YouTube

Logan Paul backflips on defamation lawsuit against Coffeezilla, apologizes

Logan Paul has deleted his response video aimed at Coffeezilla and apologized in a surprising U-turn.

YouTuber Logan Paul has deleted a video in which he threatened to sue internet detective Stephen “Coffeezilla” Findeisen over a three-part series that painted Paul’s CryptoZoo project as a “scam.”

According to Coffezilla in a Jan. 6 tweet, Paul has promised to drop his threats of filing a defamation lawsuit over the videos. 

Sharing a screenshot from the CryptoZoo Discord server, Findeisen also showed a message from Paul confirming he had deleted his initial response to Coffeezilla’s video series and apologized. It read:

“It was rash and misaligned with the trust issue at hand, so I called him today and apologized.”

“The war is not with Coffee. In fact, I’m grateful he brought this to light. I will be taking accountability, apologizing, and coming forward with a plan in the near future,” Paul added.

At the time of writing, Paul’s Jan. 3 response video to Coffeezilla’s accusations has been removed from YouTube. The tweet pointing to the video is still up, as is his initial Dec. 23 post calling the allegations “Not true.”

Related: Nifty News: IHOP bamboozles crypto users with ‘NFT,’ Logan Paul’s NFT falls to $10 and more

The two YouTubers began a war of words after Coffeezilla launched the first of a three-part video series on Dec. 17 accusing CryptoZoo of numerous business malpractices while also calling out Paul, the face of the project.

In his now-deleted response video to Coffeezilla, Paul accused Coffeezilla of defamation, adding “I’ll see you in court.”

Coffeezilla mentioned in his post that Paul is possibly “making a 3rd response,” but at the time of writing neither Paul nor Coffeezilla has shed any further light on the matter.

Cointelegraph reached out to both Paul and Coffeezilla for comment but did not receive a response before publication.

Crypto Stories: Dr. Adam Back shares his life of hacks

A cartoon version of Dr. Adam Back recounts stories of hacking coded doors at university and the inception of Hash Cash in the latest of Cointelegraph Crypto Stories.

It’s been a life of hacks for Dr. Adam Back, the CEO and co-founder of Blockstream. One of the few people quoted on the Bitcoin Whitepaper, hacking highlights of Back’s life are brought to life in the latest animated Crypto Story from Cointelegraph’s video team. 

Over a game of Jenga in a park, Back told Cointelegraph that he’s always had a “kind of security mindset.” From his days as a student, he tinkered with door codes, pin pads and locks, testing out code and gaining access to places he “wasn’t supposed to have access to.”

Back talks through the creation of Hash Cash, one of the early attempts at digital money. He uses the “Birthday collision” as an allegory for hash functions, demonstrating his aptitude to breaking down complex functions into intelligible language:

“If you have a room full of people at a party or something, there’s a question which is how many people need to be in the room before there’s 50/50 chance that there are two people with the same birthday.”

He explains that while people would expect the outcome to be related to the number 365–because of how many days there are in a year, the reality is far lower. This line of thinking, combined with an understanding of spam email, led to Back’s coding up of Hash Cash.

Related: Blockstream CEO Adam Back talks Bitcoin over a game of Jenga

Bitcoin stands on the shoulders of Hash Cash, but Bitcoin caught on because Bitcoin ˙as a high level of decentralization, vital for the cryptocurrency’s success. Back adds that Bitcoin is also “Understandable at lots of different levels, right?”

“You can understand it from a user level or from an economics level. It’s surprisingly complex to fully appreciate all of it, including the game theory and things like that.”

The cartoon interview comes to a close with a reference to Blockstream’s decision to beam Bitcoin into space and an affirmation that there will be “More Bitcoin,” from one of the Bitcoin economy’s OGs.

Metallica issues crypto scam alert before the 72 Seasons album launch

Cashing in on the buzz around Metallica’s new album launch and upcoming tour, scammers have started targeting metalheads through social media impersonation.

It’s quite evident that bad actors have left no stone unturned as legendary metal band Metallica warned fans against crypto giveaway scams right before their highly anticipated launch of its new album, 72 Seasons.

Cashing in on the buzz around Metallica’s new album launch and upcoming tour, scammers have started targeting metalheads through social media impersonation. Metallica, however, was quick to point out “the ugly side of social media,” asking fans to steer away from Metallica Crypto giveaways, stating:

“Let’s be as clear as possible. [Metallica crypto giveaways] are scams.”

