North Korean Hackers Stole $2 Billion in Crypto in 2025

DPRK hackers stole $2 billion in crypto in 2025, a 51% rise despite fewer attacks.Attackers shifted from volume campaigns to precision strikes on high-value exchanges.Ethereum Foundation identified 100 DPRK actors infiltrated inside crypto hiring pipelines.  North Korean state-linked hackers stole over $2 billion in cryptocurrency during 2025, a 51% jump from the previous year, according to a new threat report from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. The most striking detail is not the dollar figure itself but how the figure was reached.  The number of attacks went down, and the success rate per attack went up dramatically. DPRK-affiliated groups have shifted from running high-volume campaigns to running fewer, more carefully targeted operations against high-value exchanges and Web3 protocols.  Why Crypto Is the Target  CrowdStrike‘s analysis is direct about why the cryptocurrency sector specifically attracts North Korean state actors. Stolen funds can be cashed out and moved with significantly greater anonymity than equivalent thefts from traditional banking systems. The proceeds are almost certainly being laundered to fund the country’s military programs.  The financial services sector is now the fourth most targeted industry globally for cyber attacks, according to the same report. Within that category, crypto exchanges and Web3 infrastructure carry the highest combination of liquidity and exit liquidity,

05-16

Flare Adds MXRPY Vault Targeting 3% to 4% as XRPFi Yield Options Expand

Monarq, Flare, and Upshift have introduced MXRPY, a managed multi‑strategy yield vault designed to give holders diversified returns through a single product. The Monarq Yield Vault allows users to deposit FXRP into a professionally managed vehicle that allocates capital across options trading, basis and funding‑rate arbitrage, and on-chain XRPFi strategies.  Monarq Asset Management oversees the vault, which is built on Upshifts institutional infrastructure. According to a media statement, starting May 15, holders can access MXRPY through Upshift with an initial deposit cap of 500,000 FXRP. The vault targets an annual yield of roughly 3% to 4%, with returns distributed over time based on strategy performance and market conditions.  MXRPY expands Flares XRPFi ecosystem by introducing a hybrid structure that blends on-chain and offchain execution. The companies said the product is intended to give XRP holders broader access to yield opportunities while maintaining exposure to the Flare network.  “A real financial system needs a broader menu of options,” said Shiliang Tang, managing partner at Monarq Asset Management. “MXRPY is built to be one of those options for holders.”  The vault allocates FXRP across three return engines. One uses as collateral through FalconX to support options strategies across venues such as Deribit and OTC structured‑product desks.

05-16

CME, NYSE owner lobby Washington to regulate Hyperliquid

Two major US exchange powerhouses are moving against a top decentralized trading venue.  According to Bloomberg, CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which owns the New York Stock Exchange, are urging US authorities to regulate Hyperliquid amid concerns that its largely offshore, lightly regulated trading environment could be vulnerable to market manipulation and sanctions evasion.  Hyperliquids native HYPE token slipped approximately 6% in reaction to the development, moving from above $45 to below $43, per CoinGecko. It has a market cap of around $10.3 billion, making it the 13th-largest crypto asset globally.  The exchanges argue that Hyperliquids growing trading volumes in crypto and commodity-linked markets could begin to distort price discovery in critical sectors like oil, where global benchmarks are formed. They warn that anonymous trading environments may allow insiders or state-linked participants to influence prices.  The push, which includes calls for registration with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, comes as CME advances plans to expand its own 24/7 crypto trading offerings.  CME has been steadily expanding its own crypto derivatives offerings. Bitcoin Volatility Futures contracts are scheduled to begin trading June 1, and Nasdaq CME Crypto Index Futures, a multi-asset product spanning BTC, ETH, XRP, and others, launch a week later on June 8.  Both

05-16

Bitwise Set to Launch Hyperliquid (HYPE) ETF

The launch comes only days after another HYPE ETF, 21Shares THYP, started trading, racking up $1.8M on its debut.  ;  }  function loadTrinityPlayer(targetWrapper, theme,extras=“”) {  cleanupPlayer(targetWrapper); // Always clean first ✅  targetWrapper.classList.add(‘played’);  // Create script  const scriptEl = document.createElement(“script”);  scriptEl.setAttribute(“fetchpriority”, “high”);  scriptEl.setAttribute(“charset”, “UTF-8”);  const scriptURL = new URL(`https://trinitymedia.ai/player/trinity/2900019254/?themeAppearance=${theme}${extras}`);  scriptURL.searchParams.set(“pageURL”, window.location.href1);  scriptEl.src = scriptURL.toString();  // Insert player  const placeholder = targetWrapper.querySelector(“.add-before-this”);  placeholder.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptEl, placeholder.nextSibling);  }  function getTheme() {  return document.body.classList.contains(“dark”) ? “dark” : “light”;  }  // Initial Load for Desktop  if (window.innerWidth 768) {  const desktopBtn = document.getElementById(“desktopPlayBtn”);  if (desktopBtn) {  desktopBtn.addEventListener(“click”, function () {  const desktopWrapper = document.querySelector(“.desktop-player-wrapper.trinity-player-iframe-wrapper”);  if (desktopWrapper) loadTrinityPlayer(desktopWrapper, getTheme(),  });  }  }  // Mobile Button Click  const mobileBtn = document.getElementById(“mobilePlayBtn”);  if (mobileBtn) {  mobileBtn.addEventListener(“click”, function () {  const mobileWrapper = document.querySelector(“.mobile-player-wrapper.trinity-player-iframe-wrapper”);  if (mobileWrapper) loadTrinityPlayer(mobileWrapper, getTheme(),  });  }  function reInitButton(container,html){  container.innerHTML = + html;  }  // Theme switcher  const destroyButton = document.getElementById(“checkbox”);  if (destroyButton) {  destroyButton.addEventListener(“click”, () = {  setTimeout(() = {  const theme = getTheme();  if (window.innerWidth 768) {  const desktopWrapper = document.querySelector(“.desktop-player-wrapper.trinity-player-iframe-wrapper”);  if(desktopWrapper.classList.contains(‘played’)){  loadTrinityPlayer(desktopWrapper, theme,  }else{  reInitButton(desktopWrapper,‘’)  const desktopBtn = document.getElementById(“desktopPlayBtn”);  if (desktopBtn) {  desktopBtn.addEventListener(“click”, function () {  const desktopWrapper = document.querySelector(“.desktop-player-wrapper.trinity-player-iframe-wrapper”);  if (desktopWrapper) loadTrinityPlayer(desktopWrapper,theme,‘  });  }  }  } else {  const mobileWrapper = document.querySelector(“.mobile-player-wrapper.trinity-player-iframe-wrapper”);  if(mobileWrapper.classList.contains(‘played’)){  loadTrinityPlayer(mobileWrapper, theme,  }else{  const mobileBtn = document.getElementById(“mobilePlayBtn”);  if (mobileBtn) {  mobileBtn.addEventListener(“click”, function () {  const mobileWrapper = document.querySelector(“.mobile-player-wrapper.trinity-player-iframe-wrapper”);  if (mobileWrapper) loadTrinityPlayer(mobileWrapper,theme,  });  }  }  }  }, 100);  });  }  })();  Asset manager Bitwise is set to launch an exchange-traded fund tracking Hyperliquids native HYPE token.  The ETF will start trading on May 15 under the ticker BHYP on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).  Capitalizing on Hyperliquids Growth and Dominance  Bitwise said that BHYP is the first HYPE ETF to use an in-house

05-16

Bitget Secures Regulatory Approval in Mexico, Expands LatAm Presence

is expanding its footprint in Latin America after completing regulatory registrations required to operate in Mexico, one of the regions fastest-growing crypto markets.  The exchange confirmed it has registered with Mexicos Tax Administration Service (SAT) for vulnerable activities and with the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), placing it among a small group of global platforms that have cleared both requirements.  Bitget is the worlds largest Universal Exchange (UEX), a multi-asset trading platform that combines crypto with traditional financial instruments such as tokenized stocks, commodities, and forex in a single account. The platform serves over 125 million users globally. You can access Bitget .  Mexico Becomes Strategic Hub for LatAm Expansion  The move signals Bitgets deeper push into Central and Latin America, with Mexico emerging as a key market due to rising crypto adoption and its broader economic influence in the region.  Interest in digital assets has been steadily increasing across Mexico, attracting global exchanges looking to establish compliant operations. By securing both SAT and UIF registrations, Bitget strengthens its ability to operate within the countrys evolving regulatory framework, particularly as authorities tighten anti-money laundering (AML) requirements for virtual asset platforms.  According to the company, Mexico represents one of its largest regional markets, making regulatory alignment a critical

05-16

Augustus eyes AI banking launch after rare OCC approval

Augustus Bank CEO Ferdinand Dabitz says legacy clearing banks cannot fully rebuild their systems for AI and programmable money. Augustus received conditional OCC approval to form a full-service U.S. national bank for AI and stablecoin payments.CEO Ferdinand Dabitz says legacy clearing banks can upgrade systems but cannot rebuild their core models.The plan comes as JPMorgan and Circle expand tokenized liquidity products for stablecoin and payment use.  His comments came after Augustus received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Augustus Bank, N.A. as a full-service U.S. national bank.  The bank has not launched yet. As previously reported, Augustus must meet pre-opening conditions and become fully licensed before it can add U.S. dollar clearing to its platform.  Stablecoins sit at the center  Augustus plans to build around AI-driven payments, stablecoin settlement and programmable clearing. The company says its bank will serve machine agents, global institutions and programmable dollar flows.  Dabitz said “replacing them” when asked whether Augustus could coexist with traditional clearing banks. He also described the current correspondent banking model as “broken,” pointing to weekend closures, old systems and slow settlement.  Moreover, Augustus wants to use AI for compliance, transaction monitoring, case handling and back-office work. Dabitz said the bank

05-16

Signal Says it Might Exit Canada if Forced to Comply with Lawful Access Bill

Privacy messaging app Signal has said it may exit Canada if forced to comply with the countrys proposed lawful access bill, which would require companies to build technical surveillance capabilities that some argue could threaten end-to-end encryption.  In an interview with Canadian news outlet The Globe and Mail on Thursday, Signals vice president of strategy and global affairs, Udbhav Tiwari, argued that the bill could and leave private messaging services vulnerable to potential cyberattacks.  Bill C-22 is part of a regulatory package introduced in March. It would require electronic service providers to build surveillance capabilities and retain certain user metadata for up to a year as part of a broader push to help law enforcement such as terrorism and child exploitation.  Some have the bill because of its implications for user privacy, echoing concerns of the EUs controversial chat control proposal, which posed threats to encryption by pushing for client-side scanning of private messages.  In an X on Thursday, Canadian Conservative Party Member of Parliament Jacob Mantle claimed that “every member of Parliament in the country” uses Signal primarily for its safety and privacy features, arguing that the bill would contradict that and allow the government to read everyones messages.  Tiwari the firm “would rather

05-16

AI Agents Turn to Digital Arson, Crime in Shared Virtual World: Study

Emergence AI says some autonomous AI agents committed simulated crimes and violence during weeks-long experiments.Gemini-based agents reportedly carried out hundreds of simulated crimes, while Grok-based worlds collapsed within days.Researchers argue that current AI benchmarks fail to capture how agents behave over long periods of autonomy.  AI agents inhabiting a virtual society drifted into crime, violence, arson, and self-deletion during long-running experiments by startup Emergence AI.  In a study published on Thursday, the New York-based company unveiled “Emergence World,” a research platform designed to study AI agents operating continuously for weeks inside persistent virtual environments instead of isolated benchmark tests.  “Traditional benchmarks are good at what they measure: short-horizon capability on bounded tasks,” Emergence AI wrote. “They are not built to reveal the things that emerge only over time, such as coalition formation, evolution of constitution, governance, drift, lock-in, and cross-influence between agents from different model families.”  The report comes as AI agents proliferate online and across industries, including cryptocurrency, banking, and retail. Earlier this month, Amazon teamed with Coinbase and Stripe to allow AI agents to pay with the USDC stablecoin.  AI agents tested in Emergence AIs simulations included programs powered by Claude Sonnet 4.6, Grok 4.1 Fast, Gemini 3 Flash, and GPT-5-mini, with AI

05-16

Drake calls SBF one of his guys, demands his release from prison

There were low expectations for Drake‘s new album but one track released today underperformed even by crypto’s degenerate standards. In his new song DustDrake calls Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) one of his guys and calls for his prison release.  “An FTX penthouse high-riser, yeah / Samuel Bankman, free all my guys up, yeah,” Drake raps on the albums second track.  Drake‘s “free all my guys” framing is a standard hip-hop convention as a solidarity shout-out. It also follows the storyline of “Dust”as an aggressive statement track, which follows the rap genre’s basic victory lap-and-diss sparkline.  The song isnt complicated. Drake simply re-asserts examples of his dominance and successes while casting his rivals as washed-up, living off old plaques and memories. The chorus repeats the simple message, “Go blow the dust off your plaques.”  The music video also adds no more nuance, depicting a childish police car race from the fun-loving rapper.  Elsewhere, he also names himself a “BTC crypto big-timer,” demonstrating his obvious failure to understand how bitcoin (BTC) and crypto are distinct.  As evidence of his status, Drake references his globe-trotting lifestyle via Melbourne‘s time zone, sold-out shows, and dubious references to the Bahamas where SBF stole FTX’s customer money: smoking luxury cigars at Graycliff, and

05-16

XRP’s Rising Volatility Threatens Sellers Near $1.50: Can Bulls Sustain the Momentum?

The post XRPs Rising Volatility Threatens Sellers Near $1.50: Can Bulls Sustain the Momentum? appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News  With Bitcoin price now aiming for a recovery above $80K, the altcoin market is pumping again. As a result, XRP is seeing increased market activity, with short-term traders now betting heavily around the $1.5 zone. Additionally, several on-chain indicators now point toward a breakout from the current consolidation. If this happens, the XRP price could be pushed toward Januarys high.  XRP Faces Tough Battle Below $1.5  XRP has been experiencing intense volatility over the last few hours. The supply range at $1.5 is creating strong bearish waves, limiting any recovery since Monday. Data from Coinglass shows that XRPs total liquidation has touched $17 million in the last 24 hours. Of this, buyers liquidated heavily after facing resistance above $1.5, amounting nearly $10.4 million.  XRP Open Interest  Interestingly, the Senate Banking Committee‘s May 14 review of the CLARITY Act could trigger short-term XRP price swings if it strengthens XRP’s status as a commodity. As XRPs market volatility surged, it was accompanied by increasing open interest. CryptoQuant data shows XRP open interest rose to about $475 million, above the 30-day average of $441 million. Analysts say this

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