcoin-may-fall-to-12-9-thousand-expert-predicts-market-collapse/

In May 2021, cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com accidentally transferred $10.5 million to a Melbourne woman instead of $100.

The erroneous transaction was discovered more than seven months later in an audit at the end of the year.

The platform sued for a refund. During the hearing, a Crypto.com representative attributed the transfer error to an employee entering an account number in the payment field instead of $100.

However, before the company attempted to return the funds, the recipient, along with her sister, bought a luxury mansion with a gym and a movie theater in a Melbourne suburb.

The judge ruled to sell the property and return the remaining money to the platform.

https://altcoin.ng/crypto-com-accidentally-transferred-10-5-million-instead-of-100-to-a-user/

In the last few years, there have been more cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes.

Since 2016, when the cryptocurrency market became popular, there have been more Ponzi schemes in the world of cryptocurrency. There are a lot of shady investment schemes that try to take advantage of the buzz around the cryptocurrency boom to trick investors who are easily swayed.

Ponzi schemes are common in the cryptocurrency sector, mostly because blockchain technology is decentralized. This lets fraudsters avoid centralized financial authorities that would otherwise flag or freeze suspicious transactions.

The fact that blockchain systems can’t be changed, which makes it impossible to undo money transfers, also helps scammers because it makes it harder for people who lose money in pyramid schemes to get their money back.

How does Ponzi Schemes Work

The term “Ponzi scheme” was first used in 1920 by a con artist named Charles Ponzi. He told investors that they could make a lot of money by investing in a program that used postage coupons. He told investors they would get back up to 50% of their money in 45 days or 100% per year in 90 days. The first group of investors got the returns they were promised, but the money they got came from investors who came after them. The purpose of the cycle was to bring in new investors, which let Ponzi steal more than $20 million.

He wasn’t the first person to cheat people in this way, but he was the first to do it on such a large scale, so the method is named after him.

In a nutshell, a Ponzi scheme is a fake investment program that promises customers astronomically high returns but pays off early investors with money from new investors. This helps the people running these scams keep up an appearance of legitimacy and find new investors.

Ponzi schemes, on the other hand, need a steady flow of money to keep going. Most of the time, the trick is over when the number of new hires goes down or when a lot of investors pull out their money at once.

How to detect a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme

In recent years, there has been a surge in the number of Ponzi schemes in tandem with the upward trend of the cryptocurrency market. Thus, it is important to know how to identify a Ponzi scheme.

Below are some aspects to consider when considering whether a crypto project is a Ponzi scheme.

1.Promises of ridiculously high returns

Many cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes promise investors that they will make a lot of money with little risk. This goes against how investing works in the real world, though. In fact, there is some risk with every investment.

Crypto investments usually change based on how the market is doing, so such claims should be seen as a red flag. Most of the time, investors who put money into these networks never see their money again.

2.Unregistered investment projects

Before putting money into a cryptocurrency company, it is important to find out if it is registered with government agencies. Registered cryptocurrency companies usually have to tell the right regulators how they make money in order to avoid getting fined. So, they are probably not going to take part in Ponzi schemes.

Projects that are registered in places with weak regulations on cryptocurrencies and that look like pyramid schemes should be avoided.

Some places, like the European Union, have already made detailed rules about cryptocurrencies to protect crypto investors from ponzi schemes. The European Council just passed a proposal that says cryptocurrency companies will soon have to follow the rules of the Crypto Asset Marketplace (MiCA) and get a license to do business in the area.

Putting cryptocurrencies under the control of MiCA would force them to reveal how they make money and slow the growth of crypto-businesses that use Ponzi schemes like these.

3. Using complex investment strategies

Ponzi schemes often say that they can make high returns with little risk because they use complicated trading strategies. Most of the growth strategies they talk about are hard to understand, which is done on purpose to avoid being looked at closely.

4. High level of centralization.

Ponzi schemes typically operate on centralized platforms. The OneCoin Ponzi scheme is a type of cryptocurrency based on a network that is very centralized. Between 2014 and 2019, people who put money into the pyramid scheme lost about $5 billion. The project used its own servers to run the hoax because it didn’t have a blockchain system.

After that, OneCoin could only be sold on its own trading platform, OneCoin Exchange. The tokens could be traded for cash, and wire transfers were used to move the money.

The OneCoin trading platform also had limits on how much investors could withdraw each day, so they couldn’t take out all of their money at once.

In 2019, some of the most important people involved in the scheme were caught. But the founder of OneCoin, Ruzha Ignatova, has a federal arrest warrant and is still at large.

5. Multi-level marketing

Multi-level marketing is a controversial method of marketing in which people make money by selling products and services and getting other people to join their network. Higher-level members get a share of the commissions that new members earn.

GainBitcoin is a Ponzi scheme that uses this hierarchical system and has been in the news recently because of it. Amit Bhardwaj ran the pyramid scheme, which had seven main recruiters in India and on other continents around the world. Each person was given the job of getting investors to join the network.

The plan promised users a 10% return on their Bitcoin (BTC) deposits every month for 18 months.

Investors are said to have given between 385 000 and 600 000 BTC to the scheme.

Swindlers have used Ponzi schemes for more than 100 years. Still, they have been able to do well in the crypto industry because there aren’t many well-thought-out rules governing it.

