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PAPHOS, CYPRUS | May 5, 2027 Cypria Maris Paphos
Cyprus is set to welcome leading professionals, innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, and technology experts for Cyprus Fintech Week 2027, taking place on May 5, 2027, at Cypria Maris Paphos.
The event will bring together key voices from the financial technology ecosystem to explore the latest developments shaping the future of finance. Building on Cyprus Fintech Week’s focus on financial technology, trading, digital innovation, banking, payments, digital assets, artificial intelligence, security, and financial infrastructure, the event aims to create a platform for knowledge exchange, business connections, and new opportunities.
A Platform for the Future of Finance
As financial services continue to evolve through technology and digital transformation, Cyprus Fintech Week 2027 will provide an opportunity for industry professionals to discuss emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities across the fintech landscape. The event will bring together representatives from financial institutions, fintech companies, technology providers, startups, investment firms, entrepreneurs, and other professionals working across the financial and technology sectors.
Key areas of interest will include Fintech, Banking, Payments, Trading, Digital Assets, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Blockchain, and Digital Financial Infrastructure.
Connecting Industry Leaders and Innovators
Cyprus Fintech Week aims to encourage meaningful connections between established businesses and emerging companies while creating opportunities for collaboration, investment, and knowledge sharing.
Attendees will have the opportunity to meet industry experts, founders, investors, executives, technology professionals, and other decision-makers while gaining insights into the technologies and developments shaping the future of financial services. The event also supports the continued growth of Cyprus as a destination for fintech, innovation, and international business. The wider Cyprus fintech ecosystem continues to develop through the growth of startups, digital payment solutions, blockchain applications, and technology-driven financial services.
An Opportunity for Businesses and Media Partners
Cyprus Fintech Week 2027 will provide businesses with opportunities to increase their visibility, connect with relevant decision-makers, and participate in conversations surrounding the future of financial technology.
Media partners will play an important role in helping bring the event and its industry discussions to a wider audience, supporting greater awareness of Cyprus’ growing fintech ecosystem and its international potential.
The event is expected to attract professionals interested in discovering new technologies, exploring business opportunities, building partnerships, and staying informed about developments across the fintech industry.
Event Details
Event: Cyprus Fintech Week 2027Date: May 5, 2027Venue: Cypria Maris Paphos, CyprusWebsite: cyprusfintechweek.com
For event information, partnership opportunities, media enquiries, and participation details, please visit the official Cyprus Fintech Week website.
About Cyprus Fintech Week
Cyprus Fintech Week is an industry-focused event designed to connect professionals across financial technology, trading, digital innovation, banking, payments, digital assets, AI, security, and infrastructure. The event provides a platform for industry leaders, innovators, startups, investors, and professionals to exchange knowledge, build relationships, and explore opportunities within the evolving fintech ecosystem.
Media & Partnership Enquiries: info@cyprusfintechweek.com
Website: cyprusfintechweek.com

Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake is warning that artificial intelligence could crack the signature scheme protecting Bitcoin and Ethereum wallets sooner than quantum computers, possibly within months in the worst case. No one has broken it yet, and Drake says there is no reason to panic. But he thinks large holders should start planning now.
What Drake Said
Drake posted his warning on X on October 7. He called on the industry to calmly begin planning for “bunker mode”: a controlled move of funds into addresses that have never signed a transaction.
His practical advice:
“Holders, starting with large and sophisticated ones, should consider moving the bulk of their funds to addresses that have never signed a transaction. And when they do sign one, they should also move remaining funds to a new address (possibly generated from the same seed phrase).”
He added that this should not be rushed:
“Don’t rush. While I believe there is cause for action a rushed migration would do more harm than good. Don’t panic either.” He described the step as simple and preventative, one that “does not require new cryptography or new wallets.”
The Technology at Risk, Explained Simply
Bitcoin and Ethereum use a signature scheme called ECDSA to prove that a transaction was authorized by the owner of a private key. When you send funds, your wallet signs the transaction, and that signature reveals your public key to the network. In theory, someone who could work backward from a public key to the private key could drain the wallet.
Drake defines a “break” as recovering a private key in about a week on available hardware, such as a large GPU cluster. His worst case is that this arrives “in months not years,” before “Q-Day,” the moment quantum computers become powerful enough to break today’s encryption.
Why He Thinks AI Is the Trigger
Drake points to a string of recent surprises in mathematics. Long-held assumptions have fallen, he says, including the n log(n) bound for integer multiplication and the 3SUM conjecture. He also cited May’s disproof of the Erdős unit distance conjecture as “our warning shot.”
The latest trigger was OpenAI’s October 6 release of 722 mathematical results generated by an internal model. Drake said it made clear that “mathematical superintelligence is upon us.” He argued that elliptic curves look especially vulnerable because they have rich mathematical structure, while hash functions are designed to minimize it. He also noted that efficient quantum algorithms sometimes foreshadow efficient classical ones, so a classical counterpart to Shor’s algorithm is possible.
What the Evidence Actually Shows
It is important to be precise here. OpenAI’s release did not report any attack on ECDSA or RSA, and neither Drake nor Vitalik Buterin has pointed to evidence that ECDSA has been practically broken. Drake himself noted that cryptographic breakthroughs were strikingly under-represented among the 722 results. His warning is a risk assessment about where AI mathematics is heading, not a report that a break has happened.
What Other Notable Voices Said
Buterin responded with a call for caution. He said nobody should scramble to move funds immediately, and he highlighted the risk of losing assets in a hasty migration. He agreed that AI-accelerated math deserves serious attention, noting that most planning has assumed “elliptic curves broken, hashes safe, lattices safe.”
He added a complication: there is a good chance the concrete security of lattice-based schemes, including ML-DSA, “will take serious hits from the next two years of AI math.” Like Drake, Buterin is more optimistic about hash-based cryptography. Drake argued that exiting bunker mode safely will require “post-AI cryptography.” The Ethereum Foundation formed a dedicated post-quantum team earlier this year, and Buterin has outlined plans to move the network toward quantum-resistant cryptography. Drake also suggested that major custodians such as Binance, Bitbank, Robinhood, Bitfinex, and Tether could use this moment to strengthen their cold wallets.
Why Crypto Users Are Nervous
The fear comes down to three things:
– Irreversibility. A stolen key means stolen funds, and blockchain transactions cannot be undone. – Scale. ECDSA secures Bitcoin and Ethereum accounts alike, so a break would not be limited to one project. – Exposed keys. Project Eleven’s Bitcoin “Risq List” tracks more than 14 million addresses whose public keys are already exposed, which is the group most at risk in Drake’s scenario.
How to Protect Yourself
Based on Drake’s guidance:
– Prefer fresh addresses. Funds sitting at addresses that have never signed a transaction keep their public key hidden behind a hash. – Avoid address reuse. Once an address signs, move the remaining balance to a new address. It can be derived from the same seed phrase. – Start with large balances. Drake suggested large and sophisticated holders go first. – Migrate carefully. A mistake during a rushed transfer is a bigger near-term risk than the threat itself, as both Drake and Buterin stressed.
What Comes Next
For now, nothing has been broken. Drake’s call is about building a calm, orderly plan before a worst-case scenario forces a rushed one. Watch for further statements from the Ethereum Foundation’s post-quantum team, wallet providers, and exchanges on how they handle address migration, and for any real cryptanalytic result, which would change this debate immediately.

Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake is warning that artificial intelligence could crack the signature scheme protecting Bitcoin and Ethereum wallets sooner than quantum computers, possibly within months in the worst case. No one has broken it yet, and Drake says there is no reason to panic. But he thinks large holders should start planning now.
What Drake Said
Drake posted his warning on X on October 7. He called on the industry to calmly begin planning for “bunker mode”: a controlled move of funds into addresses that have never signed a transaction.
His practical advice:
“Holders, starting with large and sophisticated ones, should consider moving the bulk of their funds to addresses that have never signed a transaction. And when they do sign one, they should also move remaining funds to a new address (possibly generated from the same seed phrase).”
He added that this should not be rushed:
“Don’t rush. While I believe there is cause for action a rushed migration would do more harm than good. Don’t panic either.” He described the step as simple and preventative, one that “does not require new cryptography or new wallets.”
The Technology at Risk, Explained Simply
Bitcoin and Ethereum use a signature scheme called ECDSA to prove that a transaction was authorized by the owner of a private key. When you send funds, your wallet signs the transaction, and that signature reveals your public key to the network. In theory, someone who could work backward from a public key to the private key could drain the wallet.
Drake defines a “break” as recovering a private key in about a week on available hardware, such as a large GPU cluster. His worst case is that this arrives “in months not years,” before “Q-Day,” the moment quantum computers become powerful enough to break today’s encryption.
Why He Thinks AI Is the Trigger
Drake points to a string of recent surprises in mathematics. Long-held assumptions have fallen, he says, including the n log(n) bound for integer multiplication and the 3SUM conjecture. He also cited May’s disproof of the Erdős unit distance conjecture as “our warning shot.”
The latest trigger was OpenAI’s October 6 release of 722 mathematical results generated by an internal model. Drake said it made clear that “mathematical superintelligence is upon us.” He argued that elliptic curves look especially vulnerable because they have rich mathematical structure, while hash functions are designed to minimize it. He also noted that efficient quantum algorithms sometimes foreshadow efficient classical ones, so a classical counterpart to Shor’s algorithm is possible.
What the Evidence Actually Shows
It is important to be precise here. OpenAI’s release did not report any attack on ECDSA or RSA, and neither Drake nor Vitalik Buterin has pointed to evidence that ECDSA has been practically broken. Drake himself noted that cryptographic breakthroughs were strikingly under-represented among the 722 results. His warning is a risk assessment about where AI mathematics is heading, not a report that a break has happened.
What Other Notable Voices Said
Buterin responded with a call for caution. He said nobody should scramble to move funds immediately, and he highlighted the risk of losing assets in a hasty migration. He agreed that AI-accelerated math deserves serious attention, noting that most planning has assumed “elliptic curves broken, hashes safe, lattices safe.”
He added a complication: there is a good chance the concrete security of lattice-based schemes, including ML-DSA, “will take serious hits from the next two years of AI math.” Like Drake, Buterin is more optimistic about hash-based cryptography. Drake argued that exiting bunker mode safely will require “post-AI cryptography.” The Ethereum Foundation formed a dedicated post-quantum team earlier this year, and Buterin has outlined plans to move the network toward quantum-resistant cryptography.
Drake also suggested that major custodians such as Binance, Bitbank, Robinhood, Bitfinex, and Tether could use this moment to strengthen their cold wallets.
Why Crypto Users Are Nervous
The fear comes down to three things:
– Irreversibility. A stolen key means stolen funds, and blockchain transactions cannot be undone.
– Scale. ECDSA secures Bitcoin and Ethereum accounts alike, so a break would not be limited to one project.
– Exposed keys. Project Eleven’s Bitcoin “Risq List” tracks more than 14 million addresses whose public keys are already exposed, which is the group most at risk in Drake’s scenario.
How to Protect Yourself
Based on Drake’s guidance:
– Prefer fresh addresses. Funds sitting at addresses that have never signed a transaction keep their public key hidden behind a hash.
– Avoid address reuse. Once an address signs, move the remaining balance to a new address. It can be derived from the same seed phrase.
– Start with large balances. Drake suggested large and sophisticated holders go first.
– Migrate carefully. A mistake during a rushed transfer is a bigger near-term risk than the threat itself, as both Drake and Buterin stressed.
What Comes Next
For now, nothing has been broken. Drake’s call is about building a calm, orderly plan before a worst-case scenario forces a rushed one. Watch for further statements from the Ethereum Foundation’s post-quantum team, wallet providers, and exchanges on how they handle address migration, and for any real cryptanalytic result, which would change this debate immediately.

PAPHOS, CYPRUS | May 5, 2027
Cypria Maris Paphos
Cyprus is set to welcome leading professionals, innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, and
technology experts for Cyprus Fintech Week 2027, taking place on May 5, 2027, at
Cypria Maris Paphos.
The event will bring together key voices from the financial technology ecosystem to
explore the latest developments shaping the future of finance. Building on Cyprus Fintech
Week’s focus on financial technology, trading, digital innovation, banking, payments,
digital assets, artificial intelligence, security, and financial infrastructure, the event aims to
create a platform for knowledge exchange, business connections, and new opportunities.
A Platform for the Future of Finance
As financial services continue to evolve through technology and digital transformation,
Cyprus Fintech Week 2027 will provide an opportunity for industry professionals to
discuss emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities across the fintech landscape.
The event will bring together representatives from financial institutions, fintech
companies, technology providers, startups, investment firms, entrepreneurs, and other
professionals working across the financial and technology sectors.
Key areas of interest will include Fintech, Banking, Payments, Trading, Digital Assets,
Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Blockchain, and Digital Financial Infrastructure.
Connecting Industry Leaders and Innovators
Cyprus Fintech Week aims to encourage meaningful connections between established
businesses and emerging companies while creating opportunities for collaboration,
investment, and knowledge sharing.
Attendees will have the opportunity to meet industry experts, founders, investors,
executives, technology professionals, and other decision-makers while gaining insights
into the technologies and developments shaping the future of financial services.
The event also supports the continued growth of Cyprus as a destination for fintech,
innovation, and international business. The wider Cyprus fintech ecosystem continues to
develop through the growth of startups, digital payment solutions, blockchain
applications, and technology-driven financial services.
An Opportunity for Businesses and Media Partners
Cyprus Fintech Week 2027 will provide businesses with opportunities to increase their
visibility, connect with relevant decision-makers, and participate in conversations
surrounding the future of financial technology.
Media partners will play an important role in helping bring the event and its industry
discussions to a wider audience, supporting greater awareness of Cyprus’ growing fintech
ecosystem and its international potential.
The event is expected to attract professionals interested in discovering new technologies,
exploring business opportunities, building partnerships, and staying informed about
developments across the fintech industry.
Event Details
Event: Cyprus Fintech Week 2027
Date: May 5, 2027
Venue: Cypria Maris Paphos, Cyprus
Website: cyprusfintechweek.com
For event information, partnership opportunities, media enquiries, and participation
details, please visit the official Cyprus Fintech Week website.
About Cyprus Fintech Week
Cyprus Fintech Week is an industry-focused event designed to connect professionals
across financial technology, trading, digital innovation, banking, payments, digital assets,
AI, security, and infrastructure. The event provides a platform for industry leaders,
innovators, startups, investors, and professionals to exchange knowledge, build
relationships, and explore opportunities within the evolving fintech ecosystem.
Media & Partnership Enquiries:
info@cyprusfintechweek.com
Website:
cyprusfintechweek.com

