The FBI and Japan’s National Police Agency issue a joint warning about North Korea linked hackers running a massive device infection campaign.
Investigators say the hacking group infects more than 30,000 devices across over 100 countries as part of an ongoing operation targeting crypto workers.
The campaign specifically targets employees at cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and NFT firms by posing as legitimate recruiters offering attractive job opportunities.
Victims receive fake interview invitations and coding assignments that secretly install malware, granting hackers persistent access to company systems and personal devices.
Authorities report the hackers successfully steal funds from more than 7,000 individual crypto wallets during this extended and coordinated campaign.
Total losses linked to this specific operation reach approximately $10.71 million, according to figures shared by investigators tracking the group’s activity.
This tactic mirrors well documented North Korean cyber strategies. State linked groups routinely pose as recruiters on LinkedIn and other professional networks.
Previous campaigns used similar methods to breach wallet software companies and exchanges, sometimes resulting in losses reaching hundreds of millions of dollars.
Security researchers note that fake job offers remain one of the most effective social engineering tools used by North Korean hacking collectives.
The malware deployed often masquerades as pre-employment coding tests, tricking developers into running malicious scripts on machines with sensitive system access.
United Nations officials have previously stated that North Korea relies heavily on cryptocurrency theft to fund its sanctioned weapons and missile programs.
Crypto companies are urged to strengthen hiring verification processes and train staff to recognize suspicious recruitment outreach before it leads to a breach.
U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $730.9 million in net inflows on Wednesday, their biggest single-day haul since mid-January, as Bitcoin staged a sharp rebound.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led the way, absorbing $454 million — more than 60% of the day’s total — and pushing its lifetime inflows to nearly $64 billion. ARK Invest and 21Shares’ ARKB brought in a further $138 million, while Fidelity’s FBTC added roughly $74 million and Grayscale’s two Bitcoin products together attracted $57 million. Only VanEck’s HODL and WisdomTree’s BTCW saw money leave, shedding a combined $25 million or so.
The rush of buying coincided with Bitcoin’s price jumping between 5.7% and 5.9% on the day, lifting the combined net assets of the U.S. Bitcoin ETF market to roughly $103.3 billion — equal to just over 6% of Bitcoin’s total market value. Wednesday’s inflow dwarfed anything seen during an 11-day stretch of positive flows in late August, coming in more than three times larger than any single day in that run.
The swing highlights just how choppy demand has been lately. The funds had shed $236 million just two trading days earlier, with IBIT alone accounting for about $201 million of that outflow, before flows flipped positive again and then surged on Wednesday. It’s part of a broader pattern this year: after eight straight negative weeks heading into July, the ETFs have alternated between multi-day buying streaks — including an $853.5 million run in early August and a $2.8 billion streak spanning eight sessions later that month — and sudden bouts of selling, such as the $202 million pulled out on August 28 that snapped a nine-day inflow run.
Analysts at QCP Capital have noted that much of Bitcoin’s recent price strength has been driven by spot buying rather than leveraged futures positions, pointing to a decline in futures open interest even as the price climbed — a sign, they suggest, that the rally has firmer footing than one built purely on leverage.
XRP dips below the $1 mark for the first time since late 2024, rattling holders even as the wider XRP Ledger network keeps functioning normally through the episode.
The move follows a targeted exploit on the Coreum bridge, a cross-chain tool that lets users move XRP between the XRP Ledger and the Coreum blockchain.
An attacker drains close to 200,000 XRP, worth roughly $200,000, from the bridge in just 97 minutes on August 9, according to blockchain analytics tracked through XRPL.to.
The method proves unusually clever. Rather than stealing private keys or breaking a smart contract, the attacker manipulates the bridge’s own deposit verification process using a fake transaction label.
Relayer software fails to confirm that incoming payments actually target the bridge itself, a gap that lets the attacker trick a quorum of signing keys into approving fraudulent withdrawals.
Coreum halts bridge operations immediately after discovering the breach, confirms the vulnerability sits in its own code, and says it will file a formal complaint with federal investigators.
Two days after the hack, XRP touches an intraday low near $0.99 before buyers step in hard, pushing the token back above $1 on volume exceeding $2 billion.
That sharp recovery signals genuine demand at the $1 level rather than a controlled slide, with traders treating the psychological floor as worth defending.
