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 12, 2025

Smarter Web Company is exploring acquisitions of distressed competitors to acquire their Bitcoin holdings at discount prices.

According to a Financial Times report, the UK’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder with over £200 million in crypto reserves made the revelation despite its shares plummeting 73% from their mid-June peak.

Founder Andrew Webley told the publication that “there’s one that’s very attractive, there’s one that I’ve got my sights on at the moment,“ though he declined to name the acquisition target.

The Bristol-based firm would “certainly consider” snapping up other companies for their Bitcoin at a discount, Webley explained, as some crypto treasury companies now trade below the value of their Bitcoin holdings.

Strategic Accumulation Amid Market Turbulence

Smarter Web has undergone a dramatic transformation from its origins as a website design business, pivoting heavily toward Bitcoin accumulation throughout 2025 under what the company calls “The 10 Year Plan.”

The firm currently holds 2,470 Bitcoin worth approximately £200 million, having crossed the 2,000 BTC milestone in July after purchasing 225 additional coins for £19.9 million.

This aggressive strategy has generated what the company describes as a 49,198% year-to-date Bitcoin yield, positioning Smarter Web among the top 25 global corporate Bitcoin holders despite maintaining just £500,000 in remaining treasury cash.

The company’s accumulation efforts have been financed through innovative debt structures, including the UK’s first Bitcoin-denominated convertible bond worth $21 million issued to Paris-based TOBAM in August.

Unlike traditional convertible bonds, this structure denominates the principal repayment amount in Bitcoin while keeping the conversion share price fixed at £2.05, representing a 5% premium to the stock’s closing price at the time.

Webley acknowledged the dramatic valuation swings, telling the publication that “we probably got overvalued and now we’re almost certainly undervalued,” while expressing concern for shareholders who have experienced the volatility.

Despite the share price correction, the company briefly achieved a £1 billion market capitalization over the summer and has gained approximately 150% year-to-date, outperforming all but one company in the FTSE 350.

The firm appointed Albert Soleiman, former CFO of trading group CMC Markets, as chief financial officer last week as it pursues institutional investor interest and FTSE 100 ambitions.

UK Treasury Company Wave Meets Market Skepticism

Smarter Web’s acquisition strategy emerges within a broader wave of UK-listed companies adopting Bitcoin treasury models, with at least nine firms announcing similar strategy in recent months.

These companies have followed the playbook pioneered by Saylor’s MicroStrategy, which has accumulated over 638,460 BTC and achieved a market capitalization exceeding $90 billion since first purchasing the cryptocurrency in 2020.

The UK movement includes firms ranging from AI services provider Tao Alpha, which disclosed plans to raise £100 million for Bitcoin purchases, to natural resources company Panther Metals, whose shares surged 81% after buying a single Bitcoin.

However, market analysts have raised concerns about the sustainability and strategic clarity of the crypto treasury trend as hundreds of companies worldwide race to accumulate digital assets.

Eric Benoist, tech and data research specialist at Natixis CIB, warned that “the story is starting to become less attractive to mainstream investors,” noting that “there’s still no clear end game to this strategy.”

The broader corporate Bitcoin treasury movement has seen over 325 entities accumulate 3.71 million Bitcoin collectively, as per BitcoinTreasuries data, even though some industry observers question whether the market has reached saturation.

Galaxy Digital’s Michael Novogratz had previously suggested that the market may have reached “peak treasury company issuance,” while VanEck’s Matthew Sigel warned that companies issuing shares near their Bitcoin net asset value risk creating “erosion” rather than capital formation.

If executed well, Smarter Web’s acquisition strategy could bring a new paradigm in the space, potentially allowing successful treasury companies to consolidate Bitcoin holdings from struggling competitors at favorable valuations.

The approach mirrors historical debt-financed asset acquisition strategies, where savvy investors have borrowed in depreciating currencies to purchase scarce assets during market downturns.

A new cyberattack is silently targeting crypto from users during transactions amid an incident that security researchers describe as the largest supply chain attack in history.

BleepingComputer reported that hackers compromised NPM package maintainer accounts through phishing emails and injected malware that steals crypto.

The attack targeted JavaScript developers with fraudulent emails appearing to originate from “[email protected],” an impersonated domain mimicking the legitimate NPM registry.

The phishing messages warned maintainers that their accounts would be locked on Sept. 10, unless they updated their two-factor authentication credentials through a malicious link.

