Autor Cointelegraph By Andrew Fenton

After suspected North Korean hackers exploited crypto exchange Bitget for $387.5 million last week, investigators were able to quickly flag and trace the recipient addresses. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen then controversially demanded that decentralized cross-chain swaps platform THORChain “refuse service to these addresses.”THORChain responded: “THORChain is decentralized and permissionless like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB Chain. What responsibility should Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB Chain bear when handling known stolen funds?”The move was controversial, especially given the protocol was halted immediately in May when $10.7 million of its own funds were exploited. Complicating matters, THORChain has retired its admin key and doesn’t have an easy way to censor addresses, even if it wanted to.Source: THORChainThis exact controversy has come up before, as THORChain was used to swap around $1.2 billion of the funds stolen in the $1.46 billion hack of Bybit. It just so happened that THORChain’s admin key had been retired just 11 days earlier.NEAR Intents took the opposite approach to THORChain. Its automated SHIELD program blocked addresses linked to the hack from swapping $50 million on the platform, and even turned down the 5% bounty Bitget was offering for doing so.Now NEAR Intents is under fire from decentralization maxis for not being permissionless enough. To discuss the legal issues involved in the case, Magazine spoke with Yuriy Brisov from D&A Partners. This is an edited version of the conversation.Magazine: Bitget asked THORChain to block funds tied to the hack, and it responded saying it’s decentralized and permissionless. Is that a legal defense? Do they have an obligation to block those addresses?Brisov: It depends on the level of decentralization. So when they do this — when they block some addresses — they show that their nodes aren’t truly decentralized. It’s good for the community, when they can use this power to prevent some malicious activities. However, at the same time, they open themselves to any other legal claim. Their only protection is “we are decentralized.” In the Uniswap case, they said ‘we are truly decentralized and there is nothing we can do.’ [Investors sued Uniswap after buying 38 rugpull and scam tokens, but a judge dismissed the case in March —Ed.] And this is the strongest defense for any DeFi protocol. If they show that they can block, control, or somehow interfere — even in a good faith attempt to prevent fraud — they still open themselves for these kinds of claims. That if you have control, then maybe your control shouldn’t be limited to only obvious fraud cases. You should imply [control over] due diligence matters. You should apply KYC and AML protective measures.Related: Uniswap beats class action alleging it assisted crypto ‘rug pulls’Magazine: NEAR Intents blocked those addresses, and Bitget thanked them for doing so. Does that mean NEAR has shown Intents is not decentralized and will therefore need to interfere in lots of other situations?If you show that you have control over assets, then you potentially open yourself to all potential claims regarding pump-and-dump schemes, volatility, or any other potential claims of any investors who somehow have been damaged and harmed. And they can now say that you have control. Why do you use it in one case and not use it in another case? Why don’t you check all your token issuers on your platform? Why don’t they provide KYC forms like on any centralized exchange? Source: Gracy ChenMagazine: THORChain argues the protocol halt in May initially triggered by an automated system and that they don’t have the ability to block certain addresses. If true, is that a defense?Brisov: It might be. We don’t know yet, because it hasn’t been challenged yet. But any amount of control makes any DeFi project weaker vis-à-vis any claimant.Magazine: On the other hand, the protocol could upgrade the software if it wished to block certain addresses. Could a project get in legal trouble for being reckless or negligent if they don’t impose something like that?It depends on how it’s been done from the technical side. Say there is an oracle that can detect any North Korean IP and block it automatically, and there is no person who sits and presses a button — “there’s a North Korean hacker, let’s block him.” Then it’s okay. If there is a team that oversees the situation and says, “Okay, we can see this is an illicit activity, we block these addresses, we press the button manually.” From the legal point of view, even though it’s a good act and it benefits the community, it still makes the project not fully decentralized from the legal perspective, and it strips you of the protection that regulations like MiCA [EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets laws] or the general understanding the SEC and CFTC provide that if you’re fully decentralized, you cannot be liable for the actions of the participants in your ecosystem.Source: Alex ShevchenkoMagazine: NEAR’s technology is called SHIELD and it’s an automated process that identifies