Cardano suffers chain split, Solo miner wins $265K block, UK operation seizes $32.6M | Weekly Recap

In this edition of the weekly recap, Cardano experienced an unexpected chain split from a malformed transaction, a miner defied odds to mine a Bitcoin block worth $265,000, and a UK-led initiative targeting Russian sanctions evasion reached 128 arrests.

Cardano chain split triggers user apology

• Cardano (ADA) experienced a price drop following an unexpected divergence caused by a malformed delegation transaction exploiting a software flaw.
• Intersect, Cardano’s governance organization, reported the issue began when newer node versions validated the problematic transaction while older software rejected it.
• The user claiming responsibility for the malformed transaction issued a public apology.

Hobbyist miner claims improbable Bitcoin block

• A solo CK miner operating with just six terahashes per second of computing power successfully mined a Bitcoin (BTC) block Friday, earning 3.146 BTC plus fees totaling nearly $265,000.
• The achievement is an extraordinary statistical anomaly, as typical mining operations measure capacity in exahashes (one quintillion hashes per second)

UK sanctions evasion operation reaches major milestone

• Operation Destabilise, a UK-led initiative targeting Russian sanctions evasion, has achieved 128 arrests and seized $32.6 million in cryptocurrency and cash according to National Crime Agency updates.
• The operation has expanded from 84 arrests and $25.5 million in seizures reported as of December 2024 when first publicized.

Coinbase acquires meme coin trading platform

• The American cryptocurrency exchange announced Friday it has agreed to purchase Vector, a social meme coin trading application focused on community-driven token markets.
• Vector’s technology will integrate into Coinbase’s decentralized exchange trading capabilities.

Kalshi valuation soars to $11 billion

• The U.S. prediction market platform reportedly raised $1 billion in an undisclosed funding round, pushing valuation to approximately $11 billion.
• The round closed weeks after Kalshi secured $300 million at a $5 billion valuation in October.

Metaplanet restructures capital through preferred shares

• The biggest corporate Bitcoin holder in Japan announced changes to its capital structure on Thursday that focused on giving investors “Mars” and “Mercury” preference shares.
• The Bitcoin treasury company plans to use these securities as additional funding sources while maintaining regular dividend payments according to regulatory disclosures.

Leveraged Dogecoin ETF begins trading

• 21Shares launched a two-times leveraged long Dogecoin (DOGE) ETF on Nasdaq Exchange Thursday.
• The 21Shares 2X Long Dogecoin ETF (TXXD) aims to deliver twice DOGE’s daily performance minus fees and expenses for traders.

Samourai Wallet co-founder sentenced to prison

• New York Judge Denise L. Cote sentenced William Lonergan Hill to four years imprisonment Wednesday in the second conviction from a case crypto advocates argue threatens software development freedom.
• The 67-year-old developer also received three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Saudi developer plans tokenized Trump hotel

• Dar Global seeks to finance up to 70% of its Trump-branded Maldives luxury resort through tokenization targeting U.S. retail investors according to Reuters reporting.
• CEO Ziad El Chaar described the blockchain-based tokenization as the primary financing strategy for maximum distribution to token holders.

Kraken completes $800 million funding round

• The American cryptocurrency exchange announced Tuesday it secured capital across two tranches led by Jane Street, DRW Venture Capital, HSG, Oppenheimer Alternative Investment Management, and Tribe Capital.
• Additional backing came from Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi’s family office, providing the exchange substantial resources ahead of planned 2026 public listing.

Revolut integrates Polygon for crypto payments

• The major European fintech firm partnered with Ethereum (ETH) scaling network Polygon (POL) to power cryptocurrency remittances and stablecoin payments through the Revolut application.
• Since initial December integration, the network has facilitated over $690 million in trading volumes via Revolut’s platform.

DappRadar announces platform shutdown

• DappRadar announced Monday via X that it will cease operations due to financial unsustainability.
• Launched in 2018, DappRadar had grown into a prominent analytics hub for on-chain activity covering NFT markets and DeFi flows across dozens of blockchains.
• The team stated that running the platform became financially unviable in current market conditions after exploring all alternative options.

Strategy expands Bitcoin holdings

• The treasury company acquired 8,178 BTC for approximately $835.6 million at roughly $102,171 per Bitcoin, achieving 27.8% BTC yield year-to-date through November 16.
• Total holdings reached 649,870 Bitcoin acquired for approximately $48.37 billion at an average price of $74,433 per coin.