After Bitcoin pushed into the $82,000–$83,000 band, short‑dated implied volatility has bounced from late‑2025 lows, with a roughly $2 billion short‑gamma pocket around $82,000 turning dealer hedging into a potential amplifier of every move.

On-chain analytics firm Glassnode notes that after Bitcoin (BTC) broke key resistance and traded into the $82,000–$83,000 area, options markets “snapped back to life,” with front-end implied volatility climbing meaningfully from cyclical lows. Studio data show at‑the‑money 1‑week implied volatility near 52% at the end of March, versus mid‑40s readings seen during the October 2025 lull, implying about a 6‑point rebound in short-dated IV as traders re-engage with near-term options.

At the same time, the classic 25‑delta skew — the gap between put and call IV at 25‑delta — has compressed toward zero across key tenors. Glassnode’s skew dashboards show BTC’s normalized 1‑week 25D skew near 10.5% in late March, down from more extreme put‑heavy readings seen during prior drawdowns, while an updated IBIT-specific 25D skew series is hovering close to flat for 1‑week maturities. In practice, that means traders are no longer willing to pay a steep premium for downside puts; demand for short‑term bearish hedges has faded as spot grinds higher and realized volatility stays contained.

Volatility risk premium turns positive

Crucially for options desks, Glassnode points out that the volatility risk premium has turned positive again. In other words, the implied volatility embedded in options prices has risen above the level of realized volatility observed in the spot market, reversing the deeply discounted IV regime that prevailed during the late‑2025 chop. Product updates published in January and December describe this as a central signal: when VRP is positive, option sellers can once again collect a premium for warehousing volatility risk, and buyers must pay up for tail protection or leveraged convexity.

Glassnode’s Week‑18 “Bulls Approach the Ceiling” note adds that the recent move has been driven mainly by the front end of the curve. One‑week and one‑month IV have repriced “sharply,” while three‑ and six‑month maturities are only up 1–2 vol points, reflecting “a short-term re-engagement in optionality without a broader shift in long-dated volatility expectations.” That term‑structure shape — steeper at the front, relatively anchored at the back — fits a market that expects choppy action around $80,000–$85,000 rather than a new secular regime shift.

$2 billion gamma short at $82,000 and heavy call selling

Positioning is where this becomes reflexive. Glassnode highlights a concentrated short‑gamma pocket around the $82,000 strike, with options open interest implying nearly $2 billion of negative gamma exposure in that region. As a separate Binance research post on the $80,000–$82,000 “gamma wall” explains, when dealers are short gamma at a given strike, they are forced to buy BTC as price rises and sell as it falls in order to stay delta‑neutral. That hedging pattern can mechanically amplify volatility: once spot trades into the cluster, relatively small moves can trigger disproportionately large hedge flows, exaggerating both squeezes and flushes around the level.

Glassnode adds that the last 24 hours of BTC options flow have been dominated by call overwriting, with “selling call options accounting for 81% of trading flow,” a clear sign that some traders are locking in profits rather than paying up for further upside. Combined with the neutralizing skew and positive VRP, that flow mix points to a market leaning toward consolidation and yield generation — selling topside volatility into strength — rather than panicked demand for downside insurance.

For directional crypto traders, the message is double‑edged. On the one hand, diminished put skew and a positive VRP are typical of late‑stage rallies that are still intact but maturing. On the other, the $2 billion gamma short cluster around $82,000 means that any decisive break above or below that zone could trigger mechanically driven volatility spikes, making the next leg as much about dealer hedging reflexes as about fundamentals.

Switzerland’s bid to compel the central bank to hold Bitcoin appears to have fallen short of a nationwide referendum. Organizers reported they gathered roughly half the 100,000 signatures required under Swiss law, a threshold they could not meet, according to Reuters.

The proposal would have amended the Swiss constitution to mandate the Swiss National Bank (SNB) hold Bitcoin alongside gold and foreign currency assets. The SNB has long opposed adding digital assets to its reserves, arguing that cryptocurrencies do not meet reserve-management standards due to volatility and liquidity concerns. Reuters cited the central bank’s persistent stance as a major hurdle for the initiative.

Campaign founder Yves Bennaim told Reuters the effort was always unlikely to succeed, but he said it still advanced the debate about Bitcoin’s place in global finance. Supporters argued that including Bitcoin could help diversify Switzerland’s reserves away from dollar- and euro-denominated assets, which Reuters noted account for roughly three-quarters of the SNB’s foreign currency holdings.

Key takeaways

• Swiss petition to force the SNB to hold Bitcoin failed to reach the required signatures for a national vote, signaling the practical difficulty of altering central-bank mandate through a popular referendum.
• The SNB has consistently opposed crypto inclusion in its reserves, citing volatility and liquidity risks that complicate sovereign-level risk management.
• Despite the setback in Switzerland, debates over Bitcoin’s role in sovereign reserves continue, with El Salvador and Bhutan cited as notable, though divergent, examples of government engagement with BTC.
• The broader trend remains cautious: while corporations embraced Bitcoin treasuries in 2025, sovereign adoption remains limited and uneven, reflecting regulatory, logistical, and political considerations.
• In the United States, a separate strategic posture toward Bitcoin has surfaced through an executive action establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, signaling a long-term, budgetary-strategy-oriented approach to digital assets.

Swiss bid tests the boundaries of monetary policy and crypto politics

The Swiss campaign aimed to constitutionalize a new reserve rule, aligning the SNB’s asset mix with the volatility-conscious framework central banks typically maintain. While the idea of a Bitcoin-inclusive reserve sparked debate about how a modern monetary authority could react to digital assets, the practical path to constitutional change proved blocked by signature collection hurdles and a central bank reticence that resonates with many policymakers worldwide.

Observers note that proponents framed Bitcoin as a potential hedge against traditional fiat exposure, while skeptics highlighted liquidity constraints, price swings, and the governance challenges that come with managing a state-level cryptocurrency position. The SNB’s stance remains rooted in risk management principles that prioritize stable, liquid assets for foreign reserves. A failed referendum does not eliminate the wider discussion, but it does curb the immediacy of a constitutional pivot in Switzerland.

For investors and markets, the episode reinforces the message that sovereigns continue to weigh the costs and benefits of crypto exposure at the central-bank level, distinct from the corporate treasury plays that gained traction in earlier years. The Swiss case also underscores how public appetite for bold monetary experiments can be tempered by institutional caution and the practical realities of reserve management.

Global trend: sovereigns toe the line on Bitcoin reserves

The year 2025 marked a notable wave of corporate treasuries embracing Bitcoin as a crypto-forward treasury tool, but sovereign adoption has remained deliberately restrained. El Salvador stands out as the most explicit national experiment, having incorporated Bitcoin into its policy framework and holdings. BitcoinTreasuries.com data indicate El Salvador currently holds 7,645 BTC as part of its sovereign approach, reflecting a deliberate, policy-driven accumulation strategy rather than opportunistic purchases.

Bhutan, often cited for its ambitious, hydro-powered crypto agenda, built much of its early BTC exposure through state-backed mining operations that leveraged surplus renewable energy to develop a digital economy. However, recent data from Arkham Intelligence shows a notable shift in Bhutan-related activity, with wallets linked to the country reporting a sizable reduction in reserves—from around 13,000 BTC at the end of 2024 to roughly 3,654 BTC by April 2026, following a sequence of large transfers and what appears to be asset-rotation activity.

Beyond these two cases, the three largest sovereign holders of Bitcoin—the United States, China and the United Kingdom—largely acquired their holdings through means other than ongoing market purchases. Analysts note that seized assets and forfeiture actions have contributed to the bulk of these totals, rather than explicit, budget-driven expansion of reserves through routine acquisitions.

In a related development, the U.S. government signaled a strategic posture toward Bitcoin through a high-profile policy action. On March 6, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a United States Digital Asset Stockpile. The order states that BTC held by the reserve “shall not be sold” and would be maintained as reserve assets of the United States. While the executive action envisions exploring budget-neutral strategies for augmenting the BTC stockpile, the reserve is initially backed by BTC already held by the government through forfeiture proceedings. The move marks a formal, forward-looking stance on digital assets as part of national strategy, even as it leaves open questions about implementation, oversight, and long-term fiscal implications.

