Hey there, PoI readers!

It's your favorite crypto connoisseur, Mochi, back with another serving of tantalizing tech and web3 news. From Pump.fun's hacked X account and crypto markets plunging into "Extreme Fear" to the $1.4 billion Bybit hack and Bank of America eyeing stablecoins, we've got a buffet of digital drama to digest. So, grab your hardware wallets and pour yourself something strong – you might need it for today's crypto rollercoaster!

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INTEL BRIEF

🟧 Pump.fun's X account was compromised to promote fake tokens, adding to recent high-profile crypto social media hacks.

🟧 Crypto markets plunged into "Extreme Fear" territory as President Trump confirmed tariffs against Canada and Mexico will proceed as scheduled.

🟧 Forensic investigations reveal North Korea's Lazarus Group exploited compromised SafeWallet credentials to steal over $1.4 billion from Bybit.

🟧 Bank of America's CEO expressed interest in entering the stablecoin market pending comprehensive US legislation.

Pump fun social media account compromised to promote fraudulent tokens

Pump.fun's X account was compromised on February 26th to promote a fake governance token called "PUMP" along with other fraudulent coins that are about as legitimate as my claim to the British throne.

The digital detective ZackXBT was quick to warn users to stay far away from the page and avoid clicking on any links posted by the account.

According to our favorite onchain Sherlock Holmes, this social media heist is directly connected to the Jupiter DAO account hack in February 2025 and the DogWifCoin X account compromise from November 2024. ZackXBT noted these hacks weren't the fault of either team.

"The official Pump.fun governance token, where democracy has never been this degen. We will also be rewarding our OG degens," wrote the hacker, apparently believing that adding the word "degen" twice would make the scam twice as effective. (Spoiler alert: it doesn't.)

The Pump.fun team has confirmed the hack and is currently working to restore their account. This incident joins the conga line of social media hacks advertising fake tokens and follows the recent $1.4-billion Bybit hack.

Speaking of unwanted guests, even government officials aren't immune to these digital hijackings. Argentine President Javier Milei promoted the LIBRA token in a now-deleted X post on February 14th, which was supposedly designed to help inject liquidity into startups and small businesses in Argentina. However, Milei later pulled his support faster than a cat from a bathtub, resulting in a $107-million rug pull that's been described as an "international incident."

According to venture capitalist Nic Carter, the fallout from the LIBRA scandal signals the end of memecoins. "The memecoin trade was entirely based on a claim that was ultimately exposed as a lie - that the casino was at least fair," the VC wrote on February 19th, apparently shocked to discover gambling in this establishment.

Bermuda Premier David Burt's X account was also hijacked to promote a fraudulent token called "Bermuda National Coin." Almost immediately after the initial posts, Pump.fun was flooded with Bermuda National Coin meme tokens, because nothing says "legitimate investment opportunity" like dozens of copycat tokens appearing within minutes.

Burt later discovered the scam, tagged Elon Musk and the X team, and raised questions about how the scammer obtained a gray checkmark verification reserved for government officials.

Pump.fun's X account was hacked on February 26th to promote fake "PUMP" tokens and other fraudulent coins

The hack is connected to previous Jupiter DAO and DogWifCoin account compromises

This incident joins a wave of social media crypto scams, including recent high-profile cases involving the Argentine President and Bermuda Premier

Crypto market sentiment plunges to extreme fear following Trump tariff announcement

During a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, President Trump confirmed that his planned 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico "are going forward on time, on schedule".

Trump first unveiled these tariffs on February 1st, proposing a 25% tax on imports from our North American neighbors (with a special 10% discount for Canadian energy – how thoughtful!), plus a 10% tariff on Chinese imports. This announcement initially sent Bitcoin tumbling from its lofty perch around $105,000 down to $84000, while over $2.2 billion worth of Ether was liquidated.

The initial tariff announcement had traders more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, fearing a potential trade war as Canada and Mexico promised retaliatory measures. Trump briefly calmed the markets on February 3rd by agreeing to a 30-day tariff timeout after both countries promised to beef up their border protections.

This isn't the first time Trump's tariff talk has sent crypto markets into a tailspin. Bitcoin took hits on February 9th when he announced a 25% tariff on aluminum and steel imports, and again on February 13th when he signed an executive order for sweeping reciprocal tariffs.

The last time the Crypto Fear & Greed Index reached these depths of despair was September 7th, when Bitcoin tumbled to around $54,000 after a 7% two-day slump. Currently, Bitcoin has fallen 7.43% in the last 24 hours to below $80,000 – its lowest price since late November – while the total crypto market cap has shrunk by nearly 8% from over $3.31 trillion to around $3.09 trillion. That's roughly $220 billion vanishing faster than my motivation to exercise.

Even traditional markets are feeling the chill, with the S&P 500 down 2.3% and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 4% over the last five trading days.

Crypto Fear & Greed Index plunged to "Extreme Fear" (25 points) after being at "Neutral" (49 points) just a day earlier

President Trump confirmed 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico will proceed as scheduled when the 30-day pause expires

Bitcoin has dropped 4.5% to under $92,000 while the total crypto market cap has shrunk by nearly 8% to around $3.09 trillion

Forensic investigation identifies SafeWallet compromise as source of Bybit billion dollar hack

Forensic investigations by Sygnia and Verichains have revealed that the recent $1.4 billion Bybit hack wasn't due to someone forgetting to enable two-factor authentication or falling for a "Send me 1 ETH, I'll send 2 back" scam. No, this was much more sophisticated.

On February 26th, Bybit confirmed what many had suspected: the credentials of a Safe developer were compromised, allowing the attackers to gain unauthorized access to the SafeWallet infrastructure.

According to Sygnia's report, the attack originated from "malicious JavaScript code" injected into SafeWallet's Amazon Web Services infrastructure. That's right – the hackers essentially slipped a digital Mickey into SafeWallet's AWS cocktail while nobody was looking. The SafeWallet developer has since confirmed these findings.

SafeWallet announced they've "added security measures to eliminate the attack vector" and have "fully rebuilt, reconfigured all infrastructure, and rotated all credentials.”

On the bright side (if there can be one in a $1.4 billion hack), the forensic experts and Safe confirmed that Bybit's infrastructure itself was not compromised in the attack. So... yay for Bybit's IT department? Someone deserves a gift card, at least.

Meanwhile, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic dropped another bombshell: the North Korean hackers behind the Bybit hack apparently control more than 11,000 cryptocurrency wallets used to launder stolen funds. That's not just a handful of wallets – that's enough wallets to give one to every person in a small town! These hackers aren't just prolific; they're practically industrialized.

Four days after watching $1.4 billion vanish into the digital ether, Bybit's co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou apparently channeled his inner action hero and declared "war" on the Lazarus Group. As part of this digital declaration of hostilities, Bybit introduced a blacklist wallet API and offered a bounty for tracing the funds.

Elliptic released a freely accessible data feed containing wallet addresses attributed to North Korean hackers, allowing community members to avoid accidentally doing business with state-sponsored crypto thieves. According to Elliptic, addresses associated with the Bybit exploit were identified and available to screen within just 30 minutes of the announcement – which is impressive speed, though admittedly about 30 minutes too late to save Bybit's $1.4 billion.

Compromised SafeWallet developer credentials allowed North Korea's Lazarus Group to steal $1.4 billion from Bybit

The attack involved malicious JavaScript code injected into SafeWallet's AWS infrastructure, not a breach of Bybit's systems

Blockchain analysis reveals the hackers control over 11,000 cryptocurrency wallets used to launder stolen funds

Bank of America considers entering stablecoin business pending regulatory clarity

Bank of America's CEO Brian Moynihan has apparently decided that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, telling an audience at the Economic Club of Washington DC that America's second-largest bank is poised to jump into the stablecoin game.

The CEO suggested that BoA could offer dollar-backed tokens linked to customer deposit accounts, though he remained frustratingly vague on specifics – probably because their product development team is still frantically Googling "what is a blockchain?"

This potential pivot comes as stablecoins are expected to thrive under President Trump's administration, which aims to establish comprehensive regulations for overcollateralized dollar-pegged tokens. The goal? Extending US dollar dominance in international trade and bringing stablecoin firms onshore.

The regulatory landscape is buzzing with activity faster than a crypto trader after their fifth espresso. Several stablecoin bills have been proposed, including the Lummis-Gillibrand Payment Stablecoin Act, the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act of 2024, and the GENIUS stablecoin bill.

In February 2025, even Representative Maxine Waters joined the chorus, calling for bipartisan regulation on stablecoins. The Congresswoman expressed preference for the stablecoin regulatory bill drafted by former House Financial Services Committee chairman Patrick McHenry in 2024 over other legislation.

Senator Bill Hagerty's Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act of 2024 builds upon Rep. McHenry's bill with one key distinction: it includes a provision allowing stablecoin issuers with less than $10 billion in market capitalization to be regulated at the state level rather than the federal level. Because nothing says "clear regulatory framework" like having 50 different sets of rules!

Even the Federal Reserve is warming up to the idea, with Governor Christopher Waller stating on February 12th that banks should be allowed to issue stablecoins. Waller described stablecoins as an opportunity to overhaul cross-border payments and international commerce, adding that both banking and non-banking institutions should be permitted to issue regulated stablecoins.

The appeal of stablecoins isn't hard to understand – their low-cost and near-instant settlement times have made digital fiat tokens the clear choice for remittances and cross-border payments that would normally take days or weeks to settle and often come with fees high enough to make you consider carrier pigeons as an alternative.

Whether Bank of America will actually follow through remains to be seen, but one thing's clear: when a financial institution that once called Bitcoin "troubling" is now contemplating issuing its own digital tokens, we've officially entered the "then they join you" phase of the crypto revolution.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan announced the bank will likely launch stablecoins if comprehensive US legislation is passed

Multiple stablecoin regulatory bills are currently being considered by US lawmakers, with bipartisan support growing

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller advocates for banks to issue stablecoins, citing opportunities to improve cross-border payments and international commerce

And that's a wrap, my lovely PoI readers! I hope this edition left you feeling informed, entertained, and maybe even a little bit richer (in knowledge, of course). Whether you're avoiding fake tokens, bracing for tariffs, double-checking your wallet security, or contemplating bank-issued stablecoins, remember that staying vigilant is your best crypto strategy. Until next time, this is Mochi, signing off with a virtual high-five!

P.S. Don't forget to share your thoughts, questions, and favorite crypto puns with us. very voice matters in the PoI community! 📣❤️ Share the newsletter

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