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The aftermath of the “Coin Gate” scandal has prompted the top financial regulator in South Korea to implement measures requiring its employees to disclose their cryptocurrency holdings.

Lawmakers in the country have faced allegations of insider trading, with one member of parliament accused of selling tokens before the introduction of new crypto regulations.

It was later revealed that the MP was serving on a crypto-related parliamentary subcommittee at the time.

As a result of the scandal, calls for transparency have emerged among MPs, regulators, and public officials, leading to the recent development of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) expanding the requirement to its own staff.

READ MORE: Former BitMEX CEO Says Bitcoin Will Reach $760,000 as Currency of Artificial Intelligence

The FSC, responsible for regulating South Korea’s crypto industry and conducting checks on domestic crypto exchanges, updated its Code of Conduct for employees.

The revised code prohibits staff involved with “virtual assets” from trading cryptocurrencies using undisclosed information obtained while performing their duties.

Additionally, employees who own tokens are now obligated to report this information to the FSC.

The restriction on crypto trading applies to public officials currently engaged in virtual asset-related duties, as well as those who performed such duties within the previous six months.

To comply with the new regulations, employees will be required to submit a form called the “Report on the Possession of Virtual Assets.”

The form mandates that staff disclose the type of virtual assets held, the date of acquisition, and the quantity of tokens owned.

While the FSC still requires legislative changes to enforce the new code, it aims to expedite the process and complete it in the second half of this year.

South Korea and Japan are often seen as frontrunners in crypto regulation, suggesting that other countries may follow their lead.

Some nations in different regions have already enacted legislation mandating crypto declarations for certain public officials.

Ukraine, for example, implemented laws that require sitting MPs to disclose all assets, including cryptocurrency holdings.

The disclosure of such holdings in the past has led to public outcry due to the large amounts of tokens possessed by Ukrainian lawmakers, raising questions about the origin of these significant crypto reserves.

In conclusion, the “Coin Gate” scandal has prompted the South Korean financial regulator to extend the requirement of declaring crypto holdings to its employees.

The updated code of conduct prohibits staff from trading cryptocurrencies using undisclosed information obtained during their duties, and employees with crypto holdings must report them to the FSC.

The FSC plans to seek legislative changes to enforce the new code and hopes to complete the process later this year.

Other countries may consider implementing similar measures, following the lead of South Korea and Japan.

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The highly anticipated layer 2 blockchain Shibarium is set to launch following a conference in Toronto scheduled for August, according to a blog post by developer Shytoshi Kusama on Thursday.

Layer 2 technology involves a collection of off-chain systems, or separate blockchains, built on top of layer 1 protocols.

These systems help address scalability issues by bundling multiple off-chain transactions into a single layer 1 transaction, reducing data load and fees.

READ MORE: Source: Logan Paul Has Changed His Mind About Refunding CryptoZoo Investors

Kusama stated that during the conference, the completed Worldpaper, all Shib-branded projects, and Treat would be showcased in detail for the first time.

Additionally, the long-awaited L2 Shibarium is expected to be discussed and released.

Moreover, the developer team will introduce DoggyDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) operated and governed by token holders.

DoggyDAO will serve as a funding source for projects built on the Shibarium network.

Shibarium’s testnet, a blockchain used for testing purposes, has witnessed significant activity in recent months, with an estimated 20 million transactions from approximately 16 million wallets as of June.

This high level of activity on the testnet reflects the growing demand for the network.

Developers have previously emphasized Shibarium’s focus on metaverse and gaming applications, particularly as the non-fungible token (NFT) sector is expected to experience substantial growth in the coming years.

The launch of Shibarium could provide a strong foundation for shiba inu (SHIB), a meme coin initially inspired by the Shiba Inu breed of dog that has since sought to establish itself as a serious project with its own blockchain network and decentralized app (dapp) ecosystem.

Meanwhile, movements in Shiba Inu ecosystem tokens have been mixed over the past 24 hours.

According to CoinGecko data, bone (BONE) experienced a surge of up to 4.5%, while leash (LEASH) rose by 2%. However, SHIB tokens declined by 5%, aligning with a broader drop in major tokens.

