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Spend the evening with a BTC holder stunt turns scandalous after extortion hyperlink
A viral crypto influencer’s “spend the evening with BTC holders” stunt has taken a darkish flip after Chinese language media linked her profile to a real-life extortion case.
On March 25, Sina Finance reported that in 2024, a software program engineer in Chengdu was ambushed and robbed of 6 BTC by a legal gang posing as a feminine crypto dealer named “Bitcoin Cong’er.”
The group had allegedly lured the sufferer via an X profile that promised sexual favors after months of on-line communications. As soon as the sufferer agreed to satisfy at a high-end lodge in Chengdu, the perpetrators reportedly used fabricated proof to threaten the sufferer’s popularity, in the end extorting a 6 BTC switch.
Police are investigating the incident and have issued public warnings about related scams concentrating on crypto customers, in accordance with Sina Finance.
The report rapidly raised eyebrows as a result of simply days earlier, a Mandarin-speaking social media consumer going by BTCconger, previously generally known as LisaaBuilder, had gone viral for a strikingly related stunt.
On March 20, the account posted a message on X, urging customers to drop their Bitcoin addresses within the replies. She claimed she would “spend the evening” with anybody holding at the very least 0.1 BTC — no charges, no strings connected. She even described the notice as a “suicide letter,” stating that she not belonged to herself, however to all Bitcoin holders and believers. The tweet collected over 2 million views.
BTCconger doubled down, posting photographs and movies of herself apparently assembly up along with her followers, and flying to Bangkok. In a single tweet, she posted a selfie in a lodge mirror with a condom seen on the desk, claiming that somebody didn’t present up on the promised location and time. In one other video, she is seen sitting on a mattress with three males, studying and reciting the Bitcoin white paper, some sections in unison.
Reactions had been combined. Some X customers performed alongside and posted pockets addresses. Others referred to as it an entertaining and intelligent methodology to seize consideration. Some urged her to rethink for security causes, whereas a number of feminine customers criticized the submit for perpetuating damaging stereotypes about girls in crypto.
After the Sina Finance article surfaced, her marketing campaign got here below contemporary scrutiny because the report included a screenshot of one in every of her tweets.
In a live-streamed interview on March 26 with native content material creator Robert Lee, BTCconger denied any involvement within the Chengdu case. She said she is at the moment within the mainland in Shenzhen and argued that if she had been linked to against the law, she’d already be below arrest. She additionally identified that the extortion case occurred earlier in 2024, whereas her account solely rebranded from LisaaBuilder to BTCconger “a couple of days in the past.” She mentioned she has gathered notarized proof and plans to file a proper report back to defend herself.
BTS mother or father agency HYBE pulls the plug on blockchain subsidiary
HYBE, the Ok-pop powerhouse behind BTS, is reportedly scaling again its blockchain ambitions after a brief and unprofitable run. As reported by News1 on March 27, HYBE plans to soak up its blockchain subsidiary Binary Korea, successfully pulling again from direct involvement in Web3 ventures.
Binary Korea was launched in 2022 as a part of HYBE’s broader push into the digital creator financial system. The transfer adopted HYBE’s 2021 partnership with Upbit operator Dunamu, which included plans to subject BTS non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These plans had been in the end shelved following widespread backlash.
BTS-related merchandise already stood as a juggernaut with out blockchain gimmicks. From the sold-out McDonald’s meal in 2021 to the wildly common Map of the Soul tour merch — even after the tour was canceled as a result of pandemic — BTS merchandise have constantly generated hundreds of thousands in income. Spin-off strains like TinyTAN, animated characters based mostly on the group, have turn into standalone manufacturers, showing in every little thing from stationery and tech equipment to dwelling home equipment.
Nevertheless, the NFT announcement sparked a fierce backlash from members of the BTS fandom generally known as ARMY, who raised considerations about environmental influence and over-commercialization.
