North Korea tech workers found among staff at UK blockchain projects
Fraudulent tech workers with ties to North Korea are expanding their infiltration operations to blockchain firms outside the US after increased scrutiny from authorities, with some having worked their way into UK crypto projects, Google says.Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) adviser Jamie Collier said in an April 2 report that while the US is still a key target, increased awareness and right-to-work verification challenges have forced North Korean IT workers to find roles at non-US companies.“In response to heightened awareness of the threat within the United States, they’ve established a global ecosystem of fraudulent personas to enhance operational agility,” Collier said. “Coupled with the discovery of facilitators in the UK, this suggests the rapid formation of a global infrastructure and support network that empowers their continued operations,” he added. Google's Threat Intelligence Group says North Korea's tech workers expanded their reach amid a US crackdown. Source: GoogleThe North Korea-linked workers are infiltrating projects spanning traditional web development and advanced blockchain applications, such as projects involving Solana and Anchor smart contract development, according to Collier. Another project building a blockchain job marketplace and an artificial intelligence web application leveraging blockchain technologies was also found to have North Korean workers. “These individuals pose as legitimate remote workers to infiltrate companies and generate revenue for the regime,” Collier said. “This places organizations that hire DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] IT workers at risk of espionage, data theft, and disruption.”North Korea looking to Europe for tech jobsAlong with the UK, Collier says the GTIG identified a notable focus on Europe, with one worker using at least 12 personas across Europe and others using resumes listing degrees from Belgrade University in Serbia and residences in Slovakia. Separate GTIG investigations found personas seeking employment in Germany and Portugal, login credentials for user accounts of European job websites, instructions for navigating European job sites, and a broker specializing in false passports.At the same time, since late October, the North Korean workers have increased the volume of extortion attempts and gone after larger organizations, which the GTIG speculates is the workers feeling pressure to maintain revenue streams amid a crackdown in the US. “In these incidents, recently fired IT workers threatened to release their former employers’ sensitive data or to provide it to a competitor. This data included proprietary data and source code for internal projects,” Collier said. Related: North Korean crypto attacks rising in sophistication, actors — ParadigmIn January, the US Justice Department indicted two North Korean nationals for their involvement in a fraudulent IT work scheme involving at least 64 US companies from April 2018 to August 2024.The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also sanctioned companies it accused of being fronts for North Korea that generated revenue via remote IT work schemes.Crypto founders have also been reporting an increase in activity from North Korean hackers, with at least three founders reporting on March 13 that they foiled attempts to steal sensitive data through fake Zoom calls.Having audio issues on your Zoom call? That's not a VC, it's North Korean hackers. Fortunately, this founder realized what was going on.The call starts with a few "VCs" on the call. They send messages in the chat saying they can't hear your audio, or suggesting there's an… pic.twitter.com/ZnW8Mtof4F— Nick Bax.eth (@bax1337) March 11, 2025In August, blockchain investigator ZachXBT claimed to have uncovered a sophisticated network of North Korean developers earning $500,000 a month working for “established” crypto projects.Magazine: Lazarus Group’s favorite exploit revealed — Crypto hacks analysis
Kentucky joins Vermont and South Carolina in dropping Coinbase staking suit
Kentucky’s finance watchdog has dismissed its lawsuit against Coinbase over the exchange’s staking rewards program, following its peers in Vermont and South Carolina.Kentucky’s Department of Financial Institutions filed the stipulation to dismiss jointly with Coinbase on April 1, ending the state’s legal action against the exchange first filed along with 10 other state regulators in June 2023.Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal posted to X on April 1, calling for Congress “to end this litigation-driven, state-by-state approach with a federal market structure law.”Source: Paul GrewalFinancial regulators from 10 states launched similar suits against Coinbase in June 2023, on the same day the Securities and Exchange Commission sued the exchange — a lawsuit the SEC dropped last month.Seven suits against Coinbase still activeAlabama, California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Washington and Wisconsin are the seven states that are still continuing with their lawsuits, which all allege Coinbase breached securities laws with its staking rewards program.Vermont was the first state to end its suit against Coinbase, with its Department of Financial Regulation filing an order to rescind the action on March 13, noting the SEC’s Feb. 27 decision to drop its action against the exchange and the likelihood of changes in the federal regulator’s guidance.The South Carolina Attorney General’s securities division followed Vermont days later, dismissing its lawsuit in a joint stipulation with Coinbase on March 27.Related: South Carolina dismisses its staking lawsuit against Coinbase, joining VermontKentucky’s decision to drop its case against Coinbase follows just days after the state’s governor, Andy Beshear, signed a “Bitcoin Rights” bill into law on March 24 that establishes protections for crypto self-custody and exempts crypto mining from money transmitting and securities laws.The axed state-level lawsuits come amid a stark policy change at the SEC, which has dropped or delayed multiple lawsuits against crypto companies that it filed under the Biden administration.The federal securities watchdog has also created a Crypto Task Force that is engaging with the industry on how it should approach cryptocurrencies.Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered
Bitcoin traders are overstating the impact of the US-led tariff war on BTC price
Despite Bitcoin’s 2.2% gains on April 1, BTC (BTC) hasn’t traded above $89,000 since March 7. Even though the recent price weakness is often linked to the escalating US-led global trade war, several factors had already been weighing on investor sentiment long before President Donald Trump announced the tariffs.Some market participants claimed that Strategy’s $5.25 billion worth of Bitcoin purchases since February is the primary reason BTC has held above the $80,000 support. But, regardless of who has been buying, the reality is that Bitcoin was already showing limited upside before President Trump announced the 10% Chinese import tariffs on Jan. 21.Gold/USD (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD (right). Source: TradingView / CointelegraphThe S&P 500 index hit an all-time high on Feb. 19, exactly 30 days after the trade war began, while Bitcoin had repeatedly failed to hold above $100,000 for the previous three months. Although the trade war certainly affected investor risk appetite, strong evidence suggests Bitcoin's price weakness started well before President Trump took office on Jan. 20.Spot Bitcoin ETFs inflows, strategic Bitcoin reserve expectations and inflationary trendsAnother data point that weakens the relation with tariffs is the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which saw $2.75 billion in net inflows during the three weeks following Jan. 21. By Feb. 18, the US had announced plans to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, while the European Union and China had already retaliated. In essence, institutional demand for Bitcoin persisted even as the trade war escalated.Part of Bitcoin traders’ disappointment after Jan. 21 stems from excessive expectations surrounding President Trump’s campaign promise of a “strategic national Bitcoin stockpile,” mentioned at the Bitcoin Conference in July 2024. As investors grew impatient, their frustration peaked when the actual executive order was issued on March 6.A key factor behind Bitcoin’s struggle to break above $89,000 is an inflationary trend, reflecting a relatively successful strategy by global central banks. In February, the US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index rose 2.5% year-over-year, while the eurozone Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 2.2% in March.Investors turn more risk-averse following weak job market dataIn the second half of 2022, Bitcoin’s gains were driven by inflation soaring above 5%, suggesting that businesses and families turned to cryptocurrency as a hedge against monetary debasement. However, if inflation remains relatively under control in 2025, lower interest rates would favor real estate and stock markets more directly than Bitcoin, as reduced financing costs boost those sectors.US CPI inflation (left) vs. US 2-year Treasury yield (right). Source: TradingViewRelated: Coinbase sees worst quarter since FTX collapse amid industry bloodbathThe weakening job market also dampens traders’ demand for risk-on assets, including Bitcoin. In February, the US Labor Department reported job openings near a four-year low. Similarly, yields on the US 2-year Treasury fell to a six-month low, with investors accepting a modest 3.88% return for the safety of government-backed instruments. This data suggests a rising choice for risk aversion, which is unfavorable for Bitcoin.Ultimately, Bitcoin’s price weakness stems from investors' unrealistic expectations of BTC acquisitions by the US Treasury, declining inflation supporting potential interest rate cuts, and a more risk-averse macroeconomic environment as investors turn to short-term government bonds. While the trade war has had negative effects, Bitcoin was already showing signs of weakness before it began.This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Backpack opens claims process for former FTX EU users
