The proposed bill included a list of targetable offenses, including the theft of cryptocurrencies, ransomware attacks, and pig butchering scams. Arizona lawmaker David Schweikert introduced “The Scam Farms Marque and Reprisal Authorization Act of 2025” in August, which proposes neo-privateers — state-sanctioned pirates — to combat cybercriminals engaged in threats against the United States. The bill authorizes the US president to issue letters of marque to “privately armed and equipped persons” contracted by the government to “employ all means reasonably necessary” to seize property and detain or “punish” cybercriminals deemed a threat by the president. These threats include crypto theft, pig butchering scams, ransomware attacks, identity theft, accessing computers without authorization to gather sensitive personal or classified information, online password trafficking, and compromising computers with malicious code. The bill read: Read more
Robust onchain activity, a resilient futures market and improving investor optimism boost the chance for ETH to hit $5,000. Key takeaways: Ethereum network activity surged by 63% in 30 days, strengthening the case for an imminent breakout to $5,000. Ether futures open interest jumped to $69 billion, highlighting robust demand for leveraged exposure. Read more
The judge suggested that a brief stay while awaiting a ruling in a similar case in the appellate court could “reduce the burden of litigation.” An Illinois judge has granted a motion to stay proceedings in a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase pending a ruling in the appellate court. In a Thursday filing in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman granted a motion filed by Coinbase to stay a lawsuit involving alleged violations of the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act. The motion requested waiting for a ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which is considering a case involving Nuance Communications supplying voice identification technology to Charles Schwab — a decision that could impact the Coinbase lawsuit. Read more