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The UK government plans a stablecoin and tokenization rules overhaul, appointing former FCA official Chris Woolard to support work on its digital markets strategy. The United Kingdom is revisiting its payments rulebook to support the adoption of new fintech and payment technologies such as stablecoins and tokenization. In a Tuesday announcement, HM Treasury and Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby said the government will consult on reforms for payment services and electronic money rules. The Treasury said the changes are meant to create a single framework for traditional and tokenized payments, including stablecoins and tokenized deposits. It also said it plans to bring forward legislation to reduce administrative burdens for companies seeking to offer stablecoin payment services. Read more
South Korea's tax authority is looking to build crypto transaction tracking software that can help track potential tax evaders. South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) has opened a tender for software licenses to track virtual asset transactions as part of tax evasion enforcement, according to a government procurement notice. The notice said the contract is for “virtual asset tax evasion response transaction-tracking software licenses,” with a budget of 146.5 million won (around $99,500), including value-added tax and delivery due within 30 days of contract signing. Bid submissions are scheduled for April 28 to April 30, with proposal evaluation set for May 7. The procurement notice itself gives limited detail on the software’s technical scope. However, citing an official from the NTS scientific investigation unit, local outlet ZDNet Korea reported that the software would allow officials to monitor crypto transactions in real time, visualize transfers between specific wallet addresses and exchanges, and supp...
Private key compromises led crypto hack losses over the past decade as recent DeFi exploits show attackers moving beyond smart contract bugs. Private key compromises are emerging as one of crypto’s costliest attack vectors, with hackers stealing more than $17 billion across 518 recorded incidents over the past decade, according to data platform DefiLlama. In data shared Tuesday, DefiLlama’s dashboard shows a large share of those incidents stemmed from compromised private keys, alongside phishing and other credential-based attacks. Around 22.3% of the incidents were attributed to private key compromises through “brute force,” 18.2% to private key compromises via “unknown methods,” and 10% occurred due to phishing attacks on multi-signature wallets. Read more
Matter Labs’ Alex Gluchowski says Canton isn’t a blockchain, while Digital Asset co-founders argue public chains aren’t that different. Banks are moving onchain through competing models that take different approaches to how financial rules are enforced. On the one hand are blockchain-native builders like Matter Labs co-founder Alex Gluchowski, who argue that financial systems require rules to be enforced across all participants. On the other are networks built for institutions like Canton, which prioritize privacy, control and interoperability over global state. Gluchowski is among the most vocal critics of the latter approach, arguing it reproduces the limitations of traditional finance in a new form. The core of the critique is whether rules can be enforced across an entire network. That’s not possible in systems like Canton, he claimed. Read more
Most XRP investors are back in profit, increasing the chance for a rally to $2.24, but bulls must first hold the price above $1.40. XRP’s (XRP) 28% rebound from its macro low at $1.12 pushed it above its realized price. In other words, the average XRP holder is no longer in the red. Is this enough fuel for the bulls to push the altcoin’s price to $2.24? Key takeaways: Read more
A falling VIX signals improving risk appetite, boosting Bitcoin’s chances of attracting fresh demand and breaking above the $80,000 level. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), a preferred Wall Street metric to measure investor sentiment and market risk, dropped by over 45% in under a month. For Bitcoin (BTC), this could be a significant bullish signal. Key takeaways: Bitcoin may rise toward $82,700 if VIX keeps underperforming. Read more
BitMEX has partnered with Zodia Custody to enable institutional crypto derivatives trading via off-exchange collateral held in segregated custody. BitMEX, a derivatives-focused cryptocurrency exchange, said it has secured a custody partner to enable asset segregation and trading with off-exchange assets. The company announced Tuesday a partnership with Zodia Custody to allow traders to access derivatives while keeping collateral in segregated custody. The integration is immediately accessible via Interchange, Zodia Custody’s off-venue settlement solution. BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz told Cointelegraph the move reflects lessons from past market failures, including the FTX collapse and the $1.4 billion Bybit hack, which exposed risks tied to unsegregated or compromised exchange-held funds. Read more
The Kelp DAO attacker has moved $175 million of stolen Ether in an apparent bid to start laundering it after the $290 million exploit. The attacker behind the roughly $290 million Kelp DAO exploit began moving tens of thousands of Ether to newly created blockchain addresses on Tuesday, in what appears to be an effort to start laundering the stolen funds. The wallet tagged by Arkham as linked to the Kelp DAO exploit moved about 75,700 Ether (ETH) worth roughly $175 million across three transactions on Tuesday, including a 25,000 ETH transfer to one newly created address and transfers of 50,700 ETH and 0.7 ETH to another. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT wrote in a Tuesday Telegram post that addresses tied to the exploit had begun moving funds through THORChain and Umbra. He flagged three THORChain transactions totaling about $1.5 million and a separate $78,000 transfer through Umbra. Read more
Shipping companies with vessels stranded near the Strait of Hormuz are being targeted by scammers posing as Iranian authorities, demanding Bitcoin or USDt for safe passage. Fraudulent actors posing as Iranian authorities have reportedly sent messages to shipping companies whose vessels remain stranded west of the Strait of Hormuz, demanding payment in cryptocurrency for safe passage. On Monday, maritime risk company Marisks issued a warning saying unknown groups had contacted shipowners claiming to represent Iranian security services and requesting transit “fees” in Bitcoin (BTC) or USDt (USDT) in exchange for clearance through the strait, according to Reuters. “These specific messages are a scam,” Marisks reportedly said, adding that they do not originate from Iranian authorities. Tehran has not publicly commented on the claims. Read more
Promoters of flagged platforms may face fines of up to 5 million Philippine pesos ($89,000) or up to 21 years in prison under Philippine securities law. The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a public investor alert warning Filipinos not to invest in dYdX and six other crypto trading platforms, saying they are not registered or authorized to solicit investments in the country. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the SEC named dYdX, Aevo, gTrade, Pacifica, Orderly, Deriv and Ostium, stating that based on its findings, the platforms appear to be offering investments to the public in exchange for promised returns, profits or interest. The regulator said none of the listed entities are registered with the Commission or hold the required authorization under its crypto-asset service provider (CASP) framework, which requires firms offering crypto-related services in the Philippines to obtain licenses and meet capital and operational requirements. Read more
New Bank of Korea Governor Hyun-Song Shin supported CBDCs and deposit tokens in his first address, while stablecoins were notably absent from his remarks. The newly appointed governor of the Bank of Korea, Hyun-Song Shin, has voiced support for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and tokenized deposits in his first public address. Shin, who began his four-year term after an inauguration ceremony in Seoul on Tuesday, said the central bank will advance the second phase of “Project Hangang,” a Bank of Korea-led pilot project to test a blockchain-based, wholesale CBDC system. He also pointed to international cooperation efforts, including the Agora Project, an international collaborative initiative launched in April 2024 by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and seven central banks to explore the tokenization of cross-border payments. Shin said these initiatives “will elevate the status of the Korean won in the digital payment environment.” Read more
STRC's dropped below its $100 par value, indicating that Strategy will likely pause Bitcoin buying this week, which could help the bears pull price down to $70,000. Bitcoin (BTC) rose 2.66% to around $75,800 on Monday after Strategy disclosed a $2.54 billion purchase, the company’s third biggest ever, and equivalent to about 2.5 months of new BTC supply. However, several indicators suggest the rally may fizzle out. Key takeaways: Read more
A 12-bank European consortium led by Qivalis is partnering with Fireblocks to develop a regulated euro stablecoin under MiCA, targeting launch in the second half of 2026. A consortium of 12 European banks led by Qivalis has selected digital asset custody provider Fireblocks to provide infrastructure for a Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA)-compliant euro stablecoin, according to a Tuesday release shared with Cointelegraph. Qivalis’s stablecoin is intended to support institutional use cases such as settlement, treasury and tokenized assets. Fireblocks said it will provide tokenization technology, wallet infrastructure, custody, and other important tools and features to support compliance, such as identity verification and sanctions screening. Qivalis, launched in 2025, is a Netherlands-based venture backed by major banks including BBVA, BNP Paribas, ING and UniCredit, which plans to issue a fully regulated, 1:1-backed euro token structured as an electronic money institution under Dutch supervision. Th...
A fake police raid enabled a $1 million Bitcoin robbery, exposing the rise of wrench attacks and the shift from digital hacks to physical crypto threats. Crypto security is expanding beyond digital threats, with criminals increasingly targeting individuals directly through physical coercion rather than trying to exploit blockchain vulnerabilities or hack wallets. The French case illustrates how attackers used a fake police raid and violence to force a Bitcoin transfer worth $1 million, bypassing encryption entirely by compelling the victim to authorize the transaction. Wrench attacks are rising, with criminals using threats or force instead of technical exploits. This highlights how human vulnerability can override even the most secure cryptographic systems. Read more
Prediction market platforms took center stage on HBO‘s Last Week Tonight on Sunday as host John Oliver addressed regulation, laws and market manipulation. John Oliver, host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, targeted prediction market platforms on his show’s latest weekly deep dive. In Sunday’s airing of the HBO show, Oliver discussed some of the trivial event contracts on platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, including betting whether members of the Trump administration would use certain words in public addresses, to the companies’ controversial partnering with news organizations. Specifically, the host questioned Donald Trump Jr.’s relationship with both platforms — an adviser to Kalshi and Polymarket — and how the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “doesn’t even seem to be trying” to block event contracts on terrorism, assassination and war under Chair Michael Selig. Read more
The funding supports a dual-licensed platform as Malaysia expands its regulatory framework for digital assets and tokenization. Bybit has led an $8 million Series A funding round in Hata, a dual-licensed digital asset exchange operating in Malaysia. The round also included participation from global family offices and follows Bybit’s earlier investment in Hata’s $4.2 million seed round. According to Monday’s announcement, the funding will be used to improve liquidity, expand the user base and develop additional digital asset products. Hata operates under licenses from the Securities Commission Malaysia and the Labuan Financial Services Authority, allowing it to offer trading and custody services for digital assets in the Southeast Asian country. Read more
While the regulator under Atkins has dropped several cases against crypto companies, the SEC still awaits passage of a market structure bill to clarify its authority over crypto. Since Paul Atkins was sworn in as chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 21, 2025, the agency has significantly changed its position on regulation and enforcement related to digital assets, marking a shift from the leadership of former chair Gary Gensler during the Biden administration. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump made removing Gensler one of his promises to the crypto industry, along with creating a national Bitcoin (BTC) stockpile and opposing the issuance of a US central bank digital currency. His November 2024 election win led to Gensler’s resignation in January 2025 and the appointment of SEC commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting chair of the financial regulator until the Senate could confirm Atkins as Trump’s pick to lead the agency. Read more
Bitcoin bulls retain control over the market, but charts show $80,000 is likely to remain a stiff overhead resistance. Will altcoins rally as BTC price consolidates? Key points: Buyers aggressively bought into the dip in Bitcoin, indicating positive sentiment. That increases the possibility of a rally to $84,000. Several major altcoins have pulled back to their support levels, signaling that the bears remain sellers on rallies. Read more
The purchase comes as the stablecoin issuer expands its investments across crypto infrastructure and financial services, including in Kaio, also announced today. Tether has taken an 8.2% stake in Antalpha, making the stablecoin issuer one of the company’s largest shareholders following its May 2025 initial public offering (IPO), according to a Monday filing. The Schedule 13D filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission indicates that Tether now holds 1.95 million shares through related entities, with Giancarlo Devasini, chairman of Tether, sharing voting and dispositive power over the position. The filing also states that Tether and its related entities may increase or reduce their holdings over time depending on market conditions and other factors. Read more10222 items