hodler

20 Jan 2026, 09:33

Bitcoin price targets extend down to $58K as BTC prints new death cross

Bitcoin "failed" its breakout from its macro trading range, analysis said, with new BTC price targets including a return to sub-$60,000 levels.

20 Jan 2026, 09:32

Hong Kong crypto rule changes risk deterring traditional asset managers

A leading Hong Kong securities association has raised concerns over a series of proposed rule changes that could tighten the city’s regulatory grip on digital assets. The industry body warns that the approach risks discouraging traditional asset managers from engaging with cryptocurrencies. In a formal submission made on Tuesday , the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Professionals Association (HKSFPA) took issue with several elements of the city’s crypto regulatory framework , including a proposal that would remove the longstanding “de minimis” exemption for asset managers holding a Type 9 license. Crypto proponents push back Under the current system, firms with a Type 9 license, typically covering discretionary portfolio and asset management, can allocate up to 10% of a fund’s total assets to virtual assets without needing a separate virtual asset management license, so long as they notify the regulator. But under the new rules put forward by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), that exemption would be eliminated entirely. In its filing, the HKSFPA argued that removing the threshold would force managers to obtain a full license even for a 1% crypto allocation, an outcome it described as an “all-or-nothing” approach that imposes unnecessary compliance costs and regulatory hurdles, particularly for firms still exploring the space. “This creates a disproportionate burden for traditional managers who are not seeking to run crypto-focused strategies, but simply want the flexibility to diversify,” the group wrote. Last year, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the SFC released two consultation papers proposing new licensing regimes for virtual asset dealing and custody. The move followed the government’s updated “Policy Statement 2.0” and signalled a more aggressive turn toward regulating digital asset activity under an “activity-based” framework, in which any engagement with crypto, regardless of scale, would require full licensing. Subsequently, in December, regulators published their conclusions from the consultations and rolled out additional proposals, including the complete removal of the 10% exemption and the introduction of the OECD-aligned Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). The new framework expands the regulatory scope to include firms that previously operated outside of traditional securities law, such as those managing crypto-only portfolios without a Type 9 license. According to a summary from local law firm JunHe LLP, the proposed changes would amount to a “material shift” in regulatory expectations. Firms that have so far avoided Type 9 licensing by investing purely in crypto assets would now be brought under the same rules, regardless of whether their strategies resemble traditional asset management. Overregulating can push innovation offshore The HKSFPA also took aim at the proposed custody requirements, which would require all virtual asset managers to hold client assets exclusively through SFC-licensed custodians. “This could end up excluding Hong Kong-based managers from participating in the Web3 and digital venture space entirely,” the association said, calling for flexibility to allow self-custody arrangements or the use of qualified overseas custodians when dealing with professional investors. Still, the association noted that it supports the government’s initiative to build out a robust digital asset framework. But it has warned that excessive restrictions, particularly for firms with minimal exposure, could end up pushing innovation out of the city at a time when rival hubs like Singapore and Dubai are actively courting crypto businesses. Regulators have already launched licensing systems for trading platforms and stablecoin issuers, and the public consultation on the latest round of proposals will remain open until February 6, 2026. The final rules are expected to take shape later this year. The post Hong Kong crypto rule changes risk deterring traditional asset managers appeared first on Invezz

20 Jan 2026, 09:30

Ripple schedules second 1 billion XRP unlock for February 2026

Ripple will unlock another 1 billion XRP from escrow on February 1, 2026. The release follows a fixed monthly schedule introduced in 2017 to limit supply uncertainty.

20 Jan 2026, 09:29

Satoshi-Era Whale Who Bought Bitcoin Under $7 Goes Online with 1,390,000% Profit

Forgotten Bitcoin wallet just came back online after 13 years, moving 909 BTC bought under $7, now worth $84 million. Is this the start of a mega-whale cashout?

20 Jan 2026, 09:24

Figure Markets Launches an Event With a $25,000 USDC Prize Pool for U.S. Users

Figure Markets has announced a new Democratized Prime event, giving U.S. users a chance to share $25,000 in USDC, with a $20,000 USDC grand prize .

20 Jan 2026, 09:20

Makina suffers $4.13M exploit in DUSD/USDC Curve pool

Makina, a decentralized finance protocol with automated execution, suffered an exploit early Tuesday morning that drained its DUSD/USDC liquidity pool on Curve, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield. Makina Finance has reportedly lost about 1,299 Ether from its Curve stablecoin pool to hackers. It was valued at about $4.13 million at the time. Per Peckshield’s analysis, attackers breached protocol’s non-custodial liquidity providers on the DUSD/USDC CurveStable pool, which uses an on-chain pricing data feed oracle. Oracles provide smart contracts with external information, such as asset prices, which the hackers exploited mid-transaction and withdrew the tokens at an artificially favorable rate. Makina hacker used flash loans to snipe $5 million away According to a security engineer at CertiK , the perpetrator began by borrowing 280 million USDC without upfront collateral, on the condition that the funds would be repaid in the same transaction. Out of the borrowed amount, about 170 million USDC was used to interfere with the MachineShareOracle, which is responsible for reporting share prices to the pool. After injecting capital borrowed via a flash loan, they were able to temporarily skew the oracle’s price data and trick it into trusting inaccurate pricing information. 🚨 Another exploit today (4.1M): Flashloan + permissionless AUM refresh is a dangerous combo. A share-price oracle was pushed mid-tx, letting a Curve pool pay out at an inflated rate. ~5.1M USDC left the DUSD/USDC pool, the attacker profits about 4.1M. pic.twitter.com/t4RKYoUWDl — n0b0dy (@nn0b0dyyy) January 20, 2026 When the oracle began reporting inflated values, the attacker swapped approximately 110 million USDC against a pool that held only around $5 million in liquidity. Since the pool believed assets were worth more than they actually were, it paid out far more than it should have and emptied itself. “A share-price oracle was pushed mid-tx, letting a Curve pool pay out at an inflated rate. ~5.1M USDC left the DUSD/USDC pool, the attacker profits about 4.1M,” said the security engineer. Makina Finance was launched last February, marketing itself as an institutional-grade DeFi execution engine. According to data from DeFiLlama, the protocol holds approximately $100.49 million in total value locked. MEV builder cut the Makina exploit numbers by $800k The hacker took the DUSD proceeds and swapped them into ether, executing several transactions to consolidate and reposition the assets. However, according to CertiK, the exploit transaction was partially frontrun by an MEV builder. Maximal extractable value is the profit that either block builders and validators can maximize by reordering, injecting, and censoring transactions before being processed on-chain. In this case, an MEV entity identified by the address prefix 0xa6c2 racked up the majority of the value as the exploit played out. CertiK estimated that the MEV builder seized approximately $4.14 million out of the $5 million they had withdrawn from the stablecoin pool. The MEV routing split the remaining ether between two addresses: the first (0xbed) held $3.3 million in ETH, and the other (0x573d) held roughly 276 ETH. At around 6:42 AM UTC Tuesday, Makina Finance wrote a statement on X acknowledging the hack but insisted the issue did not affect the entire protocol’s infrastructure. Gmak, early this morning we received reports regarding an incident with the $DUSD Curve pool At this stage, the issue appears to be isolated to DUSD LP positions on Curve. There is currently no indication that other assets or deployments are affected. Underlying assets held in… — Makina (@makinafi) January 20, 2026 Makina also asked liquidity providers in the DUSD Curve pool to remove their liquidity as it determines “the appropriate next steps for affected users and LPs.” The team also promised to provide the community with more updates as soon as the incident review is complete. The DeFi protocol’s flash loan attack spells doom for a year that crypto users had hoped to walk away from unscathed, after a dreadful 2025 that saw over $3 billion stolen from the market. A Web3 Security and Fraud Report from Cyvers documented 108 fraud and security-related incidents last year, and about $16 billion in crypto assets swindled from at least 140 exchanges and trading platforms. Cyvers also reported more than 4.2 million fraudulent transactions from 780,000 addresses and nearly 19,000 active fraud networks, involving assets such as USDT, ETH, and USDC. If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter .