North Korea’s latest crypto hack reveals Web3’s security weakness: pro
Oak Security’s Jan Philipp Fritsche says Web3 needs to stop ignoring basic OPSEC hygiene, especially as state-sponsored threats rise.
As North Korea’s “ClickFake” campaign draws renewed attention to cyberattacks on crypto firms, security experts say Web3’s biggest vulnerability isn’t smart contracts — it’s people.
Jan Philipp Fritsche, Managing Director at Oak Security, argued in a note to crypto.news that most blockchain projects lack even the most basic operational security standards .
Fritsche, a former European Central Bank analyst who now advises and audits protocols says the real risk lies in how teams manage devices, permissions, and production access.
“The ClickFake campaign shows just how easily teams can be compromised,” Fritsche said in a note. “Web3 projects have to assume that most of your employees are exposed to cyber threats outside their work environment.”
For background, North Korea’s Lazarus Group is using a cyber campaign called “ClickFake Interview” targeting cryptocurrency professionals. The group posed as recruiters on LinkedIn and X, luring victims into fake interviews to distribute malware.
The malware, named “ClickFix,” gave attackers remote access to steal sensitive data like crypto wallet credentials. Researchers said Lazarus used realistic documents and full interview conversations to enhance credibility.
Most DAOs and early-stage teams still rely on personal devices — often used for both development and Discord chatting — which leaves them exposed to nation-state level attackers. Unlike traditional enterprises, many DAOs have no way to enforce security standards.
“There’s no way to enforce security hygiene,” Fritsche said. “Too many teams, especially smaller ones, ignore this and hope for the best.”
Fritsche says even the assumption that a device is clean may be flawed. For high-value projects, that means developers should never have the ability to push changes to production unilaterally.
“Company-issued devices with limited privileges are a good start,” Fritsche said. “But you also need fail-safes—no single user should have that kind of control.”
The lesson from traditional finance? Every risk is assumed to be real until proven otherwise.
“In TradFi, you need a keycard just to check your inbox,” Fritsche said. “That standard exists for a reason. Web3 needs to catch up.”
Circle Halts Its IPO In The Midst Of A Crypto Storm
As the waves of economic uncertainty overwhelm the markets, the world of crypto holds its breath. Circle, a giant in the stablecoin space, sways between ambition and caution. Its IPO project, although firmly grounded, could sink into the murky waters of Trumpian policies. A decision that speaks volumes about the storms to come.
With a revenue of $1.67 billion in 2024 (+16% year-on-year), Circle boasts an audacious health. Its market capitalization has surpassed $60 billion .
However, behind these figures lies a paradox: the company, issuer of the USDC, hesitates to cross the stock market Rubicon.
Registered with the SEC on April 1, it now skids, waiting for signals from a market in decay. The announcement of Trump’s radical tariffs , on April 2, evaporated $2 trillion in valuation within 24 hours. A tsunami for investors.
The VIX index, a gauge of fear , soars to 41 – a level synonymous with panic. Traditional assets tremble, cryptos oscillate between refuge and risk.
In this climate, Circle prefers to play the waiting game . Like Klarna and StubHub, who are also postponing their IPOs, the company fears its market entry might turn into a shipwreck. The promising symbol “CRCL” remains in limbo. No price or share volume has yet been set: a strategic blur, or an admission of vulnerability?
“We fear a recession”, alerts the founder of ARK Invest . Her diagnosis, shared by many players, resonates like a death knell.
The speed of money circulation is slowing, foreign counter-tariffs threaten, and the USDC, although pegged to the dollar, is not immune to the turmoil. Circle, in wanting to anchor itself in traditional finance, discovers the limits of this hybridization.
Stablecoins, designed to stabilize, are now shaken by political tremors. Trumpian tariffs are not just a trade war: they redefine the rules of the economic game.
In reaction, investors flee to gold, government bonds… and paradoxically, to certain cryptos. The USDC, backed by liquid reserves, embodies this dual movement: both a victim and a beneficiary of distrust.
The postponement of Circle’s IPO is not an isolated incident, but a symptom. It reveals a structural distrust towards public markets, perceived as too volatile arenas.
However, crypto has long dreamed of stock market legitimacy. Today, it hesitates: should it conquer traditional finance or cultivate its disruptive marginality? The recent drops in Bitcoin, followed by its rebounds, show that the answer is not clear-cut.
If Circle takes the plunge despite the risks, its IPO could become a symbol of resilience. Conversely, a prolonged delay would signify the lasting grip of macroeconomic uncertainties on crypto.
Between the two, a third path emerges: that of silent adaptation. Decentralized protocols, less dependent on political moods, are gaining ground. What if the real revolution was not in stock prices, but in the escape from regulatory radars ?
Ethereum in Free Fall: How Long Will the Spiral Last?
For several months, Ethereum seems to have found itself in a downward spiral, with obvious signs of discouragement among its holders. The continuous devaluation of the price of ETH raises questions: is this relentless decline a reflection of a temporary crisis or a dark tunnel that seems never-ending? A reality of “loss” that appears today to be unavoidable, but could it hide, behind its darkness, a light, a reward at the end of the journey?
Ethereum is going through a period of turbulence , marked by four consecutive months of losses, as noted by some observers, including Jeet Shah:
It’s painful to be an Ethereum holder. But in the end, we will be rewarded!
This painful reality is reflected on the CryptoQuant platform , which attributes this long series of declines to a declining network activity. The number of active addresses continues to decrease, and transaction fees have dropped to historically low levels, exacerbating ETH inflation.
These combined factors have not only affected market perception but have also led to an inflation of the altcoin, destroying the balance between supply and demand.
The situation worsens with the reduction in the ETH “burn” rate, an initiative aimed at removing some of the circulating currency. However, after the Dencun update, low transaction fees have led to a decrease in burning, thus reintroducing inflation into the Ethereum ecosystem.
This seems to mark a turning point: while Ethereum seeks to stabilize its value, these inflationary pressures continue to play a key role in its decline.
The price of Ethereum , currently trading around $1,790, has lost more than 60% of its value compared to its all-time high. This prolonged drop could lead to a broader reflection on the resilience of the Ethereum ecosystem.
Despite the difficulties, analysts, like EgyHash from CryptoQuant, believe that a rebound in network activity, particularly with an increase in active addresses and a rise in transaction fees, could trigger a virtuous cycle.
This scenario, however, remains uncertain and depends on a restoration of market confidence.
Thus, although the coming months promise to be challenging, some firmly believe that the future of Ethereum could improve. It’s not a matter of “if”, but of “when”.
Investors hope for a turnaround where rewards will finally materialize after this dark tunnel.
As the shadow of inflation continues to loom over Ethereum, the launch of Pectra on May 7, 2025 could mark a crucial turning point for the ecosystem. This new event could bring a breath of fresh air, reinvigorating the ETH cryptocurrency. A wind of optimism may finally blow after this tunnel crossing.
Job Cuts Signal Bull Market—Here Are 4 Must-Buy Crypto Tokens
The crypto market was recently impacted by the highest number of layoffs seen since the Great Recession. A Challenger report confirmed that 275,240 job cuts took place in March alone, making it the most brutal month since May 2020. Total layoffs for Q1 2025 have hit a jarring 497,052.
Challenger Reported 275,240 announced job cuts in March, the second most on record, going back to the introduction of the survey in 1999. So the only month with more announced job cuts than last month was April 2020, when we shut the entire economy down due to the COVID pandemic!
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) April 3, 2025
As economic uncertainty rattles mainstream investments, the crypto sector is quietly building momentum. Risk appetite tends to increase when the conventional markets shrink, and cryptocurrencies, despite their volatility, often turn into a refuge for such speculative energy. Bitcoin, Ripple, Solana, and Chainlink are surfacing as the key tokens drawing attention as the market gears up for what many believe could be a major surge.
Bitcoin still dominates conversations in every corner of the digital finance space. After doubling its price in 2024, projections are now circling around a potential climb to $200,000 by the end of 2025 . Though the current market is seeing some consolidation, it is this kind of downtime that usually sets the stage for explosive rallies.
BTC’s current lower trading levels might look dull on the surface, but long-term holders see it as a golden opportunity. With institutional interest still strong and crypto adoption rising, Bitcoin remains the anchor many portfolios lean on.
Even as fear clouds the broader financial space, Bitcoin’s fundamentals continue to drive conviction. Its resilience alone keeps it positioned as the most likely trigger for the next bullish wave.
Solana has defied expectations. The wider market sentiment may be negative, but Solana’s ecosystem remains bustling with activity. The most recent catalyst? Fidelity, the largest asset manager among its peers, has filed for a spot in Solana ETF , joining companies like VanEck, Bitwise, and Grayscale.
This isn’t just another altcoin buzz. Fidelity’s move stands out because Solana is the only alternative cryptocurrency the firm is chasing an ETF for. Notably, FBTC—Fidelity’s spot Bitcoin ETF—already commands nearly $17 billion in assets under management.
Speculators are clearly paying attention. Polymarket bettors give an 82% chance of a Solana ETF getting approved in the U.S. in 2025. That kind of anticipation doesn’t just sit quietly—it drives interest, price speculation, and potentially large gains if it materializes.
