From CZ’s new role in Pakistan’s Crypto Council to the merging of two Immutable’s blockchain, here’s a roundup of the top crypto stories you may have missed.
CZ Joins Pakistan’s Crypto Council as an advisor
Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has joined Pakistan’s newly formed Crypto Council as an advisor, aiming to help shape the country’s digital asset landscape. His guidance will focus on improving Pakistan’s crypto regulations, infrastructure, education and adoption strategies.
Thailand Cracks Down on Foreign P2P Crypto Platforms
Thailand introduced a sweeping legal overhaul to crack down on unregulated foreign crypto platforms, with new amendments enabling authorities to suspend suspicious transactions and penalize unauthorized peer-to-peer (P2P) services. Under the revised rules, violators could face up to three years in prison or a 300,000 baht fine.
The laws, set to take immediate effect upon publication, extend liability beyond crypto firms to include banks, telecoms, and social media platforms if they fail to meet cybercrime prevention standards.
Despite its crackdown, Thailand remains open to regulated crypto innovation. The country is considering launching a blockchain-based securities trading platform, exploring a government bond-backed stablecoin, and testing Bitcoin payments for tourism in Phuket.
Magic Eden Expands Into Crypto Trading
Magic Eden is expanding beyond NFTs by acquiring Slingshot Finance, a mobile-first crypto trading app known for cross-chain swaps and user-friendly design. Magic Eden noted that the move positions it as a full-scale digital asset platform, offering both token and NFT trading across multiple blockchains.
The acquisition will let users trade more than 5 million tokens with features like email login and fiat on-ramps, while Slingshot adds upcoming support for bitcoin-based meme coins.
NFT Sales Plunge In March
NFT sales plummeted in March 2025, with overall market volume dropping by 43% from February, totaling just $419 million. Major blockchains saw significant declines, with Ethereum-based NFT sales falling 58% to $127 million, bitcoin NFTs down 32% to $71 million, and Polygon dropping 41% to $63 million. Solana and Mythos Chain also reported decreases of 10% and nearly 25%, respectively.
Top-selling NFT collections in March 2025:
- Courtyard – $54 million (increased 48%)
- DMarket – $41 million (increased 2.22%)
- CryptoPunks – $19 million (increased 37.91%)
- ?? BRC-20 Collection – $18 million (increased 16%)
- Guild of Guardians Heroes – $17 million (decreased 28.37%)
- Paradise – $15 million (increased 18%)
- Pudgy Penguins – $8 million (decreased 65%)
- Guild of Guardians Avatar – $7.9 million (increase by 5.86%)
- Quantum Cats – $7.7 million (increased 51%)
- Fx-wsteth-position – $6.8 million (increased 55%)
CFPB Expected to Scale Back Its Role in Crypto Regulation
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is expected to reduce its role in cryptocurrency regulation as other federal bodies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, take on a larger regulatory responsibility.
This shift comes amid the Trump administration’s broader efforts to streamline the federal bureaucracy. Despite this pullback, the CFPB will still retain some regulatory duties due to statutory requirements that can only be altered by Congress.
Hong Kong Issues Crypto Staking Rules for Exchanges
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued new guidelines that permit licensed crypto exchanges and funds to offer staking services, as part of its strategy to expand the city’s digital asset sector.
Staking allows crypto holders to earn passive income by participating in proof-of-stake networks, which are vital for blockchain security. The commission emphasized that platforms must maintain full control over client assets and disclose all associated risks, such as hacking or technical errors.
Catizen Token Consumption Surpasses 30 Million
In the first quarter of 2025, Catizen saw a significant increase in token consumption, surpassing 30 million CATI—a 3.5-fold rise from Q4 2024. The platform’s user base has grown to more than 3.3 million, with over 1 million CATI consumed daily.
Catizen also plans to launch more than 200 games in 2025, targeting Asian markets such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, and aims to integrate AI-driven virtual pets for a more immersive experience. Catizen’s vision is to establish itself as a web3 mini-app platform, drawing inspiration from WeChat’s successful ecosystem model.
Kaspersky Flags Crypto-Swiping Malware on SourceForge
Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky flagged a malware campaign that targets cryptocurrency users by replacing trusted wallet addresses with the attacker’s own. This malware, distributed under the guise of Microsoft Office add-ins on SourceForge, installs ClipBanker, which swaps clipboard cryptocurrency addresses. Users typically don’t notice the change, leading to funds being sent to the attacker’s wallet instead.
The malware’s distribution appears concentrated in Russia, but its English-language download page suggests a broader reach.
The exploit relies on redirecting users to a fake download link, which appears to be a legitimate 700MB installer—though only 7MB of it contains the actual malware. Between January and March 2025, about 4,604 Russian users were affected. Kaspersky urges users to avoid downloading software from untrusted sources, as alternative links may carry significant security risks.
Immutable to Merge Chains
Immutable plans to consolidate its two major blockchain technologies—Immutable X and Immutable zkEVM—into a unified chain by late 2025, streamlining its platform for Web3 gaming. Immutable X, the original layer-2 solution for Ethereum, will gradually phase out in favor of zkEVM, which has already processed nearly 150 million transactions. The transition will be seamless for users, with assets automatically migrated and no disruption to existing operations.
This article is published on BitPinas: Crypto News You May Have Missed This Week | April 12, 2025
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