BNB Chain, Tether and Bitcoin ETFs face fresh scrutiny in crypto, while AI firms battle courts, cities, and security failures.
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This week, crypto platforms faced legal and security fallout from insider abuse and firmware bugs, while AI developers navigated lawsuits, local resistance, and market turmoil.
In crypto, BNB Chain is pursuing legal action after a former employee allegedly used a tutorial wallet to launch the ASTEROID memecoin, Galaxy Research raised the Coldcard Bitcoin loss estimate to US$70.2m, and Tether’s excess reserves fell to US$4.1bn. Bitcoin ETFs still closed July with a US$172.4m inflow.
In AI, Anthropic disclosed that Claude breached three organisations during a security test, Suno lost a copyright case in Germany, and Citadel reportedly bought Situational Awareness’s stock portfolio. Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg made the case for personal superintelligence.
Get up to speed with the latest in Web3 and AI with this week’s Pasar Pulse.
Crypto and Web3
BNB Chain Sues Ex-Staffer Over Memecoin
BNB Chain is pursuing legal action against a former employee accused of using a tutorial wallet’s retained seed phrase to launch the ASTEROID memecoin. Linked wallets bought nearly 80% of the supply for US$10,000 before selling for about US$638,000.
Russia Bans Crypto Mining in Moscow Till 2032
A Russian government decree will prohibit crypto mining and mining-pool participation across Moscow and parts of Kursk from 15 August through 2032. Officials estimate mining consumes about 1 gigawatt on the Moscow grid.
Crypto PAC Adds US$1M to Michigan Primary
The Fairshake-linked Protect Progress PAC has spent over US$2m combined backing Representative Shri Thanedar and opposing challenger Donavan McKinney ahead of Michigan’s primary. Fairshake affiliates have spent over US$82m of the cycle’s US$189m in crypto PAC funding.
Coldcard Bitcoin Loss Estimate Grows to US$70M
Galaxy Research identified 1,196 addresses that lost 1,082.65 BTC worth about US$70.2m in a 41-minute window tied to a Coldcard firmware bug. Coinkite has released a hotfix but warned affected seeds must be moved to new ones.
Bitcoin ETFs End July With US$172M Inflow
Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted US$172.4m in July inflows, reversing two months of outflows, though they remain US$5.3bn negative year to date. Ether ETFs posted a fourth straight weekly inflow, ending July up US$365.2m.
Bank of Italy Finds No Stablecoin Cost Edge
A Bank of Italy study of 200 USDC remittances found fiat conversion costs, not blockchain fees, drove most cost and speed differences versus traditional channels. Stablecoins beat Wise in only three of seven comparable corridors.
Pump.fun Fired Staff Before Token Payouts
Pump.fun reportedly laid off employees in April, two months before they were due to receive PUMP token allocations worth millions under 2025 agreements. Co-founder Noah Tweedale attributed the cuts to the company growing too quickly.
Tether’s Excess Reserves Fall by US$4.1bn
Tether’s excess reserves dropped to US$4.1bn from US$8.2bn last quarter as net profits dipped to US$1.5bn. Its bitcoin and gold holdings both lost value during the quarter.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Suno Loses German AI Copyright Case
A Munich court ruled Suno infringed GEMA’s catalogue by training its AI on copyrighted songs and reproducing them without a licence. The ruling follows a similar loss for OpenAI in the same court eight months earlier.
AI Firm Sues Kentucky City Over Data Centre Ban
Kentucky Industrial Alliance is suing Cave City after it passed a one-year moratorium blocking the developer’s proposed US$4.8bn AI campus near Mammoth Cave National Park. The suit also challenges the city’s 2024 annexation of the site.
Hyperscale Data Sells BTC for AI Data Centre
Bitcoin miner Hyperscale Data sold about 100 BTC and secured a Bitcoin-backed credit facility to fund its Michigan AI campus. The site supports a deal that could exceed US$3bn in revenue if fully exercised.
Citadel Buys Situational Awareness Stock Stake
Ken Griffin’s Citadel reportedly bought a large share of hedge fund Situational Awareness’s stock portfolio after it fell about 67% in July’s AI stock rout. The fund, founded by ex-OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, retained roughly US$10bn, including its Anthropic stake.
Booksellers Fear Rare Books Feed AI Scanning
Australian secondhand booksellers say unusual bulk orders from a Canadian book recycler may be linked to ‘destructive scanning’ for AI training, after court files showed Anthropic pulped scanned books. A US judge ruled the practice lawful as transformative use.
OpenAI Aligns Safety Work With EU AI Act
OpenAI outlined how its Preparedness and Frontier Governance Frameworks map onto the EU’s GPAI Code of Practice, citing existing model testing and red-teaming. The firm is also expanding its EU Cyber Action Plan launched in May.
Claude Breached Three Firms in Security Test
Anthropic said Claude gained unauthorised access to three organisations during cybersecurity evaluations after a misconfiguration exposed testing environments to the internet. The review followed OpenAI’s disclosure of a rogue agent’s spree at Hugging Face.
Zuckerberg Pitches Personal Superintelligence
Mark Zuckerberg published a WSJ op-ed arguing superintelligence should reach individuals rather than concentrate inside a few institutions. He called rivals’ safety-driven centralisation ‘dangerous’ while backing government coordination on biological risks.
That’s all for this week’s Pasar Pulse. Want more insights? Stay tuned to our site or subscribe via email!
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