HYBE by no means launched BTS NFTs, although it moved ahead with different blockchain initiatives, together with a three way partnership with Dunamu within the US referred to as Levvels. That enterprise launched Momentica, an NFT platform that includes different HYBE artists — however notably excluding BTS. With out the group’s involvement, the platform failed to achieve significant traction.
Binary Korea posted simply 468,000 Korean received (about $350) in income in 2023, with a internet lack of 4.28 billion Korean received (about $3.2 million), in accordance with News1. One other HYBE platform, THEUS, additionally didn’t ship outcomes, regardless of a current Coinbase partnership geared toward integrating blockchain-based fan engagement instruments.
A HYBE spokesperson cited by the outlet downplayed the retreat and famous that the choice has not but been finalized.
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Japan proposes US collab to construct international token requirements
A brand new proposal from Japan is looking for the US and Japan to hitch forces on regulating tokenized property and shaping the worldwide Web3 financial system. The five-part plan, submitted to US Securities and Change Fee Commissioner Hester Peirce, outlines a path towards harmonized digital asset frameworks, mutual recognition of compliant choices and the creation of secure testing environments for blockchain startups.
The proposal, authored by Hinza Asif, president of the Asia Web3 Alliance Japan, recommends a joint US-Japan regulatory collaboration program with 5 core aims.
The letter, dated March 25 and addressed to Peirce in her capability as chair of the SEC’s Crypto Process Pressure, highlights the rising difficulties confronted by Japanese Web3 startups. Asif wrote that regardless of sturdy curiosity in blockchain and tokenization, from actual property to loyalty factors, many initiatives are paralyzed by authorized uncertainty and inconsistent tax and securities therapy.
Presently, Japan lacks a transparent framework for token choices, leaving startups vulnerable to regulatory overreach. In the meantime, the US has made progress via secure harbor discussions and efforts to outline digital asset classes. Asif mentioned this strategy might function a mannequin for worldwide collaboration.
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Circle expands USDC footprint in Asia
Circle’s USDC stablecoin is gaining momentum in Asia following two main developments in Japan and the Philippines.
The corporate introduced the March 26 launch of USDC in Japan on the SBI VC Commerce crypto change. The itemizing follows regulatory approval granted on March 4, when SBI VC Commerce turned the primary change in Japan licensed by the Monetary Providers Company to record USDC below the nation’s stablecoin regulatory framework.
Within the Philippines, Circle has partnered with GCash, the nation’s most generally used digital pockets, to carry USDC assist to its almost 100 million customers.
As GCash expands its monetary companies, discussions round a attainable preliminary public providing (IPO) proceed to generate buzz. Globe Telecom CEO Ernest Cu, whose agency has a stake in GCash via mother or father firm Mynt, confirmed that an IPO continues to be being thought-about in a February press convention. Nevertheless, he mentioned the corporate is aiming to drift a smaller share than the 20 p.c public minimal at the moment required by the Philippine Inventory Change and the native SEC.
Studies counsel GCash might goal a valuation of at the very least $8 billion, although Cu famous there is no such thing as a set timeline for a public itemizing. The SEC has voiced assist for a GCash IPO and is open to reviewing a proper request for exemption from the float requirement, doubtlessly easing the trail for the fintech big to go public.
Whereas USDC continues to develop in compliance-driven markets, its high rival, Tether’s USDT, is going through strain within the European Union, the place a number of exchanges have delisted the token as a result of new Markets in Crypto-Belongings (MiCA) regulation. Tether, nonetheless, is making strides of its personal and mentioned it’s in talks with a Large 4 accounting agency to conduct a long-awaited monetary audit.
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Yohan Yun
Yohan Yun is a multimedia journalist masking blockchain since 2017. He has contributed to crypto media outlet Forkast as an editor and has lined Asian tech tales as an assistant reporter for Bloomberg BNA and Forbes. He spends his free time cooking, and experimenting with new recipes.