The French crypto industry is once again in the spotlight. Reuters reveals that France is once again at the heart of European crypto debate, indicating that it could move to block licensed companies in other EU jurisdictions from operating within the country.

The regulatory warning issued on Monday by Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, Chairman of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), highlights the deep fractures already manifested in the European Union’s groundbreaking market in the European Union’s Crypto Asset Regulation (MICA).

MICA, officially enacted by service providers in December 2024, was billed as the world’s first comprehensive digital asset rulebook.

This framework allows crypto companies to obtain permits in one member country and “passport” their licenses in all 27 countries.

The map is clear 246 days after MICA came into effect.

He leads with Areland 123’s Mica white paper.
Germany: 59
RieChtenstein: 36
Malta: 26
Netherlands: 21
France: 7
Spain: 3

246 days after Mica went live, our map shows where the code launches are taking place… pic.twitter.com/1d7y8wf30p

– Storm Partners (@storm_partners) September 2, 2025

However, since the scheme was rolled out, Ireland, for example, has so far received 17.5 times the number of crypto-passports as France.

For businesses, the passport mechanism is an award and an efficient gateway to the block’s single market. However, regulators like the AMF have made fault lines public for the past nine months.

24 hours7d1Y

Barbat-Layani warned that companies are already “shopping” for their weakest jurisdictions, and have secured light touch licenses before expanding to larger markets such as France. “The possibility of denying an EU passport is not ruled out,” she told Reuters, comparing the option to “atomic weapons” that can be deployed if the director gap continues.

This comment is because France, Italy and Austria jointly seek the European Securities and Markets Agency (ESMA) to envisage direct surveillance of major crypto companies.

In a joint paper, three regulators argued that the implementation of the early MICA revealed a “major difference” in the way national supervisors interpret and enforce rules. They argue that the direct ESMA oversight they argue is essential to protect investors and ensure a level playing field.

That push follows stinging criticism of Malta’s licensing regime. In July, in a peer review of the ESMA, the Malta Financial Services Agency found that it “partially met expectations” when approving the crypto provider, highlighting a decline in risk assessments and slow follow-up of supervision.

Additionally, the report has encouraged concerns that smaller jurisdictions could become regulatory gateways for businesses seeking rapid EU access.

Discover: Best New Cryptocurrencies to Invest in 2025

Are there other reasons why crypto companies are escheating France?

The regulatory debate of the high stakes unfolds against the tense background in France’s own crypto ecosystem. Over the past few months, a series of violent intrigues targeting crypto entrepreneurs and their families has rattled the industry. French police have attempted to acquiring at least half a dozen of them to demand ransom for digital assets, including cases in which victims were cut off to put pressure on millions of payments.

Security experts warn that some of the new EU reporting requirements could make it easier for criminals to identify wealthy targets.

This double pressure, fragmentation of regulations at the EU level and rising domestic security concerns have put Paris in a difficult position as the summer season approaches.

AMF has spent years on blockchain startups that brand France as a jurisdiction of clarity and reliability, especially after granting a license to Binance’s French organization in 2022.

The interests are high for investors and businesses. If France unilaterally refuses to recognize licenses from other EU states, the single market promises supporting MICA could break before they become fully established.

However, it is important to understand that risk is not just reputation but structural. The divergence of EU oversight will undermine confidence at the moment Europe is considering whether Trump can provide a reliable alternative to America.

Discover: 9+ Best High Risk, High Reward Cryptographs for Buying in 2025

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Crypto Journalist

Anas Hassan

Crypto Journalist

Anas Hassan

About Author

Anas is a crypto native journalist and SEO writer with over five years of writing experience covering blockchain, crypto, DeFi, and emerging tech.

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Last updated: 

September 15, 2025

HYPE price prediction scenarios reached new extremes as BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes projected the token could reach $5,000, building on his earlier forecast of 126x gains within three years.

His bold call coincides with Native Markets securing the USDH stablecoin ticker for Hyperliquid after defeating heavyweight competitors, including Paxos and Ethena.

Technical analysis reveals HYPE trading near $54 after completing what appears to be a major Elliott Wave cycle, with indicators suggesting potential retracement toward $25-$50 support levels before resuming its upward trajectory.

The platform’s dominance in perpetual futures markets and $1.2 billion annual revenue provide fundamental support for Hayes’ ambitious long-term targets.