Abstract, the Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain backed by the team behind Pudgy Penguins, announced it will shut down on December 15, 2026, becoming the second high-profile consumer-focused L2 to fold in recent weeks after Blast’s own closure announcement.
Together, the two shutdowns mark a turning point for a once-crowded category of blockchains built specifically to court mainstream consumers rather than DeFi traders — a model that has proven far harder to sustain economically than its backers originally expected.
Why Abstract Is Shutting Down
Abstract announced the closure on X, framing the decision as a response to a rapidly changed competitive landscape rather than a single acute failure.
“The industry has evolved considerably since Abstract was first conceived, and operating a chain focused exclusively on consumer crypto has ultimately proven to be unsustainable as a standalone model,” the team wrote.
The project pointed to several specific, compounding problems behind its stagnating growth:
“Our growth began to stagnate due to our restricted DeFi ecosystem, thin liquidity on the chain, minimal institutional cross-over, and limited budget compared to competitors.”
Abstract said it had spent the last 12 months exploring every possible angle to find product-market fit and scale the chain, but ultimately concluded the landscape had shifted too dramatically against it: “We wanted to make things work; but the chain landscape had changed radically and we were facing significant headwinds.” Facing a choice between continuing to burn resources on an operationally unsustainable, non-scaling chain or shutting it down, the team said it concluded after extensive deliberation that winding down was the better path forward.
What Abstract Was Built to Do
Abstract launched as an Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain built using zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup technology, specifically the ZK Stack. It was developed by Igloo Inc., the parent company behind Pudgy Penguins, one of the most commercially successful NFT brands to emerge from the 2021-2022 NFT boom, giving Abstract an unusually strong consumer brand pedigree compared to most other L2 launches.
The chain was explicitly designed as a consumer-friendly blockchain intended to power gaming, social networks, digital collectibles, and mainstream crypto applications, offering low transaction fees and fast speeds. Abstract was also fully EVM-compatible, meaning developers could port existing Ethereum applications onto the chain with relative ease — a technical advantage that nonetheless wasn’t enough to overcome the broader adoption and liquidity challenges the team ultimately cited.
Blast’s Shutdown Set the Stage
Abstract’s closure follows closely behind a similar announcement from Blast, another prominent Ethereum L2 that shut down just weeks earlier. Blast launched in February 2024 as an optimistic rollup network, distinguishing itself with a notable feature: native, auto-rebasing yield automatically applied to deposited ETH and stablecoins, including its own native stablecoin, USDB. The chain generated enormous early hype, reportedly attracting around $20 million in investment backing and accumulating a substantial total value locked (TVL) at its peak, driven heavily by anticipation around its token airdrop.
In its own shutdown announcement, Blast’s team was candid about the underlying economics that forced the decision:
“We launched Blast with the goal of building a self-sustaining chain for users and developers. Unfortunately, the economics of operating the chain no longer make sense: the ongoing costs of maintaining Blast exceed the revenue generated by the L2, and we do not see a credible path to making the chain economically sustainable.”
The team expressed regret to its community:
“We’re sorry to the users and developers who believed in Blast, built on it, and supported the ecosystem. Our priority now is making the shutdown as smooth and safe as possible.”
Blast asked all users to withdraw their assets — including any balances held within the Blast PWA — back to Ethereum mainnet ahead of the chain’s closure.
The Pattern Behind Both Collapses
What links Abstract and Blast’s failures is a strikingly similar trajectory: both chains launched amid intense hype, driven in large part by airdrop speculation and strong brand or financial backing, only to see genuine user interest evaporate once the initial incentive-driven activity faded. In Blast’s case specifically, interest in the network reportedly declined sharply following its airdrop distribution, with its native token losing nearly all of its value in the aftermath — a pattern that has become uncomfortably familiar across multiple L2 launches that leaned heavily on token incentives and yield mechanics to bootstrap initial activity rather than organic application demand.
Abstract’s own stated reasons — thin on-chain liquidity, minimal institutional engagement, and a DeFi ecosystem too restricted to generate sustainable activity — describe essentially the same underlying failure mode from a different angle: a chain that successfully generated initial attention and deposits but struggled to convert that early momentum into a self-sustaining base of actual users, developers, and transaction volume once the novelty wore off.
Why Consumer-Focused L2s Specifically Are Struggling
Both shutdowns highlight a structural challenge specific to L2 blockchains explicitly positioned around consumer use cases — gaming, social apps, collectibles — rather than financial infrastructure or DeFi. Unlike DeFi-centric chains, which can generate sustainable transaction fee revenue from trading activity, lending, and liquidity provision even with a relatively modest user base, consumer-oriented chains depend heavily on achieving genuine mainstream adoption at meaningful scale to generate comparable revenue — a bar that has proven extremely difficult to clear, even for chains backed by established, well-funded consumer brands like Pudgy Penguins.
The economics cited by both teams point to the same core problem: operating a blockchain network carries real, ongoing infrastructure costs, and without sufficient transaction volume or institutional capital flowing through the chain, those costs eventually exceed whatever revenue the network generates — a gap that eventually becomes impossible to justify continuing to fund, regardless of how much initial enthusiasm or capital backing a project started with.
What This Means for the Broader L2 Landscape
The near-simultaneous shutdowns of Abstract and Blast raise pointed questions about how many other Layer-2 networks launched during the 2023-2024 L2 boom are quietly facing similar unsustainable economics. The L2 sector saw an explosion of new chain launches during that period, many promising faster transactions, lower fees, and novel incentive structures to differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded field. With two prominent, well-capitalized projects now formally winding down within weeks of each other, industry observers are likely to scrutinize other consumer-focused L2s more closely for similar warning signs — thin liquidity, limited institutional engagement, and growth that stalled once initial token incentives faded.
What Users Need to Do
For users still holding assets on either chain, the practical guidance is consistent and time-sensitive. Abstract’s shutdown is scheduled for December 15, 2026, giving users a defined window to move funds off the chain before it ceases operations. Blast has similarly instructed all users to withdraw assets — including balances specifically held within the Blast progressive web app — back to Ethereum mainnet ahead of its closure. Users on either network should prioritize completing withdrawals well before each chain’s respective shutdown date, rather than waiting until the final days, to avoid potential congestion or complications as the networks wind down their infrastructure.
What Comes Next
With both Abstract and Blast now formally shutting down, attention will likely turn to whether other consumer-focused L2 projects launched during the same period face comparable pressure to either pivot their strategy, find new sources of sustainable revenue, or ultimately follow the same path toward closure. For the broader Ethereum scaling ecosystem, these shutdowns serve as a clear signal that hype and initial capital backing alone are no longer sufficient to sustain a standalone blockchain — genuine, durable user and developer adoption has become the deciding factor between L2 projects that survive and those that, like Abstract and Blast, ultimately cannot outlast the gap between their operating costs and their real economic activity.

Abstract, die Ethereum-Layer-2-Blockchain, die vom Team hinter Pudgy Penguins unterstützt wird, kündigte an, am 15. Dezember 2026 den Betrieb einzustellen. Damit ist sie innerhalb weniger Wochen bereits die zweite bekannte, auf Endverbraucher ausgerichtete L2, die dichtmacht – nach der Ankündigung von Blast, ebenfalls den Betrieb einzustellen.
Zusammen markieren die beiden Schließungen einen Wendepunkt für eine einst hart umkämpfte Kategorie von Blockchains, die gezielt Mainstream-Nutzer statt DeFi-Händler ansprechen sollten – ein Geschäftsmodell, das sich wirtschaftlich als weitaus schwieriger tragfähig erweist, als seine Unterstützer ursprünglich erwartet hatten.

HSBC, RAKBANK and Commercial Bank of Dubai executives join the Chapter 39 speaker line-up, with Alfa Bank and Sardine leading the sponsor roster for 10–11 November.
Dubai, UAE — 30 September 2026: The next phase of banking transformation will depend on how well its parts work together. Digital channels, payments, data, risk and core systems all contribute to the same customer experience. For financial institutions, connecting them effectively is a question of business performance, operational resilience and growth.
That challenge provides the backdrop to FINNOVEX Middle East 2026 — Chapter 39, taking place in Dubai on 10–11 November 2026. Organised by Exibex under the theme “Finance in Motion,” the banking and fintech summit will bring senior financial services executives and technology businesses together to examine the decisions shaping their institutions—and the connected financial system they are preparing for in 2027.
The chapter is supported by Alfa Bank as Diamond Sponsor and Sardine as Gold Sponsor, alongside Sends and BPC as Silver Sponsors, Posidex as Bronze Sponsor, and Watermelon Communications as Official PR Partner. Its two-day format combines a conference and the FINNOVEX Awards on 10 November with executive roundtables on 11 November, giving participants space to move from the wider industry discussion into more focused exchanges.
The leadership behind banking transformation
Chapter 39’s speaker line-up brings together the executives responsible for translating strategy into the way banks operate, serve customers and generate growth.
Featured speakers include Linoy Kidd, CIO, GBM MENAT at HSBC; Yan Bechet, Chief Operating Officer at HSBC UAE; Daniele Coda, Chief Commercial Officer at RAKBANK; and Vladislavs Mironovs, Chief Digital Officer at Commercial Bank of Dubai. They are joined by Abdulla Al Taee, Chief Operating Officer at United Arab Bank; Abdullah Al-Awadi, Chief Strategy Officer at Kuwait International Bank; and Alberto Diez, Chief Operating Officer at Emirates Development Bank. Further additions include Khawer Khaliq, Chief Operating Officer at Vision Bank Limited; Asim Shrivastava, Chief Credit Officer at Bank of Sharjah; and Mirel Băilă, Acting Chief Operating Officer at Al Masraf.
The range of responsibilities represented is significant. A digital banking proposition needs an operating model capable of delivering it. A faster customer journey must retain effective controls. A technology investment needs a clear commercial purpose and a practical route to implementation.
Bringing these perspectives into one programme allows participants to examine transformation across the institution, including the dependencies that can determine whether an initiative succeeds.
From digital banking to a connected financial system
Looking towards 2027, the chapter’s editorial focus extends beyond individual products and platforms to the connections between them.
A payment or lending journey can involve a bank, a fintech, a payment network and several technology providers. Each contributes to the service, but the experience depends on how reliably information and responsibilities pass between them.
For banking leaders, this raises practical questions about interoperability, data quality, governance and partnership design. For technology businesses, it places greater emphasis on how a solution fits within an institution’s wider architecture and operating priorities.
Artificial intelligence in banking, digital payments, open finance and customer experience are part of this broader discussion. Their business value depends on the systems, controls and people supporting them. Chapter 39’s “Finance in Motion” theme provides a framework for considering those relationships as organisations assess their next phase of financial services innovation.
The Dubai gathering offers an opportunity to connect current implementation challenges with the priorities taking shape for 2027: where to invest, which capabilities to strengthen and which partnerships can help institutions deliver.
Two days to compare priorities and explore partnerships
The opening-day conference will bring banking and technology perspectives into the main programme, with the FINNOVEX Awards adding industry recognition to the gathering.
The second day will be dedicated to executive roundtables. These smaller discussions will provide a setting for participants to exchange experience and examine business challenges in greater depth. For delegates, the combination offers access to a broad leadership discussion alongside more focused dialogue. For sponsors, exhibitors and technology partners, it provides an opportunity to understand the institutional context behind potential collaborations.
The participation of Alfa Bank, Sardine, Sends, BPC and Posidex brings banking and technology organisations into that exchange. Additional organisations interested in the Middle East financial services market are invited to discuss the available Chapter 39 partnership formats with Exibex. Sponsorship, exhibition and executive roundtable participation will be agreed according to availability, programme relevance and the associated deliverables.
Register for FINNOVEX Middle East 2026
Banking executives, fintech leaders and financial technology professionals can explore the speaker line-up and register through me.finnovex.com.
For sponsorship opportunities in Dubai, exhibition enquiries or the Chapter 39 partnership prospectus, contact info@exibex.com, using the subject line “FINNOVEX Middle East 2026 — Partnership Enquiry.”
FINNOVEX Middle East — Chapter 39 Finance in Motion 10–11 November 2026 | Dubai, UAE
About FINNOVEX
FINNOVEX is a financial services event series organised by Exibex. Through conferences, executive discussions and industry recognition, it brings banking leaders, fintech businesses and technology specialists together to examine innovation and the decisions shaping financial services.
Media, registration and sponsorship enquiries: info@exibex.com https://me.finnovex.com

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has revealed how he spent his own money going undercover to infiltrate a Chinese criminal syndicate he says laundered more than $1 billion in stolen crypto on behalf of North Korea’s Lazarus Group — deliberately losing roughly 5% on every transaction he made with the group in order to win their trust and extract intelligence on how stolen funds were being moved.
How the Operation Started
According to ZachXBT, the investigation began shortly after the February 2025 hack of cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, in which attackers stole approximately $1.5 billion in crypto assets — the largest exchange theft on record. While mapping the aftermath, ZachXBT identified more than 15 accounts across Telegram and Discord that were publicly soliciting help executing orders tied to the stolen funds. Rather than simply observing from a distance, ZachXBT decided to make direct contact, posing as a legitimate client interested in moving funds through the network.
Posing as a Customer to Build Trust
One of the accounts ZachXBT contacted belonged to a Telegram user operating under the alias “Jimmy Green.” On March 6, 2025, ZachXBT funded a new Ethereum address with 349,700 USDC specifically to conduct a series of transactions with this contact. Jimmy Green proposed exchanging the USDC on Ethereum for USDT on the TRON network. The wallet address he provided for the swap had itself been funded by a separate wallet that ZachXBT was able to trace directly back to funds stolen in the Bybit hack — an address that was also independently flagged on Bybit’s own public blacklist.
ZachXBT continued conducting additional transactions with Jimmy Green specifically to build credibility within the network. According to the investigator, as trust grew, his contact began volunteering information about upcoming movements of DPRK-linked funds. In one notable instance, Jimmy Green told ZachXBT in advance that funds would be moved to the Solana network — and, as ZachXBT documented, that transfer occurred exactly as predicted the following day. Jimmy Green reportedly told ZachXBT that his team had laundered the majority of the $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit, a claim ZachXBT said matched the laundering patterns he had independently observed through on-chain analysis.
Deliberately Losing Money to Gather Intelligence
To sustain the operation and keep his cover credible, ZachXBT accepted a financial loss on every single exchange, losing approximately 5% on each order. He was explicit that the goal was never profit, but rather extracting actionable intelligence as efficiently as possible. In total, he committed $349,700 of his own funds to the operation, with no guarantee the counterparty wouldn’t simply disappear with the money. “I needed to keep losing 5% on every order and take on risk in order to gather as much practical intelligence as possible in the shortest amount of time,” ZachXBT said, adding that engaging directly with the syndicate exposed him to an uncertain degree of personal risk throughout the operation.
Tracing Bybit’s Stolen Funds Across Multiple Chains
A pivotal moment in the investigation came on March 12, 2025, when Jimmy Green sent ZachXBT a screenshot documenting a cross-chain bridge transfer. ZachXBT cross-referenced the amounts and timing shown in the image against an on-chain transaction created just minutes after the message was sent, confirming the laundering activity in near real time.
Jimmy Green later provided three Solana-based addresses, allowing ZachXBT to identify a cluster holding more than $12 million in funds connected to the Bybit exploit. According to his findings, the stolen assets moved from Bitcoin to Ethereum, then to Solana, and ultimately into TRON — with transactions occurring in what ZachXBT described as near real-time succession. Tether subsequently froze 442,000 USDT tied to that specific cluster. ZachXBT also reported that the syndicate had begun using a newer laundering technique involving low-liquidity token pools on Uniswap.
A Syndicate Handling More Than Just Lazarus Funds
Over the course of their exchanges, Jimmy Green disclosed details about other operations beyond the Bybit theft. He mentioned a separate team holding approximately $300,000 that had been frozen in 2024; ZachXBT verified the claim on-chain and determined the actual figure was $332,000 in USDC, tracing the funds back to the earlier Poloniex exploit. In a separate case, Jimmy Green described laundering $3 million in fraud proceeds for a different client — funds ZachXBT traced to the hot wallet of Huione Guarantee, an entity that was subsequently sanctioned, with its former head later arrested.
Beyond the Money: A Human Relationship
ZachXBT noted that over the course of extended communication, Jimmy Green gradually volunteered increasing amounts of information about his team’s activities, and that their conversations extended well beyond crypto and laundering operations. Jimmy Green discussed playing mahjong, hunting wild rabbits, food, weight-loss diets, his family, and a Disneyland vacation. ZachXBT speculated that his contact’s unusual grammar may have reflected reliance on translation software, and said Jimmy Green also provided general operational details about the syndicate’s presence in Hong Kong and mainland China.
Handing the Evidence to Authorities
ZachXBT said all intelligence gathered during the operation was shared with vetted private-sector partners and law enforcement agencies working on the related case, and that he had withheld public details until now because of the investigation’s sensitivity. He noted that the inability to immediately publish findings remains one of the most difficult aspects of his work, adding that he currently holds substantial undisclosed information on several other ongoing cases that cannot yet be made public.
Part of a Larger Pattern
ZachXBT’s findings reinforce a pattern he has documented previously: North Korean state-linked actors generate significant ongoing crypto revenue through a range of schemes, including an estimated $1 million per month earned through fake IT workers posing as legitimate developers at crypto and tech companies — underscoring that laundering networks like the one ZachXBT infiltrated represent just one piece of a much broader, sustained effort to convert stolen and fraudulently obtained crypto into usable funds for the North Korean regime.
What This Means Going Forward
ZachXBT’s undercover operation demonstrates both the scale of organized laundering infrastructure supporting North Korea-linked crypto theft and the extent independent investigators are willing to go to expose it — accepting direct financial losses and personal risk to obtain intelligence law enforcement agencies could act on.
With Tether already freezing hundreds of thousands of dollars tied to the identified cluster and additional sanctions having followed related findings involving Huione Guarantee, the operation illustrates how blockchain transparency, combined with old-fashioned undercover investigative work, continues to produce real consequences for crypto money laundering networks — even when the full scope of what investigators uncover can’t be disclosed right away.

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has revealed how he spent his own money going undercover to infiltrate a Chinese criminal syndicate he says laundered more than $1 billion in stolen crypto on behalf of North Korea’s Lazarus Group — deliberately losing roughly 5% on every transaction he made with the group in order to win their trust and extract intelligence on how stolen funds were being moved.
How the Operation Started
According to ZachXBT, the investigation began shortly after the February 2025 hack of cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, in which attackers stole approximately $1.5 billion in crypto assets — the largest exchange theft on record. While mapping the aftermath, ZachXBT identified more than 15 accounts across Telegram and Discord that were publicly soliciting help executing orders tied to the stolen funds.
Rather than simply observing from a distance, ZachXBT decided to make direct contact, posing as a legitimate client interested in moving funds through the network.
Posing as a Customer to Build Trust
One of the accounts ZachXBT contacted belonged to a Telegram user operating under the alias “Jimmy Green.” On March 6, 2025, ZachXBT funded a new Ethereum address with 349,700 USDC specifically to conduct a series of transactions with this contact. Jimmy Green proposed exchanging the USDC on Ethereum for USDT on the TRON network. The wallet address he provided for the swap had itself been funded by a separate wallet that ZachXBT was able to trace directly back to funds stolen in the Bybit hack — an address that was also independently flagged on Bybit’s own public blacklist.
ZachXBT continued conducting additional transactions with Jimmy Green specifically to build credibility within the network. According to the investigator, as trust grew, his contact began volunteering information about upcoming movements of DPRK-linked funds. In one notable instance, Jimmy Green told ZachXBT in advance that funds would be moved to the Solana network — and, as ZachXBT documented, that transfer occurred exactly as predicted the following day. Jimmy Green reportedly told ZachXBT that his team had laundered the majority of the $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit, a claim ZachXBT said matched the laundering patterns he had independently observed through on-chain analysis.
Deliberately Losing Money to Gather Intelligence
To sustain the operation and keep his cover credible, ZachXBT accepted a financial loss on every single exchange, losing approximately 5% on each order. He was explicit that the goal was never profit, but rather extracting actionable intelligence as efficiently as possible. In total, he committed $349,700 of his own funds to the operation, with no guarantee the counterparty wouldn’t simply disappear with the money. “I needed to keep losing 5% on every order and take on risk in order to gather as much practical intelligence as possible in the shortest amount of time,” ZachXBT said, adding that engaging directly with the syndicate exposed him to an uncertain degree of personal risk throughout the operation.
Tracing Bybit’s Stolen Funds Across Multiple Chains
A pivotal moment in the investigation came on March 12, 2025, when Jimmy Green sent ZachXBT a screenshot documenting a cross-chain bridge transfer. ZachXBT cross-referenced the amounts and timing shown in the image against an on-chain transaction created just minutes after the message was sent, confirming the laundering activity in near real time.
Jimmy Green later provided three Solana-based addresses, allowing ZachXBT to identify a cluster holding more than $12 million in funds connected to the Bybit exploit. According to his findings, the stolen assets moved from Bitcoin to Ethereum, then to Solana, and ultimately into TRON — with transactions occurring in what ZachXBT described as near real-time succession. Tether subsequently froze 442,000 USDT tied to that specific cluster. ZachXBT also reported that the syndicate had begun using a newer laundering technique involving low-liquidity token pools on Uniswap.
A Syndicate Handling More Than Just Lazarus Funds
Over the course of their exchanges, Jimmy Green disclosed details about other operations beyond the Bybit theft. He mentioned a separate team holding approximately $300,000 that had been frozen in 2024; ZachXBT verified the claim on-chain and determined the actual figure was $332,000 in USDC, tracing the funds back to the earlier Poloniex exploit. In a separate case, Jimmy Green described laundering $3 million in fraud proceeds for a different client — funds ZachXBT traced to the hot wallet of Huione Guarantee, an entity that was subsequently sanctioned, with its former head later arrested.
Beyond the Money: A Human Relationship
ZachXBT noted that over the course of extended communication, Jimmy Green gradually volunteered increasing amounts of information about his team’s activities, and that their conversations extended well beyond crypto and laundering operations. Jimmy Green discussed playing mahjong, hunting wild rabbits, food, weight-loss diets, his family, and a Disneyland vacation. ZachXBT speculated that his contact’s unusual grammar may have reflected reliance on translation software, and said Jimmy Green also provided general operational details about the syndicate’s presence in Hong Kong and mainland China.
Handing the Evidence to Authorities
ZachXBT said all intelligence gathered during the operation was shared with vetted private-sector partners and law enforcement agencies working on the related case, and that he had withheld public details until now because of the investigation’s sensitivity. He noted that the inability to immediately publish findings remains one of the most difficult aspects of his work, adding that he currently holds substantial undisclosed information on several other ongoing cases that cannot yet be made public.
Part of a Larger Pattern
ZachXBT’s findings reinforce a pattern he has documented previously: North Korean state-linked actors generate significant ongoing crypto revenue through a range of schemes, including an estimated $1 million per month earned through fake IT workers posing as legitimate developers at crypto and tech companies — underscoring that laundering networks like the one ZachXBT infiltrated represent just one piece of a much broader, sustained effort to convert stolen and fraudulently obtained crypto into usable funds for the North Korean regime.
What This Means Going Forward
ZachXBT’s undercover operation demonstrates both the scale of organized laundering infrastructure supporting North Korea-linked crypto theft and the extent independent investigators are willing to go to expose it — accepting direct financial losses and personal risk to obtain intelligence law enforcement agencies could act on.
With Tether already freezing hundreds of thousands of dollars tied to the identified cluster and additional sanctions having followed related findings involving Huione Guarantee, the operation illustrates how blockchain transparency, combined with old-fashioned undercover investigative work, continues to produce real consequences for crypto money laundering networks — even when the full scope of what investigators uncover can’t be disclosed right away.

Führungskräfte von HSBC, RAKBANK und der Commercial Bank of Dubai ergänzen das Rednerprogramm von Chapter 39. Alfa Bank und Sardine führen die Sponsorenliste für den 10.–11. November an.
Dubai, VAE — 30. September 2026: Die nächste Phase der Transformation des Bankwesens hängt davon ab, wie gut die einzelnen Bereiche zusammenarbeiten. Digitale Kanäle, Zahlungsverkehr, Daten, Risikomanagement und Kernsysteme tragen alle zum selben Kundenerlebnis bei. Für Finanzinstitute ist ihre effektive Vernetzung eine Frage der Geschäftsentwicklung, der betrieblichen Resilienz und des Wachstums.

DUBAI, VAE, Oktober 2026 – CryptoMondays MENA, präsentiert von Minds by Animoca Brands, hat offiziell die Redner des Panels und sein Partnernetzwerk für das bevorstehende Treffen in Dubai am Montag, den 5. Oktober 2026, von 20:00 bis 22:00 Uhr im JW Marriott Marquis Hotel bekannt gegeben.
Die Veranstaltung bringt Web3-Führungskräfte, Pioniere im Bereich digitaler Vermögenswerte, institutionelle Investoren und Builder aus der Region Naher Osten und Nordafrika (MENA) zu einem Abend mit Marktdiskussionen, Networking und strategischer Zusammenarbeit zusammen.

DUBAI, VAE, Oktober 2026 – CryptoMondays MENA, präsentiert von Minds by Animoca Brands, hat offiziell das Rednerpanel und sein Partnernetzwerk für das bevorstehende Treffen in Dubai am Montag, dem 5. Oktober 2026, von 20:00 bis 22:00 Uhr im JW Marriott Marquis Hotel bekannt gegeben.
Die Veranstaltung bringt Web3-Führungskräfte, Pioniere digitaler Vermögenswerte, institutionelle Anleger und Entwickler aus der Region Naher Osten und Nordafrika (MENA) zu einem Abend mit Marktdiskussionen, Networking und strategischer Zusammenarbeit zusammen.

LISSABON, 28. September 2026
Die meisten Casino-Spiele bitten die Spieler, sich zu drehen, zu warten und zu sehen, was passiert. Tap Markets verfolgt einen anderen Ansatz. Die Spieler beobachten einen sich bewegenden Preis-Chart, treffen eine Vorhersage und tippen den Bereich an, den sie glauben, dass der Preis in den nächsten Sekunden erreichen wird.
Entwickelt von Market Games, ist Tap Markets das Flaggschiffprodukt in einer neuen Kategorie von Instant-Market-Prediction-Games, die darauf ausgelegt sind, die visuelle Sprache und die Spannung der Finanzmärkte in iGaming zu übertragen.
Das Konzept ist einfach.
Auf dem Bildschirm erscheint ein sich bewegender Chart zusammen mit einer Reihe von Feldern. Jedes Feld steht für einen Preisbereich, ein kurzes Zeitfenster und einen vordefinierten Auszahlungsmultiplikator. Der Spieler wählt den Bereich, von dem er glaubt, dass der Preis ihn erreichen wird, bevor das Zeitfenster abläuft.