Since this kind of scam can happen in the crypto world, it’s important to be careful before investing in any new project.

https://altcoin.ng/how-to-know-if-a-crypto-project-is-a-ponzi-scheme/

Bitcoin has already fallen to around $19,000 and the capitalization of the crypto market has fallen more than 60% in the past six months, indicating a strong pessimistic trend and a bearish cycle in the market. Nevertheless, this is a great time to take a risk and diversify your cryptocurrency portfolio.

Bear markets are part of healthy market cycles

Everyone who trades cryptocurrencies and securities has undoubtedly heard of a bear market. Investor sentiment and behavior are heavily influenced by bull and bear markets. Many people associate a bear market with gloom and doom. However, it is important to note that a downturn, like the seasons of time in nature, is a perfectly natural market cycle.

A bear market is a market in which the value of cryptoassets falls 20% or more from their previous highs and remains low due to fear and pessimism among participants.

Bear markets more often develop during a recession and reflect a widespread deterioration of the economic situation. The last two times we have seen them in stock markets. Specifically, this occurred in 2008 and 2020, when U.S. markets fell 56.8 percent and 33.9 percent, respectively.

You can benefit in both markets, bearish and bullish, if you do it right. Even if the market is in a bearish trend, you can still profit. Some experts consider short selling an appropriate strategy for a bear market. However, it is often a high risk strategy for inexperienced traders.

Who is creating the bearish trend

According to University of Edinburgh Business School professor Jens Hagendorf, “It is more or less inevitable…so as long as corporate earnings change, as long as there is uncertainty in this economy, we will see certain cycles.” Consequently, only in a world without uncertainty, where corporate earnings are predictable and employment is completely predictable, will there be no bear markets.

According to Professor Janet Rutherford of the Open University Business School, the market cycle is essentially wave-like. She believes that people exaggerate market movements themselves, and it’s a kind of behavior. She says she doesn’t see how telling someone they are wrong prevents them from doing so (i.e., selling assets when the market is moving down)

How to Survive a Bear Market

Some experienced traders have advice on a bear market. Bear markets can turn bullish after a while. Once a bottom is reached, prices can skyrocket. One of the most important skills for every investor is managing emotions and making sound judgments. It seems simple, but staying sane when an asset is down by tens of percent is difficult. The urge to sell a coin at a loss can be strong. But keep in mind that losses and gains are only hypothetical until the asset is sold. In a bear market, really strong projects do not lose strength; once the trend reverses, their price is likely to recover.

https://altcoin.ng/crypto-bear-market-a-great-buying-opportunity/

Why Polygon and Cardano’s price rose to a record high

MATIC token saw an increase in price by 6%, this is due to a piece of news by the co-founder of the project. As speculators sold their crypto off on Friday due to the fall in the price of BTC, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal announced the launch of Symbolic Capital, a venture capital fund for web3 projects. The $50 million in capital raised will support existing startups with smart contracts on polygon to scale Ethereum.

The financial infusion will keep the companies “afloat” during the crypto winter. In addition, Nailwal specifically chooses projects from developing countries, particularly India, which have a huge potential for new user inflows.

Going forward, the investment will be based on team activity as measured by GitHub statistics and hiring dynamics. Nailwal believes that these indicators will eventually become the “due diligence” standard for crypto startups – a methodology for objectively assessing the risks and feasibility of investing.

ADA’s price rose by 5% rise due to delayed corporate news. Blockchain creator Charles Hoskinson brought clarity to the dates of Vasil’s upcoming hardfork by posting a traditional Friday video on YouTube.

An important network update was delayed in August, after which the developers assured the community that they would not postpone any more dates. According to Hawkinson, the hardfork is ready to launch, but like any global update, requires new clients to be installed by node owners.

Cardano developers will name an exact launch date for Vasil as soon as nodes owned by major exchanges are updated. Right now, more than 50% of the nodes have installed the new client.

https://altcoin.ng/why-polygon-and-cardanos-price-rose-to-a-record-high/

More than half of the trades on bitcoin exchanges are fake, according to a study conducted by Forbes. The reasons are so-called “wash trading” and poor monitoring of exchanges.

Wash trading is when a trader repeatedly buys and sells the same asset over a short period of time in an attempt to mislead other market participants about the price or liquidity of the asset. The purpose of these operations is to inflate trading volume and create the appearance of growing popularity of the asset. The article notes that wash trading also benefits exchanges.

The study found that Bitcoin trading volumes calculated by platforms considered reputable do not reflect the real picture. Resources such as CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko, Nomics and Messari give completely different estimates of daily bitcoin trading.

Forbes estimated the total daily bitcoin trading volume on June 14 at $128 billion, half the $262 billion volume cited by the named platforms.

The most problematic in terms of fake volume are platforms that report large numbers but operate with little or no regulatory oversight, such as Binance, MEXC Global and Bybit, analysts said. In total, less-regulated exchanges accounted for about $89 billion in real trading volume, the study said, while those platforms reported the figure at $217 billion.

https://altcoin.ng/more-than-half-of-bitcoin-transactions-are-fake/

The U.S. remains the leader in the number of cryptocurrency users – 46 million people own or previously owned digital assets, which is 13.74% of the population. In India, 27 million people (2%) use cryptocurrencies, and in Pakistan, 26 million (11.5%).