Crypto analyst Ali Martinez flags a fresh monthly buy signal on XRP’s chart, noting the same pattern preceded rallies exceeding 1,000% in prior cycles dating back to 2020.
Other forecasters stay far more cautious. Some technical models point toward downside risk as low as $0.62 if support fails to hold through the next few sessions.
Institutional views remain split as well, with at least one major bank maintaining a long-term price target well above $2 despite the current weakness.
XRP now trades more than 70% below its record high set in July 2025, even as on-chain activity and active wallet counts continue climbing through August.
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WhiteBIT has expanded its product offering with the introduction of two automated spot trading tools — the Spot Grid Bot and Martingale (DCA) Bot — as the company continues to broaden access to trading tools.
The launch comes as demand for automated trading tools continues to grow worldwide. According to Grand View Research, the AI-powered trading platform market is projected to nearly triple in size by 2030. While early adoption of crypto was largely driven by buy-and-hold investing, today’s traders are increasingly seeking tools that allow them to automate execution, manage risk more efficiently, and respond faster to market movements.
The new bots are designed specifically for this shift in behaviour, enabling users to automate trading strategies while retaining the flexibility to adjust settings without interrupting active positions.
Why this is relevant now
The launch reflects the realities of today’s UK crypto market, where regulation shapes how traders approach market participation.
The FCA’s ban on crypto derivatives for retail consumers — covering CFDs, futures, and options — means that spot trading is the only method for retail investors in the UK to access digital assets. As a result, demand is growing for tools that help traders automate strategies while remaining within the spot market. WhiteBIT’s Spot Grid Bot and Martingale (DCA) Bot were developed with this environment in mind.
At the same time, access to automation alone does not solve the underlying challenge traders face. Most bots are difficult to change once deployed — if conditions shift, traders must choose between letting an outdated strategy run or shutting it down entirely. Both of WhiteBIT’s tools are built to stay editable mid-run, giving traders the ability to adjust without starting over.
Designed for Different Strategies
The Spot Grid Bot is designed for sideways or ranging markets — periods where an asset’s price moves within a relatively narrow band rather than trending consistently upward or downward. An AI system analyses historical price behaviour and recommends a starting setup. Traders should be aware that automated strategies carry their own risks: a bot running in fast-moving or unexpected market conditions may execute trades that result in significant losses. Past performance data used in backtesting does not reflect future results. Once live, the range, capital allocation, and risk exposure can be adjusted while the strategy runs without a full restart.
The Martingale (DCA) Bot suits traders with a directional view of the market. It buys more as prices dip, following a structured cycle. This approach increases exposure as prices fall — which can work in a trader’s favour in a recovery, but also means larger positions during prolonged downturns.If the market drops further than expected and the bot pauses, traders can step in manually to intervene. When a cycle closes, they decide what happens next: withdraw, reinvest, or accumulate the asset.
Using these tools does not eliminate the risk of loss and are not suitable for everyone.
Responding to a Maturing Market
The launch comes as the UK crypto market becomes more defined.
According to the FCA’s Cryptoassets Consumer Research 2025, the number of UK crypto holders fell from approximately 7 million to 4.5 million over the past year — but the average value held per investor rose, with the mean holding now sitting at just under $2,500, suggesting a shift toward more established investors.
The use of centralised exchanges remains by far the most common way UK traders access crypto, and that share has grown — up 4% year on year to 73% of all crypto users. The picture the FCA paints is of a market that is becoming more selective, more cautious, and more focused on credibility.
For WhiteBIT, trading bots represent the next step in expanding its UK offering.
South Korean police escalate an investigation into former Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, carrying out search and seizure operations at his home and city hall offices.
Investigators from the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency’s Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit conducted the searches, collecting mobile phones, computers, and other evidence.
The probe centers on allegations that Yoo and his wife failed to disclose approximately 21,000 units of cryptocurrency during South Korea’s June 3 local elections.
Authorities allege the couple transferred the crypto holdings to an overseas exchange before submitting mandatory asset disclosures required of all public election candidates.
Election officials had previously flagged that Yoo’s reported assets appeared understated by roughly 78 million won compared to his actual holdings at the time.
Police have already questioned Yoo, his wife, identified only by her surname Choi, and individuals connected to the original complaint against the couple.
