Audio
🎙 Podcast Launch!
We just dropped the first episode of our Web3 security podcast — a collab between Null Return and Crypto Penetration. 🚀
Support us by sharing, commenting & subscribing!
Prefer to listen on a platform?
🎧 Spotify and ▶️ YouTube
🔍 Topics:
• Bybit hack — what happened & who's to blame
• MiCA regulation & impact on stablecoins (incl. DAI)
👥 Featuring:
• Natalie (@Nataly_Dmdv), host
• Ilya Ilyinsky (@Ilya_ii) — Crypto Penetration
• Alexander Mazaletsky (@amazaletskiy) — Null Return
🎧 Timestamps
00:00 – Intro
00:47 – Bybit hack summary
02:26 – Who's responsible?
03:03 – Legal consequences
04:13 – DEX liability?
07:30 – Tornado Cash case
09:08 – Can you sue a protocol?
10:48 – Security trends
13:25 – What is MiCA?
15:27 – EU vs US rules
16:28 – DAI & algo stables
18:50 – Global regulation shifts
22:53 – Who pays for compliance?
23:51 – Legal tips & safe zones
25:13 – Final thoughts
Stay connected:
🌐 nullreturn.io | t.me/nullreturnio
🌐 cryptopenetration.com | t.me/cryptopenetration
We just dropped the first episode of our Web3 security podcast — a collab between Null Return and Crypto Penetration. 🚀
Support us by sharing, commenting & subscribing!
Prefer to listen on a platform?
🎧 Spotify and ▶️ YouTube
🔍 Topics:
• Bybit hack — what happened & who's to blame
• MiCA regulation & impact on stablecoins (incl. DAI)
👥 Featuring:
• Natalie (@Nataly_Dmdv), host
• Ilya Ilyinsky (@Ilya_ii) — Crypto Penetration
• Alexander Mazaletsky (@amazaletskiy) — Null Return
🎧 Timestamps
00:00 – Intro
00:47 – Bybit hack summary
02:26 – Who's responsible?
03:03 – Legal consequences
04:13 – DEX liability?
07:30 – Tornado Cash case
09:08 – Can you sue a protocol?
10:48 – Security trends
13:25 – What is MiCA?
15:27 – EU vs US rules
16:28 – DAI & algo stables
18:50 – Global regulation shifts
22:53 – Who pays for compliance?
23:51 – Legal tips & safe zones
25:13 – Final thoughts
Stay connected:
🌐 nullreturn.io | t.me/nullreturnio
🌐 cryptopenetration.com | t.me/cryptopenetration
👍9🔥4❤3
🇺🇸 New stablecoin regulation in US
🔖 This week, the US House Finance Committee approved the so-called STABLE Act – a law to regulate stablecoins. The law will then be discussed in the House of Representatives. But just a month ago, another law regulating stablecoins was discussed in the Senate – the GENIUS Act.
2️⃣ These laws are almost identical: they allow the issuance of stablecoins in the US. American legislation differs significantly from European legislation in that MiCA requires that stablecoin reserves be kept only in bank deposits.
🤑 In the United States, issuers are not limited to bank deposits. They are allowed to keep funds in treasury bonds (T-bills), which is much more profitable from a business point of view. After all, interest rates on T-bills are higher than on bank deposits.
🗽 The bureaucratic processes for the adoption of the law will take several more months. There is a chance that the US will have more liberal regulation of stablecoins than the European Union. The use of American stablecoins outside the US can strengthen the status of the dollar as a global reserve currency.
🗞 I examine the above-mentioned bills in more detail in this article.
🔖 This week, the US House Finance Committee approved the so-called STABLE Act – a law to regulate stablecoins. The law will then be discussed in the House of Representatives. But just a month ago, another law regulating stablecoins was discussed in the Senate – the GENIUS Act.
2️⃣ These laws are almost identical: they allow the issuance of stablecoins in the US. American legislation differs significantly from European legislation in that MiCA requires that stablecoin reserves be kept only in bank deposits.
🤑 In the United States, issuers are not limited to bank deposits. They are allowed to keep funds in treasury bonds (T-bills), which is much more profitable from a business point of view. After all, interest rates on T-bills are higher than on bank deposits.
🗽 The bureaucratic processes for the adoption of the law will take several more months. There is a chance that the US will have more liberal regulation of stablecoins than the European Union. The use of American stablecoins outside the US can strengthen the status of the dollar as a global reserve currency.
