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US Prosecutors Charge Canadian Hacker in $65M Crypto Heist

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U.S. authorities have charged 22-year-old Canadian Andean Medjedovic for allegedly stealing approximately $65 million from two decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, Indexed Finance and KyberSwap.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on February 3 that a federal court had unsealed a five-count indictment against him.

The Charges Against Medjedovic

According to court documents, Medjedovic manipulated smart contracts on the two platforms between 2021 and 2023, tricking the protocols into miscalculating key financial variables. This allowed him to withdraw funds at artificial prices, causing significant investor losses.

Prosecutors say he laundered the stolen money through digital asset swaps, bridging transactions, and crypto mixers in an attempt to hide the illicit proceeds.

U.S. Attorney John J. Durham described the alleged crimes as a “highly sophisticated scheme to exploit two decentralized finance protocols and steal tens of millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency from investors.”

Authorities further allege that after the KyberSwap exploit, the accused sought to extort the protocol’s developers and investors, demanding full control of the platform and its DAO in exchange for returning half of the stolen assets.

Medjedovic is charged with wire fraud, unauthorized damage to a protected computer, attempted extortion under the Hobbs Act, and two counts of money laundering. If convicted, he could receive a maximum sentence of 10 years for the computer damage charge and up to 20 years for the other four counts.

The Suspect’s Trail

The Canadian has been on the run since stealing from Indexed Finance in 2021. He has defended his actions online by claiming they were legal under the disapproved “code-is-law” argument, which suggests that exploiting flaws in smart contracts is fair game.

In a 2023 interview with DL News, Medjedovic stated he had traveled through Europe and Latin America, eventually settling on an undisclosed island. While he dodged questions about the exploit, he insisted he had turned to ethical hacking as a “more sustainable mode of being.”

Months later, KyberSwap was drained of approximately $50 million in crypto. Blockchain investigators linked the incident to a wallet associated with the 22-year-old that later transferred $2 million to a separate one also tied to him.

After the exploit, prosecutors say he tried to move stolen crypto to Ethereum but was blocked by developers. Frustrated, he allegedly contacted support to demand they process the transaction.

Laurence Day, a co-founder of Indexed Finance, believes the suspect’s arrest will bring little relief to victims. He noted that much of the stolen crypto was later taken in a separate hack, complicating recovery efforts.

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Bitcoin (BTC) Reclaims $97K, Ripple (XRP) Soars by 12% Daily (Market Watch)

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The cryptocurrency market has shown some resurgence in the past 24 hours, with numerous leading digital assets charting mild gains. Bitcoin (BTC), for instance, climbed by 1% and surpassed $97,000 again.

Many of the well-known altcoins have performed much better than the primary cryptocurrency. Ripple’s XRP is the most evident example, with its valuation jumping by double digits.

BTC is Slowly Recovering

It has been a rather shaky week for Bitcoin (BTC), whose price fluctuated between under $95,000 and almost $100,000. It traded near the upper mark on February 7, but in the following days, it suffered a severe downfall. 

BTC Price
BTC Price, Source: CoinGecko

The price tumbled to its local bottom of less than $95,000 on February 12, shortly after the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Consumer Price Index data for January. The actual inflation rate was higher than expectations which caused the entire crypto market to head south. 

The following day, though, BTC bulls regained control and pushed the valuation to as high as $98,000. However, the rally was short-lived, and the price once again plunged below $95,500. Over the past several hours, though, there has been a new resurgence, and BTC currently trades just north of $97,000.

The asset’s market capitalization is well above $1.9 trillion, whereas its dominance against the alternative coins slightly decreased to approximately 59.6% (per CoinMarketCap’s data).

XRP Shoots Up

As mentioned above, most altcoins have outperformed BTC in terms of daily gains. The biggest rivalEthereum (ETH)is up by 1.5%, while Solana (SOL), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Cardano (ADA) have witnessed increases of 3% to 5%.

The best performer from the top 20 club today is undoubtedly Ripple’s XRP. Its price soared by 12%, reaching a 10-day high of $2.75. This happened shortly after the US SEC acknowledged Grayscale’s application to convert its XRP Trust into an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

While the sector’s landscape is predominantly green, there are some assets experiencing decreases. Binance Coin (BNB), which was at the forefronts of gains on February 13, is down 5% in the last 24 hours, whereas TRON (TRX) has slipped by 3%.

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has climbed to $3.23 trillion, representing a 1.5% increase for the day.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview
Cryptocurrency Market Overview, Source: QuantifyCrypto

 

 

 

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Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.

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BANANA is Live on LINE’s Dapp Portal, Pioneering AI-Powered Data Sovereignty and Rewards

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[PRESS RELEASE – Santa Clara, California, February 14th, 2025]

BANANA, the AI-driven idle game powered by CARV known for its meme-inspired banana collecting and innovative data monetization, is proud to announce its official launch on LINE’s Dapp Portal. After rapidly scaling to 18 million users on Telegram since July 2024—including 10 million in its first month—BANANA is now expanding to reach even more players, offering a seamless blend of privacy-preserving AI and fun gameplay.

Now available on LINE’s Dapp Portal, BANANA isn’t just another game—it represents a new paradigm where user-owned data fuels engaging experiences and transparent rewards. While traditional digital platforms capitalize on user data, BANANA flips the script with Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) and Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP). These cutting-edge technologies ensure users’ personal data remains private while businesses gain verified, high-quality insights for marketing, research, and beyond.

At its core, BANANA empowers users to claim ownership of their data in a way that feels effortless. Players collect fresh bananas daily, each designed around trending memes, and share them with friends in a truly viral experience. Simultaneously, BANANA’s AI-powered system facilitates data monetization through user-approved interactions such as secure ad views and account linking. The result is a fluid, gamified experience that demonstrates how AI-driven data autonomy can be both profitable and entertaining.

Here’s what users can expect from BANANA:

Verified, Privacy-Preserving User Insights

  • High-Quality Data: BANANA’s Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) and Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) ensure that user data is genuine, secure, and fully consented, giving businesses reliable insights without running afoul of privacy regulations.
  • User Trust & Compliance: Thanks to privacy-by-design, businesses can confidently engage users while meeting GDPR and other data protection standards.

AI-Enhanced Engagement & Automation

  • Hyper-Targeted User Quests: AI dynamically generates tasks or campaigns aligned with individual user profiles, guaranteeing higher completion rates and deeper brand interaction.
  • Automated Workflows: AI companions execute certain actions (e.g., check-ins, reward claims) on behalf of users, promoting consistent engagement with your product or service.

Seamless Gamified Experiences

  • Increased Brand Loyalty: Gamification mechanics—the evolving AI agents in terms of “pets” and tiered capabilities and rewards will keep users engaged over the long term, building habit formation and brand advocacy.
  • Performance-Based Incentives: Rewards scale with user contributions and data quality, aligning brand goals with user motivations and reinforcing positive behavior.

BANANA invites everyone to collect bananas, nurture AI companions, and explore the future of data ownership.

About BANANA

BANANA is an AI-powered application with gamification experience by CARV. BANANA blends meme culture with user-owned data monetization and uses advanced privacy technology to ensure secure, transparent data sharing while rewarding users for their data contributions. Having already garnered over 18 million users on Telegram, BANANA now launches on LINE’s Dapp Portal to usher in a new era of AI-driven engagement and data sovereignty.

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Coin Terminal and ZetaChain Unite to Launch AI-Powered Crypto Hackathon with $1M in Funding

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[PRESS RELEASE]

CoinTerminal, one of the leading crypto IDO launchpads, has partnered with ZetaChain, the new L1 and Universal Blockchain for cross-chain interoperability, to host an exclusive online hackathon – AI3. This groundbreaking event aims to uncover the most promising and impactful blockchain projects, fueling their growth with up to $1 million in funding raised through CoinTerminal’s launchpad.

Bridging AI and Blockchain Innovation

The Coin Terminal AI Hackathon, powered by ZetaChain’s Universal Blockchain platform, invites developers, entrepreneurs, and blockchain enthusiasts to build transformative decentralized applications (dApps) that leverage artificial intelligence and multi-chain connectivity. With Coin Terminal’s expertise in aggregating and analyzing market sentiment in real-time and ZetaChain’s Universal Blockchain compatibility, participants will gain unique tools to bring their visions to life.

“Our goal is to identify and support the next generation of blockchain innovators,” said Hatu Sheikh, Founder of Coin Terminal. “By combining AI-powered insights with ZetaChain’s unparalleled cross-chain capabilities, we’re providing a launchpad for truly disruptive projects.”

Hackathon Key Features

Unlike traditional blockchain hackathons, this event focuses on:

  • AI-Powered Market Insights: Participants will gain access to CoinTerminal’s real-time crypto market analytics to refine their projects with data-driven decision-making.
  • Seamless Cross-Chain Development: With ZetaChain, developers can build Universal Apps that natively span with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and more.
  • Up to $1M in Growth Funding: Winning projects will receive investment support via CoinTerminal’s IDO platform, enabling them to secure capital and scale efficiently.

“ZetaChain is designed to unify the blockchain ecosystem,” said Alex Kim, Business Development at ZetaChain. “This partnership with Coin Terminal aligns perfectly with our mission to make cross-chain development seamless and accessible for developers worldwide.”

How to Participate

The online hackathon will run from the 20th to the 21st of February, welcoming projects, developer groups, and teams to compete. Participants will receive mentorship from industry experts, access to leading blockchain infrastructure, and a chance to showcase their projects to a panel of top judges in the Web3 space.

For more details and registration, users can visit the hackathon’s website.

With CoinTerminal’s cutting-edge launchpad platform and ZetaChain’s revolutionary blockchain framework, this hackathon is set to spotlight the most promising crypto innovations of the year. Users can join and be part of the future of decentralized technology.

About Coin Terminal

Coin Terminal is a leading launchpad in the Web3 space that has offered users the opportunity to buy in pre-sales along with investors like Binance Labs, Samsung NEXT, Arthur Hayes, and many more.

About ZetaChain

ZetaChain is the first Universal Blockchain with native access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and more, offering seamless user experience and unified liquidity to the next billions of users. With its Universal EVM, ZetaChain empowers developers to build Universal Apps that operate natively across any blockchain, creating a fluid crypto ecosystem from a single platform.

Users can follow ZetaChain on Twitter @zetablockchain and join the conversation on Discord and Telegram.

Users can reach out to partnerships@zetachain.com if they are building on top of ZetaChain.

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