The complaint reportedly originated from someone linked to a rival campaign during the local election cycle, adding a political dimension to the investigation.
No formal charges have been filed so far in the crypto disclosure matter, which remains an active police investigation without a set timeline for resolution.
Under South Korea’s Public Official Election Act, a conviction carrying a fine above a certain threshold can strip an elected official of their seat.
That legal consequence is part of why cases involving asset disclosure violations draw such close scrutiny from both regulators and the public in Korea.
The case highlights a persistent gap in South Korea’s financial transparency rules, since holdings on foreign crypto exchanges are harder for regulators to trace.
Domestic, real-name-verified crypto platforms already give South Korean authorities clearer visibility into asset movements than exchanges based outside the country’s jurisdiction.
Seoul has been working to narrow that blind spot, pulling cross-border crypto transfers under closer Bank of Korea monitoring through a revised Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.
Regulators are also tightening disclosure obligations for individuals and firms that actively promote cryptocurrency investments to the public across South Korea.
The Yoo case now stands as a concrete test of how effectively these new oversight measures can close the offshore visibility gap going forward.
Legal observers say the outcome could shape how aggressively Korean authorities pursue similar disclosure cases involving public officials and undisclosed foreign crypto holdings.
The Digital Chamber, one of the largest crypto lobbying groups in Washington, files suit against Illinois this week. The organization wants to block the state’s new digital asset tax before it starts.
Illinois lawmakers passed the 0.2% levy last month as part of a $55.9 billion budget package. Governor JB Pritzker signed the measure into law in June, and it takes effect at the start of 2027.
The complaint lands in the Circuit Court of Sangamon County and names the state’s Department of Revenue and Attorney General as defendants. It runs more than 30 pages and targets the Digital Asset Tax Act directly.
Unlike a capital gains tax, the new rule does not care whether a transaction produces profit. It calculates charges from the value of the asset itself during any covered blockchain activity.
The lawsuit argues the tax breaches the uniformity and due process clauses in the Illinois constitution. It also claims violations of the Commerce Clause and the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act.
According to the filing, the law does not distinguish between gains and losses, between profitable and unprofitable transactions, between realized and unrealized appreciation, or between transfers that change ownership and transfers that do not. Instead it separates blockchain infrastructure from every other kind of financial system.
Federal law treats what an asset represents separately from the technology used to record its ownership, the complaint states. No other area of law draws a line based purely on recordkeeping method.
The Digital Chamber counts more than 250 companies among its members, including Anchorage Digital, Chainlink Labs, and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company behind the New York Stock Exchange.
CEO Cody Carbone says the tax provision entered the budget the night before final consideration, leaving little room for scrutiny of its fairness or its compliance demands on smaller firms.
Before Pritzker signed the budget, The Digital Chamber and the Illinois Blockchain Association jointly asked officials to strip the tax out entirely rather than fold it into unrelated budget legislation.
The Crypto Council for Innovation separately urged the governor to use a line-item veto against the crypto provision, but that request went nowhere before the signing.
The group compares the approach to charging extra postage simply because a letter arrives by email instead of the mail, arguing the technology itself should not change the tax outcome.
Beyond blocking enforcement, the lawsuit asks a judge to award The Digital Chamber its legal fees and costs, plus a formal declaration that the statute cannot stand.
The Digital Chamber warns that letting Illinois proceed could invite other states to copy the model, potentially expanding similar treatment to AI systems or cloud based payment platforms next.
Ethereum treasury firm Sharplink has acquired 5,000 ETH at a cost of approximately $7.85 million, representing the company’s first ether purchase in eight months. The move is drawing attention as a sign of renewed corporate demand for the asset during a period of sustained selling pressure.
The purchase is particularly notable given the timing. Crypto equities and digital asset treasury companies have faced persistent headwinds through the second quarter of 2026, making fresh balance sheet buying a more deliberate signal than it might otherwise appear.
Sharplink operates as one of a small group of listed companies that hold Ethereum as a primary treasury asset, mirroring the strategy that Strategy popularised with Bitcoin. The company’s decision to resume accumulation suggests internal conviction that current price levels represent value.
Ethereum has traded around the $1,560 to $1,580 range in recent sessions, well below peaks seen in prior cycles. Open interest in ETH derivatives has fallen nearly 30 percent over the past 30 days, reflecting broad deleveraging and a market that has been shedding leveraged long positions.
