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Philippine Blockchain Budget Bill Risks Centralization and Privatization, Lawyers Warn

In brief Philippine Senate Bill 1330, filed by Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, seeks to mandate blockchain-based tracking of government spending under an $8.6 million initial appropriation. The push follows public scrutiny over $9.2 billion in infrastructure projects flagged for irregularities. Lawyers told Decrypt the bill risks concentrating control, limiting data contestability, and turning…

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Dota 2 YouTube Account Briefly Hacked to Promote Solana Meme Coin

In brief The channel was briefly compromised late Wednesday, promoting a Solana-based token. An hour later, the PGL YouTube channel, run by the Romanian esports organizer behind Valve-sanctioned tournaments, was also reportedly hijacked to stream a fake Bitcoin giveaway. Decrypt independently verified screenshots of the compromised Dota 2 channel before the content was removed. The…

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Printing Money: Paxos Mints, Then Burns $300 Trillion in PayPal Stablecoins

Crypto industry observers were baffled Wednesday afternoon when an on-chain transaction showed that Paxos, the issuer behind the PayPal-branded PYUSD stablecoin, minted $300 trillion worth of the tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.A little over 20 minutes later, all 300 trillion PYUSD tokens were “burned,” or effectively destroyed, by sending them to an inaccessible network address.Paxos…

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MIT Brothers Face Trial in $25 Million Ethereum Exploit

In brief Two MIT-educated brothers went on trial Tuesday for allegedly stealing $25 million in a 12-second Ethereum blockchain exploit. The defense argues there was no crime at all, just strategy in an unregulated market where “economic incentives guide parties’ behavior,” not laws. If convicted of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering charges, Anton and…

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Elon Musk Gushes About Bitcoin ‘Energy’ Demands—Years After Environmental Gripes

In brief Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised Bitcoin’s energy-based foundation on Tuesday, suggesting its value comes from the impossibility of faking energy, unlike fiat currency which governments can debase. This marks a shift from 2021 when Musk criticized Bitcoin’s electricity consumption as “insane,” and Tesla stopped accepting BTC payments over environmental concerns. Tesla currently holds…