Sad but true, Cointelegraph recently highlighted a rise in front-running scams on YouTube, which according to blockchain security firm CertiK, has risen by 500% in one year. The ongoing Metallica scams contribute to the statistics as the band warned against fake YouTube channels that point to unofficial phishing websites.

Fans were also asked to limit their interactions to verified Metallica accounts, especially when dealing with information that can be considered “wild and crazy to be true.”

While the crypto community knows the telltale signs of a scam, the alert aims to warn non-crypto and general fans who may be easier victims of the new scam.

Metallica also shared a list of official social media channels to ensure that no fans fall for the rampant crypto giveaway scams.

Related: Singapore police warn investors against FTX phishing scams: Report

The crypto scammers spared not even the victims of FTX CEO Sam Bankman as deepfake videos cropped up promising a “giveaway” that would “double your cryptocurrency.”

The videos in question use SBF’s old interview clips and manipulate the audio to spread misinformation about FTX’s funds’ recovery plan.

Front-running scams rampant on YouTube with 500% surge in 2022: CertiK

The scam lures victims to download fake front-running bot software that swipes their assets once they try to initiate a transaction.

Front-running scam bots are significantly gaining traction on YouTube, with the number of dubious videos increasing six-fold in 2022 according to a new report from blockchain security firm CertiK.

In the firm’s Dec. 1 report, CertiK explores how a wave of front-running bot scams are promising free returns as high as 10X a day but ultimately end up swiping people’s funds.

Notably, CertiK’s analysis found 84% of videos on YouTube mentioning “front running bot” were scams, with the number increasing 500% from 28 videos in 2021 to 168 videos in 2022:

“There are common themes in all of these videos: free code and huge returns. Successful runners won’t give away free code on a social media site, they will sell it for a large amount on underground forums.”

The scam itself generally sees victims being guided to downloaded fake bot software, which is designed to swipe their assets once they try to initiate a front-running transaction.

Even when they are not scams, front-running bots cause problems as they can give the deployer a distinct advantage over other crypto traders in certain circumstances.

The bots generally scan blockchains for unconfirmed transactions and then pay a greater gas fee to squeeze in ahead of said transactions, “essentially beating it to the punch and taking all the profit on offer” from a trade.

The report identified videos using dubious titles such as “$15,000 Front Running Crypto Bot Leak! – 50X HUGE RETURNS!” and “Uniswap Front Running Bot 2022 – EASY TUTORIAL (Huge profits)” in which scammers give fake tutorials on downloading and using the bots.

The videos’ comment sections are, of course, swarmed with countless bot comments praising the content so that real comments sounding alarm bells are buried under the noise.

An example of the typical comments found on front-running bot scam videos. Source: CertiK

Scam reports have been rife of late, as Cointelegraph reported on Nov. 22 that deepfake videos using Sam Bankman-Fried’s likeness were circulating online aiming to dupe people impacted by FTX’s bankruptcy.

Related: Metaverse exploitation and abuse to rise in 2023: Kaspersky

CertiK released a separate report on Nov. 17 outlining that crypto scammers have been using identities bought on the black market to put their names and faces on fraudulent projects. Described as “Professional KYC actors,” CertiK found that their identities could be purchased for as low as $8.00.

On Reddit on Dec. 1, members of the r/Metallica community were also sending out warnings over fake Metallica live streams featuring all the band members that linked to crypto giveaway scams.

Some members even claimed that the YouTube algorithm had been recommending the videos to them in their top recommendations.

Comment on r/Metallica: Reddit

Nifty News: IHOP bamboozles crypto users with ‘NFT,’ Logan Paul’s NFT falls to $10 and more

The YouTube star’s huge loss on his NFT has been bumped up by a measly bid after he shared how much it had dropped in value since his purchase last year.

American restaurant chain International House of Pancakes (IHOP) piqued the curiosity of Twitter users last week when it announced it would be “jumping on the bandwagon” and dropping its own ”NFT.” As it has turned out, its new “NFT” is neither nonfungible nor a token. 

The pancake chain’s initial announcement on Oct. 6, made to sound like it was entering Web3 with a nonfungible token (NFT) drop, was met with a mixed response.

One Web3 supporter said, ”kudos to IHOP for having the courage to be on the leading edge and innovating for the future,” while others threatened to unfollow the restaurant’s Twitter account. 

However, when the food chain finally revealed its “NFT” on Oct. 10, it turned out it was in fact the chain’s “New French Toast” menu item, adding it is “Thick, Fluffy and extremely fungible.“

Twitter users shared a laugh over the chain’s devious ploy to sell more toast, though one Crypto Twitter commented that “they’re missing out on an opportunity to be a part of history” and getting “iHop.eth early.”

Logan Paul’s $600K NFT falls to $10

An NFT purchased for 188 Ether (ETH) at the cost of $623,000 in 2021 by American YouTuber Logan Paul saw a dramatic loss in value to only $10 by the end of September but has since a small price bump after it trended on social media.

Paul’s on-paper loss of over $600,000 on his 0N1 Force K4M-1 #03 NFT has been public knowledge for months, but after the YouTuber shared a post on his Snapchat on Sept. 27 talking about it, several Twitter users picked up the story resulting in more attention for the NFT.

Now, the token has a bid of 1.5 ETH on NFT marketplace OpenSea, around $1,900 at the time of writing.

Paul isn’t the only one feeling the pinch after the crypto market took a sharp fall in May.

NFT trading volume has plunged 98% from the $6.2 billion witnessed around the end of January to $114.4 million today.

Crypto trademark applications rise

Data shared by trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis on Twitter shows so far this year, 4,618 United States trademark applications have been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) related to the Metaverse and virtual goods or services, with 367 of those taking place in September.

Crypto related trademark applications by month. Source: Mike Kondoudis

Notable filings for the month include the car brand Ford filing 19 trademarks for all its major models of trucks, cars, and vans to be represented in an NFT as virtual vehicles.

Whiskey manufacturer Jack Daniel’s filed a new trademark application on Sept. 19 for NFT-authenticated media, virtual beverages, barware, clothing and digital collectibles.

Media brand Viacom International filed two trademarks for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Sept. 12 to expand the brand into NFT-backed media, crypto collectibles and crypto-collectible transfer software, while Paramount Pictures filed two trademarks for their Mean Girls brand on Sept. 12 for similar applications.

Binance set Guinness World Record for the largest crypto lesson

Crypto exchange Binance teamed up with Mexico-based agency the Talent Network to break a Guinness World Record for the largest cryptocurrency lesson in the world during an Oct. 7 class at Blockchain Land, Nuevo León, Mexico.

While only 289 people attended the 50-minute class held by Binance, it was enough to break the record.

Carolina Carnelli, head of marketing at Binance in Latin America, instructed the attendees on crypto and Web3, how they can contribute to the freedom of money and financial inclusion around the world and the benefits of blockchain.

The lesson also featured a remote presentation from Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s founder and CEO.

The hybrid event combined in-person and online attendees, but online participants did not count toward the total for the record.

The Talent Network has two previous records already, for the world’s largest robotics class in 2018 and the world’s largest software class in 2019.

More Nifty News:

Ethereum blockchain-based metaverse projects Decentraland and Sandbox hit back at reports suggesting low daily user activity on their platforms, claiming the data used was based on a “misinformed” metric.

The anonymous creator of decentralized finance (DeFi) project aggregator DefiLlama, 0xngmi, announced on Twitter that their smart contract code for a novel NFT borrowing and lending protocol dubbed LlamaLend is near completion. The protocol aims to solve the problem of NFT holders needing to obtain liquidity when holding their digital collectibles and primarily targets small collections.

Elon Musk-crypto video played on S. Korean govt’s hacked YouTube channel

The hacked YouTube account was restored within four hours following a proactive intervention from the South Korean government, confirmed a local news agency.

A YouTube channel owned by the government of South Korea was reportedly hacked and renamed SpaceX Invest, following which the channel uploaded fabricated videos of Elon Musk discussing cryptocurrencies.

On Sept 3, the South Korean government’s YouTube channel was momentarily hacked and renamed for sharing live broadcasts of crypto-related videos. However, the account was soon restored within four hours following a proactive intervention, confirmed a local report from Yonhap News Agency (YNA).

The above screenshot was provided to YNA by a locale that shows the compromised channel being renamed to SpaceX Invest and streaming videos depicting SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

The compromised ID and password of the YouTube channel were identified as the root cause of the hack. Google, too, reportedly confirmed the compromise.

