Crypto exploits fell by over 90% in February 2026, with total losses dropping to $35.7 million, the lowest monthly figure since March 2025. Most losses came from DeFi protocols, wallet compromises, and phishing attacks, though about $11.3 million was recovered or frozen.
AnaisNational Tax Service of South Korea accidentally published a photo showing the recovery phrase of a seized crypto wallet, exposing the keys to the public. Soon after, an unknown person used the phrase to move about $4.8 million worth of tokens out of the government-held wallet.
WeatherlyOpenAI has signed a deal allowing its AI to be used by the U.S. military, sparking criticism and a wave of ChatGPT subscription cancellations. Anthropic’s AI, Claude, has gained users as it refused a similar deal over safety and ethical concerns.
AnaisUS authorities have seized and frozen over $578 million in cryptocurrency linked to Chinese transnational criminal networks running scams that targeted US residents. The operations, often based in Southeast Asia, involved “pig butchering” schemes and trafficked workers, and investigators aim to forfeit the funds and return them to victims.
WeatherlyA New York federal court dismissed a class action against Uniswap Labs, ruling the firm is not responsible for scam tokens traded by third parties on its decentralised protocol. Katherine Polk Failla threw out the remaining claims with prejudice, bringing the lawsuit first filed in 2022 to a close.
WeatherlySolana memecoin launchpad Pump.fun has updated its mobile app to let users trade tokens from rival platforms like Raydium and Meteora, as well as major assets like Wrapped Bitcoin and Wrapped Ethereum. The platform’s PUMP token rose 8.4% after the announcement, reflecting growing user interest in the expanded trading options.
AnaisThe U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a case brought by Stephen Thaler on whether art made only by AI can be protected by copyright in the United States. The U.S. Copyright Office had already rejected the work because it had no human creator, and the courts have now left that rule unchanged.
WeatherlyThe Bank of Japan is testing how central bank deposits could be used for settlements on blockchain systems through a controlled sandbox project. Governor Kazuo Ueda said the trials will explore connections with existing payment systems and potential uses like interbank and securities settlement.
AnaisEric Halem, a former LAPD officer, was convicted of kidnapping and stealing $350,000 in bitcoin from a 17-year-old after posing as police to enter his apartment. He will be sentenced on 31 March, while his co‑defendants have not yet stood trial.
WeatherlyVitalik Buterin said Ethereum cannot fix the world’s problems and should not try to act like a political power, even though financial freedom remains important. Instead, he urged the network to focus on building open tools that protect privacy, support coordination and reduce the risk of any single authority gaining total control.
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