Two individuals from Russia who were recently sanctioned by the Treasury Department purportedly put into place copycat websites for cryptocurrency exchanges that that tricked people into providing login information, CoinDesk reported. After that time, they purportedly stole ether, bitcoin and NEO to the tune of $20 million. Most of the funds reportedly arrived in one of the individual’s accounts. A forfeiture complaint for digital currency funds that were confiscated in the past outlined the purported thefts, target exchanges and marks of the two individuals.
In separate news, the overall count of bitcoin automated teller machines (ATMs) approached 10,000 at the beginning of September, aksjebloggen.com reported. There were 9,680 bitcoin ATMs as of the start of the month, marking a 167 percent year-on-year rise. The site reported that 1,932 BTMs were in the world in December 2017, while there were 4,009 by the close of 2018. Countries with the most sizable count of BTMs are developed nations like Britain, Canada and the United States. But they have grown in popularity in markets that are not stable. There, people need to change a nation's money for cryptocurrency that isn’t regulated by a government or connected with it.
On another note, the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is running a contest for the development of a digital wallet, CoinDesk reported. S&T has discovered and backed blockchain firms via the Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) for a long time, but the contest is said to be the first time it’s taken a design challenge to the general populace as it is currently doing. S&T Prize Program Manager Kathleen Kenyon told the outlet, “We’re trying to reach that freelance designer.” Prizes of $25,000 are for the taking with the new challenge, and contenders can apply up to Oct. 15, while finalists in the first phase will be announced on Oct. 27 at a digital event.
