News linked to this event type.
THORChain has released its fourth update regarding the Asgard vault intrusion incident, publishing the ADR028 proposal and opening voting for node operators. The proposal indicates that the protocol will first absorb losses through its Protocol-Owned Liquidity (POL), with the remaining portion to be borne by synthetic asset holders. The exact proportion is still under evaluation. The POL will be reduced to zero as a result, and the proposal suggests allocating a portion of system revenue over time to gradually replenish it. This plan does not involve minting new RUNE, selling RUNE, or diluting holder equity.On the technical side, the GG20 version will be temporarily retained with a patch upgrade. Trading will resume after the vulnerability is fixed and a successful node rotation is completed. A slower, more security-focused release cadence is planned for the future.Regarding the slashing mechanism, unrelated nodes sharing the same vault as the attacker will be protected, while the attacker's node will be fully slashed. The recovered RUNE will be paired with recoverable assets from the affected vault, and any excess RUNE will be burned.Additionally, THORChain has offered a white-hat bounty to the attacker to recover funds. If a portion of the funds is recovered, the recovery plan will be adjusted proportionally. THORChain emphasizes its commitment to remaining neutral and permissionless, stating it will not censor the attacker's swap transactions after trading resumes.Currently, node operators are voting on the overall direction and principles of the proposal. The specific figures in the ADR are indicative and will be adjusted later via the Mimir mechanism. The goal is to restart the network as soon as possible. A "yes" vote means developers can proceed further along this path.
: Galaxy Digital founder Mike Novogratz testified in the Delaware Court of Chancery that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made it very difficult for the company to proceed with the planned $1.2 billion merger with BitGo in 2021. The merger was the largest cryptocurrency merger plan at the time. Galaxy Digital canceled the deal in August 2022, and BitGo subsequently demanded a $100 million termination fee from Galaxy Digital.Mike Novogratz stated that regulatory approval was unlikely to be achieved, and BitGo failed to provide the required financial information on time, thus forfeiting its right to the $100 million termination fee. BitGo CEO Mike Belshe, however, said BitGo had provided all necessary information. The trial is currently expected to conclude this week, and the judge will decide whether BitGo is entitled to the $100 million fee. (Cointelegraph)
Binance CEO Richard Teng responded to a related report by The Wall Street Journal on platform X, stating that the report still contains "fundamental errors" regarding the facts and Binance's commitment to its compliance framework.Richard Teng stated that the transactions mentioned by The Wall Street Journal all occurred before the relevant individuals were sanctioned, and Binance did not allow any sanctioned individuals to trade on the platform.He also said that Binance had proactively investigated the matter before being contacted by The Wall Street Journal and had provided the relevant facts to the publication, but this information was not published.Furthermore, Richard Teng emphasized that Binance has a "zero tolerance" policy for illegal activities, has established an industry-leading compliance system, and will continue to cooperate with U.S. and global law enforcement agencies to combat financial crime.Previous news: WSJ: Over $850 Million in Funds Linked to Iranian Regime Transferred Through Binance Over the Past Two Years
the prediction market platform Polymarket is seeking approval from the Japanese government and plans to operate its prediction market business in Japan by 2030. It has already appointed local representatives to carry out lobbying efforts.According to reports, Polymarket views Japan as a significant yet underdeveloped market. Due to Japan's strict gambling regulations, Polymarket currently blocks Japanese users from participating in prediction market transactions.Under Japanese criminal law, habitual gambling is punishable by up to three years in prison, while operating a gambling business can lead to a maximum of five years in prison. A Polymarket spokesperson stated that the company has observed "substantial organic interest" from users in Japan and the Asia region and continues to evaluate opportunities to expand global market access in a compliant manner. (Bloomberg)
Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, posted on X announcing that cirBTC is即将 launched. Circle Wrapped Bitcoin (cirBTC) is a tokenized Bitcoin backed 1:1 by native Bitcoin, issued by Circle on the Ethereum mainnet and the Arc network. Each cirBTC is backed 1:1 by native Bitcoin held in custody by regulated entities within the Circle group.
According to Cointelegraph, a petition in South Korea calling for the abolition of the 22% tax on cryptocurrency investment gains has surpassed the 50,000-signature threshold, triggering the mandatory review mechanism of the National Assembly’s Committee on Strategy and Finance. The petition currently has over 52,000 signatures. This tax policy is scheduled to take effect in January 2027. Petitioners argue that taxing crypto assets is significantly heavier than taxation applied to other asset classes, which will increase investors’ burdens, restrict upward mobility—especially for younger demographics—and potentially lead to industry contraction and capital and talent flight. Meanwhile, South Korea’s cryptocurrency market continues to shrink: total crypto asset holdings have declined from approximately 121.8 trillion KRW (about $83.3 billion) in January 2025 to roughly 60.6 trillion KRW (about $41.4 billion) in February 2026. Daily trading volume across the country’s top five exchanges has also plummeted—from $11.6 billion in December 2024 to $3 billion.
the South Korean government plans to inject some of the excess tax revenue from the semiconductor industry boom in cash into a new sovereign wealth fund set to launch in the second half of this year. The fund originally planned to raise 20 trillion won through in-kind contributions, such as government-held shares in state-owned enterprises, but has now decided to add several trillion won in cash, expanding its seed capital to nearly 30 trillion won (approximately $20 billion).The fund is a growth-oriented fund aimed at making medium to long-term investments in promising companies at the growth stage within South Korea's strategic industries. The relevant establishment bill is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly in June, with the funds included in the 2027 budget proposal.
Bankr posted on platform X, stating that the team is currently working with external partners such as zeroShadow to continue the investigation and restoration efforts. It is expected that full functionality will be restored by next week after completing additional security reviews and monitoring measures.Bankr stated that in the short term, it may gradually restore token issuance and some "read-only" features, allowing users to view account information such as balances. However, wallet transaction functions, including swap and transfer, will remain suspended during the review period.Previously, Bankr disclosed that an attacker had gained access to 14 Bankr wallets. The platform subsequently suspended related functions and promised full compensation for user losses.
According to Bits.media, Ivan Chebeskov, Deputy Minister of Finance of Russia, stated that the final version of the government’s cryptocurrency market regulation bill will retain the prohibition on transfers from locally hosted wallets to unhosted wallets abroad, with more lenient conditions applicable only to participants in foreign trade activities. Officials noted that after the bill formally enters into force, authorities may explore use cases for certain unhosted wallets within an experimental framework; however, related discussions remain ongoing. The final version of the bill is expected to be completed next week and is likely to complete the legislative process before the end of the current State Duma’s spring session. Under the bill, starting July 2026, individuals and enterprises in Russia will only be permitted to legally purchase digital assets through licensed brokers, trust managers, or exchanges registered with the Central Bank of Russia, while access to foreign cryptocurrency platforms complying with sanctions against Russia will be restricted.
the Finance Committee of the German Bundestag has rejected a cryptocurrency tax reform proposal put forward by the Green Party.The proposal originally aimed to abolish the policy that exempts capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies sold after being held for more than one year. Under current German law, individuals are exempt from capital gains tax when selling crypto assets held for over a year.The Green Party argued that crypto assets should be subject to the same tax rules as other investment assets. However, opponents pointed out that the proposal could result in a higher tax burden for crypto investors compared to ordinary stock investors. The Green Party estimated that scrapping the relevant tax exemption could generate an additional approximately €11.4 billion in tax revenue annually for Germany. (Cryptopolitan)
Galaxy Digital founder Michael Novogratz and BitGo CEO Mike Belshe are currently litigating over the failed $1.2 billion merger deal from four years ago.According to reports, the transaction was originally intended to take the combined company public on Nasdaq, but was later terminated due to adjustments in SEC accounting guidance and market liquidity crises triggered by the Terra/Luna collapse.BitGo is demanding that Galaxy pay at least $100 million in termination fees, and accuses Galaxy of failing to take reasonable steps to advance the transaction while concealing details of an investigation by U.S. regulators. In response, Novogratz stated that Galaxy was not the subject of the investigation, and argued that BitGo has lost its eligibility to claim the termination fee for failing to submit required financial statements on time. (Bloomberg)
amid the escalating risk of conflict between Iran and the United States, financing networks linked to the Iranian regime have used Binance to establish a secret payment system to continuously funnel funds to military forces.According to the report, the network is operated by Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani, who describes himself as an "anti-sanctions" manipulator. Internal compliance reports from Binance show that as of last December, the network had conducted approximately 850 million US dollars in transactions through Binance over the past two years, with most of the transactions concentrated in a single account. (WSJ)
Odaily news – U.S. Representative Nick Begich has introduced the "American Reserve Modernization Act," which has garnered support from 16 original co-sponsors.The bill proposes establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve, consolidating digital assets held by the federal government, and locking Bitcoin as a long-term reserve asset for at least 20 years. It also calls for studying budget-neutral Bitcoin purchase strategies and preventing future administrations or Congress from liquidating the reserves in question.Reports indicate that Trump had previously established a strategic Bitcoin reserve through an executive order, and this bill aims to formalize those arrangements into law. (Bitcoin News)
Legal professionals pointed out that if the review concludes that Polymarket has violated regulations, it could face the risk of being blocked—or even forced to exit the market—in South Korea. Currently, several countries—including France, Germany, and Italy—have designated Polymarket as an illegal gambling website and blocked access to it.
According to The Block, JPMorgan analysts noted in their latest report that tokenized money market funds currently account for only about 5% of the stablecoin market size and are expected to continue growing—but unless there is a significant shift in the regulatory environment, they are unlikely to surpass a market share ceiling of 10%–15%. The analysts believe stablecoins remain the preferred cash instrument in the crypto ecosystem due to their widespread use in trading, settlement, cross-border payments, and liquidity management. In contrast, tokenized money market funds—classified as securities—are subject to structural regulatory disadvantages, including requirements for registration, disclosure, and transfer restrictions, making them difficult to circulate freely within on-chain ecosystems. Although the U.S. SEC has introduced streamlined processes for issuing on-chain money market funds, JPMorgan analysts view this as only a “marginal improvement,” insufficient to fundamentally alter the market dynamics between these two asset classes.
According to Decrypt, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has filed a lawsuit against Bitcoin ATM operator CoinFlip, accusing it of “knowingly facilitating fraudulent transactions” and seeking a $1.83 million fine as well as a ban on its operations in the state. CoinFlip responded that the lawsuit is “baseless” and urged authorities to instead investigate the actual criminals. Against this backdrop, U.S. states are intensifying regulatory crackdowns on Bitcoin ATMs—particularly targeting scams targeting elderly individuals. FBI data shows that related losses reached $389 million in 2025.
According to Bloomberg, Michael Novogratz, founder and billionaire CEO of Galaxy Digital, faced off in court this week against Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo Holdings, in a four-year-long merger dispute. BitGo is seeking at least $100 million in breach-of-contract damages from Galaxy, stemming from Galaxy’s $1.2 billion acquisition proposal for BitGo in 2021—the largest deal in cryptocurrency industry history at the time—which ultimately collapsed amid the crypto market downturn. BitGo alleges that Galaxy failed to use reasonable efforts to consummate the transaction and concealed material details regarding U.S. regulatory investigations into Galaxy—investigations that could have significantly impacted the merger’s completion.
Odaily, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce stated that the SEC’s “innovation exemption” for tokenized stocks is expected to apply only to on-chain equity products.She pointed out that synthetic tokens that merely mimic stock price performance but do not carry full shareholder rights are expected to be ineligible for the relevant regulatory exemption. (Cointelegraph)
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming stated, “No rules do not mean no harm—rather, they mean no recourse,” and reiterated her long-standing advocacy for the passage of the Clarity Act, emphasizing that the bill aims to establish a clear regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States.
MoonPay has announced the launch of a new platform, MoonPay Trade, designed for banks, fintech companies, and enterprise clients. It provides unified access to tokenized assets, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and stablecoin liquidity across over 200 blockchain networks.The platform is powered by Decent.xyz, a cross-chain routing infrastructure company recently acquired by MoonPay for a reported "high eight-figure USD amount." MoonPay stated that this product will serve as the core execution layer for its institutional business, MoonPay Institutional, which is led by former Acting Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Caroline Pham.MoonPay Trade will support subscriptions for tokenized funds, collateral transfers, and integrations with DeFi protocols such as Aave, Morpho, and Maple Finance, enabling institutions to conduct lending and yield generation operations directly on-chain.Industry data shows that the current scale of tokenized real-world assets (RWA) has exceeded $33 billion, growing threefold within a year. Traditional financial institutions, including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and JPMorgan, have successively launched tokenized fund products, accelerating the influx of institutional capital into on-chain finance.MoonPay stated that as institutions continue to advance their tokenized asset strategies, its goal is to provide traditional financial institutions with the infrastructure capabilities for compliant access to on-chain markets through a unified interface. (CoinDesk)