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The Morning Risk Report: Cryptocurrency-Based Crime Hit a Record $14 Billion in 2021
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Good morning. The dollar amount collected through cryptocurrency-based crime hit a record high in 2021, as the volume of cryptocurrency transactions overall grew into tens of trillions of dollars, according to blockchain data platform Chainalysis Inc.
However, the volume of illicit activities remains a small share of the total cryptocurrency transactions volume, according to a preview of Chainalysis’s 2022 Crypto Crime Report to be published in February.
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The volume of cryptocurrency transactions grew to $15.8 trillion in 2021, up 567% from 2020, in a sign that the trading of digital assets is becoming increasingly mainstream. Illicit transactions totaled $14 billion in 2021, up 79% from $7.8 billion the previous year. But illicit transactions only made up 0.15% of cryptocurrency transaction volume in 2021.
Chainalysis also warns that the rise of DeFi, or decentralized finance—an umbrella term for financial services offered on public blockchains—is a particularly menacing threat to the sector.
Out of the total of about $3.2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen in 2021, 72% was stolen from DeFi protocols, according to Chainalysis. DeFi also was an increasingly popular way of money laundering, according to Chainalysis. The use of DeFi as a way to launder money increased 1,964% between 2020 and 2021, according to the company.
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A Covid-19 vaccination under way at a clinic in Federal Way, Wash. PHOTO: TED S. WARREN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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The Supreme Court will hold a special session Friday to consider whether the Biden administration can enforce vaccine-and-testing rules for large private employers and a vaccine mandate for most healthcare workers.
The issues come to the court on an emergency basis during a record increase in U.S. Covid-19 infections. In a departure from its usual procedures, the court is hearing arguments on cases that haven’t been fully aired in lower courts.
Technically, the justices—all of whom, according to a court spokeswoman, are fully vaccinated and have received booster shots—don’t have to issue a definitive decision on whether the administration’s vaccine rules are lawful. Instead, they are considering whether President Biden’s team can implement them now while more detailed litigation continues.
The cases, however, will require the justices to assess whether the White House has credible claims that it stayed within legal boundaries as it has sought to use longstanding laws to implement aggressive rules in the name of public health.
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The verdict in the criminal trial of Elizabeth Holmes completes a chapter in the tangled tale of Theranos. Meanwhile, the power that founders wield over startups—for better or worse—is only growing.
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Companies and investors are facing crucial sustainability policy decisions in 2022 that will shape the way they operate around the world. Coming rule changes include the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s much-discussed climate-change disclosure mandate, the potential expansion of China’s carbon-trading system and Europe’s new green investing typology.
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Nike Inc. filed a lawsuit alleging Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s Mirror home-fitness device and applications infringe on the sneaker company’s portfolio of patents.
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Snap Inc., the parent company of the social-media app Snapchat, has sued the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office over its rejection to trademark the word “spectacles” for the company’s wearable smart glasses.
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Google infringed on audio patents held by Sonos Inc. and is barred from importing some of its Nest audio speakers and other violating products, a U.S. trade agency ruled on Thursday.
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A lawsuit filed Wednesday seeks to hold Facebook’s parent company liable in the 2020 killing of a federal security guard, in the latest effort to challenge the protections given to websites hosting user-generated content.
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Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida disclosed additional sales of shares in broad-based stock funds, drawing fresh scrutiny of financial transactions he conducted at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
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The building that houses the mayor’s office in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, was damaged by fire in the unrest. PHOTO: PAVEL MIKHEYEV/REUTERS
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Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said he had given the order to police and army to shoot without warning as the country’s security forces scoured the streets of Almaty and other cities for protesters after days of unrest triggered by a fuel-price increase.
He said his government had largely restored order and told a meeting of security chiefs Friday that what he called a counterterrorism operation would continue “until the full liquidation of the militants,” who he said were still using weapons. “Law enforcement agencies and the army were given an order by me to shoot at terrorists to kill without warning,” he said, following the arrival of Russian troops to support his government.
The authoritarian leaders of Central Asia’s former Soviet republics have used the term “terrorist” to describe protesters of various stripes. Mr. Tokayev said authorities were battling domestic and foreign “bandits and terrorists,” who were “armed and prepared.” He blamed rights defenders, activists and mass media for fomenting protests.
Related: Kazakhstan Unrest Pushes Up Uranium and Oil Prices
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Russia’s lead negotiator for coming talks with the U.S. said that Moscow’s demands on Ukraine must be addressed urgently and warned the Biden administration against resorting to the economic pressure it has threatened to try to get the Kremlin to back down.
