Latest Crypto News | Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoin Updates

Ledger’s Donjon research team disclosed a critical physical-attack vulnerability in the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 smartphone SoC. Using open-source tools and electromagnetic fault injection (EMFI), researchers timed pulses during boot ROM execution to bypass secure boot protections, overwrite boot-ROM stack return addresses and achieve arbitrary code execution at EL3 (the processor’s highest privilege level). The exploit can be reproduced within minutes and targets Android devices used as hot (software) Web3 wallets; Ledger said its hardware wallets are not affected. The team reported the flaw to MediaTek in May and notified affected manufacturers; no public patch timeline was provided. The finding underscores that advanced mobile SoCs remain vulnerable to physical attacks and reinforces Ledger’s recommendation that private keys be stored in hardware wallets with secure elements rather than on smartphones. Primary keywords: MediaTek Dimensity 7300, electromagnetic fault injection, secure boot bypass, Ledger Donjon, hot wallet risk. Secondary/semantic keywords: boot ROM exploit, EL3 privilege escalation, mobile Web3 wallet security, secure element, hardware wallet.

American Bitcoin Corp (ABTC) tumbled roughly 38–40% on Dec. 2 after a large block of pre‑merger private placement shares unlocked and early investors sold into the market. The Nasdaq‑listed miner opened with heavy selling—falling from $3.58 to an intraday low near $1.80—before recovering to close around $2.19. Co‑founder Eric Trump said the volatility was “expected,” defended company fundamentals and confirmed he is not selling his personal holdings. The selloff came despite strong Q3 results: revenue rose to $64.2m from $11.6m year‑over‑year and net income turned positive at $3.5m. American Bitcoin also reports a significant bitcoin treasury of ~4,090 BTC (as of Nov. 13) and has expanded mining capacity after merging with Gryphon Digital Mining and receiving a major investment from Dominari Holdings. The dramatic drop was primarily a technical supply shock from the lockup expiry rather than an immediate change to on‑chain or operating fundamentals. However, the stock remains roughly 76.5% below its September peak and analysts warn that additional scheduled equity unlocks in 2026 could create further downward pressure. For traders: lockup expiries and concentrated, pre‑merger holdings present acute short‑term downside risk — expect heightened volatility, widened spreads, and potential opportunities for mean‑reversion or short trades if further unlocks materialize.

Charles Schwab will roll out spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) trading for clients in the first half of 2026, beginning with internal employee testing, then a limited client pilot, and finally broader access. CEO Rick Wurster said Schwab is building the required infrastructure and compliance layers and will test order flow and risk controls with a small user group before wider release. Schwab previously offered crypto only via custodial partners and has not allowed direct spot BTC/ETH trading inside Schwab accounts. The firm, which manages over $10 trillion in client assets, recently acquired Forge Global to bolster digital-asset capabilities and is open to strategic M&A to expand offerings. Market attention centers on pricing: Schwab’s commission-free stock and ETF model raises expectations that crypto trading could be very low-cost, a move that could pressure traditional crypto exchanges if fees are noticeably below current industry rates. At announcement time, BTC traded near $93,300 and ETH near $3,183, both below their 50-day EMAs, highlighting ongoing downside pressure despite recent rebounds. For traders, Schwab’s entry signals greater mainstream access and potential liquidity inflows over the long term, while a phased, controlled launch reduces short-term execution risk but could intensify fee competition and order-flow shifts once widely available.

The UK has enacted the Property (Digital Assets, etc.) Act, creating a legal framework that recognises certain digital assets and NFTs as a third category of personal property in England and Wales. The law, following a 2024 Law Commission recommendation and receiving royal assent on 3 December 2025, allows digital items that are definable, identifiable to third parties, capable of being assumed and sufficiently permanent to be treated as property. It does not automatically classify all tokens as property; courts will decide on specific assets under common law. Industry groups including Bitcoin Policy UK and CryptoUK welcomed the change, noting clearer ownership rights, improved recoverability after theft or fraud, and clearer treatment in insolvency and estates. Separately, UK ministers are preparing electoral-legislation changes expected in an upcoming Elections Bill that would ban political donations in cryptocurrencies and tighten rules on shell-company donations and donor transparency — measures prompted by concerns over traceability and recent crypto-linked political funding. For traders: primary implications are increased legal clarity around ownership and enforceability (which supports custody solutions, recovery prospects and token-backed collateral use) and regulatory pressure on crypto use in politics (which may influence perception and short-term flows). Primary keywords: UK digital assets law, property (digital assets), crypto donations ban. Secondary keywords: NFTs, legal certainty, Elections Bill, political donations.

