Australia tightens crypto oversight with 45 removals

Australias financial intelligence regulator said on Sept. 7 that it canceled, suspended or refused to renew 45 crypto and remittance registrations during the past year.  The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre said the AUSTRAC registration actions removed affected businesses from its official registers. The agency did not identify all 45 companies or disclose how many were virtual asset service providers rather than remittance businesses.  According to its statement, AUSTRAC targeted businesses that were inactive, insolvent or unable to begin or continue operating. Other cases involved incorrect registrations, failures to report material changes or elevated money laundering and terrorism financing risks.  AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said companies with canceled registrations can no longer provide the relevant services. The regulator also referred people associated with some businesses to Australian and overseas law enforcement or regulatory partners.  “The rapid movement of money across borders can create some of the highest ML/TF risks,” Thomas said.  The action represents an administrative and supervisory response rather than a finding that all 45 businesses committed financial crimes. AUSTRACs stated reasons cover conditions ranging from inactivity and insolvency to alleged financial crime exposure.  AUSTRAC canceled GetCoins after customer complaints  AUSTRAC identified BA Digital Ventures, which traded as GetCoins, as one company affected by the

09-08Industry

Abraxas Capital buys $32M ETH to hedge $353M Hyperliquid short

Abraxas Capital has bought another 13,000 ETH worth $32.39 million in the spot market to hedge part of a 141,180 ETH short position on Hyperliquid valued at $353.27 million.  Lookonchain said on Sept. 8 that Abraxas Capital purchased the additional Ether while keeping its much larger short position open on the decentralized derivatives platform. The blockchain analytics account described the transaction as another spot purchase made specifically to hedge the short.  Abraxas Capital bought another 13,000 $ETH ($32.39M) spot to hedge its 141,180 $ETH ($353.27M) short on Hyperliquid.https://t.co/qwAXChjYvp pic.twitter.com/q5fIew30RS  — Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 8, 2026  At the values provided by Lookonchain, the latest purchase was made at an implied price of roughly $2,491 per ETH. The 13,000 ETH position equals just over 9% of the firms 141,180 ETH short when measured by the number of tokens.  Abraxas therefore remains heavily net short based solely on the positions disclosed by Lookonchain. Subtracting the latest 13,000 ETH spot hedge from the 141,180 ETH short leaves 128,180 ETH of net short exposure before considering any other holdings or positions controlled by the firm.  Abraxas Capital keeps $353 million ETH short open  Lookonchain valued the Hyperliquid short at approximately $353.27 million at the time of its post, compared with $32.39 million

09-08Industry

Bitcoin miner called $5.68 cost for 50 BTC a loss

A Bitcoin forum post published on Sept. 7, 2010, has resurfaced 16 years later after an early miner described a projected $5.68 electricity bill for mining a 50 BTC block as “a net loser.”  The calculation was genuine, but it did not mean that spending $5.68 guaranteed the miner a block. The figure represented an expected electricity cost based on the miner‘s computing power, Bitcoin’s difficulty and the average time needed to find a valid block.  The forum participant, using the name TTBit, measured a computer consuming 140 watts while producing about 2,200 kilohashes per second. A mining calculator estimated an average wait of 338.05 hours, or roughly 14 days and two hours.  Running a 140-watt machine for that period would consume approximately 47.33 kilowatt-hours. At $0.12 per kilowatt-hour, the electricity bill would be $5.68. The arithmetic in the original post is therefore consistent.  “It would cost me 47.327 Kwh to produce a block,” TTBit wrote, before calling the projected expense “a net loser.”  An Internet forum user 16 years ago measured their computers electricity use and estimated it would take approximately two weeks to produce a Bitcoin block. With the block mining subsidy then 50 bitcoin, their estimated electricity cost was $5.68, which they

