Whale closes $516M 40x Bitcoin short, pockets $9.4M profit in 8 days

A Bitcoin whale has closed over half a billion in short positions, betting on Bitcoin price’s decline ahead of the much-awaited Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting this week.

A large crypto investor, or whale, made nearly $10 million profit after closing a 40x leverage short position for 6,210 Bitcoin (BTC) — worth over $516 million — which functions as a de facto bet on Bitcoin’s price fall.

Leveraged positions use borrowed money to increase the size of an investment, which can boost the size of both gains and losses, making leveraged trading riskier compared to regular investment positions.

Bitcoin whale closed shirt positions. Source: Hypurrscan

The savvy whale closed all his short positions within a few hours, making a $9.46 million profit from Bitcoin’s decline, Hypurrscan data shows.

The

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The case against Pavel Durov and why it's important for crypto

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been allowed to leave France temporarily, but the preliminary charges against him raise significant questions for the crypto community.

On March 13, a French court gave the founder and CEO of the encrypted messaging app Telegram permission to leave for Dubai, where he had previously resided. Durov had been in France since August 2024, when he was arrested at the Le Bourget airport in Paris. 

Durov was part of an investigation containing allegations of negligence and complicity in crimes like narcotics trafficking, money laundering, child sexual exploitation and terrorism. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

More broadly, Durov’s case raises questions about developer responsibility for the cryptographic platforms and tools they create — a well-known issue in the cryptocurrency industry.

Is Durov responsible for what happens on Telegram?

The

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/what-charges-pavel-durov-why-important-crypto?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss%3Ft%3D1742299378993&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

The case against Pavel Durov and why it's important for crypto

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been allowed to leave France temporarily, but the preliminary charges against him raise significant questions for the crypto community.

On March 13, a French court gave the founder and CEO of the encrypted messaging app Telegram permission to leave for Dubai, where he had previously resided. Durov had been in France since August 2024, when he was arrested at the Le Bourget airport in Paris. 

Durov was part of an investigation containing allegations of negligence and complicity in crimes like narcotics trafficking, money laundering, child sexual exploitation and terrorism. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

More broadly, Durov’s case raises questions about developer responsibility for the cryptographic platforms and tools they create — a well-known issue in the cryptocurrency industry.

Is Durov responsible for what happens on Telegram?

The

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/what-charges-pavel-durov-why-important-crypto?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

All but 1 US spot Bitcoin ETF in the red this March

Nearly all United States spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) had net negative performances in March as analysts expect a bearish Bitcoin trend of up to 12 months. 

Farside Investors data showed that spot Bitcoin ETFs struggled in March, with net outflows surpassing their monthly net inflows. Asset manager BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) suffered the most, with outflows reaching $552 million and inflows of only $84.6 million. 

According to the data, Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) saw outflows of over $517 million and had inflows of only $136.5. The data also showed that Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) had outflows of over $200 million and had zero inflows. 

However, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC) is the only one that defied the trend, with zero net outflows for March and over $55 million in net inflows. 

Spot Bitcoin ETF flows in millions. Source: Farside Investors

US Spot Bitcoin

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All but 1 US spot Bitcoin ETF in the red this March

Nearly all United States spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) had net negative performances in March as analysts expect a bearish Bitcoin trend of up to 12 months. 

Farside Investors data showed that spot Bitcoin ETFs struggled in March, with net outflows surpassing their monthly net inflows. Asset manager BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) suffered the most, with outflows reaching $552 million and inflows of only $84.6 million. 

According to the data, Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) saw outflows of over $517 million and had inflows of only $136.5. The data also showed that Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) had outflows of over $200 million and had zero inflows. 

However, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC) is the only one that defied the trend, with zero net outflows for March and over $55 million in net inflows. 

Spot Bitcoin ETF flows in millions. Source: Farside Investors

US Spot Bitcoin

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Crypto and money laundering: What you need to know

What is crypto money laundering?

Crypto money laundering involves concealing illegally obtained funds by funneling them through cryptocurrency transactions to obscure their origin. Criminals may operate offchain but move funds onchain to facilitate laundering.

