Initially the discovery was credited to a blog post called earlier this week on Andy Baio’s Waxy.org Blog. The blogger says he accidently spotted the hidden file while fixing his printer. Then to make sure it was something inserted into every Mac OS copy, he confirmed his findings by having “over a dozen Mac-using friends.” also see if it was on their computer... it was!

This was the first time it was mentioned somewhere that good number of people would read it.

Turns out, this wasn't the first time it was discovered...

It turns out - he wasn't the first to find it. 

Another Mac user did back in April 2021, and posted it on the Apple support forums  however, his post focuses on a hidden image he found burried in the Mac OS code, but at the end mentions "Weirdly there is also a PDF with the original Bitcoin white paper from Satoshi Nakamoto in the VirtualScanner.app Package Content."

But wait... an even earlier post was discovered on Twitter!

A Tweet mentioning it dates back to November 2020, so unless an even earlier dated post is discovered, we're considering Josh D on Twitter the official 'discoverer' of the hidden Mac OS Satoshi Whitepaper. 

The earliest mention of it we've been able to find.

Do Kwon, the founder of the now-defunct Terra USD (UST) and Luna (LUNA) cryptocurrencies, could face up to five years in a Montenegrin prison before being extradited to South Korea or the United States.

Kwon is currently under quarantine for COVID-19 and will soon be sharing a cell with other inmates in a Montenegrin prison, according to a report by a local lawyer.

Montenegro Prisons a 'Hell On Earth'...

However, the prisons in Montenegro are notoriously overcrowded, and inmates are often subjected to aggressive treatment by prison staff.

Amnesty International has raised concerns about the conditions and rights of detainees in Montenegrin prisons, including the lack of independent investigations into ill-treatment.

The cell Kwon will be occupying is only 8 square meters and is usually filled with between 10 and 11 people, leaving no room for a bed.

Inmates are only allowed a 30-minute walk in the prison yard each day and can only purchase limited items like cigarettes and coffee.

Montenegro now the first of 3 nations that will need to take turns locking up Kwon...

Kwon's initial arrest in Montenegro was due to presenting false documents, is a crime that carries a penalty of up to five years.

While both South Korea and the United States have requested Kwon's extradition, Montenegro has yet to make a decision.

If Montenegro decides to pursue it, this could be the first of three nations aiming for him to serve time in their prisons.

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Author: Mark Pippen
London News Desk 
Breaking Crypto News 

Officials in Montenegro have arrested Luna founder Do Kwan. 

First detained when officials at the Podgorica airport noticed his false documents, the man in custody spent hours denying he was the South Korean fugitive, until South Korean officials provided fingerprint records that were used to confirm his identity. 

"The former 'cryptocurrency king' who is behind losses of more than 40 billion dollars, was detained at the Podgorica airport with falsified documents, and the same is claimed by South Korea, the USA and Singapore. We are waiting for official confirmation of identity" Tweeted Montenegro's Minister of Interior.

Then minutes before this story was published, Interpol confirmed to us that a positive ID has been made - the person in custody IS Do Kwon.

Along with him another man stating he was his 'assistant' going by the name 'Han' was also arrested, there is no word on the actual identity of this person. 

What's Next for the Luna Founder?

While charged with crimes in both the US and South Korea, US prosecutors have said that they will seek Kwon’s extradition to the United States where he is charged with 8 federal violations including securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, conspiracy, and market manipulation.

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Author: Adam Lee 
Asia News Desk / Breaking Crypto News

The battle for the future of money is heating up in the United States, with some states proposing to ban the "digital dollar" before it even exists, while others quietly pass laws to make it a reality. It's a conflict that has raised concerns about privacy, surveillance, and control.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is leading the charge against the digital dollar, announcing a proposed bill to ban it in his state. According to a statement from the governor's office, the legislation is intended to "protect Floridians from the Biden administration's use of financial sector weapons through a central bank digital currency (CBDC)."

DeSantis's bill seeks to prohibit the use of the digital dollar or CBDC as money in Florida and to create "protections" against digital currencies issued by central banks belonging to nations sanctioned by the United States. He hopes that other states will follow suit and establish similar prohibitions to "fight this concept throughout the country."

In the view of the Republican governor, a digital currency "has to do with surveillance and control" of citizens, and it "will stifle innovation." adding that "Florida will not side with the economic central planners. "We will not adopt policies that threaten economic freedom and personal security."

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is also pushing for a ban on the digital dollar, citing concerns about privacy implications. He argues that a digital dollar "could be used as a financial surveillance tool by the federal government."

As Other States Quietly Take Steps to Move the Digital Dollar Forward...

President Biden issued an executive order last year that instructs several government offices to research creating a central bank digital currency, since then things have appeared to be moving forward with no official updates from the federal government.

The silence seems to be deliberate when it comes to the most recent steps targeting the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which are laws that every state has, and every state controls. 

Intended to make sure states can easily conduct business with each other, the digital dollar may be the first time there's been major disagreements between some states and could result in the 'Uniform' codes ending up far from uniform nation-wide. 

Just this week South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem vetoed House Bill 1193 which would have opened the doors for the digital dollar in her state by amending their UCC to allow for fully electronic payments backed only by electronic records "this is extremely troubling. If Congress were to someday create an official electronic currency that is programmable, it would pose significant threats to Americans’ liberty and privacy rights. Why, then, would so many lawmakers want to make it easier for such a currency to be used in their states?"

Both republicans and democrats have made more public statements implying they are against the digital dollar, yet both parties have been found slipping the verbiage needed to make it happen into bills in their states, now there are similar bills headed to vote soon in 20 more states including in Arkansas, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and California.

One Major Roadblock Could Still Stop the Digital Dollar from Happening...

Not because they share any of the same concerns citizens have voiced - but nonetheless, they hate the idea and they may have enough power over politicians to get their way - the banks.

Banks see the Digital Dollar as a way for the government to become their biggest competitor.  Imagine - your job pays you in digital dollars, they're stored in an app on your phone, and virtually every place you would spend money accepts it, what do you need a bank for? 

While banks would still have a role when it comes to investing, lending, and securing larger business and personal accounts, the average person could go months, or even years without needing to interact with a bank, and have no need for a personal account. 

A battle with significant consequences...

Both for the future of our economy and the role of the government in our financial lives. Will we become a cashless society dominated by a digital dollar, or will we maintain the status quo? 

Until recently, this all felt like something so far in the future it was hard to really concern yourself with - but as we begin seeing real laws designed to move plans for the digital dollar forward proposed in multiple states, the potential implications are beginning to feel very real.

-----------
Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

According to court records that have just been made available to us, there has been nothing less than a  massive army of professionals working non-stop to clean up the mess at FTX. 

They've been tasked with examining every bit of FTX's business, due to the lack of record keeping during the reign of it's former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried. 

Of course, hiring a large amount people qualified to review complex financial data doesn't come cheap -but no one seems to have expected it would be this expensive either, as these firms have now billed FTX $38 million PLUS expenses...and that's just for January!

Breaking Down The Bill...

The bankruptcy administrators have retained the services of some of the biggest names in law and finance. Let's take a look at who's involved, and what they're each bringing to the table.  

Leading the pack is the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, which was hired as counsel. Along with them, the administrators have also retained Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Landis Rath & Cobb as special counsel for the proceedings. Meanwhile, consultancy firm AlixPartners was brought in to conduct forensic analysis on DeFi products and tokens that were in FTX's possession.

On the financial front, Alvarez & Marsal and Perella Weinberg Partners were tasked with sorting through FTX's accounting records and determining which assets it could sell. According to court filings, Sullivan & Cromwell billed $16.8 million for January, while Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan billed $1.4 million, and Landis Rath & Cobb billed $663,995. Collectively, the three firms have over 180 lawyers assigned to the case and over 50 non-lawyer staff, such as paralegals.