The Fear and Greed Index for the crypto market sat at 17 at the time of the purchase, firmly in extreme fear territory. Contrarian buyers have historically viewed such readings as potential entry points, though the current macro environment has complicated that playbook.
Liquidation data from the past 24 hours showed Ethereum longs absorbing particularly heavy losses, with more than 82 percent of ETH liquidations on the long side. Against that backdrop, Sharplink’s purchase signals a willingness to take a contrary position in a market shedding risk.
The company has not publicly stated a price target or accumulation schedule. However, the resumption of buying after an eight-month gap suggests a strategy that is responsive to price levels rather than operating on a fixed time-based buying programme.
Corporate Ethereum treasury strategies remain far less common than their Bitcoin equivalents. Sharplink is among the few public companies to have built its identity around ETH accumulation, and its return to buying will be tracked by others in the sector watching whether institutional appetite for the asset is returning.
The purchase adds approximately 5,000 ETH to Sharplink’s holdings at a moment when the broader market remains under pressure. Whether the move marks a turning point or simply reflects one company’s assessment of value at current levels will depend heavily on how Ethereum trades in the weeks ahead.
Bitcoin broke above $72,000 on Thursday morning for the first time since March 18, with the cryptocurrency reaching an intraday high of $72,865 before a wave of selling pressure pulled it back toward $71,500. The move represented a five percent gain in 24 hours and lifted the total cryptocurrency market capitalisation to $2.51 trillion, its strongest reading in several weeks.
The catalyst was the same one driving equities: the ceasefire announced by President Trump less than two hours before his 8 p.m. Tuesday deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Bitcoin had been trading in a narrow $65,000 to $73,000 war range for weeks, with upside persistently capped by oil-driven inflation fears and investor preference for safer assets during the escalatory phase.
The short squeeze component of the rally was significant. According to CoinGlass data, $254 million in bearish bitcoin short positions were wiped out in 24 hours, the largest single-day short liquidation since March 4. Across the broader crypto derivatives market, the total figure reached nearly $600 million in forced liquidations, the majority from shorts. This kind of mechanical unwinding amplifies price moves well beyond what spot demand alone would generate.
Ethereum had the stronger percentage gain, rising approximately 6 to 7 percent to above $2,200, its highest level since March 18. Solana, XRP and a range of altcoins all posted moves of 5 percent or more. The CoinDesk 20 index, a measure of broader crypto market performance, outpaced Bitcoin’s gain, which is a typical pattern when sentiment shifts from risk-off to risk-on.
Crypto-related stocks also responded sharply. Circle and Galaxy Digital advanced more than 7 percent in premarket trading. Robinhood rose 8 percent. Coinbase gained 5 percent. Strategy and Bitmine Immersion Technologies both climbed 6 percent or more. These companies serve as leveraged proxies for crypto sentiment in traditional equity markets, and their moves reflect how quickly institutional positioning can shift when macro conditions change.
Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF, MSBT, debuted on NYSE Arca on Wednesday under its ticker, coinciding with the ceasefire rally and providing additional institutional access to Bitcoin exposure through a familiar product structure. The ETF’s 0.14 percent annual fee positions it competitively within the growing universe of institutional Bitcoin products.
Analysts remain cautious about the sustainability of the move. Bitfinex margin long positions remain elevated at above 80,000 BTC, near multi-year highs, which historically functions as a contrarian indicator. The physical situation in the Strait of Hormuz remains complicated, with Iran continuing strikes on Gulf states after the ceasefire announcement and the Hormuz corridor not yet operating freely.
Gracy Chen, one analyst commenting on the outlook, offered a clear framework. “With stronger spot demand in place and higher onchain activity, bitcoin may finally get enough strength to break above $75,000 and move toward $80,000,” she said. “On the flip side, if the market fails to hold $68,000, downside pressure may persist, opening the way to $60,000 first.”
Fold, a publicly traded Bitcoin financial services company, has retired $66.3 million in convertible debt, removing a potential source of shareholder dilution and strengthening its capital structure ahead of planned product expansion.
The company disclosed that it paid off two outstanding convertible notes, which previously allowed debt holders to convert their positions into equity under certain conditions.