🗞 I examine the above-mentioned bills in more detail in this article.
www.congress.gov
Text - H.R.2392 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): STABLE Act of 2025
Text for H.R.2392 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): STABLE Act of 2025
👍8❤5🥰2
🔭 Crypto Regulation News Digest
🇵🇰 In Pakistan, FinInform presented a draft law on cryptocurrency regulation at the end of last week - evidence of a complete victory for the legalization of cryptocurrencies in emerging markets. Vietnam is coming and then, apparently, mainland China and Africa.
🗽 The SEC and Binance are negotiating a deal and have asked the judge for a two-month break in the process. Previously, crypto business could only dream of such a result in the US. It seems even this case, in which the SEC has trump cards, is to be closed.
🇺🇸 US Senate Banking Committee Chairman, Tim Scott promised in an interview with Fox News that a federal law regulating VASP activities would be adopted following the law on stablecoins - in August of this year. The news seems to be good. The political system in the United States means that the adoption of laws usually takes more than a month.
🚥 The problem is that it is still unclear which of the laws Tim Scott had in mind - he could have meant the Financial Innovation Act (which we were so looking forward to last year), or the Digital Asset Market Structure Bill. Different projects for the same law, which Congress approved last year, but now the whole procedure has started over again.
🔄 In short, despite all the positivity towards crypto from the Republicans, it seems that the law regulating VASPs will be discussed in the fall. Or even next year.
🇪🇺 ESMA Executive Director, Natasha Cazenave warned about the growing threat from cryptocurrencies to traditional finance. She believes that in the event of a sharp drop in cryptocurrency rates, a negative effect on all financial markets is possible.
😌 It is difficult to agree with this position. On the contrary, the panic in the financial markets last week, due to the announcement of tariffs by Donald Trump, showed the relative stability of the crypto sector.
🇦🇷 The Argentine Parliament voted 128 to 93 to launch an investigation into the Libra token and President Javier Milei's involvement in its promotion.
🇺🇦 Ukraine will introduce a 23% tax on profits from cryptocurrency transactions. This proposal was presented by the head of the Securities Commission (NSSMC), Ruslan Magomedov. The tax will only apply to the exchange of cryptocurrencies for fiat. Transactions with stablecoins will be subject to a rate of 5%-9%, the same as for the exchange of foreign currency.
🇦🇹 European broker Bitpanda received a MiCA license in Austria. The company now has 3 MiCA licenses - in Germany, Austria and Malta.
🇺🇸 Paul Atkins has been officially appointed as the new chairman of the SEC. He will replace Mark Ueda in this position. Although Donald Trump announced the appointment of Atkins immediately after winning the election, the official procedure for taking office took 3 months.
🇭🇰 Hong Kong's financial regulator (FSC) has approved the HashKey cryptocurrency exchange to add Ethereum staking to its services.
🇸🇪 In Sweden, MPs have proposed to include Bitcoin in the country's list of reserve assets. The proposal has been sent to the Minister of Finance.
🇵🇰 In Pakistan, FinInform presented a draft law on cryptocurrency regulation at the end of last week - evidence of a complete victory for the legalization of cryptocurrencies in emerging markets. Vietnam is coming and then, apparently, mainland China and Africa.
🗽 The SEC and Binance are negotiating a deal and have asked the judge for a two-month break in the process. Previously, crypto business could only dream of such a result in the US. It seems even this case, in which the SEC has trump cards, is to be closed.
🇺🇸 US Senate Banking Committee Chairman, Tim Scott promised in an interview with Fox News that a federal law regulating VASP activities would be adopted following the law on stablecoins - in August of this year. The news seems to be good. The political system in the United States means that the adoption of laws usually takes more than a month.
🚥 The problem is that it is still unclear which of the laws Tim Scott had in mind - he could have meant the Financial Innovation Act (which we were so looking forward to last year), or the Digital Asset Market Structure Bill. Different projects for the same law, which Congress approved last year, but now the whole procedure has started over again.
🔄 In short, despite all the positivity towards crypto from the Republicans, it seems that the law regulating VASPs will be discussed in the fall. Or even next year.
🇪🇺 ESMA Executive Director, Natasha Cazenave warned about the growing threat from cryptocurrencies to traditional finance. She believes that in the event of a sharp drop in cryptocurrency rates, a negative effect on all financial markets is possible.
😌 It is difficult to agree with this position. On the contrary, the panic in the financial markets last week, due to the announcement of tariffs by Donald Trump, showed the relative stability of the crypto sector.
🇦🇷 The Argentine Parliament voted 128 to 93 to launch an investigation into the Libra token and President Javier Milei's involvement in its promotion.
🇺🇦 Ukraine will introduce a 23% tax on profits from cryptocurrency transactions. This proposal was presented by the head of the Securities Commission (NSSMC), Ruslan Magomedov. The tax will only apply to the exchange of cryptocurrencies for fiat. Transactions with stablecoins will be subject to a rate of 5%-9%, the same as for the exchange of foreign currency.
🇦🇹 European broker Bitpanda received a MiCA license in Austria. The company now has 3 MiCA licenses - in Germany, Austria and Malta.
🇺🇸 Paul Atkins has been officially appointed as the new chairman of the SEC. He will replace Mark Ueda in this position. Although Donald Trump announced the appointment of Atkins immediately after winning the election, the official procedure for taking office took 3 months.
🇭🇰 Hong Kong's financial regulator (FSC) has approved the HashKey cryptocurrency exchange to add Ethereum staking to its services.
🇸🇪 In Sweden, MPs have proposed to include Bitcoin in the country's list of reserve assets. The proposal has been sent to the Minister of Finance.
The Express Tribune
Pakistan unveils first-ever policy to regulate virtual assets, aligns with FATF guidelines
New digital finance framework aims to curb money laundering, support innovation, and attract foreign investment.
👍11🕊5❤1
✅ Is El Salvador's Bitcoin License a fake?
🇸🇻 Donald Trump recently met with El Salvador's President, Nayib Bukele. Just in time for the meeting - though they didn't talk about crypto - statistics from the Central Bank of El Salvador on local companies with a Bitcoin License appeared.
🏦 Only 22 out of 181 companies conduct real operational activities in the country and meet other regulatory requirements (AML, security). The rest were unable to meet the Central Bank's requirements (or did not want to).
📃 This is a good example of the fact that not all crypto licenses are needed, especially for startups - you can always find a partner with a license and negotiate with them. This is often much better than getting a license and then finding out that you can't work under it.
🌐 Specifically in the case of El Salvador, there are two important points: the crypto market in this country is very small and licenses are frequently obtained to work from there as an offshore jurisdiction with low taxes. It is unlikely that all companies that received a license found it useful in practice.
✊ In addition, El Salvador is now tightening its policies and requirements for registered crypto companies, due to pressure from the IMF. The new type of CASP license is more difficult to obtain.
🇸🇻 Donald Trump recently met with El Salvador's President, Nayib Bukele. Just in time for the meeting - though they didn't talk about crypto - statistics from the Central Bank of El Salvador on local companies with a Bitcoin License appeared.
🏦 Only 22 out of 181 companies conduct real operational activities in the country and meet other regulatory requirements (AML, security). The rest were unable to meet the Central Bank's requirements (or did not want to).
📃 This is a good example of the fact that not all crypto licenses are needed, especially for startups - you can always find a partner with a license and negotiate with them. This is often much better than getting a license and then finding out that you can't work under it.
🌐 Specifically in the case of El Salvador, there are two important points: the crypto market in this country is very small and licenses are frequently obtained to work from there as an offshore jurisdiction with low taxes. It is unlikely that all companies that received a license found it useful in practice.
✊ In addition, El Salvador is now tightening its policies and requirements for registered crypto companies, due to pressure from the IMF. The new type of CASP license is more difficult to obtain.
El Mundo
El 89 % de proveedores de servicios bitcoin en El Salvador no operan, según Banco Central
El 89 % de los proveedores de servicios de bitcoin registrados en El Salvador por el Banco Central de Reserva (BCR) no se encuentran operando, de acuerdo con datos del ente...
👍14❤4
💸 Circle to replace VISA and Mastercard?
🗯 The issuer of USDC and EURC stablecoins announced the launch of its own cross-border settlement system yesterday, Circle Payments Network (CPN).
🏆 Its main advantages include low fees and fast settlements that will be made using Circle stablecoins.
🏃 The main partners for the new system are banks, neobanks, crypto exchanges and wallets. In particular, 4 large partner banks are indicated: Banco Santander, Deutsche Bank, Société Générale and Standard Chartered Bank.
🏍 Circle has also announced integrations with Alfred Pay, BCB Group, BVNK, CoinMENA, Coins.ph, Conduit, dLocal, dtcpay, Flutterwave, FOMO Pay, HIFI, Inswitch, Legend Trading, Nilos, Noah, Nuvei, Onafriq, OpenPayd, RD Technologies, RedotPay, TazaPay, Transfero Group, Triple-A, Trubit, Unlimit, Yellow Card, Zepz, and Zodia Markets.
