Bitcoin

[MU82]

Here's some good news ...

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/07/us/politics/justice-department-colonial-pipeline-ransom.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20210607&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&ref=headline&regi_id=108420427&segment_id=60096&user_id=d36dcf821462fdd16ec3636710a855fa

The Justice Department said on Monday that it had recovered much of the ransom paid to hackers last month who shut down the computer systems of Colonial Pipeline, a critical pipeline operator.

Colonial had paid a ransom worth roughly $4.4 million in Bitcoin to the Russian hacking group DarkSide after it used ransomware, a form of malicious software, to hold up the company’s business networks in May.  That payment cleared the way for Colonial to resume pumping fuel through its pipeline, which stretches from Texas to New Jersey and accounts for nearly half of all transport fuels that flow up the East Coast.

The seizure on Monday marked a first-of-its-kind effort by a new Justice Department task force to hijack a cybercriminal group’s profits through a hack of its Bitcoin wallet. The Justice Department said that it had seized 63.7 Bitcoins, currently valued at about $2.3 million. (The value of a Bitcoin has dropped over the past month.)

“Earlier today, the Department of Justice has found and recaptured the majority of the ransom Colonial paid to the DarkSide network,” the deputy attorney general, Lisa O. Monaco, said at a news conference Monday. 

“Using technology to hold businesses, and even whole cities, hostage for profit is decidedly a 21st-century challenge, but the old adage, ‘follow the money,’ still applies,” Ms. Monaco said.

Officials said that they identified a virtual currency account, often referred to as a “wallet,” that DarkSide had use to collect payment from one of its ransomware victims, and that a magistrate judge in the Northern District of California had granted a warrant to seize funds from the wallet earlier in the day.

[rocket surgeon]

edit: let's go Warriors.

[MU82]

  how much bitcoin did biden inc get for opening the russian nord stream while closing our keystone? but they claim he's never met with the smartest man of biden inc's business partners who essentially pulled this off.  turns out, smartest man emails caught him using the big "N" word on his attorney who is white re: the baby moma he never knew as he kicks her off his health insurance as soon as his "child" he knew nothing about is born.  how this is all happening while sleepy is napping?  certainly sounds like impeachable offenses to me.  wasn't he supposed to divest?

BDS! And no politics in the investing thread, please.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

BDS! And no politics in the investing thread, please.

That's rich, Masterlock.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

That's rich, Masterlock.

Lol.....

[Goose]

Ziggy

That was a great post. The King of Locks is calling rocket out. Well done!

[MU82]

Ziggy

King of Locks

Only on my Bagelz.

[Hards Alumni]

Here's some good news ...

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/07/us/politics/justice-department-colonial-pipeline-ransom.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20210607&instance_id=0&nl=breaking-news&ref=headline&regi_id=108420427&segment_id=60096&user_id=d36dcf821462fdd16ec3636710a855fa

The Justice Department said on Monday that it had recovered much of the ransom paid to hackers last month who shut down the computer systems of Colonial Pipeline, a critical pipeline operator.

Colonial had paid a ransom worth roughly $4.4 million in Bitcoin to the Russian hacking group DarkSide after it used ransomware, a form of malicious software, to hold up the company’s business networks in May.  That payment cleared the way for Colonial to resume pumping fuel through its pipeline, which stretches from Texas to New Jersey and accounts for nearly half of all transport fuels that flow up the East Coast.

The seizure on Monday marked a first-of-its-kind effort by a new Justice Department task force to hijack a cybercriminal group’s profits through a hack of its Bitcoin wallet. The Justice Department said that it had seized 63.7 Bitcoins, currently valued at about $2.3 million. (The value of a Bitcoin has dropped over the past month.)

“Earlier today, the Department of Justice has found and recaptured the majority of the ransom Colonial paid to the DarkSide network,” the deputy attorney general, Lisa O. Monaco, said at a news conference Monday. 

“Using technology to hold businesses, and even whole cities, hostage for profit is decidedly a 21st-century challenge, but the old adage, ‘follow the money,’ still applies,” Ms. Monaco said.