By eliminating these instruments, Fold significantly reduces the possibility of future share issuance that could dilute existing investors’ ownership stakes.
Bitcoin Collateral Released
As part of the restructuring, Fold also freed 521 Bitcoin that had been pledged as collateral against the convertible notes, restoring full control over those digital assets.
With the obligations settled, the previously encumbered Bitcoin can now be deployed for general corporate purposes, offering greater operational and financial flexibility.
The company stated that retiring the notes reduces financing constraints and positions Fold to pursue strategic growth initiatives more aggressively.
Expansion Into Consumer Credit
One priority includes launching a consumer-focused Bitcoin rewards credit card that distributes BTC instead of traditional points or cash-back incentives.
Fold originally built its brand around a debit card that allows users to spend U.S. dollars while earning Bitcoin rewards on everyday purchases.
Over time, it expanded into savings features and merchant partnerships designed to encourage long-term Bitcoin accumulation rather than immediate crypto spending.
Founded in 2019, Fold went public on the Nasdaq in February 2025 through a SPAC merger with FTAC Emerald Acquisition, becoming one of the first Bitcoin-centric financial services firms listed on a major U.S. exchange.
Despite that milestone, Fold shares have fallen more than 84% since debuting publicly, underscoring the volatility facing crypto-aligned equities.
Intensifying Competition In Crypto Rewards
The broader crypto rewards market has grown increasingly competitive, with multiple companies offering alternative cards tied to digital asset incentives.
Coinbase’s card enables customers to spend cryptocurrency balances directly while earning rewards, forming part of its broader strategy to integrate payments, trading, and financial services.
Other competitors, including Nexo, Bybit, and Crypto.com, offer crypto-backed or Visa-branded cards that provide token-based cashback and borrowing capabilities against digital assets.
More recently, Mastercard partnered with MetaMask to introduce a U.S. crypto-linked card that converts digital assets to fiat currency at the point of sale.
Against that backdrop, Fold’s debt elimination and collateral release represent a strategic effort to streamline operations while preparing to compete more aggressively within the expanding digital rewards ecosystem.
Bit Digital has strengthened its Ethereum position, purchasing 31,057 ETH worth around $140 million, bringing its total holdings to over 150,000 ETH.
The deal, funded through proceeds from a $150 million convertible notes sale, establishes Bit Digital as the sixth-largest public Ether holder, according to StrategicETHReserve.xyz.
“This purchase demonstrates our commitment to building shareholder value by financing ETH accumulation on terms that are accretive to NAV per share,” said Sam Tabar, CEO of Bit Digital. “We view ETH as foundational to digital financial infrastructure and believe current levels provide a compelling long-term entry point.”
The notes were issued at $4.16 per share — an 8.2% premium to the company’s mark-to-market net asset value (mNAV) at the time. The offering attracted interest from well-known crypto institutions, including Kraken Financial, Jump Trading Credit, and Jane Street Capital.
Firm Joins Elite List of ETH Treasuries
Following the transaction, Bit Digital now holds approximately 150,244 ETH.
This ranks it just below PulseChain Sac (160,900 ETH) and the Ethereum Foundation (222,720 ETH). The largest holders include The Ether Machine (496,710 ETH), SharpLink Gaming (838,730 ETH), and Bitmine Immersion Technologies, which leads with 2.83 million ETH.
According to data from StrategicETHReserve.xyz, Bit Digital’s mNAV was $3.84 per share in late September, supported by $512.7 million in Ethereum and $723.1 million in shares of its majority-owned subsidiary, WhiteFiber Inc.
Tabar noted that the company intends to keep expanding its ETH position “in a cost-effective manner,” with a continued focus on building long-term net asset value for shareholders.
Ethereum’s Growing Institutional Demand
The acquisition highlights a broader trend of institutional confidence in Ethereum.
SharpLink Gaming, another major corporate holder, has seen its Ether reserves rise to nearly $4 billion, with unrealized profits exceeding $900 million. The company began its accumulation in June and is now the second-largest institutional ETH holder.
Collectively, reserve companies and ETFs now hold about 12.6 million ETH — roughly $56.4 billion — accounting for over 10% of Ethereum’s circulating supply.
Ether remains the second-largest crypto asset in corporate treasuries after Bitcoin, which has around 4 million BTC valued at approximately $500 billion.