2023-03-02

🦹 Outlaws, Criminals and Thieves

March 02, 2023

Howdy folks,Not unlike every other arena, crypto has its outlaws.Some give back, some get away, and others...well, they get stuffed!

Today's news batch:

Robinhood Rolls Out The Apples
Cheeky Monkey Shuts Down His Scam
‘The noose is tightening’ for SBF

No More Waitlisting for iOS as Robinhood Rolls out Its Wallet

Trading platform Robinhood finally launched its multi-chain self-custody wallet after announcing it in September 2022. Unlike the Robinhood of the stories, they’ll not be giving back to everyone, at least not just yet.

The Web3 wallet is currently only available to Apple iOS users. Android owners will have to wait till later this year.

Currently, the wallet only supports Ethereum and Polygon and 50+ ERC tokens that can be bought, sold, or held on the self-custody wallet. The ERC native tokens include USDC, UNI, and AAVE.Users can trade without paying transaction fees and interact with various decentralized applications (DApps).Robinhood has also added NFT features, thus enabling users to collect and store their Ethereum and Polygon NFTs. Robinhood also clarified that NFTs bought within their wallet would NOT be subject to Apple's 30% commission for in-app purchases.

While the wallet is a self-custody solution, there is a range of self-verification methods for added security:“When users get started, they need to set up either Face/Touch ID or a custom PIN, which they’ll use to authenticate every time they open the app. They will also be asked to create a secret recovery phrase, also known as a seed phrase, that allows them access to their wallet and crypto.”A Robinhood spokesperson also stated that users “can, and should, back up their wallet,” with offline cold storage being the most secure method. We like it when a platform well-known by non-Web3 users leaps to Web3. It's a good omen!

Notorious Crypto Scammer Monkey Drainer Shuts Down-ish!

Is this a case of altruism and going on the straight and narrow?

High-profile crypto scammer known as Monkey Drainer posted on their Telegram yesterday (March 1st, 2023) that they would be “shutting down immediately” and destroying all files, servers, and devices linked to the criminal actions.

Make no mistake; this is not a bad guy gone good situation…

In their statement of phony benevolence, Monkey Weiner offers advice to budding young crypto criminals to “not lose themselves in the pursuit of money.”That's easy to say when you walk away with millions in stolen crypto and NFTs!They also offered an alternative for their services…recommending another scammer’s services.

Blockchain security firm PeckShield tweeted yesterday that within the last 24 hours, Monkey Drainer’s wallet deposited around $330,000 worth of ETH into the infamous crypto mixing service Tornado Cash in an attempt to wash their dirty money.

There was still ETH worth $1.4 million left in their primary wallet.

Signing off by saying they won’t be back but will be looking for “something better than ever before.”

Forgive me for my cynicism, but does this scream: “I made loads of money, and I’m running away before I get caught…when I need more, I’ll come back.”...with a little dash of “love my magnanimity, I’m so great!”

Is That Necktie Getting a Bit Tight, Sam?

Well, well, well…I hope you didn’t think they’d have your back, Sam. That’s the thing about criminals…

A third member of the SBF posse has pleaded guilty in a deal to offer up Sam’s curly-haired head on a platter.Former FTX Director of Engineering Nishad Singh pleaded guilty to six counts on Tuesday, including wire fraud, commodities and securities fraud, money laundering, and unlawful political donations.That’s quite the list of charges; one can only imagine what they want to pin on SBF.Singh joins FTX co-founder Gary Wang and Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison on a list of those who have flipped on Sam.

Anthony Sabino, a law professor at St. John’s University, made the following observation:“This is the classic strategy used by prosecutors since the dawn of time; you go after the little fish, which gets you the medium-sized fish, which gets you the big fish.”…but, just who is the big fish? Is it Sam, or does this go higher?When there are significant political donations and close family ties to notable people, including the SEC overlord, Gary Gensler…who knows where the buck stops?One thing is for sure; Sam should have chosen better friends!