Daily Crypto News | June 30th, 2022

1. North Korean Attackers Suspected To Be Behind Harmony’s $100M Hack

A research published today by blockchain analytics company Elliptic claims that The Lazarus Group, a prominent cybercriminal group with ties to North Korea, was involved in the way the funds were stolen and later laundered.

The $622 million hack of a cross-chain bridge used by the play-to-earn game Axie Infinity was determined to be the work of Lazarus, a “state-sponsored hacking organization,” by the U.S. authorities in April. Blockchains are linked together through cross-chain bridges, which are frequently used to interconnect sidechains (such as the Ethereum sidechain Ronin from Axie), which can provide speed and lower transaction fees before transferring work back to more secure blockchains like the Ethereum mainnet.

The Horizon bridge, a cross-chain bridge between Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the Binance Chain, was where Harmony’s attack also happened. The similarity between the two cross-chain bridge assaults is one sign that Lazarus is probably involved, according to Elliptic’s study. The hacker’s use of social engineering to carry out the attack makes references to other Lazarus hacks. The Harmony assault also has similarities to the Axie Infinity hack in that the laundered pattern of the stolen money suggests automated transfers.

2. Online Shopping Platform Ebay To Step Closer To NFT Expansion

Last week, Ebay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) submitted two trademark applications to the USPTO, covering a variety of goods and services associated with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse.

Mike Kondoudis, a trademark lawyer with a USPTO license, tweeted on Tuesday that “Ebay Inc. is coming to the metaverse.” According to him, the documents show the e-commerce giant’s intentions for NFTs, NFT exchanges, and NFT trading, as well as for virtual good marketplaces, online stores that sell both real and virtual goods, and NFTs. Serial numbers for the applications are 97473696 and 97473620.

Ebay said that it had bought NFT marketplace Knownorigin the day before it submitted the two trademark applications. Ebay claims that on June 21, the two businesses signed and finalized their agreement.

3. EU Finalizes Regulations Against Money Laundering

On Wednesday, the European Union (EU) came to an agreement on anti-money laundering regulations that would be applicable to a significant percentage of cryptocurrency transactions.

The new regulations mandate that providers of crypto-assets services gather, store, and provide information identifying individuals involved in cryptocurrency transactions to law enforcement agencies conducting investigations in order to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, among other crimes. But unlike what the EU Parliament originally intended in March, the new laws will not impose tracking requirements on personal, unhosted wallets.

According to a news release published on the website of the European Parliament, the rule applies to all transactions involving service providers, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, that are governed by the EU and has “no minimum thresholds nor exemptions for low-value transfers.”

4. Compass Mining Refutes Claims Of Unpaid Electric Bills From Dynamics

Today, Compass Mining officially refuted Dynamics Mining’s claim that it owes money to the bitcoin mining operation for unpaid electricity bills at premises in Maine.

Dynamics announced on Twitter on Sunday that just two different payments totaling $415,000 and $250,000 had been made out of the $1.2 million in first power deposits that had been agreed upon. Additionally, Dynamics asserted that money Compass claimed it had used to pay bills had actually been utilized to expand facilities.

“Compass Mining is certainly aware that Dynamics has been discussing its legal dispute with Compass via social media, including via multiple Twitter Spaces events,” the company claimed, adding that Dynamics was “completely incorrect” and lacked “any factual support.”

5. Russian Parliament Introduces New Digital Asset’s Tax Rules

On second, third, and final readings, the State Duma, the Russian parliament’s lower house, adopted a bill that would have amended the country’s tax code to permit Moscow to tax transactions using digital financial assets (DFAs).

Given that DFA is now the primary word in Russian law that pertains to cryptocurrencies, the legislation explains a number of issues related to their taxation. The definitions and legal framework for crypto assets should be expanded this fall by a new law “On Digital Currency.”

In accordance with the paper, which the cryptocurrency news outlet Forklog cited, platforms that issue, manage, and keep track of the movement of DFAs will be exempt from the value-added tax (VAT), exactly like with securities.