FBI Reports Record $5.6 Billion Worth of Crypto Scams in 2023
According to the FBI, investors lost a record $5.6 billion in cryptocurrency-related financial crimes in 2023, up 45% from 2022. While cryptocurrency scams only account for 10% of all fraud complaints, they account for nearly half of all financial losses. Investment scams are the most common, particularly “trust” schemes, where scammers establish relationships with victims before encouraging large investments in fake cryptocurrency platforms. Victims, especially those over the age of 60, often face serious financial problems, including serious debt. The report also links some scammers in Southeast Asia to human trafficking, with 83% of complaints involving U.S. citizens.
DOGS Token Now Ranks Third in Holder Count
The DOGS meme token on Telegram quickly gained popularity, with 17 million users claiming the tokens shortly after its launch. In just two weeks, over 5 million wallets held DOGS, making DOGS the third most-held token after USDT and ETH. The site has over 1.1 million daily users, with a trading volume of 14.4 million. The project stands out in the Telegram ecosystem for providing real benefits and targeting long-term users. Despite its success, the TON blockchain faces challenges that could hinder its growth, including service outages and the recent arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov.
Bitcoin Leads $726 Million Crypto Outflow
Last week, Bitcoin led the cryptocurrency capital outflows with $643 million, while Ethereum saw $98 million outflow and Solana saw $6.2 million inflow. Overall, the cryptocurrency market saw a total outflow of $726 million, mainly due to concerns about interest rate cuts and upcoming events in the US. The outflow from the US was $721 million. Mixed economic data and weak employment data have added to the uncertainty, with investors closely monitoring the upcoming Consumer Price Index. In addition, US Bitcoin ETFs have seen a major pullback of nearly $1.2 billion in eight days, while Ethereum has seen a decline in institutional interest.
Failed Crypto Token Forces WeWork CEO to Refund Millions
Former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann is facing scrutiny for his climate tech startup Flowcarbon, which is trying to create the Goddess Nature Token (GNT) to tokenize carbon credits. Despite raising $70 million from high-profile investors, the company faced business resistance and governance issues that led to the project failing. As a result, Flowcarbon began returning money to investors, citing disputes and bad business from big carbon monoxide names. This reflects a broader problem in the carbon credit industry, where there is skepticism about tokenization and concerns about double-counting. Despite these issues, Flowcarbon’s leaders have decided to press ahead with their goal of integrating blockchain technology into carbon finance.
CryptoPunks NFT Once Worth $1.5 Million Just Sold for $23,000
CryptoPunk #2386 cost around 600 ETH (around $1.5 million) and has only been bought for 10 ETH (over $23,000) after being shut down due to a platform glitch that led to the NFT boom. The rare punk piece, one of 24 monkey-themed pieces in existence, has 257 owners, but they were unable to trade it after Niftex shut down. The investor made a profit by purchasing the smart contract and successfully purchased the NFT for a fraction of its value. The new owner is unknown and the NFT has not yet sold, but it has already received a bid of 600 ETH, representing a 60x return.
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