Online gambling attracts entrants from unexpected directions. Sports merchandise empires and cryptocurrency startups both see paths forward.

Fanatics transformed sports retail dominance into gambling ambition. ZunaBet launched in 2026 with blockchain assumptions built into everything.

Two newer platforms. Two completely different visions.

The Fanatics Story

Fanatics became synonymous with sports merchandise. Licensed jerseys, collectibles, and fan gear built a retail empire.

Gambling seemed natural next. Existing sports customers already cared about games and outcomes.

Fanatics Sportsbook and Casino entered regulated American markets. State licensing determines where players access services.

The game library continues growing. Newer market entry means ongoing development.

Banking handles all transactions. Cards, transfers, e-wallets process through traditional financial systems.

Withdrawal timing follows standard patterns. Several business days covers most situations.

Welcome bonuses stay competitive. Deposit matches and credits attract new accounts.

FanCash connects gambling to merchandise. Rewards convert to spending money at Fanatics retail.

The ZunaBet Story

ZunaBet materialized in 2026 from different origins. Strathvale Group Ltd built specifically for cryptocurrency players.

Team experience exceeds 20 years combined. Anjouan licensing provides regulatory framework.

Game volume hit 11,000+ titles immediately. Sixty-three providers created instant depth.

Provider names include Pragmatic Play, Evolution, Hacksaw Gaming, Yggdrasil, BGaming. Recognized quality throughout.

Twenty-plus cryptocurrencies work natively. BTC, ETH, USDT, SOL, DOGE, ADA, XRP among options.

Platform fees remain zero. Withdrawal speed exceeds banking capability.

Full sportsbook runs alongside casino. Sports, esports, virtual events all active.

Breaking Down Bonuses

Fanatics competes within regulated frameworks. Welcome packages include deposit matches.

State and timing affect specifics. Checking current offers reveals details.

ZunaBet reaches $5,000 plus 75 free spins maximum. Three deposits capture everything.

First deposit gets 100% to $2,000 plus 25 spins. Second gets 50% to $1,500 plus 25 spins.

Third gets 100% to $1,500 plus 25 spins. Completion requires commitment.

Multi-deposit structure sustains engagement. Single offers often end quickly.

Terms apply everywhere. Reading conditions matters.

Contrasting Loyalty Models

Fanatics invented FanCash linking gambling and shopping. Points become merchandise spending power.

Jersey buyers and memorabilia collectors benefit naturally. Shopping rewards and gambling unite.

Players without merchandise interest gain less. Value requires retail participation.

ZunaBet engineered dragon evolution instead. Six tiers deliver increasing rakeback.

Squire begins at 1%. Warden provides 2%, Champion provides 4%.

Divine reaches 5%. Knight reaches 10%.

Ultimate peaks at 20% rakeback. Consistent play generates consistent returns.

Free spins climb to 1,000 through progression. VIP perks supplement core rewards.

Dragon mascot Zuno visualizes advancement. Progression feels like achievement.

Rakeback equals direct money. Merchandise credits require shopping.

Payment System Divide

Fanatics depends on banking entirely. Financial institutions process everything.

Cards deposit fast. Withdrawals queue behind processing.

Business hours govern timing. Weekends pause activity.

Bank statements show gambling clearly. Visibility may concern some.

ZunaBet operates outside banking. Wallets connect without intermediaries.

No bank involvement means no bank timing. Crypto speed governs.

Twenty-plus coins accepted. Multi-chain support included.

Platform fees nonexistent. Network fees only.

Privacy comes standard. Bank records untouched.

Game Selection Gap

Fanatics libraries continue development. Recent entry limits current scale.

State rules add complexity. Geographic availability varies.

Categories receive adequate attention. Slots, tables, live dealer present.

ZunaBet’s 63 providers create abundance. Eleven thousand games exist now.

Independent studios join major names. Unique titles appear.

Slots lead numerically. Tables and live complete offerings.

Evolution powers live dealing. Pragmatic powers slot volume.

Exploration takes dedication. The scale demands it.

Sports Betting Scope

Fanatics Sportsbook reflects retail DNA. American sports merchandise drives focus.

NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL dominate coverage. College sports supplement.

Brand alignment shapes priorities. Betting follows merchandising.

ZunaBet thinks globally. International coverage equals domestic.

World football alongside American leagues. Tennis, basketball, combat sports featured.

Esports goes deeper. CS2, Dota 2, League of Legends, Valorant active.

Virtual sports constant. No gaps between events.

Both unify casino and sportsbook. Single accounts serve both.

Using Each Platform

Fanatics apps cover iOS and Android. Browsers serve desktop.

Corporate sports design guides aesthetics. Functionality reliable.

