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According to Crypto.news, the hacker organization BlueNoroff, linked to North Korea, uses fake Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings to analyze cryptocurrency users before deploying malware.The hackers first take control of accounts belonging to trusted contacts in the cryptocurrency industry, then send seemingly normal meeting links via Calendly and other platforms, directing users to counterfeit Zoom/Teams domains. Once users enter the fake meeting page, it quietly scans the wallets in their browsers and decides whether to continue the attack based on the wallet's value. The fake meeting will prompt users to "update Zoom/Teams" or run commands, which actually download malware (supporting Windows and macOS). The malware will steal browser keys, system data, and Telegram sessions.

According to News.bitcoin, data released by the Central Bank of El Salvador shows that in the first half of 2026, only 35.4 million dollars in external remittances were channeled into the country through digital currency. This figure accounts for only 0.7% of the total remittances to the country in 2026 (over 5 billion dollars). Nevertheless, the amount of cryptocurrency remittances is still significantly higher than the level in the first half of 2025, when the cryptocurrency remittance amount was 25.4 million dollars, an increase of 39.1%.

According to Bitcoin.com, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office announced that a cyber fraud task force has seized over $25 million in cryptocurrency as part of multiple investigations related to international fraud schemes targeting residents of the United States and Canada. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has filed five civil forfeiture complaints seeking the forfeiture of the recovered cryptocurrency.Investigators have confirmed multiple money laundering networks and thousands of victims globally, with the largest complaint involving a romance scam affecting over 200 victims, totaling approximately $12.1 million. Another complaint involves a network of suspicious cryptocurrency wallets reported by Canadian authorities to the U.S. Secret Service, amounting to about $10.4 million.Agents tracked over 270 suspected victim transactions related to fraudulent investment platforms, with these two cases accounting for approximately 85% of the assets involved in the five forfeiture complaints. The remaining cases involve blocked withdrawals, fake investment accounts, and recovery of fraud. Investigators stated that most suspected money launderers are located in Southeast Asia and identified internet protocol addresses associated with China, Malaysia, and Cambodia; the five investigations are still ongoing.

According to South Korean media Daily NK, North Korean authorities arrested an elite hacker group on July 12, which is suspected of infiltrating the internal networks of the North Korean central bank and foreign trade bank, stealing national trade funds and laundering money through cryptocurrency. Sources say the group's leader is a veteran from the cyber warfare unit under the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau, who recruited talented IT graduates from Kim Chaek University of Technology and Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, using encrypted communications and wireless devices to commit crimes.They split the stolen funds into small amounts and transferred them to overseas cryptocurrency wallets, exchanged them for cash through intermediaries, and then converted them into dollars and other currencies in border areas. Pyongyang officials launched an investigation after discovering anomalies in foreign currency payment approvals and records of overseas IP access, ultimately raiding a safe house and arresting suspects who were laundering money, seizing equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. This case has caused a stir among the elite and military circles in Pyongyang, with senior officials in the Reconnaissance General Bureau and the science and education sector worried about being implicated. North Korea has long been accused of stealing billions of dollars in cryptocurrency assets through hacker organizations like the Lazarus Group, but this incident rarely shows that its own financial system has also become a target of internal attacks.

Onchain Lens stated on the X platform that in the first half of 2026, 224 publicly disclosed crypto hacking incidents resulted in approximately $1.32 billion in losses. The largest losses came from access control failures, phishing attacks, and oracle issues.In terms of attack type breakdown, access control failures involved compromised permissions and privileged access, driving several of the largest attacks, including Kelp DAO with a loss of $292 million, Drift Protocol with a loss of $280 million, Humanity Protocol with a loss of $31 million, Step Finance with a loss of $30 million, Truebit with a loss of $26.5 million, Resolv Labs with a loss of $25 million, AFX with a loss of $24.15 million, and BonkDAO with a loss of $21 million. In terms of phishing and social engineering attacks, social engineering attacks caused $282 million in losses. Regarding oracle issues, Ostium lost $24 million, Blend Protocol lost $10.86 million, and Bonzo lost $9 million. A small number of incidents accounted for the majority of the losses, with compromised permissions and privileged access driving several of the largest attacks.

According to CoinDesk, the European Union (EU) has expanded the scope of sanctions against Russia, targeting the A7 cross-border payment network and its newly established African affiliate, as well as the A7A5 stablecoin used to evade sanctions.The latest sanctions package expands the trading ban to 14 crypto-related platforms in countries such as Georgia, the UAE, and Panama, and introduces a tool that can be used to comprehensively prohibit crypto asset services used by Russia.In addition to digital asset measures, the EU has also implemented asset freezes and trading bans on 94 banks and major financial institutions, and expanded the trading ban to an additional 33 Russian credit and financial institutions.

According to FinanceFeeds, the Indian Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance has recommended that the government establish a temporary regulatory mechanism led by recognized Self-Regulatory Organizations (SROs) to oversee the domestic cryptocurrency and virtual digital asset market. The committee warned that the lack of a clear legal framework exposes millions of retail investors to operational, custodial, and fraud risks.The SRO will implement standardized codes of conduct under the direct supervision of the Reserve Bank of India or the Securities and Exchange Board of India, covering consumer protection, platform transparency, and token disclosure standards, and will be responsible for auditing exchange reserves, mandating the segregation of customer funds from corporate funds, and establishing user complaint handling channels. The committee emphasized that the temporary SRO must operate under strict oversight from the central bank or the securities regulator to address macroeconomic risks such as cross-border capital flows, dollarization of stablecoins, tax evasion, and violations of foreign exchange management laws.

The European Union has further tightened restrictions on cryptocurrency assets related to Belarus, prohibiting Belarusian citizens and residents from owning, controlling, or managing cryptocurrency service providers regulated by the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). According to the Council Decision (CFSP) 2026/1847 passed by the EU Council, this measure is an extension of the EU's sanctions framework against Belarus's involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.The new regulations will officially take effect on July 24, with the expanded restrictions on the cryptocurrency industry set to be implemented from August 25. According to MiCA, the affected services include operating cryptocurrency trading platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges, executing and transmitting customer orders, cryptocurrency issuance services, asset transfer services, investment consulting, and portfolio management.This restriction comes as the MiCA transition period ends on July 1. The EU had previously required unauthorized cryptocurrency businesses to cease related operations, or face regulatory enforcement. The EU stated that this expansion of restrictions is part of its efforts to combat the use of cryptocurrency platforms to evade sanctions against Russia. Previously, in the 21st round of sanctions against Russia, the EU had expanded the trading ban to 14 cryptocurrency-related service platforms outside the EU and established a mechanism to prohibit future transactions with any foreign cryptocurrency service providers identified as helping Russia evade sanctions. Market participants noted that as the MiCA regulatory framework is fully implemented, the EU is further strengthening its regulatory control over the cryptocurrency industry through licensing systems and sanction mechanisms.

According to the official announcement, the second phase of Gate IPO Access for Jersey Mike's (JMKE) will open for intention subscription on July 27, 2026, at 10:00 (UTC+8). Users can participate using USDT or GUSD, with the opportunity to obtain corresponding stock shares and trade them through the Gate stock section after the listing.This subscription period will last until July 29, 2026, at 10:00 (UTC+8), with a reference subscription price of $21-25 per share, a minimum investment of 100 USDT or 100 GUSD, and a maximum investment of 500,000 USDT or 500,000 GUSD, with no additional fees required. In terms of subscription quotas, the USDT and GUSD subscription pools each account for 50%, and the platform will calculate the allocation ratio based on the average locked amount per hour during the user subscription period.This subscription is classified as "intention subscription," and the final allocation results will be determined based on the actual IPO issuance situation, the allocation amount obtained by the platform, and user participation. Stocks successfully allocated are expected to be issued to users' Gate stock accounts on July 30, 2026, and will be traded through the Gate stock section after the listing. There is no lock-up period for this stock, supporting 100% unlocking.

On-chain data shows that cryptocurrency theft suspect Dritan Kapllani Jr laundered 126.7 ETH again on July 22, worth approximately $239,000.Previously, on-chain detective ZachXBT revealed that Dritan Kapllani Jr is suspected of stealing assets from cryptocurrency holders through social engineering techniques, with a total amount involved reaching $19 million. Dritan Kapllani Jr has long showcased a lifestyle featuring luxury cars, high-end watches, and private jets on social media, and publicly displayed assets worth $3.68 million in his Exodus wallet during a Discord call on April 23, 2026.

In a 90-minute interview with The Economist, Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, stated that artificial intelligence could surpass human intelligence levels within the next five years and predicted that in about ten years, AI and robotics might drive the world into a "highly affluent era." Musk believes that once AI systems and robots possess sufficiently powerful digital intelligence and production capabilities, the global economy could approach a state of "infinite supply," making human labor no longer a necessary condition for survival, and the importance of currency may gradually decline.He stated that in the future, if the number of robots is sufficient, society will have a "quasi-infinite economy," where artificial intelligence can produce goods and services that exceed human consumption capacity. He even predicted that by around 2036, the importance of the traditional currency system might significantly decrease. Regarding future economic operating models, Musk mentioned that governments might maintain social operations by directly distributing funds to the public and believes that the productivity improvements brought by AI could lead to deflation rather than inflation.However, regarding issues such as corporate profit models, government fiscal sources, and social transformation, Musk acknowledged that the economic structure in the age of artificial intelligence might differ greatly from traditional economic laws. Additionally, Musk discussed the integration of AI with space development. He indicated that in the future, data centers deployed in space might be used to support AI computing and reiterated the long-term plan for human exploration of Mars. In the interview, Musk also reflected on his previous involvement in the Trump administration's "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE). He admitted that he had invested too much energy in the political arena, "got a bit sidetracked," and stated that if he could choose again, he might spend more time on his own companies.

