Two independent bitcoin miners each claimed rare block rewards worth around $300,000 this week, amid a major $282 million cryptocurrency hack and MicroStrategy's largest bitcoin purchase in five months. The hack involved a social engineering attack on a hardware wallet, leading to significant market ripples. These developments highlight ongoing volatility and innovation in the crypto space.
The cryptocurrency sector saw several notable events this week. On the mining front, two solo bitcoin miners achieved improbable successes. One secured a block early Thursday, earning 3.157 BTC including fees, valued at approximately $300,000. Another miner earlier in the week netted a similar payout of about $295,000. Such solo discoveries are rare in bitcoin's competitive mining landscape.
A more alarming incident was a social engineering attack that stole $282 million in assets. According to blockchain researcher ZachXBT, the hacker targeted a hardware wallet, siphoning 2.05 million Litecoin and 1,459 BTC. The theft occurred on January 10 at 23:00 UTC, with the funds quickly converted to the privacy coin Monero. This triggered a 70% surge in Monero's price over the following days, underscoring the market's sensitivity to such events.
MicroStrategy, the Virginia-based treasury firm, bolstered its bitcoin holdings with its biggest buy in five months. The company acquired around 13,600 BTC for over $1.2 billion last week, bringing its total to 687,400 BTC, valued at more than $62.8 billion.
Other developments included the U.S. government's decision to add nearly $6.4 million in seized bitcoin from Samourai Wallet creators to a national reserve, rather than liquidating it. Polygon Labs announced layoffs of 60 staff following acquisitions totaling over $250 million, shifting focus to payment infrastructure. Meanwhile, crypto card payment volumes hit $1.5 billion monthly, a sharp rise from $100 million in early 2023.
Regulatory moves advanced too: Ripple secured preliminary approval for an Electronic Money Institution license in Luxembourg, shortly after a similar nod from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority. In South Korea, Google Play will block updates for unregistered crypto exchange apps starting January 28, requiring registration with the Financial Intelligence Unit.
