Crypto news · Sunday 15 November · in plain English

US moves to seize $1.2 billion in crypto stolen in North Korea-linked Binance hack

The US Department of Justice⬟ has secured court authorisation targeting more than $1.2 billion of crypto stolen from Binance◼, which it attributes to North Korea-linked hackers. Around $2.7 billion in related funds has been frozen by Tether, Ripple, Circle, World Liberty Financial◼ and Arbitrum, and the DOJ also seized cloud infrastructure and 900 webcam videos tied to the separate FaceStealer scheme, which reportedly stole over $400 million in 18 months. North Korea has denied any involvement, with Kim Yo Jong calling the allegations a political provocation.

Bitcoin falls below $63,000 to a three-month low as liquidations top $1.9 billion

Bitcoin◆ broke below $63,000 to a three-month low, with Coinbase◼ and Bitstamp◼ both recording the break. Crypto liquidations surged past $1.9 billion as the price neared that level, and one analyst, James Check, flagged a fourth capitulation wave.

North Korean hackers used fake video calls to steal over $400 million in crypto, FBI says

The FBI⬟ says a North Korean scheme, called FaceDealer in one report and FaceStealer in another, used hijacked accounts, deepfake-style footage and fake Zoom or Microsoft Teams◆ meetings to plant malware on crypto and Web3 workers' computers. Agents said they found videos from more than 900 victims and linked the scheme to over $400 million in thefts in 18 months. Separately, the DOJ is reported to be moving to seize $1.2 billion tied to the Binance◼ hack, and Pyongyang has rejected the accusations.

Bitcoin falls below $65,000 as leveraged liquidations and Fed hike odds weigh on markets

Bitcoin fell from around $81,000 to under $65,000, with an intraday low of $65,020, as excessive leverage led to over $500 million in liquidations on Saturday alone, 94% of them longs. Ted Pillows found no evidence of large sell-offs above $50 million, and wallets linked to Erik Voorhees bought nearly $100 million of ETH◆ over four days. Markets also priced in a near-certain December Fed rate hike, according to CME Fedwatch, Kalshi◼ and Polymarket◼.

KAVA token falls 40% after exploit hits Kava Lend

An exploit on Kava Lend◆, a DeFi lending protocol, has coincided with a 40% fall in the KAVA◆ token. Several exchanges have halted withdrawals. The article gives no figures for the amount drained or the timing of the exploit.

Jensen Huang steps down as Nvidia CEO and board member; CFO named interim chief executive

Nvidia◼ CEO Jensen Huang has resigned as chief executive and board member, and CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO while the board considers internal and external candidates. Nvidia shares fell more than 10% pre-market to $152 before rebounding above $165 on Thursday. The article argues that an unwind of the AI trade could spill into Bitcoin, which it says is already down $14,000 in 10 days.

CFTC escalates prediction-market fight as states bring criminal charges

CFTC⬟ chair Michael Selig says state criminal charges against prediction-market executives are "really egregious", and the CFTC has sued Louisiana after a state judge ordered more than 30 CFTC-linked companies to stop operating there. Utah filed felony charges against Kalshi◼ and its two cofounders in October, and 44 state attorneys general argue that sports contracts are not derivatives. New Jersey has asked the Supreme Court to decide whether the Dodd-Frank Act blocks states from enforcing gambling laws against these contracts, and the appeals courts are split. Selig says the CFTC has exclusive jurisdiction.

Musk backs petition to reinstate Jensen Huang as Nvidia CEO after his resignation

Huang resigned as Nvidia◼ CEO on November 12 during a board investigation into whether a foreign spy operation had targeted him, and the shares closed 11% below their November 6 level that day. Musk says he is signing a petition to reinstate him, and over 1,600 employees reportedly urged the board to do so, but the board, not shareholders, decides, and Huang holds only about 3.58% of votes. Colette Kress is interim CEO and reports earnings on November 17.

Unocoin says funds left a frozen BitGo wallet via a backup key path

Unocoin◼ says BitGo◼'s freeze on its account held on 6 November, yet funds left a wallet BitGo had confirmed as frozen on 13 November. It suspects a backup recovery path in BitGo's multisignature wallets was exploited, while BitGo's documents say its recovery tool lets clients move assets without BitGo and bypass their policies. Unocoin has suspended services since 9 November and is rebuilding its server stack.

Bitcoin falls below $70,000 for first time since August as liquidations top $1.6 billion

Bitcoin◆ fell below $70,000 for the first time since August and is down 3.5% since midnight UTC, reaching a 12-week low. CoinDesk linked the move to a stronger dollar on interest-rate expectations, while U.Today reported a $1.65 billion liquidation wave as the trigger.

Bitcoin falls below $69,000 as over $1.4 billion in liquidations hit crypto markets

Bitcoin◆ fell about 5% below $69,000, a multi-month low, after a run of selling that began after it peaked near $81,000 following the US midterm elections. Experts attributed the drop to a concentrated liquidation and weakening demand, with ETH down about 6% to $1,925 and XRP near $1.00. CoinGlass◼ data shows over $1.4 billion in liquidations in 24 hours, with $1.26 billion from long positions, and more than 170,000 traders wiped out.

Trezor cuts reseller network by 80% after more spy implants found

Trezor◼ has cut its reseller network by 80% after finding more spy implants in wallets sold by Malaysian vendor CryptoBilis, with only 20% of vendors meeting its new sourcing and access rules. It says an update released on November 11 changes the order of display commands so the implants no longer capture the seed phrase, but it still advises CryptoBilis customers to move funds to a new wallet because backups captured earlier remain at risk. Three Trezor Safe 5 units have been found implanted, all bought between August 20 and September 23, and Trezor says no funds have been stolen.

Binance Targets Full Withdrawal Reopening Next Week

Large Wallets Buy ETH as Price Falls Below $1,800

SOL Hits Lowest Since June Ahead of London Breakpoint

Bitcoin now looks cheap by one measure after $1 billion in ETF outflows

CoreX Reports Bitcoin Mining Power Hijacked to OCEAN

Bitcoin Mining Hits Breaking Point as Difficulty Plunges 9.13%

Robots now run AI-written code without an AI calling the shots, succeeding 92% of the time

Attackers hijack about 64,000 Bitcoin miners and point 13 EH/s at OCEAN