Bitcoin Daily: Ripple Names New General Counsel; Cryptopia Hackers Reportedly Net $180K

Bitcoin Daily

Elementus, a data analytics firm, claims that a hacker has taken an additional $181,000 worth of ether from the Cryptopia digital currency exchange, CoinDesk reported. The news comes a week after the firm said that roughly $16 million in ERC-20 and ether was taken from wallets at the exchange. Elementus also claims that “the hacker has the private keys and can withdraw funds from any Cryptopia wallet at will.” The exchange, which is based in New Zealand, reportedly went dark in the middle of January.

Hamas is reportedly asking for donations in cryptocurrency, Bloomberg reported. A spokesperson for the group made an Instagram post and said that details were to come on how to make bitcoin contributions. The news outlet, however, reported that the digital currency “may not hold its value.” It cited bitcoin’s fall from nearly $19,000 in December 2017 to under $3,500 today. The price of bitcoin was $3,450.76 as of 9:17 p.m. on Wednesday (Jan. 30), according to CoinDesk.

In other news, Ripple has named Stuart Alderoty to the position of general counsel, CoinDesk reported. Alderoty, who previously served as an executive at a bank and commercial lender, will work under Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. In a press release, Garlinghouse said that Alderoty “brings a level of experience and expertise that will be vital in supporting not only Ripple’s growth but growth of the overall industry.”

On another note, investors are seeing opportunity in digital currency assets, Bloomberg reported. Arca Partner and Portfolio Manager Jeff Dorman said, according to the outlet, “there’s going to be a lot of opportunity in distressed buying and even activist investing.” He added that “often you can buy below even the cash value of the company.” The report noted that a number of funds are looking to acquire Simple Agreements for Future Tokens (SAFTs).