Hello as always, and welcome to today’s edition of Overbit News.
In a strange turn of events, the United States Justice Department reported Monday that US investigators had recovered millions of dollars in Bitcoin that they believe was paid in ransom to hackers whose attack caused a critical East Coast pipeline suspension last month.
Colonial Pipeline, the company in question, paid the ransom in Bitcoins on the same day it was sought by DarkSide, a ransomware creator that licenses its software for a fee or a part of the revenue. Now, according to reports, the US government has successfully collected roughly 63.7 Bitcoins out of 75 (about $4.4 million) paid by Colonial Pipeline.
“The Department of Justice has discovered and recovered the bulk of the ransom Colonial paid to the DarkSide network in the aftermath of last month’s ransomware assault,” stated Lisa Monaco, US deputy attorney general, at a news briefing. Monaco noted that the funds were recovered by the department’s newly formed Ransomware and Digital Extortion Task Force.
While many people think of bitcoin as outside the law, this story out of the United States certainly shows how Bitcoin falls well within the legal boundaries, at least in America.
Closing out today, we’re covering how Bitcoin’s Biggest Corporate Backer Expects $285 Million Loss After Crypto Crash—But Wants To Raise $400 Million In Debt To Buy More in our next story of the day.
Following Bitcoin’s massive crash last month, business analytics firm MicroStrategy, the cryptocurrency’s most significant corporate owner, warned Monday that it expects to lose at least $284.5 million in the second quarter due to its Bitcoin holdings. Still, the staunch Bitcoin bull—helmed by billionaire CEO Michael Saylor—also announced it’s looking to raise more debt to double down on its volatile investment.
MicroStrategy, based in Virginia, reported in a regulatory filing on Monday morning that it expects to experience an impairment loss—effectively the current value of an asset less its acquisition price—in the fiscal quarter ending June 30. “Based on the fluctuations in the market price of Bitcoin.”
The business made no other disclosures in the filing. Still, it started Monday morning in a press release that it is seeking $400 million in secured notes due in 2028 from institutional investors. The firm noted that the net proceeds of the debt issue would be used to purchase other Bitcoin. MicroStrategy shares, which are about flat in premarket trade, have fallen almost 55% from a two-decade peak in February, falling even further than Bitcoin, down approximately 43% from an April peak.
With around 92,079 Bitcoins on its balance sheet, MicroStrategy’s assets once exceeded $5 billion but are currently worth around $3.4 billion. Saylor, whose net worth is estimated to be $2 billion, stated at the time that the company’s expanding investment “reaffirms [the firm’s] belief that Bitcoin, as the world’s most widely adopted cryptocurrency, can serve as a dependable store of value.”
With Bitcoin’s volatility on display, raising more debt to buy Bitcoin could work out to be a very prudent or irresponsible move. Still, we will have to wait and see how the market develops over the remaining parts of the year. In the meantime, there’s no lack of exciting developments as the US looks to scrutinise Bitcoin more and more after these recent ransomware attacks.
That’s it for today’s news; thanks for reading, and we hope you join next week’s edition of Overbit News.