Coinbase’s layer-2 network Base suffered an outage of about two hours on Thursday after an invalid block triggered a consensus failure that halted all transactions on the chain. The disruption began at 16:03 UTC, when Base’s status page flagged mainnet block production as “unhealthy.” Base later said operations were restored, user funds remained secure, and a full post-mortem would follow.

China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate disclosed a cross-border narcotics and money-laundering case in which a defendant identified as Li Moubo was sentenced to death after converting more than 48-million-yuan (about $7.04 million) in drug proceeds through virtual currencies. The case underscores Beijing’s use of its harshest criminal penalties in crypto-related financial crime enforcement.

Qualcomm is reported to be in talks with ByteDance to design customized chips for the TikTok parent. The discussions underscore a widening push by tech groups to develop AI silicon outside Nvidia’s orbit. A successful deal would build on a relationship that has already produced results, after Qualcomm agreed in May to supply ByteDance with millions of ASICs for AI data center use, according to Reuters.

The operator of Jaredfromsubway.eth, one of Ethereum’s most active automated MEV bots, offered a 50% white-hat bounty on June 22 after an attacker drained more than $7.5 million from the bot’s wallet using an on-chain honeypot. The operator, who uses the on-chain identity ae13, said the bounty would apply if the funds are returned within 48 hours and warned of legal action otherwise. The incident underscores that bots built to profit from ordinary traders can themselves become targets for cybercriminals.

South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit told the Financial Action Task Force that widening regulatory gaps in cross-border crypto transfers require removing any minimum transaction threshold under the Travel Rule. It urged all FATF members to apply identity checks to every transfer, regardless of size. The change would alter compliance costs for exchanges and trading firms globally.

A London court case is testing whether English judges can order a debtor to return Bitcoin itself or only award its pound-sterling equivalent. The question matters because Bitcoin’s price swings can make repayment materially better for either the creditor or the debtor depending on the form of payment. In Hussain v Fix, the claimant sought recovery of 7.8 BTC tied to business costs under a prior agreement, and the defendant did not appear to contest the claim.

Italian fintech startup Conio has secured a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) license under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) ahead of the June 30 deadline. The authorization, reviewed by Italy’s Consob and the Bank of Italy, covers custody, transfer and placement of digital assets. Backed by Poste Italiane and Banca Generali, Conio plans to serve retail users, institutions and banks seeking white-label crypto services.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking feedback on whether its reporting requirements for security-based swap transactions still match today’s products and trading structures. In an announcement on X on June 18, the SEC said the request aligns with its work with the CFTC to remove conflicting requirements that can force dealers to run parallel compliance systems. The review also looks at how overlapping responsibilities between the two agencies affect reporting frameworks for economically similar trades.

Eight major US banks said new Basel capital requirements could raise capital needs for their trading desks by 30% to 89%. The push to soften those rules comes as US authorities revisit parts of the post-2008 regulatory framework. Analysts estimate the proposed changes could free up about $1 trillion in lending capacity, while regulators in Europe and Asia are also reassessing their approaches.