The deal with Anchorage marks another regulatory breakthrough for Justin Sun, who in March 2026 reached a USD 10 million settlement to resolve US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges.

The regulatory body, in March 2023, sued Justin Sun and his companies Tron Foundation, BitTorrent Foundation and Rainberry, accusing them of illegally distributing the crypto assets tronix and bittorrent, apart from artificially inflating trading volume, and concealing payments to celebrity endorsers. However, in a letter to US District Judge ⁠Edgardo Ramos in Manhattan, the same agency now says, “Justin Sun and his companies did not admit or deny wrongdoing.”

“By supporting Tron on Anchorage Digital’s regulated platform, we’re helping bring one of crypto’s largest ecosystems into an institutional framework,” said Anchorage co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley.

Anchorage clients will now be able to custody Tron’s tronix (the cryptocurrency native to the blockchain), paving the way for greater adoption of the token ‌in ⁠the United States.

American investors wishing to invest and trade in Tron’s token currently carry out the activity mostly through decentralised exchanges, which ⁠aim to cut out the middleman and allow users to transact directly on a blockchain network.

The tie-up between Anchorage Digital and the Tron blockchain also comes in the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s aggressive efforts to make the world’s largest economy also a global hub for virtual currencies. Justin Sun, a major backer of the Trump family crypto ⁠venture World Liberty Financial, told that Tron’s partnership with Anchorage will help “expand secure institutional access to the blockchain network.”

TRON was in the news in March 2026, as it reached a settlement to resolve SEC charges. The blockchain also joined the “Mastercard Crypto Partner Programme” to support cross-border remittances, B2B transfers, and other on-chain payments by leveraging Mastercard’s global network and settlement infrastructure.

TRON, that handles USD 22 billion daily and USD 85 billion in USDT (Tether), offering high throughput, low costs, and liquidity for global payments and AI-driven transactions, will now engage with Mastercard on product design, interoperability, and responsible scaling. The initiative will demonstrate the value of combining blockchain programmability with established financial systems to enable practical, widely adopted digital payments.

The post Anchorage Digital ties up with Justin Sun’s Tron blockchain appeared first on International Finance.

“Japanese Minister of Finance Satsuki Katayama and South Korean Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol expressed serious concern over the sharp depreciation of the Korean won and the Japanese yen. Furthermore, they reaffirmed that they will closely monitor foreign exchange markets and continue to take appropriate actions against excessive volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates,” said a media note after the officials met in Tokyo.

The yen touched its lowest in 20 months on 13th March, nearing the line of 160.00 to the dollar that the market analysts think might prompt Tokyo to intervene to support the currency. ‌The ⁠won, on the other hand, breached a psychological barrier of 1,500 per dollar this month for the first time since March 2009.

The Iran war has also driven ⁠the dollar higher on safe-haven demand, apart from battering the currencies of countries heavily reliant on imported oil.

The currency is also gaining as traders reduce expectations for how much the US Federal Reserve might cut borrowing costs in 2026, as worries over rising inflation have reduced the likelihood of interest rate cuts from two before the war to none now.

Tokyo and Seoul shared the view that significant volatility had emerged in financial markets, including foreign exchange, Satsuki Katayama told a press conference after the meeting.

“The Japanese government ⁠is fully prepared to respond at any time, bearing in mind the impact that currency moves may have on people’s livelihoods amid surging oil prices, and I believe both ⁠sides share that understanding,” she added.

Yen, due to its huge trade surplus and enormous net international investment positions, was once used to enjoy unconditional safe-haven status.

However, that position is under threat now, as Joey Chew, head of Asia FX research at HSBC, told Reuters, “The yen can be vulnerable to potential oil supply shocks – it also weakened last year in mid-June amid Israel-Iran tensions.”

The post Japan, South Korea share volatile currency concerns as Yen faces stern test appeared first on International Finance.

The pilot, launched in October 2025, was conducted in partnership with players like blockchain fintech firm Waybridge, overseas digital wallet operator Aron Group and international remittance specialist GME Remittance. The initiative aimed to test the usability of foreign currency-based stablecoins within Korea’s domestic payment ecosystem, focusing sharply on payment convenience and system stability.

“Under the pilot, stablecoins stored in overseas digital wallets affiliated with BC Card were converted into BC’s digital prepaid cards. Users were then able to make payments at domestic merchants, including convenience stores, cafes and supermarkets, using QR codes, without the need for physical cards or currency exchange,” reported The Korea Herald.

As per the BC Card, the trial addressed key limitations that have so far hindered stablecoin adoption in South Korea’s card payment environment, such as the need for real-time processing for payment approvals, cancellations and corrections.

Using the combination of the cross-border efficiency of stablecoins with the proven operational stability of the card network, BC Card’s pilot project allowed both merchants and consumers to transact in the same way as with conventional card payments.

BC Card now views the pilot project as groundwork for a future payment infrastructure rather than limiting the experiment as a short-term technical test, as it prepares for potential regulatory changes related to digital assets.

The company plans to expand cooperation with partners and gradually develop a stablecoin payment model aligned with Korea’s existing financial systems.

“Stablecoins, due to their technical characteristics, are particularly useful for cross-border payments, and have great potential to improve the domestic payment experience for foreign consumers. We will gradually prepare a stablecoin payment model that complies with the legal and institutional environment based on our card payment infrastructure,” said CEO Choi Won-seok.

The post South Korea-based BC Card experiments with foreign-currency stablecoin payments appeared first on International Finance.

Bitcoin fell to USD 80,553, and ether hit a four-month low, as cryptocurrencies led a broad flight from riskier assets, spurred by investor worries over lofty tech valuations and uncertainty over near-term US interest rate cuts.

Cryptocurrencies are often viewed as a barometer of risk appetite, and their slide highlights the market’s “fragile mood.” At the same point in time, high-flying artificial intelligence (AI) stocks are tumbling too, with volatility spiking. Bitcoin went down 12% in the middle week of November, following a stellar run in 2025 that propelled it to a record high above USD 120,000 in October, buoyed by favourable regulatory changes towards the virtual assets globally.

According to analysts, the market remains scarred by a record single-day slump in October that saw more than USD 19 billion of positions liquidated. As it plunged through USD 100,000 in November and closed in on the USD 80,000 level on 21 of the month, some analysts told Reuters that bitcoin was reaching levels that corporate and institutional investors on average paid for their tokens, and where they might have to sell to prevent losses.

“Bitcoin has erased all its year-to-date gains and is now down 12% for 2025, while Ether has lost close to 19%. If it’s telling a story about risk sentiment as a whole, then things could start to get really, really ugly, and that’s the concern now,” Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, said of the fall in bitcoin.

The latest plunge will compound problems for so-called crypto treasury companies, which have been big buyers of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies so far in 2025. These companies hold the crypto on their balance sheets in the hope that the price rises.

Standard Chartered has estimated that a drop below USD 90,000 for bitcoin could leave half of these companies’ holdings “underwater,” a term which typically refers to holding assets worth less than what was paid for them.

Analysts say the companies could be forced to raise new funds or sell down their crypto holdings, putting further downward pressure on prices.

Listed companies collectively hold 4% of all the bitcoin in circulation, and 3.1% of ether, Standard Chartered estimates.

“The procyclical nature of bitcoin treasury companies is fully obvious now, if it wasn’t obvious six months ago. They buy high, and now some of them are selling low,” Brent Donnelly, president at analytics firm Spectra Markets, said in a note.

The post Bitcoin drops to seven-month low, analysts predict ‘heavier losses’ appeared first on International Finance.

Under the GENIUS Act’s framework, stablecoin issuers must play by strict rules designed to safeguard users and the broader financial system.

Only regulated institutions can issue US dollar stablecoins. This means insured depository institutions (banks, credit unions, and their subsidiaries) or other non-bank firms that secure Federal Reserve approval and demonstrate compliance capabilities. In other words, no fly-by-night startups, because issuers must have serious oversight.

Every stablecoin must be backed 1:1 by high-quality liquid assets. Issuers are required to hold an equivalent dollar in reserve (cash, US Treasury bills, repurchase agreements, or other low-risk assets) for each token in circulation. They must also report their reserve holdings and undergo regular audits by accredited accounting firms, ensuring the promised peg isn’t a mere mirage.

All stablecoin issuers fall under “Bank Secrecy Act” obligations, meaning robust anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) programmes are mandatory. This brings stablecoins in line with traditional financial norms, aiming to prevent illicit use and bolster consumer protection.

Opening Door To A Digital Dollar Economy

The GENIUS Act’s passage marks a new era for stablecoins and the broader crypto sector. For the first time, there are clear federal guidelines acknowledging these digital dollars as legitimate financial instruments.

Stablecoins, which maintain a constant value (typically 1:1 with the dollar), have already exploded in use in recent years, primarily as grease in the wheels of crypto trading. Traders use them to hop in and out of volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether. Now, with official rules in place, stablecoins are poised to move from trading desks to everyday wallets.

Experts say this law “could pave the way for [stablecoins] to become an everyday way to make payments and move money” in the real economy. The allure is clear because transactions in stablecoins settle in seconds, 24/7, instead of days.

Sending money via traditional bank networks can take several business days, and even longer for international wires, but a stablecoin payment can zip across the world almost instantly, at any hour.

Fees can be pennies, not the hefty charges typical of cross-border bank transfers. For consumers and businesses, that means faster e-commerce checkouts, cheaper remittances to family overseas, and the ability to transfer funds without banking delays.

No wonder a slate of companies is now exploring how stablecoins might fit into their strategies. Imagine checking out online and opting to pay with a Walmart or Amazon stablecoin, an idea those retail giants have reportedly considered in recent months. Such a token could give customers a seamless digital payment method and potentially power loyalty rewards or other perks.

Walmart and Amazon, among others, see the promise of instant, low-cost payments to improve user experience, though neither has publicly detailed plans yet. On the corporate side, stablecoins could also revolutionise business treasury operations. A multinational could use stablecoins internally to shuffle funds between international subsidiaries in real time, avoiding slow correspondent banking networks. In sum, stablecoins offer the internet’s speed in finance, and the GENIUS Act provides the green light for companies to harness that.

A banner for Bullish, a crypto exchange operator, was displayed on the New York Stock Exchange floor during its IPO in August 2025. Bullish’s public debut amid new US crypto regulations highlights growing mainstream confidence in the sector.

The optimism extends to the broader crypto market as well. Bullish, a cryptocurrency exchange backed by investor Peter Thiel, made headlines by doubling in value in its NYSE debut this August, reaching a staggering USD 13.2 billion valuation. Its stock launch, one of the first major US listings of a crypto exchange, underscored rising investor confidence in the sector’s future under clearer regulations.

In fact, Bullish announced its plans to convert a significant chunk of its IPO proceeds into stablecoins, signalling just how bullish (no pun intended) it is on this segment of crypto. The company noted that stablecoin usage has boomed since the GENIUS Act was signed, thanks to the new regulatory regime for these dollar-pegged tokens.

To market watchers, moves like this suggest that Washington’s crypto-friendly shift, described by Reuters as “a string of regulatory wins under a pro-crypto White House,” is encouraging mainstream adoption and investment.

Even beyond Bullish, several US financial institutions (from exchange Gemini to asset manager Grayscale) are eyeing public listings, emboldened by the sense that the crypto industry is stepping out of legal limbo and into the regulated mainstream.

Perhaps the strongest sign of stablecoins’ coming of age is the lineup of heavyweight companies now preparing to launch their own dollar-backed coins. Reuters reported that “financial companies from Bank of America to Fiserv are preparing to launch their own dollar-backed crypto tokens” in the wake of the GENIUS Act.

This range spans traditional Wall Street titans (like Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank) to fintech service providers (Fiserv, a Fortune 500 payments and tech company), which shows that interest in stablecoins is broad-based across financial services.

Tricky Considerations

The GENIUS Act may open new doors for stablecoins, but experts warn that implementation involves “numerous tricky considerations” spanning strategy, compliance, and technology. Firms must first clarify purpose, which means deciding whether to issue customer-facing coins for loyalty and payments or internal tokens for cross-border settlements, since intended use shapes every decision.

Then comes the build-versus-partner dilemma, because launching an in-house stablecoin offers control and branding but requires massive technical, regulatory, and governance investment, while partnering with issuers like Circle provides speed and credibility. Compliance is another major hurdle, with non-bank firms needing to adopt bank-level KYC, AML, and reporting systems, while banks face capital treatment questions that could affect profitability.

Technology choices add complexity, as public blockchains like Ethereum offer scale and accessibility but less control, while private ledgers ensure governance but may lack resilience and interoperability.

In addition, regulatory uncertainty remains, as agencies like the OCC and Treasury must still draft detailed rules, meaning stablecoin adoption will phase in gradually. Companies face a long list of strategic, technical, and financial hurdles before the GENIUS Act’s promise can be fully realised.

The post The GENIUS Act: All you need to know about America’s first ‘Stablecoin Law’ appeared first on International Finance.

The 237.3 million euros (USD 278.69 million) contract with Feedzai will see the latter and its subcontractor, PwC, providing an AI model for scoring digital euro payments by their fraud risk, based on any deviation from a customer’s typical behaviour, interactions, and history. The move will help payment service providers decide whether to approve a transaction in digital euros, essentially an exchange between electronic wallets backed by the central bank.

Feedzai, the fintech start-up, reportedly processes USD 8 trillion worth of payments every year for clients, mostly global banks. Post the ECB contract, the venture has also received funding worth USD 75 million from Lince Capital, Iberis Capital, and Explorer Investments, among others.

Ex-rocket Scientists Protecting Customers’ Money
Feedzai is on a mission: to make the world a safer place for commerce, one transaction at a time. The start-up has already achieved milestones like notching up one billion global consumers, who trust Feedzai to protect their payments and the ability to process USD 8 trillion worth of payments every year.

Feedzai is now working with some of the world’s tier-one banking biggies. Its collaboration with the CoreCard Corporation (a global modern issuer processor) has helped the latter reduce declined transactions for fraud by 46%—boosting customer satisfaction.

The partnership has also detected 64% of all attempted fraud, keeping programmes and customers safe, and empowering clients to quickly create their rules and queues using advanced machine learning.

With European payment processor STET, Feedzai has joined forces to revolutionise fraud prevention, driving innovation through modernised tools, advanced AI, and enhanced infrastructure. In another tie-up with UAE-based Wio Bank, Feedzai again brought its A-game into play by deploying the start-up’s cutting-edge AI and machine learning capabilities to identify fraud.

As the Gulf region’s first platform bank, Wio is known for its innovation and a customer-first mindset. To protect its mission of empowering customers by delivering instant, seamless experiences, Wio turned to Feedzai’s “Digital Trust and Transaction Fraud for Banking Solutions,” and the move has so far proven to be a game-changer.

Feedzai has similar innovation- and result-driven partnerships with Novobanco, PayU, Standard Chartered, Raiffeisen Bank International, ANZ, and other tier-one banks—something which boosted the start-up’s chances of bagging the CBDC-related deal with the ECB.

The Key Solutions
Feedzai’s AI and machine learning-powered solutions will be discussed in three parts: Identity, Fraud, and AML. On the identity front, Feedzai helps its partner banks to verify customer legitimacy by deploying AI and “Behavioural Biometrics.” Feedzai uses out-of-the-box risk strategies that identify fraudster tactics based on industry patterns and confirmed fraud cases. These strategies include the detection of the usage of scripts, automation tools, or bots before hundreds of fake accounts are opened.

Feedzai uses comprehensive digital risk indicators, like known fraudulent devices, repeated devices, visual link analysis, and more, to uncover the likelihood of money mule accounts (bank accounts used by criminals to launder money by moving illegally obtained funds through them).

The identity-detection mechanism identifies stolen identities by analysing behavioural patterns, typing cadence, and keyboard shortcuts as the user submits the online application. The method distinguishes fraudsters from genuine customers to create a convenient and secure digital account opening experience.

Another worry banks deal with is Synthetic Identities (fabricated personas created by criminals by blending real and fake personal information). Feedzai addresses the concern by determining if numerous applications link back to the same device, IP address, network, etc. It prevents fraudsters from obtaining loans or credit cards and abusing promotional offers using fake identities.

Feedzai’s ability to automatically approve low-risk applicants, while freeing the banks’ fraud analysts from tedious manual reviews, has resulted in its partners witnessing a 74% increase in new account approvals, while fraudulent incidents have gone down by 65%. Banks are focusing on high-risk applications, ensuring more accurate decisions while reducing operational costs.

Another headache banks often face is account takeover fraud (cybercriminals gaining unauthorised access to an existing account). Feedzai’s “Behavioural Biometrics” comes in handy here. Account takeover, often known as ATO, gets prevented through the start-up’s “3-in-1 Approach,” under which hybrid AI models analyse how users type, click, and navigate to identify anomalies.

“Digital Trust” then detects malware, phishing-based manipulation attacks, and remote access Trojans to protect credentials and user sessions. Even after fool-proofing things, Feedzai continues its user device and network analysis method to ensure that every login, account change, and transaction comes from genuine human customers.

Preventing Fraud Across Channels
Feedzai’s AI-powered Transaction Fraud solution combines behavioural, non-monetary, and monetary data to prevent fraud others miss. This unique approach leverages AI, machine learning, and human expertise to protect the banks’ revenue, reputation, and customers.

