🔐 Gang stole 4,100 Bitcoin, laundered $245M in crypto
Prosecutors allege a criminal group stole and laundered more than $245 million in cryptocurrency, with proceeds spent on private jets, exotic cars and club events.
The scheme involved the theft of approximately 4,100 Bitcoin, with the group using the funds to finance an extravagant lifestyle before authorities moved against them.
The case highlights the continued targeting of crypto holders by organized theft and laundering operations.
Hyperliquid's perpetuals open interest has climbed to $14.3 billion, coming within 3% of levels seen before the October 2025 market crash — signaling a near-full recovery in trading activity on the decentralized exchange.
Alongside the OI surge, HYPE — the platform's native token — reached a new all-time high of $88, reflecting renewed market confidence in the protocol.
⚖️ Gemini Secures Full Payment License in Singapore
Crypto exchange Gemini has obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, expanding its regulatory footprint in Southeast Asia.
The license authorizes Gemini's local entity to provide digital payment token services and cross-border money transfer services, without the standard transaction-volume limits that apply to smaller license tiers.
Singapore's MPI license is one of the most comprehensive crypto-related authorizations available under the city-state's Payment Services Act, and is held by a limited number of exchanges operating in the region.
🔐 Ringleader Pleads Guilty in $245M Crypto Theft Scheme
Malone Lam, a 22-year-old from Singapore, pleaded guilty to federal racketeering conspiracy charges for leading an international social engineering operation that stole approximately $245 million in cryptocurrency — one of the largest crypto thefts in US history.
Lam and his conspirators posed as tech support employees to trick victims into granting access to their crypto funds, including a Washington, DC resident who lost nearly a quarter-billion dollars in Bitcoin. The stolen funds were laundered and used to finance a lavish lifestyle. Lam, an eighth-grade dropout, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The case is being heard by US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
🏦 Robinhood takes minority stakes in Crypto.com and OG.com
Robinhood is expanding its event-contract and prediction markets business through two new partnerships, taking minority stakes in both Crypto.com and OG.com.
OG.com, which is transitioning to a standalone entity at a reported $5 billion valuation, has been selected as Robinhood's infrastructure and clearing partner for prediction markets. Robinhood will also integrate OG.com prediction markets into its platform. The deals include minority equity positions in both companies.
Crypto.com's native token CRO surged following the announcement. The moves signal Robinhood's continued push into crypto-adjacent financial products after launching event contracts as a core part of its trading offering.
⚖️ U.S. court orders forfeiture of $212K in DPRK worker wages
A U.S. federal court has ordered the forfeiture of approximately $212,700 in stablecoins linked to wages paid to North Korean IT workers, handing the Justice Department a partial win in a broader enforcement action.
The DOJ had sought to seize more than $7.74 million in digital assets tied to the scheme, in which North Korean nationals posed as remote IT workers to earn cryptocurrency wages later funneled back to the regime. The court approved forfeiture only on the $212,700 portion at this stage.
The case is part of a wider U.S. crackdown on North Korea's use of crypto to circumvent sanctions and fund state programs, with authorities increasingly targeting stablecoin flows as a key enforcement vector.