On November 24th, Circle, a leading provider of financial technology and the creator of the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, tweeted a warning about an ongoing phishing activity that aims to trick users into sending USDC tokens to malicious addresses.
According to the statement:
The scammers are pretending to be from @centre_io. There is not a new version of USDC in the marketplace. Please do not fall for this.
However, a recent study by the Interisle Consulting Group shows that phishing is at its peak. So far this year, there have been over one million phishing attacks alone – a 61% increase from last year. Not only does it represent a significant threat to many users out there, but it also poses real consequences for companies.
Moreover, Phishing attacks targeting wallets and exchanges specifically have increased dramatically in the cryptocurrency space. Phishers successfully attack virtual currency using methods they have used against traditional financials.
The number of cryptocurrency-related phishing attempts rose by 257% yearly. Crypto wallets were the most often targeted companies, and over 80% of the generic top-level domains (gTLD) identified for phishing were fraudulently registered.
StraitsX’s Partnership With Circle
The company also issued a press release on November 24th, announcing that to grow their network, Circle Internet Financial and StraitsX, a Southeast Asian payment system, have teamed up. Through the StraitsX platform, users may swap USDC and deposit it into their personal or company accounts.
The press release said:
With USDC being one of the fastest-growing stablecoins in the world and a widely requested asset from partners on StraitsX, the integration aims to better serve its business, corporate, institutional and retail users.
As of November 24th, 2022, over 20 million USDC has been traded through this new exchange, “the StraitsX OTC desk,” and the strong demand for digital assets on the platform has tripled what it was in 2021, according to the press release.
Aymeric Salley, Head of StraitsX, also asserts that this relationship is the first time they have worked directly with another stablecoin issuer, and they look forward to additional partnerships with similar-minded companies like Circle.
Vice President of Asia Pacific for Circle, Raagulan Pathy said:
We are excited to partner with StraitsX and we look forward to them offering the stability of USDC to their customers in the Asia Pacific region and beyond.
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