Cryptocurrency exchanges believed to be financing Russia’s war in Ukraine have been sanctioned by the U.K. government in the first attempt to prevent evasion via “dark networks.” The move indicates a new focus on digital sanctions evasion, and compliance teams should expect these rules to develop further, potentially in the EU and other jurisdictions.
Crypto
Cryptocurrency Investing Is Not For the Faint-hearted or Uninformed – Tekedia
Cryptocurrencies are a fascinating and complex topic that attracts many investors, enthusiasts and researchers. However, they are also very volatile, risky and unpredictable, and require a lot of knowledge and expertise to navigate successfully. I will explain some of the challenges and opportunities that cryptocurrencies present, and why they are not for the faint-hearted or the uninformed.
Cryptocurrencies are digital assets that use cryptography to secure transactions and control the creation of new units. They operate on decentralized networks of computers that follow a set of rules or protocols. Unlike traditional currencies, they are not issued or backed by any central authority, such as a government or a bank.
This gives them some advantages, such as lower transaction costs, faster processing times, greater transparency and anonymity, and resistance to censorship and manipulation.
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However, cryptocurrencies also come with many drawbacks and risks. One of the main challenges is their high volatility, which means that their prices can fluctuate dramatically in a short period of time. For example, in 2017, the price of Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, rose from about $1,000 to almost $20,000, and then fell to below $4,000 in 2018. Such swings can be influenced by various factors, such as supply and demand, technical issues, regulatory changes, hacking attacks, media coverage, public sentiment and speculation.
Another challenge is their security and reliability. Cryptocurrencies rely on cryptography and blockchain technology to ensure the validity and integrity of transactions. However, these technologies are not foolproof and can be vulnerable to errors, bugs, hacks or malicious attacks.
For instance, in 2014, Mt. Gox, the largest Bitcoin exchange at the time, lost about 850,000 Bitcoins (worth about $450 million) due to a hacking attack. In 2016, a hacker exploited a flaw in the code of a smart contract platform called Ethereum and stole about $50 million worth of Ether, another cryptocurrency.
A third challenge is their regulatory and legal uncertainty. Cryptocurrencies are subject to different laws and regulations in different countries and jurisdictions. Some countries have banned or restricted their use or trade, while others have embraced or regulated them.
For example, China has banned cryptocurrency exchanges and initial coin offerings (ICOs), while Japan has recognized Bitcoin as a legal tender and licensed several cryptocurrency exchanges. The lack of a clear and consistent legal framework can create confusion and ambiguity for users, investors and businesses.
These challenges and risks mean that cryptocurrencies are not for the faint-hearted or the uninformed. They require a lot of research, education and caution to understand and use them properly. They also require a high tolerance for risk and uncertainty, as well as a long-term perspective and patience.
Cryptocurrencies are not a get-rich-quick scheme or a magic bullet for financial problems. They are an innovative and experimental phenomenon that may have a significant impact on the future of money and society.
Trading, market making, staking see funding after Spot ETF approval
The recent approval of the first cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sparked a wave of interest and investment in the crypto space. Many traders, market makers and stakers are looking for ways to capitalize on this opportunity and increase their returns.
One of the main benefits of an ETF is that it allows investors to gain exposure to a basket of assets without having to buy and store them individually. This reduces the risks and costs associated with custody, security and regulation. An ETF also provides more liquidity and transparency than other types of funds, as it can be traded on a stock exchange like any other security.
However, an ETF also comes with some challenges and limitations. For example, an ETF may not track the underlying assets perfectly, due to fees, tracking errors and rebalancing issues. An ETF may also face competition from other similar products, such as trusts, futures and options. Moreover, an ETF may not capture the full potential of the crypto market, as it may exclude some segments or innovations that are not yet mainstream or regulated.
This is where trading, market making and staking come in. These are three different ways of participating in the crypto ecosystem that can offer higher returns, more flexibility and more innovation than an ETF. Let’s take a look at each one in more detail.
Trading
Trading is the act of buying and selling cryptocurrencies or other digital assets for profit. Traders can use various strategies, such as arbitrage, scalping, swing trading or trend following, to exploit price movements and market inefficiencies. Traders can also use leverage, derivatives and margin trading to amplify their gains or hedge their risks.
Trading requires a high level of skill, knowledge and discipline, as well as access to reliable platforms, tools and data. Trading also involves significant risks, such as volatility, liquidity, slippage and counterparty risk. Traders need to be aware of the regulatory and tax implications of their activities, as well as the ethical and social impact of their decisions.
Market making
Market making is the act of providing liquidity to a market by quoting both buy and sell prices for an asset. Market makers earn profits from the spread between the bid and ask prices, as well as from fees or rebates from the platform or exchange they operate on. Market makers also help reduce price fluctuations and improve market efficiency by facilitating trade execution and price discovery.
Market making requires a large amount of capital, as well as sophisticated algorithms, models and systems to manage inventory, risk and orders. Market making also involves high competition, low margins and regulatory uncertainty. Market makers need to constantly monitor the market conditions, the demand and supply of the asset, and the actions of other market participants.
Staking
Staking is the act of locking up a certain amount of cryptocurrency in a smart contract or a wallet to support the security and operation of a blockchain network. Stakers earn rewards from the network for validating transactions, producing blocks or participating in governance. Staking also gives stakers voting rights and influence over the network’s direction and development.
Staking requires a long-term commitment, as well as trust in the network’s stability, security and performance. Staking also involves opportunity costs, as stakers forego other uses of their funds while they are locked up. Stakers need to carefully choose which network to stake on, based on factors such as reward rate, inflation rate, lock-up period and slashing risk.
Trading, market making and staking are three different ways of engaging with the crypto market that can offer more benefits than an ETF. However, they also come with more challenges and risks that require careful consideration and preparation. Ultimately, each investor needs to decide which option suits their goals, preferences and risk appetite best.
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Key Takeaways
- WiFi slows most on 2.4 GHz during 8-10 AM and 6-10 PM as nearby networks compete.
- Bluetooth devices and microwaves can disrupt 2.4 GHz; 5 GHz or 6 GHz may improve speeds.
- WiFi 6E and WiFi 7 users can reduce congestion by switching channels and moving routers centrally.
Your WiFi can feel rock-solid at midnight and oddly sluggish by breakfast, even when you have not touched a single setting. The culprit is often outside your walls: a crowded slice of public radio spectrum where your router has to negotiate space with every nearby network, plus a grab bag of household gadgets that leak interference. Add peak-hours demand and the signal-blocking quirks of building materials and weather, and “slow internet” starts to look less like a billing issue and more like an invisible traffic problem you are forced to share.
When WiFi slows down without warning
One day your home WiFi feels snappy, the next it drags, even though your router hasn’t moved and your internet plan hasn’t changed. That swing is real, and it’s usually not your imagination or a “bad day” from your ISP. WiFi lives on shared airwaves, and those airwaves get crowded, noisy, and sometimes just plain finicky.
Think of your connection as a conversation in a busy room. Your laptop and router may be talking just fine, but the room itself can fill up fast with other chatter. What looks like a mystery slowdown is often the result of invisible competition and interference that changes hour by hour.
The battle of competing networks
Most homes still rely heavily on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi bands, which are unlicensed spectrum in the US. That “free for everyone” reality is convenient, but it also means your network shares space with your neighbors, their smart TVs, their work laptops, and every nearby router doing the same thing.
Congestion has a rhythm. During common work-from-home and school-from-home windows, especially 8-10 AM, and again in the evening 6-10 PM, more devices are streaming, video calling, syncing, and downloading updates. Even if you pay for fast broadband, your WiFi link can become the bottleneck when the local radio environment gets packed.
Interference inside your home
Your own house can sabotage you. A microwave is the classic culprit because it can leak noise near 2.4 GHz, exactly where many WiFi networks still operate. Older cordless phones, some baby monitors, and even dense clusters of Bluetooth gadgets can add more clutter, especially in smaller apartments where everything sits close together.
Then there’s physics. Concrete, metal, and even water (think aquariums or thick pipes in walls) absorb and scatter radio signals. A router shoved behind a TV, tucked into a cabinet, or stuck in a far corner forces your devices to “hear” through more obstacles, lowering speeds and making dropouts more likely.
