SpendNode Podcast: Crypto News & Analysis

South Korea's National Tax Service is developing an AI platform to track 8 billion annual crypto transactions ahead of its delayed 22% crypto gains tax in January 2027. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/south-korea-nts-ai-crypto-tax-tracking-8-billion-transactions-2027-enforcement/

The SEC Investor Advisory Committee voted to recommend tokenized securities regulations with mandatory disclosures, audits, and best-execution requirements. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/sec-investor-advisory-committee-tokenized-securities-vote-innovation-exemption-on-chain-stock-trading/

A crypto whale lost nearly $50 million swapping USDT for AAVE through CoW Swap after ignoring slippage warnings. Aave is refunding $600K in fees. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/aave-whale-50-million-usdt-swap-324-aave-tokens-cow-swap-slippage-fee-refund/

BlackRock's ETHB begins trading on Nasdaq, staking 70-95% of its ETH holdings and passing 82% of yield to shareholders. Here is what it means. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/blackrock-ethb-staked-ethereum-etf-nasdaq-yield-coinbase-staking-rewards-institutional/

A class action accuses JPMorgan Chase of processing $253M in suspicious Goliath Ventures transfers while ignoring KYC and AML red flags for three years. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/jpmorgan-sued-328-million-goliath-ventures-crypto-ponzi-scheme-class-action-kyc-aml/

BONK.fun team confirms hackers took over a team account and embedded a crypto drainer on the Solana token launchpad domain, tricking users with a fake TOS prompt. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bonk-fun-domain-hijacked-solana-launchpad-wallet-drainer-phishing-fake-tos/

A secure boot chain vulnerability in MediaTek processors allowed USB-based seed extraction from Trust Wallet, Phantom, and four other wallets. Patched January 2026. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/mediatek-secure-boot-flaw-ledger-donjon-android-seed-phrase-theft-45-seconds-trust-wallet-phantom/

Stephen Gregory, former Currency.com and Gemini executive, takes over Binance. US with plans to expand staking, DeFi access, and tokenized assets. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/binance-us-stephen-gregory-ceo-compliance-veteran-expansion-defi-tokenized-assets/

Revolut exits its PRA mobilisation phase with 13 million UK customers, FSCS deposit protection up to 120,000 pounds, and crypto trading walled off in a separate entity. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/revolut-full-uk-banking-license-pra-13-million-customers-fscs-crypto-separate/

SEC and CFTC formalize coordination on crypto oversight through a landmark MOU, launching a Joint Harmonization Initiative across six priority areas. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/sec-cftc-sign-mou-end-crypto-turf-war-joint-harmonization-perpetual-futures-defi/

Wells Fargo's WFUSD trademark covers crypto exchange, wallets, and blockchain settlement. JPMorgan, BofA, and Citi are in on the consortium play. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/wells-fargo-wfusd-trademark-stablecoin-big-four-banks-genius-act-joint-consortium/

The Justice Department is probing Binance over $1.7B in alleged Iran-linked transfers, fired whistleblowers, and ties to Trump-affiliated crypto ventures. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/doj-investigating-binance-iran-sanctions-evasion-1-7-billion-wsj-whistleblowers-fired/

A stale parameter in Aave's CAPO risk oracle undervalued wstETH by 2.85%, triggering $27M in forced liquidations across 34 accounts. Full compensation is planned. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/aave-capo-oracle-glitch-27-million-wsteth-liquidations-chaos-labs-compensation/

The x402 AI micropayment protocol backed by Coinbase and a16z processes $28K daily against a $7B ecosystem valuation, with half the activity artificial. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/coinbase-x402-ai-micropayment-protocol-7-billion-valuation-28000-daily-volume-half-fake/

Ripple plans to acquire BC Payments Australia and its AFSL license, expanding its regulated footprint to 75+ markets as Asia-Pacific payments volume doubles. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/ripple-acquires-australian-financial-services-license-afsl-apac-payments-volume-doubles/

Ghana's SEC launches a 12-month crypto sandbox with 11 companies covering exchanges, gold tokenization, and payment systems under the VASP Act 2025. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/ghana-sec-crypto-sandbox-11-companies-virtual-asset-pilot-vasp-act-2025/

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes says he will not buy BTC until central banks start printing money, despite Bitcoin trading near $70,000 with the Fear index at 26. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/arthur-hayes-would-not-bet-1-dollar-bitcoin-fed-money-printing-70000-maelstrom/

Vanguard reports hardship withdrawals hit a record 6% in 2025, tripling the pre-pandemic rate. What this says about financial stress, crypto sentiment, and stablecoins. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/vanguard-record-401k-hardship-withdrawals-6-percent-retirement-crisis-bitcoin-fear-crypto-stablecoins/

21Shares TDOT ETF gives US investors physically-backed DOT exposure with staking yield on Nasdaq, days before Polkadot caps supply at 2.1 billion tokens. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/21shares-first-us-polkadot-etf-tdot-nasdaq-11-million-seed-staking-yield-tokenomics-overhaul/

Hyperliquid's HIP-3 permissionless market set a record $1.2B in open interest, with oil and equity futures accounting for most of the top 30 contracts. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/hyperliquid-permissionless-market-1-2-billion-open-interest-record-oil-equity-futures-hip-3/

13F filings reveal $540M in institutional Solana ETF purchases in Q4, led by Goldman Sachs, Electric Capital, and investment advisors holding over $270M. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/wall-street-540-million-solana-etfs-q4-goldman-sachs-investment-advisors-bloomberg-13f/

Broadridge integrates Crypto.com into its NYFIX network, giving 2,200 institutional participants FIX-based crypto order routing for the first time in Asia. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/broadridge-nyfix-crypto-com-institutional-order-routing-fix-protocol-2200-participants-asia/

The Bank Policy Institute, backed by JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, is weighing a lawsuit against the OCC over national trust bank charters granted to crypto firms. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bank-policy-institute-occ-crypto-national-trust-charter-lawsuit-jpmorgan-goldman-sachs/

The DOJ wants to retry Roman Storm on money laundering and sanctions charges after last year's hung jury, proposing an early October 2026 retrial date. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/doj-seeks-retrial-tornado-cash-roman-storm-money-laundering-sanctions-october-2026/

Oil plunges to below $90 as Trump signals the Iran conflict is winding down. Asian markets rebound, Bitcoin rises 3.4%, and the Strait of Hormuz remains the wildcard. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/trump-says-iran-war-very-complete-brent-crude-drops-10-percent-bitcoin-69000-asian-markets-rebound/