The U.S. Department of Justice has seized about $6.5 million worth of bitcoin and USDt from the alleged crypto Ponzi scheme “Banana Fund,” following an investigation from the U.S. Secret Service.

Spanish cryptocurrency payments app and card issuer 2gether has revealed it won’t be immediately able to repay users affected by the $1.4 million hack it suffered on Friday, which saw hackers steal 26.79% of its total funds.

Cryptocurrency hedge fund Neural Capital has shut down after losing half its money since launching in 2017, and is now reportedly in the process of refunding investors' money, CoinDesk reports, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• U.S. Authorities Seize $6.5 Million in BTC and USDt From Alleged Ponzi Scheme
• Crypto Firm Hacked for $1.4 Million Offers to Reimburse Users With Native Tokens
• Crypto Hedge Fund Shuts Down After Losing Half Its Money

At the time of writing, bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $11,288.49 (0.88%) with a daily Top Tier volume of $3.59 bn. As for ether (ETH), it is trading at $394.60 (3.33%) with a daily Top Tier volume of $3.24 bn. The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index is currently tracking at 4,472.98 (0.95%).

U.S. Authorities Seize $6.5 Million in BTC and USDt From Alleged Ponzi Scheme

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized about $6.5 million worth of cryptocurrencies from the administrator the alleged Ponzi scheme known as the “Banana Fund,” following an investigation conducted by the U.S. Secret Service (USSS).

The investigation found the administrator of the Banana Fund used investor funds for personal trading in cryptocurrencies and used the gains to buy a home for himself. While accounts related to the Fund were registered to a residential address in Toledo, Spain, the administrator of the Banana Fund was identified as an unnamed foreign national in a complaint filed by the DOJ for the forfeiture of the funds.

The Secret Service recovered 482 bitcoins and 1.72 million USDt from the administrator of the alleged crypto Ponzi scheme, while at one point the Banana Fund was believed to have 557 BTC and 1.73 million USDt. In a statement, the DOJ clarified the USSS seized the funds:

"As a result, USSS executed a seizure warrant on those funds and commenced this action to begin returning these funds to the administrator's victims.”

The Banana Fund was originally promoted as a crowdfunding platform using bitcoin, but the DOJ alleges that the promised token marketplace never materialized. Instead, it “frequently” laundered the BTC invested in it at four different locations.

Crypto Firm Hacked for $1.4 Million Offers to Reimburse Users With Native Tokens

Spanish cryptocurrency payments app and card issuer 2gether has revealed it won’t be immediately able to repay users affected by the $1.4 million hack it suffered on Friday, which saw hackers steal 26.79% of its total funds.

In an announcement, the firm revealed it will struggle to reimburse users as talks with an unnamed investment group fell through over the weekend. The firm adds:

"We can assure you, with a great deal of chagrin, that if we could face this theft with our own funds, we would.”

2gether now plans to reimburse investors through its native 2GT tokens, an ERC-20 token that confers holders incentives and premium access. Users will receive the amount stolen in 2GT tokens at the price of just under $0.06 per token.

Crypto Hedge Fund Shuts Down After Losing Half Its Money

Cryptocurrency hedge fund Neural Capital has shut down after losing half its money since launching in 2017, and is now reportedly in the process of refunding investors' money, CoinDesk reports, citing three people familiar with the matter.

According to the news outlet the fund’s cryptoassets were liquidated in December and some cash is being held up in escrow longer than expected. The fund managed over $13 million last year after drawing investments of $250,000 or more from over 40 investors, including Greylock partner Hooman Radfar.

The fund withdrew its registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in December and stopped submitting obligatory filings with the regulator this year. It joins a plethora of other funds shutting down this year in the crypto space.

Metronome (MET) is the Daily Mover

This week’s Daily Mover featured asset is Metronome (MET), which was launched as a cryptocurrency seeking to establish itself as a long-term monetary system on the Ethereum network. MET aims to outlive other cryptocurrencies and optimize for self-governance through fully autonomous smart contracts. It offers advance payment features including mass pay, allowing users to send MET tokens to multiple addresses in one transaction, and supports decentralized finance projects.

The MET FCAS went up 25.82% in the last two weeks thanks to a 59.32% rise in User Activity. Developer Behavior went up 8.24% in the same period, while Market Maturity climbed 23.82%. It climbed so much after being listed on Professional Digital Currency Exchange PROBIT, and after being integrated with Coin Payments, a payment processor that allows businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments in over 180 countries.

Network activity shows that MET users bought over 580,000 tokens between July 29 and 30, helping its price rise above $0.1. This triggered smart contracts set in place set to trade MET on repeat, via flash loans that borrowed ETH from the Aave protocol, used Metronome’s autonomous converter to buy MET, and trade it on the Uniswap Protocol to pay back the loan on Aave with the profits. Each user made $3 per transaction, and kept on trading as the price kept moving up. In two weeks, MET’s price increased 46.27%.

Crypto.com Exchange is listing DAI at 50% OFF

Crypto.com Exchange is listing DAI on The Syndicate, where all Crypto.com Coin (CRO) stakers will be able to participate in a discounted sale event for 500,000 USD worth of DAI at 50% off. The event commenced on Tuesday, 4 August 6:00am UTC on the Crypto.com Exchange.

Allocation:

Each participant’s maximum amount of CRO that can be applied towards the listing event will depend on the amount of CRO Staked on the Crypto.com Exchange. 

Subscription: 

• Participants will be able to subscribe for DAI by contributing an amount of CRO tokens not exceeding their respective maximum allocation 
• Staked CRO tokens may not be used to subscribe for DAI in the listing event

Event Timeline:

• 4 Aug 6:00am UTC: Sales Begins (DAI/CRO subscription price fixed)
• 5 Aug 6:00am UTC: Sales Ends 
• 6 Aug 6:00am UTC: Acceptance Period Begins (unused CRO will be refunded immediately if you reject the allocation)
• 7 Aug 6:00am UTC: Acceptance Period Ends (CRO refunds will be distributed for forfeited participants)

Sign up for the Crypto.com Exchange, stake CRO and participate in the DAI sale now!

 

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