Cloud Hosting

With gambling deals on the wane, cryptocurrency companies are the latest wave of controversial cash to flood into football, with many top European clubs having deals with companies in the sector.

The latest and perhaps most significant yet may be Liverpool who, at the same time as attempting to win a quadruple on the field, are in talks off it with a number of companies from different areas, including cryptocurrency firms, to replace Standard Chartered on the front of the iconic red shirts next year as revealed by David Ornstein.

Were they to strike a deal they would be the first Premier League club to have a cryptocurrency firm as their front of shirt sponsor.

Here The Athletic explains what cryptocurrencies are, the deals firms have already signed with clubs and whether there should be any concerns about partnering with them.

What are cryptocurrencies and who is in the mix for Liverpools shirt sponsorship deal?

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets based on blockchain technology, the computer networks which underpin the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The firms in the race for Liverpools shirt include a crypto exchange firm a platform to buy and sell digital currency and a blockchain platform, a decentralised computer network that underpins cryptocurrencies.

These sorts of firms are increasing their presence in sport but are controversial for reasons including the environmental impact of their products and an association with volatile financial speculation.

Which other major crypto sponsorship deals have there been in sport?

In football, many top European clubs including Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus have big money sponsorship deals with Socios.

This fan engagement company creates cryptocurrency tokens that grant access to polls and rewards, but an investigation by The Athletic revealed the companys products are subject to frantic pumping and dumping by people who see the volatile tokens as financial investments.

The Italian top flights technology sponsor is cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com, meaning VAR announcements on Italian TV come with a shout-out for crypto punto com. The website will also sponsor this years FIFA World Cup.

In the USA, big-money crypto sponsors are even more established. Crypto.com recently signed a massive 20-year, $700 million sponsorship deal with the Los Angeles arena, previously known as the Staples Centre, home to multiple sports teams including the LA Lakers and LA Clippers of the NBA.

The firm also has deals with Formula 1 and UFC (the Ultimate Fighting Championship).

FTX, another big exchange, has a deal with Major League Baseball, and has given its name to Miami Heats basketball arena in Florida.

There are many more cryptocurrency firms in different sports around the world appearing on jerseys and renaming stadiums.

Why is a crypto sponsor controversial?

First, carrying out cryptocurrency transactions using blockchain technology requires extensive computing power, which is directly associated with guzzling energy and therefore environmental destruction.

This is particularly true for the original Bitcoin blockchain. Later versions such as the Tezos blockchain which sponsors Manchester Uniteds training kit, and the Polygon blockchain which underpin Liverpools collection of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) say they are more environmentally friendly.

Second, and more fundamentally, critics argue that cryptocurrencies have no real purpose beyond financial speculation. The word cryptocurrency is a bit of misnomer because few people use this technology for buying goods or services. Far more common is using them as digital assets to try to make money. But unlike conventional assets like company stocks or commodities like gold or oil, cryptocurrencies are not linked to any tangible entity.

This means some go so far as likening the entire industry to a Ponzi scheme, where cash is transferred from late investors to early investors, who make money simply by buying low and selling high, with no product of tangible value being generated at any point.

Many cryptocurrencies, most famously Bitcoin, have ballooned in value since their creation, making some people very rich. But over the past year or two as the industry has become more established, these sorts of gains have become harder to come by and lots of people have lost money.

Another concern about cryptocurrency exchanges is that being such a new form of technology, the laws and regulations dont always apply to them.

Furthermore, some cryptocurrency exchanges offer many products, some of which, though legal in the exchanges home country are illegal in the country where the product is being marketed.

For example, during Liverpools recent thrilling draw with Manchester City, OKX, a cryptocurrency exchange, was prominently advertised at the Etihad Stadium.

A look at this companys website shows that the company deals heavily in crypto derivatives, which are banned from sale to UK consumers because they are deemed too risky for retail investors. There is no suggestion club or company is breaking UK law and the company itself is free to advertise here.

The financial structures of some of these companies are poorly understood, meaning we dont know if they are borrowing huge sums to fund these sports sponsorships, with the road to future profitability less clear.

What are the upsides?

Put simply, there is lots of money in this. The cryptocurrency industry is booming around the world and the sums being funnelled into sport are vast.

Maintaining a football club at the very top tier of international competition is increasingly expensive, with wages endlessly on the rise, and no cost controls like in American sports which implement salary caps.

While some clubs enjoy the luxury of financing from a state-linked entity, or, until recently, an oligarch willing to stomach huge personal losses for sporting glory, Liverpool are not in that position and Fenway Sports Group try to operate in a fairly sustainable way.

The clubs achievements have been exceptional over the past few years, but it will be difficult to sustain those levels without going toe-to-toe with rivals financially.

Cryptocurrency advocates also claim there are lots of positives about the technology itself, such as enabling payments across borders and across jurisdictions, such as in warzones or countries with poor banking systems.

Do Liverpool have any history with crypto?

The club recently launched a collection of NFTs, a sort of digital asset based on blockchain technology in the form of cartoon images of Liverpool players, which can be traded online.

The sale was not a success, with the club selling only around 10 per cent of the NFTs available, raising only around $1 million, less than 0.5 per cent of the clubs commercial revenue last year. There was also a backlash from fans.

The club also has a sponsorship deal with Think Markets, a trading app which offers cryptocurrency trading as a product.

What are the risks of a cryptocurrency deal?

Given the sector is growing so quickly despite almost no regulation, perhaps the biggest risk aside from a gigantic crypto crash that causes investors to desert the sector is not something that is obvious right now.

These firms are involved in moving money around the globe in ways that is barely understood, let alone regulated, meaning cryptocurrency exchanges are constantly working to steer on the right side of the law and not fall foul of prohibitions on money laundering or being used to fund illegal activities.

The biggest risk is that a club will sign a deal with a company that one day explodes spectacularly, or is embroiled in scandal and controversy in a way that is perhaps barely even conceivable at the moment the deal is signed, while the cryptocurrency hype is raging and while the values of digital assets are generally going up.

Although partnering with one of these controversial companies may be the best way for a club like Liverpool to help bankroll footballing glory, before they swap Standard Chartered for a new logo, they may want to make sure they are getting paid for the privilege in dollars or pounds, not crypto.

(Top photo: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Here is the original post:
Explained: Cryptocurrency, football sponsorships and why a Liverpool shirt deal could be controversial - The Athletic

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 26, 2022) - Cypherpunk Holdings Inc. (CSE: HODL) (OTC Pink: CYFRF) ("Cypherpunk" or, the "Company"), a sector leader for blockchain, metaverse, privacy and cryptography focused investments, is pleased to announce an investment of USD 500k in the AB Digital Strategies Fund managed by UK FCA-regulated Isla Capital. The investment was made in two tranches, USD $250k on February 24, 2022 and USD $250k on April 20, 2022.

About AB Digital Strategies

AB Digital Strategies is a Cayman Islands regulated hedge fund. The Fund implements a market neutral strategy targeting meaningful absolute return, with low volatility and minimal correlation to crypto markets and mainstream asset classes. Using a disciplined investment process, the Fund combines multiple independent trading strategies across a range of liquid crypto markets (spot and derivative) and decentralised finance ecosystems. Investment decisions are research-based and driven by fundamental, quantitative and market intelligence inputs. The investment team has multiple decades' experience in quantitative portfolio management, legal and financial structuring and trading, across both traditional finance as well as crypto markets since their early inception.

About Isla Capital

Isla Capital is a London-based investment manager deploying in-house, liquid alternative strategies in digital assets.

Isla Capital Ltd. is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom (FRN: 959846) as an Appointed Representative of Odin Capital Management Ltd. (FRN: 478321) which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Cypherpunk Holdings CEO, Jeff Gao, leads the move to diversify the company's treasury management away from passive storage and made the following comments in relation to the partnership with Isla Capital.

"The time when publicly traded companies can get by as a vehicle for passively holding crypto is behind us. What will set Cypherpunk apart from the rest of the industry is our focus on surgically targeting pockets of excess returns and alpha opportunities in crypto markets and our focus on risk-adjusted returns as a metric for treasury management excellence.

Story continues

"Going forward, Cypherpunk's strategy will include operating a diversified portfolio of niche and highly technical strategies within the nascent cryptocurrency markets, some of which will be operated by third parties. Our engagement with Isla Capital serves to work towards our plan to engage partners with extensive trading experience who can perform crypto research for the purpose of profiting off directionally neutral strategies across exchanges, instruments and other protocols.

"I've had great pleasure working with Ron Akram and William Beverley, co-founders of Isla Capital, both of whom bring considerable asset management and market experience to the table. I am looking forward to future collaborations between Cypherpunk and Isla as our company undergoes a pivotal transformation."

About Cypherpunk Holdings Inc.

Cypherpunk was established to invest in currencies, companies, technologies and protocols, which enhance or protect privacy. Its strategy is to make targeted investments in businesses and assets with strong privacy attributes, often within the blockchain ecosystem, including select cryptocurrencies. Current equity investments include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Samourai Wallet, Wasabi Wallet, Chia, NGRAVE, and Animoca Brands.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Generally, any statements that are not historical facts may contain forward-looking information, and forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or indicates that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be" taken, "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to the Company's expectation or belief regarding its investment in shares of Animoca Brand and Animoca Brand's future performance or business. There is no assurance that the Company's plans or objectives will be implemented as set out herein, or at all. Forward-looking information is based on certain factors and assumptions the Company believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by law. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

Officer/Director Contact:Jeffrey GaoChief Executive Officerjeff@cypherpunkholdings.comOffice: 1-647-946-1300

Investor Relations Contact: Veronika OswaldInvestor Relationsveronika@cypherpunkholdings.comOffice: 1-647-946-1300

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/121635

Read the original post:
Cypherpunk Announces Investment of USD 500K into Cryptocurrency Hedge Fund AB Digital Strategies Managed by Isla Capital Ltd. - Yahoo Finance

Intuit is being sued in the US after a security failure at its Mailchimp email marketing business allegedly led to the theft of cryptocurrency from one or more digital wallets.

In a proposed class-action lawsuit [PDF] filed in federal court in northern California on Friday, the plaintiff Alan Levinson of Illinois claimed he and potentially others fell victim to a sophisticated phishing attack in which their Trezor cryptocurrency wallets were unlawfully accessed and funds siphoned.

Someone earlier stole from Mailchimp details of Trezor's mailing-list subscribers, and used this information to reach out to those users with an email engineered to trick them into installing malware designed to hijack their digital wallets. Levinson said he believes millions of dollars in crypto-coins were stolen in this attack, including $87,000 from his own wallet.

The lawsuit accuses Intuit and Rocket Science Group a subsidiary that operates Mailchimp of poor security practices, allowing this alleged heist to take place.

"The hackers were able to access the Trezor email list (and likely other insensitive information) through Mailchimp and/or Intuit employee accounts," Levinson wrote in his 22-page lawsuit. "Indeed, defendants confirmed that hackers used an internal employee tool to steal data from more than 100 of their clients with the data being used to mount phishing attacks on the users of cryptocurrency services."

It's said said Intuit "willfully, recklessly, or negligently" failed to put in place measures that would ensure people's data was protected and keep such a breach from happening, and then failed to disclose the breach in a timely manner.

Intuit bought Mailchimp last fall for about $12 billion.

The lawsuit states Trezor users received phishing emails on April 2 that appeared to be legitimate messages from the company claiming that their data had been compromised and their cryptocurrency was at risk of being stolen. These messages were sent to email addresses stolen from Mailchimp.

Marks were told by these bogus emails to go to what turned out to be a malicious website suite.trzor.com, note the special character to download a new version of the Trezor desktop software suite that turned out to be wallet-draining malware. According to the lawsuit, this was also made possible because an Intuit staff apparently fell victim to a phishing attack in which they inadvertently handed over their internal credentials to one or more fraudsters.

"Defendants fell victim to one of the oldest cybertricks in the book: according to reports, one of defendants' employees fell victim to a phishing email and clicked on a malicious link," the plaintiff claimed. "Accordingly, the unknown hackers were able to pilfer Trezor platform users' cryptocurrency from the compromised accounts, resulting in millions of dollars of losses."

The lawsuit claims the crooks were able to view about 300 Mailchimp customer accounts, and exfiltrate data, including subscriber email addresses, from 102 of them. One of the customer accounts was Trezor.

In a statement to The Register earlier this month, Mailchimp CISO Siobhan Smyth said the company's security engineers first became aware of the security breach on March 26 when a miscreant accessed a tool used by customer-facing teams for customer support and account administration. Smyth said the targeted campaign "was propagated by an external actor who conducted a successful social engineering attack on Mailchimp employees, resulting in employee credentials being compromised."

Levinson raised the March 26 date in his lawsuit, saying it was "a week before the phishing emails were sent" yet Intuit didn't raise the alarm until Trezor did so when it spotted the phishing campaign.

"This lack of action was particularly concerning, as Defendants acknowledged that the hackers targeted customers in the cryptocurrency and finance sectors and that the hackers gained access to API keys for an undisclosed number of customers, allowing the attackers to send phishing emails," the lawsuit stated.

Levinson wants Intuit to pay for at least three years of credit monitoring for the victims as well as actual and punitive damages and legal fees.

View post:
Intuit sued over alleged cryptocurrency thefts via Mailchimp intrusion - The Register

Death isnt a happy topic to discuss, but its important to plan every scenario in advance, especially inheritance planning, also known as Estate planning to ensure that all your assets physical, financial and online are inherited and transferred to your loved ones, after your demise.

Whether it is gold, cash or a house, typically someone inherits it after it was put somewhere in a will by the deceased. But, what happens to crypto-assets after a person dies? The answer to that is not as simple.

With cryptocurrencies, the risk of losing assets or misplacing them is higher than with traditional assets. In this weeks column, we explain what happens to your crypto and non-fungible-tokens (NFTs) when you die, and how to set up your digital wallets so your loved ones can access them securely.

About 4 million Bitcoins have been out of circulation forever, as a result of people dying and not revealing their private keys. A private key is like a password. It is a string of letters and numbers that give you access to your crypto walletwhere your crypto coins and NFTs are stored securely.

Billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies have been lost forever, due to the owners dying and their family members or close ones not being able to retrieve the crypto assets from their wallets.

In 2018, Matthew Mellon, a Ripple investor who held $1 billion worth of XRP died and it was lost forever. In 2019, Gerald cotton, the CEO of a Canadian exchange QuadrigaCX, died and he was the only one that had access to $190 million worth of Aetherium.

The bottom line is, in both of these cases, only the deceased had access to the cryptocurrency, and with them, their assets are lost forever.

Cryptocurrencies are stored in your crypto wallets built on blockchain technology that stores digital assets cryptographically, making it impossible for someone to hack your private keys.

Without the private keys, you cannot claim ownership to any crypto assets. Court orders or any other legal document wont be worth it, if you dont have private keys.

Before we delve into the details of securing your crypto assets, its important to plan whom you give access to your digital assets.

Remember, choosing the right person to give access to your crypto wallet is not just about trust, its about choosing someone who is technologically savvy and understands how to retrieve a crypto wallet.

For instance, say Raj has 2 Bitcoins that he wishes to leave for his brother Sham, in the unfortunate event he dies. However, Sham has no idea how to use a cryptocurrency wallet or an exchange. In this scenario, Sham would most likely employ someone to help him access the cryptocurrency and then liquidate it. This can pose a significant risk. The employed person could transfer all the funds in their walletand we are familiar that such crypto scams are quite prevalent in the crypto universe.

This is only one such scenario. Even if Sham learns how to use crypto-wallets, there are other risks associated: sending crypto to the wrong address, getting locked out of devices or withdrawing assets using the wrong token standards.

Another factor to consider is how much information should you give out? Obviously, youd have to give out your private keys, but can you trust only one person with your crypto assets or could you divide the information among several people.

It is a safe bet to divide your bets across a group of people, although it has its pros and cons. An individual would not be able to withdraw your assets or steal your assets, but the drawback of listing multiple parties is that the whole system collapses if one person mislays any piece of the information.

The first thing to do before making a will is to transfer all your crypto assets to a hardware wallet. While online wallets are the easiest to set up and use but are also the most susceptible to cyber-attacks. One way to secure your cryptocurrency is to use a hardware wallet instead of an online wallet.

A hardware wallet stores private keys in a secure physical device, it is one of the best ways to protect your cryptocurrency. Moreover, they are immune to computer viruses, making it virtually impossible for hackers to steal your coins.

Make it easier for your loved ones to find and gain access to your crypto wallet. Write a step-by-step guide that explains how to access your cryptocurrency. Ensure that the provided information is stored somewhere on a password encrypted hard disk so that it doesnt go in the wrong hands.

When writing the instructions, assume that your beneficiary knows nothing about cryptocurrency. Here is a sample of the instructions that could be given.

#Name of the exchange that hosts your cryptocurrency. (WazirX, Binance, etc)

#Steps to log in: Username and password

#For physical wallets: Private wallet keys

#For account recovery a 12- or 24-word secret seed phrase

#In case you have two-factor authentication (2FA) switched on, provide either the location and password of the device where the Authenticator app is stored.

#If your accounts are set up to receive OTP on mobile phones, include details of the location and password of your current mobile device.

#Password or pin to your hard-disk.

After finalising the list, a complete walkthrough of these instructions will ensure that you included all the information your loved ones need to access your cryptocurrency.

Now that you have secured your crypto assets for your descendants, call up a lawyer and draft a will clearly stating who owns the access to your crypto assets, after you pass away.

In case you dont list crypto in your will, it falls into the residue of your will. Residue or remainder is a list of everything you own that isnt accounted for in your will. This includes your clothing, subscriptions, any personal items, etc.

Lastly, in the will, make sure to mention where to find your cryptocurrency. Bequeathing cryptocurrency to your loved ones requires way more planning and effort than any other traditional assets. It is better to start off as early as possible, before its too late.

See the rest here:
What happens to your cryptocurrency and NFTs when you die? Preplan or lose it forever - The Indian Express

Ethereum Classic's ETC/USD price has decreased 3.4% over the past 24 hours to $32.83, continuing its downward trend over the past week of -9.0%, moving from $36.03 to its current price.

The chart below compares the price movement and volatility for Ethereum Classic over the past 24 hours (left) to its price movement over the past week (right). The gray bands are Bollinger Bands, measuring the volatility for both the daily and weekly price movements. The wider the bands are, or the larger the gray area is at any given moment, the larger the volatility.

The trading volume for the coin has increased 6.0% over the past week while the overall circulating supply of the coin has increased 0.1% to over 134.44 million which makes up an estimated 63.81% of its max supply, which is 210.70 million. The current market cap ranking for ETC is #35 at $4.41 billion.

Powered by CoinGecko API

This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.

Read the original here:
Cryptocurrency Ethereum Classic Falls More Than 3% In 24 hours - Benzinga - Benzinga