Crypto World
Standard Chartered Becomes First Major Bank to Offer Direct Stablecoin Services
Standard Chartered has become the first global systematically important bank (G-SIB) to let institutional clients mint and redeem USDC directly through its banking platform, the lender has said.
The service removes the need for eligible clients to open separate accounts with Circle, the issuer of USDC, giving them a single onboarding process for both traditional banking and stablecoin access.
Standard Chartered Brings USDC Services Into Its Banking Platform
The new service, announced on July 2, has been developed in collaboration with Circle and will let institutional clients that qualify to mint and redeem USDC through Standard Chartered’s operations in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC). According to the bank, clients will be able to access banking, custody and digital asset services through one integrated platform while using USDC for on-chain settlement and treasury management.
Initially, the offering will be available only through the bank’s DIFC business. However, Standard Chartered said it plans to expand it to more markets once it receives regulatory approvals.
“Digital assets are becoming an increasingly important component of global financial infrastructure, and institutional clients are seeking the same levels of trust and governance that underpin traditional markets,” said Roberto Hoornweg, Standard Chartered’s chief of corporate and investment banking.
Furthermore, he noted that the launch is meant to support wider institutional participation in crypto markets through established compliance and risk management standards.
Crypto market watchers viewed the announcement as another sign that the stablecoin infrastructure is moving further into regulated finance, with Spot On Chain’s Hupzy writing on X that placing a G-SIB directly into the USDC minting process will remove a major operational hurdle for institutions that in the past relied on exchanges or over-the-counter desks to get stablecoins. According to the analyst, the arrangement has the potential to increase the use of USDC among institutions, deepening on-chain liquidity in the process.
Stablecoin Competition Growing
Standard Chartered’s announcement came just a day after the introduction of OpenUSD, a new stablecoin backed by more than 140 companies, including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, Ripple, and BlackRock. The project, designed around collaborative governance and revenue sharing, has added another competitor to the race to build institutional stablecoin infrastructure.
The bank has already been expanding its presence in regulated digital assets, including in April this year, when it was among the first groups to get a Hong Kong stablecoin issuer license, allowing it to mint Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoins for cross-border payments.
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Crypto World
SOL Tops $83 As Solana Network Activity Surges
Key takeaways:
- Solana’s tokenized assets and memecoin revival drove SOL to a 30-day high at $83.
- Bullish leveraged appetite cooled sharply, suggesting traders are hesitant to bet on further gains to $90.
Solana’s SOL token jumped to its highest mark in over 30 days on Friday at $83, marking a decoupling from the altcoin market. SOL’s rally gained steam from a surge in tokenized trading volume on Solana, inflows of stablecoin liquidity, and an unexpected comeback in memecoin activity. Can SOL reclaim the $90 level?

Total altcoin market capitalization, USD (left) vs. SOL/USD (right). Source: TradingView
SOL’s bullish momentum ignited on June 23, coinciding with cumulative tokenized stock transfers on Solana surpassing $10 billion. The launch of SpaceX shares trading by Backpack propelled Solana’s decentralized finance (DeFi) utilization. In contrast, the broader altcoin market extended its downtrend, hitting the lowest level since December 2023.

30-day tokenized assets net flows ex-stablecoins, USD. Source: RWA.xyz
Tokenized assets on the Solana network surged to a record-high $3.5 billion on Wednesday, up from $2.7 billion one month prior. The recent boost came from corporate credit tokens and stock market indexes, such as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100. According to RWA.xyz data, Solana leads with 294,274 active addresses in the tokenized industry, followed by Ethereum with 204,955.
Memecoins, prediction markets surge may push SOL toward $90
The airdrop of The Black Bull (ANSEM) memecoin on Sunday re-ignited interest in the sector. The token, launched on Pump.fun, reached a $60 million market capitalization on Tuesday. The anonymous developer directed some 65% of the supply to the crypto influencer Ansem’s public wallet. The distribution lacked transparency, but involved 74,000 addresses over the initial 3 days.

Top 7-day performances of Solana tokens. Source: CoinRanking
Multiple memecoins on Solana surged on the back of the memecoin airdrop, but the biggest winner was the Pump.fun platform token (PUMP). The 27% weekly gains were enough to send PUMP back into the top-100 crypto rankings, with a $630 million market capitalization. ANSEM memecoin extended its gains on Friday, reaching an all-time high market capitalization of $112 million.
The launch of World prediction markets integrated on Phantom wallet has created expectations for increased Solana activity. The project gathered nearly $890,000 in total value locked in two days and aims to compete with the extremely successful Polymarket amid the World Cup betting frenzy. Jupiter has also unveiled its prediction markets under beta test on June 29.
Related: US dominates Polymarket political bets despite geoblock–Report

SOL perpetual futures annualized funding rate. Source: Laevitas
The appetite for bullish leveraged positions has vastly declined since Wednesday, when SOL’s price crossed above $75 for the first time in 30 days. SOL futures annualized funding rate dropped to 3% on Friday from an 11% peak two days prior. Under neutral conditions, the indicator should range from 6% to 12% to offset the capital cost.
Investors are not comfortable betting on a SOL rally to $90 merely on the back of a temporary memecoin demand surge. Unless there is sustainable demand for blockchain activity, there are no apparent drivers for SOL to further widen its performance gap relative to the remaining altcoins.
Crypto World
Bitcoin Developers are Fighting Over What the Blockchain is For
Ordinals developers say their technology will survive BIP-110, a proposed rule change that aims to stop people from storing files on Bitcoin. The fight comes down to one question. Should Bitcoin (BTC) handle only money, or anything users pay for?
Inscriptions let people store images and text on the Bitcoin blockchain, similar to NFTs. BIP-110 would block most of that data for one year. Supporters call it spam, while critics say Bitcoin should stay open to everyone.
What Would BIP-110 Change for Bitcoin?
Every Bitcoin transaction can carry a little extra data, and inscriptions use that space to store pictures and messages forever. The proposal would shrink the allowed space to 256 bytes per piece, about one short paragraph of text.
That limit would break the storage method inscriptions use today. The rule would last for one year, then switch off automatically, and old coins would not be affected.
Its author, who writes under the pen name Dathon Ohm, credits Bitcoin Knots maintainer Luke Dashjr for the first draft.
Miners vote by adding a small flag to the blocks they mine. The plan needs 1,109 flagged blocks out of 2,016 in a two-week window. However, the public monitor counted just three flagged blocks as of June 30, under 1%.
Support has never passed 1% since voting opened in December 2025. The best two-week stretch reached 0.79% in mid-June.
Here is the twist. The plan does not need a majority to activate. From around early August, computers running the BIP-110 software will reject blocks that do not carry the flag.
Blockstream CEO Adam Back has warned of fork risk, meaning Bitcoin could split into two competing versions. MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor called the plan a self-inflicted risk.
Dashjr, for his part, framed the stakes as existential on Thursday.
“If BIP110 fails, Bitcoin fails with it. I am not interested in any CBDC, much less an unregulated CBDC pretending to be decentralised,” he wrote.
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A CBDC is a government-issued digital currency. In his view, a Bitcoin that cannot reject spam loses what makes it different.
Ordinals Developers Say They Are Ready
On July 2, Ordinals developer lifofifoX published a fix that stores data in a new way. It cuts files into small, allowed pieces instead of using the method that BIP-110 bans. In short, inscriptions would keep working even if the rule passes.
Ordinals creator Casey Rodarmor approved the fix the same day.
“Looks good to me! Let’s wait until BIP-110 activates to merge this,” Rodarmor wrote on GitHub.
The other side has already hit back, filing a counter-update to Bitcoin Knots, the software most BIP-110 supporters run. He argues the software simply does not notice the new format, letting it slip past the size checks.
The back-and-forth echoes an earlier inscription debate that also split the community.
Money sits at the center of the fight. In October 2024, Runes, a similar data-based format, drove a 32% fee increase that paid miners.
In contrast, supporters say the volunteers who run Bitcoin’s network computers must store all that data forever and get nothing for it.
The forced voting phase is about five weeks away. Back has already dismissed the August deadline as a path to a minority altcoin, a spinoff coin few would follow.
The coming weeks will show whether the miner’s silence means opposition or indifference.
The post Bitcoin Developers are Fighting Over What the Blockchain is For appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Crypto World
The Real State of Tokenization: Experts React to the RWA Market’s Liquidity Problem
A new BeInCrypto Intelligence report, built with market data from RWA.xyz and feedback from BeInCrypto’s Expert Council, tracks roughly $60 billion in tokenized real-world assets across more than 7,000 products and 12 asset classes.
The findings show a market that is growing, but still narrow.
- Just 62 assets hold 88% of total value. Five products account for roughly half the market: Figure HELOC, Circle USYC, Tether Gold, BlackRock BUIDL, and Justoken JMWH.
- The activity gap is just as stark. Across 1,289 tokenized assets valued above $100,000, 910 assets worth $32.9 billion showed zero weekly transfers.
- Access is also limited. The report found that 97% of the market sits outside US retail reach. Only about $1.7 billion is legally accessible to US retail investors.
Meanwhile, tokenized stocks are growing fast by product count, but the report found that 59% of stock tokens provide synthetic price exposure rather than actual ownership of the underlying shares.
These findings raise a direct question: is tokenization failing to deliver on liquidity, or is the market still in an early infrastructure phase?
BeInCrypto asked five industry executives to respond to the report’s findings.
Securitize: The First Phase Was Never About Public Trading
Tal Elyashiv, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of SPiCE Venture Capital and Co-Founder of Securitize, said the report’s finding on tokenized equities points to a real structural issue.
“My stance on what the report shows about tokenizing shares/equity, is that this tokenization needs to be at the source. Tokenization that does not include full ownership is problematic at best, and completely wrong IMHO. This is exactly what Securitize is doing.”
Elyashiv also argued that low transfer activity should not be read as failure in every case. Many early tokenized products were designed for institutional issuance, compliance, and settlement, rather than public secondary trading.
“Many of the first assets tokenized were funds (VC funds, private funds). Tokenization in these cases was not done to facilitate retail/public trading, but rather to upgrade institutional issuance infrastructure, compliance, and settlement. BUIDL for example, was created for institutional TradFi and DeFi use cases (and this is what it serves)”
That view matches one of the report’s central distinctions. Some assets are Distributed and can move across public blockchain rails. Others are Represented, using blockchain mainly as a digital record of an off-chain position.
For Elyashiv, that first stage had to prove resilience before tokenized assets could move into broader distribution.
“The previous stage needed to succeed and show resilience, as well as regulatory clarity, before moving to the public trading stage. But we are entering that phase.”
Raiku: Activity Depends on Predictable Execution
Robin Nordnes, CEO and Founder of Raiku, said the dormancy data points to a deeper infrastructure problem.
The report found that more than half of tokenized market value showed no weekly transfer activity. Nordnes said this is not mainly about asset quality or regulation. He said institutions need predictable execution before they actively manage capital on-chain.
“The dormancy finding doesn’t surprise me, and I don’t think it’s primarily a regulatory story or an asset quality story,” Nordnes asserts. “What we hear consistently from institutional allocators is that they won’t actively manage capital on-chain until they can answer two questions with confidence: will my transaction execute, and when… For passive holding that’s tolerable. For active trading, collateral management or intraday rebalancing, it isn’t.”
That issue becomes more important if tokenized assets are used for active trading, collateral management, or daily fund operations. In those settings, uncertainty around settlement timing can affect spreads, liquidity buffers, and portfolio decisions.
“The transaction fee is actually the smaller part of the problem,” Nordnes explains. “The bigger cost of execution uncertainty is everything that sits around it: the wider spreads you need to run if you can’t guarantee timing, the liquidity buffers you hold because you might not execute when you need to, the positions you simply don’t take because the uncertainty makes the trade unmodelable.”
D3: The Weak Spots Show Where Growth May Come From
The report found that only one of 12 asset classes has reached production-grade maturity: US Treasury debt.
Fred Hsu, Co-Founder and CEO of D3, said that finding should not be read only as a weakness. Instead, he said it shows where tokenization may have the most room to create value.
“Only treasuries have reached production grade so far, and almost every other class is still concentrated or experimental. That looks like a weakness, but it is really a map of where the value is. The classes that never matured are the fragmented, illiquid markets traditional finance never priced well, because tracking ownership and moving value cost too much. The asset was always real, what was missing was a way to reach it. The infrastructure that finally reaches those markets is what decides where the next phase of growth comes from,” Hsu told BeInCrypto.
Treasuries are easier to tokenize because the asset class is liquid, familiar, and easier for institutions to assess. More complex assets, including private credit, commodities, real estate, and tokenized equities, still face legal, operational, and distribution barriers.
TransFi: Stablecoins Show Where Tokenization Already Works
Raj Kamal, Founder and CEO of TransFi, said the report’s findings should be considered alongside stablecoins, which the report excludes from its core $60 billion RWA market figure.
Kamal argued that stablecoins remain the clearest example of tokenization solving real-world problems at scale.
“In my view, the real RWA tokenization that is solving real world problems is stablecoins. Where there is a tokenization happening of a real world asset – the US dollar. Through USDC and USDT, billions of dollars of stablecoins are making remittances, B2B flows, payroll & freelancer payments, ecommerce checkouts, corporate treasury flows and forex flows and many other payments faster, easier, more predictable and cheaper.”
That argument does not erase the liquidity gap in tokenized securities and funds. But it shows that tokenization can work when the product solves a clear workflow problem.
Kamal said the next wave of adoption may come from payments and corporate use cases, where stablecoins already have strong demand.
“And the proof points come from an ever-increasing number of large traditional institutions looking to get into stablecoin issuance, Western Union, PayPal, Banks and others. And the reality is that we are just scratching the surface of the multi-trillion dollar traditional payments that is likely to move on to stablecoins. We should be celebrating this clear game changer in global payments as proof of RWAs working,” Kamal notes.
Brickken: The Market Is Still Building the Access Layer
Edwin Mata, CEO of Brickken, said the report’s numbers reflect a market still early in institutional adoption.
He said the first phase of tokenization focused on trust, regulatory readiness, and compliant infrastructure. The next phase will depend on whether tokenized assets become easier to access and use.
“These numbers make sense and reflect the current state of the market, tokenization is still early in institutional adoption and that’s how it was supposed to be. The first phase was always about trust: proving the tech works, meeting regulatory bars, getting compliant infrastructure in place. In essence, that groundwork isn’t wasted time but rather the foundation on which everything else will be built.”
Mata compared the path ahead to stablecoins. In his view, tokenized assets will grow when they solve practical business problems, not simply because they exist on-chain.
He said the winners will be the platforms that make tokenized assets discoverable, interoperable, and usable in real workflows.
“Tokenized markets are heading the same direction, as regulation clarifies (Clarity Act or MiCA in Europe is a good example) and infrastructure matures, the winners will ultimately be whoever builds the access layer: discovery, interoperability layers, the infrastructure that turns a tokenized asset from a static record into something businesses and institutions can actually rely and build on.”
The Takeaway: Tokenization Has Value, But Not Yet Depth
The report does not show that tokenization is dead. It shows that the market is still early in its structure.
The assets exist. Major institutions are involved. Treasuries have reached production-grade maturity. But much of the market remains concentrated, restricted, or inactive on-chain.
That makes the next phase clear. Tokenization will not scale only by minting more assets. It needs better settlement, compliance, distribution, execution, and access.
The first phase proved that real value can be represented on-chain. The next phase will determine whether those assets can become active financial markets.
Read the full BeInCrypto Intelligence report here.
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Crypto World
Iran’s Alleged Crypto Spy Paid Just $1,379 for Israel Secrets
Israeli prosecutors on Friday indicted Eli Lavon, a 21-year-old US citizen, for allegedly spying on behalf of Iranian intelligence in exchange for roughly $1,379 in crypto. The case shows Iran’s alleged crypto recruitment playbook maturing into gig work for espionage.
Lavon is reportedly the first American indicted in Israel’s spy wave, which counts at least 60 defendants since 2023. In many cases, small payments rather than ideology appear to drive recruits.
A Job Ad, Three Phones, and $1,379
According to the indictment, Lavon answered a Telegram job advertisement in November 2025 while visiting family in the US. A handler working for Iranian intelligence began assigning tasks once he returned to Israel.
He allegedly filmed an abandoned building and a grocery store in Jerusalem. He also left dead drops, including a USB drive wrapped in a 50 shekel note.
The crypto arrived in small batches, first hundreds of dollars, then about $518 from a second handler. The output had real military value, however. Several sites filmed by alleged recruits in this wave were later struck by Iranian missiles.
Arrested on June 9, Lavon faces two counts of contact with a foreign agent and 14 counts of communicating information to the enemy.
“This indictment illustrates how foreign intelligence agencies attempt to exploit the digital sphere to identify, recruit, and operate individuals from within Israel…” Ronit Shentzer Yaakobi of the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
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Crypto Recruitment Moves From Spying to Sabotage
The playbook no longer stops at surveillance. HAYI, a group that surfaced online in March, has claimed 17 arson and sabotage incidents across seven European countries. Analysis suggests it may be a “fabricated front” run by Iran-linked operatives using paid, disposable recruits.
British police have detained at least 28 people over the London attacks alone. A Belgian teenager was reportedly paid to stage an Antwerp arson later claimed by HAYI. Another teen charged over a London synagogue fire told investigators he did not know what the building was.
Each element mirrors gig work. Tasks arrive through consumer apps, payment clears per job, and recruits stay ignorant of the wider operation. Researchers describe the tactic as hybrid warfare because paid intermediaries blur any link to state planners.
The economic factors set this model apart from traditional terrorism financing. When OFAC sanctioned 134 ISIS-K wallets on July 1, analysts traced roughly $1.4 million into them since 2023. Lavon’s alleged payroll was about a thousandth of that, and Tether still froze 131 sanctioned wallets within a day.
