Canadian youth arrested in $ 36 million Bitcoin heist

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An anonymous Canadian miner has been charged in a $ 36 million digital heist that authorities say is the biggest bitcoin theft ever by a single victim, the San Jose Mercury News reported on Thursday (November 18th).

The investigation was conducted by the US FBI and the Secret Service in Santa Clara County, California, according to the prosecutor’s office. The victim was well-known Bitcoin investor Josh Jones, who was one of the early adopters of cryptocurrency.

The alleged perpetrator lives in Hamilton, Ontario, a town about 40 miles west of Buffalo, New York, and the Mercury News reported that police seized approximately $ 5.5 million in cryptocurrency as part of the investigation.

According to the Toronto Star, the scheme involved a SIM swap attack, which is a cybercrime in which criminals take control of a victim’s mobile phone in order to thwart two-factor authorization to execute bogus transactions.

In other news, the price of bitcoin collapses for a fifth consecutive day – the first time since May that the major cryptocurrency has lost value for so long, Bloomberg notes.

On the Coinbase exchange, bitcoin has fallen more or less steadily since peaking at a record high of $ 69,000 per coin on November 10 at 9 a.m.

At 9 a.m. on November 11 and 12, the price fluctuated around the $ 64,000 mark, rebounding to $ 64,931 on the morning of November 14.

Since then, the 9am price has followed a downtrend, with slight upward spikes – on November 16 the price was $ 60,577 and this morning (November 18) bitcoin was trading on Coinbase for $ 59,230. As of 2:30 p.m. today, a single bitcoin was trading on Coinbase for $ 58,215, down from today’s starting price of $ 59,694.

Meanwhile, the city of Williston, North Dakota, is doubling down on its commitment to cryptocurrency.

The municipality said in a press release on Wednesday (November 17) that it has partnered with Coin Cloud to provide a cryptocurrency ATM in a pre-security area at Williston Basin International Airport.

According to the city, the ATM will facilitate transactions using bitcoin, dogecoin, shiba inu coin, cardano, ethereum, and US dollars.

“This is an ambitious step in introducing and engaging the public in cryptocurrency while playing a proactive role in building the digital ecosystem,” said the city’s chief financial officer. , Hercules Cummings, in a statement. “We have partnered with BitPay to accept digital currency for city utility bills and now with a city-hosted DCM [digital currency machine], we are creating a successful roadmap for the public to embrace cryptocurrency.

“Although we are a small rural community, we have an impact. Taking this small step can pave the way for other government and business entities to follow suit. “

Williston is located in northwestern North Dakota, about 25 miles from Montana and 50 miles from Canada.

Finally, bitcoin miner PrimeBlock is in talks to merge with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called 10X Capital Venture Acquisition, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources.

According to Bloomberg, the ultimate goal of the merger is to create an entity valued at around $ 1.5 billion. CoinDesk reported that a PrimeBlock spokesperson declined to comment when asked about the proposed deal.

10X Capital was founded in New York in February 2021 and trades under the symbol VCXAU on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

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