investigation

According to the Shenzhen Economic Investigation Bureau, recent investors have suffered financial losses due to participating in investment scams under the guise of "RWA real estate tokenization." These scams typically use technical packaging such as "smart contract automatic dividends" and "blockchain browser verifiable" to lure investors into purchasing fictitious on-chain fragmented property rights. Once the funds are in place, they stop paying dividends and disappear.The Shenzhen Economic Investigation Bureau pointed out that the smart contract address and company registration information can only confirm the existence of the code and the business entity, and do not represent a real binding of underlying physical assets, nor do they indicate that the project has financial business qualifications. According to current regulatory regulations in China, any tokenized financing activities carried out domestically under the name of RWA are considered illegal financial activities. Virtual currencies do not have legal tender status, and related token issuance, financing, and trading speculation are not protected by law.

The Financial Supervisory Service of Korea stated that it will conduct a rapid investigation into unfair trading associated with virtual asset issuance foundations in order to address behaviors that harm market order.Related content was presented in the report on the current status of supervision by the National Assembly's Political Committee, with a plan named "Strengthening User Protection for Digital Assets and Establishing a Sound Trading Order."

According to a report by the Korean News Agency, the Financial Services Commission of South Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service are strengthening monitoring of "perpetual contracts" linked to Korean stocks and stock indices traded through global virtual asset platforms.If illegal business activities targeting Korean residents, such as soliciting account openings or trading, are found on overseas platforms, the regulatory authorities will refer the matter to investigative agencies and take strict countermeasures.

Investor Bastion Trading stated that it will not participate in the proposed $201 million tender offer unless SkyAI addresses governance, disclosure, and pricing issues. Bastion Trading and its affiliates collectively hold approximately 9.99% of SkyAI's common stock, and SkyAI plans to acquire up to 95% of its outstanding shares and eligible warrants at $3 per share.Bastion Trading questioned the scale of SkyAI's sale of approximately 70% of its SOL treasury assets. SkyAI previously stated that it had sold around 1 million SOL, but subsequent regulatory filings showed that it has only about 600,000 left; Bastion Trading demands disclosure of the sale dates, average transaction prices, proceeds, transaction costs, and approval processes, and calls for an independent review before the tender offer begins.Bastion Trading also requested the replacement of SkyAI board members, the establishment of an independent special committee to oversee the tender process, and an increase in the offer price to at least $3.50 per share. It simultaneously demanded the removal of the $100 SOL price condition and the 50% minimum participation threshold, the exclusion of strategic advisor warrants, and a prohibition on insiders tendering their held securities.

According to the 21st Century Business Herald, the Chaoyang Branch of the Beijing Public Security Bureau reported that it has recently filed a case for investigation into the suspected illegal activities of related companies of Yixin. Currently, several criminal suspects, including the actual controllers Tang and Zhao, have been subjected to criminal coercive measures in accordance with the law.Yixin Group had previously fully suspended the redemption of quasi-fixed income products on May 22 and issued an apology letter to relevant investors on October 11. Yixin stated that the group has incurred significant losses in multiple businesses, and the market value of asset disposal is relatively low. Preliminary findings indicate that the group may be insolvent and has a significant debt repayment gap.

Hardware wallet dealer CryptoBilis announced that, due to Ledger investigating a case involving fund losses for Southeast Asian users, the company has suspended all sales and shipments of Ledger devices and is cooperating with Ledger's investigation. Ledger previously stated that it is investigating reports of fund losses from Southeast Asian users who purchased products from this dealer, and as a precaution, has requested CryptoBilis to suspend the sales and shipments of related devices, advising users who purchased devices in the past 90 days not to set them up if they have not completed initialization.CryptoBilis reminds users who have completed setup to follow Ledger's advice and transfer their assets to a new Ledger signing device generated with a new mnemonic phrase. It emphasizes that the mnemonic phrase must be generated by the device during initialization and handwritten by the user; if the device comes with a pre-printed or written mnemonic card or paper, or if the mnemonic has been seen by others, the wallet should be considered unsafe, and users should not disclose their mnemonic phrase or PIN to anyone. The notice also warns to be cautious of third parties claiming to assist in recovering lost funds, as such proposals are often scams.For users who have already experienced fund losses, CryptoBilis recommends contacting their official customer service channels and providing the order number, purchase time and location, device serial number, affected wallet address, and transaction ID, while keeping the device and packaging, not resetting or discarding them, and suggests reporting to the police. The company stated that it will not send users links requesting them to connect wallets, input mnemonic phrases, or install software.

According to an announcement released on the White House website on Friday, U.S. President Trump announced the establishment of a special committee to investigate allegations against Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook. According to the announcement dated October 7, Trump stated, "To assist me in fulfilling this duty, the committee will investigate the allegations against Board member Cook and report to me whether there is 'just cause' for her removal." This investigation will focus on assessing whether Cook meets the criteria for removal under the law, and it does not currently imply that she has been removed.

A report from the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) identifies stablecoins, particularly USDT, as a key liquidity channel supporting Iran's shadow banking system. Licensed virtual asset service providers (VASP) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region face heightened sanctions compliance pressure and need to enhance wallet ownership identification and counterparty assessment.Soham Jethani, a partner at the law firm Septten, stated that merchants settling crypto assets into local fiat currency do not necessarily avoid sanctions risks. Liability may involve designated entities, the provision of funds or economic resources, and asset handling within the transaction chain, potentially arising before the final settlement by banks. Jethani pointed out that the name of the stablecoin or the currency in which it is priced does not determine legal ownership; specific rights depend on contractual arrangements and actual payment processes.Globally circulating stablecoins may also pose secondary sanctions risks, as indirect or historical wallet associations do not automatically constitute violations and must be assessed in conjunction with applicable regulations, transaction participants, and specific facts. In regulated markets like the UAE, licensed exchange wallets are continuously monitored, and related funds can be frozen before consumption settlements, with merchants also required to complete KYC. Regulated VASPs handling deposits and withdrawals bear the responsibility for counterparty and sanctions risk assessment and corresponding controls.

"On-Chain Detective" ZachXBT stated that he once disguised himself as a client to infiltrate a criminal gang suspected of laundering money for the North Korean-backed hacker organization Lazarus Group, and assisted in freezing funds related to the 2025 Bybit attack incident.ZachXBT indicated that after Bybit was attacked for $1.5 billion in February 2025, he discovered over 15 accounts seeking help with transactions related to the stolen funds in public Telegram and Discord groups. He then contacted a Telegram user using the alias "Jimmy Green" and built trust through multiple transactions.According to his disclosure, on March 6, 2025, he transferred $3.497 million USDC to an Ethereum address for exchanging USDC with TRON chain USDT. The Gas funds for that address trace back to the Bybit attack funds and have been publicly marked as a Bybit attack blacklist address.ZachXBT stated that in subsequent communications, the other party revealed that their team had participated in handling the stolen funds from Bybit and disclosed in advance that the funds would be transferred on chains such as Solana. By matching transaction times, amounts, and on-chain data, he discovered a wallet cluster involving over $12 million of Bybit attack funds, with funding paths including BTC→ETH→SOL→TRON and others, among which approximately 442,000 USDT had been frozen by Tether. The gang also attempted to launder money through Uniswap liquidity pools and low liquidity tokens.In addition, the other party revealed that they had helped other clients handle approximately $3 million in scam proceeds, and ZachXBT tracked the related funds flowing to sanctioned Huione Guarantee-related wallets.ZachXBT disclosed that during this investigation, he initially invested $3.497 million and bore about 5% loss risk for each transaction. The intelligence obtained was promptly provided to relevant investigative agencies and law enforcement. Since 2022, he has assisted in freezing over $75 million related to North Korea-related incidents.

The liquidity staking protocol Lido announced that MetaMask Staking (formerly Consensys Staking) has taken precautionary measures to protect customer assets related to its Ethereum validators after investigating an infrastructure breach incident. The related measures include withdrawing its Ethereum validators from the Lido protocol, which may result in some loss of rewards. If the validators go offline recently to reduce potential network slashing risks, it may also incur downtime penalties.Lido stated that the related validators have begun to withdraw, with the last batch expected to complete the withdrawal by October 7, 2026, but full withdrawals may not be completed by then. stETH holders do not need to take any action. The ETH withdrawn from the validators operated by MetaMask Staking is expected to gradually return to the protocol during the cycle of the validators completing the withdrawal, withdrawing, and re-entering, with the estimated maximum duration of this process being about 45 days due to extended queuing times.Lido reminds that staking operations are non-custodial, and MetaMask does not manage withdrawal keys on behalf of customers. The diversified node operators of the Lido protocol and other security mechanisms, including a temporary reserve of over 6,750 stETH, are designed to control and mitigate disruptions to the normal operation of the protocol. A comprehensive investigation is ongoing, and further updates will be announced separately.

According to CNBC, James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee and a Republican Congressman from Kentucky, is expanding the investigation into insider trading in prediction markets and is requesting three online platforms to explain their measures to combat related activities.In a letter sent on Tuesday, Comer requested documents and information from the CEOs of Hyperliquid Labs, Crypto.com, and Aristotle Exchange Inc., which owns the PredictIt platform, asking them to clarify their identity verification procedures and how they identify and prevent insider trading on their platforms.Comer stated, "As online prediction platforms continue to evolve and become more mainstream, some bad actors are betting using non-public information, making thousands of dollars. The House Oversight Committee is investigating whether these platforms are fulfilling their legal obligations and taking sufficient measures to identify and prevent insider trading before it occurs."

