BIS warns cryptocurrency exchanges are becoming ‘shadow banks,’ and why that's a risk
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released a report warning stablecoin yields and other DeFi “earn” products are bank-like services without the safeguards or insurance.
What to know:
A Bank for International Settlements report warns that many crypto exchanges now offer bank-like lending and yield products that function as unsecured loans to lightly regulated shadow banks.
The report says these “earn” and yield products, heavily marketed to retail investors as passive-income tools, pool customer assets into risky activities without deposit insurance, clear transparency or traditional banking safeguards.
Citing the collapses of Celsius Network and FTX and the October 2025 flash crash, the authors argue that leverage, opacity and deposit-like promises without protection leave users directly exposed to platform solvency risks.
Tether zamraża 344 miliony dolarów w USDT na Tron związane z 'nielegalną działalnością'
Emisja stablecoina stwierdziła, że działanie to było wynikiem próśb organów ścigania w USA, ponieważ globalny nadzór FATF ostrzegł przed rosnącą rolą cyfrowych dolarów w nielegalnych przepływach pieniędzy.
Co warto wiedzieć:
Tether poinformował, że zamroził 344 miliony dolarów w stablecoinie USDT na blockchainie Tron, związane z podejrzewaną nielegalną działalnością.
Działanie to było wynikiem współpracy z amerykańskimi organami ścigania, jak stwierdziła firma.
Te wiadomości pojawiły się w czasie, gdy debata na temat roli emitentów stablecoinów w zatrzymywaniu nielegalnych przepływów pieniędzy nabiera tempa.
U.S. military runs Bitcoin node, sees crypto as power projection versus China
Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of US Indo-Pacific Command, told two congressional panels this week that the military is running a live Bitcoin node for cybersecurity testing and views the protocol as a tool of national power in competition with China.
What to know:
Adm. Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told Congress the U.S. military is currently operating a live node on the Bitcoin network.
Paparo said the node is not being used to mine Bitcoin but to monitor activity and run operational tests on securing and protecting networks using the Bitcoin protocol.
The disclosure is notable because Bitcoin is designed to resist control by powerful governments, yet a U.S. combatant command is now directly participating in the peer-to-peer network.
AI agents are executing transactions, forming “agentic finance.” Crypto is the financial backend for these autonomous systems. Learn use cases, risks, and what experts say.
Sędzia federalny zablokował Arizonie wnoszenie oskarżeń karnych przeciwko Kalshi
Sędzia Michael Liburdi nakazał Arizonie, aby przynajmniej tymczasowo nie podejmowała żadnych działań egzekucyjnych na podstawie prawa stanowego przeciwko Kalshi.
Bhutan has sold 70% of its bitcoin in 18 months. It may have stopped BTC mining too.
The kingdom's holdings have dropped from 13,000 BTC to 3,954 since October 2024, with $215.7 million moved out this year alone. Its last mining inflow over $100,000 was recorded more than a year ago.
What to know:
Bhutan has quietly sold about 70 percent of the roughly 13,000 bitcoin it held in October 2024, reducing its stash to 3,954 BTC worth about $280.6 million.
The kingdom appears to have slowed or halted its hydropower-backed bitcoin mining, with no major new inflows recorded in more than a year and no public comment from its sovereign wealth fund, Druk Holding and Investments.
Bhutan’s liquidation contrasts with other major institutional and sovereign players that are adding to crypto and gold holdings, underscoring the economic strain on small-scale state bitcoin mining as prices, difficulty and halving pressures squeeze margins.