Scammer loses $4.8M stored on tampered Ledgers: Asia Express

Major irony alert as scammer falls victim to Ledger supply chain attack

Ledger was forced to suspend its reseller network across South East Asia this week, after thieves stole more than $103.4 million from 530 addresses via tampered Ledgers inserted into the supply chain. But in a small measure of poetic justice, one of the “victims” was a scammer themselves according to Chainalysis.

The blockchain monitoring firm reports that the scammer lost 60 Bitcoin, worth about $4.8 million, from three newly purchased Ledgers containing spyware that records seed phrases. The Ledger thieves drained all three of their funds into the same wallet.

In a further irony, the scammer had operated a “task scam” where people were paid to fake sales and reviews of real items. So depending on how much they knew, their victims in turn may not have been entirely honest either. “Then a ‘negative balance’ appeared, and they were told to add their own money in order to get paid,” Chainalysis reports. So it’s possible that a scammer of scammers has just got scammed. In crypto it’s sometimes turtles all the way down.

Despite reports of tampered Ledgers showing up in Europe forcing electronics retailer MediaMarkt to suspend sales, Ledger insists that all of the confirmed thefts to date are from Asia. It has asked resellers in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Hong Kong to remove Ledgers from sale. Trezor too, has decided to shutter some of the more far flung resellers in its network from Jan.1, as it can’t guarantee it can perform the same level of vigilance as it performs on resellers closer to home. There are no reports of tampered Trezors however.

In the midst of the worst hardware wallet scandal since the Coldcard seed phrase debacle at the end of July, Ledger decided it was the ideal moment to launch its latest device. Called Atom, the $849 device combines a crypto wallet with Android apps, which are kept separated from sensitive wallet operations. The device includes protections Ledger says would block the implants used in the Asian thefts and claims it can detect tampering even when switched off.

A first look at Ledger Atom. Source: Ledger

SOUTH KOREA

South Korea moves to block 27 overseas crypto exchanges

South Korean authorities have approved measures to block domestic access to 27 websites operated by unregistered crypto exchanges and other virtual asset service providers, including KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex and Bitrue. 

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) said in a statement: “With this decision, blocking measures against illegal virtual asset operators will also apply to internet websites, following apps such as those on Apple and Google,” the FIU said, according to a translation. 

The list also includes CoinW, BTCC, BitMart, BingX, DigiFinex and others. 

South Korea plans cybersecurity overhaul after attacks hit banks, crypto firms

South Korea will tighten cybersecurity requirements for financial institutions after an investigation into earlier security incidents involving 16 companies including crypto exchanges found some big holes. 

The Financial Services Commission said it would pursue improved threat monitoring, more frequent security assessments and stronger accountability for executives after an industry-wide review found cybersecurity deficiencies at 130 of 555 financial companies. 

South Korean bank launches Bitcoin-backed business loans: Report

Jeonbuk Bank reportedly began offering Bitcoin-backed loans to corporate customers, with a third-party custodian holding the cryptocurrency used as collateral.

THAILAND

Thailand’s Bitcoin, Ether ETFs launch trading

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has finalized rules that go into effect Friday allowing crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to list on Thailand’s main stock exchange.

Kicking off with Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, the products must list exclusively on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Products linked to foreign crypto ETFs will not be permitted initially, and Thai brokers are barred from facilitating investments in overseas crypto ETFs for anyone except institutions and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

However, James Butterfill, head of research at digital asset investment firm CoinShares, told Cointelegraph not to get too excited.

“I would expect modest inflows initially, with tens of millions of US dollars across the first products a more realistic starting expectation than billions,” he said.

AUSTRALIA

Australia seeks feedback on crypto platform rules ahead of 2027 rollout

Australia’s securities regulator opened consultation Thursday on proposed capital, custody and trading requirements for crypto platforms, as it prepares to implement legislation passed in April that expands oversight of the industry. 

The proposals include three alternative capital models, restrictions on platforms trading for their own account and quarterly reporting of wallets holding customer assets. ASIC also proposes allowing offshore custody while seeking feedback on safeguards if an overseas parent or related company fails. 

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) also proposed expanding the rules for contracts for difference (CFDs) to crypto. CFDs let traders bet on price movements without owning the underlying asset.

CHINA

Chinese fraud victims lose key court battle over 61,000 Bitcoin

Chinese fraud victims seeking to recover 61,000 Bitcoin seized by the British government have lost a key legal battle after London’s High Court ruled that Chinese law, rather than English law, should govern claims to the assets.

“The relevant damage occurred in China. The Applicants parted with their money in China,” Justice Mark Turner wrote. “The contractual relationships thereby induced were entered into in China.”

The dispute stems from an investment fraud scheme orchestrated by Zhimin Qian between 2014 and 2017, with British authorities seizing the assets during a money-laundering investigation. The claimants will appeal the ruling in British courts.

THE PHILIPPINES

Coins.ph says it still has a Philippine central bank license intact despite reports

Coins.ph said it is still licensed by the country’s central bank despite reports that it could face license revocation over alleged transactions involving restricted offshore gambling operators. 

Coins.ph is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the Philippines, and the reported license risk follows restrictions imposed by the central bank on some incoming transfers involving DCPay Philippines which operates Coins.ph’s peso e-wallet services.

“Coins.ph firmly denies any claim that it knowingly serves offshore gaming or gambling operators,” the company said. “Our users’ funds are safe; we continue to operate as a BSP-licensed institution,” it added.

HONG KONG

Binance may add Asian stocks to the platform

Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said during Token2049 the exchange may add Hong Kong, Korean, Taiwanese and Brazilian equities to its platform.

Second Solana ETF lists in Hong Kong

Pando Finance’s Solana ETF has launched in Hong Kong’s HKEX under the ticker 2831.hk. It’s the second such fund and has a 0.6% fee, undercutting the first fund from ChinaAMC which charges 0.99% annually.

SINGAPORE

Singapore crypto scam losses fall by 43%

A crackdown by Singapore Police in partnership with local crypto exchanges helped contribute to a 43% fall in reported losses from crypto scams year over year.

Revolut to open new Singapore office

Revolut has announced it will open a new Singapore office, invest S$350 million (US$273M) over the next five years, and expand its local workforce from 170 to 300