🔔 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (27/02/25)
1️⃣ SEC Closed Investigation Into Gemini With No Action: Winklevoss ▶️
#SEC According to a Feb. 26 notice shared by Gemini co-founder and president Cameron Winklevoss, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has closed its investigation into crypto exchange Gemini. While the regulator will reportedly not recommend an enforcement action, it added the notice isn’t an exoneration and that it must not be construed as an indication that no action will be taken at a later date as a result of the regulator’s investigation.
Commenting on the notice, Winklevoss stated,
It’s wholly unacceptable for an agency like the SEC to bully, harass and attack a lawful industry and then decide one day to simply say we’re good and walk away. I’m glad to be turning the page here as an industry, but this is not the end, rather the beginning toward ensuring this never happens again to the crypto industry or any other exciting, new frontier industry in the future.
2️⃣ SEC And Justin Sun Look To 'Explore A Potential Resolution' 🤔
According to a Feb. 26 filing to a Manhattan federal court, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Justin Sun are looking to pause the regulator’s case against the crypto entrepreneur to allow for settlement talks. For context, the SEC charged Sun and three of his companies (Tron Foundation Limited, BitTorrent Foundation Ltd., and Rainberry Inc) in March 2023 over allegedly offering and selling Tronix and BitTorrent as investments “through multiple unregistered ‘bounty programs.’”
3️⃣ India’s CBI Raids 60 Locations in Crackdown on GainBitcoin Scam ☄️
India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) reportedly conducted raids at 60 locations as part of its investigation into the $800 million (₹6,600 crore) GainBitcoin scam. The raids were conducted across the country, including in cities such as Delhi NCR, Pune, Chandigarh, Nanded, Kolhapur, and Bengaluru. During the raids, the CBI seized incriminating digital evidence, including crypto wallets, emails, and cloud data, crucial to tracing the funds—some of which have allegedly been laundered across international borders.
4️⃣ Bybit Hack Forensics Show Safewallet Compromise Led To Stolen Funds ❓
#BybitLaunchpool According to a series of third-party forensic investigations, compromised SafeWallet credentials were the root cause of the recent Bybit exploit. The forensic reviews, conducted by Sygnia and Verichains, revealed that the compromised credentials of a Safe developer allowed the attacker to gain unauthorised access to the Safe(Wallet) infrastructure and deceive signers into approving a malicious transaction. The attack reportedly originated from a “malicious JavaScript code” injected into SafeWallet’s Amazon Web Services infrastructure. Safewallet confirmed these findings and stated that it has “added security measures to eliminate the attack vector.”
5️⃣ Onchain Sleuth ZachXBT Joins Crypto VC Firm Paradigm As Incident Response Advisor ‼️
Onchain sleuth ZachXBT has reportedly joined as an incident response advisor for crypto investment firm Paradigm. In this role, ZachXBT is expected to assist Paradigm’s portfolio companies with any security-related incidents while continuing to publish investigative content as before.
In a post on X, ZachXBT stated,
It was an easy decision as this gives me the freedom to continue helping the community and publishing investigations like. I’ve always respected how Paradigm has given back to the space by funding intiatives such as Security Alliance, publishing open source research, and helping defend the right to privacy.
6️⃣ US House Will Consider Repeal of 'Burdensome' IRS Crypto Tax Rule 🔍
#InfiniHacked Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives have reportedly advanced a resolution that aims to prevent the Internal Revenue Service from imposing tax reporting requirements on DeFi projects. U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith claimed the IRS tax rule seeks to “unnecessarily regulate the providers of digital wallets.” He argued it would only benefit non-U.S. firms that are exempt from the rule’s “burdensome requirements.”