Native Markets Triumph Fuels Stablecoin Integration Plans

Native Markets emerged victorious in Hyperliquid’s USDH stablecoin governance vote after weeks of intense competition.

The decision followed validator commitments, and the prediction market indicated that it heavily favored the team over established competitors.

Ethena withdrew from the race on Thursday, citing community concerns about non-native infrastructure requirements. The exit eliminated a major contender that initially appeared well-positioned for the partnership.

Paxos remained in contention despite revising its proposal midweek. The updated Version 2, which is no longer relevant, included deep PayPal and Venmo integration, zero-cost on- and off-ramps, and a $20 million incentive package.

Paxos also committed all USDH revenue to Hyperliquid growth until it reached a $1 billion TVL.

Additionally, the community has noted that Native Markets won due to its tight integration with Hyperliquid’s ecosystem.

Reserves in cash and U.S. Treasuries will be managed by BlackRock off-chain, while tokenized assets utilize Superstate and Stripe’s Bridge infrastructure.

The team pledged to split all reserve yield between Hyperliquid’s Assistance Fund and broader ecosystem development.

Backing from Uniswap Labs, Paradigm, and Polychain veterans further strengthened credibility among validators.

Elliott Wave Completion Indicates Major Retracement Risk

HYPE’s chart structure suggests completion of a major Elliott Wave 1 cycle around the current $54 levels.

The ending diagonal pattern exhibits corrective characteristics across each subwave, indicating potential exhaustion of the current bullish impulse.

Technical confluence points toward a significant retracement targeting the $25 region.

This level represents multiple support factors, including untapped volume nodes, the macro 0.382 Fibonacci retracement, and speed fan golden pocket alignment.

The ascending channel containing recent price action approaches the upper boundary resistance.

HYPE’s positioning near $53.42 suggests potential topping action despite maintaining bullish momentum characteristics throughout the advance.

Fair Value Gap identification provides substantial buying interest zones during any corrective moves.

These market inefficiencies typically act as price magnets during periods of volatility, where rapid movements leave gaps that require fills.

Alternative wave count scenarios involving nested 1-2 structures appear less probable given current market conditions.

However, decisive breaks above $61 could shift bias toward continued bullish interpretation rather than correction expectations.

FOMC Volatility Creates Strategic Entry Opportunities

Short-term analysis focuses on the Federal Reserve’s September 16-17 FOMC meeting, anticipating rate cuts that could catalyze broader market volatility.

Expectations center around 25 basis point cuts or potentially more aggressive monetary policy action.

Immediate resistance clusters near the 0.618 Fibonacci level at $56.22, with stronger resistance in the $57.50 zone.

These levels represent logical profit-taking areas for short-term traders and potential reversal points for broader corrections.

The support structure identifies key levels at $52.74, with deeper support around $49.88.

The alignment with $50 bid levels creates high-probability setups for both continuation and retracement scenarios based on Fibonacci retracement positioning.

Hayes’s $5,000 projection assumes an explosive expansion of the stablecoin market beyond $10 trillion, driving speculative trading demand.

Hyperliquid’s 60% perpetual futures market share and $1.2 billion annual revenue support long-term bullish scenarios despite near-term technical headwinds.

Is BTC Hyper the Next 100x Bitcoin Layer-2 Everyone’s Building?

While HYPE faces potential correction before reaching Hayes’s $5,000 target, this Bitcoin Layer-2 solution is gaining strong development momentum.

Smart investors know that finding scalability projects early can lead to massive returns during infrastructure upgrades.

BTC Hyper is getting attention because it makes Bitcoin faster and programmable using Solana technology.

The platform turns Bitcoin into a DeFi asset with smart contracts and instant transactions.

The presale has raised over $13 million, with the mainnet launch approaching. Early investors can earn over 150% staking rewards while the network prepares for full deployment.

Worth noting that the best Layer-2 projects get adopted quickly once developers start building applications.

BTC Hyper launches soon with audited smart contracts and cross-chain features. This means you should join now if you want presale access.

You can buy BTC Hyper tokens on the ongoing presale website using BTC, ETH, USDT, or credit cards.

Visit the Official Website Here

Crypto analyst XForce revealed that Dogecoin Price It beats local highs following a $0.3 level of landfill. In line with this, he predicted that the meme coins could gather at the new All-Time High (ATH) and reach one psychological level.

