Author: Tristan Lodenberg

Cybercriminals are expanding the use of the “ClickFix” social engineering tactic, now posing as venture capital firms to target crypto users and startups. According to researchers at Moonlock Lab, attackers have created fraudulent investment entities such as SolidBit, MegaBit and Lumax Capital to lure victims through professional networking platforms. In these campaigns, targets receive partnership offers and are directed to counterfeit video conference links. Victims are then prompted to complete a fake verification step resembling a Cloudflare security check. Clicking the prompt silently copies a malicious command, which users are instructed to paste into their system terminal. By convincing victims…

Visa is broadening its partnership with Bridge, a Stripe owned stablecoin infrastructure firm, to expand stablecoin-linked card services to more than 100 countries by the end of the year. Companies confirmed that the program is now being extended to 18 additional markets across Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East, building on its 2025 launch in Latin America. The initiative allows users to spend stablecoins through Visa cards, with merchants receiving payments in local currency. Previously, Bridge converted stablecoins into fiat before settlement. Under the updated framework, the companies are testing direct onchain settlement, marking a shift toward blockchain-based payment…

Crypto exchange Bybit says a newly deployed AI-assisted fraud detection system blocked or disrupted more than $300 million in suspected scam-related withdrawals during the fourth quarter of 2025. According to the company, the system flagged roughly $500 million in withdrawal attempts over the three-month period. More than 4,000 users were protected after receiving real-time risk alerts or having transactions blocked before funds left the platform. Bybit’s risk control team said much of the reported $300 million reflects withdrawals that users voluntarily canceled after seeing on-screen warnings. Because the transactions were halted before completion, the funds remained in customer accounts and…

SoFi Technologies has expanded its partnership with Mastercard to introduce SoFiUSD as a settlement currency across Mastercard’s global payments infrastructure. The initiative will allow issuers and acquirers to explore settling card transactions using the U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, potentially enabling faster and more efficient payment processing. SoFiUSD, issued by SoFi Bank, is described as a fully reserved dollar stablecoin deployed on Ethereum. The bank plans to use the token to settle its own credit and debit transactions running on Mastercard’s network, subject to regulatory considerations. The collaboration is designed to support use cases such as cross-border remittances, business-to-business transfers, and programmable…

BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo has pledged 20 million pounds ($27 million) to the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences (LIMS), marking one of the largest private donations to a UK research institution outside Oxford and Cambridge. The donation includes $13.3 million upfront, with the remainder released once LIMS matches the amount through fundraising. The commitment is part of a broader $80 million endowment campaign to secure the institute’s long-term research programs. Delo highlighted his desire to support world-class scientific achievements, saying he hopes LIMS researchers will win Fields Medals and Nobel Prizes. He emphasized that the institute’s model, which allows researchers…

The Bank of Japan is preparing to test whether central bank reserves can function within blockchain based systems, marking a significant step toward modernizing Japan’s financial infrastructure. Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank will experiment with its current account deposits funds that commercial banks hold at the BOJ through a sandbox initiative designed to evaluate blockchain integration. Speaking at a financial technology conference in Tokyo, Ueda emphasized that central banks must adapt to a shifting ecosystem shaped by tokenization and programmable payments. The pilot will assess how central bank money could interact with distributed ledger systems while maintaining compatibility…

Riot Platforms reported a record $647.4 million in annual revenue for 2025, a 72% increase from $376.7 million in 2024. The surge was largely fueled by Bitcoin mining, which generated $576.3 million, up $255.3 million from the prior year. Riot mined 5,686 BTC in 2025, compared to 4,828 BTC in 2024, benefiting from higher average Bitcoin prices and an expanded operational hash rate. The average cost to mine one Bitcoin, excluding depreciation, rose to $49,645 from $32,216, reflecting a 47% increase in global mining difficulty. The impact was partially offset by a 68% rise in power credits earned during the…

Crypto outflows from Iran’s largest digital asset exchange surged dramatically after recent US and Israeli airstrikes on Tehran, raising questions about potential capital flight amid escalating regional tensions. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reported that withdrawals from Nobitex jumped more than 700% within minutes of the initial strikes, surpassing $500,000 almost immediately. Outflows later climbed to nearly $3 million in a single hour. Elliptic’s early tracing suggested that a portion of the funds moved to foreign crypto exchanges, a pattern that could indicate efforts to transfer capital beyond domestic financial channels. The firm noted that digital assets can provide alternative pathways…

Bitcoin slipped below $67,000 on Tuesday as investors shifted toward defensive assets amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The leading cryptocurrency declined roughly 3% over the past 24 hours, retreating after briefly testing the $70,000 level at the start of the week. The pullback coincides with a broader risk-off move across financial markets. The U.S. dollar strengthened sharply, with the DXY index climbing above 99, its highest level since late January. At the same time, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield moved toward 4.1%, signaling sustained pressure from elevated interest rate expectations. U.S. Equities and Crypto Stocks Trade…

A federal judge has dismissed a long running class action lawsuit against Uniswap Labs and its founder Hayden Adams, ruling that the decentralized exchange cannot be held responsible for fraudulent tokens created by third parties. Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Manhattan federal court dismissed the case with prejudice, effectively ending the four-year legal battle. The lawsuit alleged that Uniswap facilitated so-called “rug pulls” and pump-and-dump schemes by allowing scam tokens to be traded on its platform. The plaintiffs, led by Nessa Risley, had previously filed suit in 2022, naming Uniswap, Adams, and several venture firms. That complaint was dismissed…