Attackers successfully compromised 18 widely-used JavaScript packages with collective weekly downloads exceeding 2.6 billion.

The compromised libraries include fundamental development tools such as “chalk” (300 million weekly downloads), “debug” (358 million), and “ansi-styles” (371 million), affecting virtually the entire JavaScript ecosystem.

Targeting crypto

The malicious code operates as a browser-based interceptor, monitoring network traffic for crypto transactions across Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, Tron, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash networks.

When users initiate crypto transfers, the malware silently replaces destination wallet addresses with attacker-controlled accounts before transaction signing.

Aikido Security researcher Charlie Eriksen explained:

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“What makes it dangerous is that it operates at multiple layers: altering content shown on websites, tampering with API calls, and manipulating what users’ apps believe they are signing.”

Ledger CTO Charles Guillemet warned crypto users about the ongoing threat, noting the JavaScript ecosystem may be compromised given the massive download figures.

Hardware wallet users retain protection if they verify transaction details before signing, while software wallet users face a higher risk. Guillemet advised:

“If you don’t use a hardware wallet, refrain from making any on-chain transactions for now.”

He also noted uncertainty about whether attackers can directly extract seed phrases from software wallets.

Sophisticated targeting

The attack represents a sophisticated supply chain targeting where criminals compromise trusted development infrastructure to reach end users.

By infiltrating packages downloaded billions of times weekly, attackers gained unprecedented access to cryptocurrency applications and wallet interfaces.

BleepingComputer identified the phishing infrastructure exfiltrating credentials to “websocket-api2.publicvm.com,” demonstrating the coordinated nature of the operation.

This incident follows similar JavaScript library compromises throughout 2025, including the July attack on “eslint-config-prettier,” which had 30 million weekly downloads, and March compromises affecting ten popular NPM libraries.

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Aave reached an all-time high total value locked (TVL) of $41.1 billion on Aug. 24, positioning the decentralized lending protocol as the equivalent of the 54th largest US commercial bank by total deposits based on Federal Reserve data as of Jun. 30.

The money market protocol would replace the Prosperity Bank, which has $38.4 billion in deposits, and would fall just $300 million short of surpassing Bank OZK.

Considering the Fed lists 2,156 commercial banks in the US, Aave’s size is enough to place it among the top 2.5% largest banks in the country.

DefiLlama data showed that including Aave’s outstanding borrows of $28.9 billion as of Aug. 24 would raise the combined figure to $71.1 billion. The borrowing volume was just below the all-time high of $29.1 billion recorded on Aug. 13.

The TVL increased by the borrows would be enough to place Aave among the 37th largest US commercial banks, a 1.7% group.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov said in an Aug. 24 social media post:

“Aave Protocol is like the 37th-largest bank, except it isn’t a bank, but a network any financial institution can plug into to unlock non-Fed–correlated yield.”

Dominance in lending

The money market protocol controlled approximately 50% of the DeFi lending market’s total TVL as of Aug. 24, commanding a dominant position within the $81.5 billion lending sector.

The percentage indicates that Aave’s TVL is equivalent to the combined TVL of all other money markets. The protocol is nearly 6x larger than its closest rival, Morpho, which holds just $7 billion in deposits.

Aave achieved multiple records last week amid strong DeFi lending sector performance. The protocol reached $3 trillion in cumulative deposits on Aug. 15 while surpassing $29 billion in active loans on Aug. 13.

The AAVE token is following the protocol’s fundamentals. Since recording a low of $114.05 on April 8, the token has climbed over 177% to $316.74 as of press time.

Institutional adoption drives the protocol’s expansion, with Nasdaq-listed BTCS using Aave to generate yield on Ethereum holdings. Additionally, $6.4 billion of Ethena’s USDe stablecoin and related assets are deposited on the platform.

The multiple records demonstrate Aave’s evolution into institutional-grade financial infrastructure, capturing market share as traditional finance institutions integrate decentralized lending services into their operations.

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Crypto Journalist

Amin Ayan

Crypto Journalist

Amin Ayan

About Author

Amin Ayan is a crypto journalist with over four years of experience in the industry. He has contributed to leading publications such as Cryptonews, Investing.com, 99Bitcoins, and 24/7 Wall St. He has…

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August 3, 2025

A massive Bitcoin theft from 2020 has surfaced nearly four years later, and it’s now being called the largest crypto heist ever uncovered.

