[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | Humanity says H token security incident used tactics similar to North Korean hackers

Humanity says H token security incident used tactics similar to North Korean hackers

Humanity released an independent investigation report by Quantstamp and said that tools and methods similar to those used by North Korean hackers were used in the H token security incident.

According to the report, the attacker sent a phishing email impersonating Bithumb and tricked a project director into opening a malicious attachment, then used remote access malware to compromise the device and steal the wallet private key.

The attacker then used the stolen key on Ethereum to upgrade the contract and move about 141.18 million H tokens. On BNB Chain, the attacker took control of the ProxyAdmin contract and minted additional tokens. The stolen assets were sold on Uniswap and PancakeSwap over roughly eight hours, shocking liquidity and price.

The H token contract on Ethereum has now been frozen, and the mainnet bridge was not affected. However, the BNB Chain deployment contract remains under the attacker’s control, and minting authority is still active.

Humanity said it is discussing follow-up measures and recovery plans with exchanges and security firms, and warned users to be cautious of fake compensation or claim links.

T. Rowe Price active crypto ETF approved by SEC

According to Odaily, T. Rowe Price’s actively managed cryptocurrency ETF received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 12, 2026. It has passed a key step for listing on NYSE Arca, though trading has not yet begun.

The ETF is being structured to hold 5 to 15 cryptocurrencies. The current draft includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP, as well as higher-volatility assets such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.

T. Rowe Price had previously submitted several amended filings since April. The market sees this approval as a possible sign of broader regulatory acceptance for multi-asset crypto ETFs.

U.S. CFTC issues exemptive letter allowing conversion to perpetual digital commodity futures

Odaily reported that the Market Oversight Division of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued an exemptive letter allowing designated contract markets to convert existing perpetual digital commodity futures contracts into true perpetual futures contracts.

Under the measure, designated contract markets may remove expiration dates from existing contracts and amend necessary provisions to convert them into perpetual digital commodity futures.

However, the conversion must satisfy customer protection conditions, including consultation with market participants holding open positions, prior notice, an opportunity to close positions, appropriate risk disclosure, and preservation of the contract’s core terms.

India intensifies crypto tax enforcement, sends 44,000 notices

Source: Wu Blockchain

India’s tax authorities have stepped up enforcement of virtual asset tax reporting, sending more than 44,000 notices and identifying $104 million in unreported income, according to reports.

Citing The Economic Times, Wu Blockchain said that under India’s 2026 virtual asset tax reporting rules, a 30% tax rate remains in place for gains from virtual digital assets, while a 1% tax deducted at source applies to certain transfer transactions. Investors must separately report transaction, swap, and disposal records.

Exchanges, custodians, and wallet providers are required to submit user-level transaction data to India’s Income Tax Department, which is automatically matching it against investor filings.

Hong Kong’s EX.IO obtains approval to distribute traditional investment products

Hong Kong-licensed virtual asset trading platform EX.IO said it has obtained approval to distribute traditional investment products under the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission’s latest licensing conditions.

The approval covers traditional investment products including tokenized and non-tokenized securities, and EX.IO can now also provide independent custody services for virtual assets and tokenized securities traded by clients outside the platform.

The approval comes as Hong Kong expands the integration of virtual asset exchanges into the regulated financial system and broadens services related to tokenized securities.

Source: Odaily

Coinbase expands automated trading and payment functions for AI agents

Source: Odaily

Coinbase Developer Platform said that since launching Coinbase for Agents, it has been offering AI agents independent account creation and automated trading and asset management functions.

In the coming weeks, Coinbase plans to enable Coinbase for Agents users to make direct payments with their USDC balances through the x402 protocol. This would allow agents to carry out actual stablecoin payments in addition to account operations.

Coinbase also unveiled a new Coinbase CLI, MCP-based simplified login, a Claude integration demo, and a developer wallet for iOS apps built on its Swift SDK. A system update enhancing payment and agent-related functions is set to be released on June 16.

Kraken named official cryptocurrency exchange of the FIFA World Cup 2026

Source: Odaily

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has been named the official cryptocurrency exchange of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

FIFA said it values innovation in improving fan experiences, while Kraken said the World Cup would serve as an opportunity to showcase an open financial system accessible by mobile devices.

U.S. DOJ charges Tennessee man in alleged crypto Ponzi scheme

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged a Tennessee man on 11 counts for allegedly operating a crypto Ponzi scheme through Star Credit Holdings from 2020 to 2024, according to Decrypt.

He is accused of promising guaranteed returns to investors and then using funds from new investors to pay purported returns to earlier investors. Prosecutors say he misappropriated millions of dollars and diverted more than $1.9 million for himself and his family.

The charges include wire fraud, money laundering, and filing false tax returns. If convicted, he could face decades in prison.

Fair Markets Alliance sues to block Kentucky prediction market transaction tax

Source: According to Odaily, the Fair Markets Alliance, an industry group joined by Kalshi and Polymarket, has filed a lawsuit seeking to halt Kentucky’s 14.25% transaction tax on prediction markets.

The tax, passed by the Kentucky legislature in April, imposes a 14.25% sales tax on transaction fees charged by prediction market operators. The plaintiffs argue that the measure amounts to discriminatory taxation in violation of the Constitution and may also be preempted by federal law.

Circle USDC circulation falls by about 700 million over 7 days

PANews, citing official data, reported that Circle’s USDC circulation fell by about 700 million in the seven days ending June 11.

During the same period, Circle issued about 8.5 billion USDC and redeemed about 8.2 billion USDC. Total USDC circulation currently stands at 74.8 billion, with reserves of about $75.0 billion.

The reserves consist of about $44.7 billion in overnight repurchase agreements, about $18.6 billion in U.S. Treasuries with maturities under three months, about $11.0 billion in deposits at major financial institutions, and about $0.7 billion in other bank deposits.