Nasdaq-listed GD Culture Group plans to allocate up to $300 million from a 
stock purchase agreement toward acquiring BTC and TRUMP for its corporate 
treasury, signaling a strategic pivot toward decentralized finance. GDC to 
Build Crypto Reserve with $300 Million Stock Deal GD Culture Group Limited 
(Nasdaq: GDC) has announced a landmark $300 million common […]

GD Culture Group Embraces Crypto With $300 Million Plan to Acquire Bitcoin and Trump Coin

Bitcoin is showing renewed strength as on-chain data and macro conditions 
align to support a bullish outlook. According to a May 13 post on the Bitfinex 
Alpha blog, the realized market cap of Bitcoin (BTC) has reached $889 billion 
after…

Fresh Bitcoin inflows amid rising realized cap suggest bullish trend will continue: Bitfinex

World Network, the digital identity and crypto project of Sam Altman&#8217;s OpenAI, 
has alarmed privacy activists ahead of its United States launch, with 
observers concerned over its data collection and protection practices.
World &#8220;is the opposite of privacy. It&#8217;s a trap,&#8221; said Nick Almond, CEO of 
FactoryDAO, on X. While the project claims to protect user privacy in the age 
of proliferating AI, it&#8217;s faced a slew of regulatory concerns across the 
globe.
Formerly known as &#8220;Worldcoin,&#8221; the iris-scanning technology and its crypto 
token payout scheme are being probed by authorities in India, South Korea, 
Italy, Colombia, Argentina, Portugal, Kenya and Indonesia. In Spain, Hong Kong 
and Brazil, it&#8217;s outright banned.
World&#8217;s latest foray into the US could prove to be CEO Sam Altman&#8217;s biggest 
challenge yet, where privacy concerns are heightened by a patchwork of 
enforcement that differs state by state.
## Varying privacy laws could leave World users open to discrimination
On April 30, Altman announced that World would set up in &#8220;key innovation hubs&#8221; 
in five states in the US: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and 
San Francisco. Would-be verified humans can scan their irises at these hubs, 
giving World unique biomedical markers.
These markers, per World, can be used to prove one&#8217;s humanness when 
interacting with others on digital platforms.
But as World expands into the US, an uncertain regulatory landscape could put 
people off and make it difficult for the platform to build user trust.
Andrew Rossow, a cyber and public affairs attorney at Rossow Law, told 
Cointelegraph, &#8220;There is no comprehensive federal law specifically regulating 
biometric data (such as iris scans) in the US.&#8221;
Indeed, laws differ state by state. Two states in which World will operate, 
Texas and California, have some form of legal protections on the books for 
biometric data. Users in the remaining three states, Georgia, Tennessee and 
Florida, must rely on federal law, which requires that &#8220;companies must be 
transparent and fair, but there are no special state rules for iris scans.&#8221;
But even the existence of state law is no guarantee of protection. In Texas, 
there is no private right of action for biometric data &#8212; only the state 
attorney general (AG) can enforce the state&#8217;s Capture or Use of Biometric 
Identifier law.
_Altman announced World &#8216;s foray into the US market at a company event two 
weeks ago. Source: World_
&#8220;The effectiveness of user data protections, as it pertains to World, hinges 
almost entirely on the Texas AG&#8217;s priorities, resources and willingness to 
act,&#8221; said Rossow.
A more aggressive AG could mean more robust protections, while &#8220;a less 
aggressive administration could deprioritize enforcement, which leaves 
consumers open and vulnerable to exploitation.&#8221;
The potential for exploitation is one of the key factors driving activist 
efforts against systems like World.
Privacy International, a privacy protection group that supported legal action 
in Kenya against World, states that in &#8220;the absence of strong legal frameworks 
and strict safeguards, biometric technologies pose grave threats to privacy 
and personal security, as their application can be broadened to facilitate 
discrimination, profiling and mass surveillance.&#8221;
_**Related:**__**Over 70 crypto firms join forces to tackle Big Tech &#8216;s AI 
monopoly**_
As far back as 2021, Amnesty International had raised concerns over 
discrimination and biometric systems&#8217; applications of dubious methodologies. 
Such systems, they said, can &#8220;make inferences and predictions about things 
such as people&#8217;s gender, emotions, or other personal attributes, suffer from 
serious, fundamental flaws in their scientific underpinnings.&#8221;
&gt; &#8220;This means that the inferences they make about us are often invalid, in 
&gt; some cases even operationalizing eugenicist theories of phrenology and 
&gt; physiognomy.&#8221;
Not everyone is convinced of privacy watchdogs&#8217; concerns. Tomasz Stańczak, co- 
executive director at the Ethereum Foundation, said that he has spent &#8220;over 
100 hours&#8221; analyzing World, which is building on the Ethereum network. He 
added that it &#8220;looked very promising and much more robust and privacy-focused 
than my initial intuition.&#8221;
Paul Dylan-Ennis, an Ethereum researcher and academic, said that he believes 
World&#8217;s tech &#8220;is likely strong in privacy terms&#8221; but admitted that the 
aesthetic could be putting people off: &#8220;Just some intangible Black Mirror-ness 
to it all.&#8221;
## Worldcoin faces mounting bans worldwide
OpenAI may be doubling down on an American strategy, but other jurisdictions 
around the world are increasingly investigating, limiting or outright banning 
the firm&#8217;s activities.
In 2023, regulators in India, South Korea, Kenya, Germany and Brazil began 
investigating the firm&#8217;s data collection practices. Spain became the first 
country to ban World data collection outright in March 2024.
_**Related:**__**North Korean spy slips up, reveals ties in fake job 
interview**_
The Spanish Data Protection Agency previously told Cointelegraph that its 
course of action was based on reports from Spanish citizens. It claimed that 
Orb operators provided &#8220;insufficient information, collected data from minors 
and even failed to allow withdrawal of consent.&#8221;
Following the ban, World published a blog post stating that it operates 
&#8220;lawfully in all of the locations in which it is available.&#8221;
_World has recently made its iris-scanning orbs more compact and 
transportable. Source: World_
Global regulators disagreed. Hong Kong followed Spain in May 2024 and ordered 
World to cease operations as it was allegedly violating the city-state&#8217;s 
Personal Data Privacy Ordinance.
Further accusations of improper data collection practices followed, and a 
number of countries like Germany and, more recently, Kenya, have ordered World 
to delete the data of thousands of users, while Colombia and Argentina have 
issued hefty fines.
In January 2025, Brazil&#8217;s National Data Protection Authority banned World 
outright, citing concern over the irreversible nature of data collection and 
the potential for World to influence economically disadvantaged people with 
the promise of crypto for their data.
## Opportunities in Japan and the US
Despite protestations in various countries, the ID system is making inroads. 
In Japan, World is now a part of dating online.
Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Match Group, which includes dating app Tinder in its 
portfolio, announced on May 1 that Tinder would be trialing World&#8217;s ID system 
on Tinder in Japan, &#8220;giving users a privacy-first way to prove they&#8217;re real 
humans.&#8221; 
_Tinder users in Japan can swipe right with World ID-verified users. 
Source:__World_
The integration in Japan is yet to take off, but as Tinder is the most popular 
dating app in Japan, it provides a major use case for the World identity 
platform. In 2024 alone, it had some 1.38 million downloads.
If World could score a Tinder partnership in the US, it would acquire 7.8 
million monthly active members overnight. If it expanded to similar services 
like Bumble or Hinge &#8212; the next two most popular dating apps in the country 
&#8212; World will have captured 67% of the US online dating market, comprising the 
personal, unique identities of tens of millions of users.
But privacy rights in the US are far from settled. In Texas, one of the states 
where World plans to operate, Google recently settled to the tune of $1.4 
billion. The company paid the eye-watering sum to the state of Texas after 
settling two lawsuits alleging the firm of tracking user search and location 
data, as well as collecting facial recognition information.
Elsewhere, in Illinois and New York, biometrics firms face court proceedings, 
while lawmakers take measures to curtail the collection of biometric data.
_**Magazine:**__**ChatGPT a &#8216;schizophrenia-seeking missile,&#8217; AI scientists 
prep for 50% deaths: AI Eye**_

Alarm bells ring in US over OpenAI’s crypto project World

Crypto venture capital deals in the first quarter of 2025 saw deal values jump 
even as the number of deals sank from the same quarter a year ago, says 
PitchBook.
The venture research firm said in its May 14 Crypto VC Trends report for Q1 
that 405 deals were made in the quarter, down 39.5% from the 670 deals made in 
Q1 2024, but slightly up from the 372 made in Q4 last year.
However, the total value of deals in Q1 more than doubled from a year ago, 
jumping to $6 billion compared to $2.6 billion in the first quarter of 2024 
and doubling from $3 billion in Q4 2024.
PitchBook&#8217;s senior crypto research analyst Robert Le said that despite 
macroeconomic turmoil over the quarter, &#8220;capital continued to seek crypto&#8217;s 
core utility rails.&#8221;
VCs poured nearly $2.55 billion across 16 deals into businesses like crypto 
asset managers, exchanges, and financial services at a rate that far surpassed 
any other segment.
Crypto infrastructure and development firms saw the next largest venture 
funding, fetching nearly $955 million across 30 deals.
_Web3-focused companies saw the third-most deals and funding, at 23 and $231.2 
million, respectively. Source: PitchBook._
Looking ahead, PitchBook&#8217;s Le said Circle&#8217;s pending initial public offering 
(IPO) &#8220;represents the most important price-discovery event for crypto equity 
since Coinbase listed in 2021.&#8221;
If Circle is valued above the rumored $4 billion to $5 billion range, it could 
show venture investors that business models similar to Circle&#8217;s are profitable 
and sustainable while also providing a clearer benchmark for future exits.
&gt; &#8220;A strong roadshow could therefore crowd in new late-stage capital and reset 
&gt; valuation expectations upward across the payments and infrastructure stack.&#8221;
Circle has raised $1.18 billion in VC funding to date, according to PitchBook, 
which estimates a 64% chance that it will go public in the future.
## &#8220;Dollar-denominated settlement remains crypto&#8217;s killer application&#8221;
Le noted that the market value of stablecoins grew 12% over the first quarter, 
from $202.3 billion to $227.1 billion, even as other cryptocurrencies saw 
their values fall or stagnate.
&gt; &#8220;In our view, this divergence underscores a growing consensus: Dollar- 
&gt; denominated settlement remains crypto&#8217;s killer application, insulated&#8211;at 
&gt; least partially&#8211; from broader risk-off moves.&#8221;
Le said PitchBook expected that near-term venture investments could increase, 
&#8220;especially in payment, remittance, and treasury-management startups that 
directly monetize stablecoin velocity.&#8221;
_**Related:**__**Bitcoin builders defend venture capital&#8217;s role in layer-2 
growth**_
Le added that the $1.4 billion Bybit exploit in February &#8212; the largest in 
crypto history &#8212; may accelerate institutional demand for real-time proof-of- 
reserve tooling, improved custody solutions and middleware that simplifies key 
management.
&#8220;Startups addressing those vectors should find a more receptive funding 
environment despite the broader valuation reset,&#8221; he added.
_Notable crypto venture-backed or growth-stage companies that received 
investment in Q4 2024. Source: PitchBook_
 _**Magazine:**__**Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it &#8216;s becoming them 
in stablecoin fight**_