What's more, court filings show that Sullivan & Cromwell lawyers and staff billed a total of 14,569 hours for January. The largest project that Sullivan & Cromwell worked on was discovery, followed by asset disposition and asset analysis and recovery.

Interestingly, the U.S. Department of Justice initially objected to FTX hiring Sullivan & Cromwell, citing potential conflicts of interest. Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX's founder, also objected to the bankruptcy administrators hiring the firm, claiming that the law firm's staff had pressured him into filing for bankruptcy in November. However, in late January, a Delaware bankruptcy court judge approved the firm to continue representing FTX.

In early February, Sullivan & Cromwell submitted a bill for $7.5 million for the first 19 days of bankruptcy work after FTX filed in November. The majority of billed time for Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan was spent on Asset Analysis and Recovery as well as Avoidance Action – legalese for attempts to undo certain transactions that the debtor engaged in before bankruptcy. As for Landis Rath & Cobb, a significant amount of time was billed for hearings, litigation, and asset disposition.

But that's not all. AlixPartners billed $2.1 million for 2,454 hours of work. Investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners billed $450,000 (its monthly fee), and court documents show that it spent a significant amount of time on developing a restructuring strategy, as well as correspondence with third parties.

According to its billing breakdown, the bank spent a large amount of time working on the sale of FTX assets LedgerX and FTX Japan. In January, a bankruptcy judge gave the sale the green light to create liquidity to pay back creditors.

Last but not least, Alvarez & Marsal billed $12.3 million, the second-largest charge for the month, behind Sullivan & Cromwell. Some of the largest items it billed for were Avoidance Actions, at 3,370 hours, financial analysis, at 1,168 hours, and accounting at 1,106 hours.

In November, shortly after FTX declared bankruptcy, interim CEO John J. Ray III said that the exchange had a "complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information." Ray, who also oversaw the liquidation of Enron and Nortel Networks when they collapsed, called the FTX situation "unprecedented".

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Author: Mark Pippen
London News Desk 
Breaking Crypto News

China banning Bitcoin had become a joke in the years preceding it actually happening, with the country repeatedly announcing that Bitcoin was banned, 6 times to be exact, and every time the percentage of Bitcoin's network located within China increased  

However, last year, Chinese authorities began seizing expensive mining equipment from facilities still up and running, and the ban began to be taken seriously.

The process of shutting down hundreds of mining operations happened virtually overnight.

At the time of the ban, China was the top-ranked nation for Bitcoin mining...

China is currently just a blip on the radar, occasionally a Chinese IP address will be seen as some individual hobbyists, and a few remaining mining operations still running “taking steps to hide their location”. 

Now there are signs that China's leadership may view the ban on cryptocurrencies as too broad, with manybusiness leaders within China's tech industry believing that a crypto-free China would put the country to be a step behind the rest of the world. 

"VR and the metaverse are largely considered the next big thing that will have a major impact on the industry - do people think they can hand over printed paper money in a virtual world?" Says one of my sources within China, a lead developer for a Chinese software company that provides software related to the back-end management of both stock and crypto trading platforms. With an agreement that we wouldn't use his name, our (very encrypted) chat last night continued... "That's just the beginning, because everything you own in that world, your clothes, your house, your car. they're all going to be NFTs.  I was worried China would be sitting it out, delusionaland waiting for the day people say they no longer have a need for decentralized cryptocurrencies thanks to China's digital yuen. The reality of it is, people are going to be buying crypto (NFTs) with other crypto."        

The Signs...

The current crypto ban did not result in every crypto-related company in China being shut down. Some crypto-based companies were allowed to continue operating inside China if their user base was mostly international. If companies could remain profitable while still excluding Chinese citizens from their services, they were allowed to continue operating.