In Vietnam, 20 million people use cryptocurrencies, 20.2% of the population – the largest share of any country. In Africa, 53 million people use cryptocurrencies.

The report also reports that the volume of international payments in cryptocurrencies was $295 billion in 2021. The figure is expected to rise to $428 billion by 2025, with 15.8% of payment services already using digital assets. Acceptance of cryptocurrencies for everyday payments is also increasing.

https://altcoin.ng/the-number-of-cryptocurrency-users-in-africa-grows-to-53-million/

Dogecoin developer rejects $14 million offer to promote Dogechain crypto project

Billy Marcus’ refusal to accept a large fee for promoting a project with a similar “doggy theme” deserves deep respect from the cryptocurrency community, one of the Dogecoin co-founder’s followers, nicknamed Vee, wrote on Twitter.

According to Vee’s observations, many influential Dogecoin supporters betray the community by getting paid to advertise other projects to “fulfill their self-serving goals”: buying houses, cars, luxury watches, and other luxury items.

As Vee wrote, Billy Marcus is DOGE’s most valuable supporter. He’s cooler than all the Dogecoin Influencers put together because he “has their backs” while he can’t afford to buy a house himself.

Marcus commented on Vee’s tweet, writing that the DOGE community cannot be protected from such situations and it is hard to change influencers from betraying the community for personal gain. He acknowledged that the vast majority of people in the cryptocurrency space are driven by excitement and are only focused on making money.

https://altcoin.ng/dogecoin-developer-rejects-14-million-offer-to-promote-dogechain-crypto-project/

Bitcoin price fell below $21 thousand after the speech of the head of the Federal Reserve

Bitcoin fell to $20.8 thousand for the first time since August 20. Bitcoin is trading at $20,900, it has fallen in price by 3.4% over the past 24 hours.

The decline in the price of Bitcoin was accelerated after a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell. During the annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Powell said that the regulator will continue to raise interest rates to fight inflation.

“While higher interest rates and worsening labor market conditions will reduce inflation, they will also hurt households and businesses. These are the unpleasant costs of lower inflation. But failure to restore price stability will mean much more pain,” the Fed chief said during his speech.

As a result, U.S. stock indices fell sharply. The S&P 500 Index was down 1.69% in the moment and the NASDAQ Composite was down 2.12%. The Dow Jones index was down 1.32%.

https://altcoin.ng/bitcoin-price-fell-below-21-thousand-after-the-speech-of-the-head-of-the-federal-reserve/

Stablecoin Neutrino USD (USDN) lost its peg to the U.S. dollar. The token fell 10% in price relative to fiat currency, dropping to $0.9. USDN has a market capitalization of $625 million with a daily trading volume of $5.8 million, according to CoinGecko. As of August 26, USDN is trading at $0.91.

Neutrino Protocol is an algorithmic platform for the development of Waves blockchain-based stablecoins. It is based on a variety of DeFi tools, as well as 9 coins tied to fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar, euro, yuan, yen and Brazilian real.

Neutrino USD (USDN) is an algorithmic stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar and backed by the WAVES token, which also has shown a decline. This cryptocurrency fell by 3.8% overnight.

The decoupling of USDN Stablecoin from the dollar comes amid an update that was launched by the platform’s developers on August 24. Changes were made to the system as voted on by its users. According to the Neutrino team, this was necessary to stabilize the protocol and secure reserves.

In mid-August, the HUSD (HUSD) stablecoin, launched by major cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global, lost its peg to the U.S. dollar. On August 18, the token fell to an all-time low of around $0.88, showing a 12% decline. Subsequently, HUSD has recovered and is trading at $1 to $0.98.

https://altcoin.ng/stablecoin-usdn-lost-its-peg-to-the-us-dollar/

Litecoin is trying to break resistance at $56.5

Today, Thursday, August 25, LTC reached $56.4 and immediately found itself in the red zone, as investors who bought the cryptocurrency in the range from $56 to $57 started selling. A strong resistance zone was formed here, which the altcoin fails to break.

Last week, LiteCoin reached its highest level since early June. On August 14, LTC was close to $65.2, but at the weekend the coin fell down to $53.17. Support triggered in this area, and Litecoin was able to gather strength.

Analysts say the $62 mark will be an important boundary for it. The bullish trend will prevail only if LTC reaches $62-64 and stays in this area. Such a scenario is unlikely so far and the coin is likely to trade in a narrow range.

The lack of conditions for a rebound is also evidenced by a sharp drop in network activity. According to BitinfoCharts, while the average daily number of transactions on the LTC blockchain was 99,846 on August 18, it already collapsed to 41,538 on August 22.

Network user activity has remained weak over the past few days. Traders are focused on bitcoin, which is also stagnating while waiting for signals from the Federal Reserve.

https://altcoin.ng/litecoin-is-trying-to-break-resistance-at-56-5/

Types of scams in the cryptocurrency market

Rug pull

This kind of scam has become one of the most common scams that people who make crypto projects like the most. Chainalysis says that more than a third of the $7.7 billion in cryptocurrencies stolen from users in 2021 was due to “rug pull” projects.

To “pull the rug out from under” someone is to “rug pull.” The plan is for project developers to attract investors with a popular and trending projects like NFT and “pump up” the value of the cryptocurrency, making it worth a lot more. After getting enough money, the company goes away, the website stops working, social media accounts are deleted, and the token’s value drops to almost nothing.

The Dragoma project was an example of a rug pull. It was supposed to be a Web3 adventure game that used NFT and social media. The people who made Dragoma stole about $3.5 million, which caused the project’s DMA token to drop by 99.9%.

Ponzi scheme

A Ponzi scheme is when a crypto project doesn’t have any assets to back it up. At first, the people who make the project find investors. They then use the money from the new investors to pay other investors, Like most other scams, people who run Ponzi schemes promise big profits with little risk, but in the end, only the people who started the crypto scheme make a lot of money.

Voyager Digital, a cryptocurrency broker, filed for bankruptcy on July 5 and stopped accepting deposits, trading, and withdrawals on its platform on July 1. More than 100,000 lost their money. High-interest rates and easy access to credit that people couldn’t get from traditional banks drew people to the platform. The company went bankrupt because of the collapse of the cryptocurrency market in May, when TerraUSD got de-pegged from the U.S. dollar.

Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks and a Shark Tank investor, was accused by investors in the middle of August of working with Voyager Digital. In the lawsuit, it is said that Cuban and Voyager CEO Steven Ehrlich talked to investors directly, including through the Dallas Mavericks, to get money for the platform. Americans lost more than $5 billion because of what these people did.

Phishing Attack

Phishing is one of the oldest ways to steal money in the cryptocurrency market. Users of a platform get emails with malicious links, and when clicked, give away their personal information, including information about their cryptocurrency.

A recent example of a phishing attack was a fake uniswap website made to look like Uniswap V3. Users wallets were filled with fake UniswapLP tokens. Then, they had to click a link to trade them for tokens made by the protocol. The thieves were able to get away with $4.7 million.

This could also involve giving something away. This is another easy way to get information about investors who own cryptocurrency wallets. This kind of scam is common on social media networks, where people promise to give away cryptocurrency for free. You have to click on a link and enter your information on a fake site to get the coins (of course, those who want to get free cryptocurrency do not know about it). Scammers might also ask for money to verify the account.

Scammers often use fake celebrity accounts to draw more attention to giveaways.

As an example, there was a scam on the cryptocurrency platform TON that tried to trick people into buying Pavel Durov’s Gram coin. There were many companies around it that wanted to make money from the coin’s growing popularity. Before the official start of sales at ton-ico.com, a mail was sent to people who were interested that they could buy GRAMs for $0.15 if they bought at least 50,000 GRAMs. The site had all the bio of the real project team.

The people who owned ton-gram.io also used a similar scheme to make $30,000. And $5 million was stolen from Gramtoken.io users. It had paid ads on Facebook and secret documents from the official TON project.

Crypto Investment schemes

One of the easiest ways to trick people is to tell them to invest in cryptocurrencies. Scammers say they are investment managers with a lot of experience and profits, and they convince potential investors that their money will earn a lot of money. Fraudsters ask for personal identification information to steal deposited funds and sometimes even get access to an investor’s cryptocurrency.

Also, it’s interesting that con artists often manage to get more than just a one-time payment and keep fooling investors who don’t know much about business.

Crypto exchange scam

It is well known that trading conditions on popular centralised crypto exchanges are far from ideal because they charge high commissions for reliability and a wide range of services. Because of this, many traders and investors who are just starting out look for better deals and end up in scams. Some scammers also try to get people to sign up for an exchange by saying they will give them free cryptocurrency if they do so.

ICO Crypto scam

Today, almost anyone can start their own project with a native token and hold an initial coin offering (ICO). So, there are a lot of fake ICOs than there used to be. Team members and technical documents can be made up or taken from other projects that are doing things right.

In ICOs crypto scams, the “Pump and Dump” scheme is often used. Cryptocurrency owners raise the price artificially so they can sell the coin at its highest point. This is done with the help of false claims and hot topics. For example, the pay-to-play token Squid Game (SQUID) came out when the South Korean TV show “Squid Game” was at its most popular. The people in charge of the project gave token holders the chance to play an online game. Fraudsters made $3 million in less than two weeks. In one day, the people who made the project sold everything they had, and the value of SQUID went down to zero.

Cloud mining Scam

It’s important to know that cloud mining is not a scam itself. But there are scammers who bring investors to the platform and convince them to pay money upfront to ensure a steady flow of power and mining rewards. As you might have guessed, these sites don’t offer bonuses after the first deposit.

Geniuses at Work Corporation Miners was a big mining project (GAW Miners). The company rented out and sold Hashlet miners that were only digital. At first, investors got a lot of money back from their investments. So, the company got a loyal following.

At the height of its popularity, the platform made the PayCoin altcoin (XPY) and the PayBase service, which was meant to be the cryptocurrency equivalent of Visa/MasterCard. Because customers were loyal, the token started to grow steadily. But investors’ hopes were not met because the price of altcoins did not reach the $20 that was promised. The PayBase payment service also failed, and PayCoin’s creator, Joshua Garza, went to jail for almost two years.

