A coalition of more than 125 cryptocurrency companies and advocacy groups has launched a coordinated offensive against US banking lobbyists. The group includes major crypto firms such as Coinbase, Gemini, and Kraken.

The move escalates a high-stakes battle over who has the right to pay interest on stablecoin deposits.

Why Banks Are Lobbying to Tweak the GENIUS Act

The main bone of contention is that the GENIUS Act explicitly prohibits stablecoin issuers like Tether from paying dividends.

However, there is currently a loophole that allows third-party platforms, such as crypto exchanges, to pass this stablecoin yield on to users.

As a result, traditional banking groups are aggressively lobbying to close this avenue, arguing that it constitutes regulatory arbitrage.

The banking lobby contends that if unregulated fintech platforms are allowed to offer high yields on cash-equivalent tokens, it poses a systemic risk to the traditional financial architecture.

In briefings with Capitol Hill, they warned that preserving the current rules could trigger a massive capital flight. They estimated potential deposit outflows of up to $6.6 trillion from commercial banks to digital asset platforms.

Such a shift, they argue, would hollow out the capital base that banks use to underwrite mortgages and business loans. That erosion would force lenders to shrink capacity and raise borrowing costs for American households.

Crypto Coalition Fights Back

In a December 18 letter to the US Senate Committee on Banking, the crypto coalition urged lawmakers to reject attempts to expand the scope of the recently enacted GENIUS Act.

“Reopening this issue before the GENIUS Act’s implementation would weaken the certainty that defines Congressional-enacted regulatory frameworks and introduce unnecessary risk into the broader market structure effort. It would signal that even recently enacted compromises remain subject to almost immediate renegotiation, undermining the predictability that markets, consumers, and innovators rely on,” the group argued.

The crypto coalition also dismissed the banks’ concerns about stability as a protectionist effort to maintain a monopoly on low-interest deposits.

The signatories argued that banks are merely trying to protect their profit margins by preventing consumers from accessing the 4% yields currently available in the Treasury market.

“Stablecoins rewards programs enable platforms to share value directly with users, helping households benefit from higher-rate environments rather than absorbing losses to inflation,” the crypto firms argued.

The Banksters are trying to prohibit platforms like @Gemini, @coinbase, and @krakenfx from offering stablecoin rewards to you. The GENIUS Act already settled this issue with an elegant compromise — stablecoin issuers cannot offer rewards, but intermediary platforms like Gemini,… https://t.co/QpdiQfaD0X

— Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) December 19, 2025

Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini, also publicly slammed the banking lobby’s maneuver, characterizing it as an attempt to “relitigate a settled legislative issue.”

The post Hundreds of Crypto Firms Slam US Bank’s Lobby to Prohibit Stablecoin Yields  appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Ethereum core developers have revealed plans to execute two major network upgrades in 2026, codenamed “Glamsterdam” and “Hegota.”

This decision marks the blockchain network’s continued strategic pivot toward a faster release cadence. The move is intended to establish a predictable biannual upgrade schedule and strengthen its competitive position against high-throughput rivals.

Ethereum Shifts to Biannual Upgrades to Fend Off High-Speed Rivals

The roadmap positions “Glamsterdam” for release in the first half of 2026, arriving fast on the heels of the recent “Fusaka” hard fork.

According to developers, Glamsterdam will focus on immediate scalability and efficiency fixes, primarily through gas optimizations and “Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation” (ePBS).

This technical upgrade aims to separate the roles of block builders and block proposers at the protocol level. It reduces censorship risks and further decentralizes the network.

Meanwhile, the developers intend to finalize the full feature list for Glamsterdam immediately following the holiday break.

On the other hand, the second phase of the 2026 sprint, “Hegota,” targets the latter half of the year.

The upgrade’s name reflects its dual nature, combining the “Bogota” execution-layer update with the “Heze” consensus-layer update.

Christine Kim, a former Vice President at Galaxy Digital who now closely tracks protocol governance, noted that scoping discussions for Hegota will commence on the January 8 All Core Developers call.

These sessions will determine the fork’s “headliner” features, with a finalized scope expected by late February.

Other Planned Updates

Parallel to these structural changes, the Ethereum Foundation is aggressively reorienting its long-term research toward security hardening.

Researcher George Kadianakis confirmed that the network aims to achieve “128-bit provable security” by year-end 2026. The cryptographic standard is considered essential for institutional-grade financial applications.

“For zkEVMs, this isn’t academic. A soundness issue is not like other security issues. If an attacker can forge a proof, they can forge anything: mint tokens from nothing, rewrite state, steal funds. For an L1 zkEVM securing hundreds of billions of dollars, the security margin is not negotiable,” he stated.

The Foundation has linked this initiative to specific milestones, including a “soundcalc” integration in February and full alignment with the Glamsterdam hard fork in May.

Meanwhile, these efforts aim to remove the technical friction that currently limits Ethereum’s mass adoption.

To bridge this gap, developers are implementing a strategy to lower entry barriers and match the intuitive simplicity of mainstream consumer applications.

The post Ethereum Developers Plan ‘Glamsterdam’ and ‘Hegota’ Upgrades for 2026 appeared first on BeInCrypto.

A cryptocurrency trader lost $50 million in Tether’s USDT after falling victim to a sophisticated “address poisoning” attack.

On December 20, blockchain security firm Scam Sniffer reported that the attack began after the victim sent a small $50 test transaction to his own address.

How The Address Poisoning Scheme Unfolded

Notably, traders use this standard precaution to confirm that they are sending funds to the correct address.

However, that activity alerted an automated script controlled by the attacker, which immediately generated a “spoofed” wallet address.

🚨💔 A victim lost ~$50M after copying the wrong address from contaminated transfer history. https://t.co/ur4SJ0cvN0 pic.twitter.com/6K5ftJzC1G

— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) December 20, 2025

The fake address is designed to match the intended recipient’s address at the beginning and end of the alphanumeric string. The differences appear only in the middle characters, making the fraud difficult to detect at a glance.

The attacker then sent a negligible amount of cryptocurrency from the spoofed address to the victim’s wallet.

That transaction effectively placed the fraudulent address into the victim’s recent transaction history, where many wallet interfaces display only truncated address details.

Relying on that visual shorthand, the victim copied the address from their transaction history without checking the full string. So, instead of transferring funds to a secure personal wallet, the trader sent 49,999,950 USDT directly to the attacker.

After receiving the funds, the malicious attacker quickly moved to limit the risk of asset seizure, according to on-chain records. The attacker immediately swapped the stolen USDT, which its issuer can freeze, for the DAI stablecoin using MetaMask Swap.

The attacker then converted the funds into roughly 16,680 ETH.

To further obscure the transaction trail, the attacker deposited the ETH into Tornado Cash. The decentralized mixing service is designed to sever the visible link between sending and receiving addresses.

Victim Offers $1 Million Bounty

In an attempt to recover the assets, the victim sent an on-chain message offering a $1 million white-hat bounty in return for 98% of the stolen funds.

“We have officially filed a criminal case. With the assistance of law enforcement, cybersecurity agencies, and multiple blockchain protocols, we have already gathered substantial and actionable intelligence regarding your activities,” the message stated.

The message warned that the victim would pursue “relentless” legal action if the attacker failed to comply within 48 hours.

“If you fail to comply: We will escalate the matter through legal and international law enforcement channels. Your identity will be uncovered and shared with the appropriate authorities. We will relentlessly pursue criminal and civil action until full justice is served. This is not a request. You are being given one final chance to avoid irreversible consequences,” the victim stated.

