Crypto Global

The crypto news of the week

Feb 15, 2022

It was yet another exciting crypto week. Here is an overview of the most important events:

KPMG

Accounting firm KPMG is getting into cryptocurrencies. The firm announced in a press release on Feb. 7, 2021, that its Canada office had purchased Ethereum (ETHUSD) and Bitcoin (BTCUSD) through Gemini Trust Company LLC’s execution and custody services for its corporate treasury. However, KPMG declined to disclose the amount. The investment reflects that institutional adoption of crypto assets and blockchain technology will continue to grow.

KMPG is a British-Dutch multinational company, and it is among the big four accounting organizations in the world. It is a network of professional firms offering services related to Auditing and Taxes.

Bitfinex

The US justice Department has seized 94’000 Bitcoins from a New York couple charged with the 2016 hack of the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange. In 2016, the hackers had stolen at least 120’00 Bitcoins and believed to be worth $65 million at the time. The recovered Bitcoin is now valued at more than 3 billion USD.

The couple employed numerous sophisticated laundering techniques, including setting up online accounts with fictitious identities. They laundered the stolen funds through a number of automated cryptocurrency transactions, using computer programs. This technique allows hackers to conduct several transactions in a short period of time.

Netflix has already ordered a documentary series about the alleged Bitfinex hack in 2016.

Bitcoin’s hashrate

Bitcoin's network has continued to get more robust this month. According to data from blockchain.com, Bitcoin hashrate increased by up to 31 percent in one day (between February 11 and 12). The Bitcoin hash rate once again reported a new high of around 248 EH/s. Meanwhile, Bitcoin's price has fallen slightly overnight at the time of writing. For comparison: In the past year we have only seen a hashrate increase of about 50 percent.

Previously, China's blanket ban on crypto mining and trading raised concerns about the security of the bitcoin network, as China contributed over 30% of the total bitcoin mining hash rate as of June 2021. As miners eventually found sanctuary in other cryptomining-friendly countries, the network staged a strong recovery, eventually surpassing previous all-time highs.