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Scammers can even make money from people hungry for FAN fiction. This is my takeaway from a fake website that tried to sell computer-generated fan fiction audiobooks, which are content created by EVERYONE based on existing works. “Fifty Shades of Grey” started out as a Twilight fanfic, for example.
This scam website appeared in the wake of the popular AO3 fanfiction website, Archive of our Own, which was down for approximately two to four weeks after a “security incident.” People are hungry for stories and are seemingly willing to click on anything. Luckily for the world, the fraudulent website has been taken down.
Future
- How criminals are rushing to launder stolen crypto
- Why gold prices are at their lowest in a year
- The origin of fears around variable rate property loans
News we watch
How to launder SO MUCH cryptocurrency
What you need to know: North Korea loves stealing cryptocurrencies. They love it! It has become an important part of their economy. Last week, a state-sponsored hacking group called “TraderTraitor” executed the largest cryptocurrency heist in history, stealing $6.43 billion from Binance, a massive cryptocurrency exchange. $2.85 billion was frozen or seized, according to Elliptic, a crypto analytics and compliance company. But $3.35 billion remains tied to the group. “TraderTraitor” is actively trying to launder this money (yes, crypto is surprisingly traceable). A large portion of the stolen funds are in stablecoins, which can be frozen. Anything that isn’t already frozen, the hacker group is trying to launder, and FAST. So how do they do it?
“TraderTraitor” attempts to quickly turn Stablecoin into Ether, a crypto that is harder to freeze
PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
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PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
How do criminals launder these assets? : Laundering that much crypto is NOT simple. Intelligence company Elliptic explained how “TraderTraitor” is trying to quickly protect its new loot. First, they want to turn any Stablecoin into assets that cannot be frozen, like Ether (ETH). From there, the group uses automation to create LOTS of new wallets to screen small amounts of crypto, so as not to raise alarms for moving assets worth a billion dollars. From there, launderers want to move the money through networks like Ethereum to Bitcoin and then withdraw it from a mixed pool with a set of assets owned by other people. The goal: to blur the origins of crypto. “TraderTraitor” is evolving quickly. On Tuesday, Elliptic reported that the group had completed more than 40,000 transactions, creating a new wallet every 25 seconds.
An interesting detail: Binance has promised to take care of its customers, but investors have already withdrawn billions of dollars from the exchange.
Why gold prices are weird
What you need to know: This week, gold fell below $4,000 an ounce after reaching nearly $5,600 an ounce in January. It’s generally considered a safe haven, which is why investors poured money into it earlier this year. As you know, things have been a bit volatile, from the war in Iran to the criminal investigation against the chairman of the Federal Reserve. But today, economic uncertainty persists, right? The war with Iran rages. So why is the price of gold falling? I asked my question to Jeff Guo, co-host of Planet Money to find out. I asked him: Could gold be falling because Treasury yields are rising? This could mean there are MORE reliable ways to make money.
Why is gold falling?: Our answer, courtesy of Jeff Guo!
Jeff: I think you’re right: rising Treasury yields are the cause. As you know, gold tends to be considered a “safe” asset and a hedge against inflation; but the problem is that gold does not earn any income/interest on its own. Meanwhile, you can buy a 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) bond right now that pays income above and beyond inflation. Of course, the war in Iran is a source of political instability that could push investors into gold. But so far the main effect of the war appears to be the rise in the price of oil. And rising oil prices are one of the factors driving up interest rates, making bonds more attractive relative to gold.
THANK YOU JEFF!
What the elections mean for data centers – Washington Post
What you need to know: People don’t want data centers and the election gave us the numbers to prove it. Apparently, voters have BANNED or placed restrictions on data centers in at least 38 jurisdictions across the country. The ballot measure numbers were fascinating. It’s also worth noting that Texas’ new governor, Democrat Gina Hinojosa, ran on an agenda to rein in data centers. She called for a moratorium on new projects and advocated for more aggressive protections for both taxpayers and the environment. No Democrat has been governor of Texas in more than 30 years.
Why it’s important: All this local opposition could actually impact what big tech wants to do. Local opposition has already made a difference in the data center world. S&P Global tracked projects nationwide and found that more than 146 of them had been delayed or canceled as of early August. 75% of them were linked to the local opposition. Several big tech companies are abandoning contract provisions that have sparked public anger — those that keep the early phases of data center projects secret, for example. We will keep an eye on this.
The indicator of the day
The return of variable rate real estate credit
If you are buying a home, you have a choice about what type of mortgage to get. “Fixed rate” mortgages have become dominant in the United States. “Adjustable rate” mortgages (ARMs) make up only five percent of mortgages here. They were much more popular until the 2008 financial crisis showed that variable rates can be risky! In 2008, a Colorado man saw his interest rate increase to NINE percent. He and his wife owed more than the house was worth.
“I’m on the Titanic, watching it sink. I don’t even have a lifeboat,” he told NPR at the time.
But today, the adjustable rate mortgage is gaining popularity again. They represented 11% of new mortgage applications, the highest level in more than a year. What is happening?
LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE
The origins of this story: The show Planet Money actually grew out of a collaborative story between NPR and This American Life called The Giant Pool of Money explaining the financial crisis of 2008. The episode travels through the housing crash by following a chain of people connected to the market collapse. This includes a guy (not the one from Colorado) who took out an adjustable rate mortgage and things did NOT end well for him. Her mortgage rate was adjusted upward by more than $2,000 per month due to her variable rate.
Rest of the week
Why is Pakistan moving closer to the crypto industry?
Will AI take my job? Ask an economist!
Can Anthropic make enough money to justify its value?
During our free time
Producer Angel Carreras reads the DCs Absolute Martian Manhunter
I swear I’ve read real books and articles from the NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research), but I have to recommend another comic: DC’s Absolute Martian Manhunter.
Instead of the cartoon alien who loves Oreos and defeats other evil aliens, this series turns John Jones (FKA J’onn J’onnz) into an FBI agent who survives a suicide bombing and merges with an alien entity. What follows is a psychedelic, politically charged comic, deeply in tune with modern anxieties from the police state and climate fear to the slow erosion of the social contract and xenophobia.
It seems heavy, but it’s so inventive with the medium (hold this page up to the sun! cut these pieces from the next page!) that you won’t be able to put it down.
Gn bussni
