The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has arrested Michael Lauchlan for running a fake crypto recovery scam. Lauchlan’s operation, called Coin Dispute Network (CDN), claimed to help people recover lost cryptocurrency but was actually just stealing their money.
According to the investigation, CDN tricked users into paying fees for fake recovery services and kept the money without actually recovering any funds. The website was shut down in 2023, and Lauchlan was arrested on July 9, 2024. He’s now facing grand larceny charges among others in Manhattan Criminal Court.
The scam exploited users who were unfamiliar with the crypto world, resulting in significant financial losses. Lauchlan was also using a false identity under the name Max Handler.
Other Key Updates
Ronin Bridge Hack: On August 5, 2024, hackers stole about $10 million from Ronin Bridge, which is part of the Axie Infinity game. This is the second major breach of the bridge, following a $600 million theft in 2022.
Binance Tax Issue: Binance, a major cryptocurrency exchange, has been issued a tax notice by Indian authorities demanding payment for transactions made by Indian users.
Crypto Sector Losses: A recent report shows that the crypto industry lost $266 million in July 2024, with the WazirX hack being one of the biggest, causing $230 million in losses.
Market Price Update
Akash Network (AKT): Akash Network is struggling to break the $3.00 resistance, with a 3.37% loss in trading session.
Bitcoin: Bitcoin prices are currently struggling to surpass $60,000, trading at $56,927. Traders are hopeful for a breakthrough to the $59,000 level.
Dogwifhat (WIF): The popular memecoin Dogwifhat rose by 20% to $1.71, though its trading volume dropped by 35%.
Popcat (POPCAT): Popcat’s price increased by 19.13%, making it one of the top performers in the last 24 hours.
Maker (MKR): Maker saw a decline of over 6%, leading the list of intraday losers.
Kaspa (KAS): Kaspa is trading at $0.1629, down 4.20%.
