Woman Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison After Failed Bitcoin Murder-for-Hire Plot

A woman has been sentenced to over eight years in prison after her murder-for-hire plot using bitcoin fell apart. Melody Sasser attempted to use the dark web to hire a hitman to kill an Alabama resident. She paid nearly $10,000 in cryptocurrency and tried to make the murder look like an accident. Authorities discovered incriminating … Read more

Bitcoin Giant Moves 777.91 Bitcoins Worth $52M After 7 Years

Following the activation of a dormant bitcoin address from 2017, which transferred 210 bitcoins at block height 854,501, another inactive wallet created on April 9, 2017, moved 777.91 BTC worth over $52 million roughly 35 blocks later. Notably, the owner of the bitcoin might be the same entity that moved 121.63 BTC a day ago … Read more

Massive Bitcoin Shift: $6B Moved as 5th Largest BTC Wallet Reactivates After Years of Dormancy

This week, blockchain observers noticed that the “37X” wallet, once holding the title of the fifth-largest bitcoin wallet, was activated for the first time since 2019. This significant move involved the transfer of 94,504.03 bitcoin into three distinct addresses. One of these recipient wallets has now risen to become the sixth-largest bitcoin holder, showcasing a … Read more

Bitcoin Whale Transfers $13 Million Worth of Dormant Coins Dating Back to 2012 and 2013

Following the transfer of $60 million worth of bitcoins on April 19, after more than nine years of dormancy, another whale has made its move. The whale, who acquired 1,129 bitcoins in 2012 and 2013, has transferred 464 bitcoins worth $13 million for the first time in nine years. 464 Bitcoin Move From an Old … Read more

14th Anniversary of Bitcoin’s Genesis Block: A Look Back at the Birth of Cryptocurrency

14 years ago on Jan. 3, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto launched the Bitcoin network and block zero at approximately 1:15 p.m. (ET) on a Saturday afternoon. Satoshi’s technology allows “online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.” Since Bitcoin was born it changed the financial system significantly, … Read more

Number of Addresses Holding BTC Taps 40 Million, Non-Zero Bitcoin Address Metric Grew 92% Since 2018

While bitcoin has risen in value in recent times, jumping 8% during the last seven days, statistics show that the number of addresses holding bitcoin has surpassed 40 million addresses. Metrics from the analytics web portal intotheblock.com show addresses that hold any fraction of bitcoin tapped a 30-day high on March 24, reaching 40.25 million … Read more

South Africa Ransomware Attack: Justice Department Denies Receiving 50 BTC Ransom Demand

South Africa’s Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJCD) has denied claims that it has received a 50 bitcoin ransom demand from hackers that attacked its systems on September 6, 2021. Reports of Ransom Demand Deemed ‘Completely Untrue’ Instead, the DOJCD insists that its tech experts, “industry partners and selected organs of state have been … Read more

Darknet Users Leverage a New Blockchain Analytics Tool That Scans for Ties to Criminal Activity

According to the blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic, cybercriminals are leveraging cryptocurrency analytics to get ahead of law enforcement. Elliptic says a “blockchain analytics tool has been launched on the dark web” and the tool is called “Antinalysis.” Meet the Blockchain Analytics Tool ‘Antinalysis’ Hosted on Tor On August 13, the blockchain surveillance company Elliptic published … Read more