Social engineering Attack


With this kind of scam, stealing money takes longer. Fraudsters have to earn the trust of the person who owns the cryptocurrency. To do this, they often pretend to be a government agency, a well-known company, a technical support service, or even a friend or colleague. The goal is to get the “victim” to give personal information so that the scammer can steal money from them or get them to send money to their wallet.

Dating sites scam

Surprisingly, you can also get ripped off on dating sites. If you like someone and he says he can help you invest but you have to send him money or cryptocurrency first, he is probably trying to scam you. Even if you love someone, don’t send them money.

https://altcoin.ng/most-common-scams-in-the-cryptocurrency-market/

The University of Johannesburg has started making its paper certificates more sophisticated with blockchain technology. In 2019, UJ became the first university in South Africa to issue digital certificates. They are in high demand because it is more convenient for graduates to send their diplomas digitally to potential employers.

Van Zyl said the new blockchain-based diplomas will increase document security and credibility. From 2022 all diplomas and certificates issued by UJ to graduates will include special QR codes.

They can be scanned with a smartphone to make sure that the certificate was really issued by the University of Johannesburg and all the information is reliable. By the end of the year, the university is preparing to issue about 30,000 certificates, including short-term training programs, and each of the documents will support blockchain.

Jaco du Toit, deputy director of UJ’s Center for Cybersecurity, assures that information about the diplomas is stored securely in a distributed registry and that the data cannot be changed because it would require changes to all blocks. Du Toit is convinced that blockchain can dramatically improve education. If all institutions of higher education start issuing blockchain-based diplomas with which graduates can quickly prove their qualifications, they will make a significant contribution to the fight against counterfeiting.

https://altcoin.ng/university-of-johannesburg-starts-issuing-degrees-on-the-blockchain/

The prime rate set by the Federal Reserve (Fed) is the lending rate at which banks lend to one another for short periods of time.

If a bank has to transfer or “cash out” funds to a customer but does not have enough reserves, it borrows capital from another financial institution for a short time at a low-interest rate.

The prime rate set by the Fed is the primary tool of monetary policy in the United States. Changes in the prime rate have a huge impact on the financial system and the stock market, and the value of numerous asset classes, including bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, is reflected in the value of these assets.

The Fed’s prime rate and bitcoin prices have historically had an inverse relationship: a decrease in the Fed’s rate leads to an increase in the capitalization of bitcoin and other digital assets and vice versa.

What is the relationship between the Fed’s prime rate and risk level?

Every financial asset has some level of risk. Assets are classified into two groups in terms of macroeconomics:

Risky assets are instruments with variable returns that are affected by investor behavior as well as market dynamics and conditions. Stocks of publicly traded corporations are examples of risky investments. Bitcoin does not yet have a definite status, but it behaves as a volatile and high-risk asset, with price changes that correspond to stock market dynamics.

The yields on low-risk or protective assets are modest, but the prices are often constant. They serve to preserve value during economic downturns. Some of these assets are fiat currencies, precious metals (especially gold), and high-quality government and corporate bonds. Furthermore, higher rates contribute to greater yields on US government bonds, which are the world’s primary anti crisis asset.

continue reading : https://altcoin.ng/how-does-the-feds-rate-affect-cryptocurrency-prices/

SudoRare has rugpulled

SudoRare, the AMM protocol for ERC-721 to ERC-20 swaps, suddenly removed its website and social media accounts. The creators of the protocol reportedly stole 519 ETH (~$828,000).

The first to report the possible rug pull was stated by sungjae_han, a member of the crypto community, pointing to a suspicious transaction to withdraw a significant portion of funds from SudoRare. The stolen funds were distributed across three accounts in the amount of 173 ETH.

https://altcoin.ng/sudorare-has-rugpulled/

According to SkyBridge Capital CEO Anthony Scaramucci, bitcoin cannot yet act as an asset to hedge inflation because acceptance of the first cryptocurrency is not enough.

During an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box program, Anthony Scaramucci stressed that bitcoin has not yet “matured enough” to be considered a full-fledged hedging asset.

The capitalization of the first cryptocurrency is now at $411 billion, which is certainly not enough to hedge the inflation of the world’s major economies.

“Until the number of Bitcoin wallets reaches a billion, I don’t think you can use bitcoin as a hedging asset – it’s just an early stage technical asset. You just don’t have enough bandwidth,” Scaramucci said.

Indeed, the number of wallets of the first cryptocurrency is estimated at 200 million. Bitcoin is often called digital gold, but, as the CEO of SkyBridge Capital emphasized, its capitalization is too small for it to become a real competitor to gold.

At the same time, Scaramucci is positive about the future of the cryptocurrency market. He noted that a significant number of “short” positions are open now, but traders should be prepared for losses. Most recently, Scaramucci said he is confident that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will rebound soon.

https://altcoin.ng/anthony-scaramucci-bitcoin-is-not-a-hedge-against-inflation/

A new study shows that the United States ranks first in the world in overall use of cryptocurrencies, with a score of 7.75 out of 10. Ukraine comes in second with a score of 5.96, followed by the United Kingdom with 5.79. This score took into account the number of cryptocurrency owners in the country, the global Decentralized Finance Adoption Index (DeFi), the number of businesses that have added cryptocurrency payments, the number of BTC ATMs and the monthly volume of cryptocurrency search queries.

The study focused on 50 countries that invest most in cryptocurrency by sampling various indicators.

Experts note that the U.S. and the U.K. lead the way due to factors such as the size of the economy and the degree of crypto-economy development.

Ukraine, the poorest country in Europe in terms of GDP and GNI per capita, nevertheless ranks high on the sum of factors characteristic of emerging economies. Such countries face economic problems characterized by the devaluation of local currency, forcing residents to invest in cryptocurrencies as a means of savings.

Moreover, in the top ten countries by total use of cryptocurrency, Ukraine ranks first in terms of the percentage of the population that owns digital assets (12.7 percent).

It is predicted that in the next three years, Nigeria will become the country with the highest total use of cryptocurrencies. Another study noted that Nigeria has the greatest interest in cryptocurrency, despite a market correction in 2022. It is worth noting that the regulatory aspect affects the adoption of cryptocurrencies in different countries. Notably, most jurisdictions have stepped up their efforts to pass relevant laws.

https://altcoin.ng/us-ukraine-and-the-uk-lead-in-the-use-of-cr%d1%83ptocurrencies/

Yungbliss:


After reading from your blog, is futures advisable for scalping?

Yes, but the commissions and dealing spreads you pay can determine whether scalping futures will make sense for you

The only thing standing between attackers (hackers, scammers) and your cryptocurrency is the security degrees you set. Some people think it doesn’t make sense for a hacker to attack them, but that doesn’t mean you should take protection lightly. Often, attackers are not attacking anyone in particular, but a mass of people at once. And if you lose money, nobody can give it back to you, not even Satoshi himself – that’s how blockchain technology works.

Therefore, do not neglect the protection of your crypto wallet. In this article, We will consider 3 levels of cryptocurrency wallet security. If you use them, you will be able to reduce the risk of losing your funds to hackers and scammers.

Level One: Basic Rules

These are the most basic safety rules that absolutely everyone should know about. They do not give a 100% guarantee of protection to your wallet, but if you do not use them – it’s like throwing money down the drain. So, these are the features of the first level crypto protection:

1. Secure your twelve-word seed phrase. A seed phrase is the main key to a cryptocurrency wallet. Anyone who gets hold of it will be able to gain free access to your wallet and all the finances stored in your wallet. So make sure that it is not written down in a known place.

2. Be careful with private keys. Functionally, a private key is similar to a Seed phrase but only gives access to a specific type of asset. For example, all Ethereum coins are controlled by an Ethereum private key. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies work with a mass of private keys, each controlling a single address. And stealing one of them allows all the others to be compromised as well. So keep these keys in as safe a place as possible.

3. Come up with a strong and unusual password for your wallet. Try to make it, unlike any other password you use for your email, games, social networks, etc. Use at least sixteen characters, preferably random characters. Add various punctuation marks as well as numbers.

4. Use a licensed operating system and applications, and update them regularly. First, this applies to the wallet application. Update your software in a timely manner, this is very important in general for the safe use of your device.

5. Do not go to suspicious websites and never download files from dubious websites or sources, they may contain viruses and spyware that might steal your passwords.

6. Don’t brag about your savings, especially in public. Many YouTube bloggers have fallen victim to hacks because they showed off their savings in videos, while not particularly thinking about the safety of their wallets. You should not make yourself a tidbit for attackers.

continue reading: https://altcoin.ng/19-ways-to-protect-your-cryptocurrency-wallet-in-nigeria-from-hackers-and-scammers/

A group of hackers posed as Binance CCO Patrick Hillmann in a series of video calls with representatives of a cryptocurrency project, whom they promised to assist in listing on the exchange for a fee.

The calls, using the top manager’s hologram, took place at Zoom. The scheme was revealed when the crypto-projects contacted Hillmann directly to thank him for his “help.

The CCO Binance did not specify which crypto-projects were attacked and what damage was done to them by hackers.

He also stressed that the listing process on the exchange does not include third parties and applications are accepted only through a special form on the official website.

https://altcoin.ng/hackers-used-binance-top-manager-hologram-to-scam-binance/

New crypto traders in Nigeria often ask the question – what are spot and futures trading, what is the difference between them when one or another trading method is applied. We will try to explain to you the features of both spot and options and also give examples of cryptocurrency exchanges that support spot and futures trading.

Although spot trading is recommended for novice traders as a simpler and clearer option, the market for cryptocurrency derivatives is also actively developing. In just a few years, it has grown to a big market, with many spot exchanges launching a section or even a separate platform with futures. As a result, trading volumes in these areas are increasing rapidly.

The differences between futures and spot trading

In the case of cryptocurrencies, spot trading is really the easiest action to start with. It is essentially buying a cryptocurrency (say, Bitcoin) and holding it in your account until the price rises for a profitable sale. The exchange takes a commission for each transaction, the amount of which usually depends on which “side” of the market the user belongs to in this case:

Makers. The commission for them is low or zero and on some exchanges, they get a so-called rebate.

