Cops on the Payroll
South Korean officers accused of protecting a $186 million crypto laundering ring tied to voice phishing.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Whether you spent the day with family, friends, or peacefully alone, I hope it was restorative. Let’s get into the Friday news flow.
CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS
Craig Cobb has a Black Friday special running on his course. It is $400 off. It is probably $400 Australian, so do your own USD math. The link is in the notes if you want it: https://www.thegrowmeco.com/course/
I also have my political Substack now. It is at mattdiemer.substack.com.
It is free. I appreciate everyone who has already supported it.SOUTH KOREAN POLICE INVOLVED IN CRYPTO LAUNDERING
South Korean prosecutors indicted a police superintendent and a senior officer for helping launder roughly $186 million in crypto tied to voice phishing scams. These officers allegedly accepted about $66K in cash and luxury items from operators running illegal OTC crypto shops disguised as gift certificate stores. They reportedly leaked case details, attempted to unfreeze accounts, and tapped other police contacts.
The ring converted stolen funds into USDT while pretending to warn customers about fraud. Authorities froze about $1.1 million from an estimated $8.4 million in total proceeds. Officials say this fits a growing global pattern of law enforcement linked corruption, with recent cases emerging in India and Iran.
This is bribery. It is old school corruption updated for digital crime. Officers making modest salaries can be tempted with payouts that double or triple their yearly income. In any massive police force, some percentage will break.
MONAD TOKEN CONTINUES TO SLIDE
The MON token is down roughly 15 percent to about 3 cents. Early holders appear to be locking profits after the jump from the debut price near 2 cents. Derivatives traders are opening new shorts, order books look heavy, and cumulative volume delta continues declining.
This comes right after the spoofing attack where scammers generated fake transfer events mimicking major wallet activity. That confusion still lingers. Despite the price drop, usage remains strong: nearly 150K active users, 4.7 million transactions, and about $700 million in stablecoins bridged in.
Long term, the question is not benchmarks or hype, but whether real workloads settle on the chain and whether developers build actual value.
UPBIT HACK LIKELY TIED TO LAZARUS
South Korean officials now believe the Lazarus Group, North Korea’s cyber unit, likely orchestrated the $36 million hack of Upbit’s Solana hot wallets. Upbit froze the affected wallets, moved funds to cold storage, and committed to full reimbursement. Regulators launched an on-site review.
Security firms tracking over 100 exploiter addresses say the timing, precision, and structure resemble previous Lazarus campaigns. There is not yet conclusive evidence, but the pattern is familiar. Lazarus has been responsible for some of the largest exchange breaches and developer-targeted malware clusters ever recorded.
DEMOCRATS RELEASE NEW REPORT TARGETING PRESIDENT TRUMP OVER CRYPTO
The House Judiciary Committee Democrats published a highly partisan report accusing President Trump and his family of generating more than $800 million in crypto proceeds during the first half of 2025. They claim the family now controls around $11 billion in crypto and equities.
The report alleges foreign interests funneled money through Trump-linked tokens such as WorldFi in exchange for regulatory rollbacks, dropped investigations into major firms, and pardons like CZ’s. Democrats argue the dissolution of the DOJ’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and changes to investigator protections fit a larger pattern.
This will go nowhere in a Republican House. But if Democrats win the House in 2026, this becomes an immediate attack vector. Multiple investigations could ignite at once, and this one has the most potential traction.
KUCOIN SECURES MICA LICENSE IN AUSTRIA
KuCoin has now obtained its MICA license from Austria’s Financial Market Authority, giving it passportable access across 29 EEA countries. Malta is excluded. KuCoin chose Austria due to regulatory clarity and a predictable environment. It joins Bitpanda, Amina Bank, Bybit, CryptoNow and others in the region’s licensed provider list.
Malta remains an outlier, resisting centralized supervision despite previously licensing Gemini and Blockchain.com.
THE 2025 CRYPTO HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
Crypto publications are out with the usual gift lists. At the top, as always, is hardware wallets. Ledger’s Nano Gen 5 and Trezor’s Safe 7 feature better screens, secure elements, wireless capabilities, and early quantum-resistant design frameworks.
Fold’s Bitcoin cards let gift recipients redeem sats directly. You can even gift the “Cold Wallet” