cryptocurrency

According to The Block, TRM Labs has launched a custody service called Beacon Concierge, aimed at assisting law enforcement agencies in collaborating with cryptocurrency exchanges and stablecoin issuers to prevent and seize illegal cryptocurrency flows on any chain or asset.Beacon has over 200 members, covering 80% of cryptocurrency trading volume, with response times measured in minutes.

According to a report by Crypto Briefing, Grayscale's research indicates that the correlation between crypto assets and Bitcoin is decreasing, with Bitcoin currently explaining only about 50% of the return volatility across various crypto sectors.The report breaks down the annualized volatility and the impact of Bitcoin-related factors by sector: the annualized volatility of the currency sector is 49%, with 43% attributed to Bitcoin; the annualized volatility of the smart contract platform sector is 58%, with 38% attributed to Bitcoin; the annualized volatility of the finance sector is 59%, with 30% attributed to Bitcoin; the annualized volatility of the utilities and services sector is 67%, with 30% attributed to Bitcoin; the annualized volatility of the consumer and culture sector is 76%, with 46% attributed to Bitcoin; the artificial intelligence sector has the highest annualized volatility at 85%, with only 35% attributed to Bitcoin.The research points out that Bitcoin's own annualized volatility has recently been around 43%, while the volatility of all sectors tracked by Grayscale is higher than that of Bitcoin. The report suggests that lower correlation does not imply lower risk, but the fact that Bitcoin explains only half of the return volatility means that the other half is driven by factors specific to each sector, providing investors with a reference for assessing which sectors can offer true diversification.

The U.S. Department of Justice stated on Thursday that North Korean hackers have stolen over $400 million in cryptocurrency assets through a social engineering scheme based on secretly recorded videos and AI deepfakes over the past 18 months, and announced that it has seized the infrastructure supporting this operation. The FBI refers to this method as "FaceStealer," which centers on turning video conference calls into traps: hackers lure targets into meetings using previously stolen accounts from victims, then play pre-recorded footage of trusted contacts to simulate their presence, thereby gaining the target's trust.The group also uses AI to generate deepfake videos of well-known figures in the cryptocurrency and related industries, making the scams more convincing. Once the target lowers their guard, the attackers create false technical issues, such as claiming the other party cannot hear them, and provide a so-called "fix" link that is actually used to implant malware. Afterward, hackers can empty the victim's wallet or exploit their system permissions, sometimes lying in wait for months or even over a year before taking action. The FBI stated that it has seized over 900 segments of camera footage from FaceStealer victims based on federal search warrants.The Department of Justice linked this operation to North Korean-related groups such as Sapphire Sleet, BlueNoroff, and APT38, warning that these hackers are increasingly targeting open-source software developers, seemingly paving the way for supply chain attacks. On the same day, the Department of Justice also reported progress in the Binance theft case, stating that it has obtained court authorization to seize or restrict over $1.2 billion of the approximately $6.4 billion in stolen assets, which is part of the over $2.7 billion that has already been frozen. The FBI attributes this theft to the North Korean group TraderTraitor and claims it is laundering money at a rate of creating a new wallet approximately every 25 seconds. North Korea denies involvement, stating that the FBI's conclusions are a political provocation.

According to The Block, the New York State Department of Financial Services has issued new guidelines for advertising and marketing requirements for licensed cryptocurrency entities in the state, which include avoiding misleading or deceptive content. Acting Superintendent Kaitlin Asrow stated in a press release that today's guidelines reinforce the commitment to protecting New York residents and ensure that advertising and marketing practices in the virtual currency space are clear, comprehensive, and accessible.The New York State Department of Financial Services announced on the same day that these guidelines apply to virtual currency entities licensed or chartered by the department, requiring them to establish and implement policies and procedures for advertising and marketing materials related to virtual currency products, services, and activities, with a focus on content accuracy, clear disclosures, and governance and review processes. Relevant entities must update their policies and procedures according to the guidelines by May 10, 2027, review them at least once a year, and maintain records for regulatory inspection. The Department of Financial Services will assess the implementation and effectiveness of these policies and procedures through examinations and ongoing supervision.Common practices listed in the guidelines include: reviewing marketing claims to ensure they fairly present products, services, or activities, are supported by evidence and verifiable, and do not contain exaggerated or false statements about performance or regulatory status; customer disclosures should be clear, prominent, easily understandable to the general audience, and clearly identify the entity providing the products, services, or activities; establishing governance review processes for advertising and marketing materials, designating responsible parties, conducting due diligence on third-party promoters, and promptly monitoring and addressing instances of fraudulent or improper use of their name or brand by others.

