FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On May 21, 2026, Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Deputies took a report of fraud. The victim, who resided in the Kingman area, had befriended an individual on social media approximately six months prior. During their conversations, the individual discussed investing the victim’s money into cryptocurrencies. The victim stated that he had provided cash on three different occasions, totaling $113,000.00.

The victim was supplied with a fake phone application that displayed an investment and the interest the money was supposedly earning. Following this, the victim would withdraw cash, photograph it, and send the photograph to the individual. In response, a photograph of a one-dollar bill was sent to the victim and later used to identify the “courier” responsible for picking up the cash. The arrangement entailed a meeting at a local business in the 3700 block of N. Stockton Hill Rd., where the “courier” would confirm the transaction by showing the one-dollar bill before receiving the cash.

Once the victim realized that he had been defrauded, he contacted the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office. Despite this, the individual continued communication and requested an additional sum—initially $100,000.00 in cash, later revised to $65,000.00. Detectives assumed the victim’s identity and coordinated the transaction. When the individual requested a photograph of the initially mentioned $100,000.00 cash, detectives, with the assistance of a local bank, provided the photograph. After the amount was changed, another photograph was sent and a transfer of the money to the “courier” was arranged. The individual then sent a photograph of a one-dollar bill, which was to be provided to the victim as confirmation of the transaction.

On Friday, June 12, Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Detectives, with assistance from the Kingman Police Department Street Crimes Unit, executed an operation on the 3700 block of N. Stockton Hill Rd. At approximately 12:12 p.m., the “courier” arrived at the location and was taken into custody without incident. The individual was identified as Jay Jin Xia, 40, of Hacienda Heights, California, an American citizen. Authorities recovered evidence on his person, including the phone used to communicate and the one-dollar bill linking him to the investigation. Xia was transported to the Mohave County Adult Detention Facility where he was booked for fraud. Additional charges are pending further investigation into this incident.

The investigation is ongoing.

A Bear That Keeps Winning

Onchain analytics firm Nansen said a Hyperliquid trader (referred to by the firm as a “Perps Perma-Bear“) is 81% short with a $2.7 million all-time profit and loss (PnL) on the decentralized perpetual-futures exchange. The wallet’s largest position is a $13.57 million short on HYPE, Hyperliquid’s native token, showing a $539,000 gain. Shorts on ether ( ETH) and bitcoin ( BTC) are also in the green, up about $226,000 and $138,000 respectively.

The trader is not uniformly bearish, however. “Despite being a Perma-Bear, they’re not short on everything,” Nansen noted, adding that the wallet holds select long positions even as its short book dominates.

The bet is paying off because HYPE has retreated from its highs after hitting an all-time high of $75.51 on June 2. It is now trading closer to $58, roughly 25% below that peak. The decline has rewarded shorts after a euphoric spring run-up.

Moreover, Bitcoin.com News reported last month that HYPE had been hitting a string of price highs seemingly every other week as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) cracked open the U.S. perpetuals market, clearing the first domestically regulated perpetual futures contract. The breakthrough drew institutional attention to Hyperliquid, the dominant onchain venue for perpetual futures (i.e. derivatives that let traders bet on price with leverage and no expiry date).

Whales on Both Sides

The perma-bear is far from the only large player operating in this space, as wallets linked to venture firm a16z have also accumulated more than $90 million in HYPE, becoming one of the token’s biggest holders. Other traders have leaned bearish, with one whale dumping roughly $36 million in HYPE to shore up a $103 million short as liquidation risk built.

The leverage cut both ways as another account banked $7.5 million in four days on ZEC and HYPE longs before rotating into a leveraged ether position. The crowd of large, visible positions partly reflects new tooling with Nansen recently integrating Hyperliquid perpetuals into its dashboard, turning its analytics layer into a trading terminal where users can mirror a tracked whale’s trade in the same window.

That said, for the perma-bear, the risk is one of symmetry and with open interest elevated and institutional money circling, HYPE’s next move will decide whether the market’s most stubborn bear extends its streak (or becomes the liquidity that fuels the next squeeze).

XRP Ledger Deal Pushes Stablecoins Deeper Into US-Mexico Settlement

Cross-border payments are becoming a major test case for regulated stablecoins. Ripple said on June 9 that Bitso’s MXN-backed stablecoin, MXNB, will be issued on the XRP Ledger and connected to Ripple’s Payments on Decentralized Exchange infrastructure for enterprise settlement.

The expansion targets the U.S.-Mexico corridor, where companies need dependable access to peso and dollar liquidity. Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin and Bitso’s MXNB are intended to support faster settlement flows for institutions handling cross-border payments between the two markets.

Ripple said:

“As part of the collaboration, Bitso’s regulated MXN-backed stablecoin, MXNB, will be issued on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and integrated into Ripple’s evolving Payments on Decentralized Exchange ( DEX) infrastructure.”

“Together with RLUSD, Ripple’s enterprise-grade USD stablecoin, MXNB will support more efficient liquidity and settlement flows for enterprise cross-border payments across the U.S.–Mexico corridor,” the crypto firm added.

Silvio Pegado, Ripple’s managing director for Latin America, said the addition of MXNB and RLUSD to XRPL’s Permissioned DEX is intended to create regulated onchain liquidity infrastructure for enterprise payments between dollars and pesos.

XRPL’s Permissioned DEX gives the partnership its institutional focus. The system is designed for verified counterparties, allowing regulated financial participants to use onchain liquidity while operating within a more controlled settlement environment.

MXNB and RLUSD Create a New Dollar-Peso Liquidity Path

MXNB provides Bitso with a peso-native stablecoin built for enterprise settlement needs. RLUSD provides Ripple with a dollar-denominated asset designed to support institutional cross-border payments.

Bitso brings scale to the integration through more than 10 million users and over 2,000 institutional clients. The company operates across Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, the United States, and Europe.

Pegado noted:

“By bringing together RLUSD and MXNB on the XRPL Permissioned DEX, we’re helping create regulated, onchain liquidity infrastructure purpose-built for enterprise cross-border payments. This is the next evolution of how value moves between dollars and pesos.”

Ben Reid, head of stablecoins at Bitso Business, described MXNB as regulated, peso-native, and built for institutional cross-border payment demands. His comments place the stablecoin within treasury, liquidity, and settlement operations for financial counterparties.

The expansion aligns with Ripple’s broader strategy of connecting traditional payment infrastructure with digital asset liquidity. Ripple and Bitso are using the XRP Ledger to build enterprise settlement infrastructure for one of Latin America’s most active cross-border payment markets.