Ethereum activated the Fusaka upgrade on December 3 (UTC), introducing Peer Data Availability Sampling (PeerDAS) and Blob-Parameter-Only (BPO) changes. PeerDAS shards rollup data so nodes sample and verify fractions rather than storing full blobs, reducing bandwidth and storage needs and lowering the operational threshold for node operators. The Foundation states PeerDAS can raise rollup and Layer-2 data capacity by up to eightfold. BPO tweaks let blob throughput and fee parameters be adjusted without a full hard fork, stabilising blob base fees during congestion. Market reaction was immediate: ETH saw price and volume upticks and on-chain analysis noted accumulation by mid-size “shark” wallets. Industry voices (including Vitalik Buterin, Alchemy and several firms) framed Fusaka as a sharding-like milestone that preserves decentralisation while boosting throughput and could shift competitive dynamics among rollups. For traders: monitor ETH liquidity and whale flows, fee-burn and validator rewards, L2 throughput and rollup gas costs, and any proposed BPO parameter changes — these will drive short-term volatility and inform longer-term adoption and fee trends.

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) is advancing stablecoin rules within the Virtual Assets Service Act (VASA), a bill that draws on the EU’s MiCA framework. FSC Chair Peng Jin-long said VASA is close to passing its final legislative reading; once approved, detailed stablecoin regulations would be drafted within a six-month window. The draft permits regulated issuers — initially banks and FSC-licensed financial institutions — to mint stablecoins pegged to the New Taiwan Dollar (NTD) or the US Dollar (USD). Non-bank issuers may be allowed later after a phased rollout designed to limit systemic risk. The announcement sits alongside broader regulatory moves: Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) must complete anti-money‑laundering (AML) registration by September 2025, and authorities have discussed treating seized Bitcoin as a potential reserve asset or pilot for government treasury crypto exposure. The FSC has enforced AML rules against local exchanges in recent years, signalling sustained regulatory scrutiny. Implications for crypto traders: a Taiwan-backed NTD/USD stablecoin would expand local fiat on/off ramps, likely increasing liquidity for Taiwan-listed tokens and improving payment rails. Expect potential arbitrage opportunities between regional stablecoins (South Korea, Hong Kong) and shifts in local USD/NTD flows. Key market-watch items: final VASA text, issuer eligibility and reserve requirements, the six-month drafting timetable, central bank guidance on issuer structure, and AML registration progress for VASPs. Short-term effects may be muted pending rule details, while a confirmed issuer and launch timetable would be a clear liquidity catalyst for Taiwan crypto markets.

IREN, a publicly traded Bitcoin miner, announced a combined $3.63 billion financing package: $2.0 billion in dollar-denominated convertible bonds and about $1.63 billion via an equity offering. Management said part of the equity proceeds will be used to repurchase outstanding convertible notes and $174.8 million will be spent on capped-call transactions to reduce dilution and support long-term shareholder confidence. The funding is earmarked to accelerate deployment of computing capacity to serve AI-related workloads. The financing news triggered a >15% intraday sell-off, then a rebound: the stock closed up 6.9% the next day at $43.96 (intraday high +7.6%). The move mirrors a broader industry trend of miners issuing debt and convertibles to pivot toward AI compute; The Miner Mag estimated roughly $4.6 billion in similar offerings across listed miners in Q4 2024 and early 2025. Market commentary included CNBC’s Jim Cramer advising investors to sell names that are raising capital, while some traders bought the dip. Key takeaways for traders: the raise increases share supply and dilution risk, though targeted buybacks and capped calls aim to limit dilution; higher leverage raises operational and interest-rate exposure; expect short-term volatility around financing execution, convertible bond terms, and dilution outcomes. Keywords: IREN, Bitcoin mining, convertible bonds, equity offering, dilution, AI compute expansion, capped calls.

Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) on December 4, 2025 issued cease-and-desist orders to Robinhood, Kalshi and other platforms, directing them to stop selling event-based contracts to state residents. Regulators say these event-linked contracts — covering sports, finance and political outcomes — operate as unlicensed sports wagering under Connecticut law, lack mandatory consumer protections, and fail to prevent under-21 participation. The DCP cited weak integrity controls, insider-manipulation risks, unclear settlement and dispute processes, insufficient payout oversight, and targeted marketing to vulnerable groups (including people on the state’s Voluntary Self-Exclusion List and college students). The DCP noted only licensed sportsbooks such as DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics may legally offer sports wagering in the state. Firms including Robinhood and Kalshi argue their products are federally regulated financial contracts under CFTC jurisdiction. Kalshi has already sued the DCP in federal court, asserting it is a regulated nationwide exchange; Robinhood previously suspended Super Bowl-style contracts after regulatory requests. The action continues a pattern of state-level enforcement: New York, Massachusetts and several other states have previously issued similar orders or seen CFTC scrutiny. For crypto and derivatives traders, this intensifies legal uncertainty over whether prediction/event markets are classified as gambling or regulated derivatives, with potential regional service restrictions, delisting or product suspensions that can affect liquidity and market access for event-contract tokens and related derivatives. Primary keywords: event-based betting, prediction markets, regulation, Robinhood, Kalshi. Semantic keywords included: CFTC jurisdiction, consumer protection, licensed sportsbooks, settlement risk, insider manipulation. The main keyword "event-based betting" appears multiple times for SEO visibility.

Binance has launched Binance Junior, a parent‑controlled app and sub‑account for children aged 6–17 that links to a parent’s main Binance account. Parents with verified identities can open and fund Junior accounts via on‑chain transfers or internal transfers, place funds into Flexible Simple Earn to earn yield, set daily spending and transfer limits, receive notifications, and freeze or close accounts at any time. Trading is disabled for Junior accounts; users aged 13+ (or as allowed by local law) can send or receive crypto within daily caps between Junior accounts or with parents using Binance Pay, but transfers to non‑parent adults are blocked. Binance also published an educational book, “ABC’s of Crypto,” to support family crypto literacy. The app will roll out on Apple App Store and Google Play in select jurisdictions; some features may be restricted by local regulation. The launch has provoked mixed reactions — concerns about marketing crypto to children vs. arguments for early financial education. For traders: Binance Junior expands retail on‑ramp options and could modestly increase custody deposits and stablecoin flows on Binance, but it restricts trading activity within these accounts, so direct trading volume impact is likely limited.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has paused review of leveraged exchange‑traded funds (ETFs) and issued warning letters to nine issuers — including ProShares, Direxion and Tidal Financial — over products seeking excessive leverage. The SEC says several proposed funds exceed the 200% value‑at‑risk limit under Rule 18f‑4 and raise concerns about amplified investor losses, derivatives use, debt financing, daily rebalancing and insufficient risk disclosure. Proposed products sought 2x–5x exposure to stocks and cryptocurrencies (notably BTC and ETH) and other volatile names; some issuers have already withdrawn 3x and crypto‑linked filings. The pause follows a period of permissive approvals for spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs that helped grow spot crypto ETFs to roughly $122 billion (IBIT ~ $70B). For traders: expect heightened regulatory scrutiny, likely delays or withdrawals of high‑leverage ETF listings (especially 5x products), and potential short‑term volatility around any remaining leveraged filings. Reassess risk management for leveraged crypto exposure, favour diversification or non‑leveraged instruments until issuers address SEC concerns and disclosures.

Kraken has acquired Backed Finance, the issuer of xStocks, to integrate issuance, trading and settlement of tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs into its platform and global money app. xStocks offers more than 60 1:1 collateralized tokenized U.S. equities and ETFs and recorded over $10 billion in combined exchange and on‑chain volume in six months. Backed’s products run on Ethereum and Solana with plans to expand to TON, Tron, Mantle and BNB Chain; U.S. persons remain excluded due to regulatory limits. Kraken says the deal will improve liquidity, shorten settlement times, enable programmable features (fractional ownership, automated compliance) and broaden global access. The acquisition follows Kraken’s recent $800 million funding round and purchases of Small Exchange and NinjaTrader as part of its push toward a 2026 IPO. Traders should watch regulatory developments, liquidity for xStocks on Ethereum and Solana, Kraken’s integration timeline, and any changes to U.S. market access — factors that will influence short‑term price action and longer‑term adoption of tokenized equities.