On Saturday, blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence reported that 127,426 BTC, valued at around $3.5 billion at the time and nearly $14.5 billion today, was stolen from Chinese mining pool LuBian in December 2020.

LuBian rose quickly in early 2020, becoming the sixth-largest mining pool on the Bitcoin network by mid-year.

Its website promoted it as “the safest high yielding mining pool in the world.”

LuBian Vanished in 2021, Sparking Speculation of Shutdown

By February 2021, LuBian had disappeared without explanation, fueling speculation that it was either shut down by authorities or quietly converted into a private pool.

Arkham’s investigation points to a more dramatic exit: a hack that drained the pool’s holdings.

“They appear to have been first hacked on December 28th, 2020 for over 90% of their BTC,” Arkham wrote.

The following day, attackers siphoned off another $6 million in BTC and USDT from a LuBian-linked address on the Bitcoin Omni layer.

The firm believes the Bitcoin theft stemmed from vulnerabilities in LuBian’s private key generation system, which may have allowed brute-force attacks.

While 11,886 BTC, worth roughly $1.35 billion, remains untouched in LuBian’s wallet, none of the stolen coins have moved since July 2024.

Interestingly, LuBian attempted to communicate with the attacker using Bitcoin’s OP_RETURN feature.

In two transactions, the team wrote: “To the whitehat who is saving our asset, you can contact us… to discuss the return of asset and your reward.”

The message included an email address, but it’s unclear if the hacker ever replied.

While the Mt. Gox collapse involved more BTC, the LuBian breach is the largest confirmed crypto theft by value at the time of the incident.

Bitcoin Hacks, Theft Cost Investors $2.2B in H1 2025: CertiK

Crypto investors lost over $2.2 billion to hacks, scams, and breaches in the first half of 2025, driven largely by wallet compromises and phishing attacks, according to CertiK’s latest security report.

Wallet breaches alone caused $1.7 billion in losses across just 34 incidents, while phishing scams accounted for over $410 million across 132 attacks.

Two major incidents, including Bybit’s $1.5 billion hack in February and Cetus Protocol’s $225 million exploit in May, skewed the year’s losses upward, together accounting for nearly $1.78 billion.

Without these, losses align more closely with previous years at around $690 million.

Ethereum remained the primary target, suffering over $1.6 billion in losses across 175 events.

The report also pointed to rising sophistication of phishing schemes and ongoing risks from social engineering, urging crypto users to verify links, avoid suspicious sites, and use hardware wallets.

Bitcoin (BTC) registered a 1.11% hourly drawdown after the Federal Reserve kept its target range at 4.25%–4.50%, trading at $116,320.13 as of press time following a quick visit below the $116,000 threshold.

This is the largest correction recorded during a single hour of trading since July 14, when BTC retraced 1.14%

Major cap altcoins registered the same movement. Ethereum (ETH) slid 1.74% to $3,712.36 as of press time, while Solana fell 1.90% to $173.51, XRP 2.52% to $3.04, and BNB 1.46% to $775.27.

The drop happened in tandem with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech following the latest FOMC meeting. He highlighted that tariffs’ pass-through to prices may be slower than expected, and the current numbers represent the “very beginning of tariff inflation.”

Powell reiterated that he has no intention of resigning and said the Fed remains committed to its dual mandate. Lastly, he stated that there are no decisions regarding a rate cut in September, despite President Donald Trump saying that he heard Powell would cut interest rates at the next FOMC meeting.

These developments from Powell’s speech added to the revising of a prior line in the Fed’s statement that uncertainty about the outlook “has diminished” to “remains elevated,” a backpedal suggesting lingering risks. 

As a result, traders stopped fully pricing a rate cut in October, given as the most certain.

Markets remain cautious

Bitfinex analysts framed the macro picture as mixed. Gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter rebounded to 3% annualized after a 0.5% contraction in the first quarter. 

Yet, much of the improvement reflected lower imports rather than robust domestic demand, according to a note from Bitfinex analysts. Final sales rose just 1.2%, while core Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) eased to 2.5% quarter-over-quarter, and 2.9% year-over-year.

That backdrop leaves the Fed inclined to hold steady amid “persistent inflationary risks.”

With the Fed softening its confidence and highlighting elevated uncertainty, Bitfinex analysts highlighted that crypto’s relief bid lacked fuel. 

If policymakers continue to flag sticky inflation or question the quality of GDP growth, they expect a measured downside. As a result, Bitcoin could probe $114K or lower, with ETH also softening.