Crypto exchange Backpack has initiated the first phase of the claims process for former FTX users in Europe.According to an April 1 announcement, users will need to create an account on the exchange, submit Know Your Customer information, and connect it to their FTX EU claim account.Backpack has not set a deadline for this phase of the claims process and has yet to provide a timeline for when distributions will begin. Users will face a withdrawal fee of €5 ($5.39) for claims under €2,000 ($2,158) and 0.25% for amounts above it.Source: Armani FerranteBackpack acquired FTX EU in January 2025 to offer crypto derivatives, including perpetual futures, throughout Europe. The acquisition marked the end of a lengthy battle to buy the European arm of the bankrupt exchange. Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante said at the time of the acquisition that the company was committed to returning FTX EU funds as fast and as safely as possible.FTX creditor activist Sunil Kavuri told Cointelegraph in January 2025 that the sale of FTX EU to Backpack added “further confusion and nervousness among FTX EU customers and the repayment of their funds.”“Some FTX EU customers signed up to these distributors, and they are confused about who will be distributing their funds back to them — Backpack, Kraken or Bitgo,” Kavuri said at the time.Related: FTX’s 2-year repayment delay is a ‘win,’ claims trader who predicted FTX’s collapseDetails on the first part of the claims processFor distribution amounts, the FAQ page on Backpack’s website states that all positions were closed using market prices at the time the exchange was shut down, and each was settled in euros.Furthermore, users with pending cryptocurrency withdrawals on Nov. 11, 2022, should have filed a claim in FTX’s US bankruptcy proceedings. Such users may be eligible to receive distributions from the FTX Recovery Trust, which Backpack is not involved with.Additionally, EU residents who signed up for FTX before March 7, 2022, are not considered FTX EU customers and should file their claims with FTX International, not Backpack.FTX Estate’s next round of distributions on May 30FTX Digital Markets, separate from FTX EU, distributed its first round of reimbursements on Feb. 18, with exchanges BitGo and Kraken facilitating the distributions. That first round of reimbursements went to “Convenience Class” members, those with claims under $50,000. The next round of reimbursements tied to FTX’s US bankruptcy proceedings is set to go out on May 30 and includes creditors under Class 5 Customer Entitlement Claims and Class 6 General Unsecured Claims. FTX is expected to use $11.4 billion to make the paymentsMagazine: The $2,500 doco about FTX collapse on Amazon Prime… with help from mom
Crypto miner backs US senator's efforts to incentivize using flared gas
Texas Senator Ted Cruz proposed a bill aimed at incentivizing crypto miners to use flared gas for energy generation in the state.In an April 1 notice, Cruz said he had introduced the Facilitate Lower Atmospheric Released Emissions, or FLARE, Act in the US Senate, aiming to make Texas “the number one place for Bitcoin mining.” Mining advocacy group Digital Power Network supported the bill, and Bitcoin (BTC) miner MARA Holdings endorsed the proposed legislation on X, claiming it would reduce emissions and “unlock stranded energy.”April 1 draft of FLARE Act. Source: Ted CruzAccording to the text of the bill, the FLARE Act proposed amending the US Internal Revenue Code to incentivize market participants — including digital asset miners — to “capture gas that would otherwise be flared or vented and to use such gas in value-added products.” If signed into law, the legislation would take effect on properties put into service starting in 2026.Related: Bitcoin mining using coal energy down 43% since 2011 — ReportA US senator serving since 2013, Cruz, a Republican, has sometimes proposed legislation that aligns with mainstream figures in his party, including US President Donald Trump. He introduced a bill in March to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and disclosed personally holding up to $100,000 in Bitcoin as of August 2024.Crypto bills moving through US CongressIn addition to the energy incentives proposed in the bill, Cruz ​​said the language “prohibits entities owned by China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia” that may be operating in Texas from recovering their costs in the same manner. Many US miners, including MARA, Riot Platforms and CleanSpark, operate in the state.It’s unclear whether Cruz’s bill will be a legislative priority in the Senate as Congress considers bills to regulate stablecoins and establish a market structure for digital assets in the US. Some lawmakers have also proposed legislation potentially banning a US CBDC and removing regulatory obstacles to allow Americans to invest in crypto for their retirement plans.Magazine: Ex-Alameda hire on ‘pressure’ to not blow up Backpack exchange: Armani Ferrante, X Hall of Flame
Circle files for Initial Public Offering planned for April
Crypto stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to go public on the New York Stock Exchange.The USDC (USDC) issuer is planning to list its Class A common stock under the symbol “CRCL,” according to its April 1 Form S-1 registration statement with the SEC.Circle’s prospectus does not detail the number of shares to be offered or what its initial public offering target price will be.The filing also showed that Circle brought in $1.67 billion in revenue for 2024, a 16% year-on-year increase.Its net income last year was $155.6 million — a 41.8% fall from 2023, while 2022 saw a net loss of $761.7 million.Circle’s financials over the last three years ended Dec. 31. Source: SECThe filing also showed that Circle paid nearly $908 million in 2024 to its main distribution partner, Coinbase, to circulate USDC on its crypto exchange.The hefty cost means Coinbase is making more money off USDC than Circle, Agora CEO Nick van Eck noted.The high costs partly explain why Circle’s revenue increased while its EBITDA, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, and net income fell in 2024, said VanEck head of digital asset research, Matthew Sigel.Over 99% of Circle’s revenue last year