The UK government is reportedly preparing to ban cryptocurrency donations to political parties via a proposed Elections Bill to strengthen transparency and reduce risks of foreign interference and money laundering. The move targets parties using crypto fundraising — notably Reform UK and leader Nigel Farage, which this year became the first UK party to accept crypto donations through a dedicated portal. Supporters of the restriction, including senior MPs and anti-corruption figures, say crypto donations are harder to verify and could conceal illicit funds. The Elections Bill is also expected to tighten rules on shell companies and require risk assessments for donations that may represent foreign influence. Separately, related tax and reporting measures are advancing: the 2025 Budget confirmed new Cryptoasset Reporting Framework rules requiring exchanges to share trader identities and transaction records with HMRC from 1 January 2026, a change HMRC says could boost tax receipts. Traders should watch for legislative timing and detail — an outright ban would reduce crypto political exposure and could influence regulatory sentiment, while enhanced reporting increases on-chain privacy risks and compliance costs for exchanges and users.

Frontier AI models — OpenAI’s GPT-5 and Anthropic’s Claude (Sonnet 4.5 / Opus 4.5) — have demonstrated the ability to autonomously find and craft working exploits against Ethereum-compatible smart contracts in simulated environments. A joint project by Anthropic’s red team and the Machine Learning Alignment & Theory Scholars (MATS) program created SCONE-bench (Smart CONtracts Exploitation benchmark) and tested 405 historically exploited contracts (2020–2025); across 10 models they produced exploits for 207 contracts, simulating $550.1 million in compromised value. For contracts published after model training cutoffs, top systems (Claude Opus 4.5, Claude Sonnet 4.5 and GPT-5) compromised 19 of 34 contracts, simulating about $4.6 million in theft. Extended tests targeted 2,849 recently deployed contracts with no reported bugs. Sonnet 4.5 and GPT-5 found two previously unknown zero-day vulnerabilities, yielding simulated profits near $3,694 (GPT-5 API cost on that test was $3,476). The Claude architecture also showed major efficiency gains, cutting token cost per successful exploit by ~70% versus six months earlier and enabling roughly 3.4× more attacks for the same compute budget. All experiments ran in isolated simulated blockchains to prevent real-world harm. Implications for traders: AI materially lowers the cost and scales automated smart-contract exploits, increasing systemic cyber risk to DeFi and on-chain assets — especially for recently deployed or unaudited contracts. Immediate trader actions include favouring audited and battle-tested protocols, monitoring exploit and on-chain flow alerts, tightening position sizing for exposure to newer projects, and watching for rapid adoption of AI-powered security tools that could change detection and remediation timelines. Key SEO keywords: AI security, smart contracts, Ethereum, zero-day vulnerabilities, DeFi risk.

OpenEden closed a strategic funding round on December 1 to scale its real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform, led by investors including Ripple, Lightspeed Faction, Gate Ventures, FalconX, Anchorage Digital Ventures, Flowdesk, P2 Ventures, Selini Capital, Kaia Foundation and Sigma Capital. The raise follows an earlier 2024 round that included YZi Labs and will accelerate OpenEden’s tokenization-as-a-service offering for regulated traditional assets. Core products are TBILL, a tokenized short-term US Treasury fund, and USDO, a yield-bearing stablecoin fully backed by short-dated US Treasuries. Institutional credibility has increased after BNY Mellon was appointed custodian and investment manager for TBILL, and both S&P Global and Moody’s assigned investment-grade ratings to the product. A wrapped variant, cUSDO, has been accepted as off-exchange collateral on Binance, enabling institutional counterparties to post it for trading access. OpenEden said it will expand its product suite with bond-exposure tokens, multi-strategy yield tokens and structured products to deepen on-chain access to regulated, cash-equivalent yields. This financing and product push come amid growing institutional demand for tokenized government debt and a broader resurgence in crypto lending markets — developments likely to increase institutional flows into tokenised short-term Treasury products and stablecoins backed by high-quality collateral.

Goldman Sachs is acquiring ETF issuer Innovator Capital Management for about $2 billion, a deal that transfers Innovator’s roughly $28 billion in managed assets and expands Goldman’s active and structured ETF offerings, including crypto-linked products. Innovator is known for defined‑outcome funds and recently launched the Innovator Uncapped Bitcoin 20 Floor ETF (QBF), a structured product that uses FLEX options tied to Bitcoin ETF indexes to capture most upside while limiting quarterly downside. Goldman already serves as an Authorized Participant for major spot Bitcoin ETFs and has stepped up crypto activity since 2020, buying significant Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF exposure and participating in blockchain projects. The acquisition gives Goldman ETF manufacturing scale, distribution into private banks, RIAs and wealth platforms, and ready-made compliant products — accelerating institutional distribution of crypto‑linked ETFs. Executives say the deal is a bet on rapid active‑ETF growth and broader adoption; industry commentators say it lends legitimacy and scale to crypto products but warn it may shift Bitcoin further toward custody and wealth‑preservation use cases. For traders: the deal increases institutional capacity and distribution for Bitcoin ETF products, which could raise demand and liquidity for spot Bitcoin ETFs over time while compressing spreads on listed structured products. Primary keywords: Goldman Sachs, Innovator, crypto ETF, Bitcoin ETF. Secondary keywords: ETF issuer acquisition, Authorized Participant, structured bitcoin exposure, asset manager, distribution channels.

Coinbase’s annual transparency report (Oct 1, 2024–Sep 30, 2025) shows a record increase in law‑enforcement and government requests for user data. Total requests rose to 12,716 — inside the platform’s historical band of ~10,000–13,000 — with about 53% originating outside the US. Six countries (US, Germany, UK, France, Spain, Australia) accounted for roughly 80% of all demands, while the single largest source remained the US (5,444 requests). Most requests were tied to suspected criminal activity and were supported by legal process (subpoenas, search warrants, court orders). Coinbase says it reviews each request for legality and scope, pushes back or narrows requests when appropriate, and discloses only the minimum required information (often aggregated or non‑identifying data). The company noted continued engagement with US officials and sustained regulatory scrutiny across the industry, including legal matters around stablecoin reward programs. For traders: this signals rising cross‑border enforcement attention on major exchanges, potential increased compliance costs for platforms, and continued pressure on privacy expectations — factors that can affect liquidity, user flows, and market confidence in centralized venues. Primary keywords: Coinbase transparency report, law enforcement data requests, user data requests. Secondary keywords: subpoenas, warrants, cross‑border requests, data privacy, regulatory compliance.

FC Barcelona signed a three-year, $22 million global sponsorship with Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP), a recently formed crypto company registered in Samoa. The deal has prompted sharp criticism from former board member Xavier Vilajoana and media, who flagged multiple red flags: ZKP launched social profiles and a white paper only in November, had minimal online following at announcement, lists executives the Financial Times could not verify, and provides scant public information on ownership or financing. ZKP is running an initial coin offering (ICO). Barcelona said the club is not involved with any ZKP token and that token issuance was not part of sponsorship talks. The story raises reputational and governance concerns about football club crypto sponsorships and underscores due-diligence risks for clubs and crypto investors. For traders: the partner is a little-known blockchain project headquartered in a tax-haven jurisdiction (Samoa), currently conducting an ICO—factors that increase regulatory and reputational risk and may weigh on market sentiment for small-cap tokens or any token tied to the project.

Tether’s leadership publicly rejected S&P Global’s Nov. 29 downgrade of USDT’s peg resilience, arguing the rating understated the company’s equity cushion and ongoing Treasury income. S&P flagged Tether’s allocations to Bitcoin and gold as potential risks and rated USDT’s peg “weak.” Tether’s Q3 2025 attestation shows roughly $215 billion in total group assets versus about $184.5 billion in stablecoin liabilities, which Tether says implies roughly $7 billion in excess group equity and about $23 billion in retained earnings. CTO Paolo Ardoino (and CEO commentary) added that Tether earns around $500 million per month from US Treasury holdings—revenue S&P allegedly underweighted—and pointed to roughly $30 billion of total additional cushion when considering group equity and retained earnings. Critics including BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes warned that a ~30% fall in Bitcoin and gold prices could erode those buffers and threaten solvency; former Citi analyst Joseph Ayoub countered that Tether’s asset base and profitability compare favorably to banks. Tether also reported roughly 500 million users. For traders: the dispute increases scrutiny of stablecoin reserve composition and could drive short-term volatility in USDT-linked trading pairs. Key SEO keywords: Tether, USDT, S&P Global, reserves, Bitcoin, gold, Treasury income, stablecoin solvency.

Cocoon, a decentralized AI compute platform built on The Open Network (TON), launched publicly at Blockchain Life 2025 and began routing real AI workloads on November 30. The network encrypts data during computation so GPU providers cannot access user inputs or models, enabling individuals and organisations to rent spare GPU capacity in exchange for TON token rewards. Telegram co‑founder Pavel Durov has promoted Cocoon and Telegram plans to integrate it into Mini Apps and bots, making the messenger the platform’s first major adopter. Cocoon positions itself as an alternative to centralized cloud providers (Amazon, Microsoft), aiming to lower cost and improve privacy for AI inference and training. The protocol already started distributing TON rewards to participating GPU providers and plans to onboard more GPU resources in coming weeks to increase throughput and developer engagement. Traders should watch TON token economics, network uptime, privacy verification, and developer adoption—sustained GPU participation and real workload volume could increase TON utility and demand, while execution risks (downtime, unproven privacy guarantees, competition) could limit impact. Keywords: TON, Cocoon, decentralized AI, GPU marketplace, encrypted compute.

Turkmenistan’s president has signed a law that establishes a licensed, state-supervised framework for cryptocurrency activity, with registration of exchanges and mining companies from 1 January 2026. The law recognises cryptocurrencies as civil assets (not legal tender or securities) and sets rules for issuance, transfer, storage and custody. Licensed exchanges must protect user data and deposits and comply with KYC/AML; banks are barred from providing crypto services. Mining will be allowed for approved individuals and local businesses after registration with state authorities. Regulators can define redemption, trading and emergency settlement procedures and may cancel token issuances or force refunds for non-compliant projects. The move is presented as part of economic diversification and digitalisation in a gas-rich state and aligns Turkmenistan with Central Asian neighbours that have advanced crypto rules. Market context: CoinMarketCap data cited a total crypto market capitalisation near $3.05 trillion after a modest rebound. Traders should note higher regulatory and operational risk from strong state controls, licensing requirements and potential government intervention, while registration and clear rules may enable limited local market activity and attract some investment under a predictable framework.

JPMorgan has filed to offer 1.5x leveraged Bitcoin notes due to launch in late 2025 and maturing December 2028, giving institutional investors amplified BTC exposure without direct custody. The SEC filing triggered strong criticism from Bitcoin treasury firms and community advocates who say the product diverts capital from companies holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets and increases liquidation and margin-call risks during downturns. The controversy intensified after an MSCI consultation proposed excluding companies with more than 50% of assets in cryptocurrencies from major indexes. Analysts warn the MSCI move could force corporate treasury sales, reduce passive inflows, and create short-term supply shocks — estimates cited range from 50,000–100,000 BTC potentially sold and valuation discounts of roughly 10–15% in stressed scenarios. Market commentators note leveraged notes magnify volatility, may drive synchronized selling, and attract synthetic demand that competes with on‑balance-sheet holdings. Key trader takeaways: monitor SEC approval timelines, MSCI index decisions, observed selling from large treasury holders, and derivative flows tied to leveraged products; expect heightened short-term volatility and downside risk on news or forced sales, with a possible long-term shift toward hybrid institutional products and regulatory pressure on corporate treasury strategies.

South Korean investigators attribute a roughly $30 million theft from Upbit to the North Korea–linked Lazarus Group after an exploit of the exchange’s Solana hot wallet. The breach was detected early Thursday and led Upbit to suspend deposits and withdrawals while launching an on-site probe. Authorities say the method mirrors Lazarus tactics used in a 2019 Upbit incident, involving rapid multichain laundering — notably swaps into USDC and bridging from Solana to Ethereum across multiple wallets. On-chain tracing indicates some tokens were converted quickly and routed through bridges; security firms note this laundering pattern has been tied to Lazarus previously. Upbit operator Dunamu pledged full customer reimbursement from company funds and reported freezing of certain stolen assets, including about $8.18 million in LAYER. The incident follows a string of large exchange thefts linked to Lazarus this year and may have coincided with corporate news that affected timing. Investigations and asset-tracing efforts are ongoing. Key keywords: Upbit hack, Lazarus Group, Solana, SOL, multichain laundering, USDC, bridge, crypto security.

PEPE, the Pepe memecoin launched in April 2023, faces long odds of reaching the symbolic $0.01 by 2030. Both reports agree PEPE’s price is driven primarily by social momentum, crypto market cycles (notably Bitcoin correlation), retail trading volumes and holder concentration (top wallets hold ~45%). Tokenomics are inflationary with limited deflationary mechanisms; with current circulating supply (~420 trillion tokens) a $0.01 target implies an implausibly large market cap (tens to hundreds of billions depending on supply assumptions). Historical on-chain and technical patterns show memecoins can post rapid gains then suffer 80–90%+ drawdowns. Key risks include regulatory crackdowns, recurring memecoin competition, liquidity constraints, low development activity, and security or token-concentration risks. Newer analysis tightens the probability assessment: realistic price ranges for nearer-term horizons (2026–2027) remain tiny fractions of a cent, and the chance of PEPE hitting $0.01 by 2030 is assessed as very low (below ~5%). Traders are advised to treat PEPE as highly speculative: limit allocation to a small portion of speculative capital, use dollar-cost averaging, define strict entry/exit and position-sizing rules, monitor BTC/ETH cycles and on-chain metrics, and watch for any meaningful change in utility, burns, or major listings that could alter supply-demand dynamics.

A large crypto whale known as the "BTC OG Insider" holds a leveraged long portfolio of roughly $745.7M across ETH, BTC and SOL, according to COINOTAG data tracked by HyperInsight. The combined positions show an aggregate unrealized loss (~$52.26M) and cumulative funding fees (~$3.14M). Position breakdown: ETH longs dominate (~$595.4M, avg entry ~$3,147.39) with an unrealized loss of ~$44.57M; BTC longs total ~$87.4M (entry ~$91,506.70) with an unrealized loss of ~$4.08M; SOL longs are ~$62.9M (entry ~$130.19) with an unrealized loss of ~$3.72M. Compared with earlier reports, the later update shows slightly larger reported unrealized losses and funding fees, confirming sustained leveraged exposure and ongoing mark-to-market pressure. For traders: the portfolio is heavily overweight ETH (primary risk vector), so large ETH deleveraging or liquidations could exert short-term downward pressure on ETH and correlated altcoins. Monitor ETH funding rates, order-book liquidity at key ETH support levels, on-chain whale flows, and derivatives open interest. BTC and SOL exposures are materially smaller, implying less systemic pressure from this whale on those tokens unless broader market stress forces broader deleveraging. Primary SEO keywords: ETH holdings, BTC OG whale, leveraged longs, unrealized loss, funding fees.

Hong Kong has opened a public consultation to adopt the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and to update Common Reporting Standard (CRS) rules, aiming to bring centralized crypto exchanges and cross-border crypto transactions into automatic tax-information exchange by 2028 (CARF) and apply updated CRS measures from 2029. More than 70 jurisdictions have committed to CARF as part of OECD/G20 efforts to close reporting gaps for wallets, decentralized platforms and exchanges. Officials, led by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui, said the measures will align Hong Kong with international tax-transparency standards, protect its financial reputation and support its role as a global financial hub. Industry experts (including Calix Liu, Stefano Passarello and Noam Noked) warn CARF will raise compliance costs, especially for smaller firms, and could push some trading activity toward self‑custody and peer‑to‑peer channels if enforcement is strict. Hong Kong’s blockchain sector grew ~250% between 2022–2024 and crypto firms rose ~30% in the same period; the public consultation runs until early 2026. For traders: expect tighter KYC and reporting on centralized exchanges over the medium term, potential liquidity and volume shifts toward non‑custodial venues, and higher compliance costs for exchanges and custodians that may affect spreads and execution. Key SEO keywords: CARF, Hong Kong crypto regulation, crypto tax reporting, CRS, exchange compliance.

Japan’s ruling parties (LDP and Japan Restoration Party) released a fiscal 2026 tax outline that reclassifies certain crypto activities as financial products and applies a separate 20% flat tax to spot trading, derivatives and exchange-listed crypto ETFs/trusts — the so-called “green zone.” The reform also introduces a three‑year loss carryover for approved trading activities. Staking rewards, lending yields and many NFT transactions remain treated as miscellaneous income taxed on receipt at progressive rates (up to ~55%). A proposed “Specified Crypto Assets” category will likely be limited to tokens listed on exchanges registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, meaning unlisted altcoins and many DeFi activities may remain outside the 20% regime. Exchanges will be required to submit unified transaction reports from 2026, raising compliance and record-keeping demands and preventing simple loss offsetting against stock gains. The outline also signals potential future measures such as exit taxes on unrealized gains for expatriating investors. For traders: segregate “green zone” assets, prepare detailed P&L and exchange records, and consult tax advisors to optimize treatment under the new 20% tax and three-year loss carryover.

Clapp has launched a revolving crypto credit line that accepts up to 19 assets (BTC, ETH, SOL, BNB, LINK and stablecoins) and uses multi-collateral pools and portfolio-level collateral valuation to reduce single-asset liquidation risk. The product lets users rebalance collateral in real time, shifting weights toward BTC/ETH or adding stablecoins so credit limits update dynamically. Unused credit carries 0% APR; drawn amounts incur 2.9% annual interest, with no application, deposit or opening fees, no fixed repayment schedule and no early repayment penalties. Management is via the Clapp Wallet with instant withdrawals in USDT, USDC or EUR and real-time LTV monitoring. Clapp also holds a VASP license in the Czech Republic, adding AML, transparency and operational controls. For traders, the key benefits are improved capital efficiency, lower forced-selling risk during volatility, and a pay-as-you-use borrowing model that encourages conservative drawdowns and easier liquidity access.

Coinbase has confirmed the arrest in India of a former customer support employee tied to a customer data breach first disclosed in May, CEO Brian Armstrong said. The incident involved attackers reportedly bribing a contractor to access sensitive customer records and included a $20 million ransom demand; Coinbase previously called it one of its most notable security breaches and estimated remediation costs could reach $400 million. The company has not disclosed the arrested individual’s identity or whether further arrests are expected. Analysts say the case highlights ongoing cybersecurity and governance shortcomings at major exchanges and renews calls for stronger privacy controls, clearer incident reporting and tighter regulatory oversight. For traders, the episode may prompt short-term volatility in Bitcoin (BTC) and other exchange-listed assets as confidence in custodial security is tested. Longer-term implications include increased scrutiny of exchange risk, greater emphasis on compliance and potential acceleration of shifts toward self-custody solutions. Primary keywords: Coinbase, data breach, customer data, arrest. Secondary keywords included naturally: Brian Armstrong, ransom demand, security incident, remediation costs.

Binance-backed Trust Wallet’s Chrome extension (v2.68.0) was compromised on Dec 24, 2025 after malicious JavaScript disguised as analytics (notably file 4482.js) was injected into the extension. The payload captured seed phrases and wallet activity when users imported or accessed mnemonics, then exfiltrated data to lookalike domains branded as TrustWallet metrics. Attackers used stolen seeds to autonomously restore wallets and withdraw assets across Bitcoin, Solana, BNB Smart Chain and multiple EVM L2s without requiring transaction approvals. Approximately $7 million was drained and rapidly consolidated through services including ChangeNOW, FixedFloat, KuCoin and HTX. Trust Wallet released an updated extension (v2.69.0), urged immediate upgrades or disabling the extension, and said it will refund affected users though details remain pending. The incident highlights a likely supply‑chain or malicious-code injection targeting browser extension imports and underscores acute seed phrase risk for browser wallets. Traders should treat this as a warning: avoid using browser wallet extensions until updates are audited, move funds to hardware or official mobile wallets, rotate keys, monitor suspicious addresses, and expect potential short-term downward pressure on affected tokens (including TWT). Primary keywords: TrustWallet hack, seed phrase theft, browser extension malware; secondary keywords: Chrome extension compromise, wallet security, supply-chain attack.