Another week has rolled by in the crypto market, and several crazy things happened in between.
Everything from a German police bust that uncovered $2.1 billion worth of Bitcoin from two pirates to an unexpected 17-year-old millionaire, to an alleged "Top G" coin that was almost released by "the most famous man alive" happened this week.
As usual, we have taken the liberty of compiling all of these stories into a single article, to keep you informed about all of the latest happenings in crypto.
Without taking further time, here are most of last week's top stories:
In the last few days of January, Google did something they hadn't done since as far back as 2018.
On Monday 29th January, adverts for Bitcoin ETFs started to roll out, which marks a massive shift in Google's position on crypto-related ads.
Ads like these have been banned since March 2018, because Google stated that it needed to protect its users from "fraudulent and harmful practices" in such an emerging market.
Overall, Google's recent policy change has made it possible for crypto offerings to be promoted on its massive network, which covers more than 90% of all internet users globally.
The new development also shows the crypto industry's maturing maturity, as well as the rising demand for crypto-related goods and services.
German police made headlines this week, after arresting two data pirates and seizing 50,000 Bitcoin worth a staggering $2.17 billion from them.
Where did all of this money come from?
According to a press release from the German police, these Bitcoins were allegedly made from running a major piracy website that offered free games, movies, software and more.
The website brought in millions of euros from advertising and membership fees, with over 1.5 million registered users. The funds were reportedly transferred into bitcoins by the accused, who then kept them in several wallets.
According to the German Police, these two men, one German and one Polish are currently being investigated under charges of commercial money laundering and piracy.
So far, this 50,000 bitcoin bust stands as the largest crypto bust in Germany's history and one of the largest in the world.
Quantstamp, a DeFi security startup, released a report on the web3 security incidents that occurred in January 2024.
According to Quantstamp, bad actors stole a whopping $38.9 million across attacks on five major Defi protocols.
Radiant Capital, for example, lost $4.5 million on January 2, when hackers targeted a well-known rounding issue in the Compound/Aave protocol and used it to borrow more money than they deposited.
Gamma Strategies got hit on January 4 in a flash loan attack in which attackers exploited a code bug and stole $6.1 million from Gamma's public-facing vaults.
On January 12, Wise Lending also got hit in a similar flash loan attack that resulted in the theft of at least $460,000.
On January 16, a vulnerability Socket's user input verification was also manipulated, allowing hackers to steal nearly 2,000 ETH (worth over $4 million at the time).
Goledo Finance was also attacked on 28 January and had $1.7 million stolen from it.
Overall, attackers made a whopping $40 million from hacks in January alone, with February's hack figure currently being calculated.
The cryptocurrency was shocked this week, by a 17-year-old crypto enthusiast who claimed to have made over $1 million from the January 29 Jupiter airdrop.
The youngster, with the Twitter handle "notshort" revealed his strategy in a 12-minute video posted on Twitter, and explained how he used several Jupiter features to improve his chances.
Recall that this week, the Solana-based DEX, Jupiter launched $JUP in a massive $700 million airdrop, sent to almost a million wallet holders.
Specifically, notshort noted that he made all of that money from the first round of the JUP airdrop by actively using all of Jupiter's features.
He stated that he put "time and resources into this" and concentrated on "being smart with [his] moves on the platform."
Overall, notshort's story is inspiring and shows that while the crypto market has several opportunities for the bold, it also takes strategic moves, careful planning and a lot of research to get things done.
The self-described "most famous man alive", Andrew Tate recently started a heated debate in the cryptocurrency community this week, when he mentioned releasing his own crypto, backed by $100 million of his personal funds.
However, Tate didn't get the kind of attention he'd hoped for. The "Top G" got bashed mercilessly by critics, and quickly took down the tweet before stating that it was all a joke.
In detail, Tate tweeted on February 2, 2024, stating:
I'm thinking of launching a coin and backing it with 100M. I'll give early access and a discount to members of my university. Then, because I'm the most famous man alive, I'll promote it everywhere; let you all make money. If this tweet gets 50,000 retweets, it's a done deal.
He also added:
Top G – The G stands for crypto. Every single time you tweet at me.
The tweet went viral and gained over 661,000 views within hours. While some of his supporters voiced interest, others questioned his motivations.
Coffeezilla, a YouTuber and scam sleuth was one of Tate's biggest critics. Coffeezilla cited anti-crypto statements from Tate in the past, including as this one from a video when he stated, "I DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANY CRYPTO." I'm not gonna have to cheat on my fans.
Tate responded to the tweet in turn, suggesting that he was joking.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.