Crypto Exchange Bithumb Holds Free Trading Event To Boost User Base and Liquidity

Global crypto exchange Binance has carried out a survey which reveals that the security habits of Asian platform users are evolving positively.Photo by Vadim Artyukhin on UnsplashUsers responding to more sophisticated scamsIn a blog post published by the crypto exchange platform on May 6, Binance revealed that it had carried out a survey of nearly 30,000 platform users across Asia. The company’s takeaway following analysis of the survey data is that “scams are evolving — and so are crypto users.” The firm suggested that users are “stepping up their security game,” with exchanges facing growing demand from their users for real-time protection and smarter security tools. Increasing use of 2FAThe exchange platform found that 80.5% of survey respondents now use Binance two-factor authentication (2FA). While the use of 2FA is definitely a move in the right direction, it doesn’t guarantee the safety of a user’s digital assets.  In an article published by Forbes last month Forbes Contributor Davey Winder warned that infostealer malware can compromise 2FA codes in as little as 10 seconds. In June of last year, an OKX user lost $2 million in crypto to a hacker who utilized AI despite the victim having used Google’s 2FA. Double-checking transfersThe survey found that 73.3% of users double-check transfers before sending digital assets. Due to the nature of decentralized cryptocurrency, crypto transactions are not easily reversed and are usually irreversible. That puts a greater responsibility on crypto users to ensure that they are sending funds to the appropriate wallet address. Double-checking transfer addresses is not only necessary due to human error. Malware is also used by hackers to spoof such addresses, tricking the sender into sending the digital assets to their address rather than the one that was originally intended. It emerged in May 2024 that a Bitcoin trader had lost more than $70 million in Bitcoin in an “address poisoning” scam. Binance itself had warned users last September that “clipper malware,” which intercepts clipboard data on a user’s phone or desktop, replacing copied wallet addresses with alternative addresses under the hacker’s control, is increasingly being employed in hacking attempts. While the survey has revealed a positive evolution in the security habits of Asian platform users, there’s still room for further improvement. Just 17.6% of survey respondents utilize address whitelisting, a measure that restricts account user access to a safe list of pre-defined trusted addresses. Only 21.5% of survey respondents use anti-phishing codes as a security mechanism. The objective of phishing is to steal data, install malware on a user’s device or otherwise gain account access. An anti-phishing code aids the user in verifying the authenticity of emails and texts from a specific service. Security remains a major issue within crypto. Last month, hackers employed social engineering tactics to steal $330 million in Bitcoin from an elderly American victim. Exchange platforms themselves continue to struggle to safeguard user funds. Earlier this year, Binance competitor, Dubai-headquartered Bybit, suffered a $1.5 billion hack believed to have been perpetrated by North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Lazarus is also thought to have been behind a $235 million crypto theft at Indian crypto exchange WazirX in July 2024.

Artificial intelligence-driven education technology firm, Genius Group, has announced a plan to buy Bitcoin from the proceeds of damages that the company is pursuing through the courts. In a press release published to the Singapore-headquartered company’s website on June 26, it outlined that the firm’s Board of Directors has approved a distribution plan that would see any potential damages received from litigation that Genius Group is currently embroiled in, divided equally for distribution to shareholders and for the purchase of Bitcoin for the company’s Bitcoin treasury.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashUp to $1 billion in potential damagesGenius Group CEO, Roger Hamilton, commented on the matter, stating:“We are seeking combined damages of over $1 billion. As both lawsuits are being pursued by the Company to recover damages caused by third parties directly to our shareholders, the Board believes that 100% of any proceeds from the successful outcome of these cases should be directly distributed or reinvested for the benefit of shareholders.” On X, Hamilton outlined that there’s no guarantee with regard to how much the company recovers through litigation. However, he added that if justice prevails and the company is awarded $1 billion in damages, that would equal a $7 dividend per share for shareholders and the addition of 5,000 BTC to the firm’s Bitcoin treasury. Last month, the company provided an update on a lawsuit it has taken under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Initially, $450 million in damages had been pursued but Genius Group amended the lawsuit, raising its claim to $750 million.  The lawsuit is being taken against Peter Ritz and Michael Moe as the controlling officers and directors of LZGI International, and against Michael Carter and John Clayton, in the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida. The company alleges that the defendants attempted to defraud Genius Group.  ‘Bitcoin First’Genius Group announced its “Bitcoin First” approach, and the launch of a Bitcoin treasury in November 2024, getting started with an initial purchase of 110 BTC valued at $10 million at that time. In April 2025, a New York court prohibited the company from selling stocks in order to fund the purchase of Bitcoin. Those court-imposed funding restrictions led to the firm selling off a small proportion of the overall Bitcoin that it was holding.  Prior to that prohibition on the purchase of Bitcoin being imposed, Genius Group had expressed the aspiration to build up its Bitcoin reserve to a value equivalent to $100 million. Wading further into the Bitcoin space, the firm acquired blockchain learning platform, XD Academy, in December 2024. On May 22, Genius Group announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals had overturned the ban imposed on the company. With that, it increased its Bitcoin holdings by 40%. As of June 17, the company held 100 BTC, valued at around $10 million. The firm plans to bring forward another lawsuit “alleging naked short selling and evidence of spoofing against certain parties,” with damages being pursued in the region of $250 million. Commenting on the coming of age of Bitcoin and the pursuit of a Bitcoin treasury strategy back in November 2024, Hamilton stated that “we're living in a unique moment in history - one most public companies will miss.” 

Huobi Delists USDD Stablecoin PairsHuobi Global, the Seychelles-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange, has made the decision to delist ten trading pairs, primarily involving tokens used in transactions with the USDD stablecoin issued by the TRON DAO Reserve.That’s according to an announcement published to Huobi’s website on Monday. These tokens are supported by TRON founder Justin Sun, who also acts as an advisor to Huobi. The delisting, effective from June 29, will impact several tokens, including the Cardano blockchain token ADA, Solana’s SOL, ApeCoin’s native token APE, MATIC from Polygon, FIL from Filecoin, and ETC from Ethereum Classic.Photo by Napendra Singh on UnsplashUnregistered securitiesAll of these tokens were offered on the Houbi platform in pairs with USDD. Additionally, trading pairs involving ARPA, GAS, QTUM, and ZKS with Bitcoin will also be removed from the platform. Huobi stated that these changes are aimed at providing users with an improved trading experience.Originating from China, Huobi has played a significant role in spot and derivatives trading for digital assets. The decision to delist these tokens follows their classification as unregistered securities in recent lawsuits by the US Securities and Exchange Commission against Binance and Coinbase. Prior to Huobi, Robinhood and eToro had already removed some of these tokens from their platforms.Stablecoins are designed to maintain a stable value by pegging them to less volatile assets like the US dollar. They achieve this by holding equivalent reserves of cash and cash-equivalent assets as collateral. Stablecoins are widely used by traders for transferring funds between exchanges and as a hedge against price volatility. This makes them some of the most heavily-traded tokens in the crypto space.USDD stabilityUSDD, the stablecoin at the center of this delisting, currently ranks as the eighth largest stablecoin by market capitalization, with approximately $750 million. Huobi is the primary exchange for buying and trading USDD, according to CoinGecko, a crypto market data provider. USDD is backed by various digital assets such as Bitcoin, Ether, and TRX, and it is issued by the TRON DAO Reserve. The TRON DAO Reserve operates as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), utilizing blockchain technology to automate voting and transaction processes.USDD is an algorithmic stablecoin, with the assets held in backing the coin over-collateralized to a level of 170%. Despite this, the stablecoin has had issues in maintaining its US dollar peg from time to time. The issue has been that the token is partly backed by the TRX token, the native token of the TRON ecosystem. If TRX backing is discounted, the stablecoin is only 49% backed.Reports indicate that Sun acquired a controlling stake in Huobi through a Hong Kong-based asset manager, reportedly paying around $1 billion in November. However, Sun hasn’t provided any details of any such ownership stake.Huobi’s decision to delist these trading pairs reflects the evolving regulatory landscape and the need for exchanges to ensure compliance with securities regulations. By removing tokens that have faced legal scrutiny, Huobi aims to maintain a robust and compliant trading environment for its users.