Law firm Gerstein Harrow LLP filed a new motion on Thursday in a miscellaneous enforcement lawsuit, asking the court to compel stablecoin company Tether to hand over more than $344 million in frozen USDt linked to Iranian entities.The motion claims that the plaintiffs are owed more than $532 million in compensatory damages and more than $1.8 billion in punitive damages from acts of “terrorism committed or sponsored by Iran,” stretching back more than 25 years. The latest filing is part of a broader lawsuit against North Korea (DPRK) and Iran, attempting to claim and redistribute digital assets as compensation for victims of various and unrelated judgments tied to state-sponsored violence, drawing criticism from the crypto community.The motion to claim $344 million in frozen stablecoins linked to Iranian entities. Source: PACERIn May, the law firm filed a restraining notice against the Kelp decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), which manages the liquid staking platform, attempting to block the transfer of frozen Ether ( ETH) tied to the $293 million Kelp exploit in April.The law firm’s tactics have drawn condemnation from the crypto community, with critics arguing that distributing funds owed to hack victims to satisfy unrelated judgments stretching back decades delays repayment for hack victims, who have a greater claim to the funds.Related: Coinbase faces lawsuit over frozen funds from $55M crypto theftZachXBT slams Gerstein Harrow for crypto targeting strategy Gerstein Harrow LLP has a long history of filing similar claims against cryptocurrency companies and platforms following hacks and cybersecurity exploits, including the Harmony protocol, the Bybit cryptocurrency exchange, and others, according to onchain sleuth ZachXBT. “This is a predatory US law firm with a strategy that is pure evil,” he said in an X post from May 1, adding that the law firm used his cybersecurity research of various crypto hacking incidents to justify the claims.“Whenever there’s a new Lazarus Group victim after an exploit and crypto assets get frozen, these clowns come in and say they have a claim for an alleged DPRK victim from 26 years ago that has zero relation to crypto or exploits/hacks,” he added.Source: ZachXBTIn April, the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ordered Tether to freeze $344 million in stablecoins tied to Iranian entities.The asset freeze also drew mixed reactions from the crypto community over the ethics of wallet freezes and the role of centralized crypto issuers in enforcing law enforcement requests. Magazine: Are DeFi devs liable for the illegal activity of others on their platforms?

Bitwise Asset Management has launched a US-listed investment product tied to Hyperliquid, offering investors spot exposure to the token and staking rewards linked to the decentralized derivatives platform.The fund, trading under the ticker BHYP on the New York Stock Exchange, is the second US-listed Hyperliquid product to launch this week. Bitwise said the fund plans to stake a significant portion of its HYPE (HYPE) holdings through its in-house staking division.Hyperliquid is a decentralized trading-focused layer 1 blockchain launched in 2023 that offers perpetual futures, spot trading and lending services. Bitwise said the platform processed about $2.9 trillion in trading volume in 2025 and accounted for roughly 60% of global onchain derivatives open interest as of May 5, citing DefiLlama data.HYPE was trading at around $44 on Friday with a market capitalization of roughly $11.22 billion, making it the 10th-largest cryptocurrency by market value, according to CoinMarketCap data. The token is used for staking, governance and ecosystem participation.Bitwise, which manages about $11 billion in client assets across crypto investment products including exchange-traded funds, private funds and staking strategies, said the fund will charge a 0.34% sponsor fee, which will be waived for the first month on the fund’s first $500 million in assets.HYPE token price. Source: CoinGeckoRelated: Wells Fargo lifts Ether ETF holdings in Q1 as Bitcoin positions shiftHyperliquid draws growing institutional interestThe launch comes as institutional interest in Hyperliquid and HYPE-linked investment products expands across crypto asset managers, venture capital firms and trading platforms.Earlier this week, 21Shares launched its THYP Hyperliquid fund in the US, drawing about $1.2 million in net inflows and $1.8 million in trading volume on its first trading day, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart. Grayscale Investments is also awaiting a decision on its proposed Hyperliquid fund.On Wednesday, onchain analytics account Lookonchain said wallets linked to venture capital company Andreessen Horowitz had accumulated about $67 million worth of HYPE over the previous month and staked roughly $51 million worth of the token.Source: LookonchainThe following day, Coinbase announced it would become the official treasury deployer for USDC (USDC) on Hyperliquid, where the stablecoin’s supply has grown to around $5 billion since the network launched in 2023, according to DeFiLlama data.As Hyperliquid gains traction as a decentralized derivatives exchange, centralized crypto companies have also expanded deeper into perpetual futures and offshore derivatives markets through new trading products and international launches.Earlier this year, Coinbase launched stock perpetual futures for eligible non-US users, while Kraken rolled out tokenized equity perpetual futures tied to assets including Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) for offshore clients.Magazine: ETH stalls at $2.4K five times, SOL to rally to $120: Market Moves

The military government of Myanmar released the text of a bill aimed at combating online fraudsters, with several penalties related to cryptocurrencies and scam centers.According to the text of the Anti-Online Fraud Bill, made public on Thursday, Myanmar’s parliament, the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, proposed the law in response to online fraud in the country, which it said challenged its “sovereignty and stability.” The law stated that anyone who was convicted of committing “digital currency fraud” or online fraud could face from ten years to life in prison, and possibly the death penalty.In addition, the law set out conditions under which the death penalty would be imposed, including those related to the country’s scam centers. Anyone responsible for the death of an individual who had been coerced or exploited into committing online fraud would receive a sentence of death.Source: Myanmar governmentThe proposed law and its potential penalties were some of the most severe imposed globally for digital currency fraudsters amid scam centers cropping up in areas of Southeast Asia. In January, China reportedly ordered the execution of 11 people linked to Myanmar scam centers that had been responsible for trafficking Chinese nationals.Related: Scammers use Gmail dot alias trick to spoof Robinhood in phishing scamInternational authorities have been working to combat human trafficking in scam centers that continue to con people globally through schemes like pig butchering, romance scams, fake investments and more. The US announced in April that they had worked with authorities in China and Dubai to arrest more than 200 people and shutter nine centers. Myanmar’s military overthrew its civilian government in a 2021 coup d’état, resulting in its parliament not reconvening until March 2026 following elections the Council on Foreign Relations called “neither free nor fair.” According to a Wednesday notice, the government is scheduled to meet the first week of June and may consider the bill at that time.Americans lost billions to crypto scams in 2025According to an FBI report released in April, Americans’ losses from crypto-related scams were more than $11 billion in 2025 and more than $20 billion overall through online fraud. The agency cited a March executive order from US President Donald Trump, who authorized officials to work against “scam centers and cybercrime.”“The [US Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia] Scam Center Strike Force is investigating the worst scam compounds located in Southeast Asia,” said the FBI report. “Strike Force teams focus on identifying and pursuing key leaders—including Chinese organized crime affiliates operating in Cambodia, Laos, and Burma—to bring them to justice.”Magazine: ETH stalls at $2.4K five times, SOL to rally to $120: Market Moves