Blockchain & Cryptocurrency , Cryptocurrency Fraud , Fraud Management & Cybercrime

Cryptohack Roundup: Robinhood to Acquire Bitstamp

Every week, Information Security Media Group rounds up cybersecurity incidents in digital assets. This week, Robinhood said it will acquire Bitstamp in a $200 million deal, a senior promoter of the Forcount crypto Ponzi scheme pleaded guilty, crypto scammers targeted work-from-home job seekers, and Tether and CoinGecko warned of crypto phishing attacks.

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Robinhood Markets on Thursday announced it will acquire Bitstamp, a global cryptocurrency exchange, for approximately $200 million in cash. The acquisition, expected to close in the first half of 2025 pending regulatory approvals, will significantly expand Robinhood Crypto's reach worldwide.

Bitstamp, founded in 2011, operates in Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Singapore and the United States. "We believe crypto will fundamentally reorganize the financial system, and we’re acquiring @Bitstamp to accelerate our vision," tweeted Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vladimir Tenev.

The Menlo Park, California-based firm in May disclosed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is planning to bring an enforcement action against it. The SEC is running an aggressive enforcement campaign against crypto markets for operating what it says are unregulated securities. "We firmly believe that the assets listed on our platform are not securities," Dan Gallagher, Robinhood chief legal, compliance and corporate affairs officer, said in a company response to the SEC statement, officially known as a Wells Notice.

A promoter of the Forcount cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, Juan Tacuri, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Forcount defrauded Spanish-speaking investors worldwide, totaling $8.4 million in losses. Tacuri, one of the scheme's top promoters, earned millions from his involvement.

Prosecutors emphasized Tacuri's exploitation of retail investors, stating he lured victims with false promises of substantial returns from cryptocurrency trading and mining. Tacuri used the victims' funds for personal luxuries and further promotion of the scheme.

As part of his plea agreement, Tacuri will forfeit nearly $4 million in victim funds and certain real estate assets he purchased with those funds.

The FBI warned that scammers are defrauding individuals through work-from-home scams that involve cryptocurrency payments.

Posing as legitimate businesses, scammers contact victims with fake job offers, often requiring simple tasks such as rating restaurants or "optimizing" services.

The compensation structure is intentionally confusing, compelling victims to make cryptocurrency payments to unlock work or earn more money. These payments go directly to the scammers.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino and CoinGecko co-founder Bobby Ong alerted the crypto community to a potential security breach involving a prominent email newsletter vendor.

Ardoino said on social media that Tether received two independent confirmations of a vendor compromise affecting crypto mailing lists. Ong issued a public service announcement warning of a supply chain email breach attack.