Traditionally, illicit money was moved using couriers or informal networks like Hawala. However, with the rise of digital assets, bad actors now exploit blockchain technology to transfer large amounts of money. With evolving techniques and increasing regulation, authorities continue working to track and mitigate the misuse of cryptocurrencies for money laundering.

Thanks to sophisticated technologies like cryptocurrencies, criminals find moving large amounts of money simpler. As cryptocurrency adoption has grown, so has illicit activity within the space. In 2023, crypto wallets linked to unlawful activities transferred $22.2 billion, while in 2022, this figure stood at $31.5 billion. 

Crypto and money laundering: What you need to know

What is crypto money laundering?

Crypto money laundering involves concealing illegally obtained funds by funneling them through cryptocurrency transactions to obscure their origin. Criminals may operate offchain but move funds onchain to facilitate laundering.

Traditionally, illicit money was moved using couriers or informal networks like Hawala. However, with the rise of digital assets, bad actors now exploit blockchain technology to transfer large amounts of money. With evolving techniques and increasing regulation, authorities continue working to track and mitigate the misuse of cryptocurrencies for money laundering.

Thanks to sophisticated technologies like cryptocurrencies, criminals find moving large amounts of money simpler. As cryptocurrency adoption has grown, so has illicit activity within the space. In 2023, crypto wallets linked to unlawful activities transferred $22.2 billion, while in 2022, this figure stood at $31.5 billion. 

Microsoft warns of new remote access trojan targeting crypto wallets

Tech giant Microsoft has discovered a new remote access trojan (RAT) that targets crypto held in 20 cryptocurrency wallet extensions for the Google Chrome browser. 

Microsoft’s Incident Response Team said in a March 17 blog post that it first discovered the malware StilachiRAT last November and found it can steal information such as credentials stored in the browser, digital wallet information and data stored in the clipboard. 

After deployment, the bad actors can use StilachiRAT to siphon crypto wallet data by scanning device settings to see if any of the 20 crypto wallet extensions are installed, including Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet, MetaMask and OKX Wallet. 

The malware StilachiRAT can target crypto held in 20 different wallet extensions. Source: Microsoft

“Analysis of the StilachiRAT’s WWStartupCtrl64.dll module that contains the RAT capabilities revealed the use of various methods to steal information

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/microsoft-new-remote-access-trojan-rat-targets-digital-wallets?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss%3Ft%3D1742299378993&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Microsoft warns of new remote access trojan targeting crypto wallets

Tech giant Microsoft has discovered a new remote access trojan (RAT) that targets crypto held in 20 cryptocurrency wallet extensions for the Google Chrome browser. 

Microsoft’s Incident Response Team said in a March 17 blog post that it first discovered the malware StilachiRAT last November and found it can steal information such as credentials stored in the browser, digital wallet information and data stored in the clipboard. 

After deployment, the bad actors can use StilachiRAT to siphon crypto wallet data by scanning device settings to see if any of the 20 crypto wallet extensions are installed, including Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet, MetaMask and OKX Wallet. 

The malware StilachiRAT can target crypto held in 20 different wallet extensions. Source: Microsoft

“Analysis of the StilachiRAT’s WWStartupCtrl64.dll module that contains the RAT capabilities revealed the use of various methods to steal information

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/microsoft-new-remote-access-trojan-rat-targets-digital-wallets?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound

Microsoft warns of new remote access trojan targeting crypto wallets

Tech giant Microsoft has discovered a new remote access trojan (RAT) that targets crypto held in 20 cryptocurrency wallet extensions for the Google Chrome browser. 

Microsoft’s Incident Response Team said in a March 17 blog post that it first discovered the malware StilachiRAT last November and found it can steal information such as credentials stored in the browser, digital wallet information and data stored in the clipboard. 

After deployment, the bad actors can use StilachiRAT to siphon crypto wallet data by scanning device settings to see if any of the 20 crypto wallet extensions are installed, including Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet, MetaMask and OKX Wallet. 

The malware StilachiRAT can target crypto held in 20 different wallet extensions. Source: Microsoft

“Analysis of the StilachiRAT’s WWStartupCtrl64.dll module that contains the RAT capabilities revealed the use of various methods to steal information

Read More at https://cointelegraph.com/news/microsoft-new-remote-access-trojan-rat-targets-digital-wallets?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss%3Ft%3D1742284683293&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound