Russia's Ministry of Justice has drafted Criminal Code Article 171.6 to punish unregistered crypto mining, targeting operators outside the Federal Tax Service registry created on November 1, 2024. Penalties range up to 5 years of imprisonment and fines reaching 2.5 million rubles for organized schemes, while individuals above 3.5 million rubles in income face fines up to 1.5 million rubles.

Unleash Protocol suffered a governance-level exploit that allowed an attacker to deploy an unauthorised contract upgrade and withdraw about $3.9 million in user assets. The incident, identified by PeckShieldAlert and later confirmed by the team, affected tokens including WIP, USDC, WETH, stIP, and vIP, with 1,337.1 ETH ultimately funneled into Tornado Cash via Ethereum bridges. Platform operations have been paused while external security specialists investigate how the multi-signature admin controls were bypassed.

In 2025, blockchain investigator ZachXBT identified a Canadian actor known as Haby/Havard who allegedly impersonated Coinbase support and siphoned more than $2 million in crypto via social‑engineering phone calls. He tied on‑chain activity to social media posts, including a Dec. 30, 2024 XRP theft and a Feb. 2025 Bitcoin wallet screenshot showing $237,000, linking multiple victim cases.

Prediction markets are projected to handle $40 billion in transaction volume in 2025, a more than 400% jump from the prior year, and could begin to rival the $300 billion global sports betting industry in 2026. Driven by platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, analysts expect these markets to evolve into data and "truth" layers that inform fact-checking, risk management, and broader trading decisions.

On December 25, 2025, Trust Wallet confirmed that version 2.68 of its Chrome browser extension had been compromised, exposing users' seed phrases and leading to about $7M in crypto losses. The non-custodial wallet provider has started a compensation program, asking affected users to submit detailed claims so funds can be reimbursed. The incident, which impacted assets across Bitcoin, Solana, and EVM-compatible networks, has renewed concerns over the security of browser-based crypto tools.

The People's Bank of China plans to allow commercial banks to pay interest on digital yuan (e-CNY) wallet balances starting January 2026, marking a shift from a pure "digital cash" model toward a deposit-like framework. The updated CBDC design adds value storage and cross-border payment features, which could enhance domestic adoption and position the digital yuan as a more versatile instrument in international finance. Analysts note that these interest-bearing wallets may compete with traditional bank deposits while still requiring strong public trust and cybersecurity safeguards.

South Korea plans to extend its Travel Rule to cryptocurrency transfers below 1 million won to deter smurfing and tighten anti-money laundering controls. A Korea FIU task force is reviewing updates to the Special Act, including tools such as account suspension and broader professional obligations. The initiative seeks closer alignment with FATF standards while reinforcing oversight of virtual asset service providers.

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT on Dec. 29, 2025 outlined evidence tying a Canada-based actor to more than $2 million stolen by impersonating Coinbase customer support. The scheme used social engineering across Telegram and social media, with on-chain traces linking XRP thefts and subsequent conversions to bitcoin.