Suspected Malicious Activity Drains AnySwap Tokens via Multichain Executor

INDODAX, Indonesia’s largest virtual asset trading platform by trading volume, has acquired full licensing in Indonesia from the local regulator. That’s according to a report published by local media outlet VOI. The license, a Physical Crypto Asset Trader (PFAK) license, has been awarded to the company by Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency, better known as BAPPEBTI.  The license will place INDODAX in a complaint position within the Indonesian market, relative to local regulations. The business has been issued certificate number 10/BAPPEBTI/PFAK/12/2024 by the regulator, its approval certificate as a Physical Crypto Asset Trader.Photo by Mark König on UnsplashMandatory registration requirementIn December 2023 the authorities in Indonesia set out a mandatory requirement for crypto trading entities to register with the Commodity Future Exchange (CFX). CFX is Indonesia’s national crypto bourse, while INDODAX is a member. As of April 2024, 35 crypto exchanges had been registered with the regulator. CFX has been given the mandate to monitor crypto exchange operations, to safeguard investors by ensuring exchanges abide by local regulations. Fendy Tan, chief financial officer (CFO) at INDODAX commented on the firm’s recent licensing milestone, stating: "We are grateful to BAPPEBTI and CFX for the trust given through this full license. The long process that must be passed reflects our commitment to providing the best protection for users. The license number 10 also has a special meaning, which symbolizes perfection, and symbolizes the 10-year journey of INDODAX in leading the crypto industry in Indonesia."  Liquidity and SOP requirementsIn order to acquire this license INDODAX had to comply with BAPPEBTI Regulation Number 8 of 2021 and Number 13 of 2022. It has also had to ensure a minimum paid-up capital of 100 billion Indonesian Rupiahs ($6,158,000), and a minimum equity of IDR 50 billion ($3,079,000). Furthermore, the company has had to implement a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs), together with achieving ISO certification in accordance with global security standards, with specific emphasis on complying with regulations to safeguard customer funds according to the balances held on account of fiat currency and digital assets by INDODAX customers. INDODAX is understood to have 7.1 million customers while a transaction volume of 109 trillion Indonesian rupiahs was reached for the period January to November 2024. BAPPEBTI had extended a deadline for the crypto licensing of exchanges late last year, a move welcomed at the time by INDODAX CEO Oscar Darmawan. Darmawan said that the move would strengthen the industry by ensuring that market participants were compliant with recently introduced regulations. While this licensing milestone is a positive for INDODAX, the firm had faced challenges in 2024. In September it emerged that the platform had been compromised with the loss of around $18 million in digital assets. Meanwhile, the authorities in Indonesia had planned to switch crypto market oversight from BAPPEBTI to the Financial Services Authority (OJK) by Jan. 12. However, a recent report published by the Jakarta Globe suggests that the Indonesian government has yet to finalize this regulatory transfer.

Kyrgyzstani President Embraces Hydro-Powered Crypto MiningIn a move that signals the Republic of Kyrgyzstan’s growing interest in cryptocurrency mining, President Sadyr Japarov has given the green light to establish a crypto mining farm at a hydroelectric power plant within the Central Asian country.The ambitious project, set to be built at the Kambar-Ata-2 hydropower plant, has been allocated a budget of up to $20 million, as reported by Kyrgyzstan’s national news agency, Kabar, on Thursday.Photo by Collab Media on PexelsMore efficient use of powerThe primary motivation behind this endeavor is to address energy losses linked to non-utilized power from the Kambar-Ata-2 plant, which has been operational since 2010. According to President Japarov, approximately 6.8 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy have been wasted due to this issue. By harnessing the excess energy for cryptocurrency mining, the Kyrgyz government aims to optimize resource usage and bolster the country’s budget.President Japarov emphasized that the profits generated from the mining farm would directly benefit the people, particularly the power engineers who are responsible for the plant’s operations. He asserted that the earnings would be meticulously controlled and allocated, with complete automation and oversight.Energy grid challengesHowever, this recent decision appears to contradict the state of emergency announced by President Japarov in Kyrgyzstan’s energy sector on July 24. The emergency status, which will be in effect from August 1, 2023, until December 31, 2026, is attributed to climate challenges, insufficient water inflow into the Naryn River basin, and a lack of generating capacity due to escalating energy consumption.Despite these apparent contradictions, President Japarov affirmed that crypto mining at the hydro plant would be subject to the highest tariff in Kyrgyzstan, amounting to approximately 5 Kyrgyz soms ($0.057) per kW.As early as March 2022, Kyrgyz lawmaker Karim Khanjeza urged the government to legalize the cryptocurrency industry during a parliamentary committee meeting, citing the rapid expansion of the crypto space. Although Kyrgyzstan introduced some regulations for crypto exchanges in 2021, it has not yet enacted specific laws governing cryptocurrencies.The integration of hydro-powered crypto mining presents both opportunities and challenges for Kyrgyzstan. If executed strategically, the venture could harness underutilized energy to boost the national economy and provide benefits to the people.Learning from KazakhstanThat said, the Central Asian country would do well to pay heed to events that unfolded in neighboring Kazakhstan relative to crypto mining over the course of the last few years. Following a major crackdown on crypto mining activity in China, many miners upped and moved their operations to Kazakhstan. That sudden unplanned and unregulated upsurge destabilized the country’s power grid, forcing the government to crack down on mining. It has since regulated the activity in order to accommodate it without it having a detrimental effect on the energy grid.As developments unfold, Kyrgyzstan’s foray into cryptocurrency mining will undoubtedly be closely monitored by industry observers and stakeholders. President Japarov’s vision to distribute the earnings to ordinary citizens brings an element of promise to the project. Crypto mining can be a positive development for the country, leading to more efficient energy use, so long as the authorities plan accordingly.

Global crypto exchange Binance has carried out a survey which reveals that the security habits of Asian platform users are evolving positively.Photo by Vadim Artyukhin on UnsplashUsers responding to more sophisticated scamsIn a blog post published by the crypto exchange platform on May 6, Binance revealed that it had carried out a survey of nearly 30,000 platform users across Asia. The company’s takeaway following analysis of the survey data is that “scams are evolving — and so are crypto users.” The firm suggested that users are “stepping up their security game,” with exchanges facing growing demand from their users for real-time protection and smarter security tools. Increasing use of 2FAThe exchange platform found that 80.5% of survey respondents now use Binance two-factor authentication (2FA). While the use of 2FA is definitely a move in the right direction, it doesn’t guarantee the safety of a user’s digital assets.  In an article published by Forbes last month Forbes Contributor Davey Winder warned that infostealer malware can compromise 2FA codes in as little as 10 seconds. In June of last year, an OKX user lost $2 million in crypto to a hacker who utilized AI despite the victim having used Google’s 2FA. Double-checking transfersThe survey found that 73.3% of users double-check transfers before sending digital assets. Due to the nature of decentralized cryptocurrency, crypto transactions are not easily reversed and are usually irreversible. That puts a greater responsibility on crypto users to ensure that they are sending funds to the appropriate wallet address. Double-checking transfer addresses is not only necessary due to human error. Malware is also used by hackers to spoof such addresses, tricking the sender into sending the digital assets to their address rather than the one that was originally intended. It emerged in May 2024 that a Bitcoin trader had lost more than $70 million in Bitcoin in an “address poisoning” scam. Binance itself had warned users last September that “clipper malware,” which intercepts clipboard data on a user’s phone or desktop, replacing copied wallet addresses with alternative addresses under the hacker’s control, is increasingly being employed in hacking attempts. While the survey has revealed a positive evolution in the security habits of Asian platform users, there’s still room for further improvement. Just 17.6% of survey respondents utilize address whitelisting, a measure that restricts account user access to a safe list of pre-defined trusted addresses. Only 21.5% of survey respondents use anti-phishing codes as a security mechanism. The objective of phishing is to steal data, install malware on a user’s device or otherwise gain account access. An anti-phishing code aids the user in verifying the authenticity of emails and texts from a specific service. Security remains a major issue within crypto. Last month, hackers employed social engineering tactics to steal $330 million in Bitcoin from an elderly American victim. Exchange platforms themselves continue to struggle to safeguard user funds. Earlier this year, Binance competitor, Dubai-headquartered Bybit, suffered a $1.5 billion hack believed to have been perpetrated by North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Lazarus is also thought to have been behind a $235 million crypto theft at Indian crypto exchange WazirX in July 2024.