Daily Crypto NewsEDITION #274, 02 August 2021

What is the crypto nightmare?

Hey Moni Maker

Today, in 2020, The SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft landed for the first time after a space flight. Really soon, space travel will be available to anyone with the money to do so. Experts estimate that $300,000 to $400,000 will be enough to touch space.

Even if you've already bought yourself everything: a house, a Tesla, a summer house, a villa, and new teeth ... maybe it's worth thinking about a new bloody unprofitable but wildly exciting investment?

But for now, let's read Digest. Let's go!

The founder of an NFT videogame lost 16 CryptoPunks “and a bunch of ETH” after falling prey to a scammer.

“I was lying in bed yesterday evening, mind was very foggy, casually browsing,” Stazie, the pseudonymous developer of NFT game Hedgie, tweeted yesterday. “The whole thing happened like a bad dream, almost felt like I was hypnotized.”

A scammer confusingly named “cryptopunksbot” posted in the CryptoPunk’s Discord server offering NFT investors the chance to win ten of the elusive NFT avatars to celebrate the project’s four-year anniversary.

Stazie took the poster up on the bogus offer, but that move eventually lost him 16 CryptoPunks, likely worth at least a million dollars.

So what?

And the rest of the scenario: the guy went to a phishing website, where his Metamask lost its scammer virginity... and seed-phrase also :(

Decentralization is a great thing, but it's just that people aren't always willing to take full responsibility for their dough. Bro, don't worry! You'll earn more one day. It's not scary to be a sucker. What's scary is staying a sucker forever. Or go back to fiat. But what's the difference? :)

Beginning on August 2, 2021, German institutional funds will be able to hold up to 20% of their assets in cryptocurrencies, possibly setting the stage for wider mainstream acceptance of Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto assets by the nation’s pension funds.

As Bloomberg reports, the new law alters fixed investment rules governing Spezialfonds, also known as special funds, which are only accessible to institutional investors such as pension funds and insurers. Spezialfonds currently manage about $2.1 trillion, or 1.8 trillion euros, worth of assets.

Tim Kreutzmann, who works for German investment fund association BVI, told Bloomberg that most funds will likely stay well below the 20% mark initially, explaining:

“On the one hand, institutional investors such as insurers have strict regulatory requirements for their investment strategies. And on the other hand, they must also want to invest in crypto.”

The link directed to LarvaLabs.io, a convincing copy of LarvaLabs.com, the project behind CryptoPunks. The scammy site had a popup “that looked like Metamask,” said Stazie, referring to the widely-used in-browser wallet.

The popup said that Metamask’s security had been compromised and requested Stazie’s seed phrase to restore access. Anyone who has access to the twelve-word phrase can drain the MetaMask wallet of funds.

So what?

Who doesn't want to invest in crypto?! Even uncles in classic suits want to touch the same bit. Fonda looks impotent in front of a young and vibrant Kripa.

Okay, nothing dirty happened here, don't worry :)

The number of financial pyramid scams uncovered by the CBR between January and June 2021 is 1.5 times higher compared to the same time period last year, the regulator announced this week. The financial authority attributed the spike to increased activity of “unfair market participants” in the midst of ongoing economic recovery and increasing demand for investments in Russia.

Bank of Russia also emphasized that fraudsters take advantage of “people’s insufficient financial and digital literacy” convincing them to invest in projects associated with trending topics. Investors often put money into cryptocurrencies, “pseudo cryptocurrencies” or fake crypto mining operations, CBR noted in a press release published Thursday.

So what?

Well... strange, isn't it? Almost a hundred years of socialism, only to have capitalism suddenly descend on people. And lots and lots of clever, beautiful, and good people fall for the offers of sweet-voiced scams, either because of the terrible financial situation or because they believe in the fairy tale...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed the Payment Services Act, which will give the National Bank of Ukraine the right to issue digital currency (CBDC) and create a regulatory "sandbox" to test innovative products.

So what?

Well, you can always discuss what the CBDC is and praise banks' efforts in crypto over there.

IoT (Internet of Things) — is the technology that provides a data transmission network between physical objects (“things”) equipped with built-in means and technologies for interacting with each other or with the external environment.

And more you can find in our Glossary!

And you...buy Bitcoin! (it's a good time!)