According to a report by Reuters, if the Democrats gain control of the House of Representatives or the Senate after the midterm elections in November, they are expected to launch investigations into business dealings related to Trump and his family, focusing on the cryptocurrency, prediction markets, and investment businesses involving the Trump family, as well as companies that funded projects for the White House.The report states that controlling either chamber of Congress will give the Democrats more resources for committee investigations and subpoena power, with some investigations potentially starting as early as February next year. The subjects of investigation frequently mentioned by Democratic lawmakers include the venture capital firm 1789 Capital, in which Donald Trump Jr. is involved, as well as cryptocurrency companies related to the Trump family, but a final list of investigations has not yet been established.Additionally, Republican Senator John Curtis has previously called for an investigation into some of Donald Trump Jr.'s business relationships, believing that the commercial activities of the presidential family should be subject to consistent congressional oversight.

A survey by the Democratic Party of the U.S. Senate claims that the stablecoin USDT issued by Tether has become a major payment method for Iran. The survey shows that among over 800 sanctioned cryptocurrency wallets, about 84% primarily or exclusively use USDT.The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations had previously stated that its review of blockchain records, sanctions lists, and asset seizure notices found that the sanctioned wallets are mainly distributed across the Tron and Ethereum networks and have conducted USDT transactions.

Regarding the issue of abnormal asset transfers from user accounts, the MEXC customer service team responded on September 28, stating that they have completed a preliminary investigation and provided corresponding solutions. They will follow up with users via email for one-on-one communication, updating them on progress and required information, and reminding users to pay attention to their registered email and official channel communications.Previously, a MEXC user posted on X that their account was controlled after someone reset the security items. Between 04:12 and 04:25 on September 27 (Beijing time), 322,110 USDT and 9,133,999 ONE were transferred out, totaling approximately $340,000, just 27 minutes after the 24-hour transfer restriction was lifted. The user stated that MEXC has confirmed the account was hacked and has frozen the account to assist in recovery, but has not revoked the API left by the attacker. They have submitted a formal claim, with the ticket number M2026092712031.

The head of the Australian Senate Artificial Intelligence Inquiry Committee stated on Sunday that the CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic have been summoned to attend the committee's hearing. This news was announced days after it was revealed that a rogue OpenAI robot had breached the database of Australia's healthcare system. Australian Prime Minister Albanese had previously strongly condemned the "Medicare" database leak incident. According to a spokesperson leading the inquiry committee, OpenAI's Altman and Anthropic's Amodei have received written subpoenas requiring their attendance at the hearing. The hearing will be held publicly on Thursday in the capital, Canberra.

X Platform post by Xu Jiayin stated that Bitget has commissioned a third-party security team to conduct an independent forensic investigation into this security incident. Multiple teams are working together to verify remedial measures, confirm the attack vector, and assist in law enforcement cooperation. The investigation results will be announced promptly.He stated that Bitget has sufficient protection funds to cover the related losses and will restore withdrawals as soon as all potential security risks are eliminated.

According to the French newspaper "Le Parisien," a family in the city of Taverny, Val-d'Oise, France, was taken hostage by an armed gang. The victim's wife and 10-year-old child were bound, and the male head of the household was tortured with a stun gun. The suspects attempted to seize his cryptocurrency assets, ultimately stealing only a small amount of cash and items from the house.Six suspects were transferred to judicial authorities on September 11 and are under investigation for charges including organized armed robbery, extortion, illegal detention, and participation in a criminal gang.

U.S. Senator John Curtis from Utah, a Republican, wrote to Chuck Grassley, the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and Dick Durbin, the Chief Minority Whip, calling for an investigation into whether Donald Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden exploited their presidential family connections for personal financial gain, and requested subpoenas for both individuals. Curtis pointed out that Donald Trump Jr. had accepted wedding gifts from Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev, actively promoted family-backed cryptocurrency ventures, and served as an advisor for a prediction market platform; the related companies are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Donald Trump stated that his son has returned the relevant funds to Umar Kremlev.Curtis also called for an investigation into Hunter Biden's substantial business dealings with foreign entities, as well as whether the two utilized their relationship with the president to create commercial value. He mentioned that Joe Biden pardoned Hunter Biden in December 2024, who had previously denied involving his father in business transactions. A week prior to this investigation call, Senate Republicans failed to garner enough Democratic support to advance the Digital Asset Market Clear Act. Some Democratic senators opposed the bill, citing reasons including Donald Trump's use of cryptocurrency ventures to gain benefits related to the presidency; Donald Trump disclosed that he earned $1.4 billion from digital asset-related businesses in 2025.