Weather, channels, and what you can do tonight
Environmental changes can matter too. Higher humidity and rain can slightly increase signal loss, and shifting temperatures can change how radio waves propagate around a neighborhood. You might never notice on its own, but paired with congestion it can tip a marginal connection into a frustrating one.
The 2.4 GHz band is also channel-limited. In the US there are 11 channels, but only 1, 6, and 11 don’t overlap. Many routers default to “auto channel,” so nearby networks can hop around trying to escape interference, sometimes creating instability. Practical fixes: prefer 5 GHz (or 6 GHz if you have WiFi 6E/7 gear), place the router centrally and higher up, and use a WiFi analyzer app to pick a less crowded channel instead of leaving it on auto.
Crypto
U.K.’s sanctions on cryptocurrency exchanges signal new focus on illicit digital financing – Compliance Week
Key Takeaways
- Lookonchain data shows the trader paid roughly 140 times LIT’s market price of $2.46 per token.
- Lighter burned 15.5M LIT, 6.3% of supply, on July 2 as its permanent buyback-and-burn program began.
- A whale lost $8.2M in Lighter’s thin ARC market in February, a caution for traders chasing the rally.
Paying 140 Times the Market Price
The transaction was flagged yesterday and the math behind it was brutal. At $2.01 million for 5,776 tokens, the trader paid an effective price of roughly $348 per LIT, about 140 times the token’s market price of $2.46 at the time of the trade. Had the same 1,126.44 ETH, implying an ether price near $1,784, been routed through a deep venue at market rates, it would have bought roughly 817,000 LIT. The wallet received 5,776.
Losses of this scale typically occur when a large market order is routed through an onchain liquidity pool with minimal depth and no slippage protection. Slippage refers to the gap between a trade’s expected price and its executed price; most decentralized exchange ( DEX) interfaces let users cap it, automatically canceling any order that would move the market beyond a set percentage. Whether the trader disabled that protection or used a custom route remains unclear.
The setup was especially dangerous because LIT’s float is unusually tight, given roughly 57% of the circulating supply is staked and another 145 million LIT sits locked in liquidity programs (while the token’s deepest markets sit on centralized exchanges and on Lighter’s own platform rather than in public pools).
In those conditions, a $2 million market order can exhaust a pool’s inventory within a single block, with arbitrage and maximal extractable value (MEV) bots capturing the difference almost instantly.
Why LIT Is Red-Hot
Lighter is an Ethereum-based decentralized exchange focused on perpetual futures, the derivatives category that turned rival Hyperliquid into one of crypto’s defining stories. The project describes itself as “the first exchange to offer verifiable order matching and liquidations while delivering best-in-class performance on par with traditional exchanges.”
LIT traded near $2.60 at the time of writing, up 22.5% in 24 hours and 53.3% on the week, making it the second most-searched coin on Coingecko. The token commands a $675 million market capitalization on 250 million circulating tokens, with $533.6 million in total value locked (TVL) on the platform and $116.76 million in daily trading volume.
Even after the rally, LIT sits 65.7% below its all-time high of $7.86 set Dec. 30, 2025 and roughly 245% above the $0.78 low it printed on March 31.
The surge follows a July 1 tokenomics overhaul in which Lighter said all LIT repurchased with protocol fees will be permanently burned. The first burn destroyed 15.5 million LIT, about 6.3% of the circulating supply, on July 2, and the team set a 6% staking yield target, with the platform directing more than 70% of its daily revenue to the buybacks.
Retail access is widening at the same time. Robinhood Wallet integrated Lighter’s perpetual futures last week, a catalyst that pushed LIT up 24% in a single day, while public praise from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin added further momentum.
Thin Markets Keep Claiming Victims
Sunday’s botched swap is not the first fortune lost on Lighter’s order books this year. In February, a whale lost $8.2 million attempting to squeeze the platform’s illiquid ARC perpetuals market, with about $2 million of the position liquidated directly on the order book.
Skeptics also note that only a quarter of LIT’s 1 billion total supply is in circulation, leaving a $2.7 billion fully diluted valuation and a long unlock runway once emissions resume. Whether the trader recovers anything is doubtful. MEV operators have occasionally returned funds captured in extreme slippage events, but such refunds are voluntary and rare.
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