Autor Cointelegraph By Jesse Coghlan

A teenager suspected of involvement with the “Scattered Spider” hacking group has been extradited to the US over his alleged role in an $8 million crypto ransom.The US Justice Department said on Wednesday that Peter Stokes, a 19-year-old dual US-Estonian national, was arrested in Finland in April on an Interpol Red Notice and extradited to the US last week to appear in a Chicago federal court on Tuesday.A criminal complaint unsealed in court accused Stokes and others of breaching a luxury jewelry retailer’s computer system in May 2025 to steal data and demand a ransom payment of $8 million in crypto. The retailer managed to evict them from the network and did not pay the ransom, but suffered $2 million in disruption damages, according to the complaint.Stokes is one of the few arrests that authorities have tied to Scattered Spider, which often uses crypto ransoms. Ransomware actors received more than $820 million in payments last year, an 8% decline from 2024, even as attacks rose by 50%.An image the FBI took from Stokes’ Snapchat account shows him wearing a necklace that says “Hack the Planet,” a quote from the 1995 cult film “Hackers.” Source: US Department of JusticeAlleged hack started with phishing callAccording to the complaint, the hack against the jewelry retailer started with several phishing calls to the company’s technology help desk, with Stokes and others allegedly pretending to be employees requesting a reset of login credentials.Authorities alleged the hackers managed to compromise three employee accounts in as little as two hours, two of which belonged to company IT administrators, who had access to higher-privilege accounts that were also breached and used to access the company’s systems, After a few days, Stokes and others allegedly sent a ransom note from a compromised company email account to demand funds or they would publish credit card and payment information.However, the complaint said the company repelled the intrusion and that the intruders later contacted the company separately to demand $8 million, which the company did not pay.Stokes allegedly involved in “numerous intrusions”The complaint accused Stokes, who uses the online nicknames “Bouquet” and “Jordan,” of being a “Scattered Spider member who has engaged in numerous intrusions, or assisted in them” on multiple unnamed companies.Authorities claimed that a search of a storage device allegedly linked to Stokes showed it contained downloads from a virtual private server that Microsoft had identified as being used to carry out intrusions on companies.The complaint alleged that it also “contained exfiltrated records from multiple victim-companies.”Related: Taiko reopens bridge after $1.7M exploit, says users made wholeThe complaint claimed that Stokes’ Snapchat account shows “substantial wealth for a person his age” and alleged that he used the account to boast “about his international travel and wealth, and sent media regarding apprehended Scattered Spider members.”The Justice Department said that Scattered Spider, also known as “Octo Tempest,” “UNC3944,” and “0ktapus,” has been involved in over 100 network intrusions, resulting in more than $100 million in ransom payments and millions of dollars in damages.Stokes was charged with six counts related to hacking, cyber extortion, fraud and conspiracy.Magazine: Crypto scammers face death, Aussie CGT makes Asian hubs attractive: Asia Express

Tokenization platform Securitize rallied on its New York Stock Exchange debut on Thursday, as it brought tokenized versions of its shares to two blockchains.The company, which is backed by BlackRock and Morgan Stanley, began trading on the NYSE under the ticker SECZ on Thursday after merging with a Cantor Fitzgerald-backed special-purpose acquisition company to take it public.Securitize said Thursday that it simultaneously launched tokenized versions of its shares on the Avalanche and Solana blockchains, which will be available to eligible US investors on its platform.It marks the first time a newly public company has also offered tokenized stocks, an area of crypto technology that has quickly gained attention among major institutions drawn to the idea that it can bring deeper liquidity and longer trading hours.Securitize has carved out a lead in the tokenization space for institutions. It partnered with the NYSE in March to create tokenized assets for the exchange’s upcoming tokenized securities platform.US laws allow for tokenized stocks, Securitize saysSecuritize said that tokenizing its stock demonstrates that tokenized securities “can be issued and accessed in the US under existing securities laws and market structure,” adding that access will be subject to onboarding, eligibility, and customer ID and money-laundering checks.“We have long said that public equities are moving on-chain, and there is no stronger validation of that belief than tokenizing our own public stock on Day 1,” said Securitize co-founder and CEO Carlos Domingo.“SECZ is not a synthetic token or offshore wrapper. It is issuer-sponsored tokenization of the same common stock trading on the NYSE, made available through regulated infrastructure,” he added. “This is how tokenization should scale: with real ownership, regulatory clarity and the issuer at the center.”The US Securities and Exchange Commission clarified in January that issuer-sponsored tokenized securities are still subject to US securities laws.In mid-May, the SEC was reportedly ready to announce an exemption for the trading of tokenized stocks, but delayed the plan later that month after stock exchange officials raised concerns over how it would be implemented.Securitize shares rise on debutShares in Securitize (SECZ) hit a high of $13.70 in trading Thursday but retracted slightly and ended the day at $12.30, a gain of 4.4%. The share price continued to climb 2.4% after-hours to $12.60.Securitize ended its debut trading day on Thursday at a gain of nearly 4.5%. Source: Google FinanceSecuritize raised $400 million from its public offering at a valuation of more than $1 billion.The market for tokenized real-world assets currently exceeds $43 billion, the majority of which is tokenized money market funds, while tokenized commodities account for nearly $7 billion and tokenized stocks account for $1.6 billion, according to Token Terminal.Analysts expect the tokenization market to grow quickly in the coming years, with Citigroup predicting last month that it could grow to between $5.5 trillion and $8.2 trillion by 2030.Big Questions: Do we really only need 2–5 cryptocurrencies?

The company behind the dYdX decentralized exchange (DEX) has partnered with Robinhood to rebrand and launch the protocol as Arcus on the Robinhood Chain. An X account for Arcus posted on Wednesday that “dYdX is now Arcus” and would launch on the Robinhood Chain, Robinhood’s Arbitrum-based layer 2 blockchain that went live the same day.The dYdX Foundation said that dYdX Labs created Arcus “in partnership with Robinhood” and that the dYdX blockchain “is not affected by it in any way.” The platform is set to be blockchain’s “leading DEX” and will give users access to perpetual products and fee-free trading of 95 tokenized stocks.Source: Charles d’HaussyThe DEX is part of Robinhood’s expanded push into tokenized assets and perpetual trading, two areas of crypto that have recently exploded in popularity as US regulators have shown interest in allowing the products to more easily come to market.Robinhood’s embrace of perpetual trading comes as it looks to entice traders who have flocked to the crypto perpetual futures platform Hyperliquid, whose token has climbed nearly 150% so far this year as it has captured market share.Arcus to offer tokenized stock, perps trading“Until now, traders have been shut out of the most valuable markets on earth — US equities, commodities, and indices — because of where they live, market hours, and institutions restricting access,” Arcus said in a blog post. “We built Arcus to reduce these barriers.”The protocol said that it will offer perpetuals and tokenized stock trading that will go live this month, allowing tokenized stocks to be used as collateral for perpetuals and providing access to pre-IPO markets.Related: CFTC chair says perp trading not suitable for all assets it regulatesIt added that Robinhood Crypto, the company’s crypto technology arm, made an investment in Arcus but did not disclose further details.The dYdX Foundation said that Arcus “is a distinct, independent product built on separate infrastructure” and that the dYdX blockchain would continue to operate and be owned by its community.Major retail-focused trading platforms have been moving to expand their offerings to remain competitive. Crypto exchange Coinbase has looked to rival Robinhood and become a full-service trading platform, having added access to thousands of stocks earlier this year.Robinhood’s blockchain also follows a similar move from Coinbase in 2023, when the latter launched its Ethereum layer-2 blockchain Base that has grown to be the fifth-largest by value locked, according to DeFiLlama.Meanwhile, Bitget Wallet, the self-custodial wallet from the Bitget crypto exchange, said on Wednesday that it partnered with Robinhood Crypto to integrate the company’s blockchain to allow its users to trade tokenized stocks.The decentralized exchange 1inch also said on Wednesday that it would be among the first major swap platforms to support Robinhood Chain. Big Questions: Do we really only need 2–5 cryptocurrencies?

Shares in the Trump family-backed American Bitcoin (ABTC) sank to an all-time low on Wednesday after the crypto miner set a date for a 1-for-15 reverse stock split in a bid to stay listed on the Nasdaq.American Bitcoin said its reverse stock split will go into effect after the market closes Thursday and will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis when the market opens Monday. It would continue to trade under the ticker ABTC.It said every 15 shares of the company’s Class A and B common stock will be reclassified as one share. The company expects its common stock to be reduced from more than 1 billion outstanding shares to about 73 million.American Bitcoin is the only public crypto company tied to the Trump family’s sprawling interests in the sector, and a reverse stock split is typically seen as a negative, as it indicates the company is in distress and is looking to artificially boost its share price. American Bitcoin said the split aims to prop up its shares to maintain compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum bid requirements, which allow the exchange to delist the company if it trades below a $1 closing price for 30 consecutive trading days.Shareholders had approved the reverse stock split on June 22.American Bitcoin shares hit all-time lowShares in American Bitcoin dropped nearly 8.4% to close trading Wednesday at an all-time low of 62 cents. The stock saw a slight lift after-hours, rising 4.5% to 65 cents.American Bitcoin’s stock tumbled to an all-time closing low of 62 cents on Wednesday. Source: Google FinanceAmerican Bitcoin’s stock is down more than 63% so far this year and has fallen more than 92% since the brand started trading on the Nasdaq on Sept. 3.The company was co-founded early last year by US President Donald Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.American Bitcoin merged with the Nasdaq-listed Gryphon Digital Mining to go public, with the Trump brothers and crypto miner Hut 8 together owning around 98% of the newly formed company.Related: Bitcoin miners need billions to fund AI ambitions, led by IREN’s $21B gapThe company’s falling share price comes amid a wider downturn in the crypto market. American Bitcoin reported in May that it lost $81.7 million in the first quarter.Other crypto companies have also turned to reverse stock splits to prop up their share price. Bitcoin financial services company Nakamoto completed a 1-for-40 reverse stock split in May in a bid to stay listed on the Nasdaq after it reached a low of 16 cents in April.Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at around $60,000 early Thursday, down 32% so far this year and having more than halved from its peak of more than $126,000 in October, according to CoinGecko.Magazine: Clarity Act risks repeat of Europe’s mistakes, crypto lawyer warns

Taiwanese lawmakers on Tuesday passed a law to establish a regulatory framework for crypto, which includes licensing and rules for stablecoins.The country’s financial watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), said that the Legislative Yuan passed the law requiring all virtual asset service providers, or VASPs, to get approval from the regulator to operate.The law also says stablecoins issued in the country must get approval from the central bank and the FSC, and issuers must maintain sufficient reserves with a trustee and undergo regular audits.The law is the first to regulate crypto and stablecoins in Taiwan, bringing it in line with other nations in the region, such as Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, that have long passed laws to regulate the sector in a bid to attract the industry.The FSC said the bill further strengthens the protection of traders’ rights and that issuing stablecoins will help Taiwan integrate with the international market and secure a place in the global crypto market.Source: CointelegraphTaiwan’s rules outline seven types of VASPs, including exchanges, trading platforms, custodians and lenders, which will all be subject to rules for internal control and audits, cybersecurity systems, crypto listing and delisting rules, customer asset segregation and financial reporting.The rules outlaw crypto-based fraud and price manipulation, with violators facing between three and 10 years in prison and fines ranging from about 10 million New Taiwan dollars ($300,000) to 200 million New Taiwan dollars ($6.3 million).Those caught operating a VASP or issuing a stablecoin without a license face up to seven years in prison and fines of up to 100 million New Taiwan dollars ($3.1 million), Taiwan’s national news agency, CNA, reported on Tuesday. Related: US ban on stablecoin yield could see others fill the void: Ledger execThe implementation date of the bill is still to be determined, and the law will take effect only after it is published by the government’s executive branch.The FSC said VASPs that complete anti-money laundering registration before the bill is implemented, and institutions that provide related services under the agency, should apply for a license within 12 months after the bill is implemented.CNA reported that lawmakers also passed a resolution asking the FSC to propose a plan within a year outlining how the crypto industry can provide derivative crypto commodity services, with the aim of providing diversified investments and improving the sector’s health.Asia Express: Japanese pension fund tips 1% in crypto, G7 urges action on NK hackers