- New York’s Homeland Security and Investigation unit detained masterminds of CND’s crypto recovery scam.
- According to the investigation report, CDN kept the transaction fees in the name of funds recovery in several cases.
- The department seized the website in 2023, and the recent follow-up includes Michael Lauchlan’s arrest on July 09.
Since the beginning of 2024, the cryptocurrency market has lost over $1 Billion in hacks and other fraudulent activities.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Investigation asserted on August 5, 2024, that its New York Task unit had uncovered a bogus crypto asset recovery business operated by Michael Lauchlan.
As per the available information, Lauchlan’s Coin Dispute Network (CDN) purported to offer expertise in blockchain analysis, tracking cryptocurrencies, and recovering lost funds in exchange for some fees.
It’s crucial to note that in several cases, CDN kept the transaction fees in the name of funds recovery. It also secured access to the funds of some users by fooling them by leveraging fake blockchain reports.
While interviewing 175 users of the CND, it was noted that they had yet to be able to recover their funds, according to the investigation reports. Michael is charged with grand larceny and two other charges in the Manhattan Criminal Court.
Michael Lauchlan allegedly exploited his customers’ lack of experience with the cryptocurrency industry and, in turn, fleeced them out of thousands of dollars in sham services and stolen assets, said Ivan J. Arvelo, in charge of HSI’s New York Unit.
Law enforcement officials took control of the CND website in July 2023 and subsequently apprehended Michael on July 9 as a result of their follow-up investigation.
The report asserts that he spoofed his identity and was living in the name of Max Handler.
Other Major Updates
Hackers breached Ronin Bridge, the sidechain of Axie Infinity, on August 05, 2024, making off with around $10 Million. This marks the second time hackers have compromised the bridge, having previously stolen $600 Million in 2022.
Binance, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, received a GST notice from the Indian regulators. The notice was issued explicitly by Ahemndabd’s regional GST unit, demanding taxes on the transactions earned from Indian users.
A recent survey of PeckShield notes that the cryptocurrency sector has lost $266 Million in July 2024. The blockchain analysis firm identifies the WazirX hack as one of the most prominent, resulting in losses of $230 Million in crypto.
Market Price Alert
In the past 24 hours, the broader cryptocurrency market has shown a strong reversal, pushing the market capitalization above $2 Trillion. However, the intraday trading volume fell over 42%, reaching $103 Billion.
Bitcoin prices are struggling to break the resistance of $60k; as of writing, it was trading at $ 56,927. Bulls are taking control of BTC’s trading volume, driving the price upwards and setting their sights on the next resistance level of $59k.
Dogwifhat (WIF), the trending memecoin, added 20% to its trading price, reaching $1.71, and the trading volume depleted over 35% intraday. Popcat (POPCAT) price surged 19.13, making it the 2nd topper of the past 24 hours.
Maker (MKR) leads the intraday losers list as its prices slip more than 6%, and Kaspa (KAS) is trading at $0.1629 with a bleed of 4.20%. Akash Network (AKT) struggles to break resistance of $3.00 after losing 3.37% in a trading session.
