$243M Bitcoin scam that led to kidnapping and chaos
In one of the most bizarre crossovers between digital crime and real-world violence, a group of young cybercriminals stole almost $243 million in Bitcoin (BTC). Within weeks, the fallout spilled from the blockchain into a quiet Connecticut suburb, ending in a harrowing kidnapping plot.
If this seems like the plot of a Netflix thriller, you’re not alone in thinking that. But it happened. And fast.
Let’s unpack how a Minecraft-playing teenager, an underground network of crypto thieves and a Lamborghini-driving suburban couple all became tangled in a wild web of digital deception and real-world chaos.
It all started when a Washington, D.C.-based cryptocurrency investor received a suspicious phone call. The person on the other end posed as a security representative from Google. A second call came from someone claiming to be with Gemini, a well-known crypto
Trump to host memecoin gala dinner amid backlash, impeachment calls
US President Donald Trump will host a gala dinner for top holders of his Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin despite bipartisan criticism and renewed calls for impeachment.
In a May 5 Truth Social post, Trump announced that he will hold a gala dinner with major TRUMP holders on May 22. The announcement follows multiple US lawmakers expressing concern over the initiative.
In late April, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren called on government officials to address questions related to Trump’s memecoin and his media company. Controversies grew after Trump announced a dinner and White House tour for some holders of his TRUMP memecoin.
“President Trump’s announcement promises exclusive access to the presidency in exchange for significant investment in one of the President’s business ventures,” a letter co-signed by California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff read.
A call for impeachment over a memecoin
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Strategy, Semler bag 2K Bitcoin as price edged toward $100K last week
Michael Saylor’s Strategy, one of the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin investors, slowed its BTC purchases last week as the cryptocurrency briefly surged above $97,000.
Strategy acquired a new batch of 1,895 Bitcoin (BTC) for $180.3 million during the week from April 28 to May 4 at an average price of $95,167 per BTC, the firm announced in its latest Form-8 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Strategy’s latest Bitcoin purchase is one of the smallest made by the company this year, alongside a comparatively meagre 130 BTC purchase in March.
Source: Michael Saylor
The latest buy is 87% less than the previous purchase of 15,355 BTC announced last Monday.
Semler boosts buying despite rising prices
While Saylor’s Strategy cooled its Bitcoin buying spree last week, others upped their
Binance co-founder CZ proposes Bitcoin, BNB for Kyrgyzstan reserves
Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has proposed Bitcoin and BNB as the first digital assets to build Kyrgyzstan’s national crypto reserves.
On May 5, Zhao shared on X that he had advised Kyrgyzstan to start with Bitcoin (BTC) and BNB (BNB) when building its national crypto reserve. In 2024, Forbes claimed that Zhao holds about 94 million BNB tokens, or 64% of BNB’s circulating supply. At the time of writing, these tokens are worth about $55 billion.
The proposal followed Zhao’s earlier announcement that he had begun advising Kyrgyzstan’s National Investment Agency (NIA) on blockchain and crypto-related matters.
On April 3, Zhao confirmed he’s been officially and unofficially advising governments on crypto frameworks and blockchain solutions. The former Binance CEO said that he finds the work extremely
Cointelegraph and TheBlock announce strategic media partnership to strengthen global Web3 and virtual asset collaboration
Dubai, UAE – May 2025 — TheBlock, the International Chamber of Virtual Assets, has announced a strategic partnership with Cointelegraph, the world’s leading Web3 media platform. The collaboration brings together two major players in the blockchain and virtual asset space, with the shared goal of amplifying the global adoption of tokenisation, advancing regulatory dialogue, and supporting builders entering the MENA region.
The agreement, signed during Token2049 Dubai, highlights Cointelegraph’s growing collaboration with key players in the UAE. This new partnership will foster deeper collaboration and mutual support across TheBlock’s ecosystem.
As part of the collaboration, Cointelegraph will set up a presence at TheBlock’s headquarters in Dubai World Trade Center, offering opportunities for engagement with founders, partners, and clients within the ecosystem. The partnership also includes joint participation in educational panels, roundtables, and summits focused on real-world assets (RWAs), compliance, and capital allocation.