According to Bloomberg, the crypto market maker Wintermute has become the main user of Hyperliquid's priority data auction mechanism. This mechanism allows traders to bid for the right to view incoming buy and sell orders before they are processed by the exchange, giving them a few milliseconds to adjust their quotes or hedge on other platforms.Blockchain analytics platform Loris Tools found that in the past month, a wallet associated with Wintermute won about 76% of the highest priority data slot auctions.This mechanism has raised questions about whether it favors large trading firms. DRW founder Don Wilson previously questioned whether it is fairer than the server hosting mechanisms of traditional exchanges and whether it can meet U.S. regulatory requirements.The founder of Loris Tools believes that to fully leverage this speed advantage, direct connections to nodes operated by the Hyperliquid Foundation are necessary, and this access has trading volume and token staking requirements.Wintermute founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy stated that the auctions are more transparent than the low-latency networks and server hosting of traditional finance, and the company primarily uses this service for cryptocurrency trading. Hyperliquid Labs stated that anyone can participate in the bidding, and all priority fee payments are publicly recorded on-chain.

According to The Block, the DeFi Education Fund, Paradigm, Uniswap, and a16z led the submission of an amicus brief supporting the legal challenge by the crypto industry against Illinois' Digital Asset Tax Act. Aave Labs, Chainlink Labs, Figment, Phantom, Hyperliquid Policy Center, Solana Policy Institute, Stand With Crypto, and others co-signed the brief.The brief argues that the law is overly broad, imposes unfavorable tax treatment on transactions involving blockchain technology, and fails to clearly distinguish between taxable digital asset businesses and software and network infrastructure that helps users trade independently. It is estimated that 2.64 million residents in Illinois hold digital assets, ranking fifth in the nation.The law was signed by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker in June 2026 and imposes a 0.2% tax on digital asset transactions, originally set to take effect in January 2027 but postponed to July 2027. The Blockchain Association, Crypto Council for Innovation, and The Digital Chamber had previously filed a lawsuit against Illinois regarding this matter.

In the past 90 days, BTC has risen by 16.6%, with only 31 cryptocurrencies outperforming Bitcoin.Among them, BTW has increased by 219%, QNT has risen by 184%, NIGHT has grown by 171%, and RAY has surged by 151%, making them some of the stronger-performing cryptocurrencies.

On November 12, the Gate event market's "Cryptocurrency" sector completed a product update, adjusting the original Index market to a Spot market, and launching a new short-term price prediction based on Chainlink's spot price. The first phase supports 5-minute and 15-minute prediction events for BTC and ETH, using the spot price as the basis for determining price movements, providing users with more intuitive and diverse short-cycle prediction options.At the same time, multiple activities in the Gate event market are ongoing. The total prize pool for the 13th points activity has reached 85,704 USDT, with the points prize pool at 13,023 USDT and the lucky prize pool at 72,680 USDT. The first place on the leaderboard is expected to receive 4,883 USDT. With four U.S. stock companies' earnings reports set to be released early tomorrow morning, the earnings report season prediction challenge offers a reward of 90,000 USDT, with the top prize being 5,000 USDT.In addition, several NBA games are taking place today, with the NBA trading competition setting a prize pool of 65,000 USDT, where the top prize can reach 10,000 USDT. The total prize pools for various activities exceed 240,000 USDT, covering different prediction scenarios such as cryptocurrencies, corporate earnings reports, and sports events.

According to Brazilian media Portal do Bitcoin, Ailton de Aquino Santos, the Director of Regulation at the Central Bank of Brazil, stated that about 30% of the applications for licenses from cryptocurrency service providers have issues with registered capital not meeting regulatory requirements, and many applying institutions have not submitted audited financial statements.The Central Bank of Brazil previously announced 120 cryptocurrency license applications, of which 119 are still under review, and 1 has been rejected. According to the new regulations, the minimum capital requirement for cryptocurrency trading and intermediary service providers can reach 37.2 million reais (approximately 7 million USD). Currently, the regulatory authority has not disclosed the list of non-compliant companies, and the 30% non-compliance ratio does not mean that the same proportion of applications will ultimately be rejected.

ARK Invest's Head of Digital Asset Research, Lorenzo Valente, stated that since 2017, the cryptocurrency industry has lost approximately $26.9 billion due to hacking attacks, while the total on-chain revenue during the same period was about $47 billion, which means that for every $1 of on-chain revenue generated, assets worth about $0.57 were stolen.Among these, Binance was hacked for as much as $6.36 billion, even exceeding the entire on-chain revenue of the cryptocurrency industry so far in 2026. Valente believes that security issues have become a key bottleneck restricting the development of the cryptocurrency industry.