The analysts warned that in the post-FOMC window, traders should watch order-flow response, volatility skew shifts, and funding-rate dynamics for confirmation of direction.

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SharpLink Gaming has officially become the largest corporate holder of Ethereum, surpassing even the Ethereum Foundation.

On July 15, the company revealed it owns 280,706 ETH, valued at $867 million. The company’s impressive ETH holdings grew significantly between July 7 and July 13. During this period, SharpLink purchased 74,656 ETH for $213 million, with an average price of $2,852 per coin.

The firm also announced that 99.7% of its ETH holdings are staked, generating an additional 415 ETH since June 2. Since June 13, the company’s ETH concentration has increased by about 23%.

Joseph Lubin, Chairman of SharpLink, emphasized that these holdings represent the dawn of “collective capitalism,” where businesses build for the community, not just for profit. He stressed that Ethereum’s decentralized, permissionless nature is essential for fostering free markets.

He added:

Collective capitalism is built on the foundations of radically free markets only possible on a permissionless, uncensorable, rigorously decentralized Layer 1 blockchain.”

Following the news, the firm’s stock rose by 20% to $28, according to Google Finance data.

Ethereum treasury strategy gains traction

SharpLink’s announcement aligns with a broader trend of companies beginning to adopt the Ethereum Treasury Strategy.

Over the past 30 days, approximately 10 firms, including SharpLink, have purchased more than 550,000 ETH, totaling $1.65 billion in acquisitions.

Some of these entities were previously Bitcoin miners like Bitmine Immersion Technologies, which recently shifted its focus to the second-largest digital asset.

Kyle Reidhead, co-owner of Milk Road, predicted that this trend is expected to continue, with firms possibly purchasing up to $2 billion worth of ETH in the coming month and $3 billion the following month.

He also noted that the growth of stablecoins and favorable regulations could further fuel Ethereum’s demand.

He stated:

“In the last 30 days, these treasury companies have bought .5% of the entire ETH supply and moved it into Ethereum DeFi smart contracts (via staking or lending). Remember, unlike the ETFs, these companies don’t sell. They only buy (at least for now). This is going to create a supply shock for ETH over the coming months, there’s really no way around it.”

As of press time, about 1,520,715 ETH (worth over $4.5 billion) is locked in various Ethereum reserves belonging to 52 companies. Strategic ETH Reserve data shows that these holdings amount to 1.31% of the digital asset’s total supply.

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Metaplanet has announced that National Financial Services LLC (NFS), a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, is now its largest shareholder.

In a July 15 disclosure, the firm revealed that NFS holds 84.4 million shares, equivalent to 12.9% of its total equity. Based on current valuations, this stake is worth approximately ¥121 billion or around $816 million.

As of March 31, NFS only held 1.91 million shares in Metaplanet.

NFS is a custodian for retail and institutional investors using Fidelity’s trading platforms. Fidelity is one of the 12 issuers of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US, with its FBTC fund managing around $25 billion in assets.

This dramatic increase reflects growing institutional and retail interest in the Japan-based firm, which is largely driven by its bold commitment to Bitcoin.

Earlier this month, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich reported that Capital Group, another major US asset management firm overseeing $2.9 trillion in assets, disclosed a sizable position in Metaplanet. The firm reportedly owns 44.2 million shares, representing 6.6% of total ownership.

Georvich said these investments were evidence that the firm’s “shareholder base continues to evolve as global access expands.”

Bitcoin holdings surge amid stock headwinds

This institutional attention comes amid Metaplanet’s aggressive Bitcoin purchases over the past year.

According to Metaplanet’s data, the Japan-based firm holds 16,352 BTC, which was acquired for $1.6 billion. The significant holdings have yielded unrealized profits of more than $300 million.

The holdings have also positioned the firm as the fifth-largest public holder of Bitcoin, surpassing names like Tesla.

Despite this aggressive accumulation strategy, Metaplanet’s stock has faced recent headwinds. According to Yahoo Finance data, its shares are down over 24% in the past month, trading at around ¥1,436 after an 8% drop today.

Still, Metaplanet’s stock trading activity remains elevated.

Dylan LeClair, the company’s Director of Bitcoin Strategy, reported that the firm accounted for 29.2% of all Japanese yen-denominated trading volume on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Standard Market over the past 20 sessions.

This momentum follows a staggering 1,400% gain in the company’s stock price over the past year, reinforcing its profile as one of Japan’s most watched mid-cap stocks.

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