Crypto

Jump Crypto Faces CFTC Investigation Amid Cryptocurrency Trading Scrutiny

Published

2 years ago

June 21, 2024

Jump Crypto Faces CFTC Investigation Amid Cryptocurrency Trading Scrutiny

The CFTC has launched a probe into Jump Crypto, including its investment and trading activities, but has not charged the company with any wrongdoing.
Jump Crypto is one of the industry’s largest market makers and is behind critical market infrastructure, like the Wormhole bridge, but has been caught up in controversy over links to FTX and Terra.

The US commodities watchdog has opened a probe into Jump Crypto, one of the industry’s largest trading companies, according to multiple news reports.

The CFTC is investigating Jump Crypto’s trading and investment activity in the sector, but the agency has not disclosed the specifics of its investigation. However, both parties have clarified that the firm has not been charged with any crime, nor is the probe proof of any wrongdoing.

Scoop: The CFTC is probing Jump’s crypto business.
The Chicago-based trading firm was previously a giant in the crypto market-making and investing space before being implicated in a series of high-profile collapses and hacks, though it is still active:https://t.co/aOuBA7uf5o
— Leo Schwartz (@leomschwartz) June 20, 2024

Jump Crypto is a subsidiary of Jump Trading, a Chicago-based proprietary trading giant. The company established its crypto outfit in late 2021 to offer its world-leading trading services to the digital assets world. Jump Crypto quickly shot up the ranks to become one of crypto’s largest market makers, facilitating billions of dollars in trading volume daily.

Besides market making, Jump Crypto has also invested in some of the industry’s largest and most successful projects. This includes participating in the $300 million raise for SUI, the $150 million round for Aptos, the $70 million round for the 0x protocol and the $55 million round for Celestia.

Additionally, it has incubated some massive crypto projects. Its biggest success was Wormhole, a communication protocol between various blockchains that enables cross-chain exchange, governance and gaming.

Jump Crypto’s Woes

Jump Crypto’s problems started with the hack of the Wormhole protocol in which criminals exploited a security flaw and made off with $325 million in early 2022, as Crypto News Flash reported at the time. Jump Crypto relied on the financial might of its parent company to compensate the victims.

However, the blow was significant, and in November last year, it emerged that it was spinning off the Wormhole project.

Jump Crypto’s biggest problems were on its trading side. The company was caught up in the LUNA and UST debacle, in which close to $60 billion was lost after the two Terra ecosystem tokens collapsed.

It would later be revealed that Jump was one of the key allies of Do Kwon and his gang. The company was specifically accused of being used by Kwon to prop up the prices of his tokens, including ensuring that the UST algorithmic stablecoin remained pegged despite market turmoil.

US authorities pursued Kwon, who was later arrested and jailed in Montenegro. However, Jump wasn’t charged for its part in the collapse.

Disgruntled investors have also brought up charges against the company. Last year, they filed a class action lawsuit, accusing the company of aiding and abetting fraud.

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Crypto

China Discovers ‘Largest’ Undersea Gold Deposit in Asia as State Mining Ambitions Expand

Published

4 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

China Discovers ‘Largest’ Undersea Gold Deposit in Asia as State Mining Ambitions Expand

China says it has uncovered Asia’s largest undersea gold deposit, a massive offshore find that strengthens domestic supply, reshapes regional resource rankings, and highlights Beijing’s accelerating push to secure strategic minerals.

Crypto

North Korean hackers allegedly stole record $2.02 billion of cryptocurrency in 2025. Here’s how they did it | Stock Market News

Published

16 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

North Korea remains dominant threat to cryptocurrency security in 2025, even while confirmed incidents have decreased, according to a report by blockchain analytics company Chainanlysis.

Hackers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) allegedly stole a record $2.02 billion of crypto this year — a 51% jump compared to 2024, and taking their all-time total to $6.75 billion, it added.

The analysis further found that the DRPK is achieving larger thefts with fewer incidents, using unique methods to gain access and pull off their heists.

North Korea’s alleged crypto heists: Here’s how they did it

As per the report, these hacks were often carried out in unique fashion by embedding IT workers inside crypto services or using sophisticated impersonation tactics targeting executives.

Embedding IT workers

This is among the DPRK’s “principal attack vectors”, the report said. It added that the hackers secured jobs inside crypto services to gain privileged access and enable high‑impact compromises.

“Part of this record year likely reflects an expanded reliance on IT worker infiltration at exchanges, custodians, and web3 firms, which can accelerate initial access and lateral movement ahead of large‑scale theft,” it noted.

Fake jobs

Further, taking the IT worker model and “flipping it on its head”, the analysis said that DPRK-linked operators are also increasingly impersonating recruiters for prominent web3 and AI firms. This way, they orchestrate fake hiring processes that culminate in “technical screens” designed to harvest credentials, source code, and VPN or SSO access to the victim’s current employer.

“At the executive level, a similar social‑engineering playbook appears in the form of bogus outreach from purported strategic investors or acquirers, who use pitch meetings and pseudo–due diligence to probe for sensitive systems information and potential access paths into high‑value infrastructure,” it added.

Higher- value attacks

Over the years, DPRK-linked operators are increasingly undertaking significantly higher-value attacks compared to other threat actors. “This pattern reinforces that when North Korean hackers strike, they target large services and aim for maximum impact,” the report added.

It noted that “this year’s record haul came from significantly fewer known incidents”, including the massive $1.5 billion Bybit hack in February 2025.

DPRK’s distinctive laundering patterns

Not just the hacking process, the laundering of stolen funds is also distinctive, the report said. It noted that more than 60% of laundering was of volume concentrated below $5,00,000 transfer value tranches, despite the total stolen amounts being larger.

“Even while the DPRK consistently steals larger amounts than other stolen fund threat actors, they structure on-chain payments in smaller tranches, speaking to the sophistication of their laundering,” it added.

Crypto

Coinbase Security Impersonation Scheme Exposed as Authorities Claim Nearly $16M Was Siphoned

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Coinbase Security Impersonation Scheme Exposed as Authorities Claim Nearly M Was Siphoned

Authorities allege a sweeping crypto phishing operation that drained nearly $16 million from Coinbase users nationwide, underscoring how social engineering scams exploit trust, move funds across blockchains, and trigger aggressive enforcement by New York prosecutors.