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US DOJ seizes $24M in crypto from accused Qakbot malware developer

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize more than $24 million in cryptocurrency from Rustam Rafailevich Gallyamov, a Russian national accused of developing the Qakbot malware.

According to a May 22 announcement, the DOJ unsealed charges against the 48-year-old Moscovite with a federal indictment. Gallyamov is allegedly the malware developer behind the Qakbot botnet.

“Today’s announcement of the Justice Department’s latest actions to counter the Qakbot malware scheme sends a clear message to the cybercrime community,” said Matthew Galeotti, head of the DOJ’s criminal division.

Screenshot of the indictment. Source: US Department of Justice

Galeotti highlighted that the DOJ is “determined to hold cybercriminals accountable.” He added that the department will “use every legal tool” to “identify you, charge you, forfeit your ill-gotten gains, and disrupt your criminal activity.”

Over $24 million forfeited

US Attorney Bill Essayli for

What is DNS hijacking? How it took down Curve Finance’s website

Understanding the Curve Finance DNS hijacking

On May 12, 2025, at 20:55 UTC, hackers hijacked the “.fi” domain name system (DNS) of Curve Finance after managing to access the registrar. They began sending its users to a malicious website, attempting to drain their wallets. This was the second attack on Curve Finance’s infrastructure in a week.

Users were directed to a website that was a non-functional decoy, designed only to trick users into providing wallet signatures. The hack hadn’t breached the protocol’s smart contracts and was limited to the DNS layer.

The DNS is a critical component of the internet that functions like a phonebook. It allows you to use simple, memorable domain names (such as facebook.com) instead of complex numerical IP addresses (like 192.168.1.1) for websites. DNS converts these user-friendly domain names into the IP addresses computers require to connect.

This is not the

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Twice lucky? Cetus’ recovery plan on Sui mirrors a Solana blueprint

The bounty offer to recover stolen funds from Sui-based decentralized exchange (DEX) Cetus closely resembles a successful strategy used by a Solana project three years ago.

It turns out that Cetus shares the same development team as Crema Finance, a Solana-based DeFi project that suffered a $9-million hack in 2022 but recovered most of the funds by negotiating with its hacker. Now, Cetus is relying on the same strategy.

Cetus is asking the hacker to return all but $6 million, or 2,324 Ether (ETH), of the stolen funds in exchange for a promise not to pursue legal action. The protocol lost $223 million to an exploit on May 22.

The size of the bounty has sparked backlash from users, with many calling for a formal compensation plan instead. Several community members argue that even if funds are recovered, most of the damage has already

Washington moves on crypto: Stablecoin and blockchain bills signal regulatory momentum

In this week’s episode of Byte-Sized Insight, on Decentralize with Cointelegraph, we break down a pivotal moment for US crypto legislation.

In a 66–32 procedural vote on May 19, the US Senate advanced the GENIUS Act, a landmark bill aimed at establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoins. Meanwhile, across the Capitol, Representative Tom Emmer reintroduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, backed by bipartisan support.

Breaking down GENIUS

The GENIUS Act — short for “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act” — seeks to answer foundational questions around stablecoin issuance and oversight.

“It defines this idea of a payment stablecoin,” explained Rashan Colbert, director of US policy at the Crypto Council for Innovation, in this week’s interview. Colbert emphasized that the bill doesn’t stop at definitions.

“It outlines in a robust way just who’s allowed to do this and what they need to look like.”

By this, he’s referring to

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Ledn ditches ETH, shifts to full custody model for Bitcoin loans

Digital asset lender Ledn is transitioning to fully collateralized Bitcoin lending and discontinuing support for Ethereum, in moves designed to consolidate its BTC-focused business and further safeguard client assets against credit risks.

In adopting a full custody structure for Bitcoin (BTC) loans, Ledn will no longer lend out client assets to generate interest, the company disclosed on May 23. Instead, Bitcoin collateral will remain under full custody by Ledn or one of its designated funding partners.

“This means assets aren’t rehypothecated, reused, or loaned out to generate yield,” Ledn co-founder and CEO Adam Reeds told Cointelegraph.

Reeds said the move brings the company back to its roots and aligns more closely with Bitcoin’s founding principles.

“Bitcoin was created as a direct response to the risks of fractional reserve banking and unchecked use of client assets to generate interest,” said Reed, adding:

“Traditional finance relies on constantly reusing client assets to

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US Bitcoin ETFs near record month after $1.5B inflows in 2 days

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States are heading for a record-breaking month, helping push Bitcoin to new all-time highs amid rising institutional demand.

The US-listed spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs recorded more than $1.5 billion in combined inflows over a two-day period, with $608 million on May 21 and $934 million on May 22, according to data from Sosovalue.

A repeat performance of the past two days’ inflows would see monthly inflows surge to $6.68 billion, surpassing the monthly record of $6.49 billion from November 2024.

Bitcoin ETF inflows, monthly, all-time chart. Source: Sosovalue

ETF inflows helped Bitcoin rise to a new all-time high of $112,000 on May 22 before retracing to above $110,700 on May 23, up over 19% in the past week, TradingView data shows.

BTC/USD, 1-year chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The “robust” ETF inflows

Genius Group resumes Bitcoin buying after US court ruling

Singapore-based artificial intelligence firm Genius Group has added more Bitcoin to its corporate treasury after being temporarily banned from doing so.

In a May 22 announcement, Genius Group explained that it has resumed accumulating Bitcoin (BTC) following a favorable ruling by the US Court of Appeals. It follows Genius Group being temporarily barred from expanding its Bitcoin treasury after a US court order had banned it from selling shares, raising funds and using investor funds to buy more BTC.

Genius Group announced it increased its Bitcoin Treasury 40% with the purchase of 24.5 BTC, worth around $2.7 million. The company now holds 85.5 BTC acquired for a total of $8.5 million, at an average price of $99,700 per coin.

“We are pleased to be able to begin the task of rebuilding shareholder value from the damage caused by the legal actions of third parties, and delivering on our 2025 plan,” the company’s CEO,

CZ refutes claims in latest WSJ article on Trump-linked crypto dealings

Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has pushed back against a report in The Wall Street Journal, calling it a “hit piece” filled with inaccuracies and negative assumptions.

In an X post, Zhao criticized the publication’s portrayal of his alleged involvement with World Liberty Financial, the decentralized finance project backed by a business entity affiliated with US President Donald Trump. Trump’s sons — Eric and Donald Jr. —are involved in the management of the company.

Zhao said the WSJ article portrayed him as acting as a “fixer” for the WLF team and its co-founder Zach Witkoff during foreign trips.

The article suggested Zhao facilitated introductions and meetings for WLF leaders during foreign trips, including a visit to Pakistan that reportedly resulted in a memorandum of understanding with a local official.

“I am not a fixer for anyone,” Zhao said, firmly denying that he connected Pakistani official “Mr. Saqib” with WLF or organized any

Cetus offers $6M bounty after $220M hack as Sui faces decentralization debate

Cetus is offering a $6 million white hat bounty in an effort to recover $220 million in stolen digital assets, while emergency responses from the Sui Network have raised concerns about decentralization.

Sui-native decentralized exchange (DEX) Cetus was exploited for over $220 million worth of cryptocurrency on May 22. However, Cetus managed to freeze $162 million of the stolen funds shortly after.

Cetus has since offered a white hat bounty of up to $6 million for the exploiter for returning the stolen 20,920 Ether (ETH), worth over $55 million, along with the rest of the stolen funds currently frozen on the Sui blockchain.

“In exchange, you can keep 2,324 ETH ($6M) as a bounty, and we will consider the matter closed and will not pursue any further legal, intelligence, or public action,” Cetus wrote in a message embedded in a blockchain transaction on May 22.

A bounty offer

Hyperliquid backs 24/7 crypto trading in CFTC comments submission

Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetuals exchange operating on its own layer-1 blockchain, has submitted formal comments on 24/7 derivatives trading to the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

In a May 23 X post, Hyperliquid Labs announced that it has “submitted two comment letters to the [CFTC] in response to its recent Requests for Comment on perpetual derivatives and 24/7 trading.” The team behind the decentralized exchange (DEX) added:

“We commend the CFTC for its proactive engagement on these topics, understanding of which is fundamental to the evolution of global markets.”

Hyperliquid stated that it is committed to the advancement of the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. The team also claimed that its implementation “exemplifies how core DeFi principles can be put into practice to enhance market efficiency, market integrity, and user protection.”

Source: Hyperliquid

CFTC’s 24/7 derivatives plans

Hyperliquid’s remarks follow CFTC Commissioner Summer Mersinger recently saying