In this month's crypto compliance news roundup, we will take you through our partnerships, product updates, upcoming events, and examine recent crypto scams.

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Merkle Science and BitData Partnership
Merkle Science partnered with BitDATA Exchange to enable both parties to mutually work as an APAC enterprise referral and to join efforts in the local marketing initiatives. BitDATA Exchange (also known as BitEx) is a regulated Fiat-Crypto trading platform headquartered in Singapore. 

Have a look at our dashboard with global crypto donations for earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. This Dashboard includes Individual & Total Earthquake Relief Donations, Tokens by Donated Amounts, Daily Donation Amounts (by Chain), and Donations Received by Entity Type.

Upcoming Webinar 

Despite Web3 being hailed as “unhackable” and “resilient”, money laundering, scams, market manipulation, and exploits are prevalent. Illicit actors leverage the fact that NFTs are primarily unregulated and take advantage of the lacuna in the judiciary system to exploit genuine investors. In this webinar, we will identify regulatory trends and developments shaping the future of NFTs, analyze risks plaguing the NFTs ecosystem, and elucidate how businesses can manage these risks successfully. Register now

Watch the latest episode of The MerkleWatch Series where Neal Singh our product Lead talks all about Proof of Reserves. Proof of Reserve (PoR) is an attempt to provide public transparency to centralized cryptocurrency reserves through a verifiable auditing practice. It uses cryptographic proofs and public wallet address ownership verification in combination with periodic third-party audits to publicly attest that a centralized platform holds enough assets to match user deposits. 

BLOGS:

Examining the Process of Pig-Butchering Scams - Of all the crypto crime scams in recent memory, one of the most vividly named is the “pig butchering” scheme. Originating from China, this cyberattack was named after the similarities between pigs and the scheme’s victims. Similar to how pigs are dutifully raised as livestock, the victims in a pig butchering scheme are “fattened up” over a long period before they are slaughtered - or in this case, scammed.  

Exploring the Nuances of Address Poisoning - The world of crypto-crime is ever-evolving and just a month into 2023, a new crypto scam is on the rise. Known primarily as address poisoning, but also referred to as address spoofing, this scam has already prompted a consumer alert from a major cryptocurrency wallet, MetaMask, to its users on Twitter.

SEC fined Kraken, a popular cryptocurrency exchange, $30 million for violating securities laws.

In a video discussing the fine, Gary Gensler, the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) explained why the SEC forced crypto exchange Kraken to end its crypto staking services for U.S. clients

Norwegian Authorities Seize $5.9M From Crypto Game Axie Infinity Hack

Authorities in Norway seized 60 million krone (US$5.9 million) stolen from the crypto game Axie Infinity in March of last year. The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, or Økokrim, said it is the biggest crypto seizure ever made by Norwegian police.

Watch Replays:

Merkle Meets 2023 Regulatory Forecast: Crypto Winter, Recovery, and Rebound -  In the wake of FTX collapse and the resulting contagion effect, we expect to see a wide-ranging regulatory response. Merkle Meets brings together Timothy Massad and Jeff Bandman for a fireside chat on the future of crypto regulations. Watch now.

About us:

Merkle Science provides predictive blockchain risk monitoring to help Web3 companies, financial institutions, and government agencies detect and prevent the illicit use of cryptocurrencies. Our mission is to provide infrastructure to enable the safe and healthy growth of cryptocurrencies. Our unique behavioural analytics and predictive risk models enable the detection of illicit addresses before they appear in databases ensuring effective risk monitoring for DeFi protocols and NFT players.

For more information on Merkle Science, please visit https://www.merklescience.com/