Tag: Airdrop

Arbitrum Discord Server Hacked for Phishing Attack

by Blockchain News

Arbitrum, a blockchain platform that aims to provide fast and low-cost transactions, recently experienced a security breach on its official Discord server. On March 25, security firm CetriK warned the crypto community about a possible phishing attack being circulated through the server. According to reports, a hacked Discord account belonging to one of Arbitrum’s developers was used to share a fake announcement with a phishing link.

The phishing message on Discord offered users “the opportunity to re-claim an additional stake in Arbitrum DAO Governance,” citing issues during the initial token claim drive. However, the URL supporting the announcement contained a misspelling of Arbitrum as “Arbtirum,” which is a common tactic used by hackers in phishing attacks. Clicking on the link typically leads unsuspecting users to a fake website that prompts them to enter sensitive information, such as their wallet’s private key.

As of now, Arbitrum has not released an official statement regarding the incident. Investors are advised to avoid interacting with the announcement until further clarification is provided. It is essential to remain vigilant against unrealistic claims and deceptions as hackers continue to exploit the hype surrounding cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, two airdrop hunters were able to take advantage of the situation and collect approximately $3.3 million worth of ARB tokens. Airdrops are promotional events where crypto projects distribute free tokens to users who complete certain tasks, such as sharing a post on social media or joining a Telegram group. However, it is crucial to exercise caution when participating in airdrops, as scammers often impersonate legitimate projects to steal users’ personal information or funds.

In recent years, the crypto community has seen an increase in phishing attacks and other types of cybercrime. As the value of cryptocurrencies continues to rise, so does the incentive for hackers to target investors and platforms. It is crucial to follow best security practices, such as using strong passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and avoiding suspicious links and emails. By remaining vigilant and informed, users can protect themselves from potential threats and enjoy the benefits of the crypto revolution.

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Fake Arbitrum Airdrop Scam Circulated on Discord

by Blockchain News

The blockchain security company CetriK issued a warning on March 25 about a phishing link that was being spread via the official Discord server of Arbitrum, which is a prominent cryptocurrency platform. According to the sources, it was believed that the link was disseminated via the stolen Discord account of one of the developers working on the Arbitrum project.

In the phishing communication, an option to re-claim an extra share in Arbitrum DAO Governance was presented, with the justification that there had been problems with the first token claim campaign. On the other hand, the accompanying URL had a misspelling of Arbitrum as “Arbtirum,” which is a frequent kind of deceit employed in phishing assaults.

If an unwary victim were to click on the phishing link, they would be sent to a false website where they would be prompted to input sensitive information such as the private key to their digital wallet. Investors run the danger of having their bitcoin assets stolen by con artists as a result of this.

Investors have been cautioned to refrain from engaging with the bogus statement until Arbitrum gives more information on the matter. Since cybercriminals are continuing to capitalize on the excitement around cryptocurrencies, it is vital for investors to maintain a heightened vigilance and be wary of deceptive promises and claims that are unrealistic.

In a separate but related piece of news, it was revealed that two airdrop hunters had successfully obtained nearly $3.3 million worth of Goods, demonstrating the tremendous benefits that may come from successfully participating in airdrops. While taking part in airdrops or any other activity linked to cryptocurrencies, however, it is essential for investors to do enough research and be vigilant against the possibility of falling victim to a hoax.

In general, the event serves as a useful reminder of how important it is to exercise extreme caution and vigilance whenever one engages in activities that are associated to cryptocurrencies. Since con artists are likely to use more sophisticated strategies as the business continues to get more attention, it is crucial for investors to stay knowledgeable and attentive at all times.

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Airdrop Hunters Consolidate Millions Worth of ARB Tokens

by Blockchain News

Arbitrum, a layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum, recently launched an airdrop campaign for its native token, ARB, causing a frenzy among cryptocurrency enthusiasts. On-chain activity showed that some airdrop hunters were particularly successful in accumulating a substantial amount of ARB tokens worth millions of dollars.

According to LookIntoChain, a blockchain analysis platform, two wallets consolidated tokens from 1,496 wallets, collectively holding around $3.3 million worth of ARB. One of the wallets received 1.4 million ARB from 866 addresses and added all the tokens to Uniswap, a decentralized exchange, to provide liquidity. The other wallet received 933,375 ARB from 630 addresses.