One such company is Conflux, which recently saw a huge influx of funds, resulting in gains of 143% in just one week and 800% over the last month.

Assets such as Filecoin, Neo, Vechain, Cocos-BCX, Polkadot, and EOS have registered price increases of between 10% and up to 40% in a matter of days.

Why this sudden positive price movement for anything crypto related out of China? 

What began as a rumor has just became a very real possibility...

It is now confirmed via the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) - they're evaluating a proposal that would legalize crypto trading in Hong Kong.  While officially part of China, Hong Kong still has the ability to pass laws independent of the mainland. 

The law would bring regulation of exchanges - and also legalize buying, selling and trading in the territory.

Currently, no western investment firms (which are required to reveal their holdings) have announced large investments in Chinese based cryptocurrencies or their supporting companies.

As of now, our best guess that the investing is happening internally, specifically by wealthy investors who believe this is going to happen. While these trades may technically be breaking the rules today, they believe ownership of these assets will soon be given the green light anyway.

Keep in mind, anyone in China with millions to invest will also have close ties with the ruling party, so their investments could indicate they know much more than the general public.  If that is the case here, it seems they've been told that this is going to happen.

Where things stand as of today...

The biggest surprise  - we're hearing that Hong Kong leaders are NOT being met with disapproval from China's leadership in Beijing "there's nothing to indicate mainland officials don't want this to happen, and I believe we're well beyond the point where they would make their stance known" a source explained.

Beijing quietly allowing this to happen may be thanks to some of China's wealthiest business leaders, who have been complaining to officials about being restricted from a market with huge growth potential - saying they understand the risks, and take proper safeguards to prevent any catastrophic losses.  They believe those who can afford to take risks should be guided by regulations that take this in to account. 

It's unlikely the same leadership that banned crypto trading have completely reversed their views, but they may now be willing to allow it if the the requirements still discourage the average citizen  Only allowing crypto trading via Hong Kong would be enough of a barrier to stop the 'average worker' from risking their funds in the market, as the expenses involved with taking trips to and from Hong Kong would be enough to make simply make it not worth doing. 

A major impact to global crypto markets...

As one of the largest economies in the world, China’s re-entry into the cryptocurrency market could have a ripple effect on the global market. This could lead to increased adoption of cryptocurrencies worldwide. 

Also worth noting - China's ban has been an example to other counties that discourage investing or adoption of cryptocurrencies - Chinese investors re-joining the crypto market would mean no major superpower is enforcing a ban on cryptocurrencies.

The amount of 'saved Bitcoin' (coins being kept at a single wallet address for at least two years) has reached a new all-time high.

According to data compiled by the analytics firm Glassnode, these coins total over 49% percent of the total Bitcoin supply, which comes to 9.45 million BTC. Nearly half of all Bitcoin's are in the hands of long term investors.

Soon the majority of all BTC will have not moved in over 2 years - an extremely bullish indicator...

The previous record amount of saved Bitcoin was set between the end of 2020 and the start of 2021. This coincides with the start of the bull market that year - with the rising price being driven by a lack of people willing to sell their BTC.

So far, we're seeing a similar path ahead now, as Bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrency market appear to be beginning a price recovery cycle.

Since the beginning of this year, bitcoin has increased by almost 40%. and is hanging around $23,000 -reclaiming a price not seen since August 2022.

Last week it became official that the majority of Bitcoin holders have made a profit at current prices. 

Predictions for the year...

So far, are bullish, according to a majority of analysts.

However, you may not be feeling it yet - the first few months of 2023 are anticipated to be slow,  followed by a large increase in the price of BTC in the second half of the year.

Will Bitcoin repeat its traditional cycle of crashes, followed by setting a new all time high?  That would mean Bitcoin breaking the $70,000 ceiling. 
------- 

Author: Justin Derbek
New York News Desk
Breaking Crypto News

While the scam is over, the story behind it is not. That won't change as long as it's main character remains in hiding. 

