Tether leads the way in Oobit’s $25M funding round

South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has opened a special event in celebration of its staking service surpassing a total value of KRW 1.5 trillion ($1.2 billion), where users can participate in a staking quiz to receive 0.002 ETH (approximately $4.60) each. Staking refers to the process of entrusting crypto assets to be utilized for a blockchain’s operations and receiving rewards in return.Photo by Nenad Novaković on UnsplashEvent detailsParticipants in the quiz event will have 30 minutes to complete five quizzes related to Upbit’s staking service. The total reward pool is 210 ETH, which will be allocated to 100,000 participants on a first-come, first-served basis the day after answers are submitted. After completing the quiz mission, ten users who also stake their Ethereum assets will get the opportunity to be selected to receive 1 ETH each. "We organized the event to make more users aware of staking on Upbit and to express our gratitude,” Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, said. Upbit’s growing staking platformUpbit’s staking service was officially launched in January last year. Currently, there are five cryptocurrencies that can be staked on Upbit – Ethereum, Cosmos, Cardano, Solana and Polygon. In particular, the exchange does not manage user assets or entrust them to external parties but stakes them through self-operated validators. All staked assets are stored in a cold wallet. 

As cryptocurrencies increasingly position themselves as a recognized asset class and potential hedge against fiat inflation, illicit activity tied to digital tokens is becoming more visible. A recent high-profile case in the UK has brought this issue into sharp focus, centering on a fraud scheme originating in China. According to BBC News, the case involves Qian Zhimin, a woman who raised funds from more than 100,000 investors in China by claiming to operate a crypto mining company that also develops health products. Instead, she laundered the proceeds and fled the country. On Nov. 11, Qian was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison by a UK court.Photo by Vasilis Chatzopoulos on Unsplash$6B fraud and lavish lifestyle​Qian entered Britain on a forged passport in September 2017 and proceeded to live an extravagant lifestyle, renting a mansion in Hampstead for over £17,000 ($22,700) per month. She was arrested in northern England in April 2024, and it was found that she held roughly 61,000 Bitcoin, valued at roughly £5 billion ($6.6 billion), having converted portions of her holdings to cover her substantial living expenses. ​The sheer scale of her wealth was revealed after police searched her rented residence, discovering the Bitcoin reserves on hard drives and laptops. It marks the largest crypto seizure ever recorded in the UK. During the raid, officers also found four other individuals at the property illegally employed to handle household tasks such as shopping, cleaning, and security. ​Since Qian’s arrival in the UK, the value of her Bitcoin holdings has appreciated more than 20-fold. With the fraudster now sentenced, victims are seeing a glimmer of hope for restitution. A civil case scheduled for early next year will determine the fate of the seized assets. However, while many defrauded Chinese investors are reportedly preparing to file claims, establishing a clear paper trail may prove difficult. Many victims routed funds through local intermediaries rather than transferring them directly to Qian’s firm. ​U.S. Bitcoin forfeiture and Beijing’s allegationsWhile the UK courts grapple with the aftermath of Qian’s fraud, a separate crypto controversy is brewing between the U.S. and China, highlighting Beijing's continued vigilance over the sector despite its 2021 ban on trading and mining. According to Cointelegraph, the state-supported National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) has alleged that American authorities are connected to the disappearance of roughly 127,000 Bitcoin, valued at around $14.5 billion, from the LuBian mining pool. ​These allegations surfaced after the U.S. filed a civil forfeiture claim in October against Chen Zhi, the Cambodia-based founder of the Prince Group, who is believed to have owned the assets prior to the breach. At the time of the filing, the U.S. Treasury Department noted that the funds were already under its control. ​CVERC contends that Washington hasn't explained how it accessed the assets. Citing data from analytics firm Arkham, the Chinese agency suggested the funds had been under U.S. control for over a year. They argued that the prolonged inactivity of the Bitcoin before the formal seizure is inconsistent with the typical behavior of hackers seeking quick profit, implying state-level involvement. Economic chess between Washington and BeijingThis matter of Bitcoin control adds a new layer of complexity to U.S.–China relations, even as a trade truce between the two countries took effect on Nov. 10. In a report by CNBC, Washington cut tariffs on China’s fentanyl-linked imports to 10% and extended a reciprocal rate reduction under that agreement. In exchange, Beijing is said to have eased certain restrictions on rare earth exports. Analysts at Morgan Stanley suggest that China is maintaining its export-control regime, implemented in April, to retain strategic leverage. They caution that recurring negotiations and strategic divergence will remain defining features of the evolving bilateral relationship. 

The U.S. Department of Justice said on Dec. 2 that it had seized the web domain tickmilleas.com, which was used to facilitate cryptocurrency investment fraud (CIF) schemes, adding to two others seized last month as part of actions against the same Burma-based network. According to the announcement, the domains were operated by scammers based in Kyaukhat, Burma, who presented the site as a legitimate investment platform in order to solicit deposits from victims.Photo by Markus Spiske on UnsplashPromises of high returns as baitVictims who reported the activity to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) indicated that the recently seized website displayed fabricated investment returns and showed purported deposits credited to their online accounts. These figures appeared during guided walkthroughs of falsified trades, creating the appearance of a functioning platform. The Justice Department said the domain seizures are among the first actions taken since it established its first district-level CIF strike force, known as the Scam Center Strike Force, three weeks earlier. The unit operates under the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. According to the DOJ, the group behind the scheme is known as the Tai Chang scam compound. The network is described as being affiliated with the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) in Burma, Trans Asia International Holding Group Thailand Company Limited, and other entities. The U.S. Treasury listed these parties as specially designated nationals on Nov. 12, citing their ties to Chinese organized crime and their involvement in developing scam hubs across Southeast Asia. Russia probes crypto briberyWhile the U.S. case focused on fraud targeting individual investors, a separate development in Russia involved alleged corruption tied to cryptocurrency. DL News, citing a local media report, said Russian prosecutors are seeking to seize a portfolio of luxury assets linked to Georgy Satyukov, a fugitive former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, after investigators concluded he had accepted illicit payments in Bitcoin and Ethereum, described as the world’s largest cryptocurrencies. Russian authorities allege that between March and October 2021, Satyukov received $184 million in Bitcoin and $30 million in Ethereum from operators of the failed WEX crypto exchange in return for shielding them from a criminal investigation. WEX had taken over the operations of the BTC-e trading platform in 2017. Investigators say Satyukov liquidated much of his cryptocurrency holdings and used the proceeds to purchase residential and commercial properties in several cities, as well as high-end cars, luxury watches, and jewelry. They have identified $29.6 million in assets believed to be linked to the alleged bribes, which could be transferred to the Federal Treasury if prosecutors win a conviction. The U.S. domain seizures and the separate corruption investigation in Russia illustrate the varied ways cryptocurrency has been implicated in recent criminal cases. Both developments underscore the continued attention authorities are giving to the risks surrounding digital assets.