Invest ideasNews
27 Feb 2026, 19:39
South Korea National Tax Service’s Mistake Resulted In $4.8 Million Crypto Loss
South Korea National Tax Service just made a costly mistake resulting a huge crypto loss. In an official press release, the agency published unredacted photos that exposed crypto wallet seed phrases. Within hours, an unknown actor used the information to drain 4 million Ethereum-based tokens, nominally worth $4.8 million, from seized wallets before returning them. The funds were not dumped, but the incident exposes a serious operational security failure. It highlights the risks governments face when handling self-custodied digital assets without proper technical safeguards. Key Takeaways The Lapse: NTS press materials included high-resolution images of handwritten recovery phrases for seized Ledger hardware wallets. The Asset: 4 million Pre-Retogeum (PRTG) tokens were taken, holding a theoretical value of $4.8 million but near-zero market liquidity. The Outcome: The attacker funded the wallets with ETH for gas, moved the tokens, and eventually returned them to the original address. The Leak: Tax Agency Publishes Ethereum Private Keys On February 26, the National Tax Service announced it had seized roughly 8.1 billion KRW, about $5.61 million, from repeat tax delinquents. To showcase the enforcement action, officials released photos of the confiscated items, including a display labeled “Case 3.” Source: ntw The problem was in the details. The images showed Ledger hardware wallets next to a sheet of paper with the 12-word seed phrases fully visible. A local professor described the mistake bluntly, comparing it to publicly inviting someone to empty your wallet. The incident highlights a basic but critical gap in technical handling, especially as authorities increasingly seize and manage digital assets. On-Chain Data: The Swipe and Return On-chain data shows the wallets were drained soon after the photos went public. An unknown actor first sent a small amount of ETH to cover gas fees, then transferred 4 million Pre-Retogeum (PRTG) tokens to a new address. Source: Etherscan That amount represented roughly 40% of the token’s total supply. While early reports valued the stash at $4.8 million, liquidity tells a different story. The only active trading pair shows minimal volume, and even a small sell order would have crushed the price. Cashing out at scale was nearly impossible. The tokens were later returned to the original wallets. Whether this was a white-hat action or simple realization that the assets were illiquid is unclear. The episode highlights a basic custody failure. The original owner used a hardware wallet for security, but that protection was undone when authorities photographed the seed phrase. The NTS has not yet issued a detailed statement, and the incident raises questions about how seized crypto assets will be handled going forward. Discover: The best new crypto in the world The post South Korea National Tax Service’s Mistake Resulted In $4.8 Million Crypto Loss appeared first on Cryptonews .
27 Feb 2026, 19:33
Bitcoin Rebound Stalls at $65K as Stocks Fall and Gold Rises
Bitcoin fell Friday after briefly topping $69K this week, while stocks like CoreWeave and BitMine tumbled amid broader market losses.
27 Feb 2026, 19:33
BNB Technical Analysis February 27, 2026: Support Resistance Levels
BNB at $609.64 leaned on the critical support at $608.8050; if it holds, $626 resistance could be tested. On a breakdown, the $408 downside target should be monitored, with BTC correlation being de...
27 Feb 2026, 19:33
Gensler Admits He Was Wrong About Ripple
Former SEC Chair Gary Gensler has allegedly apologized to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse..
27 Feb 2026, 19:30
TMTG in talks with TAE and Texas Ventures III about spinning Truth Social and related businesses into SpinCo
Truth Social sits at the center of a corporate plan that could separate Truth Media from the rest of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., which trades as DJT on Nasdaq and NYSE Texas, said today it is in ongoing discussions with TAE Technologies, Inc. and Texas Ventures Acquisition III Corp., the SPAC that trades as TVA on Nasdaq. The talks cover a potential spin-off by TMTG of Truth businesses, including Truth Social , into a publicly traded company called SpinCo. The timing is tied to the pending merger between TMTG and TAE. TMTG said the spin-off is being discussed to happen after that merger closes. In the structure described, shares of SpinCo would be distributed to shareholders of record of TMTG from before the merger closing with TAE. After the distribution, SpinCo would merge with Texas Ventures III. TMTG plans Truth SpinCo split after TAE merger TMTG said the TAE businesses would stay inside the public company after the spin-off, along with certain of TMTG’s existing businesses and assets. The companies said the merger would combine TMTG’s “robust balance sheet” with TAE’s “leading technologies.” They said the goal is to form “pure play companies,” each with “distinct strategies.” The companies also issued a cautionary statement. TMTG, TAE, and Texas Ventures III said “no definitive agreement has been reached” and discussions are still ongoing. They said there is “no assurance” any deal will come out of these talks, what terms it might carry, or when it might happen, if it happens at all, at present. They said any definitive agreement would be subject to approvals from each company’s board, plus regulatory approvals, shareholder approvals, and other customary closing conditions. For Truth shareholders, it is still not final. American Bitcoin posts loss as Bitcoin drops 23% American Bitcoin swung to a fourth-quarter loss on Thursday as digital assets stayed weak. The company is backed by two of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sons. American Bitcoin was co-founded by Eric Trump, and Trump is a stockholder. American Bitcoin mines bitcoin and either sells it at a premium or holds it for a price surge. Concerns over stretched valuations in artificial-intelligence stocks and uncertainty around the timing and scale of U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts pressured risk assets. Bitcoin fell to quarterly lows. Many so-called digital asset treasury companies faced stress, since their stock prices often move with the token because token swings change the value of reserves. In the quarter, the sector saw a selloff, and bitcoin tumbled nearly 23% over the three months. American Bitcoin runs industrial-scale mining operations. It relies largely on infrastructure provided by Hut 8 to produce bitcoin at costs below prevailing market prices. Shares of American Bitcoin have lost nearly 22% in the past twelve months. Sustained pressure on crypto treasury stocks could complicate raising additional capital to mine more tokens at an industrial scale, which is the core of the model. Eric said the company holds over 6,000 bitcoin presently, up from 5,401 at the 2025 year-end. American Bitcoin posted a net loss of $59.45 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a $3.48 million profit in the year-ago period. The company also reported a profit in the previous quarter. Revenue was $78.3 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, up from $64.2 million in the prior-year period. Analysts expected $79.6 million. Truth-linked traders will track the reserve and the cash flow next. Want your project in front of crypto’s top minds? Feature it in our next industry report, where data meets impact.
27 Feb 2026, 19:19
Citi and Morgan Stanley expand bitcoin and crypto custody, trading and tokenization efforts
As Citi integrates Bitcoin into bank-grade custody and reporting frameworks, Morgan Stanley moves to bring crypto trading, lending exploration and tokenized products to mainstream wealth clients.