Crypto VC deals drop in Q1, but funding more than doubles: PitchBook

Once a go-to swapper for hackers and drainers, eXch was shut down by German 
police in April &#8212; but continued activity suggests the story isn&#8217;t over.
Without Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, eXch wasn&#8217;t your typical crypto 
exchange. It acted more like an instant swapper, allowing bad actors and 
cybercriminals to fly under the radar for years.
Among its clients was the Lazarus Group. The North Korean state-backed hacking 
unit thrust eXch into the spotlight back in February, when it used the 
platform to funnel some of the $1.4 billion it stole from Bybit. When Bybit 
traced its stolen funds to eXch, it requested assistance &#8212; but the platform 
refused.
This led to a fierce discussion over privacy versus security, but ultimately, 
eXch announced it would close its doors on April 17; on April 30, German 
authorities made it official.
But according to security firm TRM Labs, the platform may have continued 
operating in stealth mode after the takedown. Here&#8217;s the rise, fall and 
afterlife of alleged crypto laundromat eXch.
## eXch shuts front door, keeps back door unlocked
Alongside its shutdown announcement, eXch posted a message claiming it would 
not facilitate criminal proceeds. The post was removed within hours, and 
operations quietly resumed &#8212; signs of an internal disagreement or perhaps 
even a calculated attempt to lower visibility, according to TRM.
_CSAM-related fund flows traced to eXch. Source: TRM Labs_
German authorities seized eXch&#8217;s servers and confiscated 34 million euros ($38 
million) in crypto, along with more than eight terabytes of data, effectively 
dismantling its public-facing infrastructure.
_**Related:**__**North Korean spy slips up, reveals ties in fake job 
interview**_
&#8220;Just like we saw with Garantex rebranding as Grinex, eXch didn&#8217;t fully die 
after the shutdown. It quietly kept servicing a handful of partners via API, 
which meant laundering activity continued even after the public takedown,&#8221; 
said Jeremiah O&#8217;Connor, co-founder and chief technology officer of security 
firm Trugard.
O&#8217;Connor added that it&#8217;s not unlikely for such platforms to serve loyal 
customers even after seizures.
_EXch website visited on May 13. Source:__eXch_
&#8220;The people behind eXch.ch took full advantage of operating across multiple 
countries. The domain was registered through a UK-based provider, listed 
Switzerland as an admin location, hosted infrastructure in France, and had 
servers seized in Germany,&#8221; O&#8217;Connor said.
It&#8217;s still unclear if eXch will kill its API or come back under a new name. 
TRM said in the May 2 blog post that the platform&#8217;s remaining back-end access 
continued to provide anonymization infrastructure for threat actors.
## No KYC, pooled liquidity draws illicit funds to eXch
EXch&#8217;s origins trace back to 2014, according to &#8220;Fantasy,&#8221; lead investigator 
at crypto insurance firm Fairside Network. In an October 2024 investigation, 
Fantasy identified the platform&#8217;s first public appearance as a BitcoinTalk 
forum account promoting automatic swaps between Bitcoin (BTC), Perfect Money 
and BTC-e vouchers &#8212; payment methods commonly associated with high-risk 
transactions.
Fantasy also traced the original Bitcoin wallet tied to eXch and found it was 
likely funded via BTC-e, the now-defunct crypto exchange shuttered by US 
authorities in 2017 for its role in laundering criminal proceeds.
Fantasy&#8217;s forensic research found that the modernized form of eXch emerged in 
2022, when its Ethereum hot wallet was first funded. Not long after, it became 
a hub for prominent crypto drainers.
Monkey Drainer &#8212; the first known large-scale drainer-as-a-service operator &#8212; 
used eXch before its retirement. Other draining service providers like Pink 
Drainer and Inferno Drainer also passed funds through the platform, along with 
several major exploiters.
_EXch &#8216;s modern wallets traced to accounts held at Binance and OKX. Source: 
__Fantasy/MetaSleuth_
EXch required no identity verification, allowing users to move funds with 
anonymity. That made it an attractive tool for cybercriminals looking to clean 
stolen assets.
&#8220;EXch managed to stay active for years &#8212; despite facilitating obvious illicit 
activity &#8212; because there&#8217;s still a big gap between what regulators &#8216;can&#8217; do 
and how fast technology is moving,&#8221; Amit Levin, former investigator at 
Binance, told Cointelegraph.
&gt; &#8220;In today&#8217;s world, anyone can launch a smart contract or run a crypto 
&gt; service from anywhere, often without revealing who they are. And if there&#8217;s 
&gt; no registration, no KYC and no one to hold accountable, enforcement becomes 
&gt; close to impossible.&#8221;
The platform also drew confidence from threat actors by using a pooled 
liquidity system that blended user deposits and withdrawals, making it 
difficult for investigators and law enforcement to trace the flow of funds.
## When eXch knew and did nothing
EXch denied laundering funds for North Korean crypto hackers, and in its 
shutdown notice, it framed the project as an attempt by privacy enthusiasts to 
&#8220;restore balance&#8221; in the industry. It criticized Anti-Money Laundering 
enforcement and condemned companies offering address risk scoring APIs as 
&#8220;parasites&#8221; profiting off government fear.
&#8220;Service providers in the crypto space are, for the most part, not 
decentralized; that is, they retain control over or access to customers&#8217; 
assets, as demonstrated in the case of eXch,&#8221; Gal Arad Cohen, partner at S. 
Horowitz &amp; Co, told Cointelegraph.
&#8220;A financial intermediary operating in the crypto sector faces risks similar 
to those of traditional financial service providers and should, therefore, be 
held to equivalent standards and regulatory requirements,&#8221; she said.
The closure of eXch is a &#8220;huge win&#8221; for crypto, according to Alex Katz, CEO of 
security firm Kerberus. However, Katz warned that bad actors can migrate to 
alternative projects, like THORChain, which received a shoutout in eXch&#8217;s 
unapologetic farewell manifesto.
In the Bybit hack, decentralized swap protocol THORChain was used as the main 
bridge to swap around 500,000 Ether (ETH) to Bitcoin.
_EXch operators also used THORChain to allegedly obfuscate trails. 
Source:__Tanuki42_
EXch stated that its partners would retain access to its API for a limited 
time, but future operations would depend on the &#8220;new management team.&#8221; The old 
team recommended setting up new liquidity pools to maintain seamless 
functionality and said it would provide consultations.
It signed off with a defiant message: &#8220;Privacy is not a crime.&#8221;
German authorities reported that $1.9 billion in crypto flowed into eXch since 
its inception. Its operators are suspected of commercial money laundering and 
running a criminal trading platform.
_**Magazine:**__**ChatGPT a &#8216;schizophrenia-seeking missile,&#8217; AI scientists 
prep for 50% deaths: AI Eye**_

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