Coin Market

Microsoft warns of new remote access trojan targeting crypto wallets

Published

2 days ago

March 18, 2025

Tech giant Microsoft has discovered a new remote access trojan (RAT) that targets crypto held in 20 cryptocurrency wallet extensions for the Google Chrome browser.

Microsoft’s Incident Response Team said in a March 17 blog post that it first discovered the malware StilachiRAT last November and found it can steal information such as credentials stored in the browser, digital wallet information and data stored in the clipboard.

After deployment, the bad actors can use StilachiRAT to siphon crypto wallet data by scanning device settings to see if any of the 20 crypto wallet extensions are installed, including Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet, MetaMask and OKX Wallet.

The malware StilachiRAT can target crypto held in 20 different wallet extensions. Source: Microsoft

“Analysis of the StilachiRAT’s WWStartupCtrl64.dll module that contains the RAT capabilities revealed the use of various methods to steal information from the target system,” Microsoft said.

Among its other capabilities, the malware can extract credentials saved in the Google Chrome local state file and monitor clipboard activity for sensitive information like passwords and crypto keys.

It can also use detection evasion and anti-forensics features, like the ability to clear event logs and check for signs it’s running in a sandbox to block analysis attempts, according to Microsoft.

At the moment, the tech giant says it can’t pinpoint who is behind the malware but hopes that publicly sharing information will lower the number of people who might be snared.

“Based on Microsoft’s current visibility, the malware does not exhibit widespread distribution at this time,” Microsoft said.

“However, due to its stealth capabilities and the rapid changes within the malware ecosystem, we are sharing these findings as part of our ongoing efforts to monitor, analyze, and report on the evolving threat landscape.”

Microsoft suggests to avoid falling prey to malware; users should have antivirus software, cloud-based anti-phishing and anti-malware components on their devices.

Losses to crypto scams, exploits and hacks totaled nearly $1.53 billion in February, with the $1.4 billion Bybit hack accounting for the lion’s share of losses, according to blockchain security firm CertiK.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said in its 2025 Crypto Crime Report that crypto crime has entered a professionalized era dominated by AI-driven scams, stablecoin laundering, and efficient cyber syndicates, with the past year witnessing $51 billion in illicit transaction volume.

Magazine: Ridiculous ‘Chinese Mint’ crypto scam, Japan dives into stablecoins: Asia Express

Coin Market

Leveraged bets on FOMC meeting ‘guaranteed recipe to lose money’ — Trader

Published

44 minutes ago

March 20, 2025

A crypto trader warns that going heavy on leverage before the monthly United States interest rate decision is a surefire way to lose money in crypto trading.

After the Federal Reserve’s statement confirmed the US central bank intends to leave interest rates unchanged in its target range between 4.25% to 4.5%, Bitcoin’s price barely moved, as the market had already widely expected no change in the interest rate.

However, after Fed chair Jerome Powell said the probability of a recession is “not high,” despite independent economists raising the odds of one, the overall crypto market saw an upswing, leaving traders betting on the downside caught off guard.

“A guaranteed recipe to lose money,” MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe said in a March 19 X post.

CoinGlass data, which tracks a 12-hour window, shows $188.77 million was liquidated from the crypto market, with $127.80 million of that being short positions.

Approximately $257.03 million in short positions have been liquidated over the past 24 hours. Source: CoinGlass

Bitcoin (BTC) surged 3.84% in six hours after Powell’s speech to hit $87,427 before pulling back to $85,760 by publication. Ether (ETH) climbed 2.27% in the same period, while XRP (XRP) gained 2.40%, adding to its 7.50% rally leading into the interest rate announcement, according to CoinMarketCap data.

“The initial statement isn’t as important. The words from J. Powell are,” van de Poppe said, adding, “That’s what likely defines Bitcoin price action for the coming period.”

Bitcoin is up 3.49% over the past 24 hours. Source: CoinMarketCap

Crypto analyst says the Bitcoin rally will not continue in the near term

Crypto trading account BitcoinHyper said, “FOMC meeting made Bitcoin pump directly into the big liquidation level.”

“Even if BTC goes higher, this is not a good level to look for new long positions,” the trading account said.

Matt Mena, crypto research strategist at 21Shares, made a similar forecast, saying that while the US Federal Reserve’s “dovish shift” on interest rates could give Bitcoin a short-term boost, it may not be sustainable.

“Bitcoin is likely to remain in consolidation mode until a clear catalyst emerges,” Mena said. “Looking further ahead, the broader macro environment remains supportive of a bullish case for BTC,” Mena said in a statement viewed by Cointelegraph.

According to Powell, the median forecast from FOMC members is that interest rates will be at 3.9% at the end of 2025 and 3.4% at the end of 2026.

Magazine: Classic Sega, Atari and Nintendo games get crypto makeovers: Web3 Gamer

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Coin Market

US recession would be a big catalyst for Bitcoin: BlackRock

Published

44 minutes ago

March 20, 2025

BlackRock’s head of digital assets, Robbie Mitchnick, says that Bitcoin will most likely thrive in a recessionary macro environment, contrary to what some analysts may think.

“I don’t know if we’ll have a recession or not, but a recession would be a big catalyst for Bitcoin,” Mitchnick said in a March 19 interview with Yahoo Finance.

Mitchnick said Bitcoin (BTC) is catalyzed by increased fiscal spending, deficit accumulation, lower interest rates and monetary stimulus — all of which tend to happen in recessions.

“And it’s catalyzed to some extent over fears of general social disorder,” Mitchnick pointed out. “And that too, unfortunately, is something that can happen in a recession.”

LATEST: BlackRock Global Head of Digital Assets Robbie Mitchnick says, “If you look at Bitcoin fundamentally on a long-term basis, it really seems like an asset that should be uncorrelated or even inversely correlated against certain risk factors that exist.” pic.twitter.com/bC0zKqF3xB

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 19, 2025

The BlackRock executive said the market is “not particularly well calibrated” to Bitcoin, and many still view it as a risk-on asset.

Risk-on assets, such as stocks, commodities and high-yield bonds, tend to suffer during times of economic crises, but Mitchnick said in September that he believed the asset was mislabeled.

“But that’s where the opportunity comes in for education in a market and asset class that’s still very nascent.”

Mitchnick said BlackRock has been helping some of its clients see through some of these conflicting narratives.

He added that some of BlackRock’s more “sophisticated long-term Bitcoin accumulator” clients see the market correction as a buying opportunity and aren’t bothered by the current economic headwinds.

Meanwhile, researchers from cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase were less bullish, saying crypto’s positive outlook for the first quarter had “clearly been misplaced” by recession fears and the recent tariffs imposed.

“Fears of a dramatic US economic slowdown or even recession have caused sentiment to turn sharply,” Coinbase Institutional said in its monthly outlook report on March 17.

BlackRock has played a key role in the institutional and wealth advisory adoption of Bitcoin through its iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF — which holds the most net assets of any Bitcoin investment product at $48.7 billion.

Mitchnick isn’t worried about the mass net outflows across most spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds of late — pointing out that it has mostly come from hedge funds’ unwinding of the spot futures arbitrage trade, not the long-term buy-and-hold investors.

Bitcoin is currently trading at $86,000, up 3.8% over the last 24 hours.

Magazine: Meet lawyer Max Burwick — ‘The ambulance chaser of crypto’

Coin Market

Bitnomial drops SEC lawsuit ahead of XRP futures launch in the US

Published

44 minutes ago

March 20, 2025

Crypto exchange Bitnomial has voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of launching its Ripple XRP futures in the United States.

The Chicago-based firm said in a March 19 statement to X that its XRP (XRP) futures are regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission and will be available from March 20 for current users.

“Bitnomial is launching the first-ever CFTC-regulated XRP futures in the US — physically settled for real market impact,” Bitnomial said.

“Plus, we’ve voluntarily dismissed our case against the SEC as regulatory clarity improves,” it added.

Source: Bitnomial

The exchange filed a self-certification with the CFTC to list XRP futures contracts on its exchange in August 2024. However, the SEC blocked the move, pushing for Bitnomial to register as a securities exchange before it could list the futures.

Bitnomial sued the SEC and its five commissioners on Oct. 10, accusing the agency of overextending its jurisdiction by claiming that XRP is a security.

Bitnomial’s XRP futures launch follows Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s March 19 announcement the SEC opted out of continuing an appeal against a ruling labeling XRP as not a security for retail sales.

A July 13, 2023 judgment from Judge Analisa Torres deemed XRP is not a security for retail sales; however, she opined it was when sold to institutional investors, as it met the conditions set in the Howey test. The SEC was appealing Torres’s decision.

The SEC initially launched legal action against Ripple Labs in December 2020, accusing the firm of illegally selling its token as an unregistered security.

Under the Trump administration, the SEC has slowly been walking back its hardline stance toward crypto forged under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s reign, dismissing a growing number of enforcement actions against crypto firms.

The agency’s acting chair, Mark Uyeda, who took the reins after Gensler resigned on Jan. 20, flagged plans on March 17 to scrap a rule proposed under the Biden administration that would tighten crypto custody standards for investment advisers.

Uyeda also said in a March 10 speech that he had asked SEC staff for options to abandon part of proposed changes that would expand regulation of alternative trading systems to include crypto firms, requiring them to register as exchanges.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered