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Libra, Melania creator’s ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ memecoin crashes 99%

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The creator of the Libra (LIBRA) token has launched another memecoin with some of the same concerning onchain patterns that pointed to significant insider trading activity ahead of the coin’s 99% collapse.

Hayden Davis, the co-creator of the Official Melania Meme (MELANIA) and the Libra token, has launched a new Solana-based memecoin, with an over 80% insider supply.

Davis launched the Wolf (WOLF) memecoin on March 8, banking on rumors of Jordan Belfort, known as the Wolf of Wall Street, launching his own token.

The token reached a peak $42 million market cap, however, 82% of the WOLF token’s supply was bundled under the same entity, according to a March 15 X post by Bubblemaps, which wrote:

“The bubble map revealed something strange — $WOLF had the same pattern as $HOOD, a token launched by Hayden Davis. Was he behind this one too?”

Source: Bubblemaps

The blockchain analytics platform revealed transfers across 17 different addresses stemming back to address ‘OxcEAe’ owned by Davis.

“He funded these wallets months before $LIBRA and $WOLF launched, moving money through 17 addresses and 2 chains,” Bubblemaps added.

Source: Bubblemaps

The Wolf memecoin lost over 99% of its value within two days, from the peak $42.9 million market capitalization on March 8 at 4:00 a.m. UTC, to just $570,000 at press time, Dexscreener data shows.

WOLF/SOL, market cap, 1-hour chart. Source: Dexscreener

Davies’ latest token launch comes weeks after the Libra token’s collapse where eight insider wallets cashed out $107 million in liquidity, leading to a $4 billion market cap wipeout within hours.

The Libra token turned into a political issue, with Argentinian President Javier Milei risking impeachment after his endorsement of the Libra coin.

Argentine lawyer Gregorio Dalbon has asked for an Interpol Red Notice to be issued for Davis citing a “procedural risk” if Davis remained free as he could have access to vast amounts of money that would allow him to either flee the US or go into hiding.

Related: Milei-endorsed Libra token was ‘open secret’ in memecoin circles — Jupiter

Memecoins are turning into “retail value extraction tools”

Memecoins are turning against crypto’s fundamental ethos of decentralization, becoming increasingly used to exploit retail investors amid the growing number of rug pulls, according to Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum.

“Memecoins have evolved from community-driven social experiments into a chaotic landscape dominated by value extraction from retail investors,” Plotnikova told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Insider rings, pump-and-dump schemes, and sniper groups have replaced the organic, collectible nature of original memecoins, creating an unhealthy playing field.”

Related: TRUMP, DOGE, BONK ETF approvals ‘more likely’ under new SEC leadership

Investors will also need to distinguish between memecoins that can be seen as genuine “collectibles” and “outright fraudulent activities” like rug pulls which are “not only unethical but also clearly illegal, with case law to support enforcement.”

“In my view, these activities should fall firmly within the jurisdiction of law enforcement agencies,” she added.

United States regulators are becoming increasingly aware of the growing memecoin scams.

A New York lawmaker introduced a bill that would establish criminal penalties specifically aimed at preventing cryptocurrency fraud and protecting investors from rug pulls, Cointelegraph reported on March 6.

Under the proposal, new criminal charges would be created for offenses involving “virtual token fraud,” explicitly targeting deceptive practices associated with cryptocurrencies.

Magazine: Caitlyn Jenner memecoin ‘mastermind’s’ celebrity price list leaked

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OKX suspends DEX aggregator to stop ‘further misuse’ by Lazarus

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Crypto exchange OKX has temporarily paused its decentralized exchange aggregator to prevent “further misuse” by North Korean hacking collective Lazarus Group.

“Recently, we detected a coordinated effort by Lazarus group to misuse our defi services,” said OKX on March 17.

“After consulting with regulators, we made the proactive decision to temporarily suspend our DEX aggregator services. This move allows us to implement additional upgrades to prevent further misuse.” 

The OKX helpdesk confirmed that the DEX aggregator was temporarily suspended for an “internal review and upgrade” but did not provide a timeline. 

It added that crypto wallet services will remain available to all customers, but it will “pause new wallet creation in select markets during this time.”

Source: OKX

On March 11, Bloomberg reported that European Union financial watchdogs were investigating the firm’s DEX aggregator, called OKX Web3, and its wallet services for their alleged role in laundering funds from the Bybit hack.

“Over the past few days, we’ve faced targeted media attacks questioning our integrity and operations,” the firm stated in a blog post. It added that it “can’t ignore the fact that these attacks are happening at a time when we are actively fighting against financial crime.”

According to Bybit CEO Ben Zhou, nearly $100 million from the $1.5 billion Bybit hack had been laundered through OKX’s Web3 proxy, with a portion of the funds now untraceable.

OKX responded on March 11, stating that the “Bloomberg article is misleading,” saying that when Bybit got hacked, OKX reacted in two ways: by freezing associated funds from moving into its CEX, and developing the new hack detection features.

Related: Lazarus Group sends 400 ETH to Tornado Cash, deploys new malware

OKX stated that the goal is to ensure that explorers properly highlight the actual DEX processing trades “rather than mistakenly identifying our aggregator as the point of trade.”

The exchange has already deployed a “hacker address detection system” for its DEX aggregator in addition to a system to track the hacker’s latest addresses and block them on its centralized exchange in real time.

“We already rolled out a lot of controls for OKX Web3 to fight with the misuse, including prohibited markets’ IP blocking and real-time black address detection and blocking system,” said OKX CEO Star Xu on March 17.

The firm also clarified that the OKX Web3 DEX aggregator is not a custodian of customer assets, adding that its function is to provide access to liquidity across multiple protocols. However, “some have deliberately misrepresented our platform,” it said. 

Magazine: ETH may bottom at $1.6K, SEC delays multiple crypto ETFs, and more: Hodler’s Digest

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Bank of Korea to take ‘cautious approach’ to Bitcoin reserve

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The Bank of Korea says it is taking a “cautious approach” to potentially including Bitcoin as a foreign exchange reserve.

Officials from the Korean central bank said in a March 16 response to a written inquiry that they have not looked into a potential Bitcoin (BTC) reserve, citing high volatility. 

Responding to a question from Representative Cha Gyu-geun of the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee, central bankers said that they have “neither discussed nor reviewed the possible inclusion of Bitcoin in foreign exchange reserves, adding that “a cautious approach is needed,” according to the Korea Herald.

“Bitcoin’s price volatility is very high,” the central bank noted, before adding that “in the case of cryptocurrency market instability, transaction costs to cash out Bitcoins could rise drastically.”

Over the past 30 days, Bitcoin prices have swung wildly between $98,000 and $76,000 before settling at current levels of around $83,000 in a 15% decline since Feb. 16, according to CoinGecko. 

The decision comes amid increasing global discussions on the role of crypto assets in national financial strategies, sparked by US President Donald Trump’s executive order earlier this month establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve and digital asset stockpile.  

At a seminar on March 6, crypto industry lobbyists, and some members of Korea’s Democratic Party urged the country to integrate Bitcoin into its national reserves and develop a won-backed stablecoin. 

However, the Bank of Korea emphasized that its foreign exchange reserves must have liquidity and be immediately usable when needed, as well as a credit rating of investment grade or higher, criteria that Bitcoin does not meet, in its opinion. 

Professor Yang Jun-seok of Catholic University of Korea concurred, stating “it is appropriate for foreign exchange to be held in proportion to the currencies of countries with which we trade,”

Professor Kang Tae-soo from the KAIST Graduate School of Finance commented on the US being likely to leverage stablecoins rather than BTC to maintain dollar hegemony before adding, “Whether the IMF will recognize stablecoins as foreign exchange reserves in the future is important.”

Related: Democrat lawmaker urges Treasury to cease Trump’s Bitcoin reserve plans

Earlier this month, South Korea’s financial regulator examined the Japanese Financial Services Agency’s legislative trend toward crypto assets as it mulls lifting a ban on crypto exchange-traded funds in the country.

Magazine: ETH may bottom at $1.6K, SEC delays multiple crypto ETFs, and more: Hodler’s Digest

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Crypto users report new scam emails spoofing Coinbase, Gemini

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Crypto users have reported a rise in scam emails made to look like they’re from crypto exchanges Coinbase and Gemini that attempt to get users to set up a new wallet with pre-generated recovery phrases controlled by scammers.

In several examples posted to X, the email claims to be from Coinbase, asking users to transition to self-custodial wallets and providing instructions on downloading the legitimate Coinbase Wallet, giving a deadline of April 1 to make the switch.

Source: Steve Kaczynski

However, it also provides pre-generated recovery phrases. Once users open a new wallet with those phrases and transfer funds, all the assets will be available to the threat actor, who could drain the wallet.

The email mentions a class-action lawsuit against Coinbase alleging it has sold unregistered securities, which has resulted in a court mandating users manage their own wallets.

“Coinbase will operate as a registered broker, allowing purchases, but all assets must move to Coinbase Wallet,” the phony email says.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission dismissed its lawsuit alleging Coinbase was an unregistered broker and selling unregistered securities on Feb. 27.

Coinbase told Cointelegraph it is aware of the scam and pointed to its March 14 post to X, saying, “We will never send you a recovery phrase, and you should never enter a recovery phrase given to you by someone else.” 

Source: Coinbase Support 

Crypto exchange Gemini has also been spoofed with the same recovery phrase email scam, using the same tactics and claiming users need to set up a new wallet because of a recent court decision.

Gemini was being sued by the SEC for allegedly offering unregistered securities through its earn program. The regulator opted to end the legal action on Feb. 26.

Source: Sukesh Tedla

Gemini didn’t immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. 

Blockchain security firm CertiK’s annual Web3 security report flagged crypto phishing attacks, which cost users $1 billion across 296 incidents, as the most significant security threat for 2024.

Related: California financial regulator warns of 7 new types of crypto, AI scams

The email scams come as at least three crypto founders have reported foiling an attempt from alleged North Korean hackers to steal sensitive data through fake Zoom calls.

Scammers have been targeting crypto founders by offering a meeting to discuss a partnership opportunity, but once the call starts, they send a message feigning audio issues and a link to a new call that installs malware. 

Magazine: Lazarus Group’s favorite exploit revealed — Crypto hacks analysis

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