DeFi has spent years optimizing AMM curves, fee models and routing logic, yet one fundamental issue has remained largely untouched: most liquidity in automated market makers does not actually work. The majority of capital deposited into pools sits unused, fragmented across dozens of pairs and protocols. At Devconnect Buenos Aires, 1inch unveiled Aqua, a protocol designed to challenge that limitation directly.

Instead of locking assets into separate pools, Aqua enables a single wallet balance to support multiple strategies simultaneously. It introduces a shared-liquidity architecture that could reshape how capital efficiency and yield generation function across the ecosystem. With developers, researchers and protocol builders gathered in Buenos Aires, the timing was deliberate.

In this interview, we speak with Sergej Kunz, co-founder of 1inch, about what Aqua is, how it works, and why it represents one of the most significant shifts in liquidity design since 1inch introduced aggregation in 2019.

Why did you choose Devconnect Buenos Aires as the moment to introduce Aqua?

Sergej Kunz:
Devconnect gathers a technical audience that understands what goes into building and securing a protocol. Aqua needs exactly that level of scrutiny. Presenting it here allows us to talk directly to developers, researchers, and security experts who can challenge the model, test it and eventually build on it.

The choice makes sense. Aqua isn’t a marketing product ; it’s infrastructure, and Devconnect is one of the few events where infrastructure launches truly land with the right crowd.

For readers who haven’t followed the announcement closely: what is Aqua? And why this approach?

Sergej Kunz:
Aqua addresses a core problem in DeFi: around 80 to 90 percent of capital sitting in liquidity pools isn’t actually working. It’s there to support the AMM curve, but it does not actively generate value. With Aqua, users don’t have to lock assets in separate pools. Assets stay in the wallet and can support multiple strategies at the same time. Think of it as a virtual DEX engine running inside your wallet, while remaining fully self-custodial.

In other words, Aqua changes the assumption that liquidity must be fragmented across dozens of pools. It lets one balance behave like several without compromising security.

So how does that translate into higher capital efficiency?

Sergej Kunz:
With traditional AMMs, if you want to support several trading pairs, you divide your liquidity into multiple buckets. That reduces utilization. With Aqua, the full amount of an asset can work across multiple AIMM strategies in parallel. The result is higher liquidity depth and significantly higher yield. Our backtests show returns increasing five times or more, and shared liquidity can push that effect up to fifteen times compared to legacy AMMs.

This is where Aqua becomes more than a conceptual improvement: it directly affects LP earnings.

Who is Aqua intended for at this stage?

Sergej Kunz:
Right now, this release is for developers, security experts and researchers. They’re the ones who will probe the protocol. When the production version goes live, it will target liquidity providers who want higher yield with less fragmentation.

What was the reaction like at Devconnect?

Sergej Kunz:
The community here is extremely engaged. Many developers visited the booth wanting to understand how one liquidity position can operate across several strategies. Even very technical attendees were surprised this approach hadn’t been implemented before. Their feedback already helped us sharpen how we explain Aqua ahead of my upcoming talk.

The engagement shows that shared liquidity is still unfamiliar territory but also that the demand for a more efficient model is clear.

Is there anything comparable to Aqua in today’s market?

Sergej Kunz:
No. This is a new architectural model in DeFi. In 2019, 1inch solved fragmentation for takers with aggregation. Aqua solves fragmentation for makers, the liquidity providers. Some projects explored similar ideas, but no one delivered a working shared-liquidity system with such simple integration. Developers can use it with just a few lines of code.

What should the ecosystem expect from 1inch going into 2026?

Sergej Kunz:
This year was intense. We introduced Solana support for intent-based swaps, rolled out cross-chain capabilities and rebranded to reflect our shift toward serving not only Web3 but also traditional companies. We believe every future business will rely on Web3 infrastructure the same way every modern business relies on the internet. Aqua’s full production release is planned for the end of this year or early next year, along with an interface and third-party builders already preparing integrations. And yes, there are additional protocols in the pipeline.

What is your key takeaway from Devconnect this year?

Sergej Kunz:
Many teams believe they compete with each other, but in reality we build different pieces of the same infrastructure. Several developers approached us concerned that Aqua might disrupt their work. My message to everyone is that we are all partners. If we focus on solving foundational problems, the ecosystem becomes easier to use for traditional industries as well.

Conclusion

Aqua marks a meaningful shift in how DeFi thinks about liquidity design. For years, protocols have competed on curve optimizations, fees and routing mechanisms while quietly accepting that most liquidity sits inactive. By introducing a shared-liquidity architecture that allows one balance to serve multiple strategies, 1inch is pushing the conversation toward a more efficient and more composable future.

