Today in crypto, Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm was found guilty on a single charge in his criminal trial after the jury deadlocked on the others. Meanwhile, an unfortunate investor lost $3 million to a phishing scam with just one click, and Indonesia is weighing the possibility of establishing a national Bitcoin reserve.
Tornado Cash co-founder found guilty on 1 of 3 charges after jury deadlock
A Manhattan jury found Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm guilty of charges related to conspiracy to run an unlicensed money business.
In a Wednesday decision in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), Storm was found guilty of one felony charge related to his role at Tornado Cash, according to court reports from Inner City Press.
The jury convicted Roman on conspiracy to run an unlicensed money transmittal business, which carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison. No unanimity was reached on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering nor on conspiracy to violate North Korea sanctions.
After four days of deliberations, jurors in the trial informed the court on early Wednesday that they were deadlocked on certain charges, prompting the judge to issue a special instruction urging them to reach a unanimous verdict.
The prosecutor’s case focused on presenting witnesses, mainly from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service and hackers, who testified that Storm had the ability to modify Tornado Cash’s code to prevent illicit use by criminals but chose not to. Storm’s legal team put forth its own experts, including Ethereum core developer Preston Van Loon and NAXO co-founder Matthew Edman.
Crypto investor falls victim to phishing scam, loses $3 million with single click
A cryptocurrency investor lost $3 million in a phishing scam after signing a malicious blockchain transaction without verifying the contract address, highlighting the risk posed by digital asset scams.
A single wrong click was all it took to drain $3 million worth of USDt (USDT) from an investor who failed to verify the contract address before signing the blockchain transaction.
“Someone fell victim to a phishing attack, signed a malicious transfer, and lost 3.05M $USDT,” according to a Wednesday X post from blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain. “Stay alert, stay safe. One wrong click can drain your wallet. Never sign a transaction you don’t fully understand.”
Crypto phishing attacks are social engineering schemes in which attackers share fraudulent links to steal victims’ sensitive information, such as private keys to cryptocurrency wallets.
Like most investors, the victim probably validated the wallet address by only matching the first and last few characters before transferring the $3 million to the malicious actor. The difference would have been noticeable in the middle characters, often hidden on platforms to improve visual appeal.
Highlighting the need for more investor due diligence, another victim lost over $900,000 worth of digital assets to a sophisticated phishing attack on Sunday, 458 days after unknowingly signing a malicious approval transaction to a wallet-draining scam, Cointelegraph reported.
Indonesia is exploring a national Bitcoin reserve, says local group
The Indonesian government has been exploring Bitcoin as a reserve asset, according to Bitcoin Indonesia, which recently met with officials to discuss how the strategy could drive economic growth in the country.
“We were invited to the Vice President’s office to present how Bitcoin could benefit the country,” Bitcoin Indonesia said in an X post on Monday.
“We explored a bold idea: Using Bitcoin mining as a national reserve strategy.”
“Yes, seriously. [Indonesia] is looking into how Bitcoin could fuel long-term economic strength,” the Bitcoin community wrote on X. Other focus areas included Bitcoin mining and education initiatives, they added.
Indonesia is the fourth-most-populous country in the world with over 280 million people. It has an estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $1.4 trillion, making it the 16th largest economy.