The broader implication of these developments is clear: even as some nations flirt with crypto as a tool for diversification and strategic autonomy, many others remain cautious, prioritizing proven liquidity and risk-management standards. The Swiss episode adds to the mosaic of ongoing experiments, indicating that the path to sovereign Bitcoin adoption remains selective and highly contingent on regulatory clarity, macroeconomic considerations, and political consensus.

As markets digest these moves, investors and policymakers alike will watch for evolving precedents. Will more countries consider referenda or constitutional amendments to embed crypto in national reserves, or will official reserve strategies continue to favor traditional assets and carefully managed exposure to digital currencies? The coming years will likely reveal a spectrum of approaches—from formal, policy-driven allocations to cautious, incremental experimentation—alongside continuing debates about the role and safety of Bitcoin in sovereign balance sheets.

What to watch next: policymakers’ responses to sovereign reserve experiments will shape both risk profiles and institutional trust in crypto as a macro tool. Watch for any new data on holdings, shifts in reserve-management guidelines, and the regulatory contours that could either unlock or constrain further sovereign engagement with Bitcoin.

SHR Miner gains attention as investors seek stable crypto income amid Fed-driven market volatility.

Amid heightened macroeconomic volatility following the recent U.S. Federal Reserve policy update, the cryptocurrency market continues to draw investor attention. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin (BTC) traded around $80,185, Ether (ETH) at $2,294, and DOGE at $0.108, demonstrating resilient crypto price activity amid global monetary shifts.

During the most recent Federal Reserve policy cycle, market expectations for interest rate direction fluctuated repeatedly — investors bet on the Federal Reserve initiating an easing cycle to drive up asset prices, while simultaneously worrying about a lack of momentum after the positive news was priced in. 

Amid this volatility, many crypto investors are turning to more stable, long-term passive income paths, such as earning daily mining rewards through the SHR Miner AI online mining platform, rather than relying solely on price fluctuations.

Market authorities weigh in on crypto trends

Leading industry voices are highlighting the nuanced impact of monetary policy on digital assets:

CoinDesk reports that while Bitcoin and Ether prices reflect some easing expectations, volatility remains elevated as markets digest policy nuances. 

Analysts at The Block emphasize that cryptocurrency gains have been unevenly distributed as macro sentiment evolves. 

Wall Street commentators caution that rate changes alone are not sufficient to sustain longterm price momentum, underscoring the importance of diversified income strategies. 

These insights strengthen the case for passive, technology-driven strategies that generate consistent returns without solely relying on market price appreciation.

SHR Miner: Building a trusted global AI online mining leader

Founded in 2018 in the United Kingdom, SHR Miner has established itself as a world-class cloud mining platform supporting over 5 million users in more than 180 countries. With a broad global infrastructure and cutting-edge security, SHR Miner Platform Official Website delivers institutional-grade digital asset mining services at scale.

Key Strengths & Safety Features:

• Global Footprint: 150+ data centers deployed worldwide
• AIPowered Hashrate Scheduling: Smart allocation to high-yield mining channels
• MultiLayer Security: McAfee & Cloudflare protection, institutional custody with HSBC, Fireblocks cold wallet solution
• Licensed & Compliant: Registered with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and U.S. Money Services Business (MSB)
• MultiAsset Support: BTC, ETH, DOGE, USDT, USDC, XRP, SOL, LTC, BCH, and more
• Advanced Reward Models: VIP plans and referral ecosystem for long-term passive income
• Zero Technical Barriers: Fully cloud-based dashboard, real-time reward visibility

SHR Miner bridges advanced mining infrastructure with global compliance and institutional security — providing users with reliable, transparent passive income opportunities.