Dogecoin Price Eyes 300% Rally to $1, breaking beyond local highs

in xPostXforce predicted that Dogecoin’s priced rallies can be recorded at a psychological level of one level. This came just as he noticed that Doge just broke on Previous Regional High After climbing over $0.3 on the weekend. Based on this, analysts declared that one dollar is still programmed for meme coins.

Related readings

Xforce admitted there’s a pullback along the way, but expects Dogecoin’s price to reach this one level in the end. Analysts also turned their attention to alternative ideas that could lead Doge to double-digit prices if continued as a strong impulse. His accompanying chart showed it Meme coins may be collected Up to $18.

Dogecoin prices rose over the weekend Rex-Soprey Doge ETFthis will be the first fund to provide institutional investors with exposure to first meme coins. It offers a bullish outlook for Memecoin and believes it can inject new fluidity into its ecosystem.

Additionally, the Fed plans to cut this week’s first rate this year. FOMC Meetingwhich could also be bullish on Dogecoin’s price as it increases risk-on sentiment. During this recent rally, Crypto analysts Mikybull Crypto has also been declared Meme coins reach $1 in this cycle. Meanwhile, Crypto analysts Ali Martinez pointed out That Doge can raise the next leg to $0.45 before integrating a bit around these levels.

Analysts issue Doge warnings

in xPostCrypto analyst Credibull Crypto issued a warning about Dogecoin prices, noting that it is currently in monthly supply. He said it more The doge has not eruptedthen technically, just retest the previous failure point.

Related readings

Credibull Crypto has been bullish on the Dogecoin price and said that the best time to jump into Longs is before this recent rally. Now he believes this is the time to be more cautious as it is the place where Doge is most likely to face rejection. Record the lower rank If the bottom is not yet in place. It could also cause memecoin to crash if Fed rate reductions and Doge ETF launches turn out to be “selling news” events.

At the time of writing, Dogecoin’s price is trading at around $0.28, down more than 2% over the past 24 hours. data From CoinMarketCap.

ISTOCK featured images, charts on tradingView.com

By Omkar Godbole (All times unless otherwise indicated)

The crypto market has been stagnating along with Bitcoin since Saturday BTC$115,104.99 Again, along with ongoing sales by early adopters or OGS wallets, we were unable to maintain profits above $116,000.

On Sunday, eight years of BTC holders moved over $136 million to polymer meat and began dumping it, according to blockchain analyst LookonChain. The holder is known to have replaced 35,991 BTC with 886,731 ETH in recent months.

Other long-term holders have settled coins in recent months as the market continues to be adjusted to six-figure prices as the new normal for BTC.

However, the latest sales are not only limited to long-term holders. Chain data tracked with GlassNode showed wallets of all sizes returning to coin distribution.

In the case of ether, whale wallets continue to scale exposure, suggesting ether outperformance against bitcoin. However, the etheric Bitcoin ratio for binance fell for the third year in a row, failing to take advantage of the trendline breakouts confirmed on Friday.

Recent outperformers MemeCoins are also under pressure, with Token, Doge and Shib losing 10% and 6% respectively in the last 24 hours.

Solana’s native tokensol traded 2% lower at $234 despite major industry participants taking steps to accelerate the adoption of Solana Native’s distributed finances. (defi).

Kyle Samani, chairman of Solana Treasury Company Forward Industries, registered with NASDAQ, said on X that the company plans to deploy funds to the Solana-based Defi protocol. Last week, the forward raised $1.65 billion in privately owned placements led by Multicoin Capital, Galaxy Digital and Jump Crypto.

Samani was in response to the ideas raised by Anthem, a crypto trader. Anthem has called for the corporate finance fund to invest in Solana-based Defi to boost the network’s Defi appeal in connection with the industry giant Ethereum.

In traditional markets, investors’ positioning in the S&P 500 looked completely biased and bullish. “The emotions are extreme, so be careful about that,” Shortbear said in X.

