UK regulators plan to ban retail investors from buying crypto assets with debt, citing financial risk and volatility.
The UK is introducing sweeping rules for crypto, including a ban on buying these risky assets with debt. On Friday, May 2, the UKâs Financial Conduct Authority published a new document proposing new rules for crypto assets.
The ban would include purchases made with credit cards, e-money, and any other form of debt. According to the regulators, the goal is to protect consumers in the event that these volatile assets decline in value. In addition, retail investors will be barred from engaging with certain crypto lending platforms, which the regulator deems high-risk.
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At the same time, the regulator outlined new rules for crypto platforms. For one, crypto companies would be required to establish a legal entity in the UK and fall under UK regulatory oversight. Specifically, the regulations would mandate transparent pricing and the segregation of platform assets from those of users.
Moreover, the proposed regulation would ban payment for order flow, citing the potential for misuse. The practice refers to brokers directing their clientsâ orders to selected market makers, potentially creating conflicts of interest.
UK is âopen for businessâ: FCA director
David Geale, FCA executive director of payments and digital finance, stated that these regulations aim to provide investor protections. However, he dismissed claims that the country was cracking down on the crypto industry.
âCrypto is an area of potential growth for the UK but it has to be done right. To do that we have to provide an appropriate level of protection,â David Geale, FCA.
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He compared crypto with other high-risk assets and noted that, in many cases, crypto regulations offer even less protection. However, he emphasized that the country is welcoming toward crypto trading and innovation.
âI would in some ways compare this to any other high-risk investments, which if anything often have less protectionsâ.â.â.âWe are open for businessâ
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尽管 Bybit 首席执行官 Ben Zhou 表示 88% 的被盗加密货币仍可追踪,但最近的 Bybit 黑客攻击与前所未有的洗钱行动有关。通过加密货币洗钱是否正在增加?让我们来分析一下。
2017 年,贝莱德的拉里·芬克 (Larry Fink) 曾将加密货币称为“洗钱指数”。五年后,芬克意识到他不应该忽视比特币,贝莱德拥抱了比特币。现在,该公司的 iShares 比特币信托基金持有超过 570,000 枚比特币,比任何其他公司都多。贝莱德于 2022 年开始与比特币合作。根据 Chainanalyis 的数据,那一年用于犯罪(尤其是洗钱)的加密货币估值达到顶峰,分别为 540 亿美元和 310 亿美元。
Bybit 被盗的资金去哪儿了?
3 月 20 日,Bybit 的 Ben Zhou 通过他的 X 账户表示,2 月份 Bybit 黑客攻击期间被盗资金中超过 88% 仍然可以追踪,而 7.59% “已经消失”。其余被盗资金已被冻结。
3.20.25 被黑客入侵资金执行摘要:黑客开始使用混合器:1. Wasbi 2. CryptoMixer 3. Railgun 4. TornadoCash被黑客入侵的资金总额为 14 亿美元,约 50 万 ETH。其中 88.87% 仍可追踪,7.59% 已变黑,3.54% 已被冻结。细分:- 86.29%(440,091 ETH,...— Ben Zhou (@benbybit) 2025 年 3 月 20 日
在帖子中,周先生具体说明了用于洗钱的加密货币混合器,并敦促赏金猎人帮助解码混合器交易,以期追回被盗资金。
据周先生称,这些资金被发送到 Wasabi、TornadoCash、Railgun 和 Crypto Mixer。其中一些交易随后通过点对点平台进行交换。此前,Bybit 指责 eXch 允许犯罪分子利用其平台洗钱。eXch 代表驳斥了这些指控。
阅读更多:加密货币交易所 eXch 否认 Bybit 洗钱指控
Elliptic called the Bybit hack the biggest heist in history and linked the operation to Lazarus Group, a hacker organization allegedly sponsored by North Korea. Reportedly, crypto stolen by Lazarus Group has provided Pyongyang with 40% of funds necessary for its nuclear program.
Zhou called decoding the mixer transactions the ânumber one challenge.â It is unclear what the odds are of eventually decoding the transaction data. Several methods exist for decoding obfuscated transactions, but it is too early to predict if any of them will help in the Bybit hack case.
区块链数据分析公司 Arkham Analytics 透露,3 月 20 日,Bybit 黑客攻击中被盗资金中的 12.9 BTC 被发送到一个未知地址。
阅读更多:Lazarus Group 向五个未知地址发送价值 376 万美元的比特币
每年通过加密货币洗钱多少钱?
欧洲刑警组织表示,洗钱是加密货币的主要犯罪用途。欧洲刑警组织的报告指出,在新冠疫情期间,通过加密货币进行的洗钱量开始上升,因为加密货币交易的数量本身也在增加。
The data gathered by Chainalysis shows that money-laundering volume nearly doubled in 2021 compared to 2020 or 2019. In 2021, the laundered crypto volume reached $18.3 billion, up from $9.9 billion to $11.1 billion in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
However, in 2022, the laundered crypto volume jumped to $31.5 billion, declining to $22.2 billion in 2023, which is still much higher than before 2021. Chainalysis stressed that in 2023, the overall crypto transactions volume dropped by 15%. However, the laundered crypto volume dropped by around 30%. It is hard to say if there is a positive change as, according to Chainalysis, the overall criminal use of crypto was more or less stable at around $50 billion per year in 2022, 2023, and 2024. More than that, Chainalysis states that in recent years, crypto criminal activities have become highly diverse and professionalized.
The 2010s saw a growing number of mixers and cross-chain bridges used by crypto criminals. However, law enforcement efforts are believed to be the reason for the relative drop in mixer use after a peak in 2022. The use of cross-chain bridges is increasing. Only five off-ramp services have been responsible for about one-third of all laundered crypto cash-outs between 2019 and 2023.
Are crypto mixers, privacy-focused coins, and similar tools responsible?
多年来,加密货币社区一直支持那些因创建用于掩盖被盗加密货币踪迹的服务而被起诉的开发人员。Tornado Cash 和 Samourai 的开发人员就是例子。正如加密货币社区一直呼吁赦免 Ross Ulbricht 一样,他们也在支持 Samourai 的 Keonne Rodriguez 和 William Lonergan 以及 Tornado Cash 的 Roman Storm。
支持者认为,创建合法和犯罪使用的开源工具本身并不是犯罪,也不能被视为参与第三方犯罪。我们本月早些时候采访的先锋加密货币律师 Marta Belcher 表示:
一项技术可用于犯罪并不意味着该技术本身存在问题。犯罪分子也会使用现金犯罪,但我们不会因此而要求禁止使用现金,就像我们不会责怪福特汽车在银行抢劫案中被用作逃逸车辆一样。
https://twitter.com/rstormsf/status/1882100012513186283
然而,自 2025 年起,检察官通常会努力追究开发者为犯罪分子创建工具的责任。例如,Samourai 创始人面临最高 25 年监禁,其平台被 Silk Road 和 Hydra 市场用于洗钱。Ross Ulbricht 获赦免可能被视为范式转变的暗示,但现在谈论真正的改变还为时过早。
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微软发布了有关新恶意软件 StilachiRAT 的警报,该恶意软件会秘密攻击加密货币钱包并窃取存储在 Google Chrome 等浏览器中的信息。
根据 3 月 17 日的公告,StilachiRAT 是一种远程访问木马 (RAT),旨在逃避检测并窃取敏感数据。
StilachiRAT 对加密货币用户构成了严重威胁。值得注意的是,该恶意软件会主动扫描 Google Chrome 中的加密钱包扩展程序,针对至少 20 个不同的钱包,其中包括 MetaMask、Trust Wallet、Phantom、Coinbase、BNB Chain 和 Bitget Wallet 等。
StilachiRAT 可能攻击的钱包列表 | 资料来源:微软
一旦被检测到,恶意软件就可以提取存储的凭据和配置数据,进而允许攻击者窃取受害者的资金。
此外,StilachiRAT 还监控剪贴板活动,搜索用户可能复制的加密货币密钥和密码,对数字资产安全构成直接威胁。
该恶意软件允许攻击者远程执行远程命令、清除日志并操纵注册表设置以保持访问权限。它采用反取证措施(例如检测分析工具和延迟执行)来绕过安全监控。
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其主要功能之一是系统侦察。StilachiRAT 收集有关受感染设备的详细信息,包括操作系统详细信息、硬件标识符和活动应用程序。它还监控远程桌面协议会话,允许攻击者冒充用户并在网络中横向移动。
微软尚未将该恶意软件归咎于特定的威胁行为者,但警告称,其隐秘和先进的逃避策略使其成为严重的风险。
While it is not yet widespread, Microsoft has urged users to exercise caution.
âMalware like StilachiRAT can be installed through multiple vectors; therefore, it is critical to implement security hardening measures to prevent the initial compromise,â the tech giant warned.
Recommended precautions include downloading software only from official sources, enabling Microsoft Defender real-time protection, turning on cloud-delivered security, and using SmartScreen to block malicious websites.
The crypto sector has long been targeted using increasingly sophisticated malware and cyberattacks. From wallet-draining trojans to phishing scams, attackers continue to evolve their tactics to exploit vulnerabilities.
As previously reported by crypto.news, the $1.4 billion Bybit hack, the biggest crypto theft to date, allegedly started with malware disguised as a fake stock investment project.
去年年底,链上调查员泰勒·莫纳汉 (Taylor Monahan) 发现了一个复杂的社会工程计划,该计划在虚假的求职面试过程中将恶意软件推送到受害者的设备上。
阅读更多:调查显示,Bybit 14 亿美元数据泄露源于股票投资恶意软件