Circle Stock Aims for $100 on Crypto Sentiment Rebound, Traders Rotate to $SUBBD

Pseudonymous blockchain sleuth ZachXBT claimed Friday that a British threat actor tied to a $243 million theft from a single Genesis creditor on Gemini may have been taken into police custody.

In a Dec. 5 post on his official Telegram channel, ZachXBT alleged that “British threat actor Danny / Meech aka Danish Zulfiqar (Khan) appears to have likely been arrested by law enforcement and had crypto assets seized.”

He pointed to roughly $18.58 million worth of crypto currently sitting at Ethereum address “0xb37...9f768,” which he said was associated with the suspected hacker. The web3 detective added that “multiple addresses tied to him I was tracking consolidated funds to 0xb37d in a similar pattern to other law enforcement seizures.”

ZachXBT, who has built a reputation for tracking alleged crypto frauds and helping victims and law enforcement recover stolen assets, further claimed that Danny was “last known to be in Dubai” and that it was “alleged a villa was raided and others there were arrested as well,” adding that several people previously in contact with the suspect had become unresponsive in recent days, according to his post.

As of publication, there have been no public statements from Dubai Police or UAE regulators, and The Block has not identified any local media reports confirming a villa raid, arrests, or seizures tied to Zulfiqar, the Genesis creditor theft, or the earlier Kroll SIM swap incident.

The $243 million Genesis creditor heist

The latest claims build on a sprawling investigation into one of the largest known individual crypto thefts.

In September 2024, ZachXBT published a detailed thread alleging that three attackers were involved in stealing roughly $243 million in bitcoin — 4,064 BTC at the time — from a single Genesis creditor on Aug. 19, 2024.

The victim reportedly held funds with Gemini, which was used as the exchange interface. According to ZachXBT and subsequent reporting by The Block, the theft was carried out via sophisticated social engineering.

Attackers allegedly posed as Google support, convinced the victim to reset two-factor authentication for his Gemini account, and used remote access software to gain deeper control. From there, they obtained the victim's private keys and drained their wallet, routing the 4,064 BTC through a web of exchanges and swap services.

Back then, ZachXBT identified three primary suspects by their online handles — “Greavys,” “Wiz,” and “Box,” later alleged to be Malone Lam, Veer Chetal, and Jeandiel Serrano — and shared his findings with law enforcement.

U.S. prosecutors have since brought a series of cases linked to the same constellation of activity. In September 2024, the Department of Justice charged two suspects in connection with what it described as a roughly $230 million cryptocurrency scam involving thefts from victim accounts, and later unsealed broader racketeering indictments alleging a $263 million scheme that included the theft of more than 4,100 bitcoin from a Genesis creditor.

Court filings and related coverage detailed a mix of social engineering, SIM swaps, and even physical burglaries, with conspirators allegedly spending millions of dollars on luxury cars, travel, and nightlife.

One defendant, identified as Chetal, has faced additional legal trouble after allegedly participating in a separate $2 million crypto theft while out on bond.

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© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

A Solana presale event encountered distribution issues after a bot farm reportedly used over 1,000 wallets to snipe nearly the entire Wet (WET) token sale in seconds. 

Hosted through the decentralized exchange aggregator Jupiter, the presale sold out almost instantly. But genuine buyers effectively had no chance to participate because a single actor dominated the presale, according to organizers.

Solana automated market maker (AMM) HumidiFi, the team behind the presale, confirmed the attack and scrapped the launch entirely. The team said it would create a new token and hold an airdrop to legitimate participants while explicitly excluding the sniper. 

“We are creating a new token. All Wetlist and JUP staker buyers will receive a pro-rata airdrop. The sniper is not getting shit,” HumidiFi wrote. “We will do a new public sale on Monday.” 

By Callum Keown

Bitcoin and other digital assets fell early Friday as the latest cryptocurrency rebound proved to be another false dawn — for now.

Bitcoin was trading at $91,250 early in the day, down 1.9% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. The world's largest cryptocurrency climbed as high as $93,966 on Thursday, recovering from lows of $84,500 on Monday.

But the crypto's latest attempt to push beyond $94,000--a level it last reached in mid-November--looks to have failed again for now.

However, that could quickly change with the Federal Reserve's next interest-rate decision just days away on Dec.10. The central bank is widely expected to cut rates by a quarter-point--lower borrowing costs tends to boost crypto assets, making them attractive relative to lower-yielding alternatives.

Key inflation data due Friday could shift rate expectations and potentially support another crypto comeback. That's if the Fed's preferred inflation metric--core PCE--comes in cooler-than-expected on Friday and increases the chances of a rate-cut in January as well as next week.

Failing that, a cut by the Fed on Wednesday could give the green light for a risk-asset rally into the end of the year.

"Liquidity and sentiment remain fragile, so we don't view this as a full recovery just yet," Gracy Chen, CEO of crypto exchange Bitget said. "If the Fed confirms at least one rate cut, likely in December, the early-2026 period should stay favorable for both tech giants and digital assets."

Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency, was down 1.6% at $3,135, while popular altcoin XRP slipped 3.8% to $2.07.

Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

Crypto analyst CryptoWzrd, in a recent Chainlink daily technical outlook, noted that the candle closed slightly bearish, but the overall structure remains constructive and pushes toward the key $16.00 resistance, where momentum could shift quickly. According to the analyst, a retest of the $13.50 support or a break above the $15.20 resistance will be the critical trigger for the next major trade setup.

Indecisive Daily Close Sets the Stage For A Critical Trendline Test

CryptoWzrd noted that both LINK and LINKBTC closed the daily candle in an indecisive manner, reflecting uncertainty in the short-term market direction. Despite this hesitation, the broader structure remains intact, and price action is approaching a technically significant point that will play a crucial role in determining the next major move for Chainlink.

According to the analyst, LINKBTC is now testing its daily lower-high trendline. A series of bullish candles emerging from this zone would be a strong signal that buyers are re-entering the market. If this momentum builds, it is likely to spill over into Chainlink, potentially triggering an impulsive rally.

Should bullish confirmation appear, LINK could drive toward the $16 resistance level, a region that has been tested multiple times in the past. A clean breakout above $16 would open the door for a swift extension toward the next major hurdle for the bulls $20 resistance, marking a significant continuation of upward momentum.

On the downside, CryptoWzrd emphasized that the $12 level stands as the primary support. A daily close below this level would weaken the bullish structure and could signal a deeper correction. Until then, the trendline test remains a critical focal point where LINK’s uptrend will continue or reverse.

ChainLink Choppy Intraday Movement Signals Caution

Conclusively, the analyst highlighted that the intraday chart was characterized by being somewhat choppy and trading within a very tight, small range. This consolidation phase often precedes a significant directional move, but it has made short-term trading decisions challenging without a clear trigger.

The analyst defined a specific setup to watch for: a bearish pullback towards the $13.50 support level, followed by a decisive bullish reversal, would serve as the ideal trigger for a long position. Such a trade would initially target the $15.20 resistance and potentially move toward higher levels thereafter.

By confirming immediate strategic focus, the analyst stated that his attention “tomorrow will remain on the lower time frame chart development” to scout the next optimal scalp opportunity. This indicates a short-term, opportunistic trading mindset by waiting for the confined range to break or for the identified mean-reversion setup at $13.50 to play out.

Turkish crypto exchange Paribu has acquired a majority stake in CoinMENA, a Sharia-compliant cryptocurrency exchange licensed in Dubai and Bahrain.

According to a Thursday CoinMENA announcement, Paribu acquired a majority stake in CoinMENA in a deal valuing the company at up to $240 million. The company claims the transaction is Türkiye’s largest fintech deal to date and the country’s first cross-border acquisition of a digital asset platform.

Paribu said it plans to use the acquisition to scale its operations beyond its home market. CoinMENA obtained a license from Bahrain’s central bank in early 2021 and another one from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority at the end of 2023.

“With this acquisition, we have expanded our licensed operations to a wider geography, becoming a regulated player in one of the world’s most crypto-adoptive markets,“ Paribu founder and CEO Yasin Oral said.

Ripple’s CTO, David Schwartz, has surprised the XRP community by making his long-running XRPL Hub fully public for the first time. This hub, which was previously used only internally, is now open for anyone to view, complete with uptime records, peer information, and traffic charts. Schwartz said the node has been running on version 2.6.2 for over a month without a single issue. He even shared the hostname so operators can connect directly if they want. The charts show how many peers are connected, how much traffic flows through the hub, and how stable the latency has been. The hub is still operating below its capacity, so Schwartz has not needed to activate peer reservations yet.

Why This Matters to the Community

Schwartz released this data at a time when the XRP community had been discussing XRPL programmability again. His update instantly became a focal point because it showed a rare level of openness from someone deeply involved in building the network. In the comments, Schwartz pushed back against the idea that the XRPL should add new features just so validators can earn more money. He said that this thinking does not align with how the XRP Ledger was designed and that upgrades should not be driven by profit motives alone.

He agreed that letting XRP holders earn yield is appealing, but he doesn’t believe that, by itself, is a strong enough reason to redesign major parts of the system.

What Schwartz Wants XRPL to Focus On

According to Schwartz, the XRPL already has strong financial tools that should be used in more real-world situations, not only for fast payouts to a limited group. But he also stressed that adding complex smart-contract systems comes with risks. These kinds of upgrades require significant engineering work and can introduce unpredictable results.

He explained that even well-built features, such as the AMM upgrade, do not automatically guarantee high usage. For any new functionality, the community needs clear evidence that it will drive real demand before making permanent changes.

What It Means for XRP

With this hub disclosure, Schwartz is signaling that transparency is now a key priority. At the same time, he wants the XRPL to evolve carefully, focusing on upgrades that bring genuine value rather than complexity for its own sake. Hence, it is clear that the future of XRPL should be based on real demand and solid data, not assumptions or quick fixes.

On the price front, XRP closed the third quarter on a strong footing, finishing at a new all-time high of $2.85. It jumped 27.2% from the previous quarter, while its circulating market cap climbed 29% to $170.3 billion. This rise was much stronger than the combined 13.3% market cap growth of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana during the same period, putting XRP ahead of the broader market.

FAQs

The XRPL Hub is Ripple’s main node network. Schwartz made it public to boost transparency, showing uptime, peer info, and traffic stats.

Public access lets users see node performance and stability, promoting trust and informed decisions in the XRP ecosystem.

No, Schwartz emphasizes upgrades should focus on real-world value, not solely on increasing profits or yields for holders.