KEYTAKEAWAYS
- Bybit's CEO initiates industry-wide effort against North Korea's Lazarus Group with 5% bounty for frozen funds, signaling coordinated security response.
- Regulatory landscape continues evolving with Ohio's Bitcoin Reserve Bill advancement and leadership changes at the CFTC.
- Major payment platforms expand crypto adoption as PayPal enhances PYUSD utility and Singapore retailer Metro accepts stablecoins.
CONTENT
Welcome to the CoinRank Crypto News Roundup. CoinRank will provide daily important crypto news in this column series, allowing readers to quickly obtain the latest crucial updates from the cryptocurrency market.
MORNING NEWS
1. Bybit CEO Launches Bounty Program Against Lazarus Group
Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou publicly addressed eXch executive Sarah Nugent on X, stating: “You will make 5% by freezing the funds of Lazarus… which is much more than whatever you are making to help launder sanctioned funds… flip to the good actors side.” He announced an industry-first bounty site (lazarusbounty.com) that provides full transparency on Lazarus money laundering activities. The platform allows users to become bounty hunters by connecting their wallets to trace funds, with bounties paid instantly upon freezing. The initiative includes a live ranking of good and bad actors based on their response time to sanctioned transactions, with plans to expand the service to other Lazarus victims.
2. Vitalik Buterin Announces Upcoming Ethereum Foundation Leadership Changes
Vitalik Buterin revealed on X that Aya Miyaguchi had proposed transitioning from Executive Director to President of the Ethereum Foundation a year ago. He praised her seven-year tenure as Executive Director, highlighting her role in creating an environment where others could excel. Buterin noted that her leadership contributed to successful Ethereum hard forks, client interoperability workshops, Devcon events, and maintaining Ethereum’s culture and values. While Miyaguchi will continue supporting the Foundation in her new role, Buterin mentioned that they are developing a new leadership structure with more information to be shared soon.
3. SEC Crypto Task Force Meets with Industry Critics
Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett reported that the SEC’s crypto task force meeting log was updated to include the first appearance of crypto “critics.” According to the memo, Better Markets’ Director of Securities Policy Benjamin Schiffrin attended a meeting discussing approaches to crypto asset regulation and fraud prevention. Better Markets has consistently criticized cryptocurrencies for high risks and regulatory gaps. While specific discussion details weren’t disclosed, the memo indicates the SEC is actively exploring regulatory frameworks while emphasizing the importance of combating fraud.
4. Ohio’s Bitcoin Reserve Bill Advances
Ohio’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill has moved past the committee stage, bringing it one step closer to approval. This advancement continues the trend of state-level interest in cryptocurrency adoption.
5. SEC Acknowledges Grayscale’s Ethereum ETF Staking Filing
The Securities and Exchange Commission has acknowledged Grayscale’s filing to allow staking for its spot Ethereum ETF, potentially expanding the product’s yield capabilities.
NOON NEWS
1. BTS Music Rights Tokenized Through Aria Protocol
Story ecosystem’s IP RWA protocol Aria announced the acquisition and tokenization of partial rights to BTS and Steve Aoki’s collaboration “The Truth Untold.” This initiative brings one of the world’s most influential musical works into the on-chain RWA IP ownership space. Aria Premiere Launch has previously raised $10.93 million and has expanded its tokenized music catalog to 90 songs, including works by BLACKPINK, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, Katy Perry, and BIGBANG, with projected annual royalty yields of 6-7%.
2. CFTC Commissioner Goldsmith Romero to Resign
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Goldsmith Romero announced her intention to resign after President Trump’s nominee takes office. Following her departure, Kristin Johnson will be the only Democrat on the five-person commission. During her tenure, Romero helped reestablish the technology advisory committee focused on guiding the agency’s approach to the cryptocurrency industry. The CFTC is currently led by Acting Chair Caroline Pham following former Chair Rostin Behnam’s resignation on January 20. Trump has nominated a16z crypto policy head Brian Quintenz for the chairmanship.
3. Block Inc. Seeks Settlement with New York Regulators
Jack Dorsey’s payment company Block Inc. is negotiating with New York state regulators to resolve allegations related to its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Bitcoin programs. According to a February 24 SEC filing, Block is in “continuing negotiations” with the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) regarding “aspects of its Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering and Bitcoin programs.” The company is engaging in discussions to determine if the matter can be settled on acceptable terms. Block has faced multiple regulatory challenges, including a previous investigation by money transmission regulators from multiple U.S. states between January 2021 and March 2023.
4. Singapore Retailer Metro Accepts Stablecoin Payments
According to United Morning Paper, Singapore’s Metro Department Store has announced it will accept stablecoin payments, becoming the first department store in the region to support this payment method. Customers can use USDT, USDC, and WUSD for both in-store and online purchases, with plans to add FDUSD in the future. Metro has partnered with crypto payment company dtcpay to drive retail innovation for tech-savvy consumers. Chainalysis data shows that Singapore’s stablecoin payment volume reached nearly $1 billion in Q2 2024, reflecting growing demand for stable digital payment options.
5. Former Coinbase CTO on Tariffs and Cryptocurrency
Former Coinbase CTO Balaji shared on X that while tariffs may negatively impact the U.S. economy, they could benefit cryptocurrencies. He explained that production cannot increase overnight, but prices can rise quickly. Rather than rebuilding production, the U.S. relies more on money printing revenues than manufacturing profits. He predicted that global capital will move on-chain despite the rise of offline nationalism and socialism, making smart contracts the only truly enforceable cross-border agreements. While a nation’s economic promises may be unreliable, cryptography’s mathematical guarantees remain trustworthy.
EVENING NEWS
1. PayPal Enhances PYUSD Adoption Strategy
PayPal plans to boost adoption of its stablecoin PYUSD in 2025 by launching a bill payment product that will allow its 20+ million small and medium-sized merchants to pay suppliers using PYUSD. Additionally, PayPal will add PYUSD as a global payment option through Hyperwallet, a service that helps organizations send bulk payments to contractors, freelancers, or sellers worldwide. PayPal acquired Hyperwallet for $400 million in 2018 and plans to launch PYUSD payments in the first half of this year. By the end of 2025, the service will also allow merchants to settle PayPal checkout transactions in cryptocurrency. CEO Alex Chriss told Bloomberg, “We’ve been talking about blockchain for a decade—these concepts never become real until you actually start consuming it. I think that’s what we’ve enabled.”
2. Coinbase Whales Influencing Bitcoin Price Action
CryptoQuant co-founder and CEO Ki Young Ju revealed on X that Coinbase whales are driving Bitcoin price movements, with spot volume dominance increasing by 30% over seven days and Coinbase premium turning negative.
3. Bybit Hacker Uses New Cross-Chain Bridge
Beosin Trace has identified that the Bybit hacker has begun using a new cross-chain bridge platform, Maya Protocol, to transfer assets. Address 0xb72334cb9d0b614d30c4c60e2bd12ff5ed03c305 transferred all assets on February 26, 2025, at 15:33:47, with a new address 0x2290937a4498c96effb87b8371a33d108f8d433f beginning transfers at 15:34:59.
4. Circle Introduces Modular Wallets
Circle has announced the launch of Modular Wallets, a new variant of Programmable Wallets offering greater flexibility through smart contract accounts. Unlike User-Controlled and Developer-Controlled Wallets that provide end-to-end services, Modular Wallets allows developers to select only the components they need. Circle partnered with industry leaders including Alchemy, Trust Wallet, Quantstamp, and the Ethereum Foundation to co-author ERC-6900, a modular framework for smart contract accounts. Built on this open standard, Modular Wallets enables developers to create customized wallet experiences tailored to specific use cases.
5. Brazil’s Central Bank Updates on DREX Digital Currency
Brazil’s central bank announced that its digital currency project DREX has proven technologically challenging, requiring more intensive oversight in its second phase than initially expected. The bank stated it would only proceed with solutions ensuring privacy, data protection, and transaction security, adding that “the next steps will depend on the results of the second phase.”
▶ Buy Crypto at Bitget
CoinRank x Bitget – Sign up & Trade to get $20!
