In this issue:

Financial Institutions Announce Crypto Trading, Tokenized Deposits, Stablecoins

By Robert A. Musiala Jr.

A major U.S. financial services company recently announced that it will soon begin offering spot crypto trading to its retail clients. According to a press release, the company “will provide direct access to bitcoin and ethereum trading, combined with educational content and experienced professional support.”

In related news, two major global banks recently announced crypto initiatives. One bank reportedly announced that it has successfully completed a pilot simulating the issuance, transfer and “atomic settlement” of its tokenized deposit service. The pilot reportedly leveraged the Canton Network blockchain.

Another major global bank recently announced that it is partnering with other Swiss banks to launch a “CHF stablecoin sandbox.” According to a press release, the initiative “will test potential use cases for a CHF stablecoin in Switzerland” and explore “ways to connect blockchain applications with the Swiss franc, aiming to strengthen both the Swiss digital money ecosystem and the competitiveness of Switzerland’s financial center.”

For more information, please refer to the following links:

Announcements Detail U.S. Crypto Exchange Investment, Acquisition

By Robert A. Musiala Jr.

A major European international financial exchange and infrastructure provider recently announced a $200 million investment in Kraken, a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange. According to a press release, the investment will underpin a partnership between the companies focused on “regulated crypto, tokenized markets and derivatives, as well as enhanced liquidity for institutional clients across geographies.”

In a separate but related development, Kraken announced that it has agreed to acquire Bitnomial, a U.S. derivatives exchange. According to reports, Bitnomial is the first fully licensed derivatives company in the U.S. built specifically for digital assets, and it holds licenses issued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to conduct derivatives exchange, clearinghouse and brokerage services. 

In a final notable item, a major U.S. food delivery service recently announced that it is “building stablecoin-powered payment infrastructure” on the Tempo blockchain. According to a press release, the company intends to leverage stablecoins to enable “faster and more cost-effective payouts” to merchants and food delivery drivers.

For more information, please refer to the following links:

U.S. Publicly Traded Bitcoin Miners Sell Over 32,000 BTC in 2026 Q1

By Robert A. Musiala Jr.

According to recent reports, publicly traded U.S. bitcoin mining companies have sold more than 32,000 BTC in the first quarter of 2026, a figure that exceeds total net sales across all of 2025 and sets a new industry record, surpassing the roughly 20,000 BTC that U.S. public miners sold during the second quarter of 2022 in the wake of the Terra-Luna collapse. According to reports, a combination of lower crypto prices and rising energy costs has forced some miners to sell BTC they otherwise would have held in their corporate treasuries.

For more information, please refer to the following links:

SEC Charges Crypto Asset Securities Offering; NYAG Sues Prediction Markets

By Amos Kim

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently charged Donald G. Basile and two entities he controlled, GIBF GP Inc. and Monsoon Blockchain Corp., with allegedly defrauding investors in a $16 million securities offering. According to the litigation release, the defendants offered Simple Agreements for Future Tokens that purported to give investors the right to receive a crypto asset called Bitcoin Latinum, or LTNM The complaint alleges Basile made false and misleading statements about LTNM, including claims it was insured with “up to $1 billion coverage” and was an “asset-backed cryptocurrency” secured by an existing trust, when no such insurance or trust existed. The SEC further alleges Basile misappropriated millions in investor funds for his personal benefit.

Separately, New York State Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James recently filed lawsuits against two major U.S. crypto exchanges for allegedly operating illegal gambling operations through their prediction market platforms. According to a press release, an investigation found that the platforms allow users to bet money on uncertain future events, including sports and elections, which fits the legal definition of gambling in New York. The NYAG alleges the crypto exchanges failed to obtain required licenses from the New York State Gaming Commission and exposed individuals under the legal gambling age of 21 to financial and personal risk. The NYAG seeks court orders requiring the defendants to pay fines equal to three times the profits made, forfeit illegal profits and distribute restitution to consumers.

For more information, please refer to the following links:

Kelp DAO Bridge Exploited for $292M; Arbitrum Freezes Stolen Funds

By Amos Kim

According to a recent report, an attacker drained 116,500 rsETH from Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-powered cross-chain bridge, resulting in the theft of approximately $292 million. The incident occurred when an attacker-controlled wallet that was funded just hours earlier through the Tornado Cash mixing service called a specific contract that triggered the bridge to release the funds. As noted in the report, Kelp DAO’s emergency pauser multisig froze the protocol’s core contracts about 46 minutes after the initial incident. This pause successfully reversed two subsequent drain attempts that would have resulted in about $100 million in additional losses. A preliminary analysis by the bridge infrastructure provider suggested potential links to the Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-sponsored threat actor. The analysis describes the exploit as involving the unauthorized execution of a LayerZero cross‑chain message that triggered Kelp DAO’s bridge contract to release funds rather than identifying a specific vulnerability in the underlying smart contracts.

A separate report details that following the hack, the attackers transferred approximately 75,700 ETH (roughly $175 million) across multiple transactions in an apparent laundering effort. The analysis indicates that the funds were routed through noncustodial protocols, including THORChain and Umbra. In response to the broader impact of the exploit, the lending protocol Aave froze its rsETH markets on Aave V3 and V4 to mitigate potential bad debt. The Arbitrum security council also reportedly took emergency action to freeze 25,000 ETH tied to the theft.

For more information, please refer to the following links:

DeFi Protocol Hacked; New Data Shows $17B Lost to DeFi Hacks in 10 Years

By Robert A. Musiala Jr.

According to recent reports, Volo, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, recently confirmed that it lost $3.5 million in a hack that reportedly affected certain “vaults” holding locked crypto, including WBTC and USDC. Volo reportedly plans to absorb the losses rather than pass them on to its users.

In other news, a recent report by Elliptic, a blockchain analytics company, provides details on a large-scale cyberattack against the Russia-linked crypto exchange Grinex that resulted in the loss of $131.1 million. According to the report, Grinex attributed the hack to the “special services” of “unfriendly states.” The report provides details on the relationship between Grinex and Garantex, a Russian crypto exchange that was sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control and “targeted by international law enforcement for laundering hundreds of millions of dollars linked to ransomware, darknet markets and state-sponsored hacking groups.”

Another recent report describes an initiative by the Ethereum Foundation that exposed 100 North Korean operatives who had infiltrated Web3 companies using fake identities. The initiative included outreach to 53 projects to alert them about having potentially employed North Korean operatives as part of their development teams.

In a final notable item, DefiLlama, a data analytics company, recently published data evidencing that crypto hackers have stolen approximately $17 billion from DeFi protocols over the past 10 years. DefiLlama published data on 518 separate incidents. A large portion of the incidents reportedly resulted from compromised private keys as well as phishing and other credential-based attacks.

For more information, please refer to the following links: