Digital Dragnets, DeFi Dangers, and Japan's Market Revival | November 5, 2025
Description
An international sting takes apart a sprawling investment scam across Europe (1:15 ); Washington turns the screws on Pyongyang's wallet with fresh sanctions aimed at its crypto-fueled cyber crews (3:02 ); DeFi's breakneck expansion collides with a relentless wave of exploits, and even blue-chip protocols aren't spared (4:38 ); and Japan lights up as traders pile in ahead of friendlier rules and new exchange tie-ups (6:30 ).
This is your essential update on the forces shaping what's next in money.
More on stories and articles discussed or referenced in this episode:
Asgari, Nikou. "Crypto's 'Decentralised Finance' Sector at Risk of Attack, Warns Chainalysis." The Financial Times, 4 November 2025, https://www.ft.com/content/70faf2ae-8279-49cd-97c1-20654d935be8.
Bridge, Anton and Rae Wee. "Analysis-Japan's Crypto Players Jostle for Market Share on Regulatory Easing Hopes." Reuters, 4 November 2025, https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/japans-crypto-players-jostle-market-share-regulatory-easing-hopes-2025-11-04/.
"Decisive Actions Against Cryptocurrency Scammers Earning Over EUR 600 million." European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), 4 November 2025, https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/news/decisive-actions-against-cryptocurrency-scammers-earning-over-eur-600-million.
"Europe-Wide Crackdown Targets Crypto Fraud, 600M Euros Stolen." Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, 4 November 2025, https://www.occrp.org/en/news/europe-wide-crackdown-targets-crypto-fraud-600m-euros-stolen.
Lakshmanan, Ravie. "Europol and Eurojust Dismantle €600 Million Crypto Fraud Network in Global Sweep." The Hacker News, 4 November 2025, https://thehackernews.com/2025/11/europol-and-eurojust-dismantle-600.html.
Morton, Joseph. "Chainalysis CEO Warns DeFi Platforms Face Growing Security Risks." Mugglehead Magazine, 4 November 2025, https://mugglehead.com/chainalysis-ceo-warns-defi-platforms-face-growing-security-risks/.
"Treasury Sanctions DPRK Bankers and Institutions Involved in Laundering Cybercrime Proceeds and IT Worker Funds." U.S. Department of the Treasury, 4 November 2025, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0302.
Zimmerman, Micah. "North Korean Hackers Stole Over $3 Billion in Crypto, U.S. Sanctions Bankers and IT Firms." Bitcoin Magazine, 4 November 2025, https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/north-korea-stole-over-3-billion-in-crypto.
The music in this episode was composed by Liborio Conti, and you can find more of his fantastic work at his YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/liborioconti.
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