Chain News Today TheBitTimes.com

Incognito Market, a darknet platform connecting sellers of illicit substances to potential customers, was suspected of pulling an exit scam earlier this month. Not satisfied with stealing users’ crypto deposits, however, the admin upped the ante by extorting their former user base via sensitive order information, which they claim to have harvested “over the years.” Darknet markets are used to buy drugs anonymously online and are often believed to offer a safer experience and more reliable product than in-person interactions. However, exit scams are relatively commonplace. Worries about Incognito Market began to circulate last week when users were unable to withdraw bitcoin and monero (a privacy-focused cryptocurrency) from the platform. Initial efforts to explain away the issue as technical issues were later dropped. The simple exit scam took a more sinister turn when Incognito Market’s homepage was replaced with a message announcing a ‘nasty surprise,’ leaving users in...

The recent report by blockchain analysts Flipside unveils a comprehensive view of the fluctuating crypto world in 2023, marked by significant user growth and evolving trends. According to the report , 2023 witnessed a peak in acquired user volume in May, recording over 8.8 million accounts active across multiple chains. This synchronized growth trajectory across most chains suggests that broader market sentiments continue to steer crypto adoption. A significant observation is the activity of super users, defined as wallets with over 100 transactions. These users predominantly engaged in DeFi-related transactions rather than NFTs. However, a trend reversal is evident on L1 networks like Ethereum (ETH), where selling NFTs was more common, indicating a shift of NFT investments to more cost-effective L2 networks. Users acquired by chain and month | Source: Flipside Flipside also reported that 2023 marked the rise of new DEXs and NFT marketplaces, but user activity remained conc...

Bitget managing director Gracy Chen said that if users are not doing illegitimate activities like money laundering, they should be "pretty comfortable" with the KYC process. Crypto exchange Bitget has grown significantly despite the challenges brought by the bear market. In 2023, the exchange announced two $100 million funds—one dedicated to crypto projects in Asia and another for maximizing the company’s long-term impact in the crypto space.  At the Bitget EmpowerX Summit held in Singapore, Cointelegraph’s Zhiyuan Sun spoke with Gracy Chen, the managing director of Bitget. The two spoke about Bitget’s growth amid the bear market, pausing its expansion in Hong Kong and the United States and why they believe that implementing Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols is important for exchanges. A panel discussion at the Bitget event held in Singapore. Source: Cointelegraph According to Chen, the company grew ten times its original number just in two years. “For our company's e...

China’s state-owned telecoms operator China Mobile is proposing global metaverse guidelines to the United Nations that bear eery similarities to the country’s controversial social credit system, Politico reported on Sunday. A “digital identity system” for all metaverse users could be based on a mix of “natural characteristics” and “social characteristics.” Data points like occupation can be “permanently” stored and shared with police to “keep the order and safety of the virtual world,” China Mobile proposals state. The guidelines are part of discussions between officials at the UN’s telecoms agency, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and tech experts. Experts who reviewed China Mobile’s proposals said metaverse users would be at risk of privacy and freedom violations if they were adopted. “To build a unified digital identity system, to give each human a unique digital ID that include...