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Russian markets have come under unexpected pressure, with investors increasingly concerned about a possible invasion of Ukraine and the sudden unleashing of unrest in neighboring Kazakhstan.
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The labor market remains historically tight, with the number of unemployment-benefits filings holding last week around the lowest levels in five decades as firms struggled to remain fully staffed amid a resurgent pandemic.
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U.S. consumer demand for goods and an easing of supply-chain constraints drove a surge in imports in November, pushing the trade deficit close to a record.
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Cryptocurrencies led by bitcoin and ether slumped as part of the broader tech selloff, cementing their status among investors as risky assets quickly dumped in moments of market stress.
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Conagra Brands Inc. expects Covid-19’s Omicron variant to stress food supply chains and stretch staffing at the maker of Birds Eye frozen vegetables and Slim Jim meat snacks.
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The board of Entrata asked its chairman, David Bateman, to step down after he sent an anti-Semitic email Tuesday morning to business leaders and politicians. PHOTO: STACIE SCOTT/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Utah software company Entrata Inc. said it ousted its chairman after he sent an anti-Semitic email to dozens of business leaders and politicians that stated false information about Covid-19 vaccines and testing.
David Bateman, also a co-founder of Entrata, was asked to resign by the board of directors hours after the Tuesday morning email was sent, according to a company spokesman. Mr. Bateman agreed to step down, effective immediately, the spokesman said.
The email, viewed by The Wall Street Journal and confirmed by the company, was sent from Mr. Bateman’s Entrata email address. It had the subject line “Genocide,” and falsely stated that Jewish people are behind a plot to kill Americans through the vaccine and PCR testing.
“The opinions expressed by Dave were his alone, and do not reflect the views or values of Entrata, the executive team, board of directors, or investors,” Entrata Chief Executive Adam Edmunds said in posts on LinkedIn and Twitter on Tuesday. “To be absolutely clear, we at Entrata firmly condemn antisemitism in any and all forms.” Mr. Bateman didn’t respond to requests for comment Wednesday
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GameStop is developing an online hub for buying, selling and trading NFTs of virtual videogame goods such as avatar outfits and weapons. PHOTO: JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES
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GameStop Corp. is launching a division to develop a marketplace for nonfungible tokens and establish cryptocurrency partnerships, according to people familiar with its plans, pushing the company into much-hyped areas as it tries to turn around its core videogame business.
The retailer has been working to reset its business after years of losses. The company was at the center of a stock-trading frenzy last year that dramatically boosted its share price, which rode a surge in interest and optimism from individual investors. Many saw potential in GameStop despite the pandemic’s negative impact on foot traffic and even though consumers have been increasingly opting to download and stream games over the internet, rather than buy the kind of hard copies that the company specializes in selling.
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Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. posted a big sales decline for the quarter that includes part of the holiday season, amid continued supply-chain disruptions that impeded its ability to get products on shelves.
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The delay in the rollout of 5G is only the latest of several factors making companies cautious on deploying the next-generation wireless service in their operations, analysts and industry executives say.
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The frustrations for travelers continued Thursday as airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights for the 12th straight day, but industry analysts say relief is on the way.
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President Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Vice President Kamala Harris attending a meeting of the White House Covid-19 Response Team in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. PHOTO: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS
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As Covid-19 cases climb across the U.S., President Biden and his administration are preparing Americans to accept the virus as a part of daily life, in a break from a year ago when he took office with a pledge to rein in the pandemic and months later said the nation was “closer than ever to declaring our independence from a deadly virus.”
The recalibration of Mr. Biden’s message comes as the country braces for another round of disruptions wrought by the pandemic. A growing number of schools temporarily have returned to virtual instruction and many businesses are strained by staffing shortages, in both cases due to infections triggered by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
Thursday marked the 12th straight day of more than 1,000 flight cancellations, and many states warned that ongoing testing shortages will make it harder to return people to work and school.
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Fewer New York residents are seeing the worst outcomes of Covid-19 in its latest surge compared with earlier waves, a potential harbinger of what other highly vaccinated parts of the country will experience, health officials say.
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Some families say they are spending hundreds of dollars on Covid-19 testing during the surge in cases across the country, as efforts by the Biden administration and local officials to distribute free tests lag behind the Omicron variant’s rapid spread.
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As soaring demand makes lab-based and at-home tests hard to come by, many people are forsaking tests, leaving them unable to determine whether they are infected and potentially exposing others.
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