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Crypto investor death mystery, continued

Cotton took with him to the grave the keys that allowed access to the digital vault containing cash investors ploughed into Quadriga CX.

Jilted investors have demanded his corpse be exhumed and tests run to confirm its his body.

Criminal probes continue by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the FBI as leading digital investing publication Coindesk branded his death as the “crypto’s biggest mystery”.

Crypto investor death mystery

A new documentary on rogue crypto trader Gerald Cotton, who took up to $215million in Bitcoin and other digital currencies to his grave, has sparked rumors he may have faked his death.

Cotton’s sudden death from complications of Crohn’s disease at age 30 shocked the crypto world – but many believe he may have faked his death in an elaborate “exit scam”.

One source in the documentary goes as far as to claim Cotton may have used a substance known as “Haitian zombie powder” to fake his death.

The crypto industry blew up in 2021 with crypto exchanges, start-ups dealing with NFTs, and play-to-earn gaming all highlighted as factors by Fortune.

Increasing interest in the Metaverse also led to multi-million dollar investments.

Crypto investments top $30billion

Investors contributed a record $30billion to the cryptocurrency industry in 2021, according to Fortune.

The news outlet cited data from Bloomberg News that reportedly showed $7.2billion came from investors based in the United States.

The $30billion is almost four times the $8billion that investors spent with companies in the crypto industry in 2018, Fortune reported.

US cities embrace cryptocurrency, part two

The mayor of Miami is also working to expand cryptocurrency options in the Florida city.

Mayor Francis Suarez said he would take his paychecks in Bitcoin and wants residents to be able to pay fees and taxes in the cryptocurrency.

Miami launched a token earlier this year called MiamiCoin, which generated $30million in revenue over three months, Suarez told Bloomberg News.

US city embraces cryptocurrency

A Tennessee city hopes to become the first in the nation to offer its employees cryptocurrency as a payroll conversion option.

The Jackson Sun reports that a request for proposal (RFP) has been opened, allowing third party platforms to apply to be the city’s cryptocurrency converter.

“We offer our employees a deferred compensation opportunity for their retirement already. Why not add more options?” the mayor told the news outlet.

He said the move will diversify ways city employees can receive payment and allow the city to pay contractors in Bitcoin.

Melania Trump launches NFT platform

Former First Lady Melania Trump got in on the NFT craze in December.

She launched a platform for fans to purchase NFTs, including a drawing of her eyes, with a portion of proceeds said to be going to children in foster care.

Mrs Trump plans on releasing NFTs in intervals on her website titled “Melania’s Vision” with the project backed by the free-speech social network Parler.

Russia considers crypto ban, part two

The proposed ban on cryptocurrency investments comes as Russia was said to be working on its own ruble-backed digital currency.

Roughly $5billion in crypto transactions take place in the country annually, and nearly 12 percent of the population may already own crypto, according to Fortune.

That was compared with a little more than 8 percent of the US population that owns crypto.

Russia also reportedly invested in crypto in 2019 to limit the impact of sanctions over meddling in the 2016 US Election, Fortune reported.

Russia considers crypto investing ban

Russia’s central bank is reportedly looking to ban cryptocurrency investments amid its longtime skepticism of digital currency.

The ban by the country’s financial authority would prevent future transactions, Fortune reported, but it wouldn’t require current holders to divest their portfolio.

The central bank gave digital currencies legal status in 2020 but did not authorize their use as a means of payment, according to Fortune.

Man loses $1.6million, part three

The app demanded $1.5million from the victim and threatened to freeze his account if he didn’t pay.

“I go look on the FBI site and lo and behold, there’s this public alert about this type of scam,” he told the news outlet. “I’m 52, my entire life savings, gone in a matter of a month.”

The common scam, which involves meeting someone on a dating app, depositing money into a fake investment app (which is constantly changed, renamed or deleted) then losing it all, is called the “Pig Butchering Scam,” KMGH-TV detailed.

Man loses $1.6million, part two

The man said he successfully deposited funds into the account, including money from his retirement accounts.

He was reportedly able to withdraw cryptocurrency too, until he attempted to take out more.

A “customer service agent” with the app told him “you need to repay the loan before you can withdraw cash from your account,” KMGH-TV reported.

Man loses $1.6million in scam

A man says he lost his life savings in a scheme dubbed the “Pig Butchering Scam.”

The 52-year-old told Denver ABC affiliate KMGH-TV that he met a woman on a dating app who appeared to have similar interests to him.

The conversation turned to cryptocurrency, something he’d made about $70,000 on in a few years.

The man told the news outlet that the woman he fell for online convinced him to invest on a mobile and web app that seemed legitimate to the software engineer.

Risks of Robinhood, part three

In July, the platform was also ordered to pay nearly $70million in fines and compensation for misleading customers and outages.

If you are seeking a discount broker and are looking to open an IRA account, you can check out the following platforms: Vanguard, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, Merrill Edge, among others.

Risks of Robinhood, part two

For investing individual stocks, make sure you check company reports, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, broker notes, and press releases so you can make the best decisions for your money.

Another risk when choosing Robinhood along with other brokers is that they can restrict trading when there’s unusual activity.

In fact, Robinhood faced some outrage earlier this year when it restricted trading on meme stocks including GameStop and AMC.

Risks of Robinhood

When it comes to risks, investing alone is one because you’re not guaranteed to generate a profit and the value of your assets could fall.

If you’re choosing Robinhood so you can trade stocks and cryptocurrencies – then the game gets even riskier.

Cryptocurrencies are not only difficult to understand but even tougher to predict when bearish trends in the market will take place.

For example, cryptocurrency was thriving this year up until Elon Musk said that Tesla was halting the acceptance of payments in Bitcoin.

What to do about the Robinhood breach

If you’re a Robinhood user and have not already, you shoul change your password and make sure it’s a unique one.

Users should also turn on two-factor authentication if they haven’t already done so. 

This makes it so anyone accessing your account will also have to provide a one-time code even if they have your email and password.

You should also look out for an email from Robinhood as the company is reaching out to people affected.

It’s unclear if the company will reach out to everyone but it’s important to remain vigilant.

What was the Robinhood data breach?

Users were warned after a security breach at Robinhood leaked sensitive information. 

The breach occurred on November 3 when an “unauthorized third party” gained access to information from a number of users.

The data affected by the leak includes email addresses for about 5 million users. The full names of 2 million users were also leaked.

However, about 310 users suffered a more serious breach, including the release of their names, birthdays, and zip codes.

What is Ethereum?

Ethereum is a cryptocurrency that was released in 2015. It’s the second largest after Bitcoin.

In fact, some experts believe it has the potential to one day overtake Bitcoin as the dominant coin in the market.

It was founded by eight people, one of which is 27-year-old cryptocurrency “celebrity” Vitalik Buterin.

He recently became the world’s youngest crypto billionaire as Ethereum soared in value.

Ethereum is also a ledger technology – using “blockchain”, like Bitcoin – that companies are using to build new programmes.

Who is behind Algorand?

The Algorand Foundation based in Singapore is behind the project.

Algorand claims that it speeds up transactions and improves efficiency when compared to bitcoin and other blockchains.

What is Algorand?

Algorand is a cryptocurrency of the Algorand blockchain, a public decentralized network on which smart contracts can be built.

It was created in 2019 by Silvio Micali, a professor a the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The computer scientist has also won the Turing Award for his work in the area of cryptography.

Banks embrace crypto, continued

Executives at large banks are beginning to hop on the cryptocurrency train as some invest their time in learning about the new payment method.

A Bank of America spokesman, Mark Pipitone told the New York Times, “The bank sees potential in blockchain, and we’re currently a leading patent holder in the space with more than 160 patents. But we still haven’t found a use at scale to make the financial lives of customers and clients better.”

Banks embrace crypto

Banks are paying for slowly catching on to the future of cryptocurrency as they struggle to benefit and profit.

As cryptocurrency start-ups explode, they are starting to offer credit cards and loans while banks are left in the dust.

According to the New York Times, “Bank of America’s chief executive, Brian Moynihan, barred the giant company’s wealth managers from putting any client money into cryptocurrency-related investments.”

Can you trade crypto on Robinhood?

Unlike most of its discount rivals, Robinhood offers 24/7 crypto trading through its platform.

That means you’ll have access to trade major cryptocurrencies including, Dogecoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin.

Its crypto investors can buy or sell with a market order, which means it’s executed at the current market price.

Risks of investing in cryptos, part five

Finally, the truth in marketing materials is a risk in investing in cryptos.

Firms may overstate the returns of products or understate the risks involved.

Risks of investing in cryptos, part four

Another risk of investing are the charges and fees.

Consumers should consider the impact of fees and charges on their investment which may be more than those for regulated investment products.