Morning Report | Kalshi publicly punishes insider trading for the first time; STS Digital completes $30 million financing; American Bitcoin announces 2025 financial report

整理：ChainCatcher

Important News:

• The U.S. government profits nearly $20 billion from the Chen Zhi and Zhao Changpeng cases using technological hegemony
• The Ethereum Foundation launches the "strawmap" roadmap, planning seven forks by the end of 2029
• Kalshi publicly punishes insider trading for the first time, involving a former gubernatorial candidate and a MrBeast employee
• Telegram's built-in crypto wallet TON Wallet launches yield features for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT holdings
• The head of Hong Kong's virtual currency trading platform AAX is suspected of absconding with over HKD 600 million and has now been charged with four counts
• Crypto trading platform STS Digital completes $30 million financing, led by CMT Digital
• American Bitcoin financial report: Bitcoin reserves exceed 6,000 coins, with annual revenue exceeding $180 million in 2025

What important events have occurred in the past 24 hours?

Crypto trading platform STS Digital completes $30 million financing, led by CMT Digital

According to ChainCatcher, cryptocurrency trading platform STS Digital recently announced the completion of a $30 million financing round, led by CMT Digital, with participation from Kraken, Arrington Capital, and Fidelity's investment division.

The platform focuses on providing options trading services for over 400 cryptocurrencies to institutional investors and acts as a market maker to provide liquidity. STS Digital was founded in 2022 by former Credit Suisse and UBS traders Maxime Seiler and Gideon Hyams, and has grown to nearly 50 employees. The company expects to triple its revenue between 2024 and 2025 and has already achieved profitability, with clients including well-known crypto firms like Uniswap Foundation. The company plans to use this round of financing to expand its trading scale, serve larger institutional clients, and increase its workforce. Amidst volatility in the crypto market, STS Digital believes that options trading provides institutional investors with better risk management tools compared to perpetual contracts.

American Bitcoin financial report: Bitcoin reserves exceed 6,000 coins, with annual revenue exceeding $180 million in 2025
According to ChainCatcher, American Bitcoin, a Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin mining company supported by the Trump family, released its financial report, revealing that the company’s Bitcoin reserves have exceeded 6,000 coins. 2025 will be its first year of independent listing, and its operational and capital execution performance aligns with its established strategy. The company employs a dual-track model of "scaled mining + ATM fundraising" to accelerate the accumulation of strategic reserves, with projected annual revenue reaching $185.2 million in 2025, deploying approximately 25 EH/s of computing power and owning about 78,000 ASIC miners.
ZachXBT: Trader "predictorxyz," who successfully bet on Axiom, is linked to an active Axiom user
According to ChainCatcher, Lookonchain reported that trader "predictorxyz" (possibly an insider) bet $658,000, believing that Axiom would be charged with insider trading. At the time, the odds were only 13.8%, and he netted $4.114 million.

On-chain detective ZachXBT also found the deposit of $70,000 USDC in a newly created prediction market account suspicious and investigated the funding source of user "predictorxyz." ZachXBT stated that the related Solana address is an active user of Axiom, with the username "JustADegen" on Fomo. They recently bundled CRABS tokens, and it would be great if someone could help identify them.

Telegram's built-in crypto wallet TON Wallet launches yield features for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT holdings

According to ChainCatcher, The Block reported that Telegram's embedded crypto wallet TON Wallet announced the launch of on-chain yield options for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT holders. Users can deposit assets into a "vault" to participate in on-chain strategies aimed at generating floating yields.

The USDT strategy can achieve an annual yield of up to 18%, supported by the Re7 DeFi strategy; the ETH and BTC vaults will extend yield features to the two major cryptocurrencies. This feature is implemented through TON Wallet, with integration from Morpho, TAC, and Re7.

The head of Hong Kong's virtual currency trading platform AAX is suspected of absconding with over HKD 600 million and has now been charged with four counts

According to ChainCatcher, Hong Kong media outlet Hong Kong 01 reported that the virtual currency trading platform AAX stopped operations since mid-November 2022 under the pretext of system maintenance and updates, leaving over 300 customers unable to retrieve nearly HKD 100 million in assets.

Hong Kong law enforcement discovered that the platform's shutdown was allegedly caused by false information and illegal means, with the head fleeing Hong Kong with a virtual currency wallet and private keys, later returning to Hong Kong and being arrested. Hong Kong police stated today that after in-depth investigations, they found that 191 victims suffered a total loss of approximately HKD 81 million, while the AAX head withdrew virtual currencies worth approximately HKD 633 million after the platform ceased operations. He has now been charged with three counts of theft and one count of fraud.