What to see

• Crypto
• Macros
• Revenue (Estimation based on fact set data)

Token Event

• Governance votes and phone calls
  • Curve DAO is voting to renew its donation-enabled two-crocrypt contract, and refines the donation so as the unlocked portion will last after burns. Voting will end on September 16th.
• Unlock
  • September 15th: StarkNet (strk) To unlock 5.98% of the circulation supply, unlock the supply supply worth $17.09 million.
  • September 15th: 6 Become$0.3194 To unlock 1.18% of the circulating supply, unlock the supply worth $18.06 million.
• Token launch
  • September 15th: Openledger (ovnereling) It will be listed on crypto.com.

meeting

Token talk

Oliver Night

• Monero’s blockchain suffered from the deepest Reorg ever on Monday, rewinding 18 blocks.
• Blockchain reorganization occurs when a node tracks a portion of an existing chain, where it is doing longer work. Shifts occur during a temporary fork where two versions of chains compete.
• Monero’s XMR token remained unshakable during the caterpillar. Increases by 5% despite attacks by Qubic. This is a Layer-1 AI-centric blockchain and mining pool that last month attempted to take over the Monero blockchain by accumulating 51% of its mining power.
• The event rewrites the transaction history for approximately 36 minutes, disabling approximately 118 confirmed transactions, and prompted concerns about network security.
• Crypto Podcaster Xenu claimed it was an attempt to “stop bleeding” XMR prices after the XMR price fell from $344 to $235 during the first 51% attack in August.
• XMR is currently trading at $304, bringing negative sentiment aside, up 78% in daily trading volume to $136 million.

Positioning of derivatives

By Omkar Godbole

• The top 25 coins have experienced a decline in open interest in futures (Hey) Over the past 24 hours, Memecoins such as Doge, Pepe and Fartcoin have registered double-digit capital outflows. This contrasts with the pre-covered bounce seen in most tokens.
• BTC’s Global Futures oi Tally returned to 720k BTC last week from a nearly record high of 744k BTC. Total OI across the market has returned to $90 billion from $95 billion over the weekend.
• ETH tally shows new capital inflows, growing from around 13.2 million ether to over 14 million ether earlier this month. However, this does not necessarily indicate a bullish position. (CVD) ETH has been negative for the past 24 hours. It is a sign of net sales pressure.
• Most major tokens have seen negative CVDs for the past 24 hours.
• Activities on futures registered with the CME appear to be gaining pace, bounced back from a high low of 133.25k BTC earlier this week to 141.69k BTC. The annual rate for three months is below 10%, extending the consolidation. ETH’s CME OI remains below 2 million ether.
• Deribit biases BTC and ETH has been significantly mitigated in all tenors as the market expects Fed rate reductions in the coming months. The implicit volatility term structure remains in Contango, and its December expiration date is expected to be more unstable.

Market movements

• BTC is down 1.1% from 4pm on Friday at $114,933.52 (24 hours: -1%)
• ETH is down 3.1% at $4,528.04 (24 hours: -3.22%)
• Coindesk 20 is down 2.73% at 4,245.39 (24 hours: -3.35%)
• Ether CESR Composite staking rate is 2.82%, down 2 bps
• BTC’s funding rate is 0.0081% (8.829% per year) About Vinanence

• DXY has not changed at 97.48
• Gold futures fell 0.29% to $3,675.80
• Silver futures fell 0.56% at $42.59
• Nikkei 225 closed 0.89% at 44,768.12
• Hang Seng rose 0.22% to 26,446.56
• FTSE is down 0.1% at 9,273.57
• The Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.6% at 5,423.13
• DJIA fell 0.59% on Friday at 45,834.22
• The S&P 500 was unchanged at 6,584.29
• NASDAQ Composite rose 0.44% at 22,141.10
• S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.42% at 29,283.82
• S&P 40 Latin America has been closed with a change at 2,857.80
• The US 10-year financial ratio has not changed at 4.059%
• E-Mini S&P 500 futures are no different at 6,594.50
• E-Mini Nasdaq-100 futures remain unchanged at 24,098.00
• The e-mini dow Jones Industrial Average Index is up 0.22% at 45,957.00

Bitcoin statistics

• BTC dominance: 58.11% (0.57%)
• Ether to Bitcoin ratio: 0.03938 (-1.38%)
• Hashrate (7-day moving average):025 eh/s
• Hashpris (spot): $53.81
• Total fee: 3.13 BTC/$362,347
• CME Futures Open Interest: 141,690 BTC
• BTC priced in gold: 31.5 oz
• BTC vs. Gold Market Cap: 8.90%

Technical Analysis

• Doge fell from 30.7 cents to 26 cents, and it penetrated the bullish trend line from its September 6th low.
• The breakdown suggests the momentum of the updated seller.
• Prices are also accepted below the one-sided cloud. Crossovers under the cloud are said to represent a bearish shift in trends.

Crypto stocks

• Coinbase Global (coin): Closed on Friday at $323.04 (-0.28%)-0.34% is $321.95 in front of the market
• Round (CRCL): Closed at $125.32 (-6.27%)+1.81% 127.59 dollars
• Galaxy Digital (glxy): Closed at $29.70 (+2.88%)-0.47% at $29.56
• strong (blsh): Closed at $51.84 (-3.98%)+1.72% $52.73
• Mala Holdings (Mara): Closed at $16.31 (+3.82%)-0.67% at $16.20
• Riot Platform (Riol): Closed at $15.89 (+1.53%)-0.44% at $15.82
• Core Scientific (Colts): Closed at $15.86 (+1.99%)-0.38% at $15.80
• CleanSpark (CLSK): Closed for $10.35 (+1.47%)not changed in previous markets
• Coinshares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners etf (WGMI): Closed at $37.32 (+4.63%)
• Escape movement (exod): Closed at $28.36 (-1.73%)not changed in previous markets

Cryptocurrency company

• strategy (MSTR): Closed at $331.44 (+1.66%)-0.53% 329.68 dollars
• Semler Scientific (SMLR): Closed at $29.19 (+2.28%)
• Sharplink Games (sbet): Closed for $17.7 (+8.19%)-2.26% at $17.30
• Upexi (upxi): Closed at $6.76 (+18.93%)+1.55% at $6.86
• Light Strategy (Lt): Closed at $3.07 (+10.43%)

ETF Flow

Spot BTC ETF

• Daily Net Flow: $642.4 million
• Cumulative net flow: $567.9 billion
• Total BTC holdings: 1.31 million

Spot ETH ETF

• Daily Net Flow: $455.5 million
• Cumulative net flow: $133.8 billion
• Total ETH holdings: 648 million

Source: Farside Investors

While you’re asleep

• As minus-side fears go ahead of Fed rate reductions, what’s next for Bitcoin and Ether? (Coindesk): Amberdata’s Greg Magadini says regular quarter point cuts could mean gradual gains, but half-point moves could trigger an explosive rally of BTC, ETH, SOL and gold.
• The Bank of England’s proposed stablecoin ownership restrictions are ineffective, Cryptogroup says (Coindesk): Executives say that the UK’s proposed cap enforces innovation pushing overseas and may not be able to take risks, but US and EU regulations set standards without limiting their holdings.
• LSE Group launches a blockchain platform for access with private funds (Bloomberg): LSEG’s digital market infrastructure was built to increase efficiency and used in MemberCap funding for MCM Fund 1, where Crypto Exchange Archax plays the role of candidates.
• The Trump administration has claimed vast power to compete to fire federal governors before meeting (New York Times): In a filing in the federal court of appeals Sunday, Justice Department lawyers argued that Trump’s authority to expel Gov. Lisa Cook was both “reviewiewiseable” and “reasonable.”
• BOE expects to put a key rate on hold, but slowly and quantitatively tightening (Wall Street Journal): Indications of internal resistance question short-term rate cuts, with four MPC members opposed the final move, and BOE Governor Andrew Bailey warning inflationary pressure complicating policy choices.

Features writer

Jeffrey Gogo

Features writer

Jeffrey Gogo

About Author

Jeffrey Gogo is a journalist with 20 years of experience in business, finance, cryptocurrency, and climate change news and analysis.

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Last updated: 

September 15, 2025

Key Takeaways:

• Vitalik Buterin tested Hinkal’s “Invisible Wallet,” a new tool that hides wallet activity to protect users from hacks.
• Crypto hacks surged to $163 million in August, rising for the third month a row.
• Analysts say privacy wallets can reduce exposure for high-net-worth holders, but warn they’re not a silver bullet against determined tracking.
• While zero-knowledge proofs allow for privacy-preserving compliance, experts say legal alignment remains uncertain.

Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin has been testing Hinkal’s new ‘Invisible Wallet,’ a privacy tool that could mark a breakthrough at a time when wealthy wallets are increasingly targeted by hackers.

It comes as losses from crypto hacks soared to $163 million in August, rising for the third month in a row, according to PeckShield. In the last five years alone, crypto investors have lost over $4 billion in targeted attacks.

Web3 firm Hinkal says its wallet allows users to hide their on-chain activity. It claims that users, especially those with big balances, can use the wallet to deter attacks without compromising regulatory compliance.

Hinkal CEO Giorgi Koreli described crypto’s in-built transparency as a “bug”. He says it is not “normal” that over $4 trillion in crypto assets on public blockchains “can be monitored and potentially weaponized by others.”

“Privacy-preserving wallets are the future, because free surveillance and tracking can’t be,” Koreli argues.

In his test transfer in late August, Buterin sent 0.01 ETH ($44) from his wallet to an address owned by Hinkal using its invisible wallet, according to Etherscan data. Buterin’s wallet address is publicly labeled vitalik.eth.

As seen in the image below, Hinkal kept track of the Ethereum founder’s activity but did not share any more of his internal transactions for privacy reasons. Even his well-known address is obfuscated in the transaction record.

“If your assets can be watched, your transaction can be mapped and traced at every interaction,” Koreli wrote in an article posted on X. “It’s not freedom. It’s additional exposure.”

Hinkal’s Invisible Wallet ‘Is Not a Silver Bullet’

The blockchain is, by design, a public ledger that broadcasts wallet activity. As Koreli puts it, every transaction, position, and trading strategy is visible to competitors, as well as cybercriminals.

He says crypto’s “radical transparency” has been a major obstacle, discouraging privacy-focused institutions in traditional finance from investing in the “$50 billion” decentralized finance (DeFi) market.

Slava Demchuk, CEO of blockchain analytics firm AMLBot, said tools like Hinkal’s invisible wallet can raise the bar for personal security by shielding wallet balances and transaction histories from opportunistic attackers.

“For high-net-worth holders, that additional layer of privacy reduces the risk of targeted hacks, phishing attempts, or even physical threats,” Demchuk told Cryptonews, adding:

“Of course, as with any system, ultimate protection depends on adoption, decentralization, robustness of the cryptography behind it, and, most importantly, on users’ own caution.”

Invisible wallets, like Hinkal’s, act as cloaking devices. Transactions can still be validated on-chain, but sensitive details, such as wallet addresses, amounts, or counterparties, remain hidden from public scrutiny, experts say.

Yury Serov, head of investigations at analytics firm Global Ledger, lauded the privacy wallet for removing the most obvious exposure points, namely the appearance of a public address in swaps, lending and routine DeFi use.

But this “invisible” must not be conflated with “invulnerable.” For example, he says, if someone moves unusually large amounts when the liquidity pool is thin, bad actors may easily correlate deposits and withdrawals.

“Timing patterns, transaction sizes, and even metadata from relayers can give away more than users expect,” Serov tells Cryptonews, adding:

“In practice, this means Hinkal makes it much harder for casual observers or opportunistic attackers to track big wallets, but it won’t make a whale completely disappear from a determined investigation.”

According to Serov, Hinkal’s Invisible Wallet “is best viewed as a layer of risk reduction, not a silver bullet.”

Can Privacy and Compliance Coexist?

Hinkal insists that its wallet can be both private and compliant at the same time. Experts aren’t so sure. According to AMLBot CEO Demchuk, it is technically feasible for the wallet to comply with the rules while private.

“Yes, users do pass KYC requirements, and zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs allow them to demonstrate eligibility without exposing personal data,” he noted. “However, from a legal standpoint, it’s not entirely compliant yet.”

Under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, service providers may still be required to act as data controllers, creating “a gap between technical compliance and regulatory obligations,” he said.

The blockchain analyst brought up PureFi as an alternative framework that verifies compliance checks on-chain while ensuring that service providers retain the role of data controller.

“So, while Hinkal’s approach is innovative, there are still open questions about full regulatory alignment,” said Demchuk.

Global Ledger’s Serov concurred with Demchuk, saying that with ZK proofs, users can prove they have already passed (know your customer) KYC verification with a regulated exchange or that they are not on the sanctions list, to participate.

He explains:

“Historically, regulators and policymakers have sometimes seen privacy as being in direct opposition to financial crime compliance. But today, technological advances are moving so quickly that it may no longer be necessary to sacrifice one goal to achieve the other.”

But not everyone is entirely convinced. Didier Lavallée, CEO of Canadian crypto firm Tetra Trust, says Hinkal’s compliance model is “unclear”.

“You would need some kind of token or verification system to confirm it is compliant,” Lavallée told Cryptonews. Still, the service might be useful for institutions that continue to use permissioned blockchains, he said.

Vitalik Wants Privacy Wired Into the Blockchain

Vitalik Buterin has occasionally revisited the question of privacy in his blogs. He usually breaks down the “moon math” that is required to code privacy protocols such as zero-knowledge proofs into Ethereum.

His simple solution is to wire privacy into the blockchain itself rather than add it on top of the blockchain in the form of a wallet, for example.

“Up until now, making private transfers on Ethereum has required users to explicitly download and use a ‘privacy wallet’, such as Railway (or Umbra for stealth addresses),” Buterin explains in one blog entry.

“This adds great inconvenience and reduces the number of people who are willing to make private transfers. The solution is that private transfers need to be integrated directly into wallets.”

One of his proposed implementations would have wallets store a portion of a user’s assets as a “private balance” in a privacy pool.

“When a user makes a transfer, it would automatically withdraw from the privacy pool first,” says Buterin. “If a user needs to receive funds, the wallet could automatically generate a stealth address.”

Invisible Wallet: Transparency vs. Privacy

Hinkal’s privacy tool challenges crypto’s core ethos of transparency. After all, blockchain was built to let “everyone see everything.” However, some crypto analysts argue the wallet reframes crypto transparency rather than ends it.

“Instead of putting every detail of a user’s balance and trades on-chain, it uses zero-knowledge proofs to make only the necessary facts verifiable,” said Serov, the Global Ledger head of investigations, adding:

“In other words, it tries to preserve the trustless auditability of crypto while reducing the personal exposure that comes with full transparency. Hinkal reflects a shift from ‘everyone sees everything’ to ‘everyone can verify what matters.’”

AMLBot’s Demchuk spoke about balancing transparency with privacy. “Transparency has always been core to blockchain, but privacy is equally fundamental, especially when financial security is at stake,” he detailed.

“Public ledgers can remain auditable, while individual users gain choice over what information they reveal.”

Meanwhile, Hinkal could face much bigger problems. Privacy tools have historically drawn sharp reactions from regulators.

In 2022, for example, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Ethereum-based mixing service Tornado Cash on allegations of facilitating billions in laundered funds. Its cofounder, Roman Storm, was indicted in the U.S. for money laundering.

“There are some legitimate use cases of the (Hinkal) app, like payroll or protection from dusting attacks,” Serov noted. “But this innovation is likely to attract regulators’ attention in advanced regulatory regimes, like the EU.”

Without a MiCA license, or Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, Hinkal will not be able to offer its privacy-enhanced crypto custody solution in the European Union, according to Serov.

“Under the new AMLR, crypto asset services providers will not be allowed to facilitate transactions with privacy coins or anonymous accounts from July 2027. Such privacy-enhancing solutions will be effectively outlawed.”

Analysts say Hinkal’s wallet will likely be pushed out into jurisdictions that don’t yet have similar regulations in place.

“Unlike mixers, which anonymize flows without checks, Hinkal integrates privacy-preserving KYC and access tokens,” said Demchuk. “That gives regulators a framework to distinguish it from ‘black box’ laundering tools.”

Data from Global Ledger shows that Tornado Cash received roughly $1.5 billion worth of ETH between Jan. 1 and Sept. 5 this year (see image above).

Serov said around 36% of the funds are “high-risk” and come from hacks, such as the Cork Protocol hack and Bybit hack, as well as sanctioned entities like Garantex and other risky sources. “The mixer poses significant AML risks,” he added.

How do you always have it? Number 2 Copying Bitcoin core data (blocks, indexes, chain states) to an external drive?

Drives are connected to nodes only if they are not connected to individual offline workstations.

Ideally, there’s no need to stop bitcoind On a node at any point. So far I’ve been using this command:

rsync -P -h -a --delete /home/satoshi/.bitcoin/ /mnt/bitcoin-copy/

However, it can take a particularly long time after the drive has been disconnected for a while. More importantly, chain states take too long to synchronize and get damaged.

You will stop the node during copy corrections for that issue, but if possible, even a more bulletproof or automated solution. Is Raid 1 also an option in this scenario?

Thank you in advance!