Good Morning Crypto Enthusiasts!

Glad to have you back for another edition of the UseTheBitcoin.com newsletter.

1. KuCoin Indicted for AML Violations: The U.S. Justice Department has indicted KuCoin and its founders for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

2. NFT Game 'Munchables' Hacked: Ethereum-based NFT game 'Munchables' fell victim to a $62 million exploit, prompting response efforts from the project team and the blockchain community. Analysts traced the exploit to developer manipulation of the protocol's contract.

3. Visa Token Service Surpasses 1 Billion Tokens: Visa Token Service (VST) surpassed 1 billion tokens served in the Asia-Pacific region, enhancing digital payment security and privacy. VST's adoption has led to substantial growth in the market, with over $2 billion generated in 2023.

4. Solana Integrates Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol: Solana integrated Circle's cross-chain transfer protocol (CCTP), enabling native swapping of USDC tokens across different blockchain ecosystems.

5. 💡Feature of the Day - Panasonic Collaborate with Jasmy: Panasonic partnered with Jasmy to develop a Web3 platform for IoT data management, prioritizing secure data storage and user-controlled access.

6. 🫨 What’s Buzzing? Have you heard about the latest AVAX play-to-airdrop game BloodLoop? Learn everything about it below or read the whole UseTheBitcoin’s latest article “BloodLoop ($BLS) Play-To-Airdrop Guide & Pre-Sale”

   
   All this and more in today’s headlines!

📰 News Highlights:

🔍 KuCoin Indicted for AML Violations [Source][Source][Source][Source][Source]

The United States Justice Department has unsealed an indictment against cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin and its founders Chun Gan and Ke Tang, charging them with conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and violating the Bank Secrecy Act. The indictment alleges that KuCoin willfully failed to maintain an Anti-Money Laundering program, allowing the exchange to be used for illicit financial activities.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams emphasized KuCoin's deliberate concealment of substantial U.S. user activity, leveraging its sizable customer base to become one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The Department of Justice's criminal charges coincide with civil enforcement actions by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, further alleging multiple violations of regulatory frameworks.

KuCoin has responded to the allegations, assuring users of the safety of their assets while indicating ongoing investigations with legal advisors.

Despite these assurances, KuCoin's native token (KCS) experienced a 12% decline, reflecting market concerns following the indictment.

🎮 NFT Game 'Munchables' Exploited [Source][Source]

Munchables, an NFT game built on the Ethereum Layer-2 platform Blast, fell victim to a $62 million exploit. The attack saw nearly 17,500 ETH siphoned from the game's protocol, prompting immediate response efforts from the Munchables team and the blockchain community.

Analysts identified the attacker's wallet address and traced the exploit to a developer's manipulation of the protocol's contract shortly before launch. Concerns over the integrity of the project led to calls for intervention from Blast, with some advocating for a rollback of the blockchain to mitigate losses.

While discussions on intervention continue, the incident underscores the challenges faced by decentralized platforms in ensuring security and mitigating vulnerabilities.

💳 Visa Token Service Surpasses 1 Billion Tokens [Source]

Visa Token Service (VST) achieved a significant milestone, surpassing 1 billion tokens served in the Asia-Pacific region. The service, launched in 2014, facilitates secure digital payments by replacing traditional card numbers with unique tokens, enhancing privacy and security for consumers.

VST's adoption has contributed to a substantial uplift in the Asia-Pacific market, with more than $2 billion generated in 2023 alone. Its implementation streamlines cross-border payments and international travel, offering consumers a seamless and secure payment experience.

🔄 Solana Integrates Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol [Source]

Circle's cross-chain transfer protocol (CCTP) has integrated with Solana, enabling native swapping of USDC tokens between different blockchain ecosystems. The partnership enhances interoperability within the Solana ecosystem, allowing developers to seamlessly exchange USDC tokens across multiple networks.

CCTP's integration with Solana marks a significant step towards bridging decentralized networks and facilitating frictionless asset transfers.

With support from various Solana ecosystem players, including Wormhole and Solend Protocol, CCTP expands accessibility to digital assets and fosters collaboration across blockchain platforms.

💡 Feature of the Day: 

🔒 Panasonic Collaborate with Jasmy [Source][Source]

Tech giant Panasonic has joined forces with Jasmy to develop a Web3 platform for connecting personal data in the Internet-of-Things (IoT) landscape.

Leveraging Jasmy's Personal Data Locker, the platform prioritizes secure data storage and user-controlled access, enhancing processing efficiency and response times.

The collaboration reflects a strategic shift towards decentralized data management, empowering users with greater control over their digital identities.

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🫨 What’s Buzzing?:

🩸 BloodLoop ($BLS) Play-To-Airdrop Guide & Pre-Sale

💻 What Is🩸BloodLoop?

BloodLoop is a 5v5 third-person hero shooter game leveraging Web3 technology. Closed beta launched in late 2023; full release planned for 2025. More info on official website and socials.

💰 4 Ways To Get $BLS Tokens

1. Buying IGO Rounds: Participate on Seedify, staking 500 SFUND for a Tier 1 allocation.

2. Stake S.E.M. Capsule NFT: Earn points daily for BLS airdrops, rarity affects points.

3. Referring People: Qualify for a share of the 200,000 BLS referral reward pool.

4. Daily Energy Mint: Complete Discord server quests to collect Sesame points for airdrop program tickets.

⚠️ Reminders

• Active participation required for staking; complete quests in Discord server.

• Claim username and register on website for referral code and testing game.

• Details on referral rewards unknown; rewards based on invites.

• Daily Energy Mint required for Battle Pass eligibility in airdrop program.

To get the whole gist of everything BloodLoop related, read UseTheBitcoin’s latest article “BloodLoop ($BLS) Play-To-Airdrop Guide & Pre-Sale”

😂 Crypto Meme of the Day: 

And that’s it for this today.
See you all tomorrow’s edition!

Jonathan Gibson
UseTheBitcoin.com