‍Sanctioned Lender Huione Shuts Cambodian Branches Amid Global Clampdown Huione Group's banking services have ceased operations and halted withdrawals in Phnom Penh due to U.S. and UK sanctions. The company is identified as a critical financial enabler for Cambodia's industrialized scam economy, allegedly facilitating billions in funds for operations including North Korea's Lazarus Group and significant crypto hacks. Recent actions, including Cambodia revoking its banking license and FinCEN designating Huione as a money laundering concern, have culminated in its international isolation. Despite its crypto ventures like the USDH stablecoin, Huione faces significant regulatory pressure. This closure highlights the effectiveness of global sanctions in disrupting illicit financial networks that leverage cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
‍Bitget Launches IRYSUSDT Futures with 20x Leverage Bitget has expanded its derivatives offerings by adding the IRYSUSDT perpetual futures contract to its USDT-M Futures lineup. The new contract, live since November 27, 2025 (UTC+8), allows for trading with up to 20x leverage and features 24/7 access, a tick size of 0.00001, and funding fees settled every four hours. The IRYSUSDT pair is also compatible with Bitget’s futures trading bots, enabling automated execution, risk control, and position management. This addition enhances Bitget's diverse derivatives ecosystem, which includes USDT-M, Coin-M, and USDC-M Futures, solidifying its position as a key player in the crypto derivatives market.
‍Bitget Adds RLSUSDT Futures with 20x Leverage and Bot Integration Bitget has expanded its derivatives offerings with the launch of the RLSUSDT perpetual futures contract on its USDT-M Futures platform. The new contract, available from December 2, 2025 (UTC+8), offers users up to 20x leverage and is fully compatible with Bitget's futures trading bots. This integration allows for automated strategy execution and risk management, aligning with the growing trend of AI-driven trading. The RLSUSDT contract features a tick size of 0.00001 and four-hour funding fee settlements, enhancing Bitget's robust ecosystem of derivatives products.
‍Sony Reportedly Plans U.S. Stablecoin for Gaming and Digital Content Sony Group is reportedly planning to launch a U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin next year for payments within its digital ecosystem, primarily targeting U.S. customers. The initiative aims to facilitate purchases of games and anime content, potentially reducing transaction fees. This move follows Sony Bank's application for a U.S. national banking charter and a partnership with stablecoin firm Bastion. Sony has previously explored blockchain technology, filing patents for NFTs and digital asset tracking. The company also launched the Ethereum L2 network, Soneium, in collaboration with Startale Group.
‍Bybit Celebrates 7th Anniversary with $2.5 Million TradeMasters Grand Prix Finals Bybit, the world's second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has launched its TradeMasters Grand Prix Finals (TMGP) series to mark its seventh anniversary. The event features a total prize pool of $2.5 million, with the TMGP Finals Grand Prize Leaderboard offering $950,000 to the top 7,777 traders. The leading trader will receive 77,777 USDT. The competition runs until January 6, 2026. Participants can register for #7UpBybit and earn points for trading tasks and Luck Draws. VIP traders have access to exclusive unlimited tasks, including a $5 million trading task. Founded in 2018, Bybit serves over 70 million users and aims to bridge TradFi and DeFi.
‍Tria Enables Direct Self-Custodied Bitcoin Top-Ups for Payment Cards New York-based Tria has launched a feature allowing users to fund their payment cards directly from personal Bitcoin wallets. This non-custodial approach ensures users maintain full control over their assets, eliminating the need for custodial intermediaries. The innovation addresses global currency instability, enabling seamless spending of Bitcoin wherever Visa or Mastercard are accepted. Tria aims to bridge decentralized finance with everyday commerce, supporting over 1,000 digital assets across major blockchains.
‍Circle Launches Foundation for Global Financial Inclusion Circle, the issuer of USDC, has established the Circle Foundation, a charitable initiative focused on advancing financial resilience and inclusion worldwide. The foundation will support U.S. small businesses by distributing grants to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Globally, it aims to modernize financial infrastructure for humanitarian aid efforts. “We believe a more inclusive financial system is a more resilient financial system,” stated a Circle representative. “The Circle Foundation is a concrete step towards realizing that vision and empowering communities worldwide.”
‍Trust Wallet Expands Offerings with Prediction Markets Trust Wallet has launched a new "Predictions" feature, allowing users to engage in event-based trading directly within the wallet. The platform initially integrates with Myriad, a Web3 prediction market protocol, and plans to add Kalshi and Polymarket soon. This move aims to consolidate various trading tools and financial services into a single, convenient platform, reflecting a broader industry trend. Eligible users can view events, take positions, and track outcomes across cryptocurrency trends, political events, sports, and more.
‍AI Agents Develop $4.6M in Smart Contract Exploits Recent research by Anthropic and MATS reveals AI models like Claude Opus 4.5 and GPT-5 can exploit smart contracts. In tests, AI agents produced exploits for 207 out of 405 contracts, simulating $550.1 million in losses. The cost of developing exploits is decreasing rapidly, with a 70.2% reduction in tokens needed across Claude model generations. AI's ability to identify vulnerabilities has jumped from 2% to 55.88% in under a year. This shrinks the window between contract deployment and exploitation, necessitating advanced AI-powered defenses.
‍RedotPay and Ripple Facilitate Instant Nigerian Naira Crypto Cashouts RedotPay has partnered with Ripple to launch a new service allowing users in Nigeria to convert cryptocurrencies into Nigerian Naira (NGN) and receive funds directly into their bank accounts within minutes. This feature, built on Ripple Payments, supports USDC, USDT, BTC, ETH, SOL, TRX, XRP, and BNB, with Ripple USD (RLUSD) to be integrated soon. This development aims to simplify cross-border payments and remittances in Nigeria, a country with high crypto adoption despite evolving regulations. RedotPay recently achieved unicorn status following a $47 million investment round, while Ripple continues its global expansion, recently gaining approval in Singapore.