The Russian crypto market is entering a new era of regulation. The State Duma has prepared a bill that introduces a mandatory 48-hour delay for large cryptocurrency transfers. If a legitimate service processes a suspicious transaction without this pause and funds end up with scammers, it is obliged to compensate the client for the stolen assets out of its own pocket. This is a tough measure that shifts responsibility for security from the user to the infrastructure.
New Rules of the Game
At the same time, importers have been allowed to use any cryptocurrencies and foreign exchanges—a clear step to bypass sanctions restrictions. The purchase of traditional securities with cryptocurrency is also being legalized. This creates a hybrid model: on one hand, tighter control over retail operations, and on the other, liberalization for businesses and institutional players.
Coinbase: AI as the Main Developer
Coinbase has shifted 95% of software code creation to artificial intelligence. Each engineer now has up to 10 AI assistants, collectively performing the workload of 1,200 full-time employees. The hype around social Web3 services is over: the tech sector is moving toward a pragmatic model where neural networks replace developers, and the focus shifts to what truly generates profit—stablecoins and tokenization of real-world assets.
Manipulation on Polymarket
Systematic manipulation has been uncovered on the decentralized prediction platform Polymarket. Ten seconds before the end of a five-minute contract on the Bitcoin price, a manipulator injects massive capital into the spot market, temporarily distorting the price and profiting from it. Decentralized prediction markets remain vulnerable to the brute force of capital, and the multimillion-dollar profits of attackers are effectively paid for by retail investors through their direct losses.
AI Race: A Threat to the Economy
A former OpenAI researcher proposed a scenario for salvation from AI: an agreement to freeze the race until 2040 and place data centers in competitors' vulnerable territories. Society has recognized the real threat to jobs: a forecast of employment dropping to 12% means a collapse of the traditional economy long before states implement a "computing power tax."
Asia: Regulatory Contrasts
Geography determines the legal status of crypto users. In Japan, the crypto market is coming under strict investment legislation—a path toward full assimilation and legal security. In China, however, using mixers or privacy coins is proposed to be considered sufficient evidence of intent in money laundering, with the defense having to prove otherwise.
OSINT: Anonymity Under Threat
OSINT specialists link wallet addresses to real people's names in four stages. To fully expose their identity, a user only needs to make one mistake. Well-known detectives lack specialized education and conduct their high-profile investigations from ordinary laptops using free tools.
Cryptalist Expert Opinion: The Russian initiative with a 48-hour freeze is a double-edged sword. It protects against fraud but simultaneously sets a precedent for total control over liquidity. Combined with the permission for importers to use foreign exchanges, we see the formation of a two-tier market: freedom for businesses, oversight for retail. This could accelerate the outflow of private investors toward decentralized instruments.