ZunaBet spans iOS, Android, Windows, MacOS. Apps exceed browsers.

Dark themes look current. HTML5 speeds loading.

24/7 chat support available. Help exists constantly.

Mobile works both places. Transitions smooth.

Matching Players to Platforms

Fanatics attracts sports merchandise devotees. FanCash shoppers maximize value.

Banking users stay comfortable. Familiar methods continue.

Sports-centric bettors find brand alignment. Collecting and gambling connect.

ZunaBet attracts cryptocurrency holders. Coins integrate directly.

Bonus seekers find higher numbers. The $5,000 package leads.

Rakeback calculators should engage. Twenty percent compounds meaningfully.

Privacy seekers benefit structurally. Banks stay uninvolved.

Variety seekers discover abundance. Eleven thousand games await.

Industry Positioning

Fanatics leverages customer base enormously. Millions of retail customers exist.

Development follows compliance requirements. Growth proceeds steadily.

ZunaBet caught rising cryptocurrency waves. The 2026 timing worked.

Younger demographics own crypto. Native platforms feel right.

Dragon loyalty challenges merchandise models. Cash beats shopping credits.

Massive libraries attract curious players. Limited selection constrains.

Innovation energy flows toward crypto. Traditional builds incrementally.

Projecting Forward

Fanatics will expand gambling steadily. Resources and customers ensure continuation.

The retail connection differentiates uniquely. Jerseys plus jackpots works.

ZunaBet represents acceleration elsewhere. Crypto-first matches emerging preferences.

Eleven thousand games provides immediate depth. Twenty percent rakeback provides immediate value.

Neither suits everyone perfectly. Background determines appropriateness.

Merchandise lovers find Fanatics logical. Crypto holders find ZunaBet logical.

One merges shopping and gambling. One merges crypto and gambling.

Both newer brands compete differently. Both target different futures.

Fanatics bets on sports retail loyalty. ZunaBet bets on cryptocurrency adoption.

Current trends favor crypto trajectories. Younger players normalize it.

ZunaBet positioned accordingly. Game volume, bonus size, rakeback transparency align with generational shifts.

The question of competition resolves situationally. Different players answer differently.

For cryptocurrency believers seeking excitement, ZunaBet delivers more. Innovation and player value concentrate there.

For merchandise collectors seeking integration, Fanatics delivers more. Retail connection creates unique appeal.

Both can succeed serving different audiences. The market accommodates multiple approaches.

But momentum tells a story. Crypto-native platforms attract energy and attention.

ZunaBet exemplifies that momentum. A newer brand can absolutely compete.

Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

In today’s newsletter, Nick Ducoff, head of institutional growth at the Solana Foundation, draws a parallel between tokenization’s ability to democratize investment access and how the Internet facilitated access to banking over fifteen years ago.

Then, in Ask an Expert, the CoinDesk Research Team answers questions about stablecoin and tokenization trends from their February 2026 Stablecoins & Tokenization Assets Report. Read the full report here.

– Sarah Morton

Internet capital markets: from the “unbrokeraged” to the universally invested

Fifteen years ago, over 60 million Americans were “unbanked,” shut out of basic financial services because traditional banks found them unprofitable. Then Chime, Revolut, and other fintech pioneers brought banking to smartphones, eliminating legacy barriers like minimum balances and penalty fees. Today, we face an even larger exclusion problem: billions of people are effectively “unbrokeraged,” with no access to capital markets and the investing opportunities to build generational wealth.

Enter Internet Capital Markets: global, always-on infrastructure where assets are born digital, traded mobile-first and available to anyone with a smartphone 24/7. With blockchain technology, Internet Capital Markets are poised to do for investing what fintech did for banking. And the opportunity is immense.

The scale of financial exclusion

The “unbrokeraged” encompasses two distinct but overlapping populations: those who lack brokerage accounts entirely, and international investors who can’t efficiently access high-quality U.S. dollar-denominated assets. Consider Pakistan, where, according to Bilal Bin Saqib, Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) and CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council, only 300,000 people hold brokerage accounts while 40 million have cryptocurrency wallets. The infrastructure exists, but financial products remain overwhelmingly inaccessible.

Even when access to U.S. markets exists through local brokers, international investors often pay significant premiums, to mention nothing of the large minimums and investor accreditation that the private markets require. These aren’t products accessible for the global middle class — they are built to serve the already-wealthy.

Tokenization expands the playing field

Blockchain tokenization transforms these dynamics by enabling fractional ownership, eliminating intermediary costs and operating 24/7 with instant settlement. The result: dramatically lower minimums and global accessibility. Consider Hamilton Lane, a leading alternative asset manager. Through Republic Crypto, investors can now access Hamilton Lane private market exposure for as little as $500. That’s a thousand-fold reduction in the entry barrier compared to traditional private fund minimums, and a signal of how internet-native market infrastructure can finally make fractional access more readily available.

