BitKeep Changes Name to Bitget Wallet Following Acquisition

US Treasury Sanctions Gaza-Based Crypto OperatorThe Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on a crypto operator allegedly linked to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.The move by OFAC comes as a result of greater scrutiny of terrorist financing following an attack by Hamas on Israel in early October, in which a number of Israelis lost their lives.Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels“Buy Cash Money and Money Transfer Company”The entity targeted by these sanctions is a Gaza-based virtual currency exchange known as the “Buy Cash Money and Money Transfer Company.” It is operated by Khan Yunis, a resident of Gaza. According to the Treasury Department, both the exchange and Khan Yunis are alleged to have ties to Hamas. Ahmed M.M. Alaqad, the owner of the business, has also been named in the sanctions.The primary objective of these sanctions, as stated by the Treasury Department, is to disrupt the sources of revenue for Hamas. The attack on Israel served as a trigger for these actions. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen emphasized the determination to prevent Hamas from raising funds for further acts of terror and violence against the people of Israel.This includes imposing sanctions and cooperating with international allies and partners to identify, freeze, and seize any assets related to Hamas in their respective jurisdictions. Yellen stated:“The United States is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’s financiers and facilitators following its brutal and unconscionable massacre of Israeli civilians, including children.”Crypto sector riskIt’s not the first time that crypto platforms have been implicated where terrorist financing is concerned. Earlier this year it emerged that Bitfinex Turkiye, the Turkish local exchange business of global crypto platform Bitfinex, was alleged to have been used for the purposes of money laundering by Hamas. Additionally, leading crypto platform Binance has found itself facing similar allegations.In the immediate aftermath of the recent attack, Israeli authorities moved to close down accounts they claimed were linked with Hamas on crypto platforms like Binance and elsewhere. The Israelis have continued where they left off in this respect, with a report emerging earlier this week that over one hundred accounts on Binance have been ordered to be shut down, with a further two hundred accounts facing scrutiny.While crypto may not account for a sizable proportion of terrorist financing means, these events open up a point of attack for those who oppose the further roll-out of decentralized money and systems.Fighting illicit finance through sanctionsNotably, the US Treasury has been employing sanctions as a tool to cut off financial support to entities suspected of being involved in terrorism or other illicit activities. In a similar vein, earlier in October, the Treasury announced sanctions against crypto wallets associated with Chinese chemical manufacturers, concurrently with an indictment from the Department of Justice related to the production of the drug fentanyl.Earlier this year, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic indicated that most Chinese suppliers of fentanyl precursors were accepting payments for the illicit material in cryptocurrency.It’s worth mentioning that this move by OFAC not only targets Hamas but also includes other entities allegedly connected to the Buy Cash Money and Money Transfer Company, including an al-Qaeda affiliate and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Korbit and SK Planet Team Up to Promote NFT Membership ProgramKorbit, one of South Korea’s prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, has teamed up with SK Planet, a technology affiliate of the major conglomerate SK Group, in an effort to attract new users to Road to Rich, a non-fungible token (NFT) membership program.Photo by Mo on UnsplashWin up to 0.1 BTCUnder this collaboration, Korbit users will have the opportunity to win up to 0.1 BTC by completing assigned tasks. From those participating, 511 fortunate individuals will be selected as winners. The breakdown of prizes is as follows: 500 participants will earn 0.001 BTC each as third place winners; 10 second place winners will receive 0.01 BTC each; and the single top winner will be awarded the grand prize of 0.1 BTC.Quests, rewards, and rabbit NFTsRoad to Rich was introduced earlier this month by OK Cashbag, a popular customer rewards system offered by SK Planet. Road to Rich offers users daily quests involving rabbit character NFTs. Successful completion of these tasks allows users to gain various benefits, such as OK Cashbag points, which can be used at hypermarkets, restaurant chains, and other partner businesses. To participate in Road to Rich, users need to install the UPTN Station, a decentralized wallet developed by SK Planet, which allows storage, retrieval, and transfer of NFTs.According to a report by local news outlet Newspim, Oh Se-jin, CEO of Korbit, expressed the crypto exchange’s excitement about participating in the expansion of SK Planet’s Web3 ecosystem. Oh said that Korbit is committed to collaborating with SK Planet to deliver more convenient and valuable services to customers in the Web3 space.

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has increased its Bitcoin holdings, purchasing an additional 20.195 BTC for approximately 200 million yen ($1.2 million), as announced after the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed on Monday. This acquisition brings the firm's total holdings to 161.2677 BTC, valued at over $10.1 million. According to The Block, the recent purchase is part of a broader strategy, initiated with the company's decision to allocate 1 billion yen ($6.3 million) for Bitcoin acquisitions funded by an upcoming bond issuance. This move follows a previous buy in June worth 250 million yen.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashStrategic investment responseMetaplanet's investment strategy mirrors that of U.S.-based MicroStrategy, which has significantly integrated Bitcoin into its treasury assets. MicroStrategy currently holds 226,331 BTC, amounting to more than 1% of the total Bitcoin supply. Citing economic challenges like high government debt and the depreciating yen, Metaplanet views Bitcoin as a hedge against economic instability. Following Metaplanet’s latest acquisition, its stock saw a 1% rise on Monday, with an overall increase of 233% since it began investing in Bitcoin.