Ripple’s long battle with the SEC has often clouded its growth story. However, recent developments are beginning to clear the air, and optimism around XRP is picking up speed. The odds of an XRP ETF are now rising steadily, adding more fuel to the token’s bullish case.
“Ripple comes with much baggage due to legal issues; the new updates on the Ripple vs. SEC case and rising adoption make it a perfect crypto token to buy.”
Another interesting factor backing Ripple’s momentum is speculation around the U.S. government potentially holding XRP in reserves. While not officially confirmed, even the rumor mill is enough to keep the attention swirling around Ripple’s future.
Chainlink isn’t loud in headlines, but it’s doing the groundwork that often pays off. A bullish price pattern is forming around LINK, with analysts forecasting a 35-45% rise even before any major crypto market rally sets in.
The growing list of partnerships and advancements in its blockchain solutions puts Chainlink in a stronger position than it was last year. As macroeconomic pressure slowly begins to shift and investors seek out altcoins with real use cases, LINK might find itself in the right place at the right time.
With the market still leaning bearish for now, the buildup feels like the quiet before the storm. A potential rebound would likely see LINK riding high alongside the biggest players.
While job losses can paint a grim economic picture, they also shift the way money moves. As people and institutions look for higher returns and safe escapes from traditional downturns, cryptocurrencies find a path back into the spotlight.
With Bitcoin poised to rally, Solana riding ETF momentum, Ripple gaining legal clarity, and Chainlink stacking demand, the pieces for a crypto rebound are falling into place. The wave may not have arrived just yet, but the signals are flashing early—and they’re hard to ignore.
FSP by Flare: The Backbone of Cross-Chain Innovation
In the middle of rapid innovation in the blockchain world, Flare takes an unusual approach. One protocol that is rarely discussed but actually plays a central role in the architecture of this network is the Flare System Protocol (FSP).
The name may sound technical, but the function of this protocol is actually very basic: to be a bridge between networks in a way that is not inconvenient for users. Just imagine you can send messages to friends in different applications, but still from one application—well, that’s more or less how FSP works for digital assets.
One of the lesser-discussed yet uniquely designed protocols at Flare is the Flare System Protocol (FSP) ☀️
FSP not only coordinates Flare’s enshrined protocols but can also support Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), the cornerstone infrastructure piece for the Protocol… pic.twitter.com/RGtUz30UTp
— Flare ☀️ (@FlareNetworks) April 1, 2025
The Flare System Protocol works using something called Protocol Managed Wallets (PMWs). This is not a regular wallet like the ones we keep on our phones, but rather a kind of special address on an external network that only acts when ordered by the Flare protocol . So, they can’t move around carelessly.
They only execute transactions after there is confirmation from Flare, similar to an automatic gate that only opens when there is a signal from the center.
On the other hand, these PMWs do not stand alone. It is supported by Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) technology that makes all transaction processes across chains more secure. So, when there is a transaction involving assets from other networks, users don’t have to bother switching platforms. This protocol is what makes everything work behind the scenes.
Flare is also developing two other protocols that utilize FSP: FAssets V2 and staking for XRP. Both are being built on the foundation of PMWs, showing that FSP is not just an idea on paper.
The process of staking XRP , for example, will rely on the protocol’s ability to bridge networks without having to rely on manual or semi-traditional mechanisms.
Flare also released the FAssets V1.1 update in March 2025. This update seeks to improve the protocol’s efficiency and liquidity system. A redesign of the Core Vault, a sort of liquidity control center in Flare’s DeFi ecosystem, forms the core of this update.
CNF also previously reported that the Core Vault allows agents to manage liquidity efficiently, with strict withdrawal limits and strict escrow protection.
Every day, this vault runs operations that help maintain network stability. So even though all you see are numbers on the interface, there is actually a sophisticated system that continues to work behind the scenes.
However, not all innovations have to be technical. Flare apparently also thinks about the convenience of ordinary users. On March 27, 2025, they announced a partnership with Turnkey. This move is to make the crypto wallet experience smoother.
Instead of having to think about long and confusing seed phrases or private keys, developers can build integrated wallets that are more user-friendly.
The presence of this easy-to-use wallet is not only attractive to new users, but also opens the door to cross-chain DeFi and NFT applications that can be accessed from one point. Imagine a future where you can effortlessly stake, swap, and send assets to multiple networks simultaneously.
Meanwhile, as of press time, FLR is swapped hands at about $0.01325, up 2.68% over the last 24 hours but still in sideways over the last 7 days.
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