Iran Turns to Crypto Amid Collapsing Economy, Protests

Crypto usage in Iran has spiked amid the country’s mass protests, with a surge of Iranians withdrawing Bitcoin to preserve value amid instability, according to Chainalysis. Protests in Iran began around Dec. 28 over worsening economic conditions, after the Iranian rial hit record lows against the US dollar. Demonstrations escalated nationwide, with Iran’s regime responding … Read more

DeadLock Malware Exploits Polygon Smart Contracts to Hide

A recently-discovered ransomware dubbed “DeadLock” is stealthily exploiting Polygon smart contracts to rotate and distribute proxy addresses, say researchers at cybersecurity firm Group-IB. The company reported on Thursday that the DeadLock ransomware, first discovered in July, has seen “low exposure” as it isn’t tied to any known data leak site or affiliate programs and has … Read more

Nexo To Pay $500K Fine Over ‘Risky’ Crypto-Backed Loans

Crypto lending company Nexo Capital will pay a $500,000 to California’s financial regulator over allegations it issued thousands of loans to state residents without properly assessing their ability to repay. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) said on Wednesday that Nexo made at least 5,456 consumer and commercial loans to Californians without … Read more

Uniswap Goes Live on OKX’s X Layer as Preferred DEX Partner

Uniswap has launched on X Layer, a layer-2 blockchain built by crypto exchange OKX, becoming the chain’s preferred decentralized exchange as OKX expands its decentralized finance footprint. The integration gives X Layer users access to Uniswap’s markets, including crypto token pairs and liquidity pools, with swaps executed at layer-2 costs and no fees charged by … Read more

Kaito Sunsets Yap as X Bans Payments for ‘AI Slop’

The Kaito.ai and Cookie DAO tokens fell over 15% after X’s ban, a move X’s head of product Nikita Bier said should improve user experience on the social media platform. Artificial intelligence-powered crypto platforms such as Kaito.ai and Cookie DAO have been banned from paying users to post content on X to curb the amount … Read more

BofA CEO Warns Interest-Bearing Stablecoins Could Pull $6T from Banks

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan warned that interest-bearing stablecoins could pull as much as $6 trillion out of the US banking system, arguing that large-scale deposit migration would reduce lending capacity and push borrowing costs higher. The comments surfaced after a crypto investor shared a screenshot from Bank of America’s earnings call transcript on … Read more

Bitcoin Drops Pace At $97K As Retail Stays Sidelined: Did The Rally End?

Key takeaways: Retail traders remain sidelined despite BTC’s rebound, as low funding rates and muted interest point to fragile investor sentiment. Institutional investors are buying the spot Bitcoin ETFs again and corporate buyers building BTC treasuries could help send BTC back to $100,000. Bitcoin (BTC) price stabilized near $95,500 on Thursday following an 8%, 3-day … Read more