The timing is notable. As the industry moves deeper into intent-based execution, cross-chain liquidity and institutional-grade infrastructure, the need for capital to work harder and not just sit untouched becomes increasingly clear. Aqua fits directly into that transition. It gives developers a new primitive to build on and gives liquidity providers a model that aligns yield with actual utilization instead of fragmentation.

Whether Aqua becomes a new standard will depend on how fast the ecosystem adopts it, how builders integrate it and how the production version performs once live. But one thing is certain: introducing a protocol that rewrites the assumptions of AMM liquidity at the end of 2025 sets the tone for a very different 2026. If 1inch delivers on the roadmap Sergej outlines, Aqua could influence not just individual protocols but the underlying architecture of DeFi itself.

The post Aqua, The First Shared Liquidity and the Next Leap in DeFi: A Conversation with 1inch Co-founder Sergej Kunz appeared first on BeInCrypto.

A US court sentenced a man to five years in prison for his leading role in a $9.4 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.

He was also ordered to pay over $1 million in forfeiture and over $170,000 in restitution.

Wolf Capital CEO Found Guilty

Travis Ford, a 36-year-old resident of Glenpool, Oklahoma, was the CEO of Wolf Capital Trading LLC, a cryptocurrency investment firm that raised nearly $10 million from around 2,8000 investors. 

According to the US Department of Justice, Ford spent 2023 soliciting investments through his website and various online promotions. He portrayed himself as an experienced trader capable of generating daily returns ranging from 1% to 2% for investors. 

The U.S. Department of Justice has sentenced Wolf Capital Crypto Trading CEO Travis Ford to five years in prison for a $9.4 million crypto Ponzi scheme, ordering over $1 million in forfeiture and $170,000 in restitution after he admitted to defrauding about 2,800 investors.…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) November 14, 2025

During Ford’s court process, prosecutors argued that he ultimately diverted and misappropriated those funds for personal use and to support his co-conspirators.

In January, Ford admitted guilt to a single charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As part of his plea, he acknowledged knowing that the investment returns he advertised could not be consistently delivered.

This case marks yet another crypto-related Ponzi scheme to surface in the headlines in recent months.

Crypto Fraud Surges Worldwide

In recent months, several major crypto Ponzi schemes have reappeared in headlines worldwide. 

A similar case came last month, when Thai authorities arrested Chinese national Liang Ai-Bing in Bangkok. He is accused of helping run the FINTOCH scheme, which allegedly stole more than $31 million from nearly 100 investors across Asia. Officials say the operation spanned multiple countries and relied on aggressive online marketing.

In August, a New York court issued another major ruling. Judges ordered EminiFX founder Eddy Alexandre to repay $228 million after regulators determined his AI-themed platform was a large-scale fraud. The scheme heavily targeted immigrant communities in the United States. 

A third case surfaced weeks earlier in Detroit, when city officials sued Florida-based RealT for selling tokenized shares of homes it never owned. The company raised roughly $2.72 million from investors through these offerings. 

While Ford’s conviction highlights a tougher stance from authorities, the wave of recent cases makes clear that crypto fraud is spreading faster than enforcement can keep up.

The post US Man Behind $9.4 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme Learns His Fate in Court appeared first on BeInCrypto.

For the first time in the company’s history, Strategy’s market value has fallen below the net asset value of its Bitcoin holdings.

This reversal means that the total value of the Bitcoin it owns is now less than the total debt the company took on to acquire it. Analysts worry that if bearish conditions continue, Strategy could enter into a death spiral.

Debt Load Turns Into Liability

Bitcoin’s sharp decline today is being closely tied to mounting pressure on Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), the largest corporate holder of the asset. 

Market sentiment shifted abruptly after Bitcoin broke below the $100,000 threshold, trading near $95,562 at the time of writing. The downturn intensified concerns about Strategy’s leveraged position, adding pressure to an already fragile market environment.

This is why BTC is nuking:

For the FIRST TIME EVER @MicroStrategy has gone below 1 NAV.

Meaning that Saylor's BTC holdings are worth less than their total debt.

Traders are front-running the death spiral of $MSTR and its eventual BTC force selling. pic.twitter.com/uLTmeidZVU

— Derivatives Monke (@Derivatives_Ape) November 13, 2025

The shakeup also renewed questions about the long-term viability of its allocation model, which relies heavily on aggressive leverage. Chairman Michael Saylor uses billions in borrowed capital to expand the company’s Bitcoin holdings, magnifying both gains and risks.

When Bitcoin rises, that leverage amplifies gains. But when it falls, the company’s debt load becomes a point of vulnerability.

This playbook has raised fresh concerns among traders that Strategy could slip into what some call a “death spiral.” Falling BTC prices are steadily eroding the value of the company’s collateral.

In that scenario, the company could be forced to sell part of its holdings to meet its obligations. Even if such a scenario never materializes, the possibility alone is enough for market participants to reposition.

Saylor Addresses Selling Speculation

Beyond Strategy’s structural leverage risk, market participants also worry about the impact the market would suffer if Saylor were to unload some of his holdings.

Strategy currently owns 641,692 BTC, or roughly 3% of the total circulating supply. If the company were forced to liquidate a substantial portion of that stash, the resulting increase in supply could significantly impact the market.

We are ₿uying.pic.twitter.com/6g11E9G6pO

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) November 14, 2025

The growing concern pushed Saylor to address speculation about a possible Bitcoin sell-off. In an interview with CNBC, the Strategy founder reiterated his long-term conviction in Bitcoin and dismissed the rumors of a sell-off. 

“My view is [that] Bitcoin is going to outperform gold, it’s going to outperform the S&P, it is digital capital, and so if you’re a long-term investor, this is the place to be,” Saylor said. 

Despite his confidence, today’s developments inevitably raise concerns about structural vulnerabilities in Strategy’s accumulation strategy.

The post MicroStrategy Now Owes More Than Its Bitcoin Is Worth appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Criminals in Australia are impersonating law enforcement officers and using forged cybercrime reports to scam people into believing their personal data has been compromised. 

Then, hackers pressure victims into transferring their crypto to scam-controlled wallets, draining their funds.

Scammers Exploit Fake Police Reports

Australian authorities have issued a warning after uncovering a scam in which cybercriminals impersonate federal police to steal cryptocurrency.

The AFP-led cybercrime coordination center has detected a series of schemes in which scammers obtain personal information and use it to lodge fake cybercrime reports through the government’s ReportCyber portal.

Scammers then reportedly call victims and claim their data appeared in a cryptocurrency-related breach. The scammers share a real-looking reference number and direct victims to check it online. The report appears in the system, which makes the call seem legitimate.

A second caller, pretending to be from the victim’s crypto platform, urges them to move their assets into a supposed cold storage wallet.

Officials emphasized that genuine law enforcement officers will never request access to cryptocurrency accounts, seed phrases, or banking details.

This case highlights a growing problem, as scammers are increasingly using social engineering and spoofed phone numbers to deceive victims.

Social Engineering Threats Continue Growing

The Australian scam emerges amid a clear global escalation in social engineering attacks targeting cryptocurrency holders.

🚨Crypto crime is rising fast, bad actors now spend 14x higher fees to stay hidden

Report By @chainalysis

Crypto Theft in 2025 (So Far)
-> $2.17 Billion Stolen by Mid-July 2025
– > Already more than all of 2024

Major Hack: Bybit (North Korea-backed)
–> $1.5 billion stolen… pic.twitter.com/QxFwoxEhYa

— Kashif Raza (@simplykashif) July 18, 2025

In August 2025, a victim lost $91 million worth of Bitcoin after scammers impersonated support staff from Coinbase and major crypto services, marking one of the largest single thefts of its kind. 

Earlier, in the United Kingdom, a fraudster posing as a senior police officer deceived another victim. The user lost $2.8 million in Bitcoin through a fake cold-storage website. 

In May, a global phishing network impersonating Coinbase stole over $20 million by directing users to spoofed support sites. 

Collectively, these cases demonstrate the increasing scale and sophistication of social engineering attacks in the cryptocurrency sector.

The post A New Trend In Crypto Scam – Posing As Police To Steal Millions appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Analysts warn that several subtle market signals suggest Bitcoin may be approaching the start of a bear market in November. 

Selling pressure from long-term holders, weakening correlation behavior with tech stocks, and Bitcoin’s failure to hold key technical levels are all indicating a fading of bullish momentum. These trends indicate growing downside risk even amid supportive macro conditions.

Early Warning Signs

Market analysts are increasingly concerned that Bitcoin’s broader uptrend may be weakening. One of the clearest warning signs is coming from long-term holders.

Since mid-year, veteran investors and early whales have been steadily selling their positions, a trend that has accelerated in the past year.

Long-term $BTC holders are accelerating their distribution, with supply declining fast and net position change falling sharply into negative territory.
LTHs are booking profits as bulls defend $100k. https://t.co/yatqA1O7nd pic.twitter.com/rZ8XMSRZXR

— glassnode (@glassnode) November 13, 2025

This shift has triggered a danger signal on the Coin Days Destroyed (CDD) indicator. The metric shows when older, inactive coins suddenly move or get sold.

This month, negative CDD readings have coincided with ETF outflows, resulting in a combination of weak demand and rising supply.

“Long-term holders might be distributing into weakness, not strength—a potential bearish signal,” community analyst Maartunn said in a social media post.

While selling pressure from long-term holders is significant, a broader concern arises when examining Bitcoin’s behavior in relation to traditional financial markets.

A Weak Response to Bullish Catalysts

Wintermute data shows that Bitcoin still moves closely with the Nasdaq-100, maintaining a correlation near 0.8.