Community members were curious about the identities behind the wallets and formulated their own theories. Some believed that the airdrop hunters were team members of the project, while others speculated that they might be hackers. A few members also expressed concerns about the potential impact on transaction volumes.

Despite the mixed reactions, some praised the airdrop hunters for their efforts, calling them names like “airdrop god.” Others believed that the hunters spent significant time and capital farming the numbers to accumulate such a large amount of tokens.

The hype around the ARB airdrop also spilled over into the over-the-counter (OTC) markets, where eligible crypto users started selling their tokens soon after the announcement. This indicates a strong demand for the token in the market.

However, the airdrop craze also attracted the attention of hackers. On March 24, some hacked vanity wallet addresses were used to steal $500,000 worth of ARB tokens from eligible airdrop participants, raising concerns about security risks in airdrop campaigns.

In conclusion, the ARB airdrop campaign generated significant attention from the cryptocurrency community, with some successful airdrop hunters consolidating millions of dollars worth of tokens. While the campaign was successful in attracting new users and creating hype, it also exposed potential risks associated with airdrop campaigns, such as security vulnerabilities and market volatility.

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Arbitrum Airdrop Boosts zkSync Growth

by Blockchain News

In recent news, Arbitrum, a layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum, announced an airdrop of its ARB governance token, which has generated significant hype within the blockchain community. The airdrop is expected to reward eligible receivers with the token by March 23. The hype around the airdrop has helped another layer-2 scaling solution, zkSync, experience significant growth in the last week.

ZkSync, another layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum, supports nonfungible tokens (NFT), and atomic swaps and transfers of Ether (ETH) and ERC-20 tokens within the Ethereum network. Despite not having a native token or announcing any airdrop, zkSync has seen a surge in the number of addresses bridging to its platform. According to data from crypto on-chain analytic firm Nansen, over 39,000 addresses have bridged over $871 million to zkSync in the last seven days, with the number of addresses bridging to zkSync surging by 5x in the last week.

Many proponents of zkSync believe that they will be rewarded with an airdrop in the near future, similar to Arbitrum’s recent airdrop. After the Arbitrum airdrop, zkSync and StarkNet are regarded as the upcoming airdrops with the most potential value. On March 17, nearly 5,000 people deposited more than 536 ETH using the zkSync bridge, and almost 3,000 users deposited over 234 ETH using the StarkNet bridge.

Although zkSync is not conducting an airdrop, the enthusiasm around the Arbitrum airdrop has led many proponents to believe that they could be rewarded in the future. However, scammers have attempted to use Arbitrum branding to conduct fake and scam airdrops, which highlights the importance of verifying the authenticity of such promotional tools.

A crypto airdrop is a promotional tool used by crypto projects to generate hype around their projects. The crypto projects behind these airdrops often directly deposit digital tokens into the wallets of active blockchain community members as a gift. The eligibility criteria for these airdrops may include specific requirements, such as spreading awareness around the project, among others.

Not all crypto airdrops are equally valuable due to multiple factors, such as the project’s use cases and the people behind the projects, among others. However, layer-2 solutions like Arbitrum, Optimism, and zkSync have established themselves in the blockchain community and have proven records, which has attracted more traders to the Arbitrum airdrop. As a result, it could prove to be more valuable than the usual crypto airdrops.

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Scammers Target NFT Users in BLUR Token Airdrop Scam

by Blockchain News

Scammers are targeting non-fungible token (NFT) users by promoting fake airdrop links to claim BLUR tokens on malicious websites. According to TrustCheck, scammers have stolen over $300,000 in Ether from unsuspecting users who linked their wallets to these fake websites.

The BLUR platform is a newcomer to the NFT marketplace and has been gaining popularity with its three-phase airdrop incentive scheme. Users have been receiving tokens based on their trading activity on the platform. The second airdrop scheme distributed 10% of the total BLUR token supply to users who traded NFTs on Ethereum. The first airdrop was retroactive, awarding tokens to anyone who traded an NFT in the six months leading up to the platform’s launch, while the third airdrop rewarded users who placed bids on the platform.

The incentive program has created an opportunity for scammers to prey on users looking to claim BLUR tokens across the NFT ecosystem. These fake websites use smart contracts that automatically prompt transactions when users connect their Ether wallets. All the Ether from the wallet is then drained to a specific address. TrustCheck has been keeping tabs on the number of funds stolen by flagging suspicious websites and transactions, warning Web3 users of potential fake websites and smart contracts.

Despite reports of NFT wash trading, data analytics suggest that BLUR’s NFT trading volumes are legitimate. Scammers continue to drain funds through Web3 functionality, as phishing attacks and fake websites are commonplace across the internet. In February 2023, a phishing wallet address linked to a URL masquerading as the ETHDenver conference website has stolen over $300,000 to date. In late 2022, scammers targeted FTX investors through phishing websites after the failed cryptocurrency exchange’s implosion.

It is crucial for NFT users to be vigilant and cautious when dealing with token airdrops and to ensure that they only connect their wallets to legitimate websites. Tools like TrustCheck can help users identify suspicious websites and transactions, but ultimately, it is up to individuals to protect their funds and stay informed of potential scams.

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Machi Big Brother’s recent NFT sell-off

by Blockchain News

According to statistics provided by Nansen, nonfungible token (NFT) whale Jeffrey Hwang, also referred to informally as Machi Big Brother, sold 1,010 tokens in the span of 48 hours for a total of 11,680 ether (ETH), which is equal to $18.6 million.

Andrew Thurman, who works for Nansen and is a simian psychometric enhancement specialist, emphasized the trading activity that took place over the previous two days in a Twitter thread he posted on February 25. He observed that it is “possibly the greatest NFT dump ever.”

In addition to many other non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the big selling event included the sale of a total of 308 Otherdeed NFTs, 90 Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs, and 191 Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFTs.

However, Machi Massive Brother quickly purchased back 991 NFTs, and Thurman theorized that this may be a move to either record some gains while simultaneously undertaking “one big wash deal to produce enormous Blur airdrop profits” or a “quite blatant market manipulation.”

Reportedly one of the largest recipients of the Blur (BLUR) token airdrop from upstart NFT marketplace Blur, which recently dethroned OpenSea from its position as the top-ranked NFT platform in trading volume, Machi is said to be one of the largest recipients of the airdrop.

The project began its first round of airdrops to the community on February 14. The quantity of tokens that were airdropped depended on the user’s degree of involvement on the platform as well as the amount of Ethereum-based NFT trading activity that they participated in.

The blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intel said on February 17 that Machi had received 1.8 million BLUR and cashed it out for $1.3 million USD.

As a result, Machi may be able to acquire some more BLUR tokens in the next round by increasing the amount of activity in the NFT trading market, while other whales may be trying to do the same thing.

According to the statistics provided by NFT Price Floor, when looking at the floor prices of top collections that Machi first dropped, the prices of BAYC, MAYC, and Otherdeed NFTs have experienced a decline of 7.77%, 9.2%, and 8.16% respectively in the previous 24 hours.

In a recent piece, Thurman made the observation that “One man’s drive for an airdrop is ruining certain markets.”

According to CoinGecko, the price of BLUR is $0.79 at the time of this writing, reflecting a decrease of 17.7% over the course of the previous week.

The Blur team said in a tweet on February 22 that the project would shortly airdrop $300 million worth of tokens as part of its second round of funding.

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South Korea to Introduce 10%-50% Gift Tax on Crypto Airdrops

by Blockchain News

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance of South Korea announced on Monday that hard-forked tokens, staking rewards, and crypto airdrops will be subject to gift tax under the country’s Inheritance and Gift Tax Act.

The South Korean Ministry of Finance said that during its response to a tax law interpretation for the freely movable digital asset by exchanges.

The National Tax Service (NTS), the tax authority in Korea under the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, said that any free virtual asset transfers in the form of airdrops, staking rewards, and hard-forked tokens would attract a gift tax.

The authorities will levy the tax on third parties who get the crypto transfers free. According to the announcement, gift tax will be: “Levied on the third party to whom the virtual asset is transferred free of charge.”

While the virtual asset gains tax will be postponed to 2025, the authorities said free virtual asset transfers would attract a 10%-50% tax under the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act.

The South Korean gift taxation law applies to all items of economic value which can be converted to fiat currency.

Under the Act, once a recipient receives a gift, they will be expected to file a gift tax return within three months of receiving it.

Due to the lack of regulations surrounding the digital asset market, the ministry said that actual taxation on such digital asset transfers would be considered a case-to-case basis.

Preparing Crypto Regulations

South Korea’s government postponed the virtual asset gains tax until 2025 because the country still does not have proper regulatory guidelines surrounding digital assets.

