Our weekly updates are put together by folks deep in the crypto scene, giving you a clear picture of what's happening without overwhelming you.
To Watch This Week
AIRDROPS + ALPHADec 4, 2024
Markets
Monero Surges to Two-Year High of $211 as Privacy Coins Heat Up
Privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero surged to over $211.07 earlier today—its highest value since May 2022. At time of publication, Monero has pulled back slightly from its local high, and is currently priced at $205.05, up 17.8% on the day and 30.6% on the week, per data from CoinGecko. Monero's upward momentum comes as the wider privacy coin sector has heated up over the past week, with the category as a whole up over 12% in the past 24 hours alone, according to CoinGecko data. Leading the pa...
Nov 7, 2024
Coins
Hackers Demand $125K in French Bread in Crypto Ransomware Attack
A French multinational corporation has been targeted by a ransomware group that couldn't help but play to national stereotypes, demanding to be paid in baguettes. The gang said it wants $125,000 worth of the French bread, or it will leak from 40GB worth of stolen private data from Schneider Electric. A media report claims that the firm is really demanding crypto. The ransomware group, calling itself Hellcat, is represented by a pseudonymous Twitter (aka X) user named Grep, who communicated the...
Oct 2, 2024
Markets
Monero Dips 7% as Kraken Says It's Delisting XMR for European Customers
Privacy coin Monero is falling, dropping nearly 7% over the last 24 hours after Kraken announced its delisting in Europe. Kraken—one of the world’s oldest crypto exchanges—informed users that it will delist Monero for clients in the European Economic Area (EEA) due to regulatory changes. Trading and deposits of all Monero markets will halt on Oct. 31 for EEA clients, and any open orders will be automatically closed. The deadline for withdrawing Monero is Dec. 31, and the remaining balances after...
Sep 10, 2024
Markets
Monero Expert Fact Checks Chainalysis Video Claiming XMR Transactions Can Be Traced
A Monero committee member has refuted recent allegations based on a leaked Chainalysis presentation to the IRS that implies the privacy-focused cryptocurrency can be traced. Monero (XMR) is the world’s most popular privacy coin and is specifically built to hide the addresses and transactions of those on its network. Privacy coins have become popular for use cases that require a high degree of anonymity. And while there are lots of legal reasons someone may want financial anonymity, law enforceme...
Aug 17, 2024
Coins
Monero Vets Prep Tari Token, Promising Easier Mining for Newbies Than Bitcoin
In a bid to simplify the complex world of cryptocurrency for a new generation, a group of former Monero developers, including core contributor Riccardo Spagni (also known as “fluffypony”), are launching the testnet of their Tari Universe desktop application for mining the eponymous Tari token. According to Tari contributor Naveen Jain, Tari was inspired by the early days of Bitcoin when anyone could mine cryptocurrency on their computer without the need for specialized equipment—before expensive...
Aug 16, 2024
Law and Order
$5.1 Billion in Illicit Crypto Transactions Linked to UK Every Year: NCA
A new report from the UK's National Crime Agency has found that as much as $5.1 billion worth of illicit crypto transactions are linked to the country every year, with both digital and crypto related crime on the rise. The agency's findings were published in its annual National Strategic Assessment, which draws on data from law enforcement, government, and private intelligence. “As the popularity of cryptocurrency grows, so too does the frequency of cryptocurrency crime,” the report stated. The...
Aug 12, 2024
Coins
Binance Will Start Converting Monero to USDC on September 2 as Part of Delisting
Following Binance’s February announcement that it would delist Monero (XMR) and its finalization later that month, the exchange has now announced its last steps to get the privacy coin off its platform. In an August 12 blog post, Binance said it will convert the balances of 15 different tokens, including XMR, to USD Coin (USDC) on Sept. 2, 2024. The conversion will be complete and the USDC will be in users’ wallets by Mar. 1, 2025. The announcement explains that the conversion rate for the asset...
Jul 23, 2024
Coins
Bitcoin Still 'Most Abused' Crypto Asset Among Criminals, Says Europol
Bitcoin is still the cryptocurrency that is ‘most abused’ by criminals, despite the introduction of privacy coins such as Monero, according to a new report from the Europol Internet Organized Crime Threat Assessment. The report found that Bitcoin (BTC) is the asset most demanded by ransomware groups for their payment—presumably due to the ease with which non-savvy users can procure Bitcoin over assets like Monero (XMR). Still, criminals tend to convert Bitcoin to stablecoins to avoid market vola...
Jul 11, 2024
Law and Order
UK Sells Monero Tokens 'Seized' From Convicted Drug Dealer
A British man was convicted of selling deadly weight loss pills, and £15,000 (about $19,350) worth of Monero was “seized” from him by the Cheshire Cyber Crime Unit. Later, the Food Standards Agency sold the tokens for British pounds in what's been described as the first UK Monero cryptocurrency payout. Monero is one of the largest privacy coins that hides the addresses and transactions of those on its network. Thus, it has become a popular token for people to use when they don’t want their activ...
Jun 11, 2024
Law and Order
Bitcoin Lightning Network and Layer 2 Scaling Could Be 'Abused by Criminals', Says EU
A new report from the EU has singled out Bitcoin's Lightning Network and other layer 2 solutions as "data obfuscation" technologies that could be "abused by criminals." The First Report on Encryption by the EU Innovation Hub for Internal Security, a "collaborative network of innovation labs" from across EU member states, argues that alongside technologies including Mimblewimble, zero-knowledge (zk) proofs, coin mixers and privacy coins such as Monero and Zcash, "layer 2 solutions such as the lig...
May 8, 2024
Coins
Monero-Backed Short Film Tackles Injustice on the Mexican-American Border
A Mexican teenager is lured into a web of cross-border crime with tragic consequences, in George Nicholas’ Monero-backed short film “Límite.” The film follows 16-year-old Manuel, whose desire to assert his independence and face down neighborhood toughs draws him out of his grandfather’s orbit and into the clutches of a cartel drug-running operation. Director George Nicholas was inspired by the case of Cruz Velazquez Acevedo, who died in U.S. custody after customs agents coerced him into drinking...
May 8, 2024
Coins
Monero Exchange LocalMonero Is 'Winding Down' Its Operations
Monero-based peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange LocalMonero is shutting down, the platform announced in a blog post. Citing "a combination of internal and external factors," LocalMonero stated that it would be "winding down" its exchange after almost seven years of operation. The project is immediately disabling all new sign-ups and ad postings. Starting on May 14, new trades will be disabled and the website itself is scheduled to be taken down on November 7, 2024. The LocalMonero team urged users to r...
May 3, 2024
Coins
'Clock is Ticking' on Bitcoin Privacy: Edward Snowden
CIA whistleblower turned international fugitive Edward Snowden has issued a "final warning" on Bitcoin privacy, amid a U.S. crackdown on crypto privacy projects. In a tweet, Snowden said that, "I've been warning Bitcoin developers for ten years that privacy needs to be provided for at the protocol level," adding that, "This is the final warning. The clock is ticking." He was responding to a post by crypto privacy project Wasabi Wallet, announcing that it has suspended its services for U.S. users...
Feb 20, 2024
Coins
Binance Finalizes Monero Delisting Amid Surprising Market Response
Monero has been officially delisted from Binance, the leading exchange by volume, on Tuesday, February 20. The decision, initially announced on February 10, marks the end of XMR's availability on the world's foremost trading platform. The delisting comes at a tumultuous time for Binance which is heavily focused on gaining the favor of regulators around the world. The exchange's former CEO, Chanpeng Zhao, faces investigation by the United States and has been subjected to travel restrictions, desp...
Feb 7, 2024
Markets
Monero Makes Comeback Following Binance Delisting Price Dip
Privacy coin Monero (XMR) has shot up again after experiencing a plunge following news that crypto exchange Binance would delist the controversial coin. XMR is now priced at $130.54, according to CoinGecko, up more than 23% in the past day. It hasn't erased its post-Binance losses, however, and over a seven-day period is still down 21%. Zooming out further, and XMR is hurting bad over the month, having shaved off nearly 15% of its value in 30 days. The world's biggest crypto exchange Binance ann...
Feb 6, 2024
Coins
Monero Drops 17% as Binance Delists XMR
Binance will delist privacy coin Monero (XMR) along with a handful of other assets on February 20, the company said in a blog post Tuesday morning. The XMR price dropped 17% on the news and is currently trading for $138.00, according to CoinGecko data. With a market capitalization of $2.6 billion, it's easily the largest asset among the others being delisted. The other coins include Aragon (ANT), Multichain (MULTI), and Vai (VAI). Aragon is a code-free DAO creation and management platform that a...
Jan 26, 2024
Coins
Did Law Enforcement Crack Privacy Coin Monero? It's Complicated
Earlier this week, an article in Finnish publication MTV Uutiset claimed that Finland's National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) had succeeded in tracking transactions made using the privacy preserving cryptocurrency Monero. However, it's unlikely that Monero itself has been compromised, a former member of the MAGIC Monero Fund committee told Decrypt. Csilla Brimer said that investigators were likely able to trace some transactions because of faulty operational security on the part of users, rathe...
Jan 4, 2024
Business
Privacy Coins Monero, Zcash, Horizen 'At Risk' of Delisting by Binance
Crypto exchange Binance has added a "monitoring tag" to a list of cryptocurrencies including privacy coins Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC), Horizen (ZEN) and Firo (FIRO). In an announcement, Binance said that tokens with the monitoring tag "exhibit notably higher volatility and risks compared to other listed tokens," and are "at risk of no longer meeting our listing criteria" and being delisted from the exchange. It added that tokens with the monitoring tag are subject to regular reviews. Criteria con...
Nov 23, 2022
Business
Bitcoin Will Become ‘Less Important’ for Cybercrime Payments: Kaspersky
Cybersecurity company Kaspersky reported that ransomware negotiations and payments may soon come to rely less on Bitcoin as a means of payment. The Russian-founded firm attributed this transition to improvements in the technology that detects the flow and sources of Bitcoin, as well as increased sanctions and market regulation. The firm added that cybercriminals will instead look towards other digital currencies to facilitate their illicit payments. With the price of crypto dropping, threat ac...
Aug 15, 2022
Technology
Monero Rolls Out Enhanced Privacy Features With Hard Fork
Popular privacy coin Monero (XMR) completed a hard fork introducing new privacy and security features over the weekend. The non-contentious hard fork, completed at block 2,688,888, was first announced by developers in April this year. Initially planned for July, it was subsequently delayed to August 13. One of the main changes introduced with the fork is an increase in Monero's ring size from 11 to 16. In order to protect user privacy, Monero merges the digital signature of the individual signin...