addresses associated with known hacks on public blockchains and then blocks them from accessing Intents automatically. Does that mean it’s more likely to be seen as decentralized?Brisov: Definitely. They show that they are good-faith actors trying to [add] protective measures into their protocols. There is no compliance team, people who sit there and control the operation manually. This is a smart solution, and that’s what we recommend to all the DeFi companies. Magazine: In February 2025, THORChain retired the admin key which would allow them to make those sorts of unilateral changes. With the lack of an admin key and the fact they’ve got a hundred validators, does that make them sufficiently decentralized?Brisov: More likely than not, but we can’t say that for sure. I would say yes.Magazine: THORChain is not a mixer. You can take stolen Bitget funds and swap them on THORChain, but when it comes out the other end, it will still be transparently linked to the Bitget hackers. How does that fit the definition of money laundering? Or is it receiving stolen goods?Brisov: I don’t see how they can be liable for money laundering because even Tornado Cash, that was, to a certain extent, made to launder money [avoided US sanctions as immutable smart contracts are not sanctionable property in terms of money laundering—Ed]. American law treats something as either property or not property. And money laundering is illegally moving property through the legal channels. You make proceeds of illicit activity, and it’s property, and then you move it through some channels and try to make it legal. But smart contracts are not property at all. You don’t control them. You don’t own them. That’s how Tornado Cash won their case in court vis-à-vis OFAC sanctions. They just proved that they don’t have any control over their smart contracts.Magazine: The Bybit hack happened 18 months ago. Does that mean that no legal action is going to be taken against THORChain, or do these cases just take a long time?Brisov: It might happen in the future, definitely. After the Bybit case, they seriously opened themselves for potential claims. Magazine: Big Questions: Does Satoshi actually own 1.1 million Bitcoin?Cointelegraph publishes long-form journalism, analysis and narrative reporting produced by Cointelegraph’s in-house editorial team with subject-matter expertise. All articles are edited and reviewed by Cointelegraph editors in line with our editorial standards. Some articles contain affiliate links, from which Cointelegraph may earn a commission. These relationships do not influence which products we review or our editorial conclusions. Content published in here does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals where appropriate. Cointelegraph maintains full editorial independence.

ThorChain under fire because it won’t blacklist stolen Bitget fundsStop me if you’ve heard this before: A centralized exchange with lax security gets hacked by the North Koreans for $387.5 million, and then somehow shifts the blame game onto a decentralized exchange for not blacklisting the addresses.The drama began on September 25 when the Asian focused exchange Bitget revealed $351.6 million in “unauthorized transfers” but it later upgraded the tally to $387.5 million. It said a preliminary investigation had linked the IP addressees to VPN services used by a North Korean hacking group. While that isn’t firm proof, CEO Gracy Chen said its investigators had flagged other similarities with previous thefts.North Korean hackers were believed to be behind the $1.5 billion Bybit exchange hack, and much of the funds from that attack were then swapped on the decentralized exchange THORChain (which is not a mixer and funds can still be traced after being swapped). Chen then publicly called on THORChain to block the addresses linked to the attack. “Decentralization is a design principle, not a shield for facilitating known stolen funds,” she thundered. Thorchain politely said no dice, which has set off a massive debate over whether they can or should comply with Chen’s request. Decentralization maxis like Joel Valenzuela said doing so would undermine crypto’s cypherpunk ethos. “If we let decentralized protocols to be bullied into setting a censorship precedent, or make it toxic to interact with permissionless protocols, then we lose to tyranny. Full stop.” But THORChain isn’t anywhere near as decentralized as Bitcoin or Ethereum, and it coordinated to quickly pause the chain very quickly when it was itself hacked for $10.7 million in May. “Thorchain is like 5 retards in a discord coordinating secret updates in between talking about the stolen funds they’re profiting from and lying about the admin functionality they abuse regularly to rug their users and NO’s,” said cybersecurity expert Tay Vano. THORChain’s ability to blacklist particular addresses is unclear. Back in February 2025 it revealed it had retired the admin key which would give it the power to do so.All publicity is good publicity though and THORChain’s native token RUNE has surged 50% in a week.Where we’re going we won’t NEED blockchain says VitalikEthereum creator Vitalik Buterin has rallied the