Human trafficking operations using cryptocurrency surged 85% in 2025, reaching hundreds of millions of dollars, with stablecoins like Tether and USDC widely used for large international payments. Traffickers use platforms like Telegram and scam compounds to coordinate forced labour and online scams, while blockchain transparency is helping authorities track and disrupt these networks.
AnaisRussian authorities said they have no plans to block Google, as doing so would disrupt Android phones used by 60% of Russians. Meanwhile, YouTube faces restrictions, WhatsApp is fully blocked, and Telegram has been slowed under recent Russian internet measures.
WeatherlyFake ads posing as Uniswap appeared at the top of search results and led users to cloned websites that drained their crypto wallets. The warning came after one user lost a mid-six-figure portfolio, prompting founder Hayden Adams to call out the ongoing failure to stop these scams.
WeatherlyAn AI crypto trading bot called Lobstar Wilde accidentally sent all its meme coin holdings, worth around $250,000, to a stranger on X after misreading a request for a small amount of Solana. The recipient sold the tokens quickly for about $40,000, though the sudden attention later pushed their value above $420,000.
AnaisOpenClaw founder Peter Steinberger has banned all crypto mentions on Discord after a user was removed for mentioning Bitcoin in a technical discussion. The rule followed a scam in which hijacked accounts promoted a fake $CLAWD token that briefly reached about $16 million before collapsing.
WeatherlyOver 5,500 cryptocurrency miners have registered with Russia’s tax authority since mining was legalised in November 2024, including 1,500 companies and 4,000 individuals. Despite this, officials estimate that around two-thirds of miners still operate without registration, while new rules require reporting, tax payments, and regional restrictions to control the sector.
AnaisBitGo Bank & Trust is serving as the issuer and custodian for FYUSD, a new dollar-backed stablecoin launched by New Frontier Labs for institutional investors in Asia. The token is fully GENIUS Act-compliant, backed by cash or U.S. government debt, and includes programmable features that enable AI-driven transactions.
WeatherlyInternal investigators at Binance found that billions of dollars may have flowed through the exchange to Iran-linked entities, including groups tied to the Houthis, but several staff involved in the probe were later suspended or dismissed.
AnaisPolice raided Bithumb’s headquarters in Seoul after allegations that lawmaker Kim Byung-kee tried to use his influence to get his son a job at the exchange. Kim is also being investigated for other claims, including misusing political funds and pressuring a rival exchange, Dunamu.
WeatherlyDeepSeek may have trained its upcoming AI model using banned Nvidia Blackwell chips, which are not allowed to be sold to China. The chips are believed to be running at a DeepSeek data centre in Inner Mongolia, raising concerns the company may have bypassed US export rules.
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