Featured online AI mining contract yields (USD daily revenue)

SHR Miner offers a range of flexible cloud mining contracts tailored for different investment goals. Below are high-interest options with clear daily expected returns:

Notes: Estimated yields may adjust based on real-time network difficulty and pricing. These figures are provided to help users quickly assess potential income generation.

Sample passive income scenarios

• A $100 starter contract can generate approximately $8 in aggregate rewards over its term — ideal for users seeking a low-entry proving ground.
• A $3,000 midterm contract can deliver over $600 in projected rewards over 15 days, offering a meaningful passive income component within a diversified crypto strategy.

These scenarios demonstrate how users can contextualize their income expectations based on contract selection.

Limited-time $15 free hashrate bonus

To help new users kickstart their passive crypto journey, SHR Miner is offering a limited-time $15 free hashrate reward upon registration.

How to Get Started:

1. Visit the official SHR Miner website.

2. Register and claim a $15 free hashrate bonus.

3. Download the app to monitor your rewards anytime.

Activate a bonus today and start earning passive crypto income powered by AIdriven cloud mining technology!

TLDR

• Kraken’s parent entity Payward has submitted an application for a national trust company charter to the OCC
• Approval would establish Payward National Trust Company, providing federally supervised digital asset custody services
• This application complements Kraken’s current Wyoming SPDI banking license and Federal Reserve master account access
• The company has allocated more than $2.6 billion toward recent strategic acquisitions, including NinjaTrader, Bitnomial, and Reap Technologies
• According to co-CEO Arjun Sethi, Kraken has achieved roughly 80% readiness for a possible public offering targeted for 2027

Payward, which operates the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange, has submitted a formal application to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) seeking a national trust company charter. The submission was made public on Friday, May 8, 2026.

Should regulators grant approval, this charter would establish a separate legal entity named Payward National Trust Company (PNTC). The new organization would deliver custody and fiduciary solutions under federal regulation, with a primary focus on digital assets.

The OCC has previously granted comparable authorizations to several major industry players, including Coinbase, Ripple Labs, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos. Payward aims to join this exclusive group of federally chartered crypto institutions.

Co-CEO Arjun Sethi emphasized that the company prioritizes establishing robust regulatory infrastructure over racing to be first to market. “A national trust company provides the certainty institutions require,” he stated in the official announcement.

Building on Existing Banking Infrastructure

Payward’s regulatory foundation already includes a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) charter held through Kraken Financial, which was secured in 2020. Kraken Financial achieved a significant milestone as the first digital asset banking entity to obtain a Federal Reserve master account, providing direct integration with the U.S. payments infrastructure.

The proposed OCC trust charter would operate in conjunction with the existing Wyoming authorization. Payward characterizes this approach as a “multi-charter” framework, incorporating both state-level and federal regulatory supervision.

According to the proposal, PNTC would leverage Payward’s established compliance infrastructure and risk management protocols. The primary objective is addressing the needs of institutional investors requiring a federally regulated qualified custodian.

The OCC operates under the leadership of Jonathan Gould, appointed during the Trump administration. The regulatory body greenlit multiple crypto charter applications in a significant wave during December 2025.

Acquisition Spending and IPO Plans

Payward has executed an aggressive expansion strategy through strategic acquisitions. During 2025, the company purchased retail futures trading platform NinjaTrader in a $1.5 billion transaction.

In April 2026, Payward entered into an agreement to acquire crypto derivatives platform Bitnomial for a deal valued at up to $550 million. This acquisition delivered a comprehensive suite of CFTC licenses encompassing brokerage, clearing, and exchange capabilities.

Most recently, the firm announced a $600 million agreement to purchase Reap Technologies, a Hong Kong-based payments company. This strategic move positions Kraken to expand into stablecoin-enabled cross-border payment solutions and card processing infrastructure throughout Asian markets.

Across these three major transactions, Payward has pledged investment exceeding $2.6 billion.

Notwithstanding this substantial acquisition activity, plans for a Kraken initial public offering remain active. Sethi indicated in May that the organization has reached “about 80% ready” status for a potential market debut by 2027.

Kraken has additionally revealed a strategic partnership with MoneyGram, supporting its broader expansion into payment services.

