Crypto

New partnership, whale activity, and more: here are the most interesting and latest developments surrounding Ripple's ecosystem.

A fake police raid enabled a $1 million Bitcoin robbery, exposing the rise of wrench attacks and the shift from digital hacks to physical crypto threats. Crypto security is expanding beyond digital threats, with criminals increasingly targeting individuals directly through physical coercion rather than trying to exploit blockchain vulnerabilities or hack wallets. The French case illustrates how attackers used a fake police raid and violence to force a Bitcoin transfer worth $1 million, bypassing encryption entirely by compelling the victim to authorize the transaction. Wrench attacks are rising, with criminals using threats or force instead of technical exploits. This highlights how human vulnerability can override even the most secure cryptographic systems. Read more

Neo founder proposes giving back 50M tokens, more than 50 crypto projects warned they have been infiltrated by North Korea. Asia Express

Panic, the firm behind the Playdate handheld, now prohibits creative AI applications while preserving developer productivity aids.

Prediction market platforms took center stage on HBO‘s Last Week Tonight on Sunday as host John Oliver addressed regulation, laws and market manipulation. John Oliver, host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, targeted prediction market platforms on his show’s latest weekly deep dive. In Sunday’s airing of the HBO show, Oliver discussed some of the trivial event contracts on platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, including betting whether members of the Trump administration would use certain words in public addresses, to the companies’ controversial partnering with news organizations.  Specifically, the host questioned Donald Trump Jr.’s relationship with both platforms — an adviser to Kalshi and Polymarket — and how the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “doesn’t even seem to be trying” to block event contracts on terrorism, assassination and war under Chair Michael Selig. Read more

Congressional candidate Alex Bores outlined a policy that would trigger payments to Americans if surging AI use reduces employment.

Polymarket's latest funding talks could push its valuation to $15 billion.

Alibaba released Qwen3.6-Max-Preview, its most powerful AI model yet, topping six major coding benchmarks and posting gains in world knowledge and instruction following over its predecessor.

More than $500 million was siphoned across the Drift and Kelp exploits in just over two weeks. What once looked like isolated breaches now resembles a sustained campaign, likely driven by the financial needs of a sanctioned state.

The funding supports a dual-licensed platform as Malaysia expands its regulatory framework for digital assets and tokenization. Bybit has led an $8 million Series A funding round in Hata, a dual-licensed digital asset exchange operating in Malaysia. The round also included participation from global family offices and follows Bybit’s earlier investment in Hata’s $4.2 million seed round. According to Monday’s announcement, the funding will be used to improve liquidity, expand the user base and develop additional digital asset products. Hata operates under licenses from the Securities Commission Malaysia and the Labuan Financial Services Authority, allowing it to offer trading and custody services for digital assets in the Southeast Asian country. Read more

Aave published a report outlining two possible outcomes: around $123 million in losses if damage is shared across all rsETH, or up to $230 million if confined to Layer 2s, with the final impact depending on how Kelp DAO allocates the shortfall.

Crypto steadied despite rising Iran tensions, but DeFi is reeling from one of the largest exploits of the year.

Reabold Resources faced criticism for plans to use a gas field to mine Bitcoin, but said serving U.K. energy demand remains its main focus.

The meme coin looks “so primed for a big move," one analyst argued.

While the regulator under Atkins has dropped several cases against crypto companies, the SEC still awaits passage of a market structure bill to clarify its authority over crypto. Since Paul Atkins was sworn in as chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 21, 2025, the agency has significantly changed its position on regulation and enforcement related to digital assets, marking a shift from the leadership of former chair Gary Gensler during the Biden administration. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump made removing Gensler one of his promises to the crypto industry, along with creating a national Bitcoin (BTC) stockpile and opposing the issuance of a US central bank digital currency. His November 2024 election win led to Gensler’s resignation in January 2025 and the appointment of SEC commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting chair of the financial regulator until the Senate could confirm Atkins as Trump’s pick to lead the agency.  Read more

Bitcoin bulls retain control over the market, but charts show $80,000 is likely to remain a stiff overhead resistance. Will altcoins rally as BTC price consolidates? Key points: Buyers aggressively bought into the dip in Bitcoin, indicating positive sentiment. That increases the possibility of a rally to $84,000. Several major altcoins have pulled back to their support levels, signaling that the bears remain sellers on rallies. Read more

A weekend post summarizing ideas from CEO Alex Karp’s 2025 book reignites debate over Silicon Valley’s role in warfare and national defense.

Prediction markets suggest Strait of Hormuz traffic will not return to normal any time soon, and oil traders expect higher prices.

French streaming service Deezer says AI-generated music now accounts for nearly half of new uploads—but actual listening remains minimal.

Bitcoin and Ethereum-linked investment products posted solid weekly gains, while XRP moved in the opposite direction.