Crypto exchange Kraken has announced the suspension of Monero (XMR) deposits following a confirmed 51% attack on the network on August 12. The attack was linked to the Qubic mining pool, which managed to control over half of Monero’s hashrate, peaking at 2.6GH/s.

This dominance allowed Qubic to conduct a six-block deep reorganization of Monero’s blockchain, effectively rewriting history and orphaning around 60 blocks. The attack exposes the vulnerability of mid-tier Proof-of-work networks like Monero to majority control maneuvers.

Kraken follows ‘security precaution’ with Monero

Monero is a privacy-focused coin designed to provide secure, anonymous, and untraceable transactions. Unlike transparent blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, Monero conceals the sender, receiver, and amount for every transaction, and is popular among users who value financial privacy and freedom.

Launched in April 2014, Monero has suffered previous security incidents, including a flooding attack in March 2024 that congested the network. However, the recent 51% attack is the first major breach of Monero’s consensus protocol, heightening community concern about mining concentration and network resilience. Kraken posted:

“As a security precaution, we have paused Monero (XMR) deposits after detecting that a single mining pool has gained more than 50% of the network’s total hashing power. This concentration of mining power poses a potential risk to network integrity.

We are actively monitoring the situation and will resume deposits once we determine it is safe to do so. Trading and withdrawals for XMR remain fully operational.”

Lack of official communications makes Monero look ‘weak’

Monero’s price has fallen by as much as 14%, with the episode reigniting concerns about the centralization of mining in privacy-centric cryptocurrencies and the market impact of such attacks.

While security analysts are still debating the degree to which the reorganization constituted a full 51% attack (some argue it was a stress test on Monero’s decentralization rather than a purely malicious assault), a lack of official communications are conspicuous by their absence, as privacy-centric Unstoppable Wallet posted:

“To be honest, we kind of deserve this…

Zero unified pushback, no official statements, outdated website, passive devs.

Meanwhile Qubic, despite not actually hitting 51%, are winning the info war simply by being loud.

Monero community looks weak.

It’s both pathetic.”

As exchanges like Kraken take protective action, the broader crypto community will need to reconsider the resilience strategies for networks with smaller mining populations, as regulators highlight the added risk of privacy coins in centralized trading environments.

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Bitcoin prices have begun a new increase beyond the $80,000 zone. BTC is currently consolidating profits and could modify some to test the $80,500 zone.

• Bitcoin has begun a new increase beyond the $80,000 zone.
• The price is traded above $80,500, and is a simple moving average every 100 hours.
• On the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken), there was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance.
• Clearing the $83,500 zone could cause the pair to start another increase.

Bitcoin prices jump over 5%

Bitcoin prices have started a new increase from the $74,500 zone. BTC formed the base and acquired the pace for movements above the $78,500 and $80,000 resistance levels.

The Bulls pumped prices above $80,500 resistance. The BTC/USD pair hourly wage chart had a break above a key bearish trendline with resistance of $78,800. The pair cleared the $82,500 resistance zone. The high was formed at $83,548, and the price currently combines profits above the 23.6% FIB retracement level of upward movement to $83,548, a swing of $74,572.

Bitcoin prices are currently trading above $80,200, with a simple moving average every 100 hours. The advantage is that immediate resistance is close to the $83,200 level. The first important resistance is close to the $83,500 level.

The next important resistance is $84,500. Over $84,500 resistance could lead to even higher prices. If stated, the price could rise and test a resistance level of $85,800. Any further profit could potentially send the price towards the $88,000 level.

Is dip supported in BTC?

If Bitcoin can’t rise beyond the $83,500 resistance zone, it could begin a negative side fix. Instant support on the downside is close to the $81,400 level. The first major support is close to the $80,500 level.

The following support is approaching an upward movement level from $74,572 Swing Low to $83,548, near the $79,500 zone or 50% FIB retracement level. Any further losses could send the price to $78,000 in the short term. The main support is $75,000.