came from its stablecoin reserves, the filing showed. The company generates part of its income by holding yield-bearing Treasury bills.Circle also holds $6.2 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC), $5.6 million in Sui (SUI) and over $3.3 million in Ether (ETH), while also holding Sei (SEI), Aptos (APT) and Optimism (OP).The firm has previously attempted to go public via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) merger in 2021— which it abandoned in December 2022 — and again in January 2024 via a confidential filing with the SEC.Related: Circle, Intercontinental Exchange to explore stablecoin integrationCrypto exchange Kraken and blockchain security firm BitGo are among the other industry players also reportedly seeking a public listing either this year or early 2026.Circle became the first stablecoin issuer to receive regulatory approval in Japan on March 25 — launching USDC on the SBI VC Trade crypto exchange the following day.USDC is the second-largest stablecoin by market cap at $60.1 billion, trailing only Tether (USDT) at $143.9 billion, CoinGecko data shows.Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom
American Bitcoin Corp., a Trump family-backed crypto mining operation, has plans to raise additional capital, including through an initial public offering (IPO), according to an April 1 report by Bloomberg. On March 31, Hut 8 — a publicly traded Bitcoin (BTC) miner — acquired a majority stake in American Bitcoin (formerly American Data Centers), whose founders include Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. After the deal announcement, Hut 8 transferred its Bitcoin mining equipment into the newly created entity, which is not yet publicly traded. While American Bitcoin will focus on crypto mining, Hut 8 plans to target data center infrastructure for use cases such as high-performance computing. The deal “evolves Hut 8 toward more predictable, financeable, lower-cost-of-capital segments,” Asher Genoot, CEO of Hut 8, said in a statement.“So you can see this in the long term as two sister publicly traded companies,” Genoot told Bloomberg. “One that is energy, infrastructure data centers and the other one that’s Bitcoin, AISCs and reserves and together they form a vertically integrated company that has some of the best economics out there.” According to Bloomberg, American Bitcoin is working with Bitmain, a Chinese Bitcoin mining hardware supplier. Bitmain has faced scrutiny after the US blacklisting of its artificial intelligence affiliate Sopghgo, Bloomberg reported. Bitcoin mining revenues per quarter. Source: Coin MetricsRelated: Analysts eye Bitcoin miners’ AI, chip sales ahead of Q4 earningsPivoting to new business linesBitcoin miners are increasingly pivoting toward alternative business lines, such as servicing artificial intelligence models, after the Bitcoin network’s April 2024 “halving” cut into mining revenues.Halvings occur every four years and cut in half the number of BTC mined per block.Miners are “diversifying into AI data-center hosting as a way to expand revenue and repurpose existing infrastructure for high-performance computing,” Coin Metrics said in a March report.Declining cryptocurrency prices have put even more pressure on Bitcoin miners in 2025, according to a report by JPMorgan.Magazine: Elon Musk’s plan to run government on blockchain faces uphill battle
The Ethereum network’s main source of income from layer-2 (L2) scaling chains — “blob fees” — has sunk to the lowest weekly levels so far this year, according to data from Etherscan. In the week ending March 30, Ethereum earned only 3.18 Ether (ETH) from blob fees, according to Etherscan, or approximately $6,000 US dollars as of April 1. This figure marks a 73% drop from the prior week and a more than 95% decline from the week ending March 16, when Ethereum’s income from blob fees exceeded 84 ETH, Etherscan said in an X post. Source: EtherscanRelated: Ethereum fees poised for rebound amid L2, blob uptickPost-Dencun growing painsIn March 2024, Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade migrated L2 transaction data to temporary offchain stores called “blobs.”The upgrade cut costs for users but also reduced overall fee revenue for Ethereum — initially by as much as 95%, according to data from asset manager VanEck.“ETH Fees Were Weak Due to Lack of Blob Revenues as L2s Have Not Filled Available Capacity,” Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital asset research, said in a Nov. 1, 2024, post on the X platform.Since then, growth in blob fees has been unsteady. Ethereum’s weekly blob fee income peaked at nearly $1 million in November before declining sharply in recent weeks, according to data from Dune Analytics. Ethereum’s blob fee income has been uneven. Source: Dune AnalyticsEthereum’s ongoing struggle to earn meaningful income from blob fees underscores concerns about the network’s scaling model, which relies heavily on L2s for transaction throughput.“Ethereum’s future will revolve around how effectively it serves as a data availability engine for L2s,” arndxt, author of the Threading on the Edge newsletter, said in a March 31 X post. According to an X post by Michael Nadeau, founder of The DeFi Report, L2 transaction volumes would need to increase more than 22,000-fold for blob fees to fully offset Ethereum’s peak transaction fee revenues. However, Ethereum’s economics are still evolving. For instance, the network’s Pectra Upgrade — which aims to significantly change how Ethereum allocates blob space — is scheduled for this year. “The plan is simple: scale Ethereum as much as possible to capture as much marketshare as we can - worry about fee revenue later,” Sassal, founder of The Daily Gwei, said in a March 17 X post. Magazine: AI agents trading crypto is a hot narrative, but beware of rookie mistakes