Market makers create limit orders to sell or buy, specifying the desired price of the operation. Thus, they form a book of orders, that is, they “make the market. Hence, there are more loyal conditions for them.
Takers. They create market orders without specifying a buy or sell price, thereby closing the existing limit orders.

continue reading here: https://altcoin.ng/what-is-spot-and-futures-trading-in-cryptocurrency-exchanges-examples-of-derivatives-and-spot-exchanges/

n November 2021, Man City announced a new cryptocurrency partner, 3Key, but suspended the deal a few days later when it became clear that there was no verifiable information about the company. Man City subsequently refused to discuss the partnership or disclose exactly what kind of due diligence they had done on 3Key.

The club has left some serious questions unanswered:

Who are 3Key?
How did Manchester City sign a contract with a company they knew nothing about?
And, most importantly, was 3Key a legitimate but imperfect business – or a true fraud?
The answer we plan to reveal will shock you. Yes, almost unbelievably, Manchester City collaborated with a gang of alleged fraudsters.
The ever-changing cryptocurrency scam

In May 2022, a group of investors filed an application with the prosecutor’s office in Zagreb, Croatia, alleging that a number of cryptocurrency investment companies, most recently 3Key, were fraudulent enterprises and part of an interconnected complex of pyramid schemes.

The investor group, which includes more than 400 victims from around the world, is seeking to prosecute the architects of the fraud and recover £45 million – their share of the scheme, which was worth more than £1.1 billion.

According to the plaintiffs, 3Key was just the latest incarnation of a large-scale crypto-fraud that had been going on for several years. According to them, investors were offered to invest in schemes that promised significant returns, and then, when they collapsed, they were promised stakes in new schemes.

This is a type of so-called “exit scam,” where in principle it seems possible to get your money back, but in practice, procedural issues keep getting in the way. Often victims are told that they need to contribute additional funds before they can unlock their original investment.

Apparently, this was the model of 3Key’s predecessors, which included alleged cryptocurrencies called Jubilee Ace, AQUA coin, Jenco, and Globalytics Tech Research. Each stage seemed to involve the same core group of German promoters who sold coins at live and online seminars.

Continue reading here: https://altcoin.ng/former-manchester-city-sponsor-linked-to-crypto-fraud-of-over-1-1-billion-pounds/

As the cryptocurrency sector develops, it becomes obvious that it cannot go far without close cooperation with regulators. Proponents of cryptocurrency’s primary ideology of decentralization and anonymity may not like it, but nothing can be done. The authorities do not want to tolerate a free instrument for potential money laundering and other criminal operations.

In connection with this, almost all major exchanges are forced to introduce a procedure of confirming the identity of users, known as KYC, or verification.

Advocates of anonymity should turn to decentralized exchanges that do not ask for information about users. However, they also sometimes disappoint: for example, dYdX in August 2022 blocked a number of addresses associated with the sanctioned cryptomixer Tornado Cash. Innocent people suffer because it’s not just criminals who use cryptocurrencies.

What is KYC (verification) in a cryptocurrency exchange

KYC (Know your customer) is a concept used even before crypto, for example, absolutely all banks, as well as brokers, many payment systems and other companies focused on financial transactions uses it. It is one of the stages of AML (anti-money laundering).

When a new customer applies to a financial institution, there is a process of identification, which allows the company to assess the risk profile of the user and the likelihood of committing financial crimes.

On crypto exchanges, this process serves three main purposes:

Confirming the accuracy of the personal information provided by the customer.
Verifying the user’s activity and its legitimacy.
Determining the likelihood that the customer will be involved in money laundering or other crimes.
So, KYC is a process for companies to verify that their customers really are who they say they are and can provide financial services to them.

continue reading:https://altcoin.ng/what-is-kyc-verification-and-why-do-you-need-to-pass-it/

9 Mistakes of New Crypto Traders in Nigeria

Altcoin.ng has compiled a list of the 9 most common mistakes made by new crypto traders in Nigeria when trading and investing in cryptocurrency.

Common Mistakes by New Crypto Trader

Unwillingness to analyze the market independently.

Many Nigerian crypto traders are not ready to analyze the market by themselves, they prefer when a crypto influencer on Twitter or on youtube tell them what to buy, and what to sell. You should never live by other people’s wisdom. Listening to the advice of “experts” from Twitter, Youtube, telegram, or WhatsApp groups, who prophesy the growth rate of cryptocurrencies and advise when and how much to buy can make you lose everything.

Lack of patience.

It’s impossible to stay cool, especially following the news on Twitter. “Oh my God, the price is pumping, let’s buy!” or “Bitcoin won’t go up anymore, we need to dump it now!” Such messages are found at every turn. In reality, only the most patient and those who really want to understand how to play the cryptocurrency market wins. Warren Buffett once said: “The stock market is a tool for passing money from the impatient to the patient.” This is equally true of the digital currency market.

Premature selling.

It is important to always have a strategy for selling assets. It is impossible to predict how much a particular token will appreciate. When the price of ether rapidly went up, many early investors, fearing a natural correction, sold at $100-120. Those who rushed to sell their ether, are regretting it now. You need to set clear goals based on technical analysis of the market and go for them, taking your time to buy or sell cryptocurrency.

Storing assets on exchanges and in electronic wallets.