The recent BitGo IPO also shows tokenization’s democratizing potential. When BitGo went public on the New York Stock Exchange, tokenized representation of BitGo stock was simultaneously tradable on Solana, allowing anyone globally with a Solana wallet to purchase BitGo stock immediately. This evolution toward real-time, global accessibility is now being validated by the world’s largest asset managers: BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have launched tokenized money market funds on public blockchains, allowing for 24/7 liquidity and transparency.

Why this infrastructure matters

Tokenization expands access rather than competing with traditional markets. The blockchain operates continuously, enabling investors in Jakarta, São Paulo, or Lagos to buy assets the moment they become available, not when their local markets open. Settlement happens instantly against stablecoins, eliminating the multi-day clearing processes and currency conversion fees that hinder retail investors outside of the U.S.

Speed and cost matter. High-performance blockchains like Solana, along with Layer 2 scaling solutions on Ethereum, can process thousands of transactions per second for fractions of a penny, making the economics of fractional ownership actually work. This is the foundation of “universal basic ownership,” where anyone with a phone can now have a stake in the global economy’s growth, even across asset classes like pre-IPO stocks and private credit, once strictly gatekept to institutions and the ultra-wealthy.

The advisor’s edge: strategy and accessibility

For financial advisors, this transition represents a strategic exposure play. Accessibility is now streamlined through regulated vehicles like spot Solana ETFs (e.g., SOEZ, QSOL, BSOL) and European ETPs, alongside user-friendly digital custody tools such as Phantom or Ledger wallets. Now, advisors can utilize sub-cent transaction costs to offer sophisticated, fractionalized portfolios to a much broader client base. This infrastructure lowers the “cost to serve,” making institutional-grade diversification available to the middle-class “mom and pop” investors through their financial advisers.

From unbrokeraged to universally invested

The fintech wave of the 2010s proved that financial exclusion is a design problem. Tokenization represents the next chapter in this story. A software developer in South Korea shouldn’t face barriers to investing in U.S. equities or accessing private credit returns. A small business owner in Argentina shouldn’t pay premium prices for the same stocks available cheaply to American investors. Sophisticated investment strategies shouldn’t remain exclusively in wealth management channels serving the top 1%.

The technology rails have been built, and regulatory pathways are becoming clearer. What remains is scaling this infrastructure and ensuring it serves its highest purpose of extending wealth-building opportunities to the billions currently locked out. While the work of banking the unbanked is far from done, it offers a blueprint for what we’re about to see: transforming the unbrokeraged into the universally invested.

– Nick Ducoff, head of institutional growth, Solana Foundation

Ask an Expert

Q: What are stablecoins and why are they important?

Stablecoins are a type of digital currency designed to maintain a stable value. This is usually achieved by “pegging” the stablecoin to a traditional asset, such as the U.S. dollar. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin or ether, which may experience wide fluctuations in price, stablecoins are designed to allow users to hold or trade digital assets without exposure to price swings. Other use cases of stablecoins include serving as primary trading pairs, cross-border payments, decentralized finance (DeFi) lending and borrowing, and inflation hedging. The GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act), enacted in July 2025, creates a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for U.S. dollar-backed payment stablecoins.

Q: What is the current stablecoin landscape?

After rising for twenty-five consecutive months, the growth of the total stablecoin market capitalization has slowed over the past four months, though it continues to hover near its all-time high of $310 billion. CoinDesk’s latest research report indicates that as digital asset prices generally trend lower, the market dominance of stablecoins has surged. In February, Stablecoin market dominance surged to 13.3% (up from 11.2% in January), driven by the decline in price action of digital assets. Tether’s USDT continues to lead the sector with a 59.1% market share, while Circle’s USDC ranks second with 24.6%.

Q: What is the current traction for tokenized assets, and how quickly is the market for tokenized real-world assets growing?

Tokenized real-world assets are continuing to gain meaningful traction in global financial markets, with the total tokenized market capitalization reaching a new all-time high of $23.4 billion by the end of February. This represents a 22.9% month-over-month increase from $19 billion in January, underscoring the accelerating pace of adoption across multiple asset classes. Much of this growth has been driven by tokenized Treasuries, which expanded 15.1% to $10.5 billion and now account for roughly 45% of the entire tokenized market. Meanwhile, tokenized commodities have emerged as a major secondary growth engine, surging 27% to $6.6 billion and representing 28.4% of the market. Other segments are also steadily developing. The Stocks & ETFs sector reached $804.7 million by late February, marking a 3.1% monthly increase and maintaining a 3.4% share of the overall tokenized ecosystem.

– Jacob Joseph, Specialist, Research, CoinDesk

Keep Reading

Despite launching countless branding exercises that feature the word “decentralization,” much of the crypto industry actually uses Cloudflare to defend large chunks of its user-facing infrastructure.

Indeed, Cloudflare protects crypto websites collectively processing billions of dollars worth of trades and receiving millions of visitors daily. However, this week, crypto learned that autonomous AI agents can apparently use an open-source library to walk right through several of Cloudflare’s lines of defense.

Most heard of the vulnerability from a headline about OpenClaw, an AI agent that runs on a Mac Mini or cloud server.

OpenClaws, formerly known as ClawdBots or MoltBots, can now use a free library called Scrapling to “bypass Cloudflare natively.”

“Scrape any website without getting blocked, with zero bot detection,” the developer wrote in a brief blurb on Github before releasing the code into the wild.

It soon rocketed to a #1 trending spot among Github repositories.

The age of homespun AI agents has arrived

Boasting concurrent, multi-session crawlers with realistic start/stop actions and proxy IP addresses, the Python library allows AI agents like OpenClaw and others to bypass “all types of Cloudflare’s Turnstiles and Interstitials.”

Not only that, its own benchmarks claim over 600 times the parsing speed of BeautifulSoup, a formerly impressive web crawler.

The age of homespun AI agents is here, and the traditional armor that crypto has employed to protect its websites against crawlers, spiders, Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, and hackers of all types is starting to crack.

Through the use of human-mimicking behavior and AI adaptation, an OpenClaw agent can trick sophisticated forms of bot detection. Even more devastatingly, it can operate on commodity hardware and volley attacks for a few cents.

DeFi keeps relying on Cloudflare while losing millions

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) has already learned — repeatedly and expensively — what happens when its Cloudflare-dependent front-ends fail.

Although it doesn’t have 1:1 similarity with the capabilities of Scrapling, the most obvious example of crypto’s reliance on Cloudflare remains BadgerDAO.

In December 2021, an attacker compromised a Cloudflare Workers API key.

The attacker used that key to inject a malicious script into BadgerDAO’s front-end, tricking users into signing token approvals. It drained $130 million. 

Consider another example. Curve Finance suffered Domain Name System (DNS) hijacks in August 2022 and again in May 2025.

Each time, attackers accessed its registrar and redirected traffic away from Cloudflare’s nameservers to malicious clones.

The 2022 attack cost users over $500,000. The 2025 attack forced Curve to abandon its “.fi” TLD entirely and migrate to Curve.finance.

The Dow Jones Index resumed its downward trend today, March 5, as the war in the Middle East continued and odds of a ceasefire happening between Iran and the United States fell on Polymarket.

The Dow Jones Index, which tracks the performance of 30 large American companies, retreated by over 500 points. Similarly, the other top blue-chip indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 fell by over 0.10%.

This retreat happened as Iran denied reports that it had reached out to the United States for talks on how to end the ongoing war. As a result, odds of a ceasefire happening this month tumbled to 27%. Similarly, the odds of a ceasefire happening in April fell by 23% to 48%.

As a result, the Fear and Greed Index continued falling, moving to the fear zone of 39. At the same time, the price of crude oil continued rising, with Brent moving to $85 and the West Texas Intermediate moving to $78.

A prolonged war in the Middle East is risky for the stock market because of the fresh supply chain shocks that will happen. It also risks stoking inflation, which will make it hard for the Federal Reserve and other central banks to cut interest rates soon.

Most companies in the Dow Jones Index were in the red, with Walmart falling by 3.90%. Merck shares fell by 3.2%, while Sherwin-Williams, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson,and Amen falling by over 2.50%. 

Only four companies in the index rose today. Salesforce stock jumped by 4.46%, while IBM, Chevron, and Microsoft rose by 1.90%, 1.01%, and 0.60%. Chevron is benefiting from the ongoing crude oil and natural gas prices surge.

Dow Jones Index is at risk of falling further 

The blue-chip Dow Jones Index has retreated substantially in the past few weeks. This retreat started after it moved to the psychological level of $50,000. It is common for an asset to retreat after testing such a significant level.

The stock retreated after the two lines of the rising wedge pattern neared their confluence. A rising wedge is a highly accurate reversal chart pattern.

It is now nearing the 23.6% Fibonacci Retracement level. Also, it has already moved below the 50-period moving average. Whenever an asset drops below that average, it is usually a sign that bears have prevailed.

The Average Directional Index has rebounded to 15, a sign that the sell-off is gaining momentum. Therefore, the most likely Dow Jones Index forecast is bearish, with the next key target being the 23.6% retracement level at $47,250.

