ICO Alert Crypto Minute: February 21, 2018
Venezuela launches pre-sale of state-sponsored Petro coin, a glitch on Japan-based Zarif exchange allowed users to buy cryptocurrency for $0, top 5 price changes, and more!
Venezuela Launches Pre-Sale of Controversial, State-Sponsored Cryptocurrency
Venezuela’s government has started the pre-sale of its Petro (PTR) cryptocurrency, making 82.4 million of the virtual coins available for purchase. According to Fortune.com, Venezuela minted the cryptocurrency to overcome the U.S.’s economic blockade against the country and to revitalize the nation’s economy. The U.S. Treasury has warned investors to not purchase the Petro.
Glitch on Japan-Based Zarif Exchange Allowed Some Users to Buy Digital Currencies for $0
A glitch at Zaif, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange run by Tech Bureau Corp, enabled some users to buy digital currencies for free. According to CNBC, the exchange claimed that an error occurred with its price calculation system, which allowed seven users to buy some digital coins for zero yen. The exchange did not say which cryptocurrencies those were, and it has voided transactions of six users.
South Korean Cryptocurrency Official Dies of an Apparent Heart Attack
Jung Ki-joon, a 52-year-old South Korean government official responsible for eliminating illegal trading activity in the country’s cryptocurrency markets, died of a heart attack yesterday. According to Business Insider, friends said Ki-joon had been under heavy stress since taking over the role towards the end of last year. Police have opened an investigation into Ki-joon’s death.
Hackers Hijacked Tesla’s Public Cloud for Cryptocurrency Mining
Security researchers at RedLock discovered hackers had gained access to Tesla’s Kubernetes console, which is where Tesla deploys and manages apps, without needing a password. According to Engadget, the hackers then hijacked Tesla’s cloud resources for cryptocurrency mining and accessed private data held in Amazon’s S3 service. RedLock immediately notified Tesla of the breach, and Tesla has already patched the flaw.
