• Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary’s Twitter account was hacked on Thursday and started promoting a crypto giveaway scam.
• The scam involved people sending their own digital assets to a fraudulent website in order to receive the giveaway prizes, which were not sent to the participants, and the scammers made away with the funds sent.
• Crypto giveaway scams are one of the most prevalent forms of scams in the industry and often involve hacked accounts of celebrities, politicians and companies being used to promote fake giveaways.

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary’s Twitter account was the latest victim of a crypto giveaway scam on Thursday, with the famed investor’s account being hacked and sending out multiple tweets about a giveaway of 5,000 BTC and 15,000 ETH, with an accompanying image featuring O’Leary himself.

The now-deleted tweet falsely claimed that the giveaway was not a scam and that Mr. Wonderful had said on CNBC that he planned to give away some cryptocurrencies. It then provided a link that instructed respondents to first send their own digital assets to verify their wallet addresses, to receive the giveaway prizes. However, no funds were sent to the participants and the scammers made away with the funds sent.

Crypto giveaway scams are one of the most prevalent forms of scams in the industry. These often involve hacked accounts of famous people, politicians, celebrities, and companies that are used to promote fake giveaways. Scammers often impersonate well-known figures like Elon Musk, Michael Saylor, and CZ in order to promote their fraudulent schemes using fake accounts. These individuals, who are leaders in companies such as Tesla, MicroStrategy, and Binance, are commonly targeted.

The latest scam reportedly used the same website from a previous Tesla scam giveaway that contained the Tesla logo. The website also contained numerous grammatical errors. This type of fraudulent activity is extremely difficult to prevent as scammers use sophisticated tactics to gain access to victims’ accounts.

Fortunately, most of the time, the victims are able to recover their funds after the scam is uncovered. O’Leary, who has become a vocal proponent of Web3 technology, has revealed recently that he has lost almost $1 million to online scammers in 2020.

The incident highlights the need for people to be aware of the risks associated with investing in cryptocurrency and to be vigilant when it comes to protecting their accounts. It is important to remember that crypto giveaway scams are just one of the many types of fraudulent activities that exist in the industry and that investors should exercise caution when making financial decisions.

• Michael Saylor, the founder and former CEO of software firm MicroStrategy, recently invested about $42.8 million in bitcoin (BTC).
• The purchase was made with cash, at an average price of some $17,871 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses.
• The firm has also sold some of its crypto assets over the past week with the aim to optimize its taxes.

Michael Saylor, the founder and former CEO of software firm MicroStrategy, has recently demonstrated a bullish approach to bitcoin (BTC) with his latest investment of about $42.8 million in the top crypto. In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the business disclosed a purchase of about 2,395 bitcoins made with cash, at an average price of some $17,871 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses.

The purchase came after the firm sold some of its crypto assets over the past week with the aim to optimize its taxes, as indicated by the filing. On December 22, 2022, MacroStrategy sold approximately 704 bitcoins for cash proceeds of approximately $11.8 million, at an average price of approximately $16,776 per bitcoin, net of fees and expenses. MicroStrategy plans to carry back the capital losses resulting from this transaction against previous capital gains, to the extent such carrybacks are available under the federal income tax laws currently in effect, which may generate a tax benefit. On December 24, 2022, MacroStrategy acquired approximately 810 bitcoins for approximately $13.6 million in cash, at an average price of approximately $16,845 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses.

With the above-mentioned transactions, the business, together with its offshoots, expanded its bitcoin holdings by 2,500 bitcoins, from about 130,000 bitcoins as of October 31, 2022, to about 132,500 bitcoins as of December 27, 2022.

Michael Saylor has been an outspoken advocate of bitcoin as an investment option and has been investing in it through his company for some time now. In August 2020, MicroStrategy made its first major investment in bitcoin, when it purchased 21,454 BTC at an aggregate purchase price of $250 million. Since then, the firm has made more purchases, and as of December 27, 2022, its total bitcoin holdings stood at about 132,500 bitcoins, with an aggregate purchase price of about $2.39 billion.

Saylor has said that his company’s investment in bitcoin was an effort to protect and grow its treasury reserve assets, as he believes that the digital asset is a reliable store of value. With its latest investment in bitcoin, MicroStrategy has reiterated its support for the crypto asset, and may serve as an example for other companies looking to invest in digital assets.

•Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is scheduled to appear before a Manhattan federal court on January 3, 2023, after his arrest and extradition to the United States.
•U.S. federal regulators and prosecutors are bringing forward a total of eight criminal charges against Bankman-Fried.
•Bitcoin is currently trading near the FIB 0.618 at roughly $16,636 and has dropped by 2% over the last two days.

The crypto world has been abuzz this week with the news that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is scheduled to appear before a Manhattan federal court on January 3, 2023, after his arrest and extradition to the United States. The charges brought against Bankman-Fried are in relation to his failed FTX cryptocurrency exchange and the alleged fraud and money laundering of billions of dollars in customer funds.

US federal regulators and prosecutors are bringing forward a total of eight criminal charges against Bankman-Fried. His past associates, Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison of FTX and Alameda Research, respectively, have already pleaded guilty to charges such as securities fraud and money laundering. The crypto community was met with shock and dismay when Bankman-Fried was granted a $250 million bail to live with his parents in Palo Alto, with an electronic monitoring bracelet.

Meanwhile, trading activity has been relatively subdued over the holidays. Bitcoin is currently trading near the FIB 0.618 at roughly $16,636 and has dropped by 2% over the last two days. This is following its denial at the $16,900 FIB 0.5 confluence with the daily EMA 20 level. Should Bitcoin’s price support area between $16,400 and $16,600 hold, the next likely support is at around $16,100, which also acted as support back on November 24.

Overall, the crypto market is in a state of uncertainty and caution should be exercised when taking positions. The effects of Bankman-Fried’s court appearance on January 3, 2023 and the outcome of the criminal charges brought against him will have a lasting impact on the crypto industry. It remains to be seen what the future holds for the market and its investors, but one thing is certain: the crypto world will be watching closely.