Technical indicators:

HOURLY MACD – MACD is currently increasing its pace in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – BTC/USD’s RSI is above 50 levels.

Key support levels – $81,400, then $80,500.

Major resistance levels – $83,500 and $84,500.

Binance says it has suspended an employee for insider trading after launching an investigation that was prompted by a complaint.

In a new announcement, the world’s largest crypto exchange platform by volume says that an employee committed insider trading when working in a development role on its BNB Chain, prior to joining the Binance Wallet team.

Says Binance,

“Leveraging information from his former position as well as his familiarity with on-chain projects, the employee was aware the project was planning a Token Generation Event (TGE) and anticipated it would generate significant community interest. Prior to the project’s public token launch announcement, the staff member used multiple linked wallet addresses to purchase a large volume of the project’s tokens.

Following the announcement, the staff member quickly sold part of his holdings to realize significant profits, while the remaining tokens retained considerable unrealized gains. This behavior constitutes front-running based on non-public information obtained from his previous role and is a clear breach of company policy.”

Binance’s internal audit team uncovered the employee’s wrongdoing after conducting an investigation triggered by a March 23rd complaint. As a result of the preliminary investigation, the employee was “suspended immediately” and may face additional disciplinary action, which could include legal action.

“We will proactively cooperate with the relevant authorities in the employee’s jurisdiction and take appropriate legal action in accordance with applicable laws.”

Binance is also rewarding the four people who submitted information that brought the incident to its attention.

“For those who submitted valid reports via Binance’s official whistleblowing channel (audit@binance.com), we have completed the verification and de-duplication process. As committed, a total reward of $100,000 will be equally distributed.”

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The crypto exchange OKX has decided to “temporarily suspend” its decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator after consulting with regulators.

Traders use data from DEX aggregators to find the best-priced trades across various decentralized exchanges.

OKX’s aggregator has recently come under scrutiny. Last month, hackers stole a staggering $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum (ETH) and Lido Staked Ether (stETH) from the crypto exchange Bybit. Pseudonymous on-chain investigator ZachXBT linked the exploit to the Lazarus Group, an infamous North Korean cybercriminal outfit.

Earlier this month, Ben Zhao, Bybit’s chief executive, said $100 million worth of the stolen ETH was moved through OKX’s web3 proxy.

“Out of them, 16,680 ETH we can trace [and] 23,553 ETH or $65 million (~5%) is untraceable, which requires info from OKX web3 wallet.”

Last week, Bloomberg, citing “people with knowledge of the matter,” reported that European Union (EU) crypto regulators were looking into OKX.

This weekend, OKX said it detected a coordinated effort by the Lazarus Group to misuse its decentralized finance (DeFi) services. In response, the exchange noted that it had made the “proactive decision” to temporarily suspend its DEX aggregator services.

“This move allows us to implement additional upgrades to prevent further misuse. We know that transparency is key, so we’re also working closely with blockchain explorers to correct incomplete labeling. Our goal is to ensure that explorers properly highlight the actual DEX processing trades rather than mistakenly identifying our aggregator as the point of trade.

Beyond that, we’ve already rolled out:

• A hacker address detection system for its Web3 DEX aggregator, which was launched a few days ago.
• A system to track the hacker’s latest addresses and block them in the CEX (centralized exchange) system in real-time…

One thing we want to make absolutely clear: OKX Web3 is a DEX aggregator, not a custodian of customer assets.”

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OKX has temporarily suspended its Web3 decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator following discussions with European regulators.

The exchange announced this decision on March 17, stating that the move is part of efforts to enhance security measures and prevent misuse of its platform.

Bybit hack connection

The suspension comes as European authorities investigate allegations that hackers linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group used OKX Web3 to launder funds stolen in the recent Bybit hack.

A recent Bloomberg report suggested regulators from all 27 European Union nations discussed this issue during a European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) meeting on March 6.

Bybit CEO Ben Zhou confirmed that the hackers leveraged OKX Web3 to launder approximately $100 million of the stolen $1.5 billion.

In response, EU regulators are now assessing whether the platform falls under the jurisdiction of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework and exploring possible penalties for OKX.

OKX’s response

OKX maintains that its involvement in the laundering process was due to incorrect labeling by blockchain explorers and other decentralized exchanges.

The exchange stated that it is actively working with these explorers to ensure accurate transaction reporting and prevent misidentification of its aggregator as the point of trade.

It explained:

“We know that transparency is key, so we’re also working closely with blockchain explorers to correct incomplete labeling. Our goal is to ensure that explorers properly highlight the actual DEX processing trades rather than mistakenly identifying our aggregator as the point of trade.”

The platform also reiterated that its aggregator does not custody user assets but merely provides access to liquidity across multiple decentralized protocols.

To further strengthen security, the platform has introduced a system designed to detect hacker addresses in real time and block them from accessing its centralized exchange.

OKX CEO Star Xu said on X:

“We already rolled out a lot of controls for OKX Web3 to fight with the misuse including prohibited markets’ ip blocking and real-time black address detection and blocking system.”

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OpenSea has announced a suspension of XP rewards for bidding and listing NFTs, following criticism that the system was being exploited for high-frequency trading.

The XP system, introduced as part of the OS2 update, was designed to incentivise marketplace activity ahead of the upcoming $SEA token airdrop. However, traders quickly found ways to accumulate XP through rapid, low-cost transactions.

The pause comes after community members argued that OpenSea’s approach encouraged speculation over long-term participation. In response, OpenSea has announced a pause on XP rewards for bidding and listing whilst it reassesses its approach.

What has been OpenSea’s response?

In a statement from OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer, XP rewards for bidding and listing will be paused whilst reassessing its incentive structure. The company acknowledged the concerns but maintained that liquidity incentives remain an essential part of a competitive marketplace.

“We’ve heard the feedback on the current XP system, and we’re putting a pause on XP given directly for listing and bidding,” said Finzer. The platform will now focus its rewards programme on XP shipments, which were designed to recognise broader participation, such as buying and holding NFTs.

The second round of shipments has already been distributed, prioritising users who purchased NFTs on OS2, with additional XP multipliers given to those who have held high-volume NFT projects for over three months. OpenSea noted that future shipments would continue to reward buyers and holders, though it did not specify how frequently these rewards would be distributed.

OpenSea also pushed back against some of the criticism it received, stating that certain attacks appeared to be driven by external efforts to damage its reputation. “We’re listening closely as we build, but we won’t be bullied,” the Finzer stated.

How has the community reacted to the changes?

The decision has sparked mixed reactions, with some industry figures welcoming OpenSea’s willingness to adjust, whilst others remain sceptical about the direction of its rewards programme.

Betty, CEO and Co-Founder of DeadFellaz, supported the move but stressed that the community’s frustration stemmed from wanting OpenSea to listen and improve noting that OpenSea “still hold a lot of weight in the industry.”

Others questioned whether long-time OpenSea users and early marketplace contributors would receive adequate recognition. ARTXCODE Co-founder Toni Marinara suggested that the platform should prioritise rewarding users with activity prior to $SEA announcement if they want to “dissuade farming and reward actual loyal Opensea users.” Some users also expressed frustration over the distribution of XP shipments, arguing that newer users were being prioritised. One member questioned why “those who paid thousands in platform fees” over the years seemed to be overlooked in favour of beta testers who had only recently joined the platform.

Whilst XP rewards for bidding and listing are temporarily on hold, OpenSea has not ruled out future liquidity incentives. With the $SEA token launch approaching, OpenSea will need to refine its rewards system whilst maintaining user engagement.

As these adjustments continue, whether OpenSea strikes a balance between incentivising marketplace activity and ensuring long-term stability in the NFT space remains to be seen.