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How the SEC’s proposed token relief might impact crypto firms
The retroactive token and coin offering relief measures proposed by US Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester Peirce will likely benefit crypto firms and projects with a certain profile, attorneys told Cointelegraph.
Franco Jofré, an attorney and a senior adviser at Miller & Chevalier, said firms that conducted initial coin offerings during the ICO boom of 2017–2018 have a strong argument for relief under the new proposal.
Projects that exhibit strong utility use cases for their tokens or coins, as opposed to purely speculative instruments with an investment focus, will also likely qualify for any potential relief, Jofré added. The attorney said:
“If the SEC provides relief, it could introduce clearer criteria distinguishing security tokens from true utility tokens. For example, tokens issued primarily for access to a service or platform or those structured to function more like digital goods rather than equity substitutes.”
These include decentralized finance projects, layer-2 scaling solutions, and other crypto infrastructure that use tokens for governance and security. Custodians and centralized exchanges are also notable candidates for relief, the attorney told Cointelegraph. Read More
Researchers Flag Crypto-Stealing Malware in Google and Apple Apps
The malware scans users' images for ones that contain wallet recovery phrases. Matching images are then encrypted and transmitted to a remote server.
Kaspersky researchers have detailed a cross‐platform malware campaign that targets cryptocurrency wallet recovery phrases through malicious mobile apps.
According to a recent report, the “SparkCat” campaign uses a malicious software development kit (SDK) embedded in modified messaging apps and other applications to scan users’ image galleries for sensitive recovery data. This technique was first observed in March 2023.
At the time, cybersecurity researchers observed malware features within messaging apps scanning user galleries for crypto wallet recovery phrases—commonly known as mnemonics—to send to remote servers.
The initial campaign only affected Android and Windows users through unofficial app sources, the researchers said. Read More
Blockchain platform introduces high-speed EVM with multi-VM support
The native EVM enables developers to build across EVM and Wasm environments without external bridges.
Injective introduces a native EVM capable of processing over 20,000 TPS, addressing scalability challenges in blockchain while supporting both EVM and WASM environments.
Imagine a highway where cars represent transactions. On many blockchains, this highway charges high toll fees and is often congested with slow-moving traffic. This is the case for many Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-based chains, where scalability issues and high costs have become significant roadblocks.
EVM is the engine that powers Ethereum and many other blockchains, enabling them to run smart contracts — self-executing programs that automate transactions. However, as more users and decentralized applications (DApps) join the network, the limitations of these systems become increasingly apparent.
These bottlenecks hinder the potential for mass adoption, especially in sectors like decentralized finance (DeFi) that require high throughput and low latency. As a solution, blockchain platform Injective has introduced a native EVM that acts like a high-speed express lane capable of processing over 20,000 transactions per second (TPS).
Injective’s native EVM is seamlessly integrated into its core architecture, much like adding a new lane to a highway without disrupting the existing traffic flow. This integration eliminates the need for external bridges or connectors, creating a unified system where EVM and WebAssembly (Wasm) environments can coexist. Read More
Tether is building AI apps and an open-source SDK platform
The world’s largest stablecoin issuer, Tether, is venturing deeper into artificial intelligence with a number of AI applications in development, according to the firm’s chief executive.
Tether’s AI division, Tether Data, is developing a number of AI apps, such as AI Translate, AI Voice Assistant, and AI Bitcoin Wallet Assistant, according to a Feb. 4 announcement from CEO Paolo Ardoino.
“Tether will soon launch its own AI SDK [software development kit] platform, open-source, built upon Bare, working on every hardware, from embedded devices, any mobile phone, any laptop, powerful servers, clusters of servers,” he added.
Further details were thin but Ardoino said that Tether Data’s apps “will focus on working locally on any device, full privacy, self-custodial for both data and money.”
In the demo for the AI Bitcoin Wallet Assistant, a user asked the “Payment Agent” what their BTC wallet address was before querying about the BTC balance.
The demo also showed the user asking what recipients they had in their address book before requesting the agent send a small amount of BTC to one of them.
The entire process was conducted through the AI chatbot interface and carried out autonomously. Read More
Swedish digital asset manager launches Avalanche, Cardano ETP on Nasdaq Helsinki
Swedish crypto asset manager Virtune has introduced new crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) for investors in Finland, offering portfolio exposure to Avalanche and Cardano.
The launch comes just weeks after the firm rolled out five other crypto-related ETPs.
The Virtune Avalanche ETP gives investors direct 1:1 exposure with Avalanche, while the Virtune Staked Cardano ETP offers the same physical backing with Cardano, plus an additional 2% annual return from staking rewards, according to a Feb. 5 statement from Virtune.
AVAX and ADA offered as ETP products:
Virtune CEO Christopher Kock said that the product offerings are “to meet the growing demand from Finnish investors.”
The assets will be securely stored in cold storage through its custodian, crypto exchange Coinbase, and available to institutional and retail investors.
Both ETPs began trading on Feb. 5 on Nasdaq Helsinki after being traded on Nasdaq Stockholm. Read More
Could Bitcoin Reach A $1 Million Milestone Sooner Than Later? Here's A Possible Path To Achieving It
In the past half-year, Bitcoin (BTC) has seen remarkable expansion, with its value rising by 50% and breaking the $100,000 barrier for the first time. The cryptocurrency community is bullish on the recent election outcome, expecting President Donald Trump's leadership to fuel further growth and propel Bitcoin to new levels in the years to come. The cryptocurrency space is abuzz with interest, and a recent announcement from the Trump administration, which is seen as more crypto-friendly, has sparked anticipation that it could be a catalyst for even more incredible price appreciation for Bitcoin.
Following Gary Gensler's resignation as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), known for his negative stance on cryptocurrency, Mark Uyeda has taken on the role of acting chairman. Uyeda is recognized for supporting cryptocurrency and blockchain advancements, marking a notable shift from Gensler's strict regulatory strategies. Uyeda's more favorable stance towards cryptocurrency could potentially lead to less stringent regulations, positively impacting Bitcoin's value. Uyeda will serve as acting chairman until the Senate confirms Paul Atkins, the nominated SEC chairman. Read More
Ethereum L2s will be interoperable ‘within months’: Complete guide
The Ethereum L2 roadmap successful scaled transactions, but created massive interoperability problems. That’s getting solved in months.
Ethereum is finally on the verge of solving the interoperability problems that have plagued the ecosystem since the layer 2 roadmap started to take off a couple of years ago.
This year, users can expect to see easy crosschain swaps between L2s, new chain-specific addresses that are human-readable, trustless crosschain messaging and the launch of innovative “unified liquidity” bridges like Polygon’s Agglayer.
With the first of the upgrades going live in the next few weeks, ecosystem leaders from Base to Across predict it’s only a matter of time before Ethereum will feel like Ethereum again.
“The move toward fast, standardized interop isn’t just a technical upgrade — it’s essential for making Ethereum feel like one seamless ecosystem,” explains Across co-founder Hart Lambur.
When chains can interact in two seconds or less, the vision of a unified Ethereum comes to life.”
Lambur revealed that the audited code for Across and Uniswap’s new intent standard (EIP-7683) will be deployed within the next week, with crosschain orders starting to flow through the decentralized solvers system “in the coming weeks.” Fifty projects and protocols are supporting the new standard, including Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base and Uniswap. Read More
MetaMask Introduces a Feature Allowing Users to Pay Gas Fees with Tokens
MetaMask has introduced a new feature that allows people to use a selection of tokens to pay gas fees when using MetaMask Swap for smart transactions.
Dubbed Gas Station, the innovation addresses a common issue faced by Ethereum users: transactions failing due to insufficient gas fees.
The crypto wallet provider announced the functionality in a February 4 post on X, stating that it will help users avoid transaction failures due to a lack of ETH for gas fees.
Such payments are required for processing transactions on the Ethereum network and must traditionally be settled in ETH. This often leaves users stranded if they do not have enough of the cryptocurrency in their wallet, forcing them to purchase it from an exchange before proceeding with their transaction.
“Being blocked by insufficient gas will no longer be a problem when swapping, thanks to MetaMask’s new Gas Station feature,” the company stated in an accompanying blog post.
The new functionality eliminates this issue by allowing clients to utilize select tokens to pay gas fees when using MetaMask Swap. Supported cryptocurrencies include USDT, USDC, DAI, ETH, wETH, wBTC, wstETH, and wSOL. Additionally, the new system ensures that network charges are already factored into the quoted price, providing a smoother experience.
The update is currently available on the MetaMask extension for the Ethereum mainnet, with a mobile release expected soon. It also maintains the wallet provider’s existing functionality of sourcing the best exchange rates from multiple liquidity providers, ensuring users receive competitive pricing. Read More
SEC Dials Down Crypto Oversight, Reassigns Agency Lawyers: Report
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is cutting back its specialized crypto enforcement unit, reassigning more than 50 lawyers and staff members focused on regulating digital assets as a changing landscape under President Donald Trump takes root.
Several members of the crypto unit have been shifted to different departments within the agency, according to a Tuesday report by The New York Times, which cited several anonymous sources.
At least one senior lawyer was removed from the enforcement division altogether—a move some insiders described as an “unfair demotion,” per the report.
The crypto unit overhaul is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail government intervention in digital assets. Trump has vowed to curb regulatory oversight in the crypto sector since his Presidential campaign and make the U.S. a global leader in digital assets. Read More
Crypto-stealing malware found in Android, iOS app-making kits: Kaspersky
Malicious software development kits used to make apps on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store are scanning users’ pictures to find crypto wallet recovery phrases to drain the funds within, says cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Labs.
Kaspersky analysts Sergey Puzan and Dmitry Kalinin said in a Feb. 4 report that once the malware called SparkCat infects a device, it searches for images using specific keywords in different languages through an optical character recognition (OCR) stealer.
“The intruders steal recovery phrases for crypto wallets, which are enough to gain full control over the victim’s wallet for further theft of funds,” Puzan and Kalinin wrote.
“It should be noted that the flexibility of the malware allows it to steal not only secret phrases but also other personal data from the gallery, such as the content of messages or passwords that could remain on screenshots.”
Kaspersky’s analysts recommended not to store sensitive information in screenshots or a phone’s picture gallery and instead use a password manager. They also said to remove any suspect or infected apps. Read More
Coinbase Gains Approval to Offer Digital Asset Services in the UK
Coinbase has received approval to offer digital asset services to customers in the UK—the latest sign that the U.S. company is deepening its footprint in Europe as it aims to boost business.
The crypto exchange clinched a Virtual Asset Service Provider license from British regulators Monday, according to a company statement.
The license allows the fintech platform to offer digital asset trading to institutional and retail clients in the UK—a move that lets Coinbase broaden its largely U.S.-centric user base and potentially rake in more revenue.
“This is a critical registration to cement our strong position in the UK and unlock our ambitious expansion plans,” a Coinbase spokesperson said Monday in the statement, adding that the exchange aims to onboard one billion people to crypto globally.
Coinbase Payments, a subsidiary of Coinbase, has offered e-money services in the UK since 2018. But until now, the company couldn't offer crypto products and services to users there. Read More
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
Featured Image Source: Pixabay