The incident underscores a persistent vulnerability in how digital wallets display transaction information and how attackers exploit user behavior rather than flaws in blockchain code.

Security analysts have repeatedly warned that wallet providers’ practice of abbreviating long address strings for usability and design reasons creates a persistent risk.

If this problem is not solved, attackers are likely to continue exploiting users’ tendency to verify only the first and last few characters of an address.

The post Crypto Trader Suffers $50 million Loss Following Address Poisoning Attack appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Senator Cynthia Lummis, the US Senate’s most prominent cryptocurrency advocate, announced on December 19 that she will not seek reelection in 2026.

The decision sets a definitive deadline on her legislative agenda, creating a two-year sprint to enshrine digital asset regulations before she leaves office in January 2027.

Lummis’ Impending Retirement Adds Pressure to Codify Crypto Laws

Lummis cited the “exhausting” pace of recent sessions as the primary driver for her exit. “I am a devout legislator, but I feel like a sprinter in a marathon,” she wrote, admitting she lacks the energy reserves for another six-year term.

Thank you, Wyoming! Serving our state has been the honor of my life. – Cynthia Lummis pic.twitter.com/FoRTlHaHxI

— Cynthia Lummis 🦬 (@CynthiaMLummis) December 19, 2025

Her impending departure adds immediate urgency to the crypto legislative calendar.

Lummis has been a major player behind several pivotal crypto bills, including the crypto market structure bill and the US National Bitcoin Strategic Reserve (SBR). Her efforts also stood against the SEC’s “regulation by enforcement” approach under Gensler.

While the Trump administration has reversed several anti-crypto measures and advanced pro-crypto goals through executive action, Sen. Lummis has welcomed those steps.

She has consistently argued, however, that durable progress requires legislative codification rather than policy set by executive order alone.

So, her final term will focus on bridging the gap between temporary executive orders and permanent congressional law to protect the industry from future political reversals.

“I look forward to throwing all my energy into bringing important legislation to [Trump’s] desk in 2026 and into retaining commonsense Republican control of the US Senate,” Lummis said.

Meanwhile, the announcement triggered immediate accolades from industry heavyweights. Some argued that her exit would leave a crypto leadership vacuum in Washington.

Collin McCune, Head of Government Affairs at a16z, highlighted her national impact and noted her role in advancing crypto legislation.

“Senator Lummis fought for Wyoming every day for many years. Beyond that, her leadership created space for innovators and builders across the country. Crypto would not be where it is today without her fight in the Congress,” he added.

Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, offered a detailed retrospective on Lummis’s legacy, crediting her with making Wyoming the first jurisdiction to take a “technically informed approach” to digital assets.

Sethi praised Lummis for championing frameworks that aligned with “technical reality” rather than legacy assumptions. He said the approach helped create operating certainty across markets, from Bitcoin to emerging “memetic assets.”

“Senator Lummis advocacy for Bitcoin and digital assets has been grounded, patient, and long term. Not performative. Not reactive. Focused on competitiveness, resilience, and ensuring the United States remains a place where open systems can be built and operated responsibly,” Sethi said.

The post Pro-Crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis Won’t Run for Re-Election appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Sebuah koalisi yang terdiri dari lebih dari 125 perusahaan aset kripto dan kelompok advokasi telah meluncurkan serangan terkoordinasi terhadap pelobi perbankan AS. Grup ini mencakup perusahaan kripto besar seperti Coinbase, Gemini, dan Kraken.

Langkah ini meningkatkan pertarungan besar mengenai siapa yang berhak untuk membayar bunga atas simpanan stablecoin.

Mengapa bank berupaya melobi agar GENIUS Act diubah

Permasalahan utama adalah GENIUS Act secara tegas melarang penerbit stablecoin seperti Tether untuk membayar dividen.

namun, saat ini ada celah yang memungkinkan platform pihak ketiga, seperti exchange aset kripto, untuk menyalurkan hasil dari stablecoin ini kepada pengguna.

Akibatnya, kelompok perbankan tradisional secara agresif melobi untuk menutup jalan ini, karena mereka menyatakan bahwa hal ini adalah arbitrase regulasi.

Lobi perbankan berpendapat jika platform fintech yang tidak teregulasi diizinkan menawarkan hasil tinggi pada token setara kas, maka hal tersebut bisa menimbulkan risiko sistemik bagi arsitektur keuangan tradisional.

Di dalam pemaparan bersama Capitol Hill, mereka memperingatkan bahwa mempertahankan aturan saat ini dapat memicu arus keluar modal besar-besaran. Mereka memperkirakan potensi arus keluar simpanan hingga US$6,6 triliun dari bank komersial ke platform aset digital.

Pergeseran sebesar itu, ujar mereka, akan mengikis basis modal yang digunakan bank untuk mendukung kredit hipotek dan pinjaman bisnis. Akibatnya, bank harus mengurangi penyaluran kredit dan menaikkan biaya pinjaman bagi rumah tangga Amerika.

Koalisi Crypto Melawan Balik

Pada surat tertanggal 18 Desember kepada Komite Perbankan Senat AS, koalisi kripto mendesak para legislator untuk menolak upaya memperluas cakupan GENIUS Act yang baru disahkan.

“Membuka kembali isu ini sebelum GENIUS Act diimplementasi akan melemahkan kepastian yang menjadi ciri kerangka regulasi hasil keputusan Kongres dan membawa risiko tidak perlu terhadap upaya penguatan struktur pasar secara luas. Ini juga akan mengisyaratkan bahwa kompromi yang baru saja disahkan pun tetap bisa segera dinegosiasi ulang, sehingga mencederai prediktabilitas yang diandalkan pasar, konsumen, dan inovator,” terang koalisi tersebut.

Koalisi kripto juga menepis kekhawatiran bank soal stabilitas dan menilainya hanya sebagai upaya protektif agar tetap memonopoli simpanan berbunga rendah.

Para penandatangan surat itu menjelaskan bahwa bank hanya ingin melindungi margin keuntungan mereka dengan mencegah konsumen mengakses imbal hasil 4% yang sekarang tersedia di pasar Treasury.

“Program rewards stablecoin memungkinkan platform berbagi nilai langsung kepada pengguna, sehingga rumah tangga bisa menikmati manfaat dari lingkungan suku bunga tinggi alih-alih menanggung kerugian akibat inflasi,” papar perusahaan kripto tersebut.

The Banksters are trying to prohibit platforms like @Gemini, @coinbase, and @krakenfx from offering stablecoin rewards to you. The GENIUS Act already settled this issue with an elegant compromise — stablecoin issuers cannot offer rewards, but intermediary platforms like Gemini,… https://t.co/QpdiQfaD0X

— Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) December 19, 2025

Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder Gemini, juga secara terbuka mengkritisi manuver lobi bank dengan menyebutnya sebagai upaya untuk “memperdebatkan kembali isu legislatif yang sudah selesai.”

Para pengembang inti Ethereum telah mengungkapkan rencana untuk melakukan dua upgrade besar jaringan pada tahun 2026, dengan kode nama “Glamsterdam” dan “Hegota”.

Keputusan ini menandai langkah strategis berkelanjutan jaringan blockchain tersebut untuk mempercepat jadwal perilisan upgrade. Langkah ini bertujuan agar ada jadwal upgrade dua kali setahun secara teratur dan membuat posisi Ethereum lebih kompetitif melawan sejumlah rival berkapasitas transaksi tinggi.

Ethereum lakukan upgrade dua kali setahun agar bisa bersaing dengan rival berkecepatan tinggi

Roadmap menargetkan “Glamsterdam” akan dirilis pada paruh pertama 2026, tidak lama setelah hard fork “Fusaka” yang baru-baru ini terjadi.