The dollar amount allegedly stolen by 'Crypto Queen' Ruja Ignatova is approximately the same amount Bankman-Fried is accused of losing. But Sam's story is downright boring compared with the chaos still happening today in the aftermath of OneCoin.

Both Sam and Ruja are accused of losing $3 - $4 billion of their user's funds, which puts them in a category beyond just running "crypto scams"- they're officially among the "largest scams ever" both in the number of victims, over 3 million, and the total dollar amount taken from them - over $4 billion in USD value, according to the FBI and Europol.

First Time Hearing About This?

The first time I heard of "OneCoin" it was already over, they had just been shut down, and the people behind it were in the process of being tracked down and arrested.

I was shocked - how could a multi-billion dollar crypto scam happen and it wasn't even on my radar?!

Good news, the problem isn't that you weren't paying attention - OneCoin deliberately avoided attracting attention from people in select 'Western' nations.  They feared that law enforcement in these countries were tech savvy, and way ahead when it comes to cases involving crypto. 

Still, today it's not uncommon to find someone who is in the crypto industry (full time) who says they've never heard of OneCoin. But most common seems to be someone remembering OneCoin was 'some kind of scam a few years back' with maybe 10% of people aware of its size - one of the largest scams in history and on the extremely short list of scams with a multi-billion dollar price tag.

It was the US FBI they feared the most, and to avoid them they also avoided scamming US citizens. They believed this was so important that if someone in the US ended up on their site and wanted to join - the signup page would give them an error and close itself.

Ironically, the FBI is leading the way in dismantling OneCoin, and is credited with tracking down many of the executives in custody today.

Comparing Sam and Ruja May Be Unfair... to Sam. He Isn't Nearly as Evil...

There's one huge difference between them  - Sam started a legitimate business. The more money he had the more careless he became.  But those funds were handed over to him for use in his legitimate business, which did exist..

Ruja never intended to start a business - she created a scam. 'OneCoin' was a fraud from the first day it launched, not a single feature ended up to be true.

Her public image was the same, professionally she introduced herself as "Dr Ruja Ignatova" and claimed an educational history of elite colleges, and an employment history at major financial firms.

She is the definition of 'scammer' - so dedicated to it she lives her daily life as the character she created for the single purpose of getting people to believe the opposite of what is really happening. 

Exactly how it appeared on OneCoin's website - but when Forbes was contacted they said OneCoin simply purchased as space, in that space they put an interview, then announced people could read an interview with Ruja in the latest edition of Forbes Magazine.

People behind scams this large don't struggle morally about what they're doing, far from it. They become addicted to the power they feel whenever they step on stage and see thousands of people clapping and cheering for them - the same people they will soon financially ruin. In these short moments they feel like the smartest person on the planet. 

What Puts This Story On a New Level of CRAZY: OneCoin Wasn't Even Real...

To be clear, I am not saying "her coin wasn't as good as she claimed" - I'm saying they didn't even have a coin.

She nicknamed their non-existent cryptocurrency the "Bitcoin Killer', claiming the blockchain technology behind it was so superior, it would soon come to replace Bitcoin.  In reality, she had nothing. No blockchain, no cryptocurrency.

What they did have was the OneCoin App, where people couduse real money to purchase OneCoin, and see it added to their balance - that's the entire system.

The price of OneCoin was also entirely imaginary, having nothing to do with supply and demand they could simply decide what the app would show the public, and of course, they decided to make it look like demand was huge. 

In e-mails obtained by investigators and used in court against OneCoin leaders, Ruja is seen telling the developers building the OneCoin system that:

"We would like to be able to set the price manually and automatically and also control the traded volume."

Legitimate cryptocurrencies cannot control any of those - the market decides the price, and volume is simply the total amount people bought or sold. 

Now That They at Least Appeared to Be Having a Strong Start, They Would Use Their Fake Coin's Fake Success, to Bring in Real Money...