“This partnership is not just about media,” said Farbod Sadeghian, Founder
Crypto funds raked in $2B last week, pushing 3-week haul to $5.5B
Cryptocurrency investment products attracted $2 billion in new inflows last week, according to the European investment firm CoinShares.
Global crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) have added $5.5 billion in inflows in the past three weeks, according to the latest weekly report from CoinShares.
With the new inflows, total assets under management (AUM) in all crypto ETPs worldwide jumped 3.3% from $151 billion to $156 billion.
Although the positive trend has continued for the past three weeks, the latest weekly inflows were down 41% from last week’s $3.4 billion of inflows — the third-largest crypto ETP inflows on record.
Inflows slowed down despite new Bitcoin gains
The slowdown in crypto ETP inflows came despite Bitcoin (BTC) seeing some brief gains last week, with the price rising from about $94,300 on April 28 to an intraweek high above $97,000 on May 2,
Aptos exec sees Web 2.5 platforms earning ‘tons’ of revenue
While many crypto ecosystems focus on decentralization as the core tenet of Web3, Aptos is seeing success with hybrid platforms that blend Web2 and Web3 technologies, commonly referred to as “Web2.5.”
In an interview at the Token20249 event in Dubai, Aptos’ head of ecosystem, Ash Pampati, told Cointelegraph that they see Web2.5 platforms earn “tons of revenue” within Aptos. He noted that consumer-focused applications in particular are thriving on the network.
Web2.5 is a term used to describe a combination of Web2 and Web3 technologies. The term describes platforms or applications that blend centralized Web2 experiences with decentralized Web3 elements.
These applications often avoid full decentralization, drawing criticism for not fully embracing the Web3 vision.
Ash Pampati at the Token2049 media lounge in Dubai. Source: CointelegraphConsumer-focused Web2.5 platforms generate revenue on Aptos
Pampati told Cointelegraph that one of the trends he sees within the Aptos ecosystem is that founders
Tether AI platform to support Bitcoin and USDT payments, CEO says
Tether AI, the forthcoming artificial intelligence platform from stablecoin giant Tether, will feature payments in major cryptocurrencies, including USDt and Bitcoin.
Tether CEO Paolo Adroino took to X on May 5 to tease the imminent launch of Tether AI, the company’s new AI platform designed to offer “personal infinite intelligence.”
According to Ardoino, Tether’s AI platform will be integrated with USDt (USDT) and Bitcoin (BTC) payments, allowing users to make transactions directly through a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.
Source: Paolo Ardoino
The initiative builds on Tether’s December 2024 announcement that it was developing a website for the AI tool, targeting a launch by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Support of “any hardware and device”
Ardoino emphasized that Tether AI will not use application programming interface (API) keys
Vitalik Buterin says rollups must prove security before decentralizing
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin explained when rollup-based layer-2 platforms should go decentralized, and why “as soon as possible” is not the correct answer.
In a May 5 X post, Buterin said there is a right time for rollup-based scalability solutions to transition to a decentralized model. This moment depends on how low the proof system’s failure probability has fallen compared with the risks introduced by centralization.
Buterin’s thread came in response to a separate post by decentralized exchange Loopring founder and CEO Daniel Wang. Wang said in his thread that the maturity of a system matters to its security:
“Not all code is created equal. A rollup can be Stage 2, but running fresh code that’s never been tested under real stress.“
Rollup development is classified into stages: stage zero, stage one and stage two. Each stage is increasingly decentralized, with stage
America’s crypto renaissance is already failing; but we can fix it
Opinion by: Shane Molidor, Founder, Forgd
For years, launching a crypto project in the United States has been a maze of uncertainty. Legal ambiguity and a hostile regulatory environment have driven founders offshore, turning places like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands into global hubs for blockchain innovation.
With Trump’s election, things finally started to change, with a US administration openly declaring its intention to be crypto-friendly. Yet, despite the rhetoric, nothing concrete has changed so far.
Launching a crypto project in the US is just as difficult as ever. US regulatory agencies continue to offer nothing but vague threats and “regulation by enforcement” lawsuits. America wants to be a leader in crypto, but, even under the Trump administration, it isn’t taking action to create the conditions that would make that happen.
Killing crypto in America
Every crypto project faces the same fundamental problem: Achieving decentralization is critical to avoid regulatory scrutiny, but until a project