The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has announced the launch of the Crypto Scam Tracker. The system is able to identify fraudulent projects in the crypto world in real time. The software analyzes projects and informs about complaints filed by victims. The investor can study the collected data and make an informed decision, minimizing the risk of losing funds. The Crypto Scam Tracker database will include companies and projects detected in suspicious activity.

Google’s cloud computing operator is to become a validator on the Tezos network. Google Cloud’s corporate customers will be able to deploy Tezos nodes — a type of computer that runs a blockchain’s software to validate and store the history of transactions. The integration with Tezos marks Google Cloud’s latest integration with a blockchain network, the platform having begun running a node-hosting service for Ethereum projects in October, then shortly thereafter becoming a validator on Solana. They may also inspire confidence in other firms interested in moving into the industry, knowing they can do so using infrastructure with the scale and resilience provided by firms like Google.

The South Korea Customs Service announced today that it has decided to activate the exchange of information on foreign exchange crimes with the Hong Kong customs authority to crack down on illegal foreign exchange transactions involving virtual assets. The customs authorities of the two countries wish to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation in suppressing foreign exchange crimes in order to exchange information related to illegal foreign exchange transactions. The customs authorities of the two countries are expected to hold the 34th Korea-Hong Kong Customs Commissioner’s Conference in Seoul this year. Yoon Tae-Sik, head of the Korea Customs Service, held a bilateral meeting in Hong Kong yesterday with Hong Kong

Bound to hit the market soon are a half a million dollars worth of office furniture and equipment and 13 storage units in the Bahamas full of FTX’s “physical goods.” That’s according to a report from liquidators tasked with digging through the bankrupt crypto exchange’s leftover assets. The list of assets also includes $2.4 million in vehicles, of which the report dryly notes “there is no longer a need for the company to maintain the current fleet size.” Also coming to market will be whatever’s inside the company’s head office in the Bahamas, which had its locks changed and is secured on site. The company had a total of $219.5 million in cash in banks as of Nov. 10, the report said. The list included Fidelity Bank, Silvergate Bank, Deltec Bank and Moonstone Bank, in addition to other institutions.

A public test network of the proof-of-concept sidechain that has been constructed on top of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is currently active, as stated in a statement released by the creator of Cardano Input Output following the release of the toolkit for developing sidechains.Cardano has released a public testnet for its EVM-based sidechain. Following the release of the toolkit for developing sidechains, Cardano public test network of the proof-of-concept sidechain is established on top of the Ethereum Virtual Machine, according to an announcement made by the developer Cardano Input Output. (EVM) is presently operational. The proof-of-concept test network is only temporary, and it will be reset on a regular basis during the testing phase. All Cardano community members and stake pool operators who are interested in connecting their wallets, testing the network.

Cryptocurrency trading protocol Orion lost $3 million in a Re-entrancy attack. The stolen funds are being transferred to the crypto mixer to remove traces. Currently, hackers are looking for a way to remove traces through the Tornado Cash crypto mixer. According to findings from crypto security firm Peckshield Inc., the Orion protocol was hacked due to a re-login issue in its core contract. Hacking is possible due to inadequate re-login protection: the function swapThroughOrionPool allows a user-provided swap path with manually generated tokens whose transfers can be hijacked to re-enter the DepositAsset function to increase the user’s balance calculation without actually losing money. a fake token called ATK that was used to manipulate Orion groups. It uses a self-destructing smart contract.

The European Union’s landmark crypto regulation, Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), won’t see a final vote in the European Parliament until April, stalling the process for the new rules to be enforced. was postponed to February in November, also due to translation issues. MiCA is one of the first EU regimes to supervise the crypto sector and aims to tame what policymakers call the “wild west of crypto assets.” Most significantly, MiCA lays out rules for licensing firms offering crypto services in the EU and regulates stablecoin issuance. The delay is “technical” and most likely caused by issues in translating the almost 400-page file into the 24 official languages of the bloc, an EU Parliament spokesperson told to The Block.

Crypto investment firm Foresight Ventures led a $15 million Series A round into digital asset market maker CyberX. The deal for the company, which saw its valuation lift to the “few hundred million dollar range” per an interview with founder Zack Fan. CyberX’s raise follows several other market makers procuring capital in recent months. In November, Brussels-based Keyrock raised a $72 million Series B led by crypto payments company Ripple and decentralized market-making protocol Arrakis Finance announced a $4 million round last month. For CyberX, Fan said that it secured the capital primarily to improve its proprietary risk management framework which monitors on-chain and off-chain data in real-time.

The governor of the Bank of France, has begun the process of setting harsher rules to regulate crypto firms operating in France. The European Union’s Crypto Asset Market Regulation (MiCA), which will act as a springboard to enable a block-wide licensing framework for cryptocurrency enterprises. Francois Villeroy de Galhau, the governor of the Bank of France, has begun the process of setting harsher rules for crypto firms operating in France. The European Union’s Crypto Asset Market Regulation (MiCA), which will serve as a springboard to enable a block-wide licensing regime for cryptocurrency companies and is expected to be voted on in February of this year for implementation in 2024, will come before this. MiCA stands for Market Infrastructure for Crypto Assets.