Related: Hackers try to sell NFT of Belarusian leader’s supposed stolen passport

To help KyberSwap recover from a recent hack that drained off $265,000 worth of user funds, Binance conducted an internal investigation to track down the culprits.

Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao revealed that the Binance security team identified two suspects and forwarded the intel to KyberSwap and law enforcement. “Binance is now playing the role of a big brother in the crypto space. Binance has gone beyond securing its platform to securing the entire crypto ecosystem,” a member of Crypto Twitter pointed out.

Elon Musk-crypto video played on S. Korean govt’s hacked YouTube channel

The hacked YouTube account was restored within four hours following a proactive intervention from the South Korean government, confirmed a local news agency.

A YouTube channel owned by the government of South Korea was reportedly hacked and renamed SpaceX Invest, following which the channel uploaded fabricated videos of Elon Musk discussing cryptocurrencies.

On Sept. 3, the South Korean government’s YouTube channel was momentarily hacked and renamed for sharing live broadcasts of crypto-related videos. However, the account was soon restored within four hours following a proactive intervention, confirmed a local report from Yonhap News Agency (YNA).

The above screenshot was provided to YNA by a locale that shows the compromised channel being renamed to SpaceX Invest and streaming videos depicting SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

The compromised ID and password of the YouTube channel were identified as the root cause of the hack. Google, too, reportedly confirmed the compromise.

Related: Hackers try to sell NFT of Belarusian leader’s supposed stolen passport

To help KyberSwap recover from a recent hack that drained off $265,000 worth of user funds, Binance conducted an internal investigation to track down the culprits.

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao revealed that the Binance security team identified two suspects and forwarded the intel to KyberSwap and law enforcement. “Binance is now playing the role of a big brother in the crypto space. Binance has gone beyond securing its platform to securing the entire crypto ecosystem,” a member of Crypto Twitter pointed out.

PennyWise crypto-stealing malware spreads through YouTube

The malware targets Zcash and Ethereum wallets alongside Electrum, Atomic Wallet and Coinomi, it takes your browser extension and login data and reads your chat logs.

A new strain of crypto-malware is being spread via YouTube, tricking users to download software that’s designed to steal data from 30 crypto wallets and crypto-browser extensions.

Cyber intelligence company Cyble in a June 30 blog post said it had been tracking the malware known as PennyWise — likely named after the monster in Stephen King’s horror novel It — since it was first identified in May.

“Our investigation indicates that the stealer is an emerging threat,” wrote Cyble in a blog post on June 30:

“In its current iteration, this stealer can target over 30 browsers and cryptocurrency applications such as cold crypto wallets, crypto-browser extensions, etc.”

Data stolen from the victim’s system comes in the form of Chromium and Mozilla browser information, including cryptocurrency extension data and login data. It can also take screenshots and steal sessions of chat applications such as Discord and Telegram.

The malware also targets cold crypto-wallets such as Armory, Bytecoin, Jaxx, Exodus, Electrum, Atomic Wallet, Guarda and Coinomi, as well as wallets supporting Zcash (ZEC) and Ether (ETH) by looking for wallet files in the directory and sending a copy of the files to attackers, according to Cyble.

The cybersecurity company noted that the malware is being spread on YouTube mining education videos purporting to be free Bitcoin mining software.

The cybercriminals, or “Threat Actors,” upload videos instructing viewers to visit the link in the description and download the free software while also encouraging them also to disable their antivirus software which enables the malware to run successfully.

Cyble said the attacker had as many as 80 videos on their YouTube channel as of June 30. However, the channel identified has since been removed.

A search by Cointelegraph found similar links to the malware remain on other smaller YouTube channels, with videos promising free nonfungible token (NFT) mining, cracks for paid software, free Spotify premium, game cheats and mods.

Many of these accounts have only been created within the last 24 hours.

Related: Bitcoin stealing malware: Bitter reminder for crypto users to stay vigilant

Interestingly, the malware is designed to stop itself if it finds out the victim is based in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Cyble also found that the malware converts the victim’s stolen timezone data to Moscow Standard Time (MSK) when the data is sent back to the attackers.

In February, malware named Mars Stealer was identified as targeting crypto wallets that work as Chromium browser extensions such as MetaMask, Binance Chain Wallet or Coinbase Wallet.

Chainalysis warned in January that even “low-skilled cybercriminals” are now using malware to take funds from crypto hodlers, with cryptojacking accounting for 73% of the total value received by malware-related addresses between 2017 and 2021.