Dubai, Vereinigte Arabische Emirate – 30. September 2026: CryptoMondays, die weltweit größte Web3-Community im echten Leben, hat am Montag, dem 28. September 2026, offiziell sein MENA-Kapitel gelauncht. Dabei kamen 190 Registrierungen für einen Abend mit hochkarätigen Panels, Networking und Community-Building zusammen. Veranstaltet im Tacenda Lounge auf der 68. Etage des JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, erfüllte das Event sein Kernversprechen: keine Floors nur fürs Pitchen – sondern ein Raum voller Builder, die mit mehr nach Hause gingen, als sie mitgebracht hatten.
Geführt von Vaibhavv Ali, Mitgründer von Cryptonite UAE, verknüpfte der Launch erfolgreich Branchen- und Meinungsführer, Investoren und Gründer aus dem gesamten Ökosystem miteinander.

Dubai, VAE – 30. September 2026: CryptoMondays, die weltweit größte Web3-Community im echten Leben, startete offiziell am Montag, dem 28. September 2026, ihr MENA-Kapitel. Dabei kamen 190 Registrierungen für einen Abend voller hochkarätiger Panels, Networking und Community-Building zusammen. Veranstaltet im Tacenda Lounge auf der 68. Etage des JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, hielt die Veranstaltung ihr zentrales Versprechen: keine Pitch-only-Etagen, sondern ein Raum voller Builder, die mit mehr herausgehen, als sie mitgebracht haben.
Angeführt von Vaibhavv Ali, Mitgründer von Cryptonite UAE, brachte der Launch erfolgreich Branchenführer, Investoren und Gründer aus dem gesamten Ökosystem zusammen.

LISSABON, 28. September 2026
Die meisten Casinospiele fordern die Spieler auf, zu drehen, abzuwarten und zu sehen, was passiert. Tap Markets geht einen anderen Weg. Die Spieler beobachten ein sich bewegendes Preisdiagramm, treffen eine Vorhersage und tippen auf den Bereich, den der Preis in den nächsten Sekunden erreichen wird.
Entwickelt von Market Games ist Tap Markets das Flaggschiffprodukt in einer neuen Kategorie von Spielen zur sofortigen Marktvorhersage. Diese wurden entwickelt, um die visuelle Sprache und die Spannung der Finanzmärkte in iGaming zu übertragen.
Das Konzept ist einfach.
Ein sich bewegendes Diagramm erscheint auf dem Bildschirm zusammen mit einer Reihe von Kästchen. Jedes Kästchen steht für einen Preisbereich, ein kurzes Zeitfenster und einen vordefinierten Auszahlungs-Multiplikator. Der Spieler wählt den Bereich, den er für den Preis hält, bevor das Zeitfenster abläuft.

September 2026 wurde als der bisher schädlichste Monat des Jahres für die Krypto-Sicherheit eingestuft: Hacker stahlen rund 766,5 Millionen US-Dollar bei 55 großen Angriffen – laut dem Blockchain-Sicherheitsunternehmen PeckShield ein Anstieg von etwa 462 % im Vergleich zu Augusts Gesamt 136,3 Millionen US-Dollar.
Der enorme Sprung wurde fast vollständig durch zwei Vorfälle ausgelöst: den Hack der Bitget-Börse und die Sicherheitsverletzung von Liquid Network, die zusammen den Großteil der Verluste des Monats ausmachten.
Die Zahlen hinter dem Rekordmonat

September 2026 gilt als der schädlichste Monat des Jahres für die Krypto-Sicherheit: Unbekannte stahlen etwa 766,5 Millionen US-Dollar bei 55 größeren Angriffen — das ist ein Anstieg von rund 462% gegenüber Augusts Gesamtbetrag von 136,3 Millionen US-Dollar, wie das Blockchain-Sicherheitsunternehmen PeckShield berichtet.
Der enorme Sprung wurde fast ausschließlich durch zwei Vorfälle ausgelöst: den Hack der Bitget-Börse und die Sicherheitsverletzung im Liquid Network, die zusammen den überwiegenden Großteil der Verluste dieses Monats ausmachten.
Die Zahlen hinter dem Rekordmonat

Coinbase steigt in den Pokémon-Trading-Card-Hype ein und kündigt Pläne an, Nutzern zu ermöglichen, digitale Kartenpacks direkt in seiner App zu öffnen — wobei jeder digitale Zug von einer echten, physischen Pokémon-Karte untermauert wird.
Der Schritt platziert die Krypto-Börse mitten in einem boomenden Markt für Collectibles, der zuletzt sowohl Bitcoin als auch dem S&P 500 überlegen war, während gleichzeitig eine vertraute Struktur tokenisierter Real-World-Assets in eines der heißesten Hobbys der Popkultur gebracht wird.
Was Coinbase wirklich angekündigt hat
Coinbase hat das Produkt am 28. September auf X mit einem kurzen, knackigen Pitch angedeutet:

Coinbase steigt in den Pokémon-Trading-Card-Hype ein und kündigt Pläne an, Nutzern zu ermöglichen, digitale Kartenpacks direkt in seiner App zu öffnen — wobei jeder digitale Fund durch eine reale, physische Pokémon-Karte abgesichert ist.
Der Schritt verankert die Krypto-Börse mitten in einem boomenden Markt für Sammlerstücke, der in letzter Zeit sowohl Bitcoin als auch den S&P 500 übertroffen hat — und bringt dabei eine vertraute Struktur tokenisierter realweltlicher Vermögenswerte in eines der heißesten Hobbys der Popkultur.
Was Coinbase tatsächlich angekündigt hat
Coinbase teasete das Produkt am 28. September auf X mit einem kurzen, knackigen Pitch: