Crypto Weekly Roundup: Balancer Hit By Assault, Google Provides Prediction Market Information, & Extra

The cryptocurrency ecosystem was hit by yet one more exploit as hackers drained $128 million from the decentralized finance (Defi) protocol Balancer. In additional optimistic developments, Google Finance has introduced plans to include prediction market knowledge from Kalshi and Polymarket in search outcomes over the subsequent few weeks. Listed below are a number of the different main developments prior to now week.DeFiThe complete worth locked (TVL) into decentralized finance protocols has risen 40% since late September on Flare’s blockchain for knowledge. The surge has been pushed by demand for an asset that has little or no to do with DeFi for many of its historical past: XRP.TechnologyGoogle Finance has introduced it's incorporating prediction market knowledge from Kalshi and Polymarket in its search outcomes. The implementation will likely be accomplished over the subsequent few weeks and is a part of a brand new AI-powered improve.BusinessJPMorgan Chase has revealed it holds 5.28 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Belief (IBIT) ETF as of September 30, a 64% enhance since June. Institutional buyers are pivoting to regulated crypto automobiles and funding merchandise as they appear to diversify their holdings and discover Bitcoin ETFs.Western Union has filed one other trademark simply days after asserting the launch of its personal stablecoin in 2026. The trademark might embody numerous cryptocurrency-related providers.Ahead Industries’ Board of Administrators has licensed a $1 billion inventory buyback program. This system permits the corporate to repurchase its excellent frequent inventory by means of September 30, 2027. The authorization comes because the treasury firm filed a resale prospectus with the Securities and Trade Fee (SEC).Ripple has closed a $500 million funding spherical, valuing the corporate at $40 billion, making it one of many world’s largest cryptocurrency offers of 2025. Citadel Securities, Fortress, and different main funds led the funding spherical.Ripple has expanded its US institutional choices with the launch of a brand new digital asset spot prime brokerage platform for the US market. The launch comes after Ripple’s $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Street and allows it to consolidate licenses and infrastructure below Ripple Prime.Web3The mining arm of KuCoin, KuPool, has appointed Shelton Qui as its Chief Working Officer. A seasoned determine within the blockchain and mining trade, Qui brings practically ten years of expertise to the function. He has additionally held key positions, together with Advertising and marketing Director and Enterprise Growth Lead at SparkPool, previously the world’s largest Ethereum mining pool.Bitcoin.com has partnered with Layer-1 blockchain Concordium to introduce age-verified stablecoin funds to a world person base of over 75 million wallets. The collaboration will see the mixing of Concordium’s ‘1-Click on Confirm & Pay’ know-how with the Bitcoin.com pockets to create a compliant, privacy-preserving cost resolution.DogLibre was born out of a second of helplessness, and makes use of know-how, creativity, and neighborhood to reimagine how we take care of canines. The staff comes from a various background and has labored on initiatives like MakerDAO and Decentraland.BTCC has revealed that buying and selling exercise on its tokenization of real-world asset (RWA) futures reached $29.2 billion USDT throughout the second and third quarters of 2025. This means a leap in on-chain demand for conventional asset publicity, with the RWA market crossing $30 billion in general worth.Momentum behind Donut Labs is rising forward of what it calls the decentralized finance trade’s first agentic crypto browser. The corporate additionally introduced it has raised $22 million in funding, simply six months after asserting its mission to remodel DeFi by means of agentic automation.SecurityDecentralized finance (DeFi) platform Balancer has misplaced $128 million after falling sufferer to a serious exploit. Based on accessible on-chain knowledge, hackers drained osETH, WETH, and wstETH from the protocol’s vaults. The hacker is already consolidating the stolen belongings, elevating considerations about cash laundering.The Berachain Basis has confirmed the restoration of $12.8 million stolen throughout the BEX/Balancer v2 exploit. The inspiration additionally distributed an emergency arduous fork following the hack to handle a vulnerability in its decentralized alternate.The US Appeals Court docket has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a person convicted of id theft. The person claimed that the FBI seized and wiped a tough drive that contained over 3,400 BTC belonging to him.RegulationThe United States has sanctioned a gaggle of North Korean bankers and establishments accused of laundering thousands and thousands of {dollars} linked to cyberattacks and illicit IT work schemes. Based on US authorities, the laundered funds have been used to fund Pyongyang’s weapons program.Disclaimer: This text is supplied for informational functions solely. It isn't provided or supposed for use as authorized, tax, funding, monetary, or different recommendation.