As the launch of Shibarium draws near, the cryptocurrency community eagerly awaits the realization of its promised capabilities and the potential impact it may have on the market.

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Ripple Labs, a prominent digital payments and blockchain technology company, has unveiled an ambitious initiative aimed at revolutionizing the real estate industry through tokenization.

Antony Welfare, Ripple’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) adviser, recently highlighted the increasing global interest in CBDCs and stablecoins, emphasizing that Ripple’s team is actively exploring practical applications for these technologies, with a particular focus on tokenizing real estate assets.

During a fintech conference in Romania, Welfare presented a compelling use case that combines the digital Hong Kong dollar (e-HKD), tokenized real estate, and finance lending protocols.

READ MORE: Investors Chase Second Coming of Popular Coins, Such As Pepe 2.0 and Floki 2.0

This innovative pilot program seeks to empower users to tokenize their real estate assets and utilize them as collateral for loans, leveraging Ripple’s CBDC platform.

Ripple’s foray into real estate asset tokenization, utilizing blockchain and digital currencies, is driven by a desire to address existing challenges in the real estate sector.

By overcoming these obstacles, successful tokenization initiatives can yield significant benefits, including enhanced liquidity, expanded market reach, and streamlined transactions.

Tokenization has captured substantial interest across various industries due to its transformative potential.

This groundbreaking approach involves converting tangible assets such as real estate, artwork, and intellectual property into digital tokens securely stored on the blockchain.

These tokens represent ownership or stakes in the underlying assets, enabling their buying, selling, and trading on decentralized platforms.

Tokenization’s allure lies in its ability to revolutionize traditional asset ownership and investment models.

Leveraging blockchain technology, tokenization offers amplified liquidity, accessibility, efficiency, transparency, and security.

As more industries and investors recognize the advantages and potential of tokenization, it is poised to gain further momentum as a prominent trend in financial and asset management circles.

However, the widespread adoption and implementation of tokenization may encounter regulatory hurdles that necessitate compliance with local laws.

Alongside regulatory considerations, the industry must also address security concerns surrounding tokenized assets as it continues to evolve.

Ripple Labs’ ambitious initiative to transform the real estate industry through tokenization demonstrates the company’s commitment to exploring new frontiers in digital payments and blockchain technology. By leveraging the power of CBDCs and stablecoins,

Ripple aims to drive innovation and foster a more efficient and accessible real estate market for the benefit of individuals and businesses alike.

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Stablecoin issuers Circle and Tether have taken action to freeze assets totaling more than $65 million in connection with a suspected exploit of the cross-chain router protocol Multichain.

The decision came after a series of large outflows from the Multichain MPC bridge on July 6 left many questions unanswered.

0xScope, a knowledge graph protocol, has identified three addresses that received at least $63.2 million worth of USD Coin (USDC) from Multichain, and these addresses have now been frozen.

Additionally, the Fantom Foundation reported that more than $2.5 million in Tether (USDT) has been frozen from two addresses listed as “Multichain Suspicious Addresses” on Etherscan.

READ MORE: Investors Chase Second Coming of Popular Coins, Such As Pepe 2.0 and Floki 2.0

On July 6, a total of over $125 million worth of cryptocurrencies was withdrawn from multiple wallets, affecting the ecosystems of Multichain’s Fantom bridge, Dogechain, Moonriver, Kava, and Conflux.

The reason behind this abnormal transfer of assets remains unclear.

Multichain took to Twitter to announce the suspension of its services, without specifying when they will be reinstated.

The company urged users not to utilize the Multichain bridging service, cautioning that all bridge transactions would be stuck on the source chains.

According to Fantom protocol CEO Michael Kong, the fund transfer does not appear to be a typical hack, as the assets sent to the alleged attacker’s wallets have not been moved elsewhere. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.

Multichain is a platform that enables the transfer of tokens between different networks.

However, it has encountered technical and operational difficulties since its leadership vanished a few weeks ago.

Such bridge protocols like Multichain are highly susceptible to attacks by crypto hackers, with numerous incidents reported in 2022.

A recent report from blockchain security firm SlowMist disclosed that since 2012, more than $30 billion in crypto assets has been hacked in hundreds of incidents.

The most common types of hacks include smart contract vulnerabilities, rug pulls, flash loan attacks, scams, and private key leaks.

Out of the total incidents, there were 118 exchange hacks, 217 hacks in the Ethereum ecosystem, 162 hacks in the BNB Smart Chain ecosystem, 119 hacks in the EOS ecosystem, and 85 hacks involving nonfungible tokens.

Over the past decade, crypto exchange hacks alone have resulted in losses exceeding $10 billion.

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According to a report by SlowMist on July 7, a staggering $30 billion worth of cryptocurrency has been hacked in 1,101 documented incidents from 2012 to the present.

This represents approximately 2.5% of the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies. SlowMist, a blockchain security firm, identified the top five most common types of hacks as smart contract vulnerabilities, rug pulls, flash loan attacks, scams, and private key leaks.

Among the documented incidents, there were 118 exchange hacks, 217 hacks within the Ethereum ecosystem, 162 within the BNB Smart Chain ecosystem, 119 within the EOS ecosystem, and 85 hacks related to nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

Exchange hacks accounted for the largest losses, with over $10 billion lost over the past decade.

READ MORE: Vitalik Buterin Fires Warning About Bitcoin’s Future

Notable early attacks in the history of Bitcoin include the infamous 2014 Mt. Gox hack and the 2016 Bitfinex hack.

Mt. Gox, once the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world, filed for bankruptcy in 2014 after discovering that 850,000 BTC (valued at $25.2 billion at the time) had been stolen through discreet hacks over several years.

Since then, Mt. Gox has managed to recover 200,000 BTC (worth $6.1 billion) and is in the process of redistributing them to creditors.

Similarly, in 2016, Bitfinex experienced a security breach that resulted in the loss of 119,576 BTC, valued at around $70 million at the time and approximately $3.7 billion now.

On February 8, 2022, special agents from the United States Department of Justice managed to recover 94,000 of the stolen BTC.

Interestingly, the report indicates that hack events with losses exceeding $1 billion peaked in the early 2010s and between 2019 and 2021.

Since 2022, there has been a decrease in the number of security incidents, aligning with findings from other reports.

These alarming figures highlight the ongoing challenges of securing cryptocurrencies and the need for robust security measures within the crypto ecosystem.

As the industry continues to evolve, it is crucial for individuals, exchanges, and projects to prioritize cybersecurity to safeguard against potential attacks and protect the investments of users.

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Logan Paul has decided to not refund CryptoZoo investors, a source in the influencer’s camp told Crypto Intelligence News on Saturday.

Paul found himself under increased security after crypto YouTuber and sleuth Coffeezilla published a video about the failed crypto gaming project in late December.

In the video, Coffeezilla criticised Paul and other senior figures of the project, and he also spoke to several victims, who cumulatively lost millions of dollars as a result of the failed project.

He later promised to refund some of the investors, after his initial tactic of blaming senior advisors failed.

READ MORE: Elon Musk Fights Back Against $258 Billion Dogecoin Lawsuit

However, over six months later, Paul is yet to have paid a dime in compensation, nor has he provided an update on the situation or how exactly investors can claim compensation.

Coffeezilla revealed in a recent video that Paul had been ignoring his messages regarding CryptoZoo, with only his lawyers responding to his requests for comment.

“Paul has not paid back his victims. He hasn’t talked about it since he first announced he was going to pay them back. And what’s worst of all, he doesn’t seem to have a plan in place to refund anyone,” he said.

A source with ties to Paul and the now-defunct project has now told Crypto Intelligence News that the American influencer has changed his mind about compensating investors.

Specifically, the source said that Paul was unhappy with the response he received online after he announced his intention of compensating investors from his own pocket, feeling that he didn’t receive enough credit.

Crypto Intelligence News has reached out to Logan Paul’s team for comment, but has not received a reply as of publishing this story.

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The DeFi ecosystem has been facing an increasing number of hacks, but there is some good news on the horizon.

A smart contract developer has introduced a new Ethereum request for comment (ERC) proposal that could potentially reduce losses from hacks by 70%.

This proposal suggests the implementation of a circuit breaker, which would help prevent suspiciously large token outflows from DeFi protocols.

However, the security concerns continue as certain Multichain contracts on Ethereum experienced significant withdrawals, raising fears of a possible exploit.

READ MORE: BarnBridge DAO Halts Operations Amidst SEC Investigation

The Poly Network, a cross-chain bridge platform, was also targeted by hackers due to a compromise in a private key.

This exploit affected 57 different crypto assets, prompting the platform to request users to withdraw their funds.

In a separate incident, the BarnBridge DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization, faced regulatory scrutiny from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As a result, members of the DAO were advised to halt all project-related activities.

Shifting gears to new developments, the decentralized social media protocol DeSo has offered a $1 million bounty for the creation of a Reddit competitor built on its native blockchain.

This initiative aims to foster innovation and competition within the decentralized social media space.

Taking a look at the market performance, the top 100 DeFi tokens had a mixed week.

While most tokens traded within a similar range as the previous week, a minor bearish correction was observed.

In summary, a new ERC proposal for a DeFi circuit breaker could potentially reduce losses from hacks by 70%.

However, the DeFi ecosystem continues to face security challenges, as demonstrated by recent exploits and regulatory scrutiny.

On a positive note, DeSo’s bounty program seeks to drive innovation in decentralized social media.

The overall performance of the DeFi market remained relatively stable, with the total value locked in DeFi protocols remaining below $50 billion.

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Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has filed a petition with a Florida court to confirm a judgment obtained through arbitration after mistakenly depositing $50,000 into a user’s account.

The court filing, dated July 6, states that Crypto.com made an “erroneous deposit” into James Deutero McJunkins’ account in June 2022.

The user did not appear to have earned the funds through trades or other activities and promptly transferred the money to an external bank account, beyond the reach of Crypto.com’s authority.

Despite repeated requests for the return of the funds, McJunkins ignored the exchange’s appeals.

READ MORE: Top Executives Depart Binance Amidst Legal Scrutiny and Compliance Concerns

In October 2022, Crypto.com sought arbitration to address the missing funds, accusing McJunkins of civil theft and breach of contract.

The arbitrator ruled in favor of the company and awarded Crypto.com a total of $76,391.46 in April 2023.

This amount included the original $50,000 transaction, $1,786.11 in statutory interest, $21,205.35 in attorneys’ fees, and $3,400 in arbitration costs.

However, the arbitrator’s ruling did not possess the authority to enforce payment from McJunkins.

Consequently, Crypto.com has turned to the federal court system to seek resolution.

The petition, submitted on July 6, requests the Florida court to “confirm the Arbitrator’s Award and enter a final judgment in its favor and against McJunkins” for the outstanding amount owed.

This incident bears similarities to a previous case involving Crypto.com and two users based in Australia.

In May 2021, the exchange mistakenly transferred over $6 million to the couple’s account, only discovering the error in December of the same year.

The recipients purportedly spent a substantial portion of the funds, believing it to be a prize from the exchange.

The Australian authorities subsequently charged the duo with theft, and the case remains ongoing.

By petitioning the Florida court, Crypto.com aims to obtain a final judgment to secure the repayment of the mistakenly deposited funds.

This legal action showcases the complexities and challenges faced by cryptocurrency exchanges in rectifying errors and holding users accountable for their actions.

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Ryan Wyatt, who has served as president of Polygon Labs for over a year, has announced his decision to step down from his current role and transition into an advisory position within the company.

Wyatt revealed his plans to leave Polygon by the end of July but expressed his intention to remain involved in the crypto space by continuing to provide guidance and advice to the firm.

Taking on the mantle of the new CEO will be Marc Boiron, Polygon’s chief legal officer and former chief legal officer of dYdX.

READ MORE: BarnBridge DAO Halts Operations Amidst SEC Investigation

Meanwhile, Rebecca Rettig, currently serving as Polygon’s chief policy officer, will assume the role of chief legal officer following Boiron’s departure.

Rettig’s expertise in legal matters and her recent appointment by Caroline Pham of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to the CFTC’s Global Markets Advisory Committee’s Subcommittee on Global Market Structure, Technical Issues, and Digital Asset Markets further bolsters her qualifications for the position.

This change in leadership comes at a pivotal time for Polygon, as the platform has been diligently working on a series of upgrades known as “Polygon 2.0” with the aim of establishing the “Value Layer” of the internet.

One of the key milestones in this endeavor is the implementation of “decentralized governance,” which Polygon plans to achieve by July 17.

These upgrades and advancements will contribute to Polygon’s growth and solidify its position in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry.

Polygon has already achieved significant milestones, as demonstrated by its ascent to become the second-largest blockchain gaming network in terms of the number of unique active wallets, surpassing Hive.

The growing popularity of the platform and its underlying cryptocurrency, Polygon (MATIC), is a testament to its success.

As of the time of this article’s publication, the price of Polygon (MATIC) stood at $0.6804, signifying its market value.

With the upcoming changes in leadership and the continued pursuit of Polygon 2.0, the future of Polygon Labs looks promising, poised to make further advancements in the realm of decentralized finance and beyond.

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Coinbase users have taken to Twitter to report an increasing number of scams and phishing attacks involving the company’s services and applications.

These reports include claims that scammers are exploiting Coinbase’s domain name.

The most recent incident was disclosed by a Twitter user named Daniel Mason on July 7. Mason received texts and emails from fraudsters who used links under the domain Coinbase.com.

READ MORE: Abnormally Large Outflows Spark Fears of Exploit

The scammer contacted Mason using a legitimate phone number and subsequently triggered an email from a Coinbase.com domain.

This was followed by a phishing text message directing Mason to a Coinbase subdomain URL.

The fraudster then proceeded to obtain Mason’s personal information, including his address, social security number, and driver’s license number.

Mason highlighted that the scammer was articulate and spoke English fluently. During a phone conversation, the fraudster informed Mason that he would receive an email from Coinbase regarding a supposed breach of his account.

Almost immediately, an email arrived from help@coinbase.com. Mason questioned whether the scammer had created a case on his behalf or gained access to Coinbase’s mail servers.

Numerous individuals on social media have reported similar security incidents involving Coinbase.

Users have complained about various types of scams, including phishing attempts on Coinbase Wallet and criminals exploiting the company’s web address.

Cointelegraph interviewed an anonymous victim who experienced a similar approach.

This individual called Coinbase’s support line to verify the authenticity of an email claiming their account had been compromised.

A Coinbase employee confirmed the communication was genuine, but it turned out that the email was the work of a hacker.

The victim alleges that the hacker, masquerading as a Coinbase employee, stole their cryptocurrency.

Despite having evidence such as a witness, the date and time of the call, and the name of the employee they spoke to, the victim claims Coinbase took no accountability.

The case is currently in litigation, and the victim estimates a loss of approximately $50,000.

These reports mirror the attack on Twitter user Jacob Canfield. On June 13, Canfield received a text message and phone calls from a scammer who claimed there had been a change in his two-factor authentication.

The fraudster redirected Canfield to the “security” team, attempting to verify his account to avoid a 48-hour suspension.

The scammer possessed Canfield’s name, email, and location, and sent a “verification code” email from help@coinbase.com to his personal email.

The criminal became agitated and hung up when Canfield refused to provide the code.

The email address help@coinbase.com is listed as an official and reliable address on Coinbase’s support page.

The company’s blog emphasizes that its staff will never ask users for passwords or two-step verification codes, nor will they request remote access to devices.

Coinbase stated in a response to Cointelegraph that it has dedicated extensive security resources to educate customers about preventing phishing attacks and scams.

The company collaborates with international law enforcement to ensure that anyone defrauding Coinbase customers faces legal consequences

To enhance security, experts recommend using strong and unique passwords for cryptocurrency accounts and enabling two-factor authentication on applications.

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