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FBI seized $500,000 from North Korean hackers

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The U.S. Department of Justice has announced the seizure of about $500,000 in bitcoins previously paid by U.S. health care providers to the operators of the cryptocurrency attacker Maui.

Earlier this month, U.S. law enforcement officials had already warned about the activity on Maui, which is targeting medical organizations and public health care. Then it was reported that Maui uses a combination of AES, RSA and XORfor the encryption process: files are encrypted using AES with a unique key, which is then encrypted using a pair of RSA keys generated during the first run of Maui, and then the RSA public key is encrypted using another hard-coded RSA public key.

Experts speculated that the entire malware campaign is built on the willingness of medical institutions to pay a ransom, as they need to recover quickly from the attack and provide uninterrupted access to critical data and services, because people’s lives and health depend on it.

As the DOJ now explains, the discovery of this malware came after an incident at a Kansas hospital that the victims rushed to report to the FBI. In May 2021, that medical facility paid extortionists about $100,000 to recover data after the encryption attack.

“Through prompt reporting and cooperation from the victim, the FBI and Department of Justice disrupted a North Korean-sponsored group that was developing a ransomware program known as Maui,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monak. – “This not only allowed us to recover the ransom, but also to recover ransom payments made by previously unknown victims and to identify a previously unknown type of ransomware.

Thanks to a quick report of the incident, law enforcement could trace another $120,000 payment from an unnamed health care provider in Colorado. Those two payments, as well as an unknown number of $280,000 payments, were eventually recovered in May 2022, bringing the total amount recovered to approximately half a million dollars.

It is currently unknown how the seizure of the funds was arranged. It is likely that law enforcement could trace the victims’ funds, which the criminals were trying to launder, to a certain cryptocurrency exchange, which offers services for cashing out and converting cryptocurrencies into fiat.

While the amount recovered this time is small, it is emphasized that what happened demonstrates how rapid reporting of incidents allows law enforcement to more quickly and easily follow money trails, recover ransoms, and identify the perpetrators and their tactics. 


Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin Price Recovery Begins With Jump to $106K as Monero Marks 5% Increase (Market Watch)

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Following a dull weekend marked by a notable price dip to $103,000, bitcoin’s price has recovered some ground and reached $106,000 earlier today.

Most altcoins are with minor gains today, including HYPE, which has posted a 3% increase. XMR leads the larger-cap alts with a 6% surge.

BTC Aims at $106K

The all-time high registered on May 22 was followed by a violent correction on the following day when US President Trump warned that the EU might face another set of tariffs. Although the two parties reached some sort of an agreement and the tariffs were delayed for over a month, BTC failed to recapture its momentum and was stopped at $110,000 on a couple of occasions during the previous business week.

It continued to trade sideways until Friday evening, when Trump blamed China for violating their trade agreement. Beijing responded almost immediately, and bitcoin slumped by several grand. The culmination transpired on Saturday when BTC slipped to $103,100, which became a 12-day low.

However, it maintained that level on Sunday and even recovered some ground to around $104,000. During the Monday morning Asian trading session, BTC added a few more grand and tapped $106,000, where it faced some rejection and now sits about $500 lower.

Its market cap has risen to $2.1 trillion on CG, while its dominance over the altcoins is up to 61.5%.

BTCUSD. Source: TradingView
BTCUSD. Source: TradingView

XMR Pumps

Most altcoins have marked insignificant gains over the past 24 hours, such as XRP, BNB, SOL, DOGE, TRX, ADA, and SUI. HYPE stands out as the top performer from the largest 20 alts, while ETH has slipped inches below $2,500.

Monero’s native token has gained the most from the top 60 alts, as a 5.4% increase has pushed it to over $345. Other impressive performers include FLR, SPX, and FARTCOIN.

The total crypto market cap has increased by around $30 billion since yesterday and is up to $3.41 trillion on CG.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto
Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto
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Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.

Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.

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Cryptocurrency

Modest Strategy Bitcoin Acquisition Brings Stash to Almost 581,000 BTC

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The world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin continues with its BTC accumulation strategy, this time with a relatively modest purchase.

Announced just minutes ago, Michael Saylor’s brainchild has spent $75.1 million to acquire 705 BTC at an average price of $106,495 per bitcoin.

This week’s announcement is a lot smaller than almost all made since the US elections at the end of last year. Since then, the company has made countless purchases, many of which were in the billions of dollars.

Nevertheless, Strategy’s stash continues to increase and is now at 580,955 BTC, bought for $40.68 billion or an average price of just over $70,000 per BTC. This means that the current value of the holdings is well above $60 billion, given today’s bitcoin prices (or a paper gain of around $40 billion).

Earlier today, another big BTC accumulator, Metaplanet, announced its latest acquisition, which was even bigger than that of Strategy.

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Cryptocurrency

Hope for Altcoins? Analysts Predict Epic Finale to This Bull Cycle

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A lot of market dynamics witnessed in past bull cycles have played out differently in this one. One of them is the on-chain patterns and trends that precede altcoin seasons, which refer to periods when alternative cryptocurrencies outperform bitcoin (BTC).

While traders are skeptical that the market will witness an altseason before this cycle is over, analysts at the on-chain data intelligence platform CryptoQuant believe that all hope is not yet lost. Investors still stand a chance to make profits with altcoins in this cycle.

Not Time to Lose Hope

In previous cycles, BTC rallies were preceded by a steady decrease in the proportion of mid-to-long-term holding volumes. With new capital flowing into the market at the time, altcoins eventually surged towards the end of those cycles. However, the opposite has been the case this time; mid-to-long-term holding volumes have surged each time BTC rallies to new highs.

According to pseudonymous analyst Crypto Dan, the price movement of altcoins in this cycle has tallied with that of BTC. Bitcoin has constantly faced corrections after small gains in this cycle, and during those dips, altcoins have also suffered significant declines, indicating overall weakness.

The current bull cycle is nearing its final stages, and at this phase, it is almost impossible for investors to make profits with altcoins. However, since altcoin rallies have corresponded with BTC surges, Dan insists there is still hope.

When Altseason?

Bitcoin is yet to experience its final leg for this cycle, which means the asset’s dominance is likely to decrease. If the market plays out as Dan predicts, then altcoins may experience higher rallies than seen in previous patterns when bitcoin’s dominance plummets, marking the end of the cycle. Hence, all indicators point to bitcoin’s next upward move, which could occur at any moment from now.

“It’s not time to abandon hope just yet. Since we’re already in the latter half of the cycle, it’s worth waiting for Bitcoin’s next upward move,” Dan stated.

It is worth mentioning that Dan is not the only analyst who believes altcoins still stand a chance. CryptoPotato reported that many other traders and analysts believe this altseason will be epic, making the rally seen in 2021 seem tiny.

However, some have warned that not all tokens will go up during the altcoin season. Only a few chosen assets will record significant gains as they attract new liquidity.

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