Finotrax

A man tied to a crypto project was linked to a huge drug raid in the UK where officials took illegal weight-loss drugs and tools for making them, worth about £250,000 (over $330,000). UK regulators searched a warehouse in Northampton and seized the pills, raw ingredients, equipment and cash during the operation.
Investigators traced the location back to companies connected with the co-founder of a crypto gaming venture, and online sleuths had earlier called that project a scam. The raid highlighted how crypto-linked figures can show up in unexpected criminal cases — though the drug seizure wasn’t directly about cryptocurrency itself.

Users of the Betterment investment platform were targeted with a fraudulent scam notification that promised triple crypto returns, urging them to act quickly. The alert was fake and not issued by Betterment itself, but it still reached real customer accounts, raising concerns about deceptive messaging tactics.

According to reports, the scam’s message mimicked official communication and offered unusually high crypto profits to lure recipients, a common red flag in crypto fraud schemes. Betterment security teams quickly clarified that the notification was unauthorized and misleading.

The incident highlights a rising trend of fake investment alerts designed to exploit users’ trust, emphasizing the importance of verifying any unexpected messages before acting on them.

The first week of 2026 opened with strong meme coin gains, led by PEPE jumping about 70%, while other tokens like BONK, FLOKI, PENGU and SHIB also made the list of top performers. Meme coins clearly outpaced many other crypto sectors in early trading, drawing fresh attention to this highly speculative corner of the market.
$PEPE
However, this rapid rise raises questions. For some traders, the meme coin rally could signal a renewed appetite for risk and broader recovery, but for others it might simply reflect short-lived positioning and liquidity flows, rather than lasting strength. The market remains volatile and uncertain, and these moves do not guarantee sustained gains.
Meme coins often move fast on volume and narratives, which can lead to sharp ups and equally sharp pullbacks, reminding investors that high volatility carries elevated risk.$PEPE

For most of crypto’s history, growth relied on incentives — things like liquidity mining, airdrops, referral loops and flashy campaigns got people’s attention. But that era is over because trust in the industry collapsed, and those old tricks no longer convert interest into genuine adoption.

In today’s market, where scams, fake metrics and empty signals are everywhere, buyers are asking a fundamental question: “Who can I trust?” Traditional marketing no longer answers that, so its impact has fallen dramatically.

Instead, a founder-credibility-driven model has quietly taken its place. Consistent, public explanation and authentic engagement — not incentives or press releases — build credibility and drive adoption. The market is now discovering products through people who show up repeatedly with clarity and conviction, rather than through manufactured hype