According to recently published NPA cyber safety report, hackers from the Lazarus Group crime syndicate are targeting Japanese crypto companies. Officials have used ‘public attribution” to the suspects, and noted that hackers were most likely from North Korea.

NPA describes Lazarus as a’subordinate organization of North Korean authorities’. It also claims that recent cyber attacks are ‘targeting cryptocurrency-asset-related business’. Japan’s NPA notes that similar warnings have been issued by the FBI and law enforcement officials in the United States about Lazarus Group’s attack methods.

According to the NPA, hackers sent phishing emails to employees pretending they were executives of the target companies. They also attempted to ‘approach employees at the target companies’ using a fake account. Japan News details how this is the fifth warning from Japanese authorities about the Lazarus Group.

According to the report, Lazarus has not been identified by the NPA. Japan News reports that sources close to the matter believe Lazarus is responsible for both the 2018 Zaif hack and 2019 Bitpoint Japan hack.

Notice from the NPA warns against engaging in suspicious phishing emails or shady characters using disguises. Katsuyuki OKamoto, an executive at Trend Micro’s information security company, said that the NPA’s joint warning to the Financial Services Agency is useful in bringing attention.

Okamoto stated that public attribution is important because it raises public awareness about the tactics of the perpetrator and prompts people to take action.

Japan’s NPA/FSA has received the latest notice about North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile above Japan during the first week in October. Five years ago, in 2017, was the last time Pyongyang launched a missile above Japan. The tensions between the two countries are getting worse since North Korea’s latest missile provocation over Aomori Prefecture.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) warned of cryptocurrency scams on the popular video-hosting platform Tiktok Friday. Founded in 1912, the BBB is a private, nonprofit organization that empowered people to find businesses, brands, and charities they can trust for over 110 years.

The BBB explained that ‘as Tiktok’s popularity grows, so do the con artists.’ Noting that it is seeing many new reports from its ‘Scam Tracker related to this money-flipping scam,’ the BBB described:

You are scrolling through Tiktok when you come across a video showing a pile of cash. The creator says they earned the stack of money in just a few days by investing in cryptocurrency.

Scammers on Tiktok may promise ‘to turn a few hundred dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency into thousands in no time at all,’ the BBB detailed, adding that they may even ‘have a 100% guarantee that they can triple your money in less than a week.’

The organization explained that ‘When you contact the supposed investor [scammer], likely through Whatsapp, Telegram, or another messaging app, they will be polite and professional,’ adding:

They will ask you to send money – usually, a few hundred dollars to start – through a digital wallet service like Paypal, Zelle or Venmo.

However, ‘When you try to get your money back, the scammer will claim you need to pay fees. At first, these amounts may seem harmless … They may ask for fees several times, always promising you will get much more back than what you are spending.’

‘If you question them, they may resort to scare tactics, telling you that if you don’t pay, you’ll miss out on the giant return or that they can take legal action,’ the BBB further cautioned, elaborating:

Unfortunately, any money you send will end up in the scammer’s pockets. You won’t be getting a return on your investment, and you won’t be getting your initial deposit back either.

The BBB concluded by giving some advice on how to avoid money-flipping scams. Besides using good judgment and doing your research, the organization cautioned people not to give into scare tactics and understand how digital wallet services work.

According to Sheena Shah, Morgan Stanley’s cryptocurrency research leader, the crypto winter is heating up as institutional investors have stopped the redemption of crypto’s top two stablecoins. According to the U.K.-based analyst, demand for leverage has fallen as well. Shah explained that there has been a huge shortfall in decentralized financing (defi), lending.

Shah noted in Monday’s investors’ note that there doesn’t seem like a lot of demand for re-leverage within the crypto world. Morgan Stanley’s lead cryptocurrency analyst added that it would be difficult for the crypto cycle to bottom if crypto leverage or fiat leverage does not grow.

Morgan Stanley’s Sha stated that the overall stablecoin market value, currently valued at, didn’t drop in value last week for the first time since April 20,22. According to the Morgan Stanley analyst, ‘extreme institutional debt’ has been temporarily suspended. According to current market data, the market capitalization for $153.26 Billion has increased by 2.6% over the past 30 days, while the usd coin (USDC), is down by 4.6%.

Morgan Stanley’s crypto researcher noted the USDC market value slide and also pointed out that it began in the first week July. The note Shah sent to investors explained that the USDC market cap fell before the regulatory changes and was similar to the declines seen in March and May.

Although September is traditionally a bad month for crypto, some believe that the Merge could change the 4-year trend.

This weekend, the crypto economy suffered some losses as its value fell from $1.18 trillion down to $1.06 trillion Monday afternoon (EST). As September is a historically bad month for crypto market history, people expect that the crypto economy will continue to fall. The Twitter account Bleeding crypto shared their thoughts on September’s sourness for crypto over the past four years.

“Each year, we see how terrible September is for crypto. But you want to believe that this time it’s different.” Bleeding Cyclo tweeted. Market participants believe that this September may be different despite the lower crypto prices.

It’s possible that The Merge will take place on September 15,. With the rest of crypto economy lifting, ethereum ( ETH) could see a significant increase in value. However, it’s possible that The Merge is priced in. ETH saw significant gains which helped to boost the crypto economy.

Huobi, an Asian cryptocurrency exchange platform has been approved provisionally by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. The exchange released a statement stating that this approval allows Huobi’s United Arab Emirates-based entity to offer a complete suite of virtual asset exchange products.

VARA had issued another provisional license to OKX, a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency trading platform OKX before Huobi was given its approval. The regulator also issued licenses to Binance and FTX before this.

In a statement the crypto exchange stated that it will target professional investors. Huobi stated that OTC and spot trading services will be available to a small number of qualified investors and professionals.

Regional Headquarters

Huobi suggested that the provisional license would open the door to the establishment of the regional headquarters of the exchange in Dubai. Following the granting the provisional licence, Huobi Group CFO Lily Zhang stated:

Dubai Government has committed to making the Emirate a global digital hub and a leader in financial innovation. Huobi is positive about the city’s future potential and the opportunities it presents.

Zhang stated that her company is committed to the ‘fostering growth of the virtual assets industry there’.

Huobi stated in the statement that, in addition to the VARA license, it also has licenses in other areas such as South Korea and Japan.

Nearly all Texas industrial bitcoin miners have turned off their machines, as companies prepare for a heat wave which is expected to cause the state’s power grid to collapse.

Riot Blockchain, Argo Blockchain, and Core Scientific are just a few of the many crypto-mining miners who use millions of energy-intensive computers in order to secure bitcoin blockchain networks and earn token rewards. The Lone Star State’s low energy costs and liberal regulation on crypto mining attracted them to it. It has grown to be the largest crypto-mining center by computing power.

“There are more than 1,000 megawatts of Bitcoin mining load that has responded to ERCOTs conservation order by turning off their machines in order to conserve energy for grid. Lee Bratcher of the Texas Blockchain Association responded to Bloomberg via email. “This is nearly all the industrial-scale Bitcoin mining load in Texas, and allows for more than 1% of the total grid capacity to go back on the grid for commercial and retail use.”

The heat wave that keeps miners off their machines may cause a decline in profitability. This causes energy prices to soar and further stresses the state’s power grid. With bitcoin prices on the decline, miners already have difficulty repaying debt and raising capital. Public miners’ shares have fallen by 75% in the past year.

According to data from Texas’ Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Friday’s all-time energy peak record was 78,206 megawatts. This surpasses the July 5 unofficial all time peak of 77.460 megawatts. This operator is working with bitcoin miners who must turn off their machines when there are energy shortages.

Texas will likely face greater energy shortages in the near future. However, ERCOT anticipates that crypto miners will increase electricity demand by upto 6,000 megawatts mid-2023. This is more than enough to power all Houston homes.

Core Scientific CEO Mike Levitt stated that ‘Currently, all machines in Texas have been turned off to support the ERCOT grid. We have been reducing power in troubled times, including the current Texas heat wave, and we will continue to do so. He said that the company has six offices and less than 15% of its Texas production.