Over the past 24 hours, Aptos's APT/USD price rose 5.52% to $12.98. This continues its positive trend over the past week where it has experienced a 9.0% gain, moving from $12.16 to its current price. As it stands right now, the coin's all-time high is $19.92.

The chart below compares the price movement and volatility for Aptos over the past 24 hours (left) to its price movement over the past week (right). The gray bands are Bollinger Bands, measuring the volatility for both the daily and weekly price movements. The wider the bands are, or the larger the gray area is at any given moment, the larger the volatility.

The trading volume for the coin has increased 13.0% over the past week while the overall circulating supply of the coin has increased 1.06% to over 178.56 million. The current market cap ranking for APT is #31 at $2.33 billion.

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This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.

2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Cryptocurrency Aptos Up More Than 5% In 24 hours - Benzinga

What is the Howey test?

The Howey test is a legal test used in the United States to determine whether a transaction qualifies as an investment contract and, thus, is considered a security under federal law. The test was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. (1946), and it has since been applied in numerous cases to determine whether various financial arrangements and offerings constitute securities.

According to the Howey test, a transaction must contain an investment of funds in a group venture with the expectation that all gains will come from group efforts. A transaction is deemed a security if it satisfies these requirements, in which case it is subject to federal securities laws and regulations.

The test involves three key criteria that must be met in order for a transaction to qualify as a security, as discussed below:

The first criterion is a financial investment, which means that participants in the transaction must be risking their own money. This comprises both financial and in-kind investments.

The second requirement is a shared enterprise, which denotes that the financial success of the investors is somehow connected. This can be proven by providing evidence of the investors resource pooling or reliance on a third party to manage their investments.

The third criterion is an expectation of profits solely from the efforts of others, which means that the investors are relying on someone else to generate a return on their investment. This could include, for example, profits generated by a third-party manager or profits generated by the efforts of a particular group or organization.

The implications of the Howey test for cryptocurrency are significant, as the test provides a framework for determining whether a particular cryptocurrency offering should be classified as a security under U.S. law. If a cryptocurrency offering meets the criteria outlined in the Howey test, it may be considered a security and subject to federal securities laws.

This has important ramifications for crypto businesses and investors since breaking federal securities laws can result in penalties, legal action and reputational harm to the business. To make sure they are in compliance with federal securities laws, cryptocurrency companies should carefully consider the Howey test before creating their offerings.

Related: Crypto and securities: New interpretation of US Howey test gaining ground

Tokens that do not pass the Howey test are considered utility tokens that provide investors with access to a future product or service or can be redeemed for discounted fees.While utility tokens are typically not considered securities, the SEC has suggested that the presence of a utility token framework does not necessarily mean that a project is exempt from being classified as a security.

Ultimately, the implications of the Howey test for cryptocurrency will depend on how regulators choose to apply the test in practice and how cryptocurrency companies choose to structure their offerings to comply with federal securities law.

Cryptocurrency companies need to be aware of the federal securities laws in the United States to ensure compliance with them. Here are some key things to keep in mind:

Therefore, cryptocurrency companies need to be aware of and comply with federal securities laws in the United States. This includes understanding whether their tokens are considered securities, disclosing the use of funds, and complying with registration and disclosure requirements.

See original here:
What are the Howey test and its implications for cryptocurrency? - Cointelegraph

Mar 17, 2023Ravie LakshmananCryptocurrency / Mobile Security

Copycat websites for instant messaging apps like Telegram and WhatApp are being used to distribute trojanized versions and infect Android and Windows users with cryptocurrency clipper malware.

"All of them are after victims' cryptocurrency funds, with several targeting cryptocurrency wallets," ESET researchers Luk tefanko and Peter Strek said in a new analysis.

While the first instance of clipper malware on the Google Play Store dates back to 2019, the development marks the first time Android-based clipper malware has been built into instant messaging apps.

"Moreover, some of these apps use optical character recognition (OCR) to recognize text from screenshots stored on the compromised devices, which is another first for Android malware," the Slovak cybersecurity firm added.

The attack chain begins with unsuspecting users clicking on fraudulent ads on Google search results that lead to hundreds of sketchy YouTube channels, which then direct them to lookalike Telegram and WhatsApp websites.

What's novel about the latest batch of clipper malware is that it's capable of intercepting a victim's chats and replacing any sent and received cryptocurrency wallet addresses with addresses controlled by the threat actors.

