Kraken user reports losing 1.6 BTC, new BitPay partnership introduces bitcoin tax solution, CoinJoins increasingly used for anonymity
Kraken User Complains on Reddit about Missing 1.6 BTC
Reddit user u/Fu_Man_Chu, who doubles as a Kraken user, recently complained about strange happenings on his Kraken account. In a r/Cryptocurrency subreddit post, u/Fu_Man_Chu stated that he found his account empty 24 hours after depositing 1.6 BTC.
u/Fu_Man_Chu also noticed 37 pages of unauthorized trades on his account. This led him to believe that a hacker had gained control of his account.
Interestingly, there were no withdrawals, transfers or notifications. The Kraken user backed his assertion with the following screenshots:
In all, the complainant suspected some internal foul play but hopes to get his bitcoins back.
Comments from other Reddit users attributed the incident to actions of hackers, user negligence or a money laundering scheme. Kraken is, however, yet to comment on the issue.
BitPay Partnership with Refundo to Allow Users to Receive Tax Refunds in Bitcoin
The Business Wire reported on a partnership between BitPay and Refundo aimed at allowing users to receive tax refunds via BitPay's payouts. BitPay facilitates blockchain payments worldwide whiles Refundo provides tax-related financial products. The partnership is centered on Refundo's CoinRT product.
The CoinRT product was designed to enable Refundo clients to receive bitcoin payout for tax refunds. According to Roger Chinchilla, the CEO of Refundo, the product will be beneficial to "clients without a traditional checking account, pay high check cashing fees and regularly send money internationally." He added that "CoinRT enables them to get Bitcoin quickly and easily for one flat fee.”
Bitpay is also thrilled to be the facilitators of the Bitcoin payouts for CoinRT.
Increasing Percentage of Bitcoin Transactions from Coinjoins
Using data from zk-SNARKs CTO Adam Fiscor, Longhash recently documented the increasing patronage of CoinJoins.
CoinJoins, also known as coin mixing or tumbling, involve the mixing of bitcoins from different users in a single transaction. Compared with normal bitcoin transactions, CoinJoins blur the connection between parties involved in a transaction. Hence, CoinJoins make the otherwise pseudonymous bitcoin transactions anonymous.
According to Longhash, the number of bitcoin transactions has tripled to 4.09% in a year. The rise in the number of mixed transactions may be due to user preference for bitcoin over privacy-focused coins.
Originally posted on Crypto Insider : https://cryptoinsider.com/kraken-user-reports-lose-1-6-btc-new-bitpay-partnership-introduces-bitcoin-tax-solution-coinjoins-increasingly-used-for-anonymity/