WAO ART #345

Mining company Rio Tinto has agreed to purchase all the power generated by a 1.1-gigawatt solar farm in Gladstone, Australia, for 25 years. The solar farm, known as the Upper Calliope plant, will be developed and operated by European Energy Australia.

A report from Chainalysis Inc. revealed that North Korean-linked hackers targeted cryptocurrency platforms more frequently in 2023, but the amount of funds stolen dropped by around 40%. In a series of 20 hacks, the hackers stole slightly over $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency.

The Socket protocol, which was hacked on January 16, has successfully recovered 1,032 ETH (worth almost $2.297 million) out of the total $3.3 million lost. The recovery efforts were aided by the Web3 cybersecurity community, including SlowMist, Cryptogorensic Investigators, and others.

Bitcoin mining firm Core Scientific has successfully returned to the Nasdaq after overcoming $400 million in debt through a strategic reorganization. The Texas-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2022, prompting an extensive reorganization initiative that eliminated its debt.

Crypto lender Nexo has filed an arbitration claim against Bulgaria, seeking over $3 billion in damages. The claim comes after an investigation into Nexo's founders for alleged involvement in money laundering and tax fraud was terminated with no charges.

Goldman Sachs is leading in mergers and acquisitions deal value in South & Central America, with transactions totaling $14.4 billion. UBS and Rothschild & Co are tied for the top spot in deal volume, each advising on ten deals in the region. This highlights the competitive nature in the region.

Paymob, a financial services enabler in the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan (MENA-P), has partnered with Mastercard to accelerate digital payment acceptance in the MENA region. This partnership supports Mastercard's goal of digitizing 50 million small businesses by 2025.