Over 20 cryptocurrency hacking attacks led to a loss of $176 million in the month of June 2024, according to an analytics firm.

This year, the crypto market saw some signs of revival after the US SEC approved BTC and ETH ETFs in January.

In the subsequent months, the crypto sector valuation rose from 1.76 trillion in February to its current market cap of 2.32 trillion.

Hackers targeting the crypto sector to mint profits have been constantly on the lookout for victims, as per various research reports.

PeckShield’s Findings

Btcturk was the biggest cryptocurrency-related hacking event in June, according to a report by crypto analytics firm PeckShield.

In an official statement, Btcturk had announced that the attackers managed to access hot wallets, leading to uncontrolled withdrawals.

While BtcTurk had said that the financial loss from this incident amounted to EUR 51 million or $54.7 million, PeckShield estimates that the figure was much higher and somewhere around $100.25 million.

The hack of Lykke, a free to trade crypto exchange, was named the second biggest crypto hack in June, according to the firm.

This attack is projected to have resulted in a loss of $22 million.

Both, BtcTurk and Lykke are centralised exchanges which operate as government-controlled intermediaries between buyers and sellers of digital assets.

Wema Bank has charged stakeholders to prioritise digital empowerment for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as a measure for championing a sustainable MSME ecosystem.

This was disclosed at the International MSME Day and MSME Awards Night 2024, a twofold event organised by the federal government through the Office of the Vice President in commemoration of World MSME Day 2024, which was held over the weekend.

Tagged, “Call to Action: Provision of Sustainable Single-Digit Loans for MSMEs,” the event proffered sustainable financial solutions to provide affordable loans and funding for MSMEs, ensuring easy accessibility and availability.

Tunde Mabawonku, the Bank’s Executive Director of Retail and Digital Business, who represented the MD/CEO of Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni, emphazised the need to prioritize technology and digital empowerment, complementing capacity development, financial empowerment, and collaborative efforts to build a supportive ecosystem for MSMEs to thrive.

“At Wema Bank, our approach embodies the saying ‘Give a man fish, he will come back, but teach a man to fish, he will learn to fend for himself and others.’ Technology and digital are the future, and intelligence is here to stay.

“What we are doing for these MSMEs is beyond providing the finances they need. We are also focusing on empowering them with relevant and transferable digital skills to ensure they are not left behind in the digital evolution,” he said.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has threatened to sanction Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) for rejecting old and small denominations of the United States of America Dollars.

In a circular issued by the Ag. Director of Currency Operations Department of CBN, with reference: COD/DIR/INT/CIR/001/017, the apex bank said its market intelligence had revealed the continued rejection of the affected Dollar notes, which it described as unacceptable.

This comes three years after the apex bank gave a similar warning.

Back in 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria ordered Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Bureau De Change (BDC) operators to accept from their customers old and lower denominations of US dollars as legal tender or face sanctions.

The CBN directive was contained in a circular signed by its Director for Currency Operations Department, Mr Ahmed Umar.

At the time, Umar said in his statement that the apex bank had been faced with complaints of the rejection of old/lower denomination US dollar deposits in the banks, adding that the CBN would sanction any of the banks or forex dealers, who failed to accept such denominations from their customers.