• Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary’s Twitter account was hacked on Thursday and used to promote a crypto scam.
• The now-deleted tweet claimed to give away 5,000 BTC and 15,000 ETH, instructing users to first send their own digital assets to verify their wallet addresses.
• Crypto giveaway scams are one of the most prevalent types of scams in the industry, often impersonating well-known figures such as Elon Musk, Michael Saylor, and CZ.

On Thursday, Kevin O’Leary, the famed investor and star of the ABC reality show Shark Tank, experienced the unfortunate reality of being hacked. O’Leary’s Twitter account, which has over 982,000 followers, was taken over by malicious actors and used to promote a crypto giveaway scam.

The now-deleted tweet, which featured an accompanying image of O’Leary himself, claimed that users had the chance to receive 5,000 Bitcoins (BTC) and 15,000 Ether (ETH). In order to receive the giveaway prizes, the tweet directed users to first send their own digital assets to a specific wallet address to verify their wallet addresses. However, after the required funds were sent, no money was returned to the respondents and the scammers made away with the funds.

Crypto giveaway scams are one of the most prevalent types of scams in the industry. These scams often involve the hack of famous people’s or organizations‘ accounts, impersonating well-known figures such as Elon Musk, Michael Saylor, and CZ in order to promote their fraudulent schemes. In this case, the malicious actors used O’Leary’s account to try and scam unsuspecting users out of their hard-earned funds.

Unfortunately, these types of scams are becoming increasingly common, and users must be vigilant when engaging with online accounts. As such, it is important to always double-check the account’s legitimacy before sending any money or digital assets, and never click on any links or provide any personal information without verifying the source first. Any suspicious activity should be reported to the authorities to ensure that these criminals are brought to justice and that the victims‘ funds are recovered.

• Galaxy Digital, a financial services firm led by Michael Novogratz, has invested $100 million to prevent Argo Bitcoin Miner’s bankruptcy.
• As part of the deal, Galaxy will provide Argo with a new asset-backed loan of $35 million and purchase its Helios Bitcoin mining facility.
• Argo will use the proceeds from the sale and loan to repay existing debts of $84 million and $1 million.

Galaxy Digital, a financial services firm led by Michael Novogratz, has announced an investment of $100 million in an effort to prevent the bankruptcy of Argo Bitcoin Miner. The move comes as part of a restructuring effort to help the firm remain financially afloat during the bear market.

As part of the deal, Galaxy will provide Argo with a new asset-backed loan of $35 million, secured by a collateral package that includes mining machines currently operating at Helios, as well as some machines located at Argo’s Canadian data centers. In addition, Galaxy will buy Argo’s Helios Bitcoin (BTC) mining facility.

The cash proceeds from the sale of Helios and a portion of the borrowings under the asset-backed loan will be used to repay existing debts of $84 million owed to NYDIG ABL LLC and $1 million to North Mill Commercial Finance. Some $6 million will also be returned to the company upon this repayment from a collateral account controlled by NYDIG ABL LLC.

Galaxy will host Argo’s 23,619 Bitmain S19J Pro mining machines located at Helios and the firm will have the right to purchase additional machines at a discounted rate. Galaxy will also receive a license to use Argo’s proprietary software and the right to receive a percentage of the gross mining revenue earned by Argo.

In a statement, Peter Wall, Argo’s Chief Executive, said, “This transaction with Galaxy is a transformational one for Argo and benefits the Company in several ways. It reduces our debt by $41 million and provides us with a stronger balance sheet and enhanced liquidity to help ensure continued operations through the ongoing bear market. It also allows us to focus on optimizing our operations with significantly lower capex [capital expenditures] and opex [operating expenses] requirements.”

The deal between Galaxy Digital and Argo is expected to help the latter remain financially stable during this bear market. It will also provide the firm with additional liquidity and help to optimize its operations. This investment is also seen as a vote of confidence in the cryptocurrency industry and could open the door for more investors to enter the space.