Another cluster of clipper malware makes use of OCR to find and steal seed phrases by leveraging a legitimate machine learning plugin called ML Kit on Android, thereby making it possible to empty the wallets.

A third cluster is designed to keep tabs on Telegram conversations for certain Chinese keywords related to cryptocurrencies, both hard-coded and received from a server, and if so, exfiltrate the complete message, along with the username, group or channel name, to a remote server.

Lastly, a fourth set of Android clippers come with capabilities to switch the wallet address as well as harvest device information and Telegram data such as messages and contacts.

The rogue Android APK package names are listed below -

ESET said it also found two Windows-based clusters, one which is engineered to swap wallet addresses and a second group that distributes remote access trojans (RATs) in place of clippers to gain control of infected hosts and perpetrate crypto theft.

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All the analyzed RAT samples are based on the publicly available Gh0st RAT, barring one, which employs more anti-analysis runtime checks during its execution and uses the HP-socket library to communicate with its server.

It's also worth pointing out that these clusters, despite following an identical modus operandi, represent disparate sets of activity likely developed by different threat actors.

The campaign, like a similar malicious cyber operation that came to light last year, is geared towards Chinese-speaking users, primarily motivated by the fact that both Telegram and WhatsApp are blocked in the country.

"People who wish to use these services have to resort to indirect means of obtaining them," the researchers said. "Unsurprisingly, this constitutes a ripe opportunity for cybercriminals to abuse the situation."

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Lookalike Telegram and WhatsApp Websites Distributing Cryptocurrency Stealing Malware - The Hacker News

Cryptos Energy-Intensive Process

But why is the crypto industry so energy-intensive? Some cryptocurrencies rely on something called proof-of-work mechanisms to validate transactions. This is done by crypto miners, who use computers to solve mathematical problems to monitor and validate new crypto transactions on block chains, the public ledgers which maintain a record of all crypto transactions. The aim of each miner is to solve these mathematical equations before others so that they can be paid out a set number of cryptocurrency for their work.

In the race against other miners, crypto mining operations require a vast amount of real-world energy both to run the computer processors and to cool them down. The electrical energy required to complete a single transaction for Bitcoin, the worlds most popular cryptocurrency, could power the average U.S. household for nearly 27 days and has a carbon footprint equal to nearly one million VISA card transactions.

Such massive energy demands have led to crackdowns all over the world as countries institute regulations that address both the energy and climate issues posed by crypto mining facilities.

For more than a decade, the United States and China were the major locations for crypto mining companies, accounting for 50 to 80 percent of all crypto mining. But starting in 2020, China clamped down. While Chinese authorities sought to regulate all cryptocurrency in the country, illegal crypto mining activity was specifically targeted due to its disorderly nature and disruption of the countrys carbon mitigation goals.

Meanwhile, Iran recently banned mining for four months after major power outages were allegedly caused by unlicensed mining operations. And Sweden has urged the EU to ban or heavily regulate cryptocurrency mining in order to reach the Paris Agreements targets regarding carbon emissions.

In the mad rush to move centers from China and other locations tamping down on crypto mining, many operations began to look for haven elsewhere. The ideal environment for crypto mining is a cold place with cheap, subsidized electricity and poor regulation. Enter Kazakhstan, an authoritarian country which provides subsidized energy to pacify its population and influential oligarchs.

Initially, this looked like a win-win. The Kazakh government actively courted crypto mining companies to the country, and crypto mining companies thrived in Kazakhstans cheap energy market. Within a short period of time, Kazakhstan became the worlds second-biggest host country for crypto mining. But by the end of 2021, mining operations made up an alarming seven percent of Kazakhstans entire energy generating capacity. The countrys outdated power grid, which still heavily relies on post-Soviet infrastructure, was deeply strained.

In 2022, this all came to a head. The increased demand tipped the grid over and power shortages led to localized blackouts in parts of the country, exacerbating existing tensions over corruption, inequality and the rising cost of fuel. In January, a poorly planned sharp increase in subsidized liquid natural gas prices led to mass protests across the country. The ten-day-long protest led to more than 200 deaths and nearly 10,000 arrests.

Within weeks, the government cut crypto miners off from the national grid, bringing the boom to an abrupt end. In the immediate term, dozens of mining operations shut down. Add to the mix a new law limiting the amount of electricity crypto miners can use, and many international crypto miners have moved on or are contemplating moving on.