Kraken’s tokenized stock platform, xStocks, has unveiled xChange, a multi-chain execution layer for tokenized equity trading. The new platform enables cross-chain transactions on Ethereum and Solana, and supports over 70 tokenized stocks directly on-chain, according to an announcement from Kraken today, March 5.

By supporting cross-chain trading, xChange aims to boost liquidity and accessibility, allowing traders to operate seamlessly across two largest blockchain networks in DeFi by total value locked.

Ethereum and Solana, the two blockchains supported by xChange, have a DeFi TVL of approximately $58.6 billion and $8.2 billion, respectively, per data from DefiLlama.

The new execution layer for xStocks operates 24/5, per the announcement. Backed, the developer of xStocks, originally launched the tokenized equities alongside crypto exchange Kraken last June. By August, the platform reported $500 million in total on-chain transaction volume, while today’s announcement says that number has reached over$ 3.5 billion in total.

Kraken acquired Backed in December, as The Defiant reported. xStocks are available to traders outside of the United States, giving exposure to tokenized versions of U.S. equities that are backed 1:1 by underlying shares, today’s announcement notes.

This article was generated with the assistance of AI workflows.

Bitcoin’s BTC$72,578.05 early-week rally began to fade after U.S. markets opened Thursday, sending the cryptocurrency by nearly 2% over the past 24 hours to $71,400.

The move comes alongside declines in broad equity markets as the Iran war shows little sign of moving to a quick conclusion, sending oil higher by 5.3% to $78.70 per barrel. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1.4% and S&P 500 by 0.7%.

The Nasdaq, though, is down just 0.4% as the previously battered software sector catches a major bid. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) is ahead 2% and now up by about 9% over the past five sessions.

That divergence is notable, as bitcoin has been closely linked to the software sector, both tumbling in concert since October amid investor concerns over AI disruption and each bouncing from their lows in tandem in recent days.

New bull or bear market bounce?

Bitcoin “isn’t in the clear yet,” said Arthur Hayes, CIO of Maelstrom, noting that despite the rally to $74,000, the correlation with the IGV ETF remained. Whether Thursday’s decoupling will last remains to be seen, but software names pushing higher while bitcoin retreating is not what crypto bulls wanted to see. “It could be a dead cat bounce,” Hayes continued.

Traders today might also be taking some chips off the table ahead of Friday’s key U.S. jobs report for February. The economic data of late has mostly surprised to the upside, pushing down odds for a restart of Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Interest rate traders at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange now see an 88% chance that the Fed will keep rates steady not only at this month’s meeting but in April as well. A month ago, those odds were at 59%.

“We’re cautiously constructive, but the geopolitical tail risk demands humility,” said Bryan Tan, trader at Wintermute. He said improving flows into spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which have recorded nearly $2 billion in inflows in the past week alone, alongside stabilizing trading volumes, are supporting the market, while muted reaction to disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz could leave room for bitcoin to climb toward the $74,000-$75,000 range.

Bitfinex analysts said there’s been a “notable increase in spot market strength,” indicating the recent move higher was driven by market buyers rather than speculative leverage.

“We consider there to be a possibility of relief over the coming weeks and months should this trend follow through,” they added.

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, has announced a strategic investment in global cryptocurrency exchange OKX, valuing the platform at $25 billion.

According to an announcement from ICE on Thursday, March 5, the collaboration is set to bolster ICE’s on-chain capabilities, while enhancing OKX’s institutional and retail offerings.

While the exact terms of the investment weren’t disclosed in the announcement, the two firms have established a strategic partnership, with plans to expand offerings from both sides.

For its part, ICE said it plans to launch regulated futures in the U.S. tied to the spot prices of cryptocurrencies on OKX, which it will license. From its side, OKX plans to offer its global retail and institutional user base access to ICE’s U.S. futures and NYSE tokenized stocks — though the announcement notes this move is pending regulatory approval.

The partnership also aims to further develop digital asset infrastructure for institutional investors, including custody and wallet solutions, as well as risk management, per the release.

Additionally, the NYSE owner will have a seat on OKX’s board. Jeffrey C. Sprecher, ICE chair and CEO, was quoted in the release, saying:

“Our strategic relationship with OKX will expand global retail access to ICE’s pre-eminent regulated markets and accelerate our plans to offer on-chain infrastructure and tokenized assets to U.S. investors.”

OKX is one of the largest centralized exchanges globally by 24-hour trading volume. Processing $2.7 billion in trades in the past day, it’s currently ranked fourth among CEXs, after Binance, with $13.3 billion, followed by Gate and Coinbase.

OKX’s founder, Star Xu, originally launched crypto exchange Okcoin in 2013, making it one of the earliest crypto exchanges, while OKX (formerly OKEx) was launched later, in 2017.

