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MBS Global Investments, a Dubai-based family office that manages the assets of Sheikh Nayef bin Eid Al Thani, has officially announced a massive $8.8 billion investment plan to develop a blockchain-based financial center and digital assets in the Maldives, according to Financial Times . Covering an area of over 830,000 square meters, the Maldives International Financial Center (MIFC) will be constructed in the center of the capital city of Malé. Imagine if a small Indian Ocean country generally associated with beaches and luxury resorts suddenly became home to 6,500 digital finance sector employees. MIFC is also anticipated to generate as many as 16,000 new employment. Strangely, the investment amount surpasses the yearly Gross Domestic Product of about $7 billion for the Maldives. Moreover, MIFC is meant to be a corporate tax-free zone and does not mandate business individuals to hold resident status to run. The major goal is obvious: to draw digital nomads who have recently been more seeking comfortable, technology-friendly and low-tax locations, global financial institutions, and fintech enterprises. On the other hand, this ambitious project runs parallel to Dubai’s drive to become a worldwide crypto center. Duba held the Token2049 event—a significant crypto conference with about 15,000 attendees from 160 countries—from April 30 to May 1, 2025. An expo blending technology and a luxury lifestyle, renowned DJs, and a Lamborghini procession were all there. However, Dubai is not just stopping at showing off. CNF previously reported that Trump Tower Dubai is now accepting crypto payments for condominium purchases. The Trump family is even reported to be developing a new exchange platform and a number of other crypto events. It is clear that the signal to blend property and blockchain is getting brighter. Meanwhile, Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) recently issued a regulation requiring disclosure of the identities of whales—aka large token holders. They want to reduce the potential for market manipulation. But the challenge is how to monitor transactions that are essentially pseudonymous. Interestingly, global flows are actually shifting to the United States. Several crypto companies, such as Deribit from Dubai, OKX from the Seychelles, and Nexo from Bulgaria, are considering opening offices in the US, following the relaxation of regulations under the Trump administration. Although this might be a direct rival to the MIFC proposal, this trend shows that places like Dubai and the Maldives are vying for position on the world crypto map. For the Maldives, which is under pressure to pay off foreign loans of $600–$700 million this year and around $1 billion by 2026, the MIFC project is also a motivating event. The local government greets the initiative as a fresh kind of corporate cooperation not to load the nation like traditional loan practices.

The @nomadxyz_ hacker has been arrested. But here’s the part no one’s talking about… He only made off with 1.5% of the loot. Alexander Gurevich, a 47-year-old dual Russian-Israeli citizen, was arrested in Israel while trying to flee to Russia. He’s being charged for stealing $2.8M from the Nomad bridge. But the total exploit drained $190M. So where’d the rest go? Over 200 malicious contracts and 40+ copycats swarmed in, automating and reusing his method to drain the remaining funds. What started as a lone exploit became a truly viral on-chain free-for-all exploit as people copied his method. Shit was wild back then. Links to the news report and Samczsun’s post on the exploit are in the comments if you’re curious.

The French government has announced a ban on privacy digital assets and crypto exchanges. According to reports, the country has announced that privacy-focused tokens and platforms are illegal within the country’s jurisdiction. In a post shared by Crypto Beast on X, the move means that privacy tokens like Monero and services like Tornado Cash are all banned, marking a decisive step in France’s intensifying regulatory stance on digital assets. Mixing platform Tornado Cash has been subject to regulatory scrutiny in several jurisdictions, with the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) initiating sanctions against the platform in 2022. In the same vein, privacy tokens like Monero have been targeted by regulators globally due to their use for illicit activities. The tokens have enhanced privacy features, obscuring their transaction details from the public. While some proponents have argued that the tokens are in line with the ethos of cryptocurrency by increasing user confidentiality, critics have argued that the use of the tokens for illegal activities. Several platforms have taken steps to remove the tokens, with Binance removing them in select countries. According to the report, the recent move by France is aimed at removing all the concerns surrounding the tokens and platforms. In addition, the French government is making moves to align more closely with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidelines, which recommend strict oversight of digital assets that cannot be traced. Lawmakers in France have argued that total anonymity in crypto transactions poses a big risk in fighting illicit finance, tax evasion, and cybercrime. The ban also places France among some of the restrictive European jurisdictions regarding privacy-enhancing crypto technologies, potentially opening a path for other EU countries to adopt a similar approach before the bloc finalizes its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. The move could hinder the adoption and use of privacy tokens, even within regulated financial environments. With France joining the United States and other countries with a ban on the Tornado Cash mixing platform, there could be a wider international crackdown on the platforms. However, the challenge moving forward for privacy-focused developers would be navigating a crypto industry that is hostile toward complete anonymity. While privacy remains a tenet in the blockchain sector, there is without a doubt that bad actors are now taking advantage of the feature. There has been a rise in the use of digital assets for illegal activities across the globe. According to a Chainalysis report , criminals have now started turning to crypto because they feel that it is efficient, faster, and provides them the anonymity they need for their bad acts. In the report, Chainalysis mentioned that one of the reasons why criminal gangs are moving to crypto is that they are used to move funds easily with little detection. The report mentioned that many gangs are taking advantage of the ease of moving deadly products, noting the low transaction fees and instant reflection of the funds as the appeal of the assets. In addition, state-backed entities like the North Korean Lazarus groups have been using digital assets, albeit privacy platforms and tokens, to launder and move their stolen funds. There has also been a rise in kidnappers requesting payments in digital assets. According to previous reports, the father of a crypto millionaire was kidnapped , with the criminals demanding digital assets in exchange for his freedom. The group mutilated the kidnapped individual, cutting his finger as a means to pressure his crypto-millionaire son into sending the ransom. While the police were able to bust the location and free the victim, it is the third abduction connected to the crypto industry in France this year. Cryptopolitan Academy: Want to grow your money in 2025? Learn how to do it with DeFi in our upcoming webclass. Save Your Spot

An amendment to the Russian criminal code can be used against crypto traders, according to a legal firm providing advice to those involved in the digital asset space. On the surface, Russia wants to punish “money mules” laundering cash for criminals. Experts warn, however, that the updated law would allow Russian authorities to target ordinary citizens trading digital currencies. The executive power in Moscow has submitted new legislation amending the country’s main criminal law to toughen penalties for “droppers,” Russian slang for people who lend their bank accounts and wallets to fraudsters trying to launder criminal proceeds. The respective bill was filed with the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, on Friday, the leading Russian-language crypto news outlet Forklog reported on the weekend. It amends Article 187, “Illegal circulation of payment instruments,” of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The new text expands criminal liability for the front persons transferring illegally obtained funds on behalf of actual perpetrators of thefts and other crimes. It describes the conditions under which they can be prosecuted for sharing electronic payment instruments, such as bank cards, with criminals. People in financial difficulties and debt, immigrants, and poor students often fill the role of a “money mule.” They are usually entangled in criminal schemes through job ads offering exaggerated earnings for a few hours a day of work, with money transfers. The Russian crypto community is likely to soon learn that “droppers” may not be the only category affected by the upcoming legislative change. According to Ignat Likhunov, founder of the crypto-focused legal firm Cartesius, a broader interpretation of the proposed provisions would threaten crypto traders as well. Under “illegal transactions,” the draft law now lists the issuance, transfer, and receipt of money without legal grounds as described in current Russian law, Likhunov noted in a podcast posted on Forklog’s YouTube channel . If earlier, accountants forging payment orders and hackers writing malware were held liable for such transactions, liability is now being introduced for anyone who simply lends a bank card to a friend, explained the lawyer, himself a former investigator of financial crimes. Since law enforcement officers like to interpret laws very broadly, and to their own advantage, this gives them leeway for arbitrary actions, believes the legal expert, who does not discount the law’s potential effectiveness in combating money mulling as a phenomenon. If the bill is approved by Russian lawmakers, droppers can expect up to three years in jail, while their criminal leaders and also traders may get up to six years of prison time. Likhunov noted that many Russians need cryptocurrencies as a result of the sanctions imposed on their country over the invasion of Ukraine. The main question, he stressed, is whether the sale of cryptocurrency will be considered an illegal transaction under the updated criminal law. The lawyer elaborated: “If so, then it will be possible to simply put everyone in jail. Drug addicts in pre-trial detention centers will be replaced by droppers and cryptocurrency traders.” The founder of Cartesius highlighted that since 2022, he has been accepting only cash whenever he has had to sell cryptocurrencies, refusing any fiat payments to his bank card account. So far, Russia has recognized mining as a legal crypto-related activity but has been reluctant to allow the free circulation of cryptocurrencies in its economy. In March, the Russian central bank proposed the establishment of an “experimental legal regime” for limited crypto operations. The latter will allow the exchange of cryptocurrencies in a controlled environment reserved for “ qualified investors ” and the use of digital coins for cross-border settlements by Russian companies facing international financial restrictions. Cryptopolitan Academy: Tired of market swings? Learn how DeFi can help you build steady passive income. Register Now

How to understand Bitcoin: - Being humble - Being curious - Enough free time - Knowledge about money - Knowledge about inflation - Knowledge about technology Very few can check all boxes. Therefore few owns Bitcoin.