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

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Security news

• Blockchain security company CertiK said that there was $62.2 million worth of cryptocurrencies stolen in December 2022, stating that it was the lowest monthly figure seen last year. The company reported $15.5m stolen in exit scams and $7.6m in flashloan-based attacks.  

Gaming news

• Square Enix, the company behind the Final Fantasy video game series, said that, looking ahead, it would be exploring new business opportunities including blockchain entertainment, VentureBeat reported, citing an annual letter by 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 efforts,” Matsuda said. “Looking externally, I think it is fair to say that blockchain gained significant recognition as a field in 2022, as evidenced by ‘Web 3.0’ becoming a firmly established buzzword among businesspeople,” 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 Counter-Terrorist Financing Act passed last month by the Legislative Council, the South China Morning Post reported, citing industry players. “We have seen a lot of local brokers and fund managers seeking advice from us about the licensing requirements under the new regulatory regime,” said Robert Lui, digital asset leader at Deloitte Hong Kong. Authorities are likely to allow retail investors with a 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 to transparently manage [this sum]. The DOGE held in this wallet will disburse rewards to developers of Dogecoin Core for work on all contributions, no matter how big or small,” it said.

Exchange news

• Alameda Research, the now-bankrupt crypto trading firm and the sister company of the defunct FTX crypto exchange, reportedly almost collapsed in 2018 – before FTX was launched in 2019. The Wall Street Journal reported cited former employees stating that Alameda suffered heavy losses from its trading algorithm. Sam Bankman-Fried reportedly managed to save the company by raising funds from lenders and investors, promising them returns of up to 20% on their investment.

Legal news

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

DeFi news

• Anonymous project Tomi unveiled TomiNet, described as “a secure and encrypted protocol empowering journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens to surf the web free of government and corporate surveillance.” A press release shared with Cryptonews.com said that 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 names, and vote on the DAO.