While the founding teams for Okcoin and OKX are originally from China, the platforms, which operated as independent entities for several years, quickly expanded globally and were headquartered in different countries, with Okcoin focusing on U.S. traders.

The firms consolidated and rebranded under one entity, OKX, in 2023, with regulated offerings in multiple jurisdictions.

The partnership and investment mark a significant moment for OKX’s U.S. presence and its institutional-grade offerings globally. Meanwhile, the move is Intercontinental Exchange’s latest to expand its presence in digital assets. The publicly traded financial giant launched its own crypto platform, Bakkt, back in 2018, which marked its initial foray into facilitating institutional investment in cryptocurrencies.

OKB, the OKX ecosystem’s native token, saw a sharp rally of over 30% today on the news and is currently trading around $104.

This article was generated with the assistance of AI workflows.

By now, most people involved in crypto are at least familiar with the concept of pig butchering, if not aware that it’s a growing problem with widespread consequences.

However, what most won’t know is that pig butchering is expanding so quickly and minting new millionaires so fast that it’s given rise to two entirely new industries: escrowing for pig butcherers and selling hostages onward from one pig butcher to another.

How does pig butchering work?

If you’re unfamiliar with what pig butchering is, it’s a diabolical and violent scam that works like this:

1. An individual, usually from China, but occasionally from Eastern Europe or Southeast Asia, is lured to Southeast Asia (the biggest offenders reside in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar) with promises of a job offer or modeling work.
2. Once the person arrives in Southeast Asia, they’re hurriedly shuffled to a remote village or city where they’re taken hostage. Sometimes this even means they’re shackled and not allowed to go outside.
3. Upon being taken hostage the individual is forced to bait Westerners into giving them crypto through romance scams, jobs offers, or other means.
4. As this is happening, the hostage’s family is told that their loved one has been taken and a ransom is demanded for their freedom. The ransom is usually too large for the family to afford.

Read more: Project Brazen links KuCoin to billions in pig butchering scams

A new business is born

The pig butchering industry has grown rapidly over the past five years, with billions of dollars flowing into Southeast Asia via scam centers with thousands of hostages being held.

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These massive buildings and industrial parks openly operate without threat of being shut down due to the government officials they’re able to bribe and the taxable revenue they bring in.

Most often, the leaders of these syndicates are Chinese nationals and/or members of the Triads (Chinese mafia).

However, as the industry has grown, so have its needs.

In a report from Bitrace, the ways in which pig butchering scammers have begun to rely on third parties for help in acquiring hostages is detailed along with a lucrative new side hustle of selling hostages to one another.

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Guaranteed sales

The report shows examples of “guaranteed sales,” where pig butchering scammers and those who lure in hostages use a third-party escrow service so they can be assured that neither criminal enterprise will rip the other one off.

Read more: China executes four more in pig butchering scam crackdown

In the image above, a pig butchering group by the name of Tianhe International puts 18,000 USDT into escrow with a company called Zhencheng Guarantee.

Once the hostage exchange is completed the escrow service is able to walk away with almost $1,000 simply for holding the money for the scammers until the transaction is completed.

It’s unknown how large the scammer escrow business is within the pig butchering economy, but no doubt it’s growing, with those providing the service having to do almost nothing but hold funds and wait for the green light.

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This means it’s far less risky than for those conducting the actual pig butchering or those recruiting new hostages.

Secondary sales

Another — and far more disgusting — example of how pig butcherers earn extra cash is by selling hostages forward.

The reason for the secondary sales could range from wanting extra income that month, a new individual or company spinning up a pig butchering business, or a pig butcherer winding down their business to move into other lucrative, less illegal industries like gambling or harvesting jade and rare woods for export.

Regardless of why, there’s evidence of the secondary market having sales regularly. The below image shows evidence of Tianhe International purchasing hostages from another pig butcherer called Wanxiang Group.

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Despite Chinese law enforcement putting a stop to numerous pig butchering operations and executing dozens of leaders responsible for keeping thousands of people trapped in Cambodia and Laos, the criminal activity shows no sign of slowing down.

Bitrace was able to prove that Tianhe International was earning millions and millions of dollars in revenue every month before multiple wallet addresses were frozen.

Got a tip? Send us an email securely via Protos Leaks. For more informed news and investigations, follow us on X, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

A stash of crypto worth almost $5 million that was stolen after South Korean tax authorities mistakenly leaked its seed phrase has been stolen for a second time after the original thief handed it back. 

The country’s National Tax Service accidentally shared a photo of the 24-word seed phrase in a press release last month. The corresponding wallet contained $4.8 million worth of a crypto called pre-retogeum (PRTG) which was stolen shortly afterwards.  

This thief reportedly submitted a confession to the police on March 28 and was arrested two days later. The thief claimed they “stole the cryptocurrency out of curiosity but then returned it.”

However, officials at a police press briefing this week revealed that they’re now tracking a second thief who stole the crypto again after it was returned. 

“We will investigate the additional theft as we continue to investigate the previous suspect who confessed,” police said.

According to local reports, the police haven’t identified the second thief and haven’t clarified if they’re the original owner of the cryptocurrency, who was under investigation for tax evasion.

The stolen PRTG is believed to be almost unsellable due to the token’s unpopularity.

South Korea busy dealing with crypto crime

In another odd turn of events in South Korea, a legally “dead” man apparently returned to repay victims who fell for a crypto investment scheme.  

The man fled to Cambodia in 2019 after orchestrating a crypto fraud and was deported back to South Korea this January. When he fled, a “declaration of disappearance” was issued, which classified him as legally dead.

This was challenged in courts, and $60,000 worth of frozen funds have since been returned to victims.

Key takeaways

• Federal authorities in North Carolina seized more than $61 million in USDT, revealing how pig-butchering schemes combine emotional manipulation with fraudulent crypto investment platforms to defraud victims at scale.

• Investigators leveraged the public, immutable nature of blockchain records to trace victim deposits across multiple wallets. Despite attempts to obscure the trail, every transfer remained permanently visible and reconstructable.

• Using blockchain analytics, authorities clustered related addresses based on transaction flows, timing patterns and consolidation points, allowing them to connect dispersed wallets back to the broader scam network.

• Because the stolen funds were held in USDT, Tether’s ability to freeze tokens at specific addresses upon legal request played a decisive role in preventing the funds from disappearing permanently.

Federal authorities in North Carolina seized more than $61 million in Tether’s USDt (USDT) in February 2026, uncovering the inner workings of a massive cryptocurrency fraud.

The investigation targeted a romance-driven scam, also known as a pig-butchering scam, a deceptive practice in which criminals build romantic trust with victims to lure them into using fraudulent investment apps. While the amount of money recovered was significant, the case stands out for the technical skill investigators displayed. By tracking digital footprints across multiple accounts and decoding complex money laundering tactics, investigators successfully froze the funds before they could disappear.

This article explores how US federal investigators traced and seized funds linked to a romance-driven pig-butchering crypto scam. It details how blockchain forensics, wallet clustering and stablecoin cooperation helped unravel a complex laundering network.

The anatomy of a romance crypto scam

Romance crypto scams begin by grooming victims.

Scammers may pretend to be romantic partners or friendly contacts on social media, dating sites or messaging apps. They spend weeks or months cultivating trust with their victims. They then pitch a unique crypto investment opportunity, often touting insider knowledge or a proprietary trading platform.

Victims are guided to visually appealing but entirely fake crypto websites featuring bogus trading dashboards, phony inflated returns and real-time charts mimicking real exchanges.

Visible “gains” prompt victims to pour in more money. However, when they try to withdraw funds, new demands are made for taxes, fees or additional deposits. Eventually, the accounts are locked completely.

By that point, the money disappears.

Did you know? Blockchain analysis firms can map millions of wallet addresses into clusters using behavioral fingerprints even when criminals try to obscure ownership through rapid transfers.

The $61-million seizure in North Carolina

According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, federal authorities seized more than $61 million in USDT connected to a romance-fueled crypto fraud ring.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents traced victim funds through an intricate network of digital wallets. Scammers had tried to hide the trail by shuffling assets across a number of addresses, a standard crypto laundering technique. However, blockchain’s public, immutable ledger records every transaction permanently.

That transparency ultimately enabled the breakthrough.

How investigators traced the funds

A systematic digital footprint recorded on the blockchain resulted in the $61-million seizure. Law enforcement reconstructed wallet transactions step-by-step, converting publicly available ledger information into solid proof.

Tracing transactions on the blockchain

When victims transferred money to fraudulent accounts, these transactions appeared transparently on the blockchain. Investigators could:

• Pinpoint the addresses where victims made deposits

• Monitor follow-up transfers between wallets

• Map transfer patterns across clusters of interconnected addresses.

While the scammers quickly shifted funds across wallets, the full transaction record remained intact on the blockchain.

Blockchain analytics tools enabled investigators to group wallets based on behavioral patterns such as shared transaction flows, fund consolidation points and timing correlations.

Eventually, investigators were able to zero in on multiple addresses holding significant USDT amounts.

Wallet clustering and laundering patterns

Pig-butchering operations frequently employ multi-tiered transfers:

• Dividing assets among various wallets

• Channeling them through intermediary accounts

• Merging funds into larger storage wallets.

Such tactics aim to create confusion and delay detection, yet they fail to erase the verifiable record.

Through reconstruction of the funds’ path, investigators linked several wallets to the broader fraudulent scheme.

With critical storage addresses confirmed, officials acted swiftly.

Did you know? The US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) receives thousands of crypto-related fraud complaints annually, with romance-investment scams ranking among the fastest-growing categories.

Tether’s key role in freezing the assets

Since the stolen funds were held in USDT, a centralized stablecoin, active cooperation from the issuer became essential.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) publicly recognized Tether’s support in transferring and freezing the seized assets. Stablecoin issuers possess the technical capability to immobilize tokens at designated addresses when served with legitimate legal orders.

Tether’s CEO emphasized that the inherent transparency of blockchain allows law enforcement to respond swiftly and decisively to illicit activity.

This case highlights that although cryptocurrency transactions operate on decentralized networks, many stablecoins maintain centralized control features that authorities can invoke during investigations.

Cooperation by the issuer can play a major role in whether victims are able to recover their funds.

Did you know? Some pig-butchering operations are run from large overseas compounds where victims of human trafficking are forced to carry out online scams under coercion.

The escalating wave of crypto fraud

The $61-million seizure is far from an isolated incident.

Crypto scams have exploded in both volume and complexity. According to industry analyses, total losses from cryptocurrency fraud approached about $17 billion in 2025, with AI-enhanced impersonation schemes showing especially sharp year-on-year growth.

Pig-butchering operations stand out as particularly destructive due to their combination of:

• Psychological manipulation and trust-building

• Extended grooming periods

• Aggressive, high-stakes investment pressure

• Sophisticated, professionally designed fraudulent platforms.

In many instances, perpetrators have begun using AI-generated images and deepfake videos to bolster their credibility and deceive victims more effectively.

Judicial responses have grown markedly tougher. In early 2026, a central participant in a pig-butchering-related money laundering network tied to more than $73 million in illicit funds received a 20-year federal prison sentence. This signaled the heightened priority authorities now place on dismantling these schemes.

Why blockchain transparency is a game-changer

This investigation challenges a widespread myth that cryptocurrency transactions are impossible to trace.

While privacy-focused coins and mixing services do exist, the vast majority of widely used cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), run on fully public blockchains. Every transaction is permanently recorded on an open, immutable ledger.

For law enforcement and investigators, this transparency delivers powerful advantages:

• Complete, permanent visibility into historical transaction flows

• Advanced wallet clustering to link related addresses

• The ability to cross-reference blockchain data with Know Your Customer (KYC) records from regulated exchanges

• Detection of behavioral patterns that span multiple networks.

The moment illicit funds interact with compliant exchanges, custodial services or other identifiable entities, the odds of connecting anonymous wallets to real individuals rise dramatically.

Why crypto price volatility doesn’t shield criminals

A related myth holds that perpetrators can simply “wait out” authorities by parking stolen funds in volatile assets until scrutiny fades.

In this seizure, however, the funds were held in a dollar-pegged stablecoin, USDT. That price stability protects the value of the stolen assets, but it also keeps them firmly within the traceable realm.

Because blockchain records are permanent and publicly queryable, investigators can patiently reconstruct cases over months or even years. The digital trail typically remains available indefinitely, allowing authorities to return and execute seizures long after the initial crime occurred.

What this means for scam victims

For individuals targeted by romance-driven crypto scams, recovering stolen money remains an uphill battle.

Once funds reach self-custodied wallets under the scammers’ control, successful recovery hinges on several critical factors:

• Prompt reporting by victims as soon as the fraud is suspected

• Strong coordination among law enforcement agencies across countries

• Active participation from cryptocurrency exchanges

• The ability of stablecoin issuers to freeze assets on short notice.

The $61-million seizure in North Carolina shows that significant recoveries are achievable. However, they demand tight collaboration between victims, federal investigators, blockchain forensic specialists and compliant crypto companies.

The shifting landscape of crypto enforcement

This high-profile seizure reflects a clear evolution in how authorities handle cryptocurrency crime:

• Law enforcement teams are steadily improving their expertise in blockchain tracing techniques.

• Major stablecoin issuers are showing greater willingness to assist in active criminal probes.

• Judges and prosecutors are handing down substantially longer prison terms to participants in large-scale fraud and money laundering networks.

While pig-butchering schemes continue to grow more advanced and deceptive, investigative tools and international partnerships are advancing at a comparable pace.

The main question is no longer whether cryptocurrency transactions can be traced. The real challenge now is speed. The question is how fast authorities and their partners can freeze and seize assets before the funds are scattered across unreachable wallets or jurisdictions.