In some cases, crypto mining companies are turning to renewable energy sources to overcome tensions with electrical grids. This is driven partly by requests from states, such as Quebec and New York, which have temporarily paused all new mining operations unless they are powered by renewables. The hope is that deploying renewables may help to stabilize vulnerable energy grids and offset some of the carbon emissions produced by crypto mining.

But crypto companies are also reading the room. Over 200 companies and individuals signed the Crypto Climate Accord, an effort to move the entire industry to net-zero emissions by 2030. However, the extent to which renewable energy is powering crypto mining and thereby reducing its environmental impact is up for debate.

Even with these gestures toward renewable energy, studies have found that the industry is trending toward environmental unsustainability. Right now, cryptocurrency produces slightly less climate damage per dollar created than burning gasoline.

While policymakers and crypto companies recognize minings impact on energy systems and carbon emissions, there has been little to no reflection regarding its impact on water resources. Yet, water is used in all phases of energy production and crypto mining is both directly and indirectly dependent on water.

Most directly, crypto mining often pumps water through its facilities to cool down computer processing systems. But energy systems rely on water in some way to produce energy, and crypto minings immense demand for energy correlates to an increased demand for water. This is clearest in the case of hydropower, where water is used to generate electricity. However, even coal plants use water to extract, wash and sometimes even transport coal.

In addition, electricity that directly powers mining operations may also impact local water. At thermal power plants, water is withdrawn from rivers or lakes to cool down the plant. Both the withdrawal process and the warmed water released back into the environment harms fish and wildlife and has a negative effect on water quality. Rising water temperatures can also lead to more organisms that drive algal blooms, leading to toxic conditions in local waterways.

This is concerning, as some of the most popular destinations for crypto mining and those that may be the next destinations in the face of increasing regulations are often water scarce and vulnerable to increasing tensions over the resource.

In Central Asia, a notoriously water scarce region, water has become a highly contested and strategic resource since the fall of the Soviet Union. Central Asia is even prone to conflict over water: As recently as 2021, water tensions led to violent clashes on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, which resulted in the death of more than 40 people and displacement of 30,000 people on the Kyrgyz side.

Countries such as Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan face added water challenges. The two major water sources in the region, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, are controlled by upstream neighbors Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Thus, water-scarce countries partake in complex transboundary water agreements that trade energy, such as oil and natural gas, for water access from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. If energy isnt readily available because of domestic demands, then energy-for-water swaps may be in jeopardy.

Despite this, Central Asian countries continue to negotiate energy-water swaps, including in 2022 when Kazakhstan was grappling with its energy crisis and Kyrgyzstan dealt with climate-related drought. In a clear sign of cooperation, in January of this year, after nearly a decade, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan agreed on a roadmap agreement to build a hydropower dam on Kyrgyzstan's Naryn River, Kambar-Ata-1 Mega Dam.

Certain states and countries once friendly to crypto mining will continue to adopt new restrictions in an attempt to limit carbon emissions and hedge negative energy impacts. Meanwhile, crypto miners will continue to seek out new opportunities and move to locations that provide cheap and readily available energy and will target countries where weak governance and corruption may make regulations less likely.

Crypto mining companies are already seeking out new frontiers, including other nations in Central Asia and parts of Africa, such as a new projectin Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. These sorts of pushes do little to ameliorate worries of energy-water nexus conflicts.

In 2022, the White House released a report which determined there is a need to regulate crypto minings impact on energy demands. Further, the White Houses 2022 Comprehensive Framework for Responsible Development of Digital Assets may be a starting place for enabling policymakers to address the issue of crypto mining above and beyond energy issues.

First, government entities must be tasked with tracking the environmental impacts of crypto mining. This may lead to more robust and comparable performance standards

Second, given the knock-on effects of national regulations, there must be some form of global governance on the issue to prevent crypto miners from simply seeking out new regions with accessible energy resources and poor regulation. One avenue for achieving this is through increased collaboration across global enforcement bodies, such as the Egmont Group, as well as information sharing and capacity building. International standard-setting bodies including the G7, G20, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Financial Stability Board, the Financial Action Task Force, and the International Organization for Standardization must also play a role.

Finally, crypto mining continues to expand its overall share in the United States in the wake of both the Chinese and Kazakh governments moves to regulate it. If the issue of crypto mining is to be addressed holistically, the United States must make good on its intention to play a leading role in this work.

Kayly Ober is a senior program officer working on climate, environment and conflict issues at USIP.Chris Collins is a senior program assistant on the policy, learning and strategy team at USIP

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Where Cryptocurrency, Water and Conflict Collide - United States Institute of Peace