Last month, the government postponed plans to impose a 20% tax on all crypto earnings until 2025. Government officials said the decision was triggered by stagnant market conditions and the time required to prepare investor protection measures.

Initially, the country’s legislators delayed such plans until December 2023. Some reasons for the postponement were attributed to the current global market outlook, which is generally negative. The lawmakers were also concerned about the time required to prepare for investor protection measures.

Authorities prefer to postpone the tax until the crypto market matures and a new regulatory framework is thoroughly prepared to ensure transparency and investor protection.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Winter is coming! Here are 5 ways to survive a crypto bear market

by Cointelegraph

The cryptocurrency market has an interesting way of catching even the most seasoned veterans off guard as each bull and bear market initially shows similarities to previous cycles only to veer off in an unexpected direction and wipe out the fortunes of newly minted crypto millionaires. 

This was the case with the weak close of 2021 which completely went against the bullish $100,000 BTC price estimates that crypto analysts and influencers were peddling nonstop.

Currently, Bitcoin price is more than 50% away from its $69,000 all-time high and altcoins have fared worse, with many down more than 60% in the last 2 months. In times like these, traders need to regroup and re-evaluate their investment strategy, rather than just buying every price dip.

Here are five strategies traders can use to survive an unexpected crypto winter and retain as much value in one’s portfolio as possible.

Reduce exposure to highly volatile altcoins

Once a widespread market downturn commences, the first step to take is to reevaluate current positions and reduce exposure to the most volatile assets.

Oftentimes these are new projects that have come out of the trending sectors of the crypto market such as meme coins, NFTs or rebase projects like Wonderland (TIME), because many of the token holders are new to the community and not long term investor like the user bases for more established projects.

A good way to begin the evaluation process is by looking at a project’s GitHub account to see the level of activity and the number of developers dedicated to building out the protocol.

If there is hardly any development despite flashy marketing gimmicks and big promises, the project may be one an investor should cut when the market begins to lose momentum.

Traders could then put these funds in stablecoins that can be staked to earn yield or buy future market dips.

Dollar-cost averaging

Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) is the process of buying an asset in tranches over time to average out the price paid and account for volatility-induced changes in price.

While DCA strategy is a good way to increase exposure to fundamentally sound projects over time, it is usually best to wait until after the dust has settled somewhat and a period of consolidation has commenced.

The focus of dollar-cost averaging should be on projects that have active development, engaged communities and a roadmap that lays out how the project will continue to grow and remain viable in the future.

Staking

Staking is perhaps the simplest way to increase the value of a portfolio long-term and it removes the pressure of obsessing over daily price fluctuations since the staked asset is continuing to accrue tokens.

Most layer-one protocols offer the ability to stake their native token on the network to earn a yield, including Solana, Cardano, Polygon and Avalanche.

Ether holders can also stake their tokens on the beacon chain for Eth2, but it’s important to note that staking rewards will not be able to be claimed until Eth2 is fully launched.

There are many other staking options out there from gaming protocols like Axie Infinity and Illuvium to NFT marketplaces like LooksRare, so once a deep dive has been made and fundamentally sound projects are chosen, staking becomes a matter of setting it and forgetting it.

Find projects with growing ecosystems and perks

Projects that help token holders earn via staking, liquid staking, borrowing and airdrops are also worth considering when the market turns bearish.

Staking is the simplest form of this as the number of tokens increases over time, but other options include token launchpads, NFT marketplaces and protocols known for offering airdrops to community members.

One example of a protocol where early adopters are being rewarded is the Cosmos (ATOM) network and its growing community of projects connected via the Interblockchain Communication Protocol (IBC).

ATOM stakers and those who have engaged with the Osmosis (OSMO) decentralized exchange have been rewarded with a long list of airdrops from projects launching within the ecosystem as a way to help bootstrap activity within their communities.

Invest in yourself

One of the most personally beneficial things an investor can do during a down market is to invest in themselves by learning something new.

Not only will this help investors to avoid the urge to sell and miss out on future gains, but it can also lead to new avenues to build wealth.

Despite the market downturn, cryptocurrencies continue to advance along the path to mass adoption and the number of jobs in the blockchain sector is only going to increase moving forward.

Whether it’s learning to program in Solidity, experimenting with graphic and digital design to create a new line of NFTs or just doing research to gain a deeper understanding of the various sectors of the market.

Ultimately, the key to surviving a bear market is staying positive and being patient.

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The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.