Yet this relationship is becoming asymmetric. When the Nasdaq drops, Bitcoin tends to fall more sharply. When the Nasdaq rallies, Bitcoin reacts only mildly.

This imbalance reflects behavior observed in earlier bearish periods, such as the 2022 crypto winter. It suggests that investors treat Bitcoin as a high-risk asset during downturns but are hesitant to reward it when conditions improve.

“Historically, this kind of negative asymmetry doesn’t appear near tops but rather shows up near bottoms. When BTC falls harder on bad equity days than it rises on good ones, it usually signals exhaustion, not strength,” Wintermute’s Jasper de Maere said in a blog post.

Adding to this caution is Bitcoin’s recent failure to rebound from its 50-week moving average. This is the first time since the previous cycle bottom that BTC has not bounced from that long-term support. 

For the first time since the bottom of the bear market, Bitcoin has not bounced off the 50w MA.

Prior to this month, Bitcoin has bounced of the 50w MA three times.

Each time, it was followed by a large move to the upside. This time, it seems to be changing the trend. https://t.co/vR4qJsXPOq pic.twitter.com/2nTuBkCTdT

— ₿rett (@brett_eth) November 12, 2025

In earlier stages of the cycle, Bitcoin recovered from this level three times, each recovery triggering a strong rally. The latest failure to reclaim the 50-week MA suggests that a potential trend reversal may be forming.

Although not conclusive on their own, these signals become more notable because Bitcoin is declining despite government stimulus and despite Federal Reserve rate cuts. Normally, both developments act as strong bullish catalysts. 

The post The Silent Signals Hinting Bitcoin’s Next Bear Market May Start in November appeared first on BeInCrypto.

The Czech National Bank (CNB) has entered the digital asset market for the first time on Thursday, allocating $1 million to build a blockchain-based pilot portfolio. This acquisition was conducted separately from the bank’s official international reserves.

The CNB emphasized that it has no intention of adding Bitcoin or other digital assets to its official international reserves. Instead, it made this move to prepare for a future in which digital currencies are more widely used.

Czechia Launches Pilot Crypto Portfolio

Along with its Bitcoin exposure, the CNB’s pilot portfolio will also hold a USD-denominated stablecoin and a tokenized deposit recorded on the blockchain. 

The bank noted that the size of this portfolio will remain fixed. Its goal is to gain hands-on experience managing digital assets.

The CNB will examine how to manage private keys and set up multi-level approvals. It will also conduct crisis simulations, review security procedures, and verify compliance with AML regulations.

The Czech National Bank has purchased digital assets for the first time in its history. 🌐

Through this USD 1 million investment, the CNB has created a test portfolio of digital assets based on blockchain. 🔗 In addition to bitcoin, the portfolio will include a test investment… pic.twitter.com/H6qj9HJHRw

— Česká národní banka (@CNB_cz) November 13, 2025

The board approved the purchase last month after reviewing an analysis exploring potential investments outside traditional asset classes. That report concluded that digital assets are developing rapidly and are likely to see broader adoption over time. 

“The aim was to test decentralised bitcoin from the central bank’s perspective and to evaluate its potential role in diversifying our reserves,” said CNB Governor Aleš Michl in a press release.

Although the move may seem small in scale, it carries wider significance.

CNB Pushes Forward Despite ECB Pushback

Central banks rarely buy digital assets directly, and the CNB’s decision signals a shift toward hands-on understanding rather than theoretical observation. The pilot does not signal a change in reserve strategy, but it does show that the bank wants to build internal expertise before digital assets become mainstream in payments.

The CNB’s decision comes shortly after Luxembourg’s sovereign wealth fund disclosed that it had allocated one percent of its portfolio to Bitcoin-based securities. That move made Luxembourg the first European country to take such a step. 

The CNB’s announcement now shows that Luxembourg wasn’t the only member state exploring direct exposure to digital assets.

JUST IN: 🚨🇪🇺 ECB President Christine Lagarde says #Bitcoin will NOT enter the reserves of any of the Central Banks of the General Council. pic.twitter.com/5yb55mDgHI

— Subjective Views (@subjectiveviews) January 30, 2025

Czechia’s decision came as something of a surprise. In January, the CNB announced that it was considering adding Bitcoin as a reserve asset. Just one day later, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde dismissed the idea, stating firmly that Bitcoin had no place in the European central banking system.

The CNB’s announcement today marks a subtle pushback against the ECB’s stance on crypto.

The board has found a way to pursue its interest in Bitcoin without straining its relationship with Lagarde. By keeping the asset outside its official reserves, it can experiment without challenging ECB policy.

The post Czechia Buys $1 Million In Bitcoin –– But It’s Not Building a Reserve appeared first on BeInCrypto.