Scenius Sync (Issue # 158)
Bitcoin Retakes $107K, Bybit Hack Spoils Traced to Greek Exchange, Chainlink & Mastercard Partner To Unlock 3B Cardholders Ability to Buy Crypto Onchain, Digital Asset Raises $135M To Scale Canton
Scenius: The intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. The communal form of the concept of genius.
Welcome to The Scenius Sync.
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Share the essential stories driving the crypto industry and markets.
Highlight innovative applications and mainstream adoption of crypto and blockchain technology.
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Essential News 🗞
Bitcoin retakes $107,000 amid market relief over apparent Iran-Israel ceasefire
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the bank’s cautious approach to interest rates, citing tariff uncertainties heading into July and the second half of 2025. Despite no Fed pivot in sight, bitcoin rose nearly 2% in the last 24 hours as institutional demand and negotiations in the Middle East bolstered sentiment, according to analysts.
Spoils of $1.5 Billion Bybit Hack Traced to Greek Crypto Exchange: Report
Funds from February's $1.5 billion hack of crypto exchange Bybit have been traced to a Greek crypto exchange, according to the country's authorities. Greece’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority detected a “suspicious” transaction by a registered user of the unnamed Greek exchange in May. To date, Bybit claims to have recovered $42.89 million of the assets stolen in the hack.
Iranian exchange Nobitex hacked for over $81M by Israel-linked hackers
Iran-based cryptocurrency exchange Nobitex has been hacked for more than $81 million of digital assets, according to onchain investigator ZachXBT.
The attack, disclosed in a Wednesday Telegram post, drained at least $81.7 million in assets across the Tron network and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible blockchains. ZachXBT spotted attackers using a “vanity address” to exploit the protocol, which resulted in “suspicious outflows” from multiple Nobitex-linked wallets. A pro-Israel hacker group calling itself “Gonjeshke Darande” has claimed responsibility for the Nobitex hack. Nobitex confirmed that a portion of its hot wallets saw signs of “unauthorized access” and was immediately “suspended” upon detection. “Users’ assets are completely secure according to cold storage standards, and the above incident only affected a portion of the assets in hot wallets,” Nobitex said in an X post, adding that “all damages will be compensated through the insurance fund and Nobitex resources.”
Senate Banking Committee Sets Out Plan For Crypto Market Rules
Senate Republicans on the Banking Committee have outlined principles for market structure legislation. The principles emphasise clarity around regulation, promoting innovation and consumer protection. It comes as Democrats attempt to prevent the Trump family's extensive crypto investments.
Japan proposes reclassifying crypto, paving way for ETFs and lower taxes
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) proposed a sweeping reclassification of cryptocurrencies that would clear a path for the launch of crypto exchange-traded funds and introduce a flat 20% tax on digital asset income. The proposal, introduced on Tuesday, suggests recognizing crypto as “financial products” under the scope of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA), the same regulatory framework that governs securities and traditional financial products. The proposed reclassification could also shift Japan’s current progressive tax system, which taxes crypto gains at rates up to 55%, to a uniform 20%, mirroring the treatment of stocks. That change could make crypto investing more attractive to both retail and institutional players. The proposed shift is part of the Japanese government’s broader “New Capitalism” strategy, which seeks to position the country as an investment-led economy.
In similar news, South Korean authorities submit spot crypto ETF approval roadmap: report
Innovation & Adoption 💡📈
Chainlink today announced a new partnership with Mastercard to securely enable payment cardholders worldwide to easily purchase crypto assets directly onchain through a secure fiat-to-crypto conversion. This breakthrough is powered by Chainlink's secure interoperability infrastructure and Mastercard's trusted global payments network, removing long-standing barriers that have kept mainstream users from accessing the onchain economy. Zerohash provides the onchain service and liquidity needed to convert fiat into crypto with seamless smart contract execution. Additional integration support comes from Shift4 Payments, Swapper Finance, and XSwap to deliver a next generation app experience, which utilizes the Uniswap protocol.
An investment platform plans to use blockchain technology to sell investors exposure to SpaceX, another effort in an arms race to give regular traders access to hot startups. Republic says it is starting to sell digital “tokens” that mirror the performance of private shares of Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company starting this week. The investment platform, which offers retail investors access to investments typically limited to the wealthy, plans to eventually expand its tokenization to other high-profile private companies like artificial-intelligence firms OpenAI and Anthropic. Republic’s plan is part of an array of efforts by crypto exchanges, brokerages and others to reinvent securities using similar blockchain technology that underpins bitcoin. Still largely untested with regulators, and even the underlying companies, the tokens are another attempt to trade on stocks that can’t be found on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq.
Digital Asset raises $135M to scale Canton blockchain network
Institutional blockchain infrastructure provider Digital Asset raised $135 million from investors including Goldman Sachs and Citadel.
According to a Tuesday announcement, Digital Asset raised $135 million in a strategic funding round led by DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets, with participation from financial heavyweights including Goldman Sachs, Citadel Securities, BNP Paribas and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation. Crypto-focused backers included Paxos, Polychain Capital and Circle Ventures. Digital Asset said the funding is intended to accelerate the adoption of institutional and decentralized finance on its Canton Network.
Canton Network is a permissionless layer-1 blockchain that offers configurable privacy and institutional-grade compliance. With the new capital, Digital Asset hopes to expand the integration of “billions” of real-world assets (RWAs) into the network.
Coinbase seeks SEC greenlight for tokenized stocks to compete with Robinhood, Charles Schwab
Coinbase is pushing for regulatory clarity to bring tokenized equities to U.S. customers, Paul Grewal, the company's chief legal officer, told Reuters on Tuesday. If approved, the move could allow the crypto exchange to offer blockchain-based trading of traditional stocks — putting it on a collision course with brokerages like Robinhood and Charles Schwab. Describing the initiative as a "huge priority," Grewal said Coinbase is seeking a no-action letter or exemptive relief from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Such a letter would signal that the SEC’s staff won't pursue enforcement if Coinbase proceeds with offering tokenized shares, which are digitized representations of real-world equities. The effort marks Coinbase's latest push to expand beyond crypto assets, as it seeks new revenue streams and deeper institutional adoption. Last week, Coinbase unveiled an American Express-powered credit card and partnership with Shopify and Stripe for a USDC stablecoin payments push.
Bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet raises $515 million through new stock issuance
Japan’s Metaplanet said it sold 54 million shares for roughly $515 million to fund additional BTC purchases. The company earlier announced an ambitious “555 Million Plan” to secure 1% of bitcoin’s supply.
In similar news: Nasdaq-listed Nano Labs plans $500 million convertible note sale to fund BNB treasury