KPMG says Germans ramping crypto investments as Bitcoin halving nears

A recent KPMG study shows a renewed enthusiasm among German investors for the cryptocurrency market. The latest uptick in investment comes after a challenging year for the sector and just as the market anticipates the upcoming Bitcoin halving event in mid-April 2024. The report, which surveyed approximately 2,400 private crypto investors across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, sheds light...

German federal bank to offer crypto to institutional and corporate clients

Germany’s largest federal bank is set to launch crypto custody services in collaboration with crypto exchange Bitpanda, targeting institutional and corporate clients. Germany’s biggest state-backed lender with over $350 billion in assets under management, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW), will launch crypto custody services for its institutional and corporate clients in the second half of 2024 in a...

Thailand’s K-pop princess Lalisa of Blackpink joins top American outfit RCA Records

BANGKOK: Fans of Thailand’s very own K-pop princess Lalisa “Lisa” Manoban can now expect more international billboard hits from her, as she has just signed up with US record label RCA Records, it was reported by The Nation Thailand this week. “LLOUD is excited to share that Lisa is joining the RCA family. Please visit LaLisaOfficial.com to be the first...

Singapore’s ComfortDelGro investigating case of passenger getting into boot of taxi

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): ComfortDelGro is investigating after a video circulating online showed a passenger getting into the boot of its taxi. In a video posted on Singapore road safety Facebook group SG Road Vigilante on April 12, four young men are seen near a blue ComfortDelGro taxi at a VivoCity pick-up point. Two of them...

Ringgit seen remaining soft and trade around RM4.76 against the US dollar this week

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The ringgit is expected to remain soft and trade around RM4.76 against the American dollar next week ahead of talks by US Federal Reserve (Fed) officials on inflation and the US retail sales data. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said a slew of Fed officials are scheduled for...

Aave fork on Blast mistakenly liquidated $26m

An Aave fork on Blast network liquidated user positions worth over $26 million due to an erroneous threshold change. Pac Finance, an iteration of decentralized finance (defi) lender Aave on Coinbase’s layer-2 chain Blast, attempted to adjust its loan-to-value (LTV) parameters on April 11. Instead, the Aave fork unknowingly reduced its liquidation threshold. The result was a...

US government tops global Bitcoin holdings with $15b in assets

The U.S. government is the largest Bitcoin holder among nations worldwide, with approximately $14.7 billion worth of BTC. According to Arkham data, the U.S. government currently holds 212,847 BTC in its treasury wallets, just behind MicroStrategy, which owns 214,246 BTC, which is currently valued at $14.8 billion. Apart from Bitcoin, the U.S. has collected significant quantities of other digital currencies, including Ethereum (ETH)...

Ex-Amazon engineer sentenced to 3 years in prison for $12m crypto hack

A former Amazon software engineer Shakeeb Ahmed was sentenced to three years in prison for exploiting smart contracts. The breaches in 2022 resulted in the theft of over $12 million in different cryptocurrencies. The trial was the first-ever sentencing for a cyberattack on smart contracts. Ahmed admitted in December 2023 to manipulating smart contracts. By inserting fraudulent pricing data into the...

LONDON: Instagram says it’s deploying new tools to protect young people and combat sexual extortion, including a feature that will automatically blur nudity in direct messages. The social media platform said in a blog post April 11 that it’s testing out the features as part of its campaign to fight sexual scams and other forms of “image...

Kraken to delist Monero in Belgium, Ireland

Due to EU anti-money laundering rules, Kraken will delist privacy cryptocurrency Monero in Belgium and Ireland by June 10. Kraken announced it will suspend Monero (XMR) deposits and trading on May 10. The withdrawals would remain open until June 10, but customers were advised to close all margin and leveraged positions before XMR trading is suspended. XMR hardly reacted...