Ransomware Attacks Grew To $602 Million In 2021, Report

A blockchain research firm, Chainalysis, revealed crypto-ransomware attacks of 2021 racked up $602 million in Bitcoin and other currencies, and that figure could be even higher. In addition, the report pronounced a Russian-based hacker group named Conti as the most active and largest group of hackers by revenue last year. The analysis firm expressed that they have counted for all of it yet, and the figure of stolen money may be even more extensive, rising as high as $1 billion. Related Reading | Over $5 Billion In BTC Paid In…

Digital yuan transactions beat out Visa at Winter Olympics venue: report

On the day of the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, there were reportedly more transactions made in China’s central bank digital currency than those through Visa. In a Wednesday report from the Wall Street Journal, a person familiar with the matter said transactions in digital yuan significantly outnumbered those of Visa on Feb. 4 at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest — the location of the opening ceremony of the 34th Olympic Winter Games. However, many of the retailers allowing purchases with China’s…

FSInsight report says a single spark could see BTC 5X

Financial research firm FSInsight predicts in a new report that Bitcoin could reach $222,000, and Ether could reach $12,000, by the end of 2022. At current prices of BTC ($43,350) and ETH ($3,080), that would mean a nearly five-time and four-time increase in price for each coin respectively. The Digital Assets In A Post-Cycle World report explained several factors that are likely to combine to drive prices to those heights by the end of the year. Compared to other cycles, it would appear that BTC has not achieved what the…

4 key takeaways from KPMG Pulse of Fintech Report

As Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins took a break from reaching new all-time highs, the market sentiment seems gloomy since the start of 2022. However, while the market seems to be sleeping, its trajectory shows that there’s more to look forward to in the coming months. Multinational professional services network KMPG published its biannual Pulse of Fintech report, where the firm tracks and analyzes developments and investments within the financial technology sector. The report highlighted the most notable developments in major regions like the Americas, Asia Pacific and EMEA, and pointed…