Individual Jailed For Bitcoin Espionage Tied To North Korea

A South Korean crypto exchange employee was sentenced to four years in prison for attempting to recruit a military officer to sell classified secrets to North Korea in exchange for Bitcoin, the Supreme Court ruled on December 28. 

The ruling also imposes a four-year ban on the employee from financial sector activities.

Court documents revealed that North Korean hackers paid the exchange staffer $487,000 in Bitcoin to recruit a 30-year-old army captain, who received $33,500 in Bitcoin in return, according to the South Korean media outlet Dailian.

The staffer approached the officer through a Telegram chat, offering cryptocurrency for access to sensitive military data.

The…

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Sberbank Issues Russia’s 1st Crypto Loan With Bitcoin Miner

Sberbank has issued Russia’s first loan backed by crypto, extending financing to Intelion Data, one of the country’s largest bitcoin mining companies, in a pilot transaction that signals growing institutional interest in crypto-collateralized lending.

The bank, Russia’s largest lender, said the loan was secured using digital assets mined directly by Intelion Data. Sberbank did not disclose the size, duration, or exact type of cryptocurrency used as collateral, describing the transaction as an experimental pilot rather than a full commercial rollout.

“We believe this product will be relevant not only for cryptocurrency miners, but also for companies that own…

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The perps wars are heating up

This is a segment from the 0xResearch newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.

Happy Monday, and hope you all had a merry Christmas! We’re back with updates on recent crypto performance as we move into the New Year.

Gold led traditional benchmarks higher this week while BTC slipped nearly 1%, diverging from the broader risk-on mood. Solana ecosystem tokens outperformed, with JTO and DRIFT posting double-digit gains as L2s and Ethereum-linked sectors bled. Aave still dominates DeFi lending with 86% of protocol revenue, but its grip has loosened from 91% in January as Fluid and newer entrants chip away. Meanwhile, Lighter continues to beat out Hyperliquid on weekly…

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Strategy Reloads On Bitcoin, Spends $109M On 1,229 BTC

Strategy, the largest publicly traded holder of bitcoin, has resumed accumulating bitcoin, purchasing 1,229 coins for approximately $108.8 million during the week ended December 28.

The acquisition was made at an average price of $88,568 per bitcoin and lifts the company’s total holdings to 672,497 BTC, according to a regulatory filing released today. Strategy has now spent roughly $50.44 billion acquiring bitcoin at an average cost basis of $74,997 per coin.

The latest purchase was funded through the sale of 663,450 shares of Class A common stock under the company’s at-the-market (ATM) equity program, generating $108.8 million in net proceeds.

Strategy said it did not…

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Weekend Round-Up: Bitcoin Predictions, Crypto Critiques And More

This week was a whirlwind of activity in the cryptocurrency world. From bold Bitcoin predictions to scathing critiques, the crypto market was anything but quiet. Here’s a quick recap of the top stories that made headlines.

Bitcoin Could Reach $750,000 by 2027, Says Arthur Hayes

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX and Chief Investment Officer at Maelstrom Fund, made a bold prediction about Bitcoin’s future. In an interview with CoinDesk, Hayes suggested that the Trump administration’s money printing could potentially propel Bitcoin to a staggering $750,000 by the end of 2027.

Read the full article here.

Peter Schiff Mocks Bitcoin’s Recent Performance

Notorious…

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