Within the app was also the only 'exchange' where OneCoin could be traded - it had to be this way because trading it anywhere outside of their app would have been technically impossible -  no transferable cryptocurrency existed.  But according to their app, their imaginary cryptocurrency was quickly increasing in value, and that's all they needed to keep users buying more and telling their friends. 

This is where the pyramid aspect comes in to play -users would receive commission from people they invited to OneCoin, then they would also receive commission if that friend brought their friends.

OneCoin users who referred a lot of other users are the only group of people who walked away with a profit, but it's impossible to figure out who was knowingly promoting a scam, and who was a victim believing they were sharing something good. 

OneCoin Held 'Conferences' Attended By Thousands - Here Ruja Would Speak About Blockchain Revolutionizing the World of Finance...

Always booked as the special 'keynote speaker' at her own events, Ruja would give long speeches about what blockchain tech can do, and will do in the future. But back in reality, no blockchain of any kind was being used at OneCoin.

E-Mails obtained by investigators and shown in trials of her partners made it clear - she was the mastermind behind the lies, fully aware of every shady thing they were doing.

In one exchange with co-founder Karl Greenwood, she says “We are not mining actually – but telling people shit" and jokingly referred to OneCoin as 'Trash Coins'. 

The Collapse...

The red flags started to pile up - people discovered that some of OneCoin's directors had previously been involved in other known scams.

Plus, for years people requested any verifiable evidence for any of their claims, and the excuses dragged on so long it became obvious they were hiding something.  They had been telling so many lies for so long that their own statements would occasionally contradict things they said in the past. 

As the inflow of money began to slow down, use of their fake exchange became limited, dividing their members into different levels with each given different trading restrictions. Those who spent a lot on 'educational materials' could trade on more days than those who didn't. 

They were making it impossible for there to be a run of users withdrawing until there was nothing left.

As OneCoin Comes Crashing Down,  Ruja is Nowhere To Be Found...

Some believe she bribed government officials in the 3 countries she had homes in, so they would agree to warn her in advance of any plans against her, or her business.

While that hasn't been proven, we can say that somehow she managed to stay months ahead of authorities, and was long gone when the day came, and OneCoin was forced to shut down as it's leaders were rounded up and arrested.

In those final months without Ruja, OneCoin stayed open for business, with her younger brother Konstantin Ignatov taking over the title of CEO.  But his reign as OneCoin's top boss was a short one, as he was arrested March 2019 in Los Angeles, and it all ending with him pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering charges.

Co-Founder Greenwood was detained in Thailand in 2018 and then extradited to the United States - just 3 weeks ago his case was closed after a deal to plead guilty was reached.  He still faces up to 40 years in prison.

Mark Scott, a former corporate lawyer, was convicted in November 2019 of laundering $400 million for the group by using a network of shell companies, offshore bank accounts and investment funds.

Another man, David Pike, pleaded guilty to committing bank fraud. He was sentenced to two years probation in March.

Not Even her Husband or 9 Year Old Daughter Has Heard from Her Since...

Most shockingly, she left her husband and now 9 year old daughter behind as well.   

They are said to be under 'constant surveillance' as authorities were expecting Ruja to eventually make contact with them.  If she has, it was done without anyone noticing, as the official status of her with the FBI describes her 2019 disappearance has the 'last time anyone has heard from or seen' her.

Is She Now a He?

It's hard to believe that a 3 year long global search with the powers of multiple law enforcement agencies from multiple countries behind it still hasn't found anything - to avoid even the occasional random sighting she either never goes outside, or has drastically changed her appearance. 

One way people believe she could do this would be for her to live as a man.

A professional sketch artists rendering of Ruja as a male, commissioned as part of Tradingpedia's research in to her disappearance.

Simpler methods of disguise have been suggested too, such as plastic surgery to make her face and body thinner, along with dying her hair blonde, would probably also make her unrecognizable. 

Possible Leads...