TL;DR: Welcome to In Case You Missed It (ICYMI), a daily crypto news update. Monero site hacked to distribute malware binaries. PayPal CEO explains the reasons why they withdrew from Libra. Bitcoin could be greener than previously thought. Einstein exchange owes $12 million to users and creditors. Venezuelan president approves new exchange, Valeven, and SideShift.ai opens to a broader audience.



Monero Site Hacked: Attacker Replaced Official Binaries

The official Monero site, where users download wallets for holding the privacy-oriented cryptocurrency, was hacked and the wallet binaries were substituted for infected files. These new files were programmed to take the private seed of anyone opening a new wallet, sending it to the attacker, who then could take control of the funds available. At least one user reported having lost $7,000 as a result. The modified binaries were available on the site for two hours, according to reports. The situation is being investigated by the Monero team.

Paypal CEO Talks About Withdrawing From Libra

PayPal CEO, Dan Schulman, talked about the reasons his company withdrew from the Libra Association, the group of companies backing Facebook’s crypto initiative. Schulman stated they thought putting their focus on their own roadmap would yield them more “financial inclusion” than allocating more resources toward Libra, while pointing out how regulatory scrutiny did not spook them as was assumed.

Bitcoin Appears Greener Than Previously Thought

The environmental effect of Bitcoin mining may not be as bad as described before, according to a new study on the subject. Susanne Köhler and Massimo Pizzol at Aalborg University in Denmark discovered other studies took China as a whole uniform entity to account for bitcoin carbon emissions when every location of the country has a different footprint. Sichuan, for example, powers miners through hydroelectricity.

Canadian Exchange Einstein Owes Users $12 Million

Another cryptocurrency exchange from Canada, Einstein, has gone insolvent, leaving debt of more than $12 million to both users and employees. Grant Thornton, the firm acting as interim receiver, certified the exchange only has $34K worth of assets remaining. The exchange is also facing lawsuits that demand hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bitcoin. This is the second case of a Canadian exchange becoming insolvent this year after the QuadrigaCX case.

Venezuelan President Converts Payment Company to Petro Exchange

Valeven, a third party payment processor, received permission to exchange petros, the national cryptocurrency. Now, every business, some 27,000, linked to Valeven will be able to receive Petros as payment for goods and services. This alliance will be key for retirees and pensioners to use petro they will receive in Christmas bonuses. Payments for passports and other designated documents will be also paid in petros only.

SideShift.ai Opens Registration for Everyone

ACCESS CODES REMOVED 🎈 Following rigorous testing, SideShift AI has removed the requirement of ACCESS CODES. RESULT: The SideShift AI Affiliate Program is fully activated. Earn a cut of fees when a USER visits your REFERRAL LINK >> https://t.co/bg9HYaoKaB ACCESS GRANTED. pic.twitter.com/mxcgfHqr99 — SideShift AI CRLF (@sideshiftai) November 20, 2019

Sideshift.ai, a BCH-friendly swap cryptocurrency service, abandoned the semi-closed beta stage to start admitting everyone interested in testing its platform. Now anyone can use Sideshift without any KYC measures. The exchange also announced it was revamping its affiliate program, giving top referrers the chance to earn SAI, the exchange’s token, in every referred trade.

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