APX Lending gains exemptive relief from Canadian Securities Administration
APX Lending, a crypto-backed loan company, has gained exemptive relief from the Canadian Securities Administration (CSA) to offer crypto-backed loans without requiring traditional dealer registration or prospectus filings.“Over the last 2 years, APX developed a […] regulatory framework in collaboration with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) to facilitate this, as no such framework previously existed in Canada,” a spokesperson for APX told Cointelegraph. “This exemption is specific to APX and does not establish a precedent for other companies.”The platform currently supports Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as backing collateral for loans in Canadian or US dollars. APX plans to add more digital assets and fiat currencies options in the near future.The company claims to be expanding its reach to the United States, with future expansions planned for Australia and New Zealand pending regulatory approval. Andrei Poliakov, founder and CEO of APX Lending, said in a statement:“By engaging with Canadian regulators and leading the way in Canada, we are setting a new benchmark for compliance and security in crypto-backed lending, helping retail and institutional borrowers unlock liquidity while maintaining ownership of their digital assets."APX loans range from 20%-60% loan-to-value (LTV), with an automated liquidation mechanism triggered at 90% if no corrective action is taken by the borrower to top up collateral or partially repay the loan when LTV reaches the 80% warning level and they are notified of the potential liquidation.Loan terms range from three months to five years, reflecting the comparatively flexible structure of crypto-backed lending versus the more rigid and often less accessible options found in traditional financial systems.APX Lending is registered with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). Its key competitors in the local market include Ledn, Nexo, and YouHodler, among others.APX Lending founder and CEO Andrei Poliakov onstage at the Blockchain Futurist Conference in 2024. Source: Blockchain Futurist ConferenceRelated: What Canada’s new Liberal PM Mark Carney means for cryptoCanada’s shifting political landscape could spell trouble for crypto regulationsRecently elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is a former central banker who once criticized Bitcoin for being supply-capped, calling the 21 million maximum supply a “serious deficiency.”In a speech to the Scottish Economics Conference at Edinburgh University in March 2018, Carney said: “Recreating a virtual global gold standard would be a criminal act of monetary amnesia.”Carney’s critical view of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies may influence the direction of regulation in Canada and raise uncertainty about the future of the country’s crypto industry.However, Carney’s 2025 platform outlined goals to make Canada a global leader in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and “digital industries” amid increasing geopolitical competition and trade tensions with the United States.Magazine: Home loans using crypto as collateral: Do the risks outweigh the reward?
Blockchain Association CEO will move to Solana advocacy group
Kristin Smith, CEO of the US-based Blockchain Association, will be leaving the cryptocurrency advocacy group for the recently launched Solana Policy Institute.In an April 1 notice, the Blockchain Association (BA) said Smith would be stepping down from her role as CEO on May 16. According to the association, the soon-to-be former CEO will become president of the Solana Policy Institute on May 19.The association’s notice did not provide an apparent reason for the move to the Solana advocacy organization nor say who would lead the group after Smith’s departure. Cointelegraph reached out to the Blockchain Association for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith’s April 1 announcement. Source: LinkedInSmith, who has worked at the BA since 2018 and was deputy chief of staff for former Montana Representative Denny Rehberg, will follow DeFi Education Fund CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine, leaving his position to join the Solana Policy Institute as CEO. According to Whitehouse-Levine, the organization plans to educate US policymakers on Solana.Related: Congress on track for stablecoin, market structure bills by August: Blockchain AssociationWith members from the crypto industry, including Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Chainlink Labs, the BA has filed a lawsuit against the US Internal Revenue Service, challenging regulations requiring brokers to report crypto transactions. The group often criticized the US Securities and Exchange Commission under former chair Gary Gensler for its “regulation by enforcement” approach to crypto, resulting in steep legal fees for many companies.Less than 48 hours after the Solana Policy Institute’s launch, it’s unclear what the group’s immediate goals may be for engaging with US lawmakers and advocating for the industry. The organization described itself as a non-partisan nonprofit group.Magazine: Solana ‘will be a trillion-dollar asset’: Mert Mumtaz, X Hall of Flame
