Exchange

India’s Leading Bitcoin And Crypto Exchange Unocoin Integrates Lightning

Published

2 weeks ago

April 13, 2025

Unocoin, one of India’s longest-standing bitcoin and crypto exchanges, has announced the successful integration of the Lightning Network, a second-layer protocol designed to enable fast and low-cost bitcoin transactions. The integration is powered by Voltage, a U.S.-based infrastructure provider known for its enterprise-grade Lightning solutions.

This development marks a significant step forward for bitcoin utility in India, especially in the context of rising demand for scalable and cost-effective transactions. By adopting the Lightning Network, Unocoin aims to offer its users instant bitcoin settlements and, in the near future, Tether (USDT) transfers via the same network.

“We continuously seek ways to improve transaction efficiency and cost-effectiveness for our users. With the Lightning Network, powered by Voltage, Unocoin is enabling the fastest, lowest-cost bitcoin and Tether transfers,” said Sathvik Vishwanath, CEO of Unocoin.

Unocoin’s move comes at a time when the Indian crypto landscape continues to face regulatory headwinds. While several exchanges have scaled down or exited the market, Unocoin has remained resilient, maintaining operations and user trust. The exchange’s adoption of Lightning technology reinforces its position as a leader in innovation within the country’s bitcoin and crypto sector.

“The Lightning Network represents a revolutionary leap in bitcoin scalability, enabling fast, secure, and cost-effective transactions,” said Graham Krizek, CEO and Founder of Voltage. “By partnering with Unocoin, we aim to bring these benefits to millions of users in India, fostering greater adoption and utility of bitcoin in daily transactions.”

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Central Bank

Russia’s Finance Ministry And Central Bank To Launch Crypto Exchange For “Super-qualified Investors”

Published

4 days ago

April 24, 2025

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Russia’s Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia are set to jointly launch a cryptocurrency exchange designed exclusively for super-qualified investors, as part of a broader effort to bring crypto operations into a formal regulatory framework, according to a RBC report.

“Together with the Central Bank, we will launch a crypto exchange for super-qualified investors. Crypto assets will be legalized, and crypto operations will be brought out of the shadows. Naturally, not within our country, but those operations that have been carried out today within the framework of the experimental legal regime,” said Finance Minister Anton Siluanov during a recent ministry meeting, as reported by RBC.

The move follows a proposal by the Central Bank to introduce an experimental legal regime (ELR) for three years, allowing a select group of investors to legally trade cryptocurrencies. The concept centers around a new investor category—super-qualified investors—defined by strict wealth and income thresholds.

Previously, the Central Bank suggested that this status be granted to individuals with at least ₽100 million in securities or deposits, or annual income exceeding ₽50 million. However, the Finance Ministry has indicated that these requirements are not final.

“Perhaps it will be in this format or these indicators will be somehow adjusted in one direction or another – this is possible. I think there will be a wide range of discussions,” said Osman Kabaloev, Deputy Director of the Ministry’s Financial Policy Department.

The initiative is already gaining traction among financial institutions. In March, Vladimir Krekoten, Managing Director for Sales and Business Development at the Moscow Exchange, confirmed readiness to launch derivatives trading linked to cryptocurrencies, saying the platform is at “maximum level of readiness” and could begin operations in 2025.

The Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange (SPB Exchange) has expressed similar ambitions. “SPB Exchange supports initiatives aimed at expanding the investment opportunities of investors and diversifying their strategies. We plan to start trading products tied to the value of cryptocurrencies,” a representative told RBC Investments.

While some firms see this as a transformative shift, others remain skeptical. Igor Danilenko, head of asset management at Renaissance Capital, dismissed crypto as a viable asset class: “There are many ways to protect yourself from inflation without resorting to tokens without any real collateral, which depend on the influx of new buyers and are very similar to a pyramid scheme in essence.”

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bybit

Bybit’s CEO Ben Zhou Says Nearly 28% Funds From $1.4B Hack Have Gone Dark

Published

1 week ago

April 21, 2025

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Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit’s CEO Ben Zhou said that 27.95% of the funds lost in the $1.4 billion exploit engineered by the North Korean Lazarus Group have gone dark or become untraceable.

“Total hacked funds of USD 1.4bn around 500k ETH. 68.57% remain traceable, 27.59% have gone dark, 3.84% have been frozen. The untraceable funds primarily flowed into mixers then through bridges to P2P and OTC platforms,” Zhou said in an executive summary published on X on Monday.

The untraceable funds were moved into mixers before being transferred through bridges to P2P (peer-to-peer) and OTC (over-the-counter) platforms, the post explained, mentioning the use of Wasabi, a crypto mixer, to wash off a certain amount of BTC, following which a portion of these funds entered into other mixers, including Railgun, Tornado Cash and CryptoMixer.

The malicious entity then executed multiple cross-chain swaps through Thorchain, eXch, Lombard, LiFi, Stargate and SunSwap, with the final stage involving the conversion of these illicit funds into more liquid assets.

The North Korea-linked Lazarus Group hacked Bybit in February, draining 500,000 ether (ETH) by taking “control of the specific ETH cold wallet and transferring all the ETH in the cold wallet to this unidentified address.”

Forensics reveal that of the hacked funds, a total of 432,748 ETH, representing 84.45%, has been transferred from ether to bitcoin via Thorchain. Notably, 67.25% of these funds, amounting to 342,975 ETH (around $960.33 million), has been converted into 10,003 BTC and distributed across 35,772 wallets with an average of 0.28 BTC per wallet.

Further, 1.17% of the funds, or 5,991 ETH (approximately $16.77 million), remains on the Ethereum blockchain, stashed across 12,490 wallets.

Lastly, the Lazarus Bounty initiative has received 5,443 bounty reports in two months, of which, 70 have been deemed valid. Zhou said the exchange needs “more bounty hunters that can decode mixers as we need a lot of help there down the road.”

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bybit

Bybit taps Standard Chartered-backed Zodia Custody following Safe Wallet controversy

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2025

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Bybit has entered a partnership with crypto custodian Zodia Custody to segregate its custody for institutional clients.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit announced in a press release on Thursday a new partnership with Zodia Custody to provide institutional clients with segregated custody, along with off-venue settlement solutions.

In an April 3 press release, Bybit said that thanks to the partnership, its institutional arm, Bybit Institutional, which targets larger investors, wants to provide transparent fees and reduce the risk of exposure for its clients.

Zodia Custody, founded in 2020, offers crypto custody services and is supported by big names like Standard Chartered and SBI Holdings. The key benefit of the latest partnership, as Bybit puts it, is “Independent Custody,” where investors can trade on Bybit while keeping assets held with Zodia Custody, ensuring “full segregation and eliminating co-mingling via the Interchange solution.”

This allows institutional clients to trade on Bybit while keeping assets held with Zodia Custody, ensuring “full segregation and eliminating co-mingling via the Interchange solution,” the press release reads. Additionally, Bybit also claims that thanks to Zodia, institutitonal clients no longer need to pre-fund exchange accounts, which “minimizing exposure to exchange-side vulnerabilities and improving capital efficiency.”

In late February, North Korean hackers targeted Bybit, stealing around $1.46 billion worth of crypto in a highly sophisticated heist. The attack was reportedly carried out by compromising the computer of an employee at Safe, Bybit’s technology provider. Less than two weeks after the breach, Bybit’s CEO Ben Zhou stated that around 20% of the stolen funds had become untraceable, due to the hackers’ use of mixing services. Later on, Zhou indicated that 88% of the stolen funds from the exchange is still traceable

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