Summary of this article
Crypto kidnappings rise weekly, targeting private keys and ransom.
Unknown buyer buys $1B Ether; Ethereum market grows.
S&P rates Sky Protocol "B-", notes risks and centralisation.
SatoshiLabs' Alena Vranova issued the warning of a dramatic increase in kidnappings of holders of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies globally. During a recent conference, she asserted that on average, one crypto individual is kidnapped every week.
The abductions are usually horrific, with victims being tortured or held for ransom, as robbers aim to secure private keys and cryptocurrencies. Vranova further stated that even single investors are not exempted, some are kidnapped for cryptocurrencies valued at merely $6,000. In some other heartbreaking cases, victims who had up to $50,000 in their portfolios have been killed.
She highlighted a trend referred to as "wrench attacks," in which physical force is employed to steal crypto access. The attacks are growing in frequency at a rapid rate, and this year is turning out to be the worst ever for such offences.
One of the key causes for this increase is the exposure of personal data. Vranova claimed that more than 80 million identities of crypto users have been leaked, including home addresses of 2.2 million users among the leaked data. These centralised exchanges' data breaches provide criminals with more convenience in targeting users and their relatives.
In answer to these threats, Vranova urged the crypto community to be more equipped with personal security measures. She noted that even individuals with minimal cryptocurrency holdings must guard their private information and be on the lookout for threats.
Mysterious Institution Buys Almost $1B Worth of Ether Within a Week
As per Cointelegraph, an unidentified institution bought around 221,166 Ether tokens worth close to $946 million within a week. This huge buy was timed with almost a 21 per cent rise in the price of Ether, taking it past the $4,000 level.
The buyer made the transactions using six different wallets and received Ether from prominent exchanges such as Galaxy Digital, FalconX, and BitGo. The richest wallet contains approximately $181 million in Ether, while the most insignificant of them holds nearly $128 million. This trend indicates a cautious approach to concealing or masking the identity of the buyer.
The market capitalisation of Ethereum this week surpassed $523 billion, surpassing Mastercard at $519 billion. This is a sign of increasing significance of Ethereum in the financial sector. Additionally, listed companies have listed more than 304,000 tokens with a value of more than $1.3 billion of Ether value within the last week.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin advised investors to exercise caution and to refrain from taking on too much leverage when buying Ether in order not to risk too much.
S&P Global Gives Sky Protocol, DeFi Platform's First 'B-' Grade
Sky Protocol, formerly a decentralised finance (DeFi) platform called Maker Protocol, has received a 'B-' credit rating by S&P Global Ratings, Cointelegraph reports. It was the initial occasion for a top ratings agency to rate a DeFi platform. It is one step in S&P's attempt to rate the financial profile and capacity of stablecoin issuers to maintain the stability in value. Sky Protocol allows users to borrow cryptocurrency-backed loans by using its stablecoin that is denominated as USDS. USDS is the fourth largest stablecoin in terms of market capitalisation, which is approximately $5.36 billion.
S&P Global also identified various risks that may cause default, including withdrawal of deposits due to a lack of liquidity and credit losses exceeding capital reserves. They identified various weaknesses in Sky Protocol, such as depositor concentration, centralised governance, dependency on the founder, regulatory risk, and low reserves. Considering all of these, the protocol has experienced minimal credit losses and has been making earnings since 2020.
The report also considered individual DeFi risks such as smart contract failure and governance risks. Rune Christensen, co-founder of Sky, holds virtually 9 per cent of governance tokens, some centralisation.