🗯 The issuer of USDC and EURC stablecoins announced the launch of its own cross-border settlement system yesterday, Circle Payments Network (CPN).
🏆 Its main advantages include low fees and fast settlements that will be made using Circle stablecoins.
🏃 The main partners for the new system are banks, neobanks, crypto exchanges and wallets. In particular, 4 large partner banks are indicated: Banco Santander, Deutsche Bank, Société Générale and Standard Chartered Bank.
🏍 Circle has also announced integrations with Alfred Pay, BCB Group, BVNK, CoinMENA, Coins.ph, Conduit, dLocal, dtcpay, Flutterwave, FOMO Pay, HIFI, Inswitch, Legend Trading, Nilos, Noah, Nuvei, Onafriq, OpenPayd, RD Technologies, RedotPay, TazaPay, Transfero Group, Triple-A, Trubit, Unlimit, Yellow Card, Zepz, and Zodia Markets.
Businesswire
Circle Announces Payments Network to Transform Global Money Movement
Circle Internet Group, Inc., a global financial technology company and stablecoin market leader, today announced Circle Payments Network (CPN) to connect fin...
👍10❤4👎2👏1
🇺🇸 Trump's Tariffs and Their Impact on the Crypto Market
↩️ Time flies and the panic in the markets due to Trump's tariffs seems to have calmed down. Bitcoin is trading above $90,000 again this week. The inflow of funds into the Bitcoin ETF has exceeded $2 billion in a week.
🔻 So far, cryptocurrencies have proven surprisingly resilient - the level of capitalization decline at the peak of the panic did not exceed the decline in the stock markets. I wrote about this in more detail in this article.
⛈ In addition, in the long term, the role of Bitcoin as a global strategic asset will grow, and the possible flight of capital from the dollar and American stocks may ultimately add liquidity to the crypto market.
↩️ Time flies and the panic in the markets due to Trump's tariffs seems to have calmed down. Bitcoin is trading above $90,000 again this week. The inflow of funds into the Bitcoin ETF has exceeded $2 billion in a week.
🔻 So far, cryptocurrencies have proven surprisingly resilient - the level of capitalization decline at the peak of the panic did not exceed the decline in the stock markets. I wrote about this in more detail in this article.
⛈ In addition, in the long term, the role of Bitcoin as a global strategic asset will grow, and the possible flight of capital from the dollar and American stocks may ultimately add liquidity to the crypto market.
Hackernoon
Tariff Wars & Crypto Market: The Threats And Opportunities
Tariff wars spark market turmoil; Bitcoin dips then rebounds as investors eye it as a hedge amid growing global economic uncertainty.
👍11❤2
🇺🇸 USA: More than 70 crypto ETF waiting for SEC approval in 2025
👀 Eric Balhunas from Bloomberg set up a list of crypto assets awaiting for SEC ETF approval this year.
📃 In addition to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, his list includes several ETFs on XRP, Solana, Polkadot, Avalanche. There are also Cardano, Aptos, Dogecoin, Trump, Melania and other crypto assets.
✈️ But TON is not on this list. Not yet.
👀 Eric Balhunas from Bloomberg set up a list of crypto assets awaiting for SEC ETF approval this year.
📃 In addition to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, his list includes several ETFs on XRP, Solana, Polkadot, Avalanche. There are also Cardano, Aptos, Dogecoin, Trump, Melania and other crypto assets.
Please open Telegram to view this post
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
👍12❤3
🇳🇬 Nigeria: A new step towards legalizing crypto
📄 According to Forbes, the new version of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, which came into force in Nigeria last month, has eliminated uncertainty in the regulation of crypto transactions in the country.
🏛 Now all crypto companies require licensing by the local SEC, and the procedure for paying taxes on crypto transactions is similar to other securities operations.
▶️ This is a big step forward for Nigeria and although the new regulation is unlikely to please everyone, licensing and control of the industry by the SEC is definitely better than prison terms and multi-million dollar fines for foreign exchanges.
🌐 Given that Nigeria is one of the largest crypto markets, this is a continuation of the movement towards the legalization of crypto in all regions of the world. But it is still not entirely clear how this law will work, including for foreign exchanges.
📄 According to Forbes, the new version of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, which came into force in Nigeria last month, has eliminated uncertainty in the regulation of crypto transactions in the country.
🏛 Now all crypto companies require licensing by the local SEC, and the procedure for paying taxes on crypto transactions is similar to other securities operations.