This is the most serious mistake made by many new Nigerian crypto traders. Users have lost hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of hacker attacks or due to the sudden shutdown of services. private Keys and seed phrases should be kept with you at all times.

Unwillingness to learn.

Many new Nigerian traders are not willing to learn, they trade with emotions rather than learning how the market works. Trading on your own is very difficult. Everyone who has succeeded has done so with the support of more experienced like-minded people. To avoid mistakes in the cryptocurrency market, novice traders and investors need friends to learn from. The easiest and most effective way to find them is to become a member of one (or more) specific crypto communities on the internet.

Sending your tokens to the wrong wallet address.

Most new crypto traders in Nigeria make this mistake. You shouldn’t send Bnb to an ETH address or your LTC to Doge wallet. Good thing that this mistake can be corrected. An Ether Wallet can hold different cryptocurrencies as long as they comply with the ERC-20 standard.

No physical copy of private data.

A password in a Word file stored on a PC is not a physical copy. You need to write down keys, passwords and other important information, print it out on a printer, and hide it away. That way, if something happens to the PC, it won’t be difficult to regain access to accounts and accounts from the new device.

Neglecting security tools.

First and foremost, we’re talking about two-factor authentication. You should use it wherever possible, and keep the key on paper in a secluded place. No help desk in the cryptocurrency world will help if the user has refused to enable two-factor authentication.

Trying to Fomo (Fear of missing out)

We have seen many Nigerian crypto traders trying to FOMO and end up losing all their money. New opportunities to make money from cryptocurrencies appear several times a day. You shouldn’t be afraid of missing out on some ICO or some rise in the price of some tokens. It is better to refuse an unprepared transaction, postponing it for the next time.

https://altcoin.ng/9-mistakes-of-new-crypto-traders-in-nigeria/

Bitcoin impulsively broke through a bearish wedge that had been forming for weeks. The rate of the cryptocurrency fell to a local low of $20,700, as of August 20, the asset is trading at $21,200. Now trades should be primarily from the “short”.

It is possible to place sell orders at $21.8-22.2 thousand, if the price returns there, it will mean a reverse testing of the trend line. According to the classics, sales should start from there again.

There are three possible targets for profit fixation:

$20 765
$19 223
$18 600
Stop-loss: $23,500
https://altcoin.ng/investment-idea-profit-from-bitcoin-crash/

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, said the digital naira is entering the second phase of testing. According to the regulator, the number of active users has reached more than 270,000 since CBDC’s launch in 2021. Customers have made transactions with eNaira worth 4 billion naira.

According to the Central Bank, the second phase aims to expand access to financial services by attracting users who do not have a bank account. The CBDC’s level of integration is planned to increase to 8 million active customers.

“eNaira was created to provide citizens with a reliable and secure tool to make cost-effective payments. Digital naira is not like offline payments, which use handheld devices, cards and near-field contactless communications,” said Emefiele.

Customers will be able to create an eNaira wallet using their phone, even without a bank account. And through the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIPS), instant payments can make transfers between bank accounts.

https://altcoin.ng/central-bank-of-nigeria-has-began-the-second-phase-of-enaira-testing/

Bitcoin’s fall is largely influenced by the increase in the key rate of the U.S. Federal Reserve. So the change in the price of the cryptocurrency was explained by a financial expert. He also spoke about the prospects of investing in bitcoin.

“For several months now, the U.S. Federal Reserve has been gradually raising its key rate. This will lead to the fact that traditional financial instruments, denominated in dollars, become more profitable. Therefore, some investors who used to go into cryptocurrencies because of the low yield of traditional instruments are now starting to return to this market,” said the expert.

As long as the Fed continues its policy of rising rates, the price of bitcoin will continue to fall

Bitcoin has the potential for rebound and growth. But you have to keep in mind that the cryptocurrency market is very high-risk, which is different from any other market, The expert warned.

If you can be sure about the changes in the value of securities and gold, you can be less sure about this. You can invest, but understand that the risk is high.

“This is a very unstable segment of the financial market by a combination of factors. Cryptocurrency has no rules at all except that you can sell what you bought for more than the initial price. That’s it. You can’t evaluate in terms of piecemeal actions, like currencies or securities. Such leaps will be repeated,” concluded the expert.

On Aug. 19, bitcoin plummeted nine percent overnight, the worst result in two months. Its value fell to $21.4 thousand.

https://altcoin.ng/why-is-the-price-of-bitcoin-falling/

The day before Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin provoked a wave of outrage from Ripple executives and XRP token fans on Twitter. The issue was Buterin’s comment about serious restrictions on Canadian crypto exchanges Bitbuy and Newton. The latter had previously set an annual limit of CAD 30,000 on the purchase of cryptocurrencies on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.

Many of the Ethereum investors criticized the news, which pleased Vitalik because this criticism of the annual limit by the Canadian government was without prejudice to his project.

Meanwhile, David Hoffman, the founder of the Bankless portal, also left his comment. He said he would have no objections to the exchanges restricting XRP transactions as well. Vitalik agreed, which greatly angered Ripple’s CTO David Schwartz.

Continue reading: https://altcoin.ng/angry-xrp-fan-community-attacks-vitalik-buterin/