Bitget, the leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3 company, is excited to officially launch GetAgent, a new AI-powered trading assistant designed to ease users’ interaction and understanding of the crypto market. By combining advanced AI with real-time market data and trading tools, GetAgent is engineered to transform complex decision-making into a simple chat. Built for today’s
Pi Network is growing. The team is building new tools, improving migration, and making noise about ecosystem progress. But beneath the surface, a major problem is gaining attention. Over 370 million Pi tokens are now sitting on exchanges, while most users still don’t have access to their own tokens.
That’s a serious concern. If the majority of users are still waiting on technical fixes and KYC approvals, who exactly is trading these tokens?
Why Pi’s Token Access Feels Rigged
To move Pi tokens to the mainnet, users first need to pass KYC. Then they can begin migration but even then, only a portion of their Pi is unlocked. The rest stays locked under a vesting schedule, depending on how active the user has been.
For many, the process has been frustrating. Technical issues like 2FA errors and missing balances have only made it worse. Some users have been stuck in the queue for months.
Meanwhile, exchange balances have jumped from 244 million in March to over 370 million in July. That means more tokens are appearing on public markets, even though regular users are still locked out.
$PI new ATH. . The selling pressure continues to increase. 370million $PI in exchanges. . An increase of 8 Million $PI in 2 days. The selling pressure is mainly from increasing deposits.#PiNetworkpic.twitter.com/El6xDIqqrn
Ecosystem Progress Continues But Access Still Lags
Pi Network recently celebrated its Pi2Day event, highlighting key updates:
The launch of Pi App Studio, allowing users to build AI apps without code
A new staking feature that lets users support Pi apps they find useful
Backend upgrades that helped over 500,000 users migrate to the mainnet
A fiat on-ramp to make it easier to buy Pi and expanded .pi domain sales
These updates show Pi is moving forward. But while developers build and apps launch, most users still can’t use their tokens outside Pi’s ecosystem.
Trust Issues Are Now Front and Center
Pi Network says it wants to build a fair, open ecosystem. But with over 5.1 billion Pi still locked, and a growing number of tokens moving onto exchanges, users are asking: Is this really as decentralized as promised?
As exchange reserves rise and access stays limited, frustration in the community is growing. The network’s next big test will be to restore trust and give users access to what they’ve already earned.
Let’s see how this plays out.
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Pi Network is growing. The team is building new tools, improving migration, and making noise about ecosystem progress. But beneath the surface, a major problem is gaining attention. Over 370 million Pi tokens are now sitting on exchanges, while most users still don’t have access to their own tokens. That’s a serious concern. If the …
Kraken, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, has uncovered a sophisticated infiltration attempt by a North Korean hacker posing as a job candidate.
The security and recruitment teams advanced the candidate through the hiring process. The aim was to study their strategies and gather crucial insights.
How a North Korean Hacker Tried to Infiltrate Kraken
Kraken detailed the incident in a recent blog post on May 1. The hacker applied for an engineering role at the exchange, initially appearing as a legitimate candidate, allegedly named Steven Smith. However, several red flags emerged during the hiring process.
“What started as a routine hiring process for an engineering role quickly turned into an intelligence gathering operation, as our teams carefully advanced the candidate through our hiring process to learn more about their tactics at every stage of the process,” Kraken noted.
Moreover, the Open-Source Intelligence gathering (OSINT) investigation uncovered the candidate’s involvement in a network of fake identities.
“This meant that our team had uncovered a hacking operation where one individual had established multiple identities to apply for roles in the crypto space and beyond. Several of the names had previously been hired by multiple companies, as our team identified work-related email addresses linked to them. One identity in this network was also a known foreign agent on the sanctions list,” the blog read.
Additionally, technical inconsistencies in their setup, like using remote, colocated Mac desktops accessed via a VPN and altered IDs, pointed to an infiltration attempt. This information confirmed that the candidate was likely a state-sponsored hacker.
In a final interview with the candidate, Kraken’s Chief Security Officer, Nick Percoco, and some team members confirmed the company’s suspicions. The candidate’s failure to verify their location or answer questions about their city and citizenship revealed them as an impostor.
“Their job is to start employment to steal intellectual property, steal money from those companies, take home a paycheck, and do it in a widespread way,” Percoco told CBS about the hackers.
FinCEN Proposes Ban on Huione Group Over North Korean Ties
Meanwhile, in another development, the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has proposed banning Cambodia-based Huione Group from the US financial system. The department identified Huione as a key facilitator for North Korean hacker groups, including those involved in cyber heists and “pig butchering” cryptocurrency scams.
“Huione Group has established itself as the marketplace of choice for malicious cyber actors like the DPRK and criminal syndicates, who have stolen billions of dollars from everyday Americans,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said.
FinCEN accused the group of laundering over $4 billion in illicit funds between August 2021 and January 2025. According to the department, Huione’s network, including Huione Pay, Huione Crypto, and Haowang Guarantee, is a preferred marketplace for cryptocurrency criminals, offering services such as payment processing and an illicit online marketplace.
“Today’s proposed action will sever Huione Group’s access to correspondent banking, degrading these groups’ ability to launder their ill-gotten gains. Treasury remains committed to disrupting any attempt by malicious cyber actors to secure revenue from or for their criminal schemes,” Bessent added.
These incidents highlighted a pattern of North Korean cyberattacks on the cryptocurrency sector. In 2024, hackers stole over $659 million from crypto firms.
According to a joint statement from the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, North Korean hackers targeted the industry using tactics like social engineering and malware (e.g., TraderTraitor, AppleJeus). Additionally, North Korean IT workers were identified as insider threats to private sector companies.
In fact, recently, on-chain investigator ZachXBT uncovered significant North Korean involvement in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, with some of them relying on nearly 100% of their monthly volume/fees from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
As the SEC is signaling its willingness to approve new altcoin ETFs, 72 active proposals are awaiting a nod. Despite the growing interest from asset managers to launch more altcoin-based products in the institutional market, Bitcoin ETFs currently command 90% of crypto fund assets worldwide.
New listings can attract inflows and liquidity in these tokens, as demonstrated by Ethereum’s approval of ETF options. Still, given the current market interest, it’s highly unlikely that any crypto found will replicate Bitcoin’s runaway success in the ETF market
Bitcoin Dominates the ETF Market
Bitcoin ETFs dramatically changed the global digital assets market over the past month, and they are performing quite well at the moment. In the US, total net assets have reached $94.5 billion, despite continuous outflows in the past few months.
This flood has been so intense that there are currently 72 active proposals for the SEC’s consideration:
“There are now 72 crypto-related ETFs sitting with the SEC awaiting approval to list or list options. Everything from XRP, Litecoin and Solana to Penguins, Doge and 2x MELANIA and everything in between. Gonna be a wild year,” claimed ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
However, Bitcoin has a sizable head start, and it’s difficult to imagine any newcomer disrupting its 90% market share.
Bitcoin Represents 90% of Global Crypto ETF Investment. Source: Eric Balchunas
To put that into perspective, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF was declared “the greatest launch in ETF history.” Any new altcoin product would need a significant value-add to encroach upon Bitcoin’s position.
Recent products like Ethereum ETF options have attracted fresh liquidity. Yet, Bitcoin’s dominance in the institutional market remains unchanged.
Of these 72 proposals, only 23 refer to altcoins other than Solana, XRP, or Litecoin, and many more concern new derivatives on existing ETFs.
Some analysts claim that these products, taken together, couldn’t displace more than 5-10% of Bitcoin’s ETF market dominance. If an event significantly disrupted Bitcoin, it would also impact the rest of crypto.
Still, that doesn’t mean that the altcoins ETFs are a futile endeavor. These products have continually created new inflows and interest in their underlying assets, especially with issuers acquiring token stockpiles.
However, it’s important to be realistic. While XRP and Solana ETF approvals could drive new bullish cycles for the altcoin market, Bitcoin will likely dominate the ETF market by a large margin — given its widespread recognition as a ‘store of value’.