$62M in Crypto Stolen in December, Gaming Giant Square Enix ‘Mostly Focused’ on Blockchain Entertainment

Get your daily, bite-sized summary of cryptoassets and blockchain-related news – examine the stories that fly under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Security news

• Blockchain security company CertiK so that $62.2 million worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen in December 2022, saying it was the lowest monthly figure seen last year. The company reported $15.5 million stolen in exit fraud and $7.6 million in flash loan-based attacks.

Game news

• Square Enixthe company behind Final Fantasy video game series, said that as we look forward, it will be exploring new business opportunities including blockchain entertainment, VentureBeat reported, citing an annual letter from President Yosuke Matsuda. Among the new business domains the company is exploring, the company is most focused on blockchain entertainment, “to which we have devoted aggressive investment and business development,” Matsuda said. “Looking externally, I think it’s fair to say that blockchain gained significant recognition as a field in 2022, as evidenced by ‘Web 3.0’ becoming a well-established buzzword among business people,” he added.

Investment news

• Hong Kong’s financial services firms are preparing the groundwork to enable their retail clients to trade virtual assets in the coming months, following the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act passed last month by legislative council, the South China Morning Post reported, citing industry players. “We have seen many local brokers and fund managers seeking advice from us on the licensing requirements under the new regulatory regime,” said Robert Lui, head of digital assets at Deloitte Hong Kong. Authorities are likely to allow retail investors with large market capitalization and liquidity to trade virtual assets, he added.
• The Dogecoin Foundation announced a new fund for Dogecoin Core developers, allocating DOGE 5 million to it to support the platform’s development. “This is a new segregated multi-signature wallet designed for transparent administration [this sum]. DOGE held in this wallet will pay out rewards to developers of Dogecoin Core for work on all contributions, no matter how big or small,” it says.

Exchange news

• Alameda Researchthe now bankrupt crypto trading firm and sister company to the defunct one FTX crypto exchange, reportedly nearly collapsed in 2018 – before FTX launched in 2019. The Wall Street Journal report quoted former employees as stating that Alameda suffered large losses from its trading algorithm. Sam Bankman-Fried reportedly managed to save the company by raising funds from lenders and investors, promising them a return of up to 20% on their investment.

Legal news

• Bitcoin (BTC) mining hardware company Compass Mining said it won a $1,474,400 judgment (plus post-judgment interest and costs) in a US court against the hosting provider Dynamics Mining. Compass Mining filed a lawsuit against Dynamics Mining for “failure to deliver agreed services, as well as holding Compass Mining client funds without permission, in June 2022,” the press release said.

DeFi news

• Anonymous project Tommy unveiled TomiNet, described as “a secure and encrypted protocol that allows journalists, activists and ordinary citizens to surf the web without government and corporate surveillance.” A press release shared with Cryptonews.com said the network is governed by a community-led decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), while users will be able to download the TomiNet browser with a built-in VPN or create a browser that points to its alternative blockchain DNS service (tDNS), buy .tomi domain name , and vote for the DAO.