John Kim has joined the Singapore office of the Chicago proprietary trading firm DV Trading, responsible for the newly established cryptocurrency discretionary trading team, which will operate through its cryptocurrency business division DV Chain. John Kim previously served as the head of derivatives trading at Nomura's digital asset division Laser Digital, joining the company in October 2025; prior to that, he spent three years as the head of derivatives trading at the cryptocurrency investment bank Galaxy Digital. DV Chain was established in 2016, previously focusing primarily on market-making; the number of employees at DV Trading has increased to over 600.

Former Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chris Giancarlo stated in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine that the Democratic Party has taken control of both houses of Congress, and the direction of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency regulation will face new challenges. He pointed out that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and CFTC have clarified their respective regulatory scopes, and currently, both sides are cooperating smoothly.Giancarlo believes that the upcoming debate over regulatory jurisdiction "is less about good regulation and more about territory." He also mentioned that the progress made by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) in tokenized collateral indicates that regardless of how Washington's policies change, Wall Street is moving towards digital network finance.Giancarlo, known as "Crypto Dad" for his long-standing support of the cryptocurrency industry, also discussed topics such as stablecoin regulation, the regulatory status of prediction markets and perpetual contracts, as well as central bank digital currencies in this interview.

According to TASS, the Central Bank of Russia stated that the Russian exchange can start cryptocurrency trading from November 22, 2026, but must first reach an agreement with regulatory authorities on trading rules. The Russian Ministry of Justice has registered the Central Bank of Russia's directive regarding organized trading requirements for digital currencies and digital rights.According to the regulations, exchanges must register participants in cryptocurrency trading such as brokers, trust managers, and central counterparties, maintain records of orders and transactions, and monitor trading. They must also calculate current prices, weighted average prices, market prices, and closing prices, and report trading information to the Central Bank of Russia in the same manner as existing other assets.Previously, the Central Bank of Russia finalized the rules for retail cryptocurrency trading, which will be implemented starting November 17.

According to The Block, the High Court of Scotland sentenced Robert Barr to eight years in prison for remotely orchestrating a theft of approximately £2 million (about $2.7 million) in cryptocurrency while serving his sentence in Edinburgh prison. Two accomplices, Iain Doyle and Sean Favier, received sentences of five years and four years, respectively; all three had previously pleaded guilty to involvement in organized serious crime.The court revealed the method of operation: Barr had his accomplices enter the victim's home and asked the homeowner to download the remote control software AnyDesk, which he then used from prison to control the couple's computer, inputting a receiving address he controlled to transfer funds from the victim's wallet. On the evening of April 17, 2024, around 11:30 PM, Favier and Doyle arrived at the couple's residence but were captured on the doorbell camera; the homeowner refused to open the door, and the two were unable to enter, resulting in a failed plan.Judge Lord Cubie described this as "a crime that combines 21st-century computer technology with old-fashioned burglary." On June 25, 2024, police seized Barr's mobile phone and discovered detailed messages directing his two accomplices; the judge noted that Barr had previously served 21 months for cryptocurrency-related fraud but organized crime again while in prison, which constituted "significant aggravating circumstances." If convicted at trial, he should have received a sentence of eight years and ten months. Barr is scheduled to attend a serious crime prevention order hearing on November 17.

According to Hong Kong media Ming Pao, the Hong Kong police dismantled a cross-border criminal group that used virtual currency over-the-counter (OTC) channels for money laundering, arresting 22 people, including 21 men and 1 woman, aged between 21 and 54.The police investigation revealed that the group had been active since August this year, recruiting mainland individuals to come to Hong Kong to open puppet bank accounts, withdraw cash from criminal proceeds, and then transfer the funds to virtual currency OTC shops operated by the group. They laundered the money through buying and selling virtual currencies, with the police estimating that the group laundered over 150 million Hong Kong dollars from August to October this year alone.It is reported that the group had clear divisions of labor, first arranging for mainland individuals holding two-way permits to come to Hong Kong to open online bank accounts for receiving criminal proceeds. They then recruited cash withdrawal personnel who used bank cards distributed by the group to withdraw cash from ATMs at different locations and banks, which was then collected and transported by runners to the OTC shops to complete the money laundering.

According to Bloomberg, the cryptocurrency industry's efforts to rewrite the way stock trading works are accelerating amid widespread opposition.Represented by the tokenized stock platform in collaboration between OKX and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, these products plan to allow stocks of U.S. listed companies to be traded in token form and extend trading hours. Robinhood has expressed support for its stocks to be listed on this platform, while companies like Apple and Meta have publicly opposed it, citing unauthorized reasons, and the number of publicly opposing listed companies has continued to increase since the end of October.The controversy centers on three points: whether tokens are issued by a third party or authorized by the issuer, who maintains the shareholder register, and whether the token price will decouple from the underlying stock. Supporters believe this can lower the barriers to cross-border trading and extend trading hours to all day; opponents worry that investors may mistakenly view tokens as products endorsed by the company and question whether shareholder rights will be diluted.