The OCC charter application is currently under regulatory review. The agency has not disclosed an expected timeline for rendering a determination.

Coinbase, Kraken and Gemini are lobbying Senate Agriculture leaders to strip a “not readily susceptible to manipulation” standard from a flagship digital asset bill, warning it would effectively bar small, low‑liquidity tokens from regulated U.S. exchanges and hand the CFTC a veto over future listings.

Crypto’s biggest U.S. exchanges are quietly lobbying to strip a key investor‑protection clause from the Senate’s flagship digital asset bill, warning that it would make listing “small coins” on regulated venues nearly impossible.

According to Politico, Coinbase, Kraken and Gemini submitted redlines to the Senate Agriculture Committee earlier this year urging lawmakers to remove a requirement that registered “digital commodity exchanges” may list only tokens “not readily susceptible to manipulation.”

In a joint letter, the three firms told senators that “millions of Americans are participating in digital asset markets without the federal regulatory protections they deserve” and insisted that “every element of our legislative engagement has been aimed at changing that — by expanding oversight, not limiting it.”

They added that importing the Commodity Exchange Act’s high bar for futures and swaps — where contracts must be “not readily susceptible to manipulation” — into the spot market would “significantly raise the bar for listing smaller, less liquid tokens” and could be weaponized by a future CFTC chair “to throttle innovation” by simply refusing to certify new assets.

Inside the Senate’s digital commodity bill

The provision sits inside the Senate Agriculture Committee’s draft Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, a market‑structure framework first floated in late 2025 by Chair John Boozman and Sen. Cory Booker to give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission explicit authority over “digital commodities.”

A client alert from McGuireWoods on the discussion draft notes that any trading facility offering a cash or spot market in a digital commodity would have to register as a “digital commodity exchange,” with obligations modeled on existing CFTC rules for futures venues. Exchanges “may list only digital commodities ‘not readily susceptible to manipulation’ and must certify each listing to the CFTC,” including analysis showing that the token meets statutory criteria and that the venue has adequate surveillance and safeguards. McGuireWoods

The Agriculture Committee advanced its portion of the bill along party lines in late January, as highlighted in a committee release, but everyone expects major surgery before it hits the Senate floor. Politico reports that Republicans will need Democrats on both the Agriculture and Banking Committees to sign off on a final package that can clear the 60‑vote filibuster hurdle, and negotiators are already trading edits across panels.

Crypto.news previously broke down that broader effort in a story on the updated Senate Agriculture draft, noting that it would, for the first time, put federally registered spot intermediaries for bitcoin and ethereum squarely under CFTC supervision while leaving the SEC in charge of securities tokens. The same story highlighted unresolved fights over DeFi, staking and stablecoin rewards that still stand between the draft and a bipartisan deal.

Why Coinbase, Kraken and Gemini are fighting this clause

For Coinbase, Kraken and Gemini, the manipulation test is existential for their long‑tail business. As Politico reports, the exchanges “strongly support the readily susceptible to manipulation standard in traditional futures and swaps markets,” but argue that “importing a standard that doesn’t make sense for spot crypto” would “inadvertently hamstring the agency, the industry [and] consumers.”

Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, told Bloomberg earlier this year that the company could even reconsider its support for the overall market‑structure package if it ends up with restrictions that go beyond “enhanced disclosure requirements” for products like stablecoin rewards. Crypto.news’ coverage of that standoff in a story underscored that Coinbase sees the bill as a trade‑off: clearer CFTC rules on one side, potential constraints on its core business on the other.

Now the same pattern is playing out around small‑cap listings. As Politico notes, industry sources say exchanges are also lobbying Senate Banking Committee members to soften related language, warning that if the manipulation test stays intact, many “small, low‑liquidity tokens” will simply never make it to regulated platforms. Instead, they will trade only on offshore venues and in DeFi, exactly where U.S. regulators have the least visibility and leverage.

