Uzbekistan has created a supervised crypto mining zone in Karakalpakstan, allowing foreign sales while requiring proceeds to flow through local bank accounts. Uzbekistan has created a special crypto mining zone across Karakalpakstan under a presidential resolution signed on Friday, opening a supervised framework that lets approved mining companies sell mined digital assets on foreign platforms while keeping the proceeds inside the country’s banking system. A presidential decree effective Monday creates the “Besqala Mining Valley,” a special mining zone across the Republic of Karakalpakstan, where registered legal entities can carry out crypto mining, use a mix of power sources and apply for resident status through a new directorate under the republic’s Council of Ministers. The framework gives miners in the zone the right to sell crypto assets obtained through mining on national crypto exchanges or foreign platforms, including through direct contracts, and to exchange them for other liquid crypto assets. Stil...
Stratiphy is reopening a tax-free route to crypto ETNs in the UK after HMRC’s ISA rule change left retail investors with little practical access. UK fintech platform Stratiphy launched a new offering with a practical, tax-free route back into crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs) for UK investors after a series of regulatory shifts effectively shut them out. In October 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority lifted its four-year ban on retail access to crypto ETNs tied to assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). These products could initially be held in standard stocks-and-shares Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), offering tax-free exposure. However, that changed at the start of the new tax year, when HM Revenue & Customs ruled that new purchases of crypto ETNs would no longer qualify for those ISAs. Instead, eligibility was limited to Innovative Finance (IF) ISAs, a niche wrapper typically used for peer-to-peer lending, and no platform offered both, resulting in a dead end for investors seeking access. Read m...
HackerOne, one of the largest bug bounty platforms in the world, reported there were 85,000 valid bounty submissions in 2025, up 7% from the previous year. Crypto protocols have warned that an increase in AI use has led to a flood of bogus bug bounty submissions, putting a strain on teams trying to identify real threats to their protocols. Bug bounties are a system to reward “good” hackers for submitting reports about potential vulnerabilities and are popular in the crypto industry. AI has now made it easier to sift through large amounts of code to find possible bugs, though AI is also known to hallucinate. “AI is changing the way that bug bounty programs must operate,” said Barry Plunkett, co-CEO of Cosmos Labs, on Tuesday, responding to a bug bounty hunter who accused the protocol of ignoring their vulnerability report. Read more
Umbra has shut down its front end to stop hackers, but says it can’t stop the use of its smart contracts or another version of its open-source front end. Privacy-focused crypto protocol Umbra said it has taken down its front-end website to make it more difficult for hackers who have been using it to move funds from recent “high-profile hacks.” Umbra posted to X on Tuesday that it is aware that around $800,000 worth of stolen funds were moved via its protocol. It added that it made the decision to move the hosted version of its front end into maintenance mode and would restore it “as soon as we are assured that doing so won't create obstacles to the current recovery efforts.” Read more