By minimising incorrect fraud flags, the Transaction Fraud solution reduces customer frustration and lost revenue. It also streamlines the payment process with real-time risk assessment and decisioning. The AI model used here constantly learns and adapts to new fraud patterns, mirroring criminals’ tactics.

The solution also helps banks monitor merchants, secure transactions, and grow revenue. This becomes crucial as we all know that banks act as merchant acquirers by allowing businesses to accept credit and debit card payments.

Feedzai also assists banks in giving their merchants the tools to manage their fraud risk while strengthening the financial institutions’ partnerships and driving revenue. The start-up’s suite of Value-Added Services (VAS) leverages cutting-edge fraud monitoring technology to reduce losses and provide actionable insights.

Feedzai provides banks with automated KYC (Know Your Customer) and CDD (Customer Due Diligence) solutions. Technology is helping human professionals accurately distinguish fraudsters from genuine customers to create a convenient and secure digital account opening experience, while undertaking comprehensive screening and detection of suspicious activities, preventing illegitimate account access and transactions. Customer risk profiles automatically get updated using multiple risk vectors, including demographics, PEP and sanctions screening activity, and transaction history.

AML Transaction Monitoring helps banks reduce compliance costs with advanced automation, improving accuracy and accelerating decision-making. Financial institutions can adjust AML (anti-money laundering) scenarios and thresholds to align with risk tolerances, apart from leveraging Feedzai’s industry-leading AI and proven predictive models to solve long-standing inefficiencies.

Human professionals can customise workflows, investigate and manage cases, and report suspicious activity, all on one platform. Built-in workflows streamline repetitive tasks, such as quickly pivoting from alert view to SAR (Suspicious Activity Report) filing. Machine learning analytics prioritises alerts while optimising model performance.

Feedzai’s “Watchlist Screening” identifies customers flagged on global sanctions lists. The solution has evolved from binary logic to smart fuzzy matching, being data-agnostic while enabling multiple connections to relevant watchlists, with updates up to every 15 minutes.

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The move comes as Binance faces increased regulatory scrutiny around the world, and crypto exchanges try to assure investors that their funds are safe after FTX collapsed in 2022. Last February, US authorities fined Binance USD 4.3 billion for violating federal anti-money laundering and sanctions laws by failing to monitor its internal controls and sentenced its founder and chief executive, Changpeng Zhao, to four months in prison.

Still, Binance has remained the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, handling billions of dollars in trades daily across hundreds of cryptocurrencies.

Meanwhile, European users can now convert cryptocurrency into fiat and withdraw money straight to a Mastercard that is eligible for almost instantaneous settlement, thanks to a new feature Binance has introduced. With the help of Mastercard Move, the payment behemoth’s suite of money-movement tools, the service is operational on the Binance website and app.

Two components make up the new functionality: a “sell to card” option that instantly transfers the money to the user’s Mastercard after converting cryptocurrency into euros. The “withdraw to card” option is an additional choice that enables users to transfer their current euro balances from Binance straight to their card.

Currently, only euro-based payouts are available for both services; additional currencies should be added soon. The new features are intended to simplify cryptocurrency payments, according to Thomas Gregory, vice president of Fiat at Binance.

“Our goal is to continue expanding our services with global leaders and innovators in digital payments, like Mastercard, to widen access and possibilities for our broad global user base,” the senior official stated further.

This update makes off-ramping easier for users who prefer fast access to their money without using conventional bank transfers. With availability in almost real time, it fills a significant gap between regular fiat spending and cryptocurrency wallets.

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The significant increase reflects a broader improvement in Egypt’s external financial position and highlights the growing confidence of foreigners in the nation’s financial system. The Central Bank of Egypt attributed the increase to recent actions aimed at stabilising the currency and promoting the use of official channels for remittances. With Egypt’s net international reserves rising from USD 47.8 billion in March to USD 48.5 billion at the end of May, the impact of these policies is also evident.

In a statement, the central bank noted, “On a monthly basis, remittances in April 2025 increased by 39% year on year, reaching approximately USD 3 billion, compared to USD 2.2 billion in the same month of 2024.”

Remittances are one of Egypt’s most vital sources of foreign currency, alongside Suez Canal revenues, tourism, and exports. They previously peaked at USD 31.9 billion during FY 2021/22, before declining to USD 22.1 billion in FY 2022/23.

The decline was largely attributed to the global economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused business closures and job losses among Egyptian expatriates, as well as pressures from the local exchange rate and the emergence of a parallel currency market, compounded by the Russia–Ukraine war.

The increase in remittances coincides with broader economic reforms being implemented as part of a stabilisation programme supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Egypt’s foreign exchange position has improved as a result of these reforms, which have also helped attract more foreign investment.

According to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS), Egypt ranked seventh globally in terms of remittance receipts in 2024, with USD 22.7 billion in inflows. The list was topped by India (USD 129.1 billion), followed by Mexico (USD 68.2 billion), China (USD 48 billion), the Philippines (USD 40.2 billion), Pakistan (USD 33.2 billion), and Bangladesh (USD 26.6 billion).

Mostafa Madbouly, the prime minister, declared in May that Egypt’s real gross domestic product grew by 31.9% in the first half of the fiscal year. While foreign direct investment increased by about 17%, private sector investment rose by 80%. However, inflation remains a significant problem. Due in large part to ongoing pressure on non-food prices, the annual urban headline inflation rate increased from 13.9% in April to 16.8% in May.

These inflationary trends coincide with ongoing domestic and international forces that continue to shape Egypt’s overall economic environment. Amidst continuing structural reforms, external shocks, and public debt management initiatives, the government is managing a fragile recovery.

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According to the Emirates News Agency, the recently unveiled dirham symbol, which has two horizontal lines that stand for financial stability, is modelled after the English letter ‘D’.

The UAE flag, which represents tenacity and pride in the country, is also referenced in the design. This emblem will promote the UAE’s currency in foreign markets by acting as a worldwide representation of the dirham.

The FX Global Code was adopted by the UAE concurrently with the symbol’s introduction, making the CBUAE the first Arab central bank to join this significant framework.

The UAE’s dedication to honesty and openness in financial transactions is further strengthened by this action, which is part of the FX Global Code, which is well known for encouraging ethical standards and best practices in the foreign exchange market.

As a key component of the Financial Infrastructure Transformation Programme, which was started in 2023, the CBUAE is promoting the issuance and circulation of the digital dirham in addition to the physical dirham symbol.

The digital dirham will have a circular design that incorporates the colours of the UAE flag, reinforcing the country’s modernity and sense of pride in the ever-changing financial landscape.

“We are proud to unveil today the new symbol for the UAE’s national currency and the design of the digital dirham wallet. The digital dirham, built on blockchain technology, is expected to enhance financial stability, improve inclusion, increase resilience, and help combat financial crime,” Khaled Mohamed Balama, governor of the CBUAE, who expressed his excitement for these revolutionary steps, said.

He also underlined how the digital dirham will spur innovation in the financial industry by making it possible to develop new digital goods and services, cut costs, and increase access to global markets.

The post UAE’s new dirham symbol & digital currency: All you need to know appeared first on International Finance.

According to Chainalysis’s annual report, this is not an exact amount and will likely increase over time as new details about past crimes emerge, potentially reaching USD 51 billion.

It is also important to note that this estimate excludes funds from non-crypto-native crimes such as drug sales and money laundering. The 2023 figure was USD 46.01 billion, so if Chainalysis’s projections are accurate, there will be a substantial increase in raw numbers, even though the figure has decreased significantly in percentage terms.

The ratio of crime volume to industry volume was 0.61% in 2023. However, after several spot ETFs were approved in 2024, many large institutions and wealthy investors entered the market, increasing overall volume and reducing the ratio to just 0.14%. Finally, it appears that hackers are shifting their focus from Bitcoin to stablecoins.

Although there are tens of thousands of different cryptocurrencies, most threat actors still demand payment in Bitcoin when a ransomware attack (or something similar) occurs. Four years ago, Bitcoin accounted for about 70% of all illegal transactions; in 2024, that number dropped to 20%.

Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency whose value is based on fiat money rather than fluctuating sharply like that of regular cryptocurrency, entered the market at the same time and now hold about 63%.

In 10% of cases, Monero was used, according to Chainalysis. A well-known cryptocurrency with a focus on privacy, Monero is also mined by the notorious cryptojacker XMRig.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump boosted the market value of each cryptocurrency by announcing on social media the names of five digital assets he plans to include in a new US strategic reserve.

According to a post on Truth Social, an executive order from Trump in January 2025 will establish a stockpile of various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana, and Cardano. The specific names of the currencies have not yet been disclosed.

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