The Shanghai Branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has collaborated with ICBC Singapore Branch to successfully implement the country's first cross-border payment business between China and Singapore based on the digital renminbi cross-border settlement comprehensive service platform "Digital Currency Express" (CBETS). This transaction, involving nearly ten million yuan in import shipping fees, was fully paid using digital renminbi, with funds arriving in the Singapore recipient's account on the same day, achieving "zero time difference" and "high transparency" in cross-border fund transfers. The service targets subsidiaries of central enterprise group trade platforms that regularly need to procure iron ore from abroad and pay for shipping fees, with high frequency and large amounts of cross-border settlements."Digital Currency Express" is a cross-border settlement infrastructure built by the International Operation Center of Digital Renminbi under the guidance of the People's Bank of China's Digital Currency Research Institute. Overseas participants can access services through the Hong Kong access point "One Point Access", compatible with both centralized and blockchain systems, and the message standards comply with ISO20022. On June 16, 2026, the first batch of 26 financial institutions signed direct participant service agreements. This business marks a significant breakthrough for ICBC in leveraging the infrastructure of the International Operation Center of Digital Renminbi to establish an integrated cross-border clearing system for domestic and foreign branches, achieving comprehensive coverage of two-way digital renminbi payment and receipt services with Singapore and Laos.

Cryptocurrency payment infrastructure company Moonpay has supported payments from the U.S. card network Discover, allowing Discover Network cardholders to buy and sell cryptocurrencies through the Moonpay platform. Discover Network becomes the third major card brand supported by Moonpay in the U.S., alongside Visa and Mastercard. Moonpay stated that this support covers over 500 of its business partners, including wallets, exchanges, and applications. Moonpay also supports Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, bank transfers, and regional payment channels. Founded in 2019, Moonpay serves over 30 million customers across 180 countries and holds a BitLicense from New York, a limited purpose trust license from New York, multi-state money transmission licenses in the U.S., and MiCA authorization in the European Union.

According to the Financial Times, after three years of combating cryptocurrency tax evasion, the UK's HM Revenue and Customs has recovered over £8 million in taxes by reaching settlements with hundreds of cryptocurrency investors. Data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request shows that in the past two years, 502 crypto investors reached disclosure settlement agreements with HMRC regarding unpaid taxes. In the 2024/25 tax year, a total of 280 individuals settled with HMRC, paying a total of £3.5 million. In the 2025/26 tax year, the number of settlements decreased to 222, but the total amount increased to approximately £4.8 million.

According to monitoring by Onchain Lens, investment firm Abraxas Capital transferred approximately $223.53 million worth of crypto assets to multiple cryptocurrency exchanges in the past 7 hours, including:2,211 BTC transferred to Kraken, worth about $143.88 million;30,825 ETH transferred to Binance, worth about $5.92 million;11.5 million USDC and 690,000 USDT transferred to Binance, worth about $12.19 million;5.89 million USDT transferred to Bitstamp;2.365 million USDC transferred to Kraken.During the same period, Abraxas Capital also withdrew approximately $26.42 million in assets from exchanges, including 5,137 ETH (about $9.81 million) and $16.61 million in stablecoins withdrawn from Binance.

Binance founder Zhao Changpeng paid tribute to BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes. It's unfortunate to see BitMEX shut down. Some thoughts:BitMEX was the first to launch 100x cryptocurrency trading back in 2014. Futures contracts had existed before this, making Friday trading exceptionally busy. BitMEX only accepted Bitcoin deposits, supported only one chain, allowed withdrawals once a day, and required multi-signature wallets. These seemingly inconvenient restrictions actually protected them from hacker attacks.After 18 months of struggle, the four founders ultimately admitted to violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) a month before the trial. They were each fined $10 million and placed under house arrest. No one went to prison as a result. However, their business ultimately could not withstand the "cryptocurrency war" initiated by the Biden administration.In the end, the liquidation process of BitMEX appeared orderly, and users were able to withdraw their assets. Tribute to Arthur Hayes.

According to Jinshi reports, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrell stated that sanctions have been imposed on over 100 banks and cryptocurrency operators, more than 40 shadow fleet vessels, and several refineries in Russia and Belarus.

The People's Bank of China Shenzhen Branch, Shenzhen Securities Regulatory Bureau, Municipal Internet Information Office, and Municipal Local Financial Supervision Administration continue to carry out special rectifications, urging local website platforms to strictly implement their main responsibilities and legally handle a number of illegal self-media accounts.Some typical cases include: "USDT Merchant Group Chat," "Gather Together to Play Virtual Currency," "Search for Bitcoin," "WeChat Quick Exchange," "Zhongchain Laojiu," "Medicine Breaks a Good Sleep," "Little Goldfish 9884," "User 0767527971," and other accounts that illegally provided marketing and promotional information related to virtual currency business activities within the country, enticing the public to participate in illegal financial activities related to virtual currency. According to the relevant policy provisions such as the "Notice on Further Preventing and Handling Risks Related to Virtual Currency," the aforementioned accounts have been permanently closed and dealt with by the platform in accordance with the law and agreements.