Officials said that they identified a virtual currency account, often referred to as a “wallet,” that DarkSide had use to collect payment from one of its ransomware victims, and that a magistrate judge in the Northern District of California had granted a warrant to seize funds from the wallet earlier in the day.

LOL.  I don't buy this explanation at all.  Do you think there is a chance in hell that a group who is smart enough to hack major infrastructure in the US is too stupid to understand that keeping BTC on an exchange is a great way to lose their money?

What is more likely the case (and the chain shows it!) is that a group of dumbasses BOUGHT the ransomware from Darkside for a cut of the take.  The dumbasses put their money on an exchange and had their assets siezed.  Darkside got their cut and didn't put it on an exchange... which is why not all of the money was recovered.

Nothing was hacked, the criminals were just idiots.  The DOJ should stop patting itself on the back, but you know... gotta keep up appearances.

[Hards Alumni]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/el-salvador-becomes-first-country-to-approve-bitcoin-as-legal-tender-11623234476

Perfect.  This is exactly what BTC  can help.  Unbanked people who are taken advantage of by remittance providers will benefit greatly from this.

Now this...

https://www.coindesk.com/volcano-powered-bitcoin-mining-goes-from-twitter-idea-to-state-policy-in-el-salvador

Hopefully, they can get this built asap.

[MU82]

Musk tweets one thing about Bitcoin and the price tanks ... days later (or sometimes the same day), he tweets another thing about Bitcoin and the price soars. All the while, he's trading Bitcoin.

Hard to believe this is legal, but it apparently is. It certainly seems unethical, as if he cares.

[Hards Alumni]

Musk tweets one thing about Bitcoin and the price tanks ... days later (or sometimes the same day), he tweets another thing about Bitcoin and the price soars. All the while, he's trading Bitcoin.

Hard to believe this is legal, but it apparently is. It certainly seems unethical, as if he cares.

When you stop trying to tie BTC to fiat you can realize that 1 BTC = 1 BTC.

Basically, if you're trying to day trade BTC, you're a damn fool.

[MU82]

When you stop trying to tie BTC to fiat you can realize that 1 BTC = 1 BTC.

Basically, if you're trying to day trade BTC, you're a damn fool.

Lots a fools out there! But you already knew that.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

When you stop trying to tie BTC to fiat you can realize that 1 BTC = 1 BTC.

Basically, if you're trying to day trade BTC, you're a damn fool.

Not if you are Elon and can frontrun your tweets.

[Hards Alumni]

Not if you are Elon and can frontrun your tweets.

I mean, there is a game to be played with all investments by watching the news or following financials.

[Hards Alumni]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45jjg5RqV5U

[MU82]

I'm no crypto guy. Just relaying the Seeking Alpha blurb I received in my inbox today:

+++

The crypto has formed a death cross, meaning its average price over the last 50 days fell below that of its 200-day moving average. Overnight, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) slipped another 2.8% to $31,652, spooked by renewed crackdowns from China. Beijing even summoned officials from its largest banks and Alipay (BABA) to reiterate a ban on providing crypto services, a day after cracking down on mining operations in Sichuan. "It basically says now OTC transactions are not legitimate... we are not allowed by the banks to transfer money for cryptocurrency purchases and sales," said Bobby Lee, formerly CEO of BTC China, China's first Bitcoin exchange.

+++

"Death cross" never sounds good to me. So, cryptoheads ... is this as bad as it sounds, or just noise ... and a buying opportunity?

[TSmith34, Inc.]

I mean, there is a game to be played with all investments by watching the news or following financials.

(sorry, delayed response)...The difference is that Elon is not watching the news, he's making his trades and then creating the news. Its obvious market manipulation, but it appears that it is not illegal because he is playing in an unregulated area.

[Hards Alumni]

I'm no crypto guy. Just relaying the Seeking Alpha blurb I received in my inbox today:

+++

The crypto has formed a death cross, meaning its average price over the last 50 days fell below that of its 200-day moving average. Overnight, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) slipped another 2.8% to $31,652, spooked by renewed crackdowns from China. Beijing even summoned officials from its largest banks and Alipay (BABA) to reiterate a ban on providing crypto services, a day after cracking down on mining operations in Sichuan. "It basically says now OTC transactions are not legitimate... we are not allowed by the banks to transfer money for cryptocurrency purchases and sales," said Bobby Lee, formerly CEO of BTC China, China's first Bitcoin exchange.

+++

"Death cross" never sounds good to me. So, cryptoheads ... is this as bad as it sounds, or just noise ... and a buying opportunity?

Here is the thing, it's never going to zero, and it has a chance of being a better way of transacting financially.  This will always cause fear, uncertainty and doubt.  Now think about every financial institution flexing their power to push the FUD, because their very survival is at odds with crypto, blockchain, defi, etc.  This is a fundamental flipping of their table, and they will use any and all means to stop it.

[Skatastrophy]

I'm no crypto guy. Just relaying the Seeking Alpha blurb I received in my inbox today:

+++

The crypto has formed a death cross, meaning its average price over the last 50 days fell below that of its 200-day moving average. Overnight, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) slipped another 2.8% to $31,652, spooked by renewed crackdowns from China. Beijing even summoned officials from its largest banks and Alipay (BABA) to reiterate a ban on providing crypto services, a day after cracking down on mining operations in Sichuan. "It basically says now OTC transactions are not legitimate... we are not allowed by the banks to transfer money for cryptocurrency purchases and sales," said Bobby Lee, formerly CEO of BTC China, China's first Bitcoin exchange.

+++

"Death cross" never sounds good to me. So, cryptoheads ... is this as bad as it sounds, or just noise ... and a buying opportunity?

Crypto aside, the "Death Cross" is a technical chart pattern.

Some people believe that they can look at charts and tell which way the price of a currency/stock/coin is going to move. This is a common human problem where we see patterns and try to ascribe value/meaning to those patterns. This pattern recognition in humans is part of why we're so capable, but when it comes to guessing the future price of equities (or cypto) has the same value as astrology.

[MU82]

Crypto aside, the "Death Cross" is a technical chart pattern.

Some people believe that they can look at charts and tell which way the price of a currency/stock/coin is going to move. This is a common human problem where we see patterns and try to ascribe value/meaning to those patterns. This pattern recognition in humans is part of why we're so capable, but when it comes to guessing the future price of equities (or cypto) has the same value as astrology.

I did not mean to suggest that I had never heard of "death cross" before. I agree with you that charting has about the same value as astrology, but I do know what death cross, 50-day moving averages, etc, are.

I hadn't heard it used along with crypto, but I don't really follow crypto at all.

[Hards Alumni]

I did not mean to suggest that I had never heard of "death cross" before. I agree with you that charting has about the same value as astrology, but I do know what death cross, 50-day moving averages, etc, are.

I hadn't heard it used along with crypto, but I don't really follow crypto at all.

BTC went from 20k to 3k.  Then to 60k.  It's volatility is well known.  Dropping to 60k from 30k is not a death knell. 

I just observe the motivations of those who write the articles predicting BTC's demise.  And then I note that they've all been wrong so far.

[MU82]

BTC went from 20k to 3k.  Then to 60k.  It's volatility is well known.  Dropping to 60k from 30k is not a death knell. 

I just observe the motivations of those who write the articles predicting BTC's demise.  And then I note that they've all been wrong so far.

Fair enough. Good luck!

[JWags85]

BTC went from 20k to 3k.  Then to 60k.  It's volatility is well known.  Dropping to 60k from 30k is not a death knell. 

I just observe the motivations of those who write the articles predicting BTC's demise.  And then I note that they've all been wrong so far.

To me the FUD is as annoying as the lunatics screaming in Miami a few weeks ago.  It’s not going to $250K by EOY, but then again, it’s not plummeting to zero either. 

[Hards Alumni]

To me the FUD is as annoying as the lunatics screaming in Miami a few weeks ago.  It’s not going to $250K by EOY, but then again, it’s not plummeting to zero either.

FUD vs Shills is an eternal conflict in crypto 

[lawdog77]

Can someone explain to me how the volume of BTC can be 44.8 Billion, when there are only 21M bitcoins possible?