In a sense, this is the central tension of the bill that crypto.news flagged in its earlier story: Washington wants to drag crypto into a familiar derivatives‑style regulatory box, while the industry is trying to keep enough slack in the system to list riskier assets and offer yield without strangling the business model. The fight over one phrase — “not readily susceptible to manipulation” — is where those two instincts are now colliding.

TLDR:

• Senate Banking Committee will hold the first Crypto Clarity Act vote on May 14 morning session.
• Banking groups want stricter stablecoin reward rules before Senate lawmakers finalize bill text.
• Coinbase backed revised Clarity Act language after negotiations between key Senate lawmakers.
• Ethics concerns and stablecoin yields remain major obstacles before any full Senate floor vote.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will vote on the Crypto Clarity Act on May 14 as stablecoin regulation debates intensify. Banking groups continue pushing for tighter language around stablecoin rewards programs before the markup begins.

Crypto firms including Coinbase now support the revised bill language after negotiations between lawmakers. The latest dispute centers on whether stablecoin incentives could compete with traditional bank savings products.

Crypto Clarity Act Faces Banking Pushback Ahead of Senate Vote

The Senate Banking Committee scheduled the Crypto Clarity Act markup for May 14 at 10:30 AM EST. Watcher.Guru reported the development through an X update.

The proposal has become a focal point in the broader stablecoin regulation debate. Banks argue certain reward structures could resemble interest-bearing savings products.

Several banking trade groups submitted proposed revisions to Republican leadership on the committee. The organizations included the American Bankers Association, Consumer Bankers Association, and Independent Community Bankers of America.

According to reporting from Eleanor Terrett, the groups want stricter wording around stablecoin reward mechanisms. They believe current provisions still leave room for yield-like programs.

The dispute follows compromise talks led by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks earlier this week. Their updated language reportedly secured support from several crypto firms.

Coinbase and other crypto companies backed the revised text after negotiations concluded. The compromise attempted to limit concerns tied to digital asset rewards while preserving stablecoin utility.

Banking organizations still pushed for more revisions despite signals that lawmakers considered the matter settled. A Senate aide described the lobbying effort as limited in scope, according to Terrett’s report.

Stablecoin Regulation Debate Expands Beyond Yield Concerns

The Clarity Act discussions now extend beyond stablecoin rewards. Lawmakers continue debating ethics provisions tied to digital asset ownership and political exposure.

Democratic support for the legislation remains uncertain ahead of the committee vote. Concerns continue around how public officials could financially benefit from crypto holdings.

Committee members reportedly shifted attention toward unresolved ethics language during recent negotiations. Banking sector concerns now compete with broader political discussions surrounding the bill.

The stablecoin market has become a major issue in Washington during 2026. Policymakers continue weighing financial innovation against risks to traditional banking systems.

Banking groups warned that aggressive stablecoin adoption could reduce deposits held by commercial lenders. They argue reward programs may attract users away from standard savings accounts.

Crypto firms maintain that regulated stablecoins improve payment efficiency and blockchain-based settlement. The current proposal attempts to define operational rules without banning incentives entirely.

The May 14 markup will mark the first major Senate committee action on the Crypto Clarity Act. Lawmakers may still revise sections of the bill before any full Senate consideration begins.

US prosecutors said they have secured eight sentences in the last five months against people acting as US-based proxies for North Korea-based IT workers, shedding new light on how they have been able to infiltrate US companies. 

Two men have been sentenced this month alone. The Justice Department said Wednesday that separate courts sentenced Nashville resident Matthew Issac Knoot and New York resident Erick Ntekereze Prince for helping North Koreans work remotely for US companies.

The US perpetrators, known as “laptop farmers,” acted as recipients for laptops that US companies would send to new employees. They installed remote desktop software on the devices, allowing North Korean IT workers to use them remotely while appearing to work from the US.

North Korea’s remote worker scheme generates revenue for the government and has targeted technical roles at crypto companies to gain access to internal systems, company assets and security infrastructure. Such access can help workers understand company infrastructure and identify systems that could later be exploited.

Source: FBI Cyber Division

Prosecutors said Knoot, who was sentenced on May 1, and Prince, sentenced on Wednesday, each received 18 months in prison. 

