π 300 rigs, one dam, zero electricity bills
Mexican federal prosecutors, the Navy and Puebla state police raided a remote mountain property in the Sierra Norte and seized 300 mining rigs drawing power illegally from the Nuevo Necaxa hydroelectric complex. No contract, no payment.
The tip-off was low-tech: unusual noise and a suspiciously large power draw near the dam. The hardware appears GPU-based β altcoins, not Bitcoin. Mining is legal in Mexico; tapping a federal dam for free electricity is not. Forensic accountants are now tracing the money behind the operation for possible laundering links.
Mexico's state utility puts losses from illegal hookups at 6,346 GWh in just the first seven months of 2024 β around $817 million. Per Decrypt, this is already the fourth mining bust in the region this year.
Mexican federal prosecutors, the Navy and Puebla state police raided a remote mountain property in the Sierra Norte and seized 300 mining rigs drawing power illegally from the Nuevo Necaxa hydroelectric complex. No contract, no payment.
The tip-off was low-tech: unusual noise and a suspiciously large power draw near the dam. The hardware appears GPU-based β altcoins, not Bitcoin. Mining is legal in Mexico; tapping a federal dam for free electricity is not. Forensic accountants are now tracing the money behind the operation for possible laundering links.
Mexico's state utility puts losses from illegal hookups at 6,346 GWh in just the first seven months of 2024 β around $817 million. Per Decrypt, this is already the fourth mining bust in the region this year.
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πΈ The $24 billion criminal escrow got raided
Xinbi Guarantee is a Telegram-based escrow for criminals β vendors of stolen data and money-laundering services post crypto deposits so buyers trust them. Since 2022: $24 billion processed, the second-largest illicit market ever tracked. The first, Huione Guarantee, was shut by Telegram in May 2025; Xinbi absorbed the traffic.
On September 8, the U.S. Secret Service and Elliptic froze 52 wallets β $52.8 million in
The DOJ's Scam Center Strike Force has seized $938M since November 2025, per Elliptic. Xinbi's balance is still on the board.
Decrypt
Xinbi Guarantee is a Telegram-based escrow for criminals β vendors of stolen data and money-laundering services post crypto deposits so buyers trust them. Since 2022: $24 billion processed, the second-largest illicit market ever tracked. The first, Huione Guarantee, was shut by Telegram in May 2025; Xinbi absorbed the traffic.
On September 8, the U.S. Secret Service and Elliptic froze 52 wallets β $52.8 million in
USDT. Treasury's OFAC designated Xinbi a transnational criminal organization, cartel-tier. Xinbi called it "arbitrary" and shifted $2.8M into USDD, a stablecoin with no freeze switch β which is partly backed by the very USDT they're fleeing.The DOJ's Scam Center Strike Force has seized $938M since November 2025, per Elliptic. Xinbi's balance is still on the board.
Decrypt
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π± Apple finally made the fold
For years, Apple watched Samsung and Google put foldable phones through their paces on real customers. Today came the classic "One more thing": the iPhone Duo at
Apple chose the passport rectangle over a square, and mocked the alternative on stage: square foldables distort apps and drown video in black bars. Outside, a 5.4-inch display with asymmetric corners; inside, a 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR panel.
The crease has always been the foldable's original sin. Apple promises a multi-layer build β flexible glass, titanium, a custom nano-texture polymer β kills it for good. Samsung spent six years getting to "barely noticeable." Whether Apple cleared that bar on attempt one is the question no keynote can answer.
Ars Technica
For years, Apple watched Samsung and Google put foldable phones through their paces on real customers. Today came the classic "One more thing": the iPhone Duo at
$1,999 β cheaper than most expected.Apple chose the passport rectangle over a square, and mocked the alternative on stage: square foldables distort apps and drown video in black bars. Outside, a 5.4-inch display with asymmetric corners; inside, a 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR panel.
The crease has always been the foldable's original sin. Apple promises a multi-layer build β flexible glass, titanium, a custom nano-texture polymer β kills it for good. Samsung spent six years getting to "barely noticeable." Whether Apple cleared that bar on attempt one is the question no keynote can answer.
Ars Technica
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πΈ Jack Dorsey wants a real bank β just not the boring kind
Block has filed an application with the OCC to charter Builders Bank & Trust, a national trust bank that would hold
This isn't exactly blazing a trail. Ripple has conditional approval for a similar charter; Circle and BitGo have already crossed the finish line. Kraken's parent and crypto infrastructure firm Zerohash are in the queue too. The industry that once ran from regulators is now filling out their paperwork voluntarily.
Block's digital asset strategy lead Lee Woolley is set to run the new bank, leaning on the company's experience with Square Financial Services. Turns out the best way to custody other people's Bitcoin is with a federal address on your letterhead.
Via CoinDesk.
Cointelegraph
Block has filed an application with the OCC to charter Builders Bank & Trust, a national trust bank that would hold
BTC and stablecoins under federal supervision β no deposits, no loans, no resemblance to anything your grandmother banked at.This isn't exactly blazing a trail. Ripple has conditional approval for a similar charter; Circle and BitGo have already crossed the finish line. Kraken's parent and crypto infrastructure firm Zerohash are in the queue too. The industry that once ran from regulators is now filling out their paperwork voluntarily.
Block's digital asset strategy lead Lee Woolley is set to run the new bank, leaning on the company's experience with Square Financial Services. Turns out the best way to custody other people's Bitcoin is with a federal address on your letterhead.
Via CoinDesk.
Cointelegraph
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π Daily Recap Β· Sep 11
β‘ 300 rigs stole power from a mountain dam
π΅οΈ $24 billion criminal escrow finally got busted
π± Apple's first foldable costs less than you feared
π¦ Jack Dorsey is building a Bitcoin bank, sort of
Know someone buried in meetings all day? This recap's for them
CHEATKOTT - Your Daily News
β‘ 300 rigs stole power from a mountain dam
π΅οΈ $24 billion criminal escrow finally got busted
π± Apple's first foldable costs less than you feared
π¦ Jack Dorsey is building a Bitcoin bank, sort of
Know someone buried in meetings all day? This recap's for them
CHEATKOTT - Your Daily News
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πΈ Bitcoin's $78,300 moment of truth
Houthi strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure sent markets into risk-off mode. At Tuesday's Wall Street open,
Analyst Rekt Capital flags an uncomfortable echo of May: Bitcoin held
Trump, meanwhile, promised
Via Cointelegraph.
Houthi strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure sent markets into risk-off mode. At Tuesday's Wall Street open,
BTC dropped to $77,600 β lowest since September 3 β while WTI crude surged toward $95 a barrel.Analyst Rekt Capital flags an uncomfortable echo of May: Bitcoin held
$78,300 briefly back then, then collapsed to $57,000. His read now:"The retest of ~$78,300 is in progress. A weekly close below it would likely confirm a breakdown."
Trump, meanwhile, promised
$2 gasoline once the US wins the war with Iran. Markets seem to be treating that as literature, not a forecast.Via Cointelegraph.
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πΈ A $263M crypto heist, 28 exotic cars, and a guilty plea
Malone Lam β a Singaporean national who organised an international crew recruited through online gaming platforms β pleaded guilty this week to a RICO conspiracy involving over $263 million in stolen crypto. The ring ran from late 2023 through May 2025, targeting holders via fake Google and Gemini support calls, screen-sharing tricks and physical home break-ins.
The spending: 28 exotic cars, private jets, luxury watches β and nightclub tabs of $500K a night. Lam was reportedly still directing luxury deliveries to his girlfriend from pretrial detention.
Next hearing: December 8th. Sentencing date TBD, per CoinDesk.