09-08Industry

Australia says it removed 45 crypto, remittance registrations over the past year

Australias financial intelligence regulator said it canceled, suspended or refused to renew 45 crypto and remittance registrations over the past year as it intensified scrutiny of high-risk payment businesses.  On Monday, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) said the actions targeted providers that were inactive, insolvent or lacked the capacity to operate. It also cited failures to report material changes, incorrect registrations and cases presenting significant money laundering or terrorism financing risks.  AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas said businesses whose registrations were canceled can no longer operate. He added that individuals connected to some businesses had been referred to Australian and overseas law enforcement or regulatory partners.  AUSTRAC highlighted BA Digital Ventures, which traded as GetCoins and had its virtual asset registration canceled in June following customer complaints. The regulator said GetCoins was allegedly exploited by organized cryptocurrency investment scams and that its cancellation, undertaken with the National Anti-Scam Centre, helped disrupt the activity.  The regulator did not name all 45 businesses or provide a breakdown between crypto and remittance providers. Its public VASP register lists recent actions involving GetCoins, Cryptolink, Self Custody, Jam Xchange and Coinsec Australia.  AUSTRAC has also opened an investigation into Western Union and suspended Cryptolinks crypto ATM network.

09-08Industry

XRP Ledger Batch upgrade remains below 80% vote

XRP Ledger validators are moving closer to approving BatchV1_1, but live voting data on Sept. 8 showed the amendment remained below the threshold needed to begin its two-week activation period.  BatchV1_1 had support from 24 of 35 validators on the default Unique Node List, equal to 68.57%, according to XRPScan. At least 29 affirmative votes would be required to exceed 80% with the current validator count.  The XRP Ledgers Batch amendment is now at 68% support  We could see Batch going live by the end of this month  Batch will unlock a lot of new use cases for the XRP ecosystem  You can track progress here https://t.co/OzfHPHqP2E pic.twitter.com/uoo2Q5kf0X  — moonkie ???? (@xmoonkie) September 7, 2026  The amendment would let accounts bundle as many as eight transactions into one coordinated operation. However, reports suggesting it will activate in September remain speculative because the required majority has not been reached.  A September activation is possible only if support first exceeds 80% and remains there continuously for fourteen days.  XRP Ledger Batch vote has not started its countdown  XRPL amendments activate only after holding support from more than 80% of trusted validators for two consecutive weeks. If support falls below that level during the period, the timer resets.  BatchV1_1 therefore needs at least five

09-08Industry

Cardano ships node 11.1.1 ahead of Dijkstra

Cardano released node version 11.1.1 ahead of its next major network era, completing the first of four planned node milestones supporting the Dijkstra hard fork.  SummaryCardano node 11.1.1 has shipped, removing legacy tracing and addressing known Genesis-related operational issues.Node 11.2 will open most Dijkstra features for testing while excluding Leios consensus components initially.DijkstraNet is expected after node 11.2 for Plutus V4, nested transactions and CIP-50 testing publicly.Intersects moderate-confidence hard-fork window runs December 5 through January 4, pending readiness and governance approval.Peras remains planned for a separate intra-era hard fork during the second quarter of 2027.  Intersect‘s container registry shows that version 11.1.1 was published during the weekend ending Sept. 6. The release removes Cardano’s legacy tracing system and addresses known Genesis-related issues. It also responds to increased memory use identified during testing of node 11.1.0.  The maintenance release arrived as Intersect published a more detailed Dijkstra schedule. Node versions 11.2 and 11.3, followed by the final protocol version 12 release, will progressively introduce the code required for testing and mainnet activation.  Intersect currently places a possible Dijkstra enactment between Dec. 5, 2026, and Jan. 4, 2027, under its “moderate confidence” timeline. A later “high confidence” window runs from Feb. 24 to March 26, 2027.  You

09-08Industry

Gold price in Pakistan: Rates on September 8

Gold prices rose in Pakistan on Tuesday, according to data compiled by FXStreet.  The price for Gold stood at 39,601.85 Pakistani Rupees (PKR) per gram, up compared with the PKR 39,392.19 it cost on Monday.  The price for Gold increased to PKR 461,932.20 per tola from PKR 459,462.80 per tola a day earlier.Unit measureGold Price in PKR1 Gram39,601.8510 Grams396,039.00Tola461,932.20Troy Ounce1,231,756.00  FXStreet calculates Gold prices in Pakistan by adapting international prices (USD/PKR) to the local currency and measurement units. Prices are updated daily based on the market rates taken at the time of publication. Prices are just for reference and local rates could diverge slightly.

09-08Industry

France faces $9.4B crypto tax reporting test: Chainalysis

Chainalysis estimated on Aug. 26 that France generated about $9.4 billion in potentially taxable crypto activity during 2025, placing the country among the worlds 15 largest markets covered by its latest crypto tax study.  The estimate included $1.7 billion in crypto income, $2.5 billion in realized gains and $5.2 billion in crypto payments. It arrives as France prepares to receive detailed customer and transaction data under the European Union‘s DAC8 tax reporting system and the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, or CARF.  Chainalysis Says Crypto Tax Non-Compliance May Top 90% Ahead of Frances 2027 Reporting Regime  Chainalysis said crypto tax non-compliance may exceed 90% in some countries, as France prepares to receive far more detailed crypto transaction data from 2027 under the EUs DAC8… pic.twitter.com/c2O4cRfPKp  — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 8, 2026  Chainalysis described the figures as “potentially taxable activity,” rather than unpaid taxes or government revenue. Tax treatment varies by transaction type, taxpayer status and national law. Crypto payments, for example, cannot be treated as equivalent to undeclared capital gains.  The company also did not estimate that more than 90% of French crypto taxes went unpaid. Its reference to non-compliance above 90% came from a Swedish tax authority study concerning taxpayers in Sweden. Applying that rate

09-08Industry

Liquid ‘white hats’ return $270M in Bitcoin as network prepares restart

Purported white-hat hackers returned 3,400 Bitcoin worth about $270 million to the Liquid Federation wallet after withdrawing roughly $320 million from the Bitcoin sidechains reserves.  On Monday, JAN3 CEO and former Blockstream executive Samson Mow said the return followed confirmation from Blockstream that the affected bridge nodes had been patched. He said about 598 BTC remains outstanding and that Blockstream continues to engage with the actors.  The return follows a Sunday security incident in which hackers withdrew about 4,000 BTC from the wallet‘s roughly 4,200 BTC. Onchain records show that exactly 3,400 BTC was transferred back to the federation’s wallet address.  Blockstream said updated software had been deployed and federation members were preparing for a coordinated restart. Liquid issues L-BTC against Bitcoin held by its federation, so the return of about 85% of the withdrawn Bitcoin restores much of the backing removed in the incident as the paused network prepares to resume operations.  Bitcoin return follows onchain negotiations  The original withdrawal was processed through SideSwaps Peg-out Authorization Key, although Liquid and SideSwap said the key itself was not compromised. SideSwap said the L-BTC involved originated from a bug in Elements, the open-source software underpinning Liquid.  Blockstream contacted the actors through signed messages embedded in Bitcoin transactions.

09-08Industry

WikiBit Exchange Exit Scam Risk Ranking #20 — Bitunix: “Easy to Get In, Impossible to Get Out” — Bitunix Users, Can You Still Get Your Money Back?

Introduction: An Exchange With Extreme “Split Personality”  Over the previous 19 editions, we have investigated a series of crypto exchanges ranging from HashKey to BVOX. For the 20th edition, we are taking on one with an almost extreme “split personality” — Bitunix.  Its résumé looks like that of a “top student” in the crypto industry:  “Founded in 2021,” “over 5 million users across 150+ countries,” “ranked 33rd on CMCs derivatives rankings,” “AA rating from CER.live, ranking among the global top 17,” “$116.8 million in reserves with a 108%+ reserve ratio,” “ISO 27001:2022 certification,” “AUSTRAC registration + El Salvador BSP license + U.S. and Canadian MSB registrations,” a “$30 million Bitunix Care Fund,” and “$5 million in insurance.”  Sounds like the perfect combination of compliance + security + transparency, right?  But on the other side of the story:  The Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA) publicly named Bitunix in a 2025 warning, stating that the platform was operating without authorization and falsely claiming to hold a Philippine license. Bitunix has no Tier-1 regulatory oversight, and it does not appear on the ESMA CASP register.  Its Trustpilot score stands at 3.5/5, with users openly calling it a “SCAM” and an “exit scam.”  WikiBit states that Bitunix currently has no valid crypto-asset

09-08Deep Dive
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