• The Republic of Palau is working with blockchain company Ripple Labs to explore the prospect of developing a “national stablecoin”.
• The current XRP/USD pair is trading at $0.3560 with a small bearish bias and is struggling under the $0.3715 level.
• Investors looking for alternative cryptos with better short-term prospects can consider presales of FightOut (FGHT).

The Republic of Palau is actively exploring the possibility of developing a “national stablecoin” with blockchain company Ripple Labs. This news has exerted bearish pressure on XRP, causing its price to fall.

The XRP/USD pair is currently trading at $0.3560 with a small bearish bias. The XRP/USD has been struggling under the $0.3715 level, and candle closings below this level have triggered a bearish movement. XRP is currently trading sharply lower near the 0.3576 level. A break below the 0.3560 level may expose the XRP price to the next support level of 0.3445. Leading technical indicators such as MCD and RSI are trading in a bearish zone, indicating that the market is currently in a strong selling trend. In addition, a bullish breakout of the 0.3715 level could expose a ripple toward the 0.3810 level.

With the current market slowdown, XRP’s price prediction remains bearish as it struggles below the $0.3715 level. Despite occasional setbacks, like the bankruptcies and arrests of some of its previous major players, several governments are eager to join the crypto bandwagon and are considering the formation of national stablecoins.

Investors looking for alternative cryptos with better short-term prospects can consider presales of FightOut (FGHT). FGHT platform functions similarly to a personal trainer, with the exception that the FGHT token is proactively rewarded to users for their physical activities. This reward system, combined with a passion for physical activities, creates an interesting and comprehensive user experience.

In conclusion, the XRP price prediction remains bearish as it struggles below the $0.3715 level. Despite this, the Republic of Palau is actively working with Ripple Labs to explore the prospect of developing a “national stablecoin”. Investors looking for alternative cryptos with better short-term prospects can consider presales of FightOut (FGHT).

Bulletpoints:
• US asset manager Fidelity has filed three trademark applications in the US related to the metaverse, NFTs, virtual real estate, crypto trading, and metaverse investment services.
• Decentralized finance protocol Defrost Finance has said it will soon start the process of refunding assets to the rightful owners prior to the attack.
• Crypto mining company Argo Blockchain has asked for a suspension of trading for its ADSs and unsecured notes traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, and Striga has announced crypto on-ramp and off-ramp application programming interfaces (APIs).

US asset manager Fidelity has recently filed three trademark applications in the US related to the metaverse, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), virtual real estate, crypto trading, and metaverse investment services. The applications are a sign of increasing interest in the metaverse and virtual worlds, as well as in NFTs, which have become increasingly popular in recent months.

In other news, decentralized finance protocol Defrost Finance, which was hacked on December 23, announced that, as all V1 hacked funds have been returned, the team would soon start the process of refunding these assets to the rightful owners prior to the attack. This will be done through a refunding smart contract, and owners will be able to claim their assets back in stablecoins.

Crypto mining company Argo Blockchain also recently announced that it had requested a suspension of trading for its ADSs and unsecured notes traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market as the London Stock Exchange is closed for trading on 27 December. The company expects that trading on Nasdaq will resume on 28 December.

Finally, Striga, a builder of infrastructure for digital assets and financial services, recently announced crypto on-ramp and off-ramp application programming interfaces (APIs). These APIs make it easier to hold or cash out cryptocurrencies to various products including neobanks, marketplace, Web3 apps, and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects. The company’s new fiat-to-crypto or crypto-to-fiat can be embedded into existing apps or used as standalone products.

Overall, the recent developments in the crypto and blockchain space show that there is an increasing interest in virtual worlds and NFTs, as well as in decentralized finance protocols and crypto mining companies. With the increasing number of applications, products, and services related to the crypto and blockchain space, it is likely that we will see even more advancements in the near future.