Large networks, in other words, have become visible. Courts have secured terrorism financing convictions on onchain records, and probes into Iran-linked crypto networks chased billion-dollar flows.
A $500 gig payout offers far less signal, a gap that US lawmakers have barely addressed in their debate on illicit finance loopholes.
Whether blockchain surveillance built for large transfers can adapt to micro-payments may decide how quickly such networks unravel.
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Crypto World
Upbit rejects Open USD role after stablecoin partner claims
South Korean crypto exchange Upbit has rejected claims that it is participating in the issuance of Open USD after being listed among more than 140 organizations associated with the proposed stablecoin.
Summary
- Upbit says it is not participating in Open USD issuance despite Dunamu being listed by Open Standard.
- Samsung, Shinhan, and K-Bank have also said they have not formally agreed to join the stablecoin initiative.
- Unfinished South Korean stablecoin rules continue to delay firm commitments from potential participants.
According to a statement issued by Upbit, the exchange has not agreed to issue or help launch the dollar-backed stablecoin, despite its operator, Dunamu, appearing on Open Standard’s published list of participating businesses. The company said it had only expressed a willingness to consider joining the OpenStandard ecosystem if it expands in the future.
The clarification follows similar statements from several South Korean companies that were also named by Open Standard earlier this week. Those responses have raised new questions about how many organizations have formally committed to the project after Open Standard introduced OUSD as a stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar.
South Korean firms deny formal participation
Following Samsung Electronics’ earlier response, more companies have now distanced themselves from Open Standard’s announcement. As reported by crypto.news, Samsung said it had not held formal discussions with the project and did not know what role it was expected to play.
Dunamu, Shinhan Bank and K-Bank also confirmed they had received inquiries from Open Standard but said they were still reviewing the proposal and had not approved participation.
Those statements differ from Open Standard’s announcement on Tuesday, which described more than 140 organizations, including Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, Google, Samsung Electronics and Dunamu, as businesses that had “signed up to use” OUSD.
The project also described many of those companies as founding partners that would participate in governance and share income generated from the stablecoin’s reserve assets.
Open Standard has also said participating businesses would be able to mint and redeem OUSD without paying fees or facing volume limits. According to the project’s announcement, earnings generated from reserve assets would be distributed among participating companies.
Regulatory uncertainty continues to cloud commitments
Outside the consortium debate, industry figures have questioned parts of Open Standard’s proposal. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire previously raised concerns about whether free, unlimited minting and redemption could be maintained over time.
Separately, ARK Invest research director Lorenzo Valente described the announcement as a “giant” letter of intent, suggesting many of the listed relationships may still be preliminary rather than finalized.
South Korea’s regulatory position has added another layer of uncertainty. The country has not yet passed the Digital Asset Basic Act, leaving unresolved who will be allowed to issue stablecoins and what role different businesses can legally perform within such networks.
As crypto.news previously reported, lawmakers have continued debating whether stablecoin issuance should be limited to banks or extended to qualified non-bank companies. Until those rules are finalized, questions remain over licensing requirements, reserve management standards and the responsibilities of companies joining stablecoin ecosystems.
With several listed organizations now publicly stating that discussions remain preliminary, Open Standard’s published consortium has come under closer scrutiny as companies continue evaluating whether to participate once South Korea’s regulatory framework becomes clearer.
Crypto World
Belgian Police Arrest Phishing Suspect Linked to $572K Theft
Belgian authorities have arrested a 19-year-old man they say was a central figure in a European phishing and money-laundering operation that netted more than €500,000 by targeting victims with fake government emails and phone calls. The suspected scheme relied on remote-access software to carry out fraud, and investigators say cryptocurrencies were used to move and launder the proceeds.
According to a Federal Judicial Police report cited by Belgian law enforcement, the arrest took place in Antwerp at an Airbnb, where a second suspect was also found. The investigation began in March 2026, when regional authorities escalated phishing as a priority.
Key takeaways
- Belgian police say the suspected phishing crew used fake government communications to trick victims into installing remote-access software.
- The operation allegedly involved money mules and cash carriers before converting proceeds into cryptocurrencies.
- Investigators characterize crypto as serving multiple roles in phishing—both as part of laundering workflows and as an enabling tool.
- Broader industry data cited in the report reinforces that phishing and social engineering remain leading drivers of crypto theft.
- Recent warnings about malicious ads on Google highlight how attackers are continuing to target users through mainstream search advertising.
Arrest in Antwerp and a laundering pipeline using crypto
In the Belgian case, the Federal Judicial Police reported that the suspected mastermind was detained in an Airbnb in Antwerp. A second suspect was discovered at the location as well, and the primary suspect was subsequently brought before an investigating judge, who issued an arrest warrant.
While authorities did not detail the full operational workflow in the cited report, they described the alleged criminal method: victims were contacted via fake government emails and phone calls designed to induce them to install remote-access software. That is a classic social-engineering pattern in phishing campaigns, because it converts a digital entry point into remote control capabilities.
Police also said the network used intermediaries—money mules and cash carriers—to process and move funds before laundering. The critical addition for the crypto angle is that investigators allege the gang ultimately laundered proceeds through cryptocurrencies, demonstrating how digital assets can be integrated into stages of criminal finance rather than remaining isolated as a payment layer.
Why this matters for crypto users and compliance
The Belgian arrest underscores a recurring reality for the crypto ecosystem: many of the highest-impact losses do not begin with vulnerabilities in smart contracts or protocol code. Instead, fraudsters frequently use human-targeted tactics to obtain access to accounts, wallets, or other assets—and then use crypto to obscure trails.
From an investor and operator standpoint, this has practical implications. It suggests that even if a platform’s underlying technology is secure, users may still face outsized risk through phishing campaigns that impersonate trusted entities. It also points to why transaction monitoring and compliance controls remain relevant even when the entry attack is “off-chain.”
For builders and exchanges, the lessons tend to be operational rather than technical: account security, verification processes for high-risk requests, user education, and fraud response playbooks can all influence outcomes when scams target individuals rather than software.
Phishing and social engineering still dominate crypto losses
The broader threat landscape aligns closely with the Belgian case. Phishing and social engineering scams are described as major contributors to crypto theft, including in reported loss figures for early 2026.
According to Hacken, phishing and social engineering accounted for $306 million of the $482 million lost in the first quarter of 2026. That data, as presented in the source reporting, frames phishing as the most prevalent mechanism behind real-world losses—even as decentralized finance security debates often focus on exploits and protocol failures.
Attackers have long exploited predictable human behavior: creating urgency, impersonating authority figures, and using convincing messaging to bypass caution. The persistence of those tactics is why the crypto community continues to treat user manipulation as a top-tier security concern, not a fringe risk.
Malicious Google ads and evolving tactics
Recent warnings show that phishing campaigns are not limited to email and direct calls. On May 25, onchain analyst “b-block” warned that scammers used Google to run malicious phishing ads impersonating decentralized exchange Uniswap, reportedly stealing more than $400,000 from victims. The warning adds another layer to the problem: threat actors may be leveraging established advertising ecosystems to reach users at scale.
In parallel, DeFiLlama said fake ads on Google are a common source of phishing attacks. Separately, Crypto cybersecurity group Security Alliance reported in April that there was a significant uptick in phishing activity on Google Search in March. Together, these points indicate that mainstream discovery channels—search ads and ad placements—can become a distribution method for crypto scams.
Blockchain security company CertiK’s Skynet report also highlighted phishing and social engineering among leading tactics used by malicious actors associated with North Korea-linked operations. The source further notes that CertiK attributed the 2022 Ronin Bridge exploit to a spearphishing campaign that involved a fake LinkedIn recruiter and a malware-laden PDF—an example of how phishing can lead into broader compromise chains.
What to watch next
With Belgian authorities tying phishing directly to crypto laundering techniques, and with multiple reports indicating phishing remains the largest share of reported losses, the next signal to track is whether law enforcement actions and platform security measures reduce scam distribution channels—especially ads and impersonation attempts—or whether attackers continue to shift to new mainstream touchpoints faster than users can adapt.
Crypto World
Major Binance Announcement Concerning Many Users: Details
The world’s largest crypto exchange has run into serious trouble with EU financial regulators, and the uncertainty has triggered concern among its user base.
Despite its issues in Europe, however, Binance has strengthened its global presence after officially entering the Philippines.
The Push in Asia
Several hours ago, Binance’s co-founder and chief customer service officer, Yee He, revealed the news on her personal X account. She cited a document stating that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted final approval to Blockshoals Technologies Inc. to begin testing its financial products and services within the watchdog’s regulatory sandbox.
Under the crypto-asset intermediary model, the Blockshoals Stratbox will give Filipino users access to a range of offerings provided through its global CASP partner Binance.
The development was also highlighted by Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), who shared He’s post and said: “Real liquidity for Philippines.”
Some users described the expansion into the Asian country as a solid win for crypto adoption, while others were less supportive, claiming the news is only meant to shift attention away from the company’s problems in the European Union.
No MiCA License… for Now
The exchange recently decided to withdraw its MiCA license application from the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) in Greece, leaving it without the necessary approval to operate in the EU after July 1.
Binance assured its local users that their assets are safe and asserted that Europe remains an important region for its operations, adding that it hopes to obtain the permit in the coming months. Meanwhile, some clients have revealed on X that they have received withdrawal instructions from the company, while others appear unaffected for the moment.
Adding to its regulatory challenges in Europe, a group of 1,700 UK investors has filed a collective lawsuit in London’s High Court targeting Binance and CZ. The claimants argue that the exchange offered unregulated products and led to severe financial losses. The lawsuit also accuses Binance of failing to provide adequate protection for its clients.
The post Major Binance Announcement Concerning Many Users: Details appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Crypto World
Gnosis Pay reveals hidden flaw behind $1.5 million crypto hack
Gnosis Pay has revealed that a software flaw dating back to October 2023 enabled the $1.5 million exploit of its card safe infrastructure, while confirming that all affected users have been fully reimbursed.
Summary
- Gnosis Pay traced its $1.5 million hack to a Zodiac software flaw that had existed since October 2023.
- The company reimbursed all affected users, restored services within days, and continues recovering about $300,000.
- The incident adds to growing scrutiny of crypto security as firms and governments respond to rising cyber threats.
According to a postmortem published by Gnosis Pay on Friday, the vulnerability was traced to version 3.4.0 of the Zodiac smart contract framework and had remained undiscovered since Oct. 30, 2023.
The company said the weakness was exploited on June 1, allowing attackers to gain control of about $1.5 million in digital assets held across its decentralized self-custodial payment network.
The report states that Gnosis Pay’s monitoring systems, operated by treasury manager NOCA, detected the first unauthorized transfer at 06:17 UTC on June 1. Engineers identified the root cause within two hours of the initial alert, after which the company suspended card services, temporarily halted its bridge to Gnosis Chain, and shared attacker wallet addresses with stablecoin issuers to help trace the stolen funds. Gnosis Pay also notified external projects that could have been exposed to the same vulnerability.
Funds restored after staged recovery
Following the incident, Gnosis Pay restored customer access in several phases. The company said the first affected accounts regained access to their balances and payment cards by the night of June 3 after new card-safe modules had been deployed. Installation continued over the following days, restoring service for 99% of users by June 6, while the remaining accounts were recovered shortly afterward.
Gnosis Pay said it absorbed the financial losses itself, leaving customers with no losses from the exploit. According to the postmortem, the attackers stole mostly GNO, EURe, USDC.e, and several other digital assets. The company added that roughly $300,000 worth of assets had not yet been recovered and recovery efforts remain ongoing.
The report also disclosed that 5,281 wallets holding at least $1 were affected by the exploit. Gnosis Pay published the attacker’s wallet address used during the incident, identifying it as 0x5a7…7a35, while explaining that the exploit targeted two components within its card safe infrastructure, the Delay Module and the Roles Module.
Smart contract exploits continue to pressure crypto platforms
The disclosure comes as security incidents continue to affect crypto infrastructure providers. As crypto.news reported earlier, Humanity Protocol recently confirmed it is repositioning toward enterprise artificial intelligence products after a $36 million exploit accelerated an internal restructuring that had already been under consideration for several months.
During an interview, Humanity Protocol founder Terence Kwok said the company had been reviewing its long-term direction for six to nine months before the breach. He explained that the exploit sped up those plans, while adding that digital identity will remain central because enterprise AI systems will require reliable ways to verify people and credentials.
Meanwhile, concerns over crypto-related cybercrime have also reached government leaders. Earlier, G7 leaders issued a joint statement after their summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, calling for coordinated action against North Korea’s cryptocurrency thefts and cybercrimes.
The statement linked the issue to long-standing concerns that stolen digital assets have helped finance Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs under international sanctions, a claim repeatedly supported by Western governments and blockchain analytics firms.
Crypto World
XRP Trading Volume Tops Bitcoin on Upbit
XRP just recorded higher trading volume than Bitcoin on Upbit. The altcoin now trades above a recently reclaimed resistance level.
As a result, analysts are watching whether XRP holds enough momentum to challenge the next major zone. The surge in activity places the $1.15 level squarely at the center of trader attention.
Renewed Interest in XRP?
Trading volume measures the amount of an asset exchanged over a specific period. Rising volume is often seen as a sign of increasing market participation. It typically reflects stronger investor interest across both retail and institutional trading channels.
The altcoin generated roughly 113.18 million XRP in trading volume on Upbit over the past 24 hours. As a result, the token surpassed Bitcoin and became one of the exchange’s most actively traded digital assets.
The move drew immediate attention across South Korean crypto markets.
The timing is notable for the token. XRP recently moved above $1.10. That area had repeatedly capped previous recovery attempts.
Moreover, holding above the zone has improved the short-term technical structure and reinforced expectations of continued buying interest.
Analysts note that the latest move built a more constructive market setup. XRP is now attempting to form a sequence of higher lows and higher highs. That pattern is commonly associated with strengthening bullish momentum across major crypto assets.
The breakout has clearly attracted attention. However, traders remain focused on whether the token can maintain support above former resistance levels. As a result, sustained demand will likely be necessary to maintain the current upward trend.
Why the $1.15 Level Is Drawing Attention
The next major area under observation sits between $1.14 and $1.15. This range combines short-term selling pressure with a widely monitored long-term moving average. It now represents a potentially significant obstacle for the token.
A successful move above $1.15 could strengthen confidence among market participants. Furthermore, it would likely shift attention toward higher price levels. Conversely, failure to break through the area may lead to additional consolidation before another attempt.
Analysts also note the importance of XRP holding above $1.09 during any short-term pullback. In technical analysis, a former resistance level that becomes support often confirms a more sustainable breakout. That flip strengthens the broader bullish case.
Beyond $1.15, the next notable target remains the $1.20 to $1.30 zone. That area has repeatedly rejected previous rallies. Furthermore, it remains one of the most important resistance regions on the entire XRP chart.
Supporting the bullish narrative, XRP remains above its breakout level as market activity continues to expand. The token is currently trading around $1.11 after surging 2.25% over the last 24 hours, according to BeInCrypto data.
Buyers appear to have maintained control since the move above the resistance level.
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The latest recovery also follows a period of prolonged weakness. XRP’s monthly RSI recently reached its most oversold reading on record. That extreme prompted some observers to consider the possibility of a broader trend reversal across the coming sessions.
The post XRP Trading Volume Tops Bitcoin on Upbit appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Crypto World
Trump Could Pardon Diddy: Is There a Chance for Sam Bankman-Fried?
President Donald Trump is privately weighing clemency for Sean “Diddy” Combs while Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) remains shut out. The SBF pardon application sits untouched even as Trump signed six emissions-related pardons on Friday.
Sources say a Friday White House meeting focused on Clean Air Act cases only. High-profile requests remain under private discussion.
Diddy Clemency Talks Reach the Oval Office
Sources told CBS News that Trump has been privately discussing clemency requests, including one from Combs. The music mogul is serving just over four years at Fort Dix after his 2025 conviction on two prostitution-related transportation counts.
Jurors acquitted him of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. Trump told the Times in January that Combs had written him a letter seeking a pardon, though he said he was not considering it then.
However, Combs was not expected on the pardons team’s Friday list. Reports in May said Trump was weighing 250 pardons to mark America’s 250th birthday.
Friday’s signings deepen an established pattern instead. Trump pardoned Wyoming mechanic Troy Lake last year over similar emissions charges, and a June 29 executive order told the EPA to deprioritize tampering enforcement.
Trump confirmed the new pardons in a Friday post on Truth Social.
“It is my Great Honor to have just signed Pardons for six people who were persecuted by the Biden Administration, and were in, or being sent to, prison, for ‘fixing their car.’ … I AM SETTING THEM ALL FREE, RIGHT NOW!”
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Where Does the SBF Pardon Stand?
The FTX founder filed a formal pardon application with the Justice Department on June 8, requesting relief after completing his 25-year sentence. The petition remains pending.
Trump has shown no movement on it. In the same January interview, he said he had no intention of pardoning Bankman-Fried. A federal appeals court then crushed his retrial bid in June, leaving the sentence intact.
The contrast with Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is instructive. Trump granted the Binance founder a full pardon on October 21, 2025. CZ had served four months for an anti-money laundering compliance failure, while Binance paid $4.3 billion to settle.
SBF’s case reads differently in Washington. Prosecutors put the FTX fraud at $8 billion, and Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ruben Gallego introduced a resolution opposing any pardon.
Even strong recoveries have not softened that stance. The FTX Recovery Trust has returned roughly $10 billion, with smaller claims recovering up to 120% of 2022 values.
Meanwhile, his market takes from prison revived pardon chatter this week without changing his legal position.
The pattern suggests a firm line in Trump’s clemency thinking. Convictions he frames as regulatory overreach win relief quickly, while large-scale customer fraud stays frozen.
Whether the July Fourth window produces additional names could show how far that distinction stretches.
The post Trump Could Pardon Diddy: Is There a Chance for Sam Bankman-Fried? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
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