Bitcoin Daily: Bitcoin Crests $19,800; Russian Bank To Launch Sbercoin Crypto In 2021

Bitcoin saw a new all-time record high on Monday (Nov. 30), rising above $19,800 in the morning and resting at 19,633.264 at 7:32 p.m. Eastern Time.

The high price point beat its previous record high, set in 2017, CNBC reported.

Bitcoin’s price has been steadily rising in recent weeks, climbing above $19,000 last week, thanks to the pandemic-driven shift toward digital payments and cryptocurrency adoption by several mainstream companies, including Square and PayPal.

Meanwhile, Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, is developing a cryptocurrency, called the Sbercoin, reported Reuters. The bank is working with J.P. Morgan on the coin and may launch it experimentally in 2021, CEO Herman Gref said.

Sberbank is also planning a blockchain trading platform, according to Cointelegraph.

In other news, Gutemberg Dos Santos was extradited from Panama to the United States on Nov. 25, on charges of participating in an international money laundering ring, the Southern District of New York’s State Attorney Office said in a press release on Monday (Nov. 30).

“As alleged, Gutemberg Dos Santos played a key role in an international investment scam that promised extraordinary rates of return on phantom investments in cryptocurrencies, defrauding victims of tens of millions of dollars,” said Acting United States Attorney Audrey Strauss in the release.

Dos Santos, citizen of the U.S. and Brazil, co-founded AirBit Club with Pablo Renato Rodriquez, purporting it to be a cryptocurrency mining and trading company, according to the release. Promotors Scott Hughes, Cecilia Millan, Karina Chairez and Jackie Aguilar have also been charged for falsely promoting AirBit club “memberships,” promising guaranteed daily returns on cash investments.

The promoters gave victims access to a supposed online AirBit Club portal that displayed false profits. No bitcoin trading or mining occurred, the release stated.

Dos Santos was arrested in Panama City on Aug. 18, and faces “one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering,” the release stated.

And, Kaspersky predicted that cybercrime will continue to increase in 2021, thanks to economies weakened by the pandemic.

“We might see certain economies crashing and local currencies plummeting, which would make Bitcoin theft a lot more attractive,” the cybersecurity provider noted in its forecast.

On the other hand, authorities will continue to crack down hard on cybercriminals around the world.

Kaspersky predicted that the “persistent engagement” strategy to financial crime will expand, and that institutions, countries and territories could face economic sanctions for failing to properly combat cybercrime in their regions.

Additionally, the tactics used in 2020 will still be in play next year, Kaspersky reported, highlighting targeted ransomware as “the new normal.”

Kaspersky noted that malicious actors “have systematically increased the amounts they demand in exchange for not publishing stolen information,” their leverage existing in the potential financial loss that could stem from confidential information being released.