▶️ This is a big step forward for Nigeria and although the new regulation is unlikely to please everyone, licensing and control of the industry by the SEC is definitely better than prison terms and multi-million dollar fines for foreign exchanges.
🌐 Given that Nigeria is one of the largest crypto markets, this is a continuation of the movement towards the legalization of crypto in all regions of the world. But it is still not entirely clear how this law will work, including for foreign exchanges.
Forbes
Nigerian Gov Passes Law Recognizing Bitcoin As A Security
Last month, President Tinubu signed the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 into law, officially recognizing Bitcoin and other digital assets as securities.
❤12👏3
🇹🇭 Does Thailand ban P2P?
🤔 Last month Thai SEC has forbidden unlicensed crypto exchange and set up high penalties (about $8000) for its violations. That’s why Bybit and other crypto exchanges without license in the country have deleted P2P functionality.
🐟 As result of these updates local P2P market will transfer to platforms with local license, such as: Binance Gulf, Bitazza, Kucoin, etc. Tourists and crypto investors need to pass verification there.
🤔 Last month Thai SEC has forbidden unlicensed crypto exchange and set up high penalties (about $8000) for its violations. That’s why Bybit and other crypto exchanges without license in the country have deleted P2P functionality.
🐟 As result of these updates local P2P market will transfer to platforms with local license, such as: Binance Gulf, Bitazza, Kucoin, etc. Tourists and crypto investors need to pass verification there.
Cointelegraph
Thailand targets foreign crypto P2P services in new anti-crime laws
Thailand’s cabinet has approved amendments to emergency decrees on digital asset businesses and measures for cybercrime prevention, restricting foreign crypto P2P services.
❤6👎4🥰2
🇺🇸 USA: GENIUS Act Failed in Senate
🛑 This happened due to a change in the position of Democratic senators who previously supported the law. Now they voted against it, led by Kirsten Gillibrand. Previously, she was one of the main initiators of this law.
🚦 Senators said that the new Republican amendments to the law are too insufficiently developed in the area of AML and investor security. Democrats generally believe that this law and the entire crypto policy of the Republicans in the United States lobbies too much for the interests of the crypto business (and Donald Trump personally).
🤯 It seems that the situation with crypto regulation in the United States is getting worse and new laws on crypto are being postponed because of the Democrats. On the other hand, while there are no new laws, most decisions will be made by regulators (CFTC, SEC, OCC, FinCEN), which are led by Republicans. So crypto businesses can benefit even from this failure.
🛑 This happened due to a change in the position of Democratic senators who previously supported the law. Now they voted against it, led by Kirsten Gillibrand. Previously, she was one of the main initiators of this law.
🚦 Senators said that the new Republican amendments to the law are too insufficiently developed in the area of AML and investor security. Democrats generally believe that this law and the entire crypto policy of the Republicans in the United States lobbies too much for the interests of the crypto business (and Donald Trump personally).
🤯 It seems that the situation with crypto regulation in the United States is getting worse and new laws on crypto are being postponed because of the Democrats. On the other hand, while there are no new laws, most decisions will be made by regulators (CFTC, SEC, OCC, FinCEN), which are led by Republicans. So crypto businesses can benefit even from this failure.
Decrypt
Stablecoin Legislation Suffers Severe Blow as GENIUS Act Fails to Pass Key Senate Vote - Decrypt
The GENIUS Act failed a key Senate vote Thursday, leaving the future of the stablecoin bill and other crypto legislation in question.
👍16❤11
📈 New Bitcoin ATH
📊 Bitcoin updated its ATH this week and almost reached $110,000 mark. The first cryptocurrency stopped at $109,721.
🇺🇸 This is happening against the backdrop of the ongoing crisis in the US economy - a decrease in demand for US Treasuries. Most likely, the price of the first cryptocurrency is being pushed by the consideration of the Bitcoin Reserve bill in Congress and the agreement between Republicans and Democrats on the stablecoin law in the Senate.
🤑 Maybe the US will increasingly abandon dollar financial instruments in favor of crypto and BTC.
📊 Bitcoin updated its ATH this week and almost reached $110,000 mark. The first cryptocurrency stopped at $109,721.
🇺🇸 This is happening against the backdrop of the ongoing crisis in the US economy - a decrease in demand for US Treasuries. Most likely, the price of the first cryptocurrency is being pushed by the consideration of the Bitcoin Reserve bill in Congress and the agreement between Republicans and Democrats on the stablecoin law in the Senate.
🤑 Maybe the US will increasingly abandon dollar financial instruments in favor of crypto and BTC.
4👍63❤40🤩5