- NovaTech and its co-founders defrauded over 200k investors, looting $650 Million, as the lawsuit filed by the US SEC.
- The court filing states that the crypto firm promised its investors that their money was safe and they were making a profit.
- The broader crypto space lost over $1.9 Billion to 149 hacks, scams, and rug-pulls this year- Immunefi.
The SEC is actively engaging in a legal battle with more than 15 companies in the cryptocurrency industry as part of its ongoing efforts to regulate the space.
As per the recent information, the U.S. SEC filed a lawsuit against a cryptocurrency firm, NovaTech, and its co-founder over the charges of gathering $ 650 million leveraging fraudulent activities.
Cynthia & Eddy, the co-founders of NovaTech, defrauded 200k investors globally, promising them that their money is safe and they are in profit from the first day.
The pace of frauds, scams, and thefts has significantly grown in the past few quarters, resulting in losses of over $1 Billion.
The commission asserts that the petitions are actively running a four-year Ponzi scheme until the collapse of NovaTech in May 2023. During this time, they misused new investments to repay earlier investors, used new funds to pay commissions to promoters, and embezzled millions of dollars for themselves.
The Petions’ actions were a clear violation of trust and a blatant misuse of funds. The SEC’s allegations highlight the need for greater transparency and accountability in investment practices.
Centralized Crypto Losses Grew in Q2
A study by Immunefi shows that the cryptocurrency market lost over $1.9 Billion to 149 hacks, scams, and rug-pulls this year. This is a catastrophic increase of 16.3% compared to the same period last year.
CeFi ecosystems lost $636 Million in 6 attacks, while DeFi lost $554 Million in 143 events. Immunefi’s report notes that a significant amount was wiped out in hacks. Rug pulls and scams accounted for $3 Million in losses.
Crypto Loots in 2024
In 2024, cybercriminals have stolen $266 million from the crypto market through 16 attacks. Hackers carried out the most prominent attack of July 2024, breaching WazirX and making off with a significant haul.
Several sources accuse the North Korean hacking collective Lazarus Group of masterminding the attack on WazirX. PeckShield’s recent X post reveals that hackers still control the 61,154 ETH they stole from Indian trading giant WazirX.
Certik’s report reveals that cybercriminals targeted Ethereum with 222 attacks in H1 2024, causing $315 million in losses.
Cybercriminals increased the value of losses from security incidents by 37% in Q2 2024 compared to Q1, despite decreasing the number of incidents by 18% quarter-over-quarter.
On July 3, 2024, hackers stole $8 million worth of TAO, the native token of Bittensor, a decentralized artificial intelligence project. The same month, attackers drained $7.6 million in stablecoins from Rho Market, a liquidity layer and lending protocol.
Crypto Market Price Update
The fear and greed index powered by CoinMarketCap is at 52, reflecting neutrality. However, the market capitalization showed a reversal in the cap, reaching $2.09 Trillion.
The global crypto market trading volume has added 29.30% intraday, reaching $81.69 Billion.
SATS (1000SATS) price surged over 18%, intraday leading the gainer’s list, followed by ORDI (ORDI) with a growth of 11.21%, reaching $31.36. Dogwifhat (WIF), the trending memecoin price, deflects over 3.20% in the past 24 hours.