Menurut para pengembang, Glamsterdam akan berfokus pada perbaikan skalabilitas dan efisiensi secara langsung, terutama lewat optimasi gas dan penerapan “Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation” (ePBS).

Upgrade teknis ini bertujuan memisahkan peran builder blok dan proposer blok di tingkat protokol. Hal ini mengurangi risiko sensor dan makin mendesentralisasikan jaringan.

Sementara itu, para pengembang juga berencana untuk segera merampungkan daftar fitur penuh Glamsterdam setelah libur akhir tahun.

Di sisi lain, tahap kedua dari sprint 2026, yaitu “Hegota”, menyasar paruh kedua tahun tersebut.

Nama upgrade ini mencerminkan dua gabungan pembaruan, yaitu pembaruan layer eksekusi “Bogota” dengan pembaruan layer konsensus “Heze”.

Christine Kim, mantan Wakil Presiden di Galaxy Digital yang kini aktif memantau tata kelola protokol, menuturkan bahwa diskusi lingkup pembaruan Hegota akan dimulai pada panggilan All Core Developers tanggal 8 Januari.

Sesi-sesi ini akan menentukan fitur utama dari hard fork tersebut, dengan lingkup resmi yang diperkirakan rampung di akhir Februari.

Update Lain yang Sudah Direncanakan

Bersamaan dengan perubahan struktural ini, Ethereum Foundation secara agresif tengah mengarahkan ulang riset jangka panjangnya demi memperkuat keamanan jaringan.

Peneliti George Kadianakis mengonfirmasi bahwa tujuan jaringan ini ingin mencapai “keamanan terbukti 128-bit” di akhir tahun 2026. Standar kriptografi tersebut dianggap sangat penting untuk aplikasi finansial tingkat institusi.

“For zkEVMs, this isn’t academic. A soundness issue is not like other security issues. If an attacker can forge a proof, they can forge anything: mint tokens from nothing, rewrite state, steal funds. For an L1 zkEVM securing hundreds of billions of dollars, the security margin is not negotiable,” ucapnya .

Foundation tersebut mengaitkan inisiatif ini dengan sejumlah target khusus, termasuk integrasi “soundcalc” di bulan Februari lalu sinkronisasi penuh dengan hard fork Glamsterdam di bulan Mei.

Upaya ini bertujuan untuk menghilangkan hambatan teknis yang saat ini masih membatasi adopsi massal Ethereum.

Untuk menjembatani hal ini, para pengembang pun menerapkan strategi guna menurunkan hambatan masuk dan menyesuaikan kemudahan aplikasi Ethereum layaknya aplikasi konsumen arus utama.

Seorang trader aset kripto kehilangan US$50 juta dalam USDT milik Tether setelah menjadi korban serangan “address poisoning” yang sangat canggih.

Pada 20 Desember, perusahaan keamanan blockchain Scam Sniffer melaporkan bahwa serangan ini bermula setelah korban mengirim transaksi uji coba kecil senilai US$50 ke alamat wallet miliknya sendiri.

Bagaimana skema address poisoning terjadi

Trader memang biasa menggunakan langkah pencegahan standar seperti ini untuk memastikan mereka mengirim dana ke alamat yang benar.

Namun, aktivitas itu justru memicu skrip otomatis milik penyerang, yang langsung membuat sebuah alamat wallet “spoofing”.

🚨💔 A victim lost ~$50M after copying the wrong address from contaminated transfer history. https://t.co/ur4SJ0cvN0 pic.twitter.com/6K5ftJzC1G

— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) December 20, 2025

Alamat palsu ini dirancang agar cocok dengan alamat tujuan di awal dan akhir deretan karakter alfanumerik. Perbedaan terletak hanya di bagian tengah, sehingga sangat sulit dideteksi sekilas.

Penyerang lalu mengirim sejumlah aset kripto yang sangat kecil dari alamat spoofing tersebut ke wallet korban.

Transaksi tersebut secara efektif menempatkan alamat palsu tadi ke dalam riwayat transaksi terbaru korban, di mana banyak tampilan wallet hanya memperlihatkan bagian alamat yang telah dipersingkat.

Mengandalkan tampilan singkat itu, korban menyalin alamat tersebut dari riwayat transaksi tanpa mengecek seluruh deretan karakter. Alhasil, alih-alih mengirim dana ke wallet pribadi yang aman, trader tersebut justru mengirim langsung 49.999.950 USDT ke penyerang.

Setelah menerima dana tersebut, penyerang jahat tersebut langsung bergerak untuk mengurangi risiko aset disita, menurut catatan on-chain. Penyerang pun segera menukar USDT hasil curian, yang dapat dibekukan oleh pihak penerbit, menjadi stablecoin DAI melalui MetaMask Swap.

Penyerang kemudian mengonversi dana tersebut menjadi sekitar 16.680 ETH.

Untuk semakin menyamarkan jejak transaksi, pelaku kemudian mendepositkan ETH ke Tornado Cash. Layanan mixing terdesentralisasi ini memang dirancang agar hubungan alamat pengirim dan penerima menjadi sulit dilacak.

Korban tawarkan bounty US$1.000.000

Dalam upaya memulihkan aset, korban mengirim pesan on-chain yang menawarkan bounty white-hat senilai US$1 juta jika penyerang mengembalikan 98% dana yang dicuri.

“We have officially filed a criminal case. With the assistance of law enforcement, cybersecurity agencies, and multiple blockchain protocols, we have already gathered substantial and actionable intelligence regarding your activities,” ujar pesan tersebut .

Pesan itu juga memperingatkan bahwa korban akan melakukan tindakan hukum “tanpa henti” jika penyerang tidak menggubris dalam waktu 48 jam.

“If you fail to comply: We will escalate the matter through legal and international law enforcement channels. Your identity will be uncovered and shared with the appropriate authorities. We will relentlessly pursue criminal and civil action until full justice is served. This is not a request. You are being given one final chance to avoid irreversible consequences,” terang korban.

Insiden ini menegaskan adanya kerentanan yang terus berulang pada sistem wallet digital yang menampilkan informasi transaksi — dan bagaimana penyerang mengeksploitasi perilaku pengguna, bukan celah di kode blockchain.

Analis keamanan telah berulang kali memperingatkan bahwa praktik penyedia wallet yang memangkas panjang alamat demi kepraktisan dan desain antarmuka justru menciptakan risiko besar yang berkelanjutan.

Jika masalah ini tidak segera diatasi, para penyerang hampir pasti akan terus memanfaatkan kebiasaan pengguna yang hanya mengecek beberapa karakter awal dan akhir dari sebuah alamat.

Senator Cynthia Lummis, politisi Senat AS yang paling dikenal mendukung aset kripto, mengumumkan pada 19 Desember bahwa ia tidak akan mencalonkan diri lagi pada 2026.

Keputusan ini menjadi tenggat yang pasti untuk agenda legislasinya, sehingga menciptakan dua tahun terakhir untuk memperjuangkan regulasi aset digital sebelum ia meninggalkan jabatannya pada Januari 2027.

Rencana Pensiun Lummis Menambah Tekanan untuk Mengatur Hukum Aset Kripto

Lummis menyebut bahwa ritme kerja yang “melelahkan” dalam beberapa sidang terakhir menjadi alasan utama keputusannya. “Saya adalah legislator yang taat, namun saya merasa seperti pelari jarak pendek di dalam maraton,” tulisnya, sambil mengakui bahwa ia tidak memiliki stamina lagi untuk masa jabatan enam tahun berikutnya.

Thank you, Wyoming! Serving our state has been the honor of my life. – Cynthia Lummis pic.twitter.com/FoRTlHaHxI

— Cynthia Lummis 🦬 (@CynthiaMLummis) December 19, 2025

Kepergiannya dalam waktu dekat membuat agenda regulasi kripto di parlemen menjadi lebih mendesak.

Lummis punya peran penting di sejumlah RUU kripto utama, seperti RUU struktur pasar aset kripto dan Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) nasional AS. Ia juga menentang pendekatan “regulasi melalui penegakan hukum” yang dilakukan SEC di bawah kepemimpinan Gensler.

Walaupun pemerintahan Trump telah membalikkan sejumlah kebijakan anti-kripto serta mendorong tujuan pro-kripto lewat aksi eksekutif, Senator Lummis menyambut langkah-langkah tersebut.

Namun ia juga selalu menegaskan, kemajuan yang bertahan lama harus lewat aturan yang dilembagakan oleh legislatif, bukan sekadar kebijakan dari keputusan eksekutif semata.

Karena itu, masa jabatannya terakhir ini akan fokus menjembatani celah antara perintah eksekutif yang bersifat sementara dengan hukum kongres yang bersifat tetap demi melindungi industri dari potensi pembalikan politik di masa depan.

“I look forward to throwing all my energy into bringing important legislation to [Trump’s] desk in 2026 and into retaining commonsense Republican control of the US Senate,” ujar Lummis.

Sementara itu, pengumuman ini langsung mendapat pujian dari para tokoh besar industri. Sebagian berpendapat kepergian Lummis akan meninggalkan kekosongan kepemimpinan kripto di Washington.

Collin McCune, Kepala Urusan Pemerintahan di a16z, menyoroti pengaruh Lummis secara nasional dan perannya mendorong legislasi kripto.

“Senator Lummis memperjuangkan Wyoming setiap hari selama bertahun-tahun. Selain itu, kepemimpinannya membuka ruang bagi inovator dan builder di seluruh negeri. Dunia kripto tidak mungkin seperti saat ini tanpa perjuangannya di Kongres,” tambahnya.

Arjun Sethi, co-CEO crypto exchange Kraken, memberikan ulasan mendalam terkait warisan Lummis, dan menyebut dirinya berjasa menjadikan Wyoming sebagai yurisdiksi pertama yang menerapkan pendekatan “berbasis pengetahuan teknis” pada aset digital.

Sethi memuji Lummis karena mengedepankan kerangka kerja yang sejalan dengan “realitas teknis” daripada asumsi lama. Ia mengatakan bahwa pendekatan ini membantu menciptakan kepastian operasional di berbagai pasar, baik pada Bitcoin sampai “aset memetik” yang baru muncul.

“Senator Lummis advocacy for Bitcoin and digital assets has been grounded, patient, and long term. Not performative. Not reactive. Focused on competitiveness, resilience, and ensuring the United States remains a place where open systems can be built and operated responsibly,” papar Sethi .

Kriminal siber Korea Utara melakukan perubahan strategi dalam kampanye rekayasa sosial mereka. Mereka telah mencuri lebih dari US$300 juta dengan menyamar sebagai tokoh industri terpercaya dalam pertemuan video palsu.

Peringatan yang diuraikan oleh peneliti keamanan MetaMask, Taylor Monahan (dikenal sebagai Tayvano), menjelaskan adanya “long-con” canggih yang menargetkan eksekutif aset kripto.

Bagaimana Rapat Palsu dari Korea Utara Menguras Wallet Aset Kripto

Menurut Monahan, kampanye ini berbeda dari serangan belakangan yang mengandalkan AI deepfake.

Sebaliknya, pelaku menggunakan cara yang lebih sederhana dengan memanfaatkan akun Telegram yang dibajak dan rekaman video loop dari wawancara asli.

🚨 WARNING (AGAIN)

DPRK threat actors are still rekting way too many of you via their fake Zoom / fake Teams meets.

They're taking over your Telegrams -> using them to rekt all your friends.

They've stolen over $300m via this method already.

Read this. Stop the cycle. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/tJTo9lkq0v

— Tay 💖 (@tayvano_) December 13, 2025

Serangan biasanya diawali setelah peretas mengambil alih akun Telegram yang dipercaya, sering kali milik seorang venture capitalist atau seseorang yang pernah ditemui korban di konferensi.

Lalu, pelaku jahat ini memanfaatkan riwayat percakapan untuk terlihat sah, lalu membujuk korban menuju panggilan video Zoom atau Microsoft Teams lewat tautan Calendly yang disamarkan.

Begitu pertemuan dimulai, korban melihat apa yang nampaknya merupakan video langsung dari kontak mereka. Padahal, itu sering kali hanyalah rekaman ulang dari podcast atau penampilan publik.

Biasanya, momen penentu terjadi setelah muncul masalah teknis yang sengaja diciptakan.

Setelah menyebutkan ada gangguan audio atau video, pelaku akan mendesak korban agar memperbaiki koneksi dengan mengunduh skrip tertentu atau memperbarui software development kit (SDK). File yang dikirim saat itu berisi malware berbahaya.

Begitu malware terpasang—biasanya berjenis Remote Access Trojan (RAT)—pelaku bisa memperoleh kendali penuh.

Malware ini menguras wallet aset kripto dan mencuri data sensitif, termasuk protokol keamanan internal serta token sesi Telegram, yang kemudian digunakan untuk menargetkan korban berikutnya dalam jaringan.

Berkaca pada hal ini, Monahan memperingatkan bahwa vektor serangan khusus ini memanfaatkan kesopanan profesional.

Para peretas mengandalkan tekanan psikologis dari “pertemuan bisnis” untuk membuat korban lengah, sehingga permintaan bantuan teknis rutin bisa berubah menjadi pelanggaran keamanan yang fatal.

Bagi pelaku industri, semua permintaan untuk mengunduh perangkat lunak saat panggilan kini dianggap sebagai sinyal serangan yang aktif.

Sementara itu, strategi “pertemuan palsu” ini merupakan bagian dari serangan yang lebih luas oleh aktor dari Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Mereka telah mencuri sekitar US$2 miliar dari sektor ini selama setahun terakhir, termasuk peretasan Bybit.

Cosmos Labs sedang melakukan pencarian mendesak untuk ekonom eksternal guna merancang ulang token ATOM di tengah harga aset kripto ini yang terus mengalami tekanan.

Menurut perusahaan tersebut, Cosmos SDK kini menjadi framework yang banyak digunakan untuk meluncurkan jaringan blockchain. Hal ini mencakup proyek-proyek yang terkait dengan perusahaan besar dan inisiatif pemerintah yang sering dijadikan bukti adanya minat dari “Fortune 500”.

Mengapa Cosmos ingin mengubah desain ATOM

Namun, karena perangkat lunak ini bersifat open source, para pengguna bisa meluncurkan chain independen dan berdaulat tanpa harus membayar biaya ataupun royalti ke Cosmos Hub.

Alhasil, para builder institusi bisa memakai teknologi inti jaringan tersebut tanpa harus menjadi holder atau berinteraksi dengan ATOM.

Request for Proposals: ATOM Tokenomics Research ⚛️

A tokenomics RFP invites qualified research firms to submit proposals to provide data-driven research supporting a redesign of ATOM’s economic model.

Applications are due January 15. Read more: https://t.co/96lGdAyCAI

— Cosmos Hub ⚛️ (@cosmoshub) December 12, 2025

Perusahaan pengembang blockchain ini ingin mengubah situasi tersebut dengan memperkenalkan “model berbasis pendapatan” yang baru. Pendekatan ini akan memonetisasi penggunaan, baik di dalam chain maupun di luar chain.

“Tujuan riset ini bukan merancang model tokenomik baru dari nol, tapi menyediakan dukungan riset sekaligus desain untuk model berbasis pendapatan yang dapat mensinergikan beragam sumber potensi pendapatan ATOM dengan update pada dinamika suplai dan jadwal inflasi ATOM. Pada akhirnya, utilitas ATOM akan ditentukan oleh biaya-biaya ini, baik dalam bentuk buyback ATOM, reward staking ATOM, mekanisme lain, atau kombinasi dari beberapa hal tersebut,” demikian ujar mereka.

Di sisi lain, langkah ini juga menandai perubahan strategi bagi ekosistem Cosmos.

Cosmos Labs mengakui bahwa Interchain Security, framework keamanan bersama yang pernah dipromosikan sebagai penopang nilai utama ATOM, “gagal menemukan market fit produk.”

“Interchain Security sedang dalam proses dihentikan, dan arsitektur ekonomi Hub masih relatif terlepas dari aktivitas utama ekosistem Cosmos. Hingga saat ini, belum ada model biaya komprehensif di luar biaya transaksi yang terjadi di jaringan,” terang perusahaan itu.

Maka dari itu, upaya perombakan ini mengarah pada model ekonomi yang lebih menyerupai software enterprise, termasuk model biaya berbasis pemakaian, bukan sekadar sewa keamanan.

Meski begitu, pengimplementasian proposal apapun akan menghadapi batasan politik yang signifikan. Setiap perubahan substansial harus mendapatkan persetujuan dari Cosmos Hub DAO, yang dalam sejarahnya selalu menolak langkah-langkah yang dianggap sentralistik.

Cosmos Labs juga menyinggung proposal sebelumnya untuk menurunkan inflasi, yang lolos dengan selisih tipis hanya 3%. Keputusan itu pun memicu penarikan aset staking secara besar-besaran, menandakan betapa sensitifnya ekonomi token di komunitas ini.

Dengan memperhitungkan hal tersebut, perusahaan mengatakan bahwa setiap proposal yang sukses wajib memaparkan jalur pendapatan potensial, menganalisis batasan sisi suplai, dan memberikan panduan praktis yang selaras dengan kepentingan para pemangku kepentingan. Pengajuan proposal akan ditutup pada 15 Januari.

Di saat yang sama, langkah ini datang ketika ATOM anjlok hampir 76% sepanjang tahun ini hingga mencapai titik terendah lima tahun di sekitar US$2,1.

Kinerja harga tersebut mencerminkan tekanan mendalam di seluruh ekosistem, walau tumpukan perangkat lunak Cosmos justru makin banyak diminati pengembang blockchain dan berbagai pilot institusi.

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Klien konsensus Ethereum, Prysm, mengungkapkan bahwa para validator kehilangan 382 ETH, setara dengan lebih dari US$1.000.000, setelah bug perangkat lunak memicu gangguan pada jaringan tak lama setelah upgrade Fusaka terbaru.

Kejadian ini, yang dijelaskan dalam laporan pasca insiden berjudul “Fusaka Mainnet Prysm incident,” berawal dari kejadian kehabisan sumber daya yang memengaruhi hampir semua node Prysm dan menyebabkan blok serta attestation terlewat.

Apa Penyebab Gangguan pada Prysm?

Menurut Offchain Labs, pengembang di balik Prysm, masalah tersebut muncul pada 4 Desember saat bug yang sudah pernah ada sebelumnya menyebabkan keterlambatan permintaan validator.

Keterlambatan itu menyebabkan blok dan attestation terlewat di seluruh jaringan.

“Node beacon Prysm menerima attestation dari node yang mungkin tidak sinkron dengan jaringan. Attestation ini merujuk pada block root dari epoch sebelumnya,” terang proyek tersebut.

Gangguan ini menyebabkan 41 epoch terlewat, dengan 248 blok hilang dari 1.344 slot yang tersedia. Itu setara dengan rasio slot terlewat sebesar 18,5% dan menurunkan partisipasi jaringan menjadi 75% selama kejadian tersebut.

Offchain Labs mengungkapkan bahwa bug yang jadi penyebab perilaku ini sudah dimasukkan dan digunakan di testnet sekitar sebulan sebelumnya, sebelum akhirnya terjadi di mainnet setelah upgrade Fusaka.

Walaupun mitigasi sementara berhasil mengurangi dampak langsungnya, Prysm menuturkan bahwa mereka kini sudah melakukan perubahan permanen pada logika validasi attestation demi mencegah kejadian serupa terulang.

Keragaman Client Ethereum

Bersamaan dengan itu, gangguan ini kembali menarik perhatian pada konsentrasi klien Ethereum dan risiko dari ketergantungan pada satu jenis perangkat lunak.

Offchain Labs menjelaskan bahwa gangguan tersebut bisa menyebabkan dampak yang jauh lebih parah bila Prysm menguasai porsi lebih besar dari basis validator Ethereum. Mereka menunjukkan bahwa keragaman klien di Ethereum adalah faktor penting yang mencegah kegagalan jaringan lebih luas.

“Klien dengan lebih dari 1/3 bagian jaringan akan menyebabkan kehilangan finalitas sementara dan lebih banyak blok yang terlewat. Kalau bug ada pada klien yang menguasai lebih dari 2/3 jaringan, ini bisa memfinalisasi chain yang tidak valid,” papar mereka.

Meski demikian, insiden ini semakin menguatkan seruan agar klien lebih beragam.

Data dari Miga Labs menunjukkan bahwa Lighthouse masih menjadi klien konsensus Ethereum yang paling dominan, dengan persentase 51,39% validator. Prysm mewakili 19,06%, diikuti Teku 13,71%, lalu Nimbus pada 9,25%.

Porsi Lighthouse menempatkannya sekitar 15 poin persentase dari ambang batas yang dinilai sebagian peneliti sebagai risiko sistemik.

Oleh karena itu, para pengembang dan partisipan ekosistem kembali meminta agar validator mempertimbangkan beralih ke klien alternatif supaya kemungkinan satu bug perangkat lunak mengganggu operasi utama blockchain bisa diminimalisir.

North Korea cybercriminals have executed a strategic pivot in their social engineering campaigns. They have stolen more than $300 million by impersonating trusted industry figures in fake video meetings.

The warning, detailed by MetaMask security researcher Taylor Monahan (known as Tayvano), outlines a sophisticated “long-con” targeting crypto executives.

How North Korea’s Fake Meetings Are Draining Crypto Wallets

According to Monahan, the campaign departs from recent attacks that relied on AI deepfakes.

Instead, it uses a more straightforward approach built on hijacked Telegram accounts and looped footage from real interviews.

🚨 WARNING (AGAIN)

DPRK threat actors are still rekting way too many of you via their fake Zoom / fake Teams meets.

They're taking over your Telegrams -> using them to rekt all your friends.

They've stolen over $300m via this method already.

Read this. Stop the cycle. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/tJTo9lkq0v

— Tay 💖 (@tayvano_) December 13, 2025

The attack typically starts after hackers seize control of a trusted Telegram account, often belonging to a venture capitalist or someone the victim previously met at a conference.

Then, the malicious attackers exploit prior chat history to appear legitimate, guiding the victim to a Zoom or Microsoft Teams video call via a disguised Calendly link.

Once the meeting starts, the victim sees what appears to be a live video feed of their contact. In reality, it is often a recycled recording from a podcast or public appearance.

The decisive moment typically follows a manufactured technical issue.

After citing audio or video problems, the attacker urges the victim to restore the connection by downloading a specific script or updating a software development kit, or SDK. The file delivered at that point contains the malicious payload.

Once installed, the malware—often a Remote Access Trojan (RAT)—grants the attacker total control.

It drains cryptocurrency wallets and exfiltrates sensitive data, including internal security protocols and Telegram session tokens, which are then used to target the next victim in the network.

Considering this, Monahan warned that this specific vector weaponizes professional courtesy.

The hackers rely on the psychological pressure of a “business meeting” to force a lapse in judgment, turning a routine troubleshooting request into a fatal security breach.

For industry participants, any request to download software during a call is now considered an active attack signal.

Meanwhile, this “fake meeting” strategy is part of a broader offensive by Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) actors. They have stolen an estimated $2 billion from the sector over the past year, including the Bybit breach.

The post North Korea Hackers Steal $300 Million via Fake Zoom Meetings appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Cosmos Labs has opened an urgent search for external economists to redesign the ATOM token amid the digital asset’s price struggles.

According to the firm, the Cosmos SDK has become a widely used framework for launching blockchain networks. This includes projects tied to major enterprises and government initiatives often cited as evidence of “Fortune 500” interest.

Why Cosmos Wants to Overhaul ATOM’s Design

However, because the software is open source, those users can deploy independent, sovereign chains without paying fees or royalties to the Cosmos Hub.

As a result, these institutional builders can use the network’s core technology without holding or interacting with ATOM.

Request for Proposals: ATOM Tokenomics Research ⚛️

A tokenomics RFP invites qualified research firms to submit proposals to provide data-driven research supporting a redesign of ATOM’s economic model.

Applications are due January 15. Read more: https://t.co/96lGdAyCAI

— Cosmos Hub ⚛️ (@cosmoshub) December 12, 2025

The blockchain development firm wants to change this by promoting a new “revenue-driven model.” This approach would monetize both on-chain and off-chain usage.

“The goal of this research effort is not to design a new tokenomic model from first-principles, but rather to provide research and design support for a revenue-driven model that synergizes various sources of potential ATOM revenue with updates to ATOM’s supply dynamics and inflation schedule. Ultimately, ATOM’s utility will be driven by these fees, either in the form of ATOM buybacks, ATOM staking rewards, other mechanisms, or some combination thereof,” it stated.

Meanwhile, the initiative also marks a strategic pivot for the Cosmos ecosystem.

Cosmos Labs acknowledged that Interchain Security, the shared security framework once promoted as ATOM’s primary value driver, “failed to find product market fit.”

“Interchain Security is in the process of being deprecated, and the Hub’s economic architecture remains relatively detached from the broader activity of the Cosmos ecosystem. It lacks a comprehensive fee model today, outside of transaction fees occurring on the network,” the firm explained.

Consequently, this redesign effort points toward economic models closer to enterprise software norms, including consumption-based fees tied to usage rather than security rent.

However, implementing any proposal would face significant political constraints. Any material changes must be approved by the Cosmos Hub DAO, which has historically resisted measures viewed as centralizing.

Cosmos Labs referenced a previous proposal to reduce inflation that passed by a narrow 3% margin. The decision triggered a sharp withdrawal of staked assets, illustrating how sensitive token economics remain within the community.

Considering this, the firm stated that any successful proposal outlines potential revenue pathways, analyzes supply-side constraints, and offers practical guidance aligned with stakeholder interests. The RFP closes Jan. 15.

Meanwhile, this move comes as ATOM has fallen nearly 76% this year to a five-year low of around $2.1.

This price performance reflects a deep stress across the ecosystem, even as the Cosmos software stack has gained wider traction among blockchain developers and institutional pilots.

---

The post Cosmos Eyes ATOM Radical Redesign Amid Price Struggles appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Ethereum consensus client Prysm said validators missed out on 382 ETH, equivalent to more than $1 million, after a software bug triggered network disruptions shortly after the recent Fusaka upgrade.

The incident, detailed in a post-mortem titled “Fusaka Mainnet Prysm incident,” stemmed from a resource exhaustion event that affected nearly all Prysm nodes and led to missed blocks and attestations.

What Caused Prysm’s Outage?

According to Offchain Labs, the developer behind Prysm, the problem emerged on December 4 when a previously introduced bug caused delays in validator requests.

Those delays resulted in missed blocks and attestations across the network.

“Prysm beacon nodes received attestations from nodes that were possibly out of sync with the network. These attestations referenced a block root from the previous epoch,” the project explained.

The disruption led to 41 missed epochs, with 248 blocks missing out of 1,344 available slots. That represented an 18.5% missed slot rate and pushed overall network participation down to 75% during the incident.

Offchain Labs said the bug responsible for the behavior was introduced and deployed to testnets about a month earlier, before being triggered on mainnet following the Fusaka upgrade.

While a temporary mitigation reduced the immediate impact, Prysm said it has since implemented permanent changes to its attestation validation logic to prevent a recurrence.

Ethereum’s Client Diversity

Meanwhile, the outage has renewed scrutiny around Ethereum’s client concentration and the risks posed by software monocultures.

Offchain Labs said the outage could have had more severe consequences if Prysm had accounted for a larger share of Ethereum’s validator base. The firm pointed to Ethereum’s client diversity as a key factor in preventing a wider network failure.

“A client with more than 1/3rd of the network would have caused a temporary loss in finality and more missed blocks. A bug client with more than 2/3rd could finalize an invalid chain,” it stated.

Despite that mitigation, the incident has intensified calls for greater client diversity.

Data from Miga Labs show that Lighthouse remains the dominant Ethereum consensus client, accounting for 51.39% of validators. Prysm represents 19.06%, followed by Teku at 13.71% and Nimbus at 9.25%.

Lighthouse’s share places it roughly 15% points away from a threshold that some researchers view as a systemic risk.

As a result, developers and ecosystem participants have again urged validators to consider switching to alternative clients to reduce the likelihood that a single software flaw could disrupt the blockchain’s core operations.

The post Prysm Bug Cost Ethereum Validators Over $1 Million After Fusaka Upgrade appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Itaú Unibanco Holding SA, Latin America’s largest private bank, has advised clients to allocate up to 3% of their portfolios to Bitcoin for 2026.

The bank framed the cryptocurrency not as a speculative asset, but as a hedge against the erosion of the Brazilian real.

Why Itau Wants Clients’ Funds in Bitcoin

In a strategy note, analysts at the Sao Paulo-based lender said investors face a dual challenge from global price uncertainty and domestic currency fluctuations. They argued that these conditions necessitate a new approach to portfolio construction.

The bank recommends a Bitcoin weight of 1% to 3% to capture returns uncorrelated with domestic cycles.

“Bitcoin [is] an asset distinct from fixed income, traditional stocks, or domestic markets, with its own dynamics, return potential, and — due to its global and decentralized nature — a currency hedging function,” the bank wrote.

Itau emphasized that Bitcoin should not become a core holding. Instead, the bank framed the asset as a complementary allocation calibrated to an investor’s risk profile.

The objective is to capture returns that are not closely tied to domestic economic cycles and to provide partial protection against currency depreciation. It also aims to preserve exposure to long-term appreciation.

The bank pointed to the relatively low correlation between Bitcoin and traditional asset classes. It argued that an allocation of 1% to 3% can enhance diversification without overwhelming overall portfolio risk.

The approach, the note said, requires moderation, discipline, and a long-term horizon, rather than reactions to short-term price swings.

“Attempting ‘perfect timing’ in assets like Bitcoin or other international markets is risky — and often counterproductive,” the bank warned.

Itaú’s 3% ceiling places it squarely in line with the most forward-looking global guidance, narrowing the gap with US counterparts.

Notably, major US banks such as Morgan Stanley and Bank of America have recommended that their clients allocate up to 4% of their assets to the flagship digital asset.

For Brazilian investors, however, the stakes are different.

Itaú said that in a world of shortening economic cycles and more frequent external shocks, Bitcoin’s “hybrid character” sets it apart from traditional assets.

The bank described the flagship cryptocurrency as part high-risk asset and part global store of value. It argued that this combination offers a form of resilience that fixed income can no longer guarantee.

The post Brazil’s Largest Private Bank Advises 3% Bitcoin Allocation For Clients appeared first on BeInCrypto.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is quietly laying the plumbing for a market structure where US Treasuries and cryptocurrencies could eventually live side-by-side.

On December 12, the CFTC approved an expansion of cross-margining for US Treasuries.

How CFTC’s New Order Impacts Crypto

This change allows certain customers, not just clearing members, to offset margin requirements between Treasury futures cleared at CME Group. CME Group is one of the largest crypto derivatives trading platform in the US.

It also applies to cash Treasuries cleared at the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation’s Fixed Income Clearing Corporation.

“Expanding cross-margining to customers will provide capital efficiencies that can increase liquidity and resiliency in US Treasuries, the most important market in the world,” Caroline Pham, CFTC’s Acting Chair, said.

Cross-margining allows firms to reduce total collateral by netting correlated positions within a portfolio. Extending that mechanism from dealer balance sheets to end customers in Treasuries represents a significant structural shift.

Market participants view it as a practical test of risk models. Those frameworks could eventually support portfolios holding Treasuries, tokenized funds and crypto assets within a single clearing ecosystem.

For crypto derivatives traded on CME, the orders could have significant market implications.

If Treasuries and Treasury futures can be cross-margined at scale, similar frameworks could eventually support more complex portfolios. Those portfolios could include tokenized Treasury bills and spot Bitcoin backing positions in CME Bitcoin and ETH futures, all governed by unified margin and risk controls.

Meanwhile, this order’s timing places it squarely within a broader crypto regulatory effort that spans both the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

It also echoes the SEC’s parallel work on market structure and clearing reform, as regulators assess how tokenized securities and digital collateral might fit within established settlement and custody frameworks.

Notably, the Pham-led Commission recently unveiled a Digital Asset Collateral Pilot. The initiative permits Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDC to be used as margin in CFTC-regulated derivatives markets.

These moves reflect a regulatory focus on capital efficiency and risk management across asset classes that increasingly blur the line between traditional and digital markets.

The post CFTC’s Treasury Reform Paves Way for Crypto Market appeared first on BeInCrypto.

The US banking industry has mounted a coordinated challenge to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) approach. The pushback targets the regulator’s efforts to integrate cryptocurrency firms into the federal banking system.

On December 12, OCC issued conditional approval of national trust charters for five digital asset firms, including Ripple, Fidelity, Paxos, First National Digital Currency Bank, and BitGo. The bank regulator stressed that the crypto applicants underwent the same “rigorous review” as any national bank charter applicant.

US Banking Industry Challenges OCC’s Move

However, the American Bankers Association (ABA) and the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) argue that the OCC’s actions create a two-tier banking system.

Just released – ABA statement on @USOCC’s announcement regarding national trust charters: https://t.co/OqGgUtPAyd pic.twitter.com/NH6RevliRX

— American Bankers Association (@ABABankers) December 12, 2025

Their central claim is that fintech and crypto firms are being granted prestigious national charters without carrying Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) coverage or meeting traditional capital and liquidity standards required of full-service banks.

The groups contend that this structure encourages what they describe as regulatory arbitrage at the federal level.

By securing a national charter, the crypto firms can benefit from federal preemption of state money transmitter laws. At the same time, they avoid many of the compliance obligations that apply to insured depository institutions.

ABA President Rob Nichols said the approvals “blur the lines” of what constitutes a bank. He further argues that this erosion of definitions risks weakening the integrity of the charter itself.

In his view, expanding trust powers to firms that do not perform traditional fiduciary duties creates a class of institutions that resemble banks in name and scope but lack comparable oversight.

Meanwhile, their concern extends beyond competition.

Banking groups warn that consumers may struggle to distinguish between insured banks and national trust institutions holding large volumes of uninsured crypto assets.

They argue that the OCC has not adequately explained how it would manage the failure of such an entity, particularly if it were holding billions of dollars in digital assets outside the traditional safety net.

ICBA Wants the Charters Halted

The ICBA also directly challenged the OCC’s statutory authority to issue the charters.

We oppose the OCC’s conditional approval of five national trust bank charter applications from nonbank fintechs. We have repeatedly said the OCC lacks statutory authority to expand trust powers and that the sudden influx of applications threatens consumers and the financial…

— Independent Community Bankers of America (@ICBA) December 12, 2025

The group focused its criticism on Interpretive Letter No. 1176. This guidance enabled trust banks to engage in non-fiduciary activities such as custody of stablecoin reserves.

ICBA President Rebeca Romero Rainey described the move as a “dramatic policy change” that stretches the national trust charter beyond its historical purpose.

“The OCC’s dramatic policy change under Interpretive Letter #1176 is a departure from the role of conventional trust companies and allows for an inconsistent regulatory framework that threatens financial instability — requiring the agency to change course,” Rainey added.

The group argues that the OCC is allowing non-bank fintech firms to effectively borrow the credibility of the US banking system while avoiding the “full scope” of regulations imposed on insured institutions.

Considering this, both trade groups have called for an immediate pause and rescission of the approvals.

They warn that the current framework could produce institutions that the OCC is “not equipped to resolve in an orderly way.” According to them, such a failure could leave traditional banks and the broader financial system exposed.

The post US Banks Warn OCC Crypto Charters Could Weaken The Banking System appeared first on BeInCrypto.

A dispute over revenue sharing has erupted between the community governing DeFi lender Aave and its primary development firm, Aave Labs.

The conflict centers on Aave Labs’ recent decision to integrate CoW Swap as the underlying infrastructure for trading on the protocol’s primary website. The switch replaced ParaSwap, a previous integration that generated referral fees for the Aave DAO treasury.

DAO Members Question Economic Fallout From Interface Update

Governance delegates say the change has cut off a revenue stream of about $200,000 per week. On an annualized basis, they estimate the impact at roughly $10 million, shifting value away from token holders.

Marc Zeller, founder of the Aave Chan Initiative, criticized the move, calling it a “stealth privatization” of brand assets.

Extremely concerning.

The stealth privatization of approximately 10% of Aave DAO's potential revenue, leveraging brand and IPs paid for by the DAO, represents a clear attack on the best interests of the $AAVE Token holders.

We will prepare an official response with @AaveChan. https://t.co/opoG3I7x7s

— Marc ”七十 Billy” Zeller (@Marczeller) December 12, 2025

Zeller argued that Aave Labs unilaterally altered the economic arrangement without seeking approval from the DAO, which governs the underlying smart contracts.

“Aave Labs, in the pursuit of their own monetization, redirected Aave user volume towards competition. This is unacceptable. By doing this integration, the Aave protocol lost two revenue streams that cannot be easily replaced,” he wrote.

Zeller warned that the lack of communication raises concerns about how future upgrades will be handled.

He pointed specifically to the upcoming V4 upgrade and questioned whether other “accessory features” could also be ring-fenced from the DAO.

“It is important to consider the picture as a whole to define if Aave Labs breached its expected fiduciary duty towards the Aave DAO and the AAVE token holders, and what we should expect from V4 in general,” Zeller concluded

Aave Labs Defend Moves

In a detailed response, Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave Labs, defended the integration, rejecting the characterization of the lost funds as stolen revenue.

Kulechov argued that the previous fees from ParaSwap were a “discretionary surplus” rather than a mandated protocol fee.

“It was never a fee switch, its been a surplus that we donated to the DAO,” he stated.

He also drew a sharp line between the Aave protocol, the DAO-governed decentralized smart contracts, and the front-end interface. He described the interface as a private product funded and maintained by Aave Labs.

Kulechov said Aave Labs bears the costs of engineering and security for the website. He added that the DAO does not subsidize ongoing product development expenses.

Consequently, the firm asserts the right to monetize the interface to ensure its sustainability.

“It’s also perfectly fine for Aave Labs to monetize its products, especially as they don’t touch the protocol itself,” he said.

The development firm also restated Kulechov’s position, acknowledging a failure to communicate the change effectively.

The firm said it switched to CoW Swap to deliver better execution prices and stronger protection against MEV (maximum extractable value), rather than to generate additional revenue.

The post Aave Governance Conflict Widens Over $10 Million Revenue Dispute appeared first on BeInCrypto.

Itaú Unibanco Holding SA, bank swasta terbesar di Amerika Latin, menyarankan klien untuk mengalokasikan hingga 3% portofolio mereka ke Bitcoin untuk tahun 2026.

Bank ini melihat aset kripto tersebut bukan sebagai aset spekulatif, tetapi sebagai lindung nilai terhadap penurunan nilai real Brasil.

Kenapa Itau Ingin Dana Klien di Bitcoin

Dalam catatan strategi, analis di lembaga keuangan yang berbasis di Sao Paulo ini menyebutkan bahwa investor menghadapi dua tantangan sekaligus, yaitu ketidakpastian harga global dan fluktuasi mata uang domestik. Mereka menilai, kondisi seperti ini membutuhkan pendekatan baru untuk membangun portofolio.

Bank ini merekomendasikan proporsi Bitcoin sebesar 1% hingga 3% agar bisa memperoleh imbal hasil yang tidak berkorelasi dengan siklus ekonomi dalam negeri.

“Bitcoin [adalah] aset yang berbeda dengan fixed income, saham tradisional, atau pasar domestik, dengan dinamika, potensi imbal hasil, dan — berkat sifat global serta desentralisasinya — fungsi sebagai lindung nilai terhadap mata uang,” tulis bank tersebut.

Itaú menegaskan bahwa Bitcoin sebaiknya tidak dijadikan aset inti. Sebaliknya, bank merekomendasikan alokasi Bitcoin sebagai pelengkap yang disesuaikan dengan profil risiko investor.

Tujuannya adalah meraih hasil yang tidak terlalu terpengaruh oleh siklus ekonomi domestik dan memberikan perlindungan sebagian terhadap pelemahan nilai mata uang. Selain itu, strategi ini juga menjaga eksposur terhadap potensi kenaikan harga dalam jangka panjang.

Bank ini menunjukkan bahwa korelasi antara Bitcoin dan kelas aset tradisional tergolong rendah. Mereka menilai, alokasi 1% sampai 3% dapat meningkatkan diversifikasi tanpa memperbesar risiko portofolio secara keseluruhan.

Pendekatan ini, jelas catatan tersebut, memerlukan sikap moderat, disiplin, dan pandangan jangka panjang, bukan bereaksi pada fluktuasi harga jangka pendek.

“Mencoba melakukan ‘perfect timing’ pada aset seperti Bitcoin atau pasar internasional lain sangat berisiko — dan seringkali malah merugikan,” peringatan dari bank tersebut.

Batas 3% yang diberikan Itaú ini sejajar dengan pedoman paling progresif secara global, sehingga semakin mendekati rekomendasi bank-bank di AS.

Menariknya, beberapa bank besar di AS seperti Morgan Stanley dan Bank of America juga pernah menyarankan klien mereka untuk mengalokasikan hingga 4% asetnya ke aset digital utama ini.

Bagi investor asal Brasil, situasinya memang berbeda.

Itaú menilai bahwa di dunia dengan siklus ekonomi yang semakin singkat dan guncangan eksternal yang lebih sering, “karakter hibrida” Bitcoin membedakannya dari aset tradisional.

Bank ini menggambarkan aset kripto utama tersebut sebagai bagian dari aset berisiko tinggi dan sekaligus penyimpan nilai global. Mereka berpendapat, kombinasi ini menawarkan daya tahan yang tidak lagi bisa dijamin oleh pasar fixed income.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) diam-diam sedang menyiapkan infrastruktur agar US Treasuries dan aset kripto suatu hari nanti bisa berdampingan dalam satu struktur pasar.

Pada 12 Desember, CFTC menyetujui perluasan cross-margining untuk US Treasuries.

Bagaimana Perintah Baru CFTC Berdampak pada Aset Kripto

Perubahan ini memungkinkan pelanggan tertentu—bukan hanya anggota clearing—untuk mengimbangi persyaratan margin antara Treasury futures yang di-clearing di CME Group. CME Group merupakan salah satu platform trading derivatif kripto terbesar di AS.

Kebijakan ini juga berlaku untuk cash Treasuries yang di-clearing di Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation’s Fixed Income Clearing Corporation.

“Ekspansi cross-margining kepada pelanggan akan memberikan efisiensi modal yang dapat meningkatkan likuiditas dan ketahanan di US Treasuries, yaitu pasar paling penting di dunia,” ujar Caroline Pham, Acting Chair CFTC, dalam pernyataannya.

Cross-margining memungkinkan perusahaan untuk mengurangi total jaminan dengan mengimbangi posisi yang berkorelasi dalam satu portofolio. Memperluas mekanisme ini dari balance sheet dealer ke pelanggan akhir di Treasuries menandai perubahan besar dalam struktur pasar.

Pelaku pasar melihat kebijakan ini sebagai ujian praktis untuk model risiko. Kerangka seperti ini nantinya juga dapat mendukung portofolio yang berisi Treasuries, dana ter-tokenisasi, dan aset kripto dalam satu ekosistem clearing.

Bagi derivatif kripto yang diperdagangkan di CME, perintah ini bisa berdampak signifikan pada pasar.

Jika Treasuries dan Treasury futures bisa cross-margin dalam skala besar, maka kerangka serupa nantinya bisa mendukung portofolio yang lebih kompleks. Portofolio tersebut dapat mencakup Treasury bill yang ter-tokenisasi serta posisi spot Bitcoin yang menjadi jaminan di Futures Bitcoin dan ETH CME—semuanya diatur dalam margin dan pengendalian risiko yang terpadu.

Sementara itu, waktu penerbitan perintah ini berada di tengah upaya regulasi aset kripto yang lebih luas, yang melibatkan CFTC dan juga Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Kebijakan ini juga sejalan dengan upaya SEC yang parallell pada reformasi struktur pasar dan clearing, saat regulator menilai bagaimana sekuritas ter-tokenisasi dan jaminan digital bisa masuk di sistem penyelesaian dan kustodian yang sudah ada.

Sebagai catatan, Komisi yang dipimpin Pham baru-baru ini meluncurkan Digital Asset Collateral Pilot. Inisiatif ini memperbolehkan penggunaan Bitcoin, Ethereum, dan USDC sebagai margin pada pasar derivatif yang diatur CFTC.

Langkah-langkah ini menunjukkan fokus regulator pada efisiensi modal dan manajemen risiko lintas kelas aset yang kini semakin mengaburkan antara pasar tradisional dan digital.