CRYPTOCURRENCY Chit Chat Thread

[inlinesix]

http://www.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2020-04/20/c_1125878094.htm
 

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央行：数字人民币正在四地内测

PBOC is testing Digital RMB.

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Recently, it has been reported that the central bank's digital currency is measured in the Agricultural Bank of China account and will be implemented in the form of transportation subsidies in individual cities. In response, the Central Bank's Digital Currency Research Institute responded that the current stage of the digital renminbi in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong'an, Chengdu, and the future Winter Olympics scene internal closed pilot test, does not mean that the digital renminbi officially issued, closed test It will not affect the commercial operations of listed institutions, nor will it affect the RMB issuance and circulation system, financial market, and social economy beyond the testing environment.

　　The central bank has been studying legal digital currency since 2014. At the end of 2017, with the approval of the State Council, the central bank organized some strong commercial banks and relevant institutions to jointly develop the R & D of the digital RMB system.

　　The Central Bank's Digital Currency Research Institute said that the current research and development of digital RMB is proceeding steadily. The digital RMB system has basically completed top-level design, standard formulation, functional research and development, joint testing, etc. on the premise of double-layer operation, M0 substitution, and controllable anonymity. jobs.

　　The industry expects that the central bank's digital currency will adopt a gradual promotion method, starting with the four major banks' wage payment users and public service scenarios, and then gradually expanded to Internet companies and operators.

　　What is digital RMB

　　Previously, Mu Changchun, director of the Central Bank's Digital Currency Research Institute, clearly defined the central bank's digital currency, that is, "its functional attributes are exactly the same as banknotes, but only digital forms", "is a digital payment tool with value characteristics."

　　A person from a large bank told reporters that in the future, the central bank's digital currency can also be deposited into bank accounts, or Alipay, WeChat wallets, etc., and can even be withdrawn from the bank's ATM machine.

　　Unlike Alipay and WeChat Pay, the functions and attributes of the central bank's digital currency are similar to paper money, but the form is digital. For third-party Internet payments such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, commercial bank deposit currency settlement is used.

　　Mu Changchun said that out of anti-money laundering considerations, the central bank has also set up grading and quota arrangements for digital wallets. For example, the level of the wallet registered with the mobile phone number is the lowest, which can only meet the daily micropayment needs. If you upload your ID card and bank card, you can get a higher-level digital wallet; if you go to the bank to face the visa, there may be no limit for payment. (Reporter Lin Xiaoli)

 

[inlinesix]

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3043134/chinas-new-digital-currency-isnt-bitcoin-and-not-speculation

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China’s new digital currency ‘isn’t bitcoin and is not for speculation’

 

[Playtime]

Btc... btc... haiz.....

3k think think think... now.... haiz 🤮

[Throttle2]

2 hours ago, Playtime said:

Btc... btc... haiz.....

3k think think think... now.... haiz 🤮

No such thing as looking back.

my first ether was $10. 

[Playtime]

16 minutes ago, Throttle2 said:

No such thing as looking back.

my first ether was $10. 

wah.... super lau chiao..... 🤯 .. hope u sold at 900

 

so what do u think? 50k btc next year?

 

or the big funds will dump and eat all the retail fomo?

[Playtime]

On 5/9/2020 at 8:49 AM, inlinesix said:

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3043134/chinas-new-digital-currency-isnt-bitcoin-and-not-speculation

 

they fight for  ineternet, e commerce, outer space... why not crypto?

[Throttle2]

14 hours ago, Playtime said:

wah.... super lau chiao..... 🤯 .. hope u sold at 900

 

so what do u think? 50k btc next year?

 

or the big funds will dump and eat all the retail fomo?

Ether was higher than $1500 previously

just flip a coin if you want to know.

I just put some money in there since some years ago.   And simply take it as a write off.  Today more than u$20k left but doesnt make a difference to me as $20k is chicken feet anyway.  
moreover i never look back on wind that has blown by. 
 

i do have 2 personal friends who are worth a few hundred million dollars in cryptos

maybe you can try, sell all your belongings and take all the credit you can, then put everything into cryptos.

wish you good luck All the best.

Edited December 26, 2020 by Throttle2

[Windwaver]

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/malone-lam-charged-us-230-million-cryptocurrency-luxury-cars-watches-miami-4697631

How a Singaporean man allegedly stole US$230 million in cryptocurrency and what he spent it on

Singaporean Malone Lam, 20, has been charged in the US with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man who is accused of stealing and laundering US$230 million in cryptocurrency had pretended to be a Google employee to hoodwink his victim, court filings showed.

Malone Lam, 20, has been charged in the United States with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

Together with his co-conspirator, Jeandiel Serrano, they allegedly stole over 4,100 bitcoin – worth about US$230 million at the time – from a victim in Washington.

The scam was described as “one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts from a private individual ... in the history of the United States”, prosecutors said.

On Wednesday (Oct 23) morning Singapore time, Serrano appeared in court for a status hearing. The court heard that both the prosecution and defence were “seeking a resolution of this matter short of a trial”, court records showed.

They requested about 60 days to continue plea negotiations and will inform the court if a deal is reached before the deadline.

Court filings unsealed earlier this month detailed how Lam and Serrano allegedly carried out the scam and how they spent the money.

THE THEFT

Lam and his co-conspirator Serrano, 21, from Los Angeles, targeted the victim because they identified him as a “high-net-worth investor” from the early days of cryptocurrency.

According to court documents, substantial planning went into the scam, with a co-conspirator causing “unauthorised Google account access” notifications to be sent to the victim in the week leading up to the theft.

This person also used proxy and virtual private network (VPN) services to make it appear as if the access attempts were coming from overseas – this laid down the groundwork for the theft through “sophisticated social engineering”.

The court heard that on Aug 18, Lam and his accomplice called the victim, pretending to be Google support team members. They said there had been a hack attempt on his account and that they needed to shut it down.

The pair ultimately convinced the victim to provide the security codes to his account, before Lam allegedly accessed the victim’s OneDrive and Gmail accounts to locate the cryptocurrency assets.

He also “further scoured” the victim’s private accounts looking for additional information, court documents showed.

Lam found Gemini cryptocurrency exchange records in the victim’s Google accounts. 

The conspirators agreed that one of them should call the victim back and pose as a Gemini security team member to convince the victim that his cryptocurrency accounts had also been compromised.

Initially, they allegedly convinced the victim to transfer about US$3 million of cryptocurrency to a crypto wallet controlled by Lam.

They then asked the victim to download a remote desktop connection program for his own security. This program gave Lam and Serrano real-time access to the victim’s computer.

Serrano purportedly continued to manipulate the victim into opening several files, including those with private keys to over 4,100 bitcoin.

While Serrano continued to speak with the victim, Lam used the access keys to steal the bitcoin.

Prosecutors said they have screen recordings capturing Lam using the “$$$” Telegram handle and “Anne Hathaway” Discord display name to discuss strategies to manipulate the victim. 

Serrano used the online monikers “VersaceGod” and “@SkidStar”.

Authorities said they have numerous documents and photos linking the $$$ Telegram handle to Lam.

One of the photos is of Lam with a new white sports car, with his name painted on the side. He sent this photo to his friends using the $$$ Telegram handle.

In a police interview, Lam also admitted to using the $$$ Telegram handle, committing cryptocurrency theft and dividing up the stolen funds, as well as laundering these funds through cryptocurrency exchanges.

Serrano allegedly created an account on TradeOgre, a digital currency exchange, and made a deposit of about US$29 million worth of virtual currency.

He did not use a VPN when he created the account, and records from TradeOgre showed that the account was created from an IP address registered to Serrano’s home in Encino, California, which was being rented at US$47,500 per month.

WHAT LAM DID WITH THE MONEY

Lam went on a spending spree following the theft, the court documents showed.

“Government surveillance captured (Lam) at Los Angeles nightclubs spending hundreds of thousands of dollars per night, and gifting handbags valued at tens of thousands of dollars,” a law enforcement officer told the court, according to court documents.

Management at the nightclubs said that Lam tried to pay in cryptocurrency and was spending about US$400,000 to US$500,000 per night.

The prosecution also has a receipt from a Los Angeles nightclub where Lam spent US$569,528.39 in one night.

Lam also apparently bought a “collection of luxury automobiles”, some costing as much as US$3 million. They included custom Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches.

According to the court documents, Lam admitted to buying 31 luxury cars, 22 of which had yet to be found as of Sep 24. One of those still missing is the car with “Malone” painted on its side.

On Sep 10, Lam flew on a private jet from Los Angeles to Miami to continue his spending spree.

He rented multiple homes in Miami, including one on Hibiscus Island and two other luxurious homes near the water. One of those homes had a monthly rent of US$68,000.

In Miami, Lam continued to spend money in nightclubs, as well as on jewellery and cars.

ARRESTS

Serrano was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Sep 18 when he arrived home from a holiday in the Maldives with his girlfriend.

Despite being told by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that the “only way to make the situation worse would be for her to call Serrano’s associates and tip them off”, Serrano’s girlfriend told Lam about the arrest.

The Singaporean man immediately deleted his Telegram account. 

Lam was arrested on the same day in Miami.

From two of his houses in Miami, officers seized nine cars and luxury watches, one of which cost US$1.8 million. They also found bills of sale for some of these cars. 

In a police interview, Lam admitted to carrying out additional hacks and making millions from those separate cryptocurrency fraud schemes.

REMANDED

Lam has no legal status in the US, the court heard.

He arrived in October 2023 on the US visa waiver programme, which allows tourists to visit the country for up to 90 days without a visa.

While in the US, Lam had no permanent residence, was not employed and was “paying for his lavish lifestyle with stolen funds”, the court heard during the government’s bid to keep him in remand.

“Moreover, (Lam) has substantial assets that have yet to be located, which provide him with the financial means to flee.”

For each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, he could be jailed for up to 20 years and fined up to US$250,000, or up to twice his gains from the scams.

[Windwaver]

Anybody interested to mine bitcoin using solar panels?