It’s always the crypto-crime news that makes mainstream headlines, but to be fair the big crypto story this week is impossible to ignore. As it turns out, the struggling influencer and a wanna-be-rapper, Heather Morgan, and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein, reportedly committed one of the largest cryptos heists of all time.
For context, in 2016 a significant exchange called Bitfinex got hacked for what is now $4.5 billion worth of bitcoin. The US Department of Justice allegedly found stolen bitcoins worth $3.6 billion in the hands of the husband-wife duo who now stand accused.
For outsiders looking in, crypto is a bizarre and scammy industry as its true potential keeps getting overshadowed by such instances.
What could’ve been bigger news this week?
Earlier this month, software engineer Jay Freeman discovered a massive bug that would allow people to mint an unlimited number of tokens. Instead of taking advantage, he reported the issue to the company’s development team, who rewarded him with $2 million. Freeman, (who goes by the name of Saurik, online) is best known for his work on Cydia, an alternative app store that allows people to install third-party apps on jailbroken iPhones.
That’s why, scratching the surface isn’t something we aspire to, in life or in crypto. The brightest minds are working in this space. Academics, economists, engineers and even the ambitious college dropouts are here because they see the opportunity that cryptocurrency and Web3 presents.
This is probably the reason why big companies are in a rush to embrace the sector. The world’s biggest video sharing platform, Youtube, is hiring a product management director to lead its Web3 strategy, while Uber intends to “absolutely” accept bitcoin (and other cryptos) “at some point” in the future.
Countries like the UAE plan to issue federal licenses for crypto service providers, which could attract some of the world’s biggest crypto companies. One way to see the true potential of crypto technology, is to stay up-to-date with useful resources like (ahem) the BitOasis Weekly Wrap.
Also Read: Tips to trade cryptocurrency safely (and mistakes to avoid)