Dragonfly partner publicly disputes with former co-founder, both sides hold differing views on early history and investment leadership

According to ChainCatcher, Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi and former co-founder Alexander Pack (now co-founder of Hack VC) recently engaged in a public debate on social media.

Haseeb posted about his experience building the venture capital firm, stating that Dragonfly's early brand and system were not yet formed, and that development and scaling only gradually occurred after his joining. In response, Alexander Pack countered that Dragonfly had already been co-founded by him and Feng Bo for over a year before Haseeb joined, and they had committed to leading investments in projects like Bybit, Amber Group, and Crusoe, with relevant fund announcements occurring before Haseeb's employment.

Haseeb later responded that some of the other party's statements were inconsistent with the facts and clarified specific project investment roles and decision-making processes, leading to ongoing disputes between both sides regarding the company's founding phase and investment contributions.

ZachXBT responds that it will no longer provide advance notice of investigation information: it will depend on the type of investigation

According to ChainCatcher, in response to community users asking whether the prediction market will no longer provide advance notice of investigation information, "on-chain detective" ZachXBT responded on the X platform that it will depend on the type of investigation, implying that it will not completely stop releasing investigation preview information.

Previously, ZachXBT had announced that a report on insider trading would be released soon, sparking widespread discussion in the community. Some believed that the subjects of the investigation might theoretically use this information to position themselves in the prediction market once they learned they had been targeted, thus creating new insider trading opportunities. ZachXBT admitted that due to the involvement of multiple parties in the case, information leaks might be unavoidable.

Kalshi publicly punishes insider trading for the first time, involving a former gubernatorial candidate and a MrBeast employee

According to ChainCatcher, prediction market platform Kalshi publicly disclosed its first case of regulatory punishment, involving former California gubernatorial candidate Kyle Langford and video editor Artem Kaptur from YouTube star MrBeast's team.

Langford was fined $2,246.36 for posting a video on the X platform showing his bet on winning the election, violating the platform's rules prohibiting candidates from betting in related election markets, and was banned from using the platform for five years. Kaptur was accused of trading approximately $4,000 in related markets using insider information during his employment with MrBeast, resulting in significant profits, and was fined $20,397.58 and had his account suspended for two years. MrBeast's parent company, Beast Industries, stated that it has initiated an internal investigation and emphasized a zero-tolerance policy for such behavior.

Kalshi has reported both cases to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the fines will be donated to non-profit organizations. The platform revealed that it has conducted over 200 investigations into insider trading in the past year.

WLFI new proposal: Participation in governance voting will require staking, with a minimum lock-up period of 180 days

According to ChainCatcher, WLFI has proposed a governance staking system aimed at encouraging more users to participate in governance. According to the proposal, in the future, using unlocked WLFI tokens to participate in governance voting will require staking, with a minimum lock-up period of 180 days.

The system will introduce a tiered node structure: ordinary stakers can earn approximately 2% annual rewards; users staking 10 million WLFI (approximately $1 million) can become nodes, enjoying 1:1 exchange rights for stablecoins like USDT and USDC with USD; users staking 50 million WLFI (approximately $5 million) can become super nodes, gaining direct cooperation opportunities with the WLFI team. The proposal requires a quorum of 1 billion WLFI voting tokens to be valid, with a voting period of 7 days. If approved, implementation will occur in three phases.

Stablecoin payment volume to reach $390 billion in 2025, with B2B transactions increasing over 730% year-on-year

According to ChainCatcher, a recent report jointly released by Artemis and Stablecon indicates that the scale of stablecoin payments between businesses (B2B) will grow over 730% year-on-year in 2025, with total stablecoin payments soaring to $390 billion, more than doubling compared to 2024, with B2B transactions accounting for about 60%. Meanwhile, stablecoin transactions linked to bank cards have increased by 840% year-on-year.

In terms of cross-border payments, the U.S. is the largest inflow country for stablecoin funds, receiving nearly $127 billion monthly; China ranks second with about $71 billion monthly; and Hong Kong ranks third with nearly $51 billion.

Artemis data scientist Andrew Van Aken pointed out that countries with the highest stablecoin usage are often the largest payment volume countries, and developed economies are also actively seeking innovative payment methods. B2B adoption is primarily concentrated among small and medium-sized enterprises, driven by the desire to shorten cross-border payment times and bypass the cumbersome processes of traditional banks.

