Law and Order

US Treasury Sanctions 19 Southeast Asian Entities in $10B Cyber Scam Crackdown

In brief The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned 19 entities across Burma and Cambodia that it says scammed Americans out of $10 billion in 2024. The action targets networks using trafficked workers forced to conduct “pig butchering” scams through fake investment platforms and romance schemes. Networks often “rebrand” when sanctioned, but sanctions “disrupt scammers’ easiest routes,”…

DeFi

BNB Whale Drained of $13.5M in DPRK-Linked Phishing Attack

In brief A Binance Smart Chain user fell victim to a phishing scam and lost $13.5 million worth of tokens on Tuesday. Early reports suggested that BNB lending platform Venus Protocol had been hacked, but blockchain security firms subsequently confirmed that this was not the case. Venus Protocol and security firm PeckShield are in contact…

Opinion

Morning Minute: The US Just Put GDP On-Chain

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.GM!Today’s top news: Crypto majors deep red down 3-6% ahead of PCE; BTC at $110,000 U.S. Commerce Dept begins publishing GDP data to blockchain with…

Markets

Tether Brings USDT to Bitcoin Via Layer-2 Network RGB

In brief Stablecoin giant Tether is bringing USDT to the Bitcoin network. Users will be able to spend their stablecoins on Bitcoin’s network via the RGB protocol. Tether says it wants Bitcoin to be “everyday money.” Stablecoin giant Tether is pushing further into the Bitcoin ecosystem, announcing on Thursday that it would make its USDT…