troops with an inspiring post outlining how Ethereum is being rebuilt from the ground up to integrate zero knowledge proofs, parallel processing, privacy and post quantum technology to genuinely become “the cryptographic world computer.” “It’s really not just a blockchain anymore. It’s a hybrid architecture that combines together blockchains and modern cryptography, to enable much more powerful properties,” he wrote, describing “an architecture that combines blockchains with cryptographic privacy and verification, and powerful decentralized off-chain components.” The Hegota fork, which is planned for next year, would likely Ethereum’s last “normal” fork he said.Source: Brian ArmstrongCoinbase founder Brian Armstrong — a man who rarely utters the word “Ethereum” — reposted an analysis of the blog from a small account named “Cryptographic” and said their analysis was “interesting.” Cryptographic summed up the thrust of Buterin’s post by saying it changed the whole meaning of “onchain” and the ramifications meant Ethereum really was becoming a “world computer.” “Instead of every part of an app having to execute inside a smart contract you can push a huge amount of complexity elsewhere and still inherit Ethereum’s guarantees.” Aave founder Stani Kulechov made a similar point, arguing: “There are countless of use-cases where Ethereum verifiability would be useful beyond smart contact execution environment for finance to expand what we can actually do in DeFi while minimizing trust. Quite excited for the potential here.”Crypto Mom retires, suggests ZK proofs for KYCSEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has submitted her formal resignation from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, effective Oct. 2.Peirce, affectionately known as “Crypto Mom” amid her advocacy of clear, rules-based regulation of the crypto industry, posted a copy of her resignation letter on her X account Friday.Cointelegraph reported in May that Peirce planned to join the law school of Regent University in Virginia as an associate professor in November.On her way out the door she criticized excessive KYC data storage, saying that storing IDs online created large numbers of databases vulnerable to hacks without improving enforcement. Instead, she advocated using zero knowledge proofs, which are able to verify eligibility without sending ID documents through.  “One can prove that you qualify without that counterparty knowing your name, income, or address,” she said. Magazine covered this very subject earlier this month.  OpenAI called to Australian Senate inquiry following rogue AI hackThe CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic have reportedly been summoned to appear at an Australian Senate inquiry into AI, just days after news broke that a rogue OpenAI bot had hacked the country’s health data.The Australian Medicare breach is one of the highest-profile incidents of AI agents accessing external systems outside the US, according to a Sunday Business World report.Cointelegraph reported last Thursday that the OpenAI research agent had bypassed blocks on the Australian government health data portal and accessed non-public files in June. It somehow didn’t get around telling the Australians until September 10.Michael Saylor outlines ‘bill of digital rights’Michael Saylor, co-founder of Strategy, said that an age of digital assets and intelligence needs a “bill of digital rights,” rather than restrictions.These rights include (1) the freedom to create new digital assets and (2) to issue them to the market to finance business and productivity. They also include (3) the right to hold them or choose a custodian, as well as (4) to transfer them, to move the assets among people, companies, wallets and service providers. Finally, (5) to use them, to spend, invest, earn income and borrow against digital assets.This week the Strategy board announced it would seek shareholder approval to move its four preferred stocks, including STRC, to daily dividend payments without changing their dividend rates or the total amount paid.Winners and LosersAt the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is up 3.8% to trade at $84,222, Ethereum (ETH) is up 3.7% to trade at $2,674 and XRP (XRP) is up 7% to $1.50. The total market cap is at $2.88 trillion according to CoinMarketCap.Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin winners of the week are Quant (QNT) with a 435% gain, Sei (SEI) on 44%, and Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FED) on 41%.The top three altcoin losers of the week are Falcon Finance (FF) which was down 25.3%, MemeCore (M) down 20.3% and Avalanche (AVAX) down 4.5%.Top Prediction of the WeekBitwise says NEAR could be headed to $562Bitwise’s new NEAR ETF is about to launch, and its chief investment officer Matt Houghan has jumped into promotion duties by co-authoring some of the most optimistic predictions you’re likely to see this month. The new fund, called the Bitwise NEAR ETF, is expected to list on NYSE Arca under the ticker NRR.Bitwise’s 39-page investment report NEAR states the “base case” is a price target of $155 by 2030 while the bull case is $562.  The bearish case suggests a price of $1.63.Last week Near Protocol’s native token surged 80% to be the top performer in the Top 100. The surge came after Near unveiled private Hyperliquid perps trading.Source: VadimTop FUD of the WeekKalshi loses appeal, setting up potential Supreme Court casePrediction market Kalshi lost on appeal when a court ruled that Ohio and Tennessee can regulate sports-event contracts under their state gambling laws.The ruling followed a similar finding from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last month, which broke from an April decision by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals allowing the company to do business in New Jersey as its appeal process proceeds.The April ruling said Kalshi was likely to succeed with its argument that federal law preempts New Jersey’s regulations, all of which has set up a potential Supreme Court case.Tether says it had ‘limited’ exposure to bank linked to $84M US seizureStablecoin issuer Tether said that it had a very small amount of assets at a bank that had $84 million in assets frozen by US prosecutors. In response to reports linking Tether and Bitfinex to a Montana-based payments business named in a civil forfeiture complaint, a company spokesperson told Cointelegraph that it had “no knowledge” of any of the alleged conduct. Tether confirmed it was a customer of EQIBank, but the amount held at the bank represented 0.034% of the group’s total assets.Magic Eden scare puts 3,832 NFTs in whitehat protective custodyA whitehat moved 3,832 non-fungible tokens from hundreds of wallets on Friday amid concerns about a vulnerability involving NFT marketplace Magic Eden. NFT community member who goes by Cirrus on X flagged the activity on Friday, saying a single wallet moved 3,832 NFTs from hundreds of wallets. Cirrus said the transactions appeared as sales through Magic Eden and advised NFT holders to revoke permissions as a precaution.Shortly afterward, Yuga Labs’ pseudonymous vice president of blockchain, 0xQuit, said the transfers were part of a white-hat operation. He said the NFTs held in the receiving wallet are safe and “will be returned once they are no longer at risk.” Top Magazine Features of the WeekThe SEC has opened a five-year path for tokenized stocks, but only some products and venues fit the model. Will Uniswap, Robinhood, Coinbase or Kraken come out on top?The IRS can now see your crypto gains, but has no idea about the cost-basis. That’s proving to be a big headache for some cryptocurrency investors.The APAC region accounts for half of the Global Crypto Adoption Index. Bitget suffers massive $352M loss and OpenAI forgets to mention its agents hacked the Australian Government.Cointelegraph publishes long-form journalism, analysis and narrative reporting produced by Cointelegraph’s in-house editorial team with subject-matter expertise. All articles are edited and reviewed by Cointelegraph editors in line with our editorial standards. Some articles contain affiliate links, from which Cointelegraph may earn a commission. These relationships do not influence which products we review or our editorial conclusions. Content published in here does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals where appropriate. Cointelegraph maintains full editorial independence.

Asian countries account for almost half of Adoption IndexAlmost half of the top 20 nations in terms of grassroots crypto adoption are in the Asia Pacific region. According to Chainalysis’s newly released 2026 Global Crypto Adoption Index, Japan ranks at number 4, followed by South Korea (5), India (6), Thailand (8), China (12), Indonesia (14), Australia (15), Vietnam (18) and the Philippines (19), which totals nine countries out of 20 on the index.A big growth area in the APAC region is cross border stablecoin transfers.Tianwei Liu, co-founder and CEO of StraitsX, told Cointelegraph that in Asia, fragmented currencies and payment systems have created demand for stablecoin settlement. “That demand is also extending into everyday spending, with stablecoins sitting behind payment methods people already use,” Liu said.Bitget confirms $351M security breach, suspends withdrawalsCrypto exchange Bitget has confirmed unauthorized transfers affecting approximately $351.6 million in assets and temporarily suspended withdrawals as it investigates.The CEO of the Asia-focused exchange, Gracy Chen, said the breach was contained to a portion of the exchange’s hot and warm wallet layers, while its cold wallets remained secure. Bitget said it has flagged addresses associated with the transfers and contacted law enforcement and onchain security firms. The amount affected falls within Bitget’s User Protection Fund, which currently holds more than $464 million. Source: Gracy ChenBinance takes $100M stake in Circle under expanded USDC dealBinance has invested $100 million in stablecoin issuer Circle as part of an expanded five-year agreement to promote USDC on the crypto exchange. Under the agreement, Circle will pay Binance a monthly incentive fee based on the amount of USDC held through Circle’s Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure. Binance also agreed to undertake additional activities promoting USDC on its platform.AUSTRALIAAustralian 40-year economic outlook recognizes ‘AI revolution,’ omits cryptoAustralia’s new 40-year economic outlook has identified artificial intelligence as one of five major transitions expected to have a profound effect on the economy, while leaving out any mention of crypto. Coinbase Australia country director John O’Loghlen told Cointelegraph the report was a missed opportunity. “While the report focuses heavily on artificial intelligence, it completely misses the financial infrastructure those agents will need,” he said.In related news, OpenAI agents hacked the Australian government’s Medicare system, and the firm forgot to mention the incident until three months later when it fired an email to a public email address.KOREABank of Korea launches 24-hour won settlement pilot for foreign investorsThe Bank of Korea (BOK) launched a pilot of its first 24-hour won settlement network, aimed at allowing foreign investors to settle won transactions outside South Korea’s normal banking hours.On Monday, its international wire network started trial operations with four domestic lenders: KB Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank and Shinhan Bank. Full operations are scheduled for January 2027, when participation is expected to expand to other institutions and foreign banks.The network will operate 24 hours a day, excluding weekends and public holidaysHana Bank taps Euroclear blockchain for $100M bond issuance: ReportSouth Korea’s Hana Bank has issued a five-year, $100 million digital bond using Euroclear’s blockchain-based platform. Using the technology for bond allocation and payment settlement reportedly shortened the process from three to five business days to the same day. Kakao Pay, KakaoBank to explore stablecoin opportunities with FireblocksSouth Korean financial companies Kakao Pay and KakaoBank have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with crypto infrastructure provider Fireblocks to explore digital asset opportunities, including stablecoins. North Korean fake recruiters infect 30K devices, steal $10.7M in cryptoNorth Korean cyber group WaterPlum targeted developers with fake jobs at crypto, AI and NFT companies, infecting at least 30,000 devices across more than 100 countries.HONG KONGAnimoca puts Currenc merger on ice, delaying its Nasdaq debutAnimoca Brands has suspended plans to take the company public through a reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed Currenc Group. Animoca is a Hong Kong-headquartered investment and gaming company whose portfolio includes The Sandbox, Moca Network and Open Campus.Both parties mutually agreed on the decision after reviewing market conditions and the deal’s projected closing timelines. Animoca said the companies may resume discussions if conditions permit.Hong Kong jails ex-banker over $1.6B false credit, cryptocurrency bribesA former bank official in Hong Kong who falsely authenticated letters of credit for more than $1.6 billion was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to make restitution of more than $470,000 he received in cryptocurrency bribes.HKMA announces plans for on-chain settlementThe Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is upgrading its main debt securities settlement system, the Central Moneymarkets Unit, to run on blockchain 24/7. The upgraded platform is designed to handle CBDCs, tokenized deposits and stablecoins.Boyaa Interactive adds 152 Bitcoin, holds 4,468 BTCHong Kong-listed online gaming company Boyaa Interactive has bought another 152 Bitcoin to bring its total holdings to 4,468 BTCSAUDI ARABIA/CHINASaudi Arabia exits China-backed mBridge CBDC project: FTSaudi Arabia has withdrawn from mBridge, a China-backed cross-border digital currency project designed to enable direct transactions between central banks, according to the Financial Times.SAMA, Saudi Arabia’s central bank, joined mBridge as a full participant in June 2024 and ended its participation after completing a proof of concept on May 13, 2025, FT reported, citing a statement from the central bank.SINGAPORESingapore tops crypto wealth migration rankings for 4th yearSingapore ranked No. 1 for a fourth straight year on the Henley Crypto Adoption Index which assesses 36 countries based on which offers the best conditions for cryptocurrency investors to relocate and settle.VIETNAM56 crypto scammers arrestedBilyonaryo reports that 56 alleged scammers working in crypto fraud ring that stole millions from Vietnamese investors have been arrested in Cambodia and Vietnam.Cointelegraph publishes long-form journalism, analysis and narrative reporting produced by Cointelegraph’s in-house editorial team with subject-matter expertise. All articles are edited and reviewed by Cointelegraph editors in line with our editorial standards. Some articles contain affiliate links, from which Cointelegraph may earn a commission. These relationships do not influence which products we review or our editorial conclusions. Content published in here does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals where appropriate. Cointelegraph maintains full editorial independence.

CLARITY vote fails, long live CLARITYAfter a year’s buildup, the US Senate failed to pass a cloture motion on the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act.The motion received just 49 votes in favor and 50 against, well short of the 60 votes required.However, Republican Senator Thom Tillis’s “no” vote was not all it seemed, and he confirmed he’d only switched sides at the last minute to enable him to call a new vote in future.So does that mean the CLARITY Act could be resurrected? The GENIUS bill suffered a similar failed vote on cloture and then went on to pass just 11 days later.While there is a small chance that CLARITY could still pass,the politics and the number of legislative days available suggests it’s unlikely.Congressman Shri Thanedar, a Democrat who supported CLARITY in the House, told Magazine the timeline was a “major barrier.”“There are only 20 legislative days left in this Congress, all of them after the midterms, making odds of a 2026 compromise, unfortunately, very low.”Seven Democratic senators who had voted against the bill — claimed they “remain committed” to passing it. At some point. “We were ready to strike a deal today and in discussions right up until the vote. Republican leadership shut it down at the very last minute,” said Sen. Angela Alsobrooks. NEAR chief legal officer Abhishek Vaidyanathan noted the House had already cancelled two sitting weeks and that the Senate’s state work period began October 5.“Now that cloture failed, the next Congress is the likely next opportunity to address crypto market structure,” he said.SEC Chair proposes new rules in absence of CLARITYAfter the failed vote, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse predicted that US regulators will “continue to work hard to issue rules to fill the legislative gap.”The industry didn’t have long to wait with the US Securities and Exchange Commission announcing just two days later a five year long exemption allowing limited trading of tokenized US stocks on decentralized public blockchains.The Innovation Exemption allows tokenized stock trading using automated market makers and exempts them from having to register as securities exchanges. However the new rules do not exempt “synthetic” stock tokens that do not provide holders with all the same rights as traditional stocks. This is bad news for pretty much all of the stock tokens issued by xStocks and Robinhood to date.CFTC swoops in to propose new crypto rulesThe Commodity Futures Trading Commission also announced regulatory relief for “passive software” providers that connect users to regulated derivatives firms and exchanges.It issued a no-action position stating it would not recommend enforcement against qualifying providers or their personnel for failing to register as introducing brokers or associated persons when facilitating trading with CFTC-registered firms and exchanges.The position could make it easier for crypto wallets and other apps to offer access to regulated derivatives, including perpetual contracts and prediction markets.The CFTC has also submitted draft crypto rules to the White House called the “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets.” The action is listed at the “prerule” stage meaning it has not yet been formally proposed. Coinbase this week filed an application with the CFTC to offer 24/5 perpetual futures trading to individual US stocks. Kalshi filed a very similar proposal on the same day. House committee votes yes to Bitcoin ReserveThe American Reserve Modernization Act of 2026 passed the US House Committee on Financial Services this week. It would formalize the current executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in law. A Digital Asset Stockpile containing other forfeited cryptocurrencies would also be held within the Department of the Treasury.The legislation requires all federal agencies to provide a full audit of digital assets they hold and orders them to provide quarterly “proof of reserve” reports.. It would also direct a study of budget-neutral acquisition strategies for buying additional Bitcoin for the reserve. Bitcoin Policy Institute executive director Connor Brown on Wednesday called it a “genuinely historic step for Bitcoin policy.”The US House Ways and Means Committee also passed the Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act with bipartisan support, advancing legislation aimed at reshaping the federal tax treatment of digital assets.Revolut’s $3 million ransom demand highlights dangers of ID storageThe theft of sensitive customer data including passports and KYC selfies from Revolut took a turn for the bizarre when a second hacker demanded a $3 million ransom. Calling themselves “IAmNotAVillain” the actor publicly demanded 6,000 Monero from Revolut within 24 hours or it would sell the customer records to criminal groups. Earlier a group calling itself “Revolut Smilik” had demanded 10,000 Bitcoin, worth about $780 million, for the data. IAmNotAVillain suggested the demand came from a former associate who only had a small sample of the data. The theft highlighted the dangers of mandating KYC checks that result in thousands of companies storing ID documents all over the web, which act as honeypots for hackers.Frustratingly, it’s now possible to verify identity using zero knowledge proofs without sending any identity documents to third parties at all, but the technology is not yet in wide use.Winners and LosersAt the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is up 5.9% to trade at $81,185, Ethereum (ETH) is up 6.6% to trade at $2,639 and XRP (XRP) is up 5.4% to $1.40. The total market cap is at $2.78 trillion according to CoinMarketCap.Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin winners of the week are NEAR Protocol (NEAR) with a 76.4% gain, Arbitrum (ARB) on 64.3%, and Ethena (ENA) on 61.6%.The top three altcoin losers of the week are Stable (STABLE) which was down 11.6%, Pi (PI) down 11.3% and SPX6900 (SPX) down 1.8%.Prediction of the WeekStandard Chartered says Arbitrum could increase 70X by 2030Standard Chartered says layer-2 network Arbitrum’s price could reach as high as $10 by 2030. From current levels, that would represent a roughly 70-fold increase, far exceeding Standard Chartered’s projected returns for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) over the same period.Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, said Arbitrum’s economics offer considerable upside because the network receives 10% of the net protocol revenue generated by companies building on it with Robinhood Chain being the first major example. Robinhood fees will push Arbitrum’s September revenue to $5 million, which is a five fold increase from before Robinhood Chain launched in July.Kendrick said the biggest risks to his ARB price projection include “a slower-than-expected pace of asset tokenization and more competition from alternate blockchains.”Top FUD Of The WeekState hackers drive 420% surge in onchain malware, Chainalysis findsState-linked hackers accounted for roughly two-thirds of new activity each quarter as the number of times attackers stored malware instructions or infrastructure information on public blockchains rose 420% over the past 12 months, according to a Chainalysis report. Chainalysis identified North Korea and Iran-linked operators among the state actors adopting the technique. The analytics firm also connected previously unattributed activity spanning Tron, Aptos and BNB Smart Chain (BSC) to UNC5342, a North Korea-linked group tracked by Google Threat Intelligence. Chainalysis said using public blockchains increases the durability of malware campaigns because the stored information remains accessible after domains, servers or code repositories are taken down. BIS paper finds major gap in Bitcoin onchain transfer estimatesResearchers at the Bank for International Settlements found that estimates of Bitcoin onchain transfer values can vary by as much as sixfold depending on how transactions are measured.The sixfold gap reflects differences between measurement methods, including how change outputs and other transfers back to the sender are treated.The measurement problem also extends to Bitcoin’s market capitalization. The researchers found that the conventional measure has at times been as much as four times higher than realized capitalization, which values each coin at the price when it last moved.Hong Kong jails ex-banker over $1.6B false credit, cryptocurrency bribesA former bank official in Hong Kong who falsely authenticated letters of credit for more than $1.6 billion was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to make restitution of more than $470,000 he received in cryptocurrency bribes.Lam Chun-yin, 32, who was a customer relationship manager at China Construction Bank (Asia), had previously pleaded guilty in District Court, The Standard reported on Saturday.Top Magazine Features of the WeekIs there any chance left to save the CLARITY Act?CLARITY isn’t dead after failing a key Senate vote, but with time running short and Democrats still demanding changes, its path forward is narrowing.Bitcoin treasury firms can outperform BTC… but is the risk worth taking?Bitcoin treasury companies promise to amplify returns over investing in Bitcoin alone, but does the potential upside outweigh the risks to the downside?Revolut ID thefts highlight KYC’s dangers: Here’s how to fix itZero-knowledge technology could let companies verify who you are without storing your identity documents. So why isn’t it already standard practice?Cointelegraph publishes long-form journalism, analysis and narrative reporting produced by Cointelegraph’s in-house editorial team with subject-matter expertise. All articles are edited and reviewed by Cointelegraph editors in line with our editorial standards. Some articles contain affiliate links, from which Cointelegraph may earn a commission. These relationships do not influence which products we review or our editorial conclusions. Content published in here does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals where appropriate. Cointelegraph maintains full editorial independence.

State hackers drive 420% surge in onchain malware, Chainalysis findsNorth Korean and Iran linked hackers were responsible for the majority of the 420% increase this year in malware on public blockchains according to a Chainalysis report. State-linked hackers accounted for roughly two-thirds of new activity whereby attackers stored malware instructions or infrastructure information on public blockchains.Chainalysis also identified UNC5342, a North Korea linked group, to previously unattributed activity spanning Tron, Aptos and BNB Smart Chain.Chainalysis said using public blockchains increases the durability of malware campaigns because the stored information remains accessible after domains, servers or code repositories are taken down. In 2025, North Korean hackers used a similar technique called EtherHiding to place crypto-stealing code in smart contracts.North Korea using foreign talent to help infiltrate US companies: ReportNorth Korea (DPRK) is now using remote workers from third countries, including Iran and Lebanon, to pass job interviews, after which the positions are taken over by North Korean operatives. The aim is infiltrate US companies and obtain money to fund its weapons programs, NBC reported.KOREAPolymarket users referred to prosecutors in South Korea: ReportSouth Korean police have referred 18 Polymarket users to prosecutors in an illegal gambling investigation that had identified 26 users in total by analyzing publicly available blockchain data.The users had collectively wagered about 17.6 billion won (worth $12.7 million) on Polymarket, which does not collect users real names or verify identities.  Authorities said that Polymarket transactions constitute illegal gambling under South Korea’s Criminal Act because users stake assets on outcomes that cannot be predicted with certainty. HONG KONGMetaplanet cuts Series 10 stock pool by 41%, plans Hong Kong subsidiaryAfter last week’s controversy over a plan to hand over as much as 20% of its fully diluted shares to executives, Metaplanet has now slashed the Series 10 stock pool.Metaplanet will reduce the number of potential shares underlying the rights from 319.464 million to 188.19 million, and reset the conversion ratio to the level it was before its September 2025 international share offering.The change will extinguish more than $220 million in warrant value and increase the company’s Bitcoin per fully diluted share by about 8.8%, according to Metaplanet.CLARITY act failure is an opportunity for Hong Kong to seize ‘critical strategic window’The South China Morning Post says crypto industry insiders are urging Hong Kong policymakers to seize the opportunity opened up by the failure of the CLARITY vote in the US. The delay has given Hong Kong a “critical strategic window” said Allen Ding, director of Bitfire Research. Shawn Yan, founder of Cregis Technology said the city should focus on “building infrastructure that can operate across regulatory boundaries, rather than waiting for any single jurisdiction to define the market for everyone.”CoinEx to cease operation after 9 yearsThe Hong Kong founded exchange said falling trading volumes and liquidity during the bear market, along with rising regulatory and compliance costs, was responsible for the decision to shutter the business. Withdrawals remain open until Dec. 22.INDIAIndia launches tokenized bond pilot with $107M issuedIndia’s securities regulator and central bank have launched a tokenized corporate bond pilot, with three companies issuing a combined 10.25 billion rupees (about $107 million) through the new market infrastructure. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said Demat 2.0 allows corporate bonds to be issued and held as digital tokens on a distributed ledger owned by the country’s statutory depositories. The system connects to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) through its Unified Market Interface. Parliamentary committee wraps year long crypto reviewIndia’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has completed its hearings on cryptocurrency policy. The government will respond next week before the committee prepares and submits its report.India’s Enforcement Directorate to beef up crypto investigationsIndia’s Enforcement Directorate aims to finalize economic crime investigations within 18 months and is beefing up its ability to track crimes involving cryptocurrencies.VIETNAMBitcoin Suisse becomes Bitcoin Vietnam?Bitcoin Suisse plans to shift up to half of its Swiss jobs to Bratislava and Vietnam.Founded in Zug in 2013, the company provides crypto trading, custody, staking and lending services. It will establish a new center in Vietnam to look after many of the back office and administrative roles.Vietnam develops new crypto-asset monitoring mechanisms Vietnamese regulators are building a supervisory mechanism covering crypto asset service providers and investor transactions. It draws upon recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).Binance signs MOU to help develop Vietnam finance centerBinance, the world’s largest exchange, has signed an agreement to help develop the Vietnam International Finance Center in Ho Chi Minh City.SINGAPORESingapore Exchange gets nod for US perpsSingapore Exchange has become the first major Asian TradFi exchange to get approval from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to provide Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures to US institutions. Singapore’s High Court offers guidance for valuing crypto assetsA recent decision has provided a precedent for valuing crypto assets in claims that departs from the usual breach-date damage assessment principles according to law firm Reed Smith. “The court is unlikely to allow claimants to delay mitigation for years and then seek damages at a higher present-day market price,” it noted.Six Malaysians jailed for crypto poker robberySix Malaysian men were sentenced in Singapore to hefty sentences up to 12 years and 11 months —plus 24 strokes of the cane — over a 2024 armed robbery involving crypto, cash, and luxury items.THAILANDThailand SEC proposes 5 million baht daily stablecoin transfer capThailand’s SEC has proposed new stablecoin regulations that would prohibit users from transferring more than 5 million baht per day, worth around $151,000. MALAYSIAMalaysia is one of the more crypto friendly Islamic nationsAccording to Fitch Ratings Malaysia is one of the most crypto curious Muslim majority nations, with the local Securities Commission declaring Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Stellar sharia-compliant.Cointelegraph publishes long-form journalism, analysis and narrative reporting produced by Cointelegraph’s in-house editorial team with subject-matter expertise. All articles are edited and reviewed by Cointelegraph editors in line with our editorial standards. Some articles contain affiliate links, from which Cointelegraph may earn a commission. These relationships do not influence which products we review or our editorial conclusions. Content published in here does not constitute financial, legal or investment advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals where appropriate. Cointelegraph maintains full editorial independence.