Prince was ordered to forfeit $89,000, the amount the North Korean workers paid him for the scheme, while Knoot was ordered to pay $15,100 in restitution to the companies and to forfeit an additional $15,100, the amount he earned from the scheme.

Together, the Justice Department said the pair generated $1.2 million in revenue for North Korea, and the scheme affected nearly 70 US companies.

Related: North Korea tied to heists worth $578M in April after Kelp DAO exploit

Last month, New Jersey residents Kejia Wang and Zhenxing Wang were given nine years in prison and seven years, eight months in prison, respectively, for hosting laptop farms for North Korea.

Prosecutors in that case said the scheme lasted multiple years, used the stolen identities of 80 people in the US and made over $5 million for the North Korean government.

According to a report by CrowdStrike in August, the number of companies that hired North Korean workers over the previous 12 months jumped 220%, with workers infiltrating more than 320 companies over that period.

The report noted that North Korean workers were heavily using artificial intelligence to automate and optimize the process of applying for and working in remote jobs.

The US charged four North Koreans in June last year, accusing them of stealing more than $900,000 in crypto after using fake identities to gain remote employment at an Atlanta-based blockchain research and development company and a Serbian crypto company.

Magazine: Guide to the top and emerging global crypto hubs — Mid-2026

Tether has frozen more than $514 million in USDT across Ethereum and Tron over the past 30 days, according to onchain data from BlockSec’s USDT Freeze Tracker, highlighting the stablecoin issuer’s growing role in crypto-related enforcement actions.

As of Friday, the tool shows 370 addresses blacklisted in that period, including 328 on Tron and 42 on Ethereum, with about $505.9 million frozen on Tron and $8.73 million on Ethereum.

The figures indicate that most recent enforcement activity is concentrated on Tron and highlight how often the world’s largest stablecoin issuer is intervening onchain to immobilize funds flagged as high-risk or linked to investigations.

The recent activity also builds on a pattern of increasingly frequent enforcement. BlockSec’s analysis of 2025 data found that Tether blacklisted 4,163 unique addresses across Ethereum and Tron, freezing a total of $1.26 billion in USDT. The current pace of freezes suggests Tether could exceed that total in blacklisted USDT well before the end of the year.

Of the $1.26 billion of frozen assets in 2025, more than half (about $698 million) was later destroyed via the contracts’ “destroyBlackFunds” function, and only 3.6% of those addresses were subsequently removed from the blacklist, indicating that once imposed, freezes are rarely reversed.

Tether blacklisting activity accelerates in 2026

A separate study of 2023-2025 trends estimated that Tether immobilized roughly $3.3 billion across 7,268 addresses in those three years, far outpacing rival stablecoin issuer Circle over the same horizon.

USDT Freeze Tracker. Source: BlockSec

Tether has also disclosed larger aggregate totals and detailed some of the cases behind them. In February, the company said it had frozen about $4.2 billion in tokens in three years over links to illicit activity, with some $3.5 billion of that amount locked since 2023 as authorities increased efforts to curb crypto-related crime.

In April, Tether said it worked with the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and law enforcement agencies to freeze more than $344 million in USDT across two Tron addresses that US officials said were linked to suspected sanctions evasion involving Iran, while in February, Tether helped authorities to seize over $61 million in USDT linked to so-called pig butchering scams.

Related: Tether reports $1.04B profit in Q1 as Treasury holdings reach $141B

Stablecoin blacklists fuel wider freeze debate

The growing scale of blacklisting and related seizures has fed into a broader debate over how far crypto issuers and protocols should go in stopping suspect flows.

Some projects in decentralized finance, for example, have used upgradeable contracts and admin controls to halt or recover funds in major exploit cases, raising questions about who decides when such powers are used.

In stablecoins, where issuers such as Tether retain direct control over minting and burning mechanisms, onchain data and enforcement disclosures show that blacklisting and freezes are now used regularly in fraud, sanctions and scam investigations.

Tether and the Tron network did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s requests for comment.

Market Moves: Why is Ethereum Foundation selling? BTC futures warning signs