Cointelegraph
Malone Lam β a Singaporean national who organised an international crew recruited through online gaming platforms β pleaded guilty this week to a RICO conspiracy involving over $263 million in stolen crypto. The ring ran from late 2023 through May 2025, targeting holders via fake Google and Gemini support calls, screen-sharing tricks and physical home break-ins.
The spending: 28 exotic cars, private jets, luxury watches β and nightclub tabs of $500K a night. Lam was reportedly still directing luxury deliveries to his girlfriend from pretrial detention.
Next hearing: December 8th. Sentencing date TBD, per CoinDesk.
Cointelegraph
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π $47M somewhere between "white hats" and extortion
Liquid Network, a Bitcoin sidechain run by Blockstream, lost 4,000 BTC (~$320M) last weekend after a bug let attackers mint unbacked L-BTC tokens and swap them for real reserve Bitcoin.
The attackers called themselves white-hat researchers on-chain, then returned 3,400 BTC on Monday. The remaining ~
Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet wasn't convinced:
A bridge patch is live, an emergency update is in review. The $47M question, per Decrypt, remains open.
Liquid Network, a Bitcoin sidechain run by Blockstream, lost 4,000 BTC (~$320M) last weekend after a bug let attackers mint unbacked L-BTC tokens and swap them for real reserve Bitcoin.
The attackers called themselves white-hat researchers on-chain, then returned 3,400 BTC on Monday. The remaining ~
598 BTC β around $47M β is subject to ongoing negotiations, terms undisclosed.Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet wasn't convinced:
"The 'white hats' still hold 600 BTC. It looks more like extortion than white-hat hacking."
A bridge patch is live, an emergency update is in review. The $47M question, per Decrypt, remains open.
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πͺ Four lives for a cold wallet
In AtizapΓ‘n de Zaragoza, Mexico, four people were killed β Jonathan MelΓ©ndez, keyboardist for rock band Camilo SΓ©ptimo, his pregnant wife, their daughter, and an employee. The alleged motive: attackers believed the family owned a cold wallet holding millions in Bitcoin.
Two suspects are in custody; one was a business associate of the victim who used that relationship to get inside the home. A court hearing Wednesday will determine whether the case proceeds β each man faces 25 to 70 years per victim if convicted.
CertiK counted 52 physical attacks on crypto holders worldwide in H1 2026, up 33% year-on-year, with Chainalysis estimating over
A cold wallet protects against hackers. Former business partners, apparently, are a different threat model.
Cointelegraph
In AtizapΓ‘n de Zaragoza, Mexico, four people were killed β Jonathan MelΓ©ndez, keyboardist for rock band Camilo SΓ©ptimo, his pregnant wife, their daughter, and an employee. The alleged motive: attackers believed the family owned a cold wallet holding millions in Bitcoin.
Two suspects are in custody; one was a business associate of the victim who used that relationship to get inside the home. A court hearing Wednesday will determine whether the case proceeds β each man faces 25 to 70 years per victim if convicted.
CertiK counted 52 physical attacks on crypto holders worldwide in H1 2026, up 33% year-on-year, with Chainalysis estimating over
$30M stolen through such attacks in that period alone, per La Jornada.A cold wallet protects against hackers. Former business partners, apparently, are a different threat model.
Cointelegraph
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π Daily Recap Β· Sep 12
π Bitcoin crashes to September lows on Middle East shock
π Gamer turned crypto thief pleads guilty, 28 cars seized
π Blockstream lost 4,000 BTC to "white-hat" hackers
πͺ Four people killed over a suspected Bitcoin cold wallet
Tag whoever spent today offline β they missed a lot.
CHEATKOTT - Your Daily News
π Bitcoin crashes to September lows on Middle East shock
π Gamer turned crypto thief pleads guilty, 28 cars seized
π Blockstream lost 4,000 BTC to "white-hat" hackers
πͺ Four people killed over a suspected Bitcoin cold wallet
Tag whoever spent today offline β they missed a lot.
CHEATKOTT - Your Daily News
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