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Crypto needs to increase defenses against 654% spike in deepfake scams
Deepfake scams are everywhere, and detecting them with the naked eye is fast becoming impossible. Awareness and education need to be improved.
Between 2016’s Bitfinex hack, 2018’s Coincheck hack and other controversial incidents in recent years, the crypto industry has faced significant reputational challenges.
In 2024, a new threat emerged: crypto scams featuring celebrity “deepfakes” — highly convincing images of people appearing genuine but who are not. These scams use realistic deepfake images and videos of famous personalities to deceive crypto enthusiasts, leveraging this technology to exploit the unsuspecting, perpetrate fraud and confuse less tech-savvy individuals.
As deepfake technology gets increasingly convincing — even to those with a trained eye — deepfake scams threaten not only our wallets but our very sense of reality. The old saying “if it looks like a duck…” may not ring true for much longer.
The evolution of deepfake technology:
Deepfake technology has advanced rapidly in a short time, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish authentic images or videos from fake ones. Deepfakes of Elon Musk, for example, have been used in countless crypto scams, using Musk’s likeness to endorse crypto scam websites and collect tokens from unassuming victims. From 2023 to 2024, deepfakes in the crypto sector saw a startling growth of 654%, and of all the detected deepfake attempts in 2024, 74% happened in the crypto industry. Read More
Decentralized network Uplink tops 40K routers, targets lower internet costs
Decentralized internet solutions could create greater global access, a growing need in developing nations with limited internet infrastructure.
Uplink has reached a milestone of 40,000 routers, signaling growth potential for decentralized wireless networks.
Uplink, a decentralized connectivity system for existing and new internet infrastructure, aims to create more cost-efficient networks for WiFi, 5G and other cellular technologies worldwide.
Highlighting the increasing demand for decentralized internet infrastructure, Uplink reported its milestone of 40,000 routers worldwide, according to an announcement shared exclusively with Cointelegraph.
This achievement reflects growing demand for cost-effective internet solutions, according to Uplink CEO Carlos Lei. “By integrating both existing and new wireless infrastructure into our connectivity ecosystem, we’re demonstrating that mass adoption is already happening,” Lei said. He added:
“This achievement validates the scalability of decentralized connectivity and its potential to reshape how wireless networks operate globally.” Read More
Pyth flips Chainlink in 30-day volume, Chronicle CEO weighs in
Pyth Network’s pull-based model has driven high transaction volumes, intensifying the Oracle’s competition with Chainlink.
Pyth Network, an Oracle provider, outpaced Chainlink in 30-day transaction volume despite holding a lower total value secured (TVS).
This shift may be attributed to Pyth’s pull-based Oracle model, which only provides data upon request rather than updating it regularly, unlike Chainlink’s push-based model. Pyth’s approach is optimized for high-frequency applications, such as trading, where real-time data access is critical.
Niklas Kunkel, founder and CEO of former Oracle leader Chronicle, discussed the changes in the Oracle landscape during an interview with Cointelegraph. “We’re seeing an interesting situation play out in Oracle dominance currently,” Kunkel said. He added:
“Chainlink appears to be losing market share to three key players: Chronicle, Pyth, and Redstone. Pyth and Redstone focus on Pull Oracles, which are built for speed and are ideal for derivatives and options protocols.” Read More
Bitcoin miners cut costs, embrace AI post-halving: CoinShares
Miners including Cormint and TeraWulf are among the lowest-cost producers of Bitcoin, an important advantage amid tightening margins, CoinShares said.
Bitcoin miners are cutting costs and embracing artificial intelligence as the industry continues to grapple with the consequences of the network’s April halving, cryptocurrency asset manager CoinShares said in an Oct. 28 report.
The increasing cost and difficulty of mining BTC has resulted in highly varied outcomes among Bitcoin miners, according to CoinShares’ Q3 mining report.
“The Bitcoin mining industry has faced significant challenges this year, with revenues and hash prices declining,” CoinShares said.
“Despite this, miners have continued to roll out new infrastructure and have committed to further expansion, anticipating future price increases.”
The Bitcoin network’s halvings occur every four years and cut the number of BTC mined per block in half. Read More
The Top Five Cryptocurrency Exchanges by Trading Volume And Its Significance
The world's financial landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by innovative approaches to economic exchange. This shift is influenced by technological progress worldwide and impacts various aspects of society. The traditional boundaries of finance have been erased, as transactions are no longer limited by physical presence or geographical constraints. The nature of commerce has also undergone a significant shift, with the rise of digital assets and the increasing popularity of buying and selling liquid assets that exist solely in the digital realm.
Cryptocurrency is a popular digital asset that is increasingly used for transactions and debt settlement on a global scale. Given the rapid advancements in the crypto industry and the growing government interest, cryptocurrency is anticipated to replace traditional fiat currencies eventually. In addition to serving as a form of payment, crypto tokens can also be exchanged with one another.
The emergence of cryptocurrency trading has given rise to a specialized market that operates through online exchanges. These exchanges facilitate the buying and selling to engage in transactions within the cryptocurrency space. Without these platforms, it would be highly challenging for individuals to participate in the market, highlighting their crucial role in modern finance.
These exchanges, which play a vital role in the cryptocurrency market, can be centralized, decentralized, regulated, or deregulated. A key metric for evaluating their importance is the total trading volume of transactions executed on these platforms over a specific timeframe. Essentially, trading volume gauges the level of market activity, revealing the number of participants engaged in buying and selling and their willingness to take risks on price fluctuations. Read More
How do crypto derivatives work?
Crypto derivatives are financial instruments that derive their value from an underlying cryptocurrency.
Think of them as contracts that allow you to bet on the future price movement of a specific cryptocurrency without actually owning it.
But why use crypto derivatives?
Traders use crypto derivatives for the following reasons:
Hedging: Protect existing investments by offsetting potential losses.
Speculation: Profit from price fluctuations, whether upward or downward.
Leverage: Amplify potential gains (and losses) by using borrowed capital.
Common types of crypto derivatives
Futures contracts: These agreements obligate the buyer or seller to buy or sell a certain quantity of cryptocurrencies at a certain price at a later time.
Options contracts: These agreements grant the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to purchase (call option) or sell (put option) cryptocurrencies on or before a given date (the expiration date) at a particular price (the strike price).
Perpetual contracts: These agreements lack an expiration date yet resemble futures contracts. They are common for long-term strategies because they enable traders to keep holdings indefinitely. Read More
Florida CFO Urges State Board to Evaluate Crypto Investments for Public Pension Funds
Jimmy Patronis says his letter follows former President Donald Trump’s plans for a national stockpile of Bitcoin.
Florida’s Chief Financial Officer has sent a request to the State Board of Administration seeking a feasibility report for the potential to invest a portion of the state’s retirement funds in crypto, namely Bitcoin.
“Bitcoin is often called ‘digital gold,’ and it could help diversify the state’s portfolio and provide a secure hedge against the volatility of other major asset classes,” Florida’s Jimmy Patronis wrote in a letter on Tuesday.
The request comes as Bitcoin climbed to a near five-month high on Tuesday, driven by market sentiment surrounding the U.S. presidential election. With former President Donald Trump pledging favorable crypto policies, traders expect the election results to trigger sharp price swings.
In the letter, Patronis echoed remarks former President Donald Trump made in July at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville. At the time, Trump proposed creating a national stockpile of Bitcoin using digital assets seized through law enforcement actions. Read More
Centralized stablecoins may pose risk to DeFi — Curve Finance founder
As centralized US dollar-pegged stablecoins continue to gain popularity, the potential for regulatory capture has grown.
The potential risks of overcollateralized stablecoins have recently come into sharper focus. Michael Egorov, founder of the decentralized borrowing and lending platform Curve Finance, argued that these risks are not necessarily the reserve-related risks commonly noted by investors, but geopolitical risks posed by government regulation.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Egorov said that the underlying assets backing collateralized stablecoins, including cash deposits in financial institutions and government securities such as United States Treasury bills, are vulnerable to asset freezes and seizures.
The Curve founder’s answer to these potential sanctions is to achieve maximum decentralization through algorithmic stablecoins, which do not rely on physical cash deposits or short-term cash equivalents:
“If you have something totally decentralized, then it is just software running onchain autonomously, so you cannot really do anything to it, and, in principle, it's still fully trackable.” Read More
Tron replaces oracle provider with Chainlink
Tron DAO said in an announcement that DeFi applications JustLend and JustStable — with over $6.5 billion in TVL — will use Chainlink’s data feeds.
Tron’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and blockchain oracle provider Chainlink have announced that the Tron blockchain would switch its oracle solution provider.
In a news release, Tron DAO confirmed that it will discontinue support of WinkLink, its previous oracle provider. Tron’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem will move to Chainlink Data Feeds for its pricing data.
This means that DeFi applications JustLend and JustStable — with over $6.5 billion in total value locked — will use data oracles from Chainlink.
Accelerating Tron’s DeFi economy:
The announcement highlighted that Tron’s participation in the Chainlink Scale program will “accelerate ecosystem growth and adoption.”
As part of the integration, Tron will initially cover some operation costs associated with Chainlink oracle networks, such as gas fees, while a long-term plan will eventually shift those costs to decentralized application (DApp) user fees.
Thodoris Karakostas, the head of blockchain partnerships at Chainlink Labs, said that Chainlink will empower the Tron ecosystem developers to build DeFi apps and “advance the decentralized internet.” Read More
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
Featured Image Source: Pixabay