Billionaire Alan Howard's crypto incubator WebN announces imminent closure

According to ChainCatcher, blockchain and Web3 incubator WebN Group, supported by billionaire Alan Howard, has announced its closure. According to insiders, the organization has successfully completed its mission. In recent years, WebN has incubated several digital infrastructure startups, including tokenized professional institution KAIO (formerly Libre), crypto staking platform Twinstake, blockchain infrastructure company TruFin, and zero-knowledge proof startup Geometry. In 2023, Japan's Nomura Bank's crypto collaboration firm Laser Digital had invested in WebN.

Insiders stated that WebN's closure is unrelated to Howard's own digital asset layout, and some employees have transferred to Howard's hedge fund Brevan Howard. Although BH Digital's digital asset fund lost nearly 30% last year, Brevan Howard remains optimistic about digital assets, and its venture capital business continues to focus on broad opportunities in the field.

a16z founders have lunch with Republican senator to advance cryptocurrency market structure legislation
According to ChainCatcher, crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that a16z founders Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon had lunch with a Republican senator, focusing on advancing cryptocurrency market structure legislation to solidify the U.S.'s global leadership in crypto and AI.
The Ethereum Foundation launches the "strawmap" roadmap, planning seven forks by the end of 2029
According to ChainCatcher, Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake announced that the Ethereum Foundation has launched the "strawmap" roadmap, planning seven forks by the end of 2029.

The roadmap includes five objectives: rapid L1 finality, achieving 10k TPS "gigagas" L1 through zkEVM, achieving "teragas" L2 through data availability sampling, post-quantum cryptography, and native L1 privacy for shielding ETH transfers.

Caixin: Rumors that Chinese regulators are reviewing Jane Street's trading behavior in the Chinese ETF market

According to ChainCatcher, there are rumors that Chinese regulators are reviewing Jane Street's trading behavior in the Chinese ETF market. However, a person close to Jane Street stated, "I know nothing about these rumors and have no reason to believe they are true; these rumors should not be associated with Jane Street."

This week, Jane Street and its co-founders and two employees were accused of insider trading, fraud, and market manipulation, which were also said to have accelerated the collapse of the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin and its sister token Luna, resulting in a loss of $40 billion.

Founded in 1999, Jane Street is one of the largest proprietary quantitative trading firms globally, with net trading revenues exceeding $20 billion in 2024 and net profits nearing $13 billion. Unlike hedge funds, Jane Street does not accept external client funds, so its disclosure obligations are far lower than those of traditional asset management institutions, which has kept its structure shrouded in mystery for a long time.

Data: Vitalik continues to sell ETH, accumulating 17,196 coins, worth approximately $34.96 million
According to ChainCatcher, Lookonchain monitoring shows that Vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) continues to sell ETH, with total sales reaching 17,196 ETH (approximately $34.96 million), exceeding his planned 16,384 ETH.
Circle CEO: Arc token is still in the exploratory stage, mainnet expected to launch in 2026
According to ChainCatcher, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire responded during Circle's Q4 2025 earnings call regarding "the progress of the Arc token and when it will be launched," stating, "We are still exploring the Arc token. I think this is a very valuable exploration. We are gaining a deeper understanding of how the token plays a key role in stakeholder incentives, governance, security, and functional utility within the Arc network. Therefore, this exploration is ongoing.

Currently, we have not communicated any specific timeline, as we are still in the exploratory stage. However, as I mentioned, we have made significant progress on the Arc project and are steadily moving towards the launch of the Arc mainnet, expected in 2026.

We expect to see some excellent companies participating in running the Arc infrastructure, deploying applications on that infrastructure, and providing infrastructure support for asset issuers and AI agents, covering a wide range of application scenarios. We will release more information to the public once it is available."

The U.S. government profits nearly $20 billion from the Chen Zhi and Zhao Changpeng cases using technological hegemony

According to ChainCatcher, a report titled "Player One" ------ A Deep Analysis of the Global Virtual Currency Asset Harvesting Operation Under U.S. Technological Hegemony, jointly released by the China National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and other departments, showcases how the U.S. uses technological hegemony to harvest global virtual currency assets. According to incomplete statistics, from 2022 to 2025, the U.S. has confiscated virtual currency assets worth over $30 billion globally through various cases, with the Chen Zhi case alone accounting for $15 billion, representing 50%.

The report indicates that in October 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced criminal charges against Chen Zhi, the founder of the Cambodian Prince Group, for telecommunications network fraud, money laundering, and other offenses, while also announcing the confiscation of approximately 127,000 Bitcoins controlled by him, valued at about $15 billion at the time, setting a record for the largest virtual asset confiscation in U.S. judicial history.

The case of Binance founder Zhao Changpeng is another typical example of the U.S. using judicial hegemony and technological surveillance to force global virtual asset platforms to comply with its regulatory rules, achieving economic harvesting and rule export.

From 2023 to 2025, the U.S. initiated dual civil and criminal accountability against Zhao Changpeng, ultimately resulting in Binance paying a fine of $4.3 billion under a plea agreement.

"During the investigation, the U.S. employed comprehensive technological surveillance methods, achieving thorough penetration and evidence collection of Binance's operational data, user data, and transaction data, showcasing its technological advantages in monitoring digital asset platforms." Du Zhenhua further explained that the U.S. used hacking techniques to penetrate Binance's internal servers, obtaining core operational data and executive communication records, confirming that Binance executives were aware of U.S. regulatory rules but deliberately evaded compliance requirements.

The report also stated that from 2023 to 2025, hacker organizations supported by the U.S. government launched targeted attacks on over 20 mainstream virtual currency exchanges worldwide, employing methods such as backdoor implantation, spear phishing, and supply chain infiltration, focusing on stealing user wallet private keys, platform transaction flows, and compliance regulatory information, with targets covering platforms in various countries and regions in Asia, Europe, and Africa.

Meme Popularity Rankings

According to the meme token tracking and analysis platform GMGN, as of February 27, 09:00,

The top five popular ETH tokens in the past 24 hours are: SHIB, LINK, PEPE, UNI, ONDO

The top five popular Solana tokens in the past 24 hours are: USELESS, Punch, WhiteWhale, gork, 67

The top five popular Base tokens in the past 24 hours are: PEPE, B3, SKYA, NATO, TOSHI

What are some interesting articles worth reading in the past 24 hours?

Vitalik's Chiang Mai Dialogue: With the AI Explosion, What Should Crypto Fight For?
On February 3, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin engaged in a dialogue with P2P Foundation founder Michel Bauwens at the 2026 Ethereum Chiang Mai Future Summit, sharing their new thoughts on Web3, cryptocurrency, and social collaboration. Vitalik reflected on the original intention of Ethereum and expressed concerns about the current state of the cryptocurrency field, emphasizing that technological development must serve broader social and political issues.

He explored how the crypto space can address the increasingly severe global trust issues beyond technological breakthroughs. Michel proposed the concept of "regenerative accelerationism," advocating that technology should support the sustainable development of human society, particularly focusing on how to integrate crypto technology with the productive economy. They discussed decentralized social models and explored how to achieve global collaboration and resource sharing through technology, while also addressing the challenges of how Web3 can enter deeper levels of production and social transformation.

Stock price rises over 35%! Circle's financial report exceeds expectations: USDC circulation surges 72%

On February 25, stablecoin issuer Circle (NYSE: CRCL) released its financial report for Q4 and the full year of fiscal year 2025.

The report showed that the company's total revenue and reserve income for the fourth quarter reached $770 million, a year-on-year increase of 77%, exceeding market expectations.

As a result, CRCL's stock price surged over 35% on Wednesday.

Token Going Global, Selling Chinese Electricity to the World

In 2026, China's large models are quietly capturing the global developer market. The latest data from OpenRouter shows that Chinese models account for 61% of the token consumption among the top ten models on the platform, with the top three all coming from China. Developers in San Francisco, Berlin, and Singapore are sending API requests daily, crossing the Pacific Ocean's undersea cables to reach Chinese data centers, where computing power is consumed, and electricity flows, with results sent back.

Electricity has never left the Chinese power grid, but its value has been delivered across borders through tokens.

A $0.1 transaction can wipe out Polymarket market makers' capital

A transaction of less than $0.1 on-chain can instantly erase market orders worth tens of thousands of dollars from Polymarket's order book. This is not a theoretical deduction but a reality that is happening.

In February 2026, a player disclosed a new type of attack method targeting Polymarket market makers on social media. Blogger BuBBliK described it as "elegant & brutal," as the attacker only needs to pay less than $0.1 in gas fees on the Polygon network to complete an attack cycle in about 50 seconds, while the victims—those market makers and automated trading bots posting real money buy and sell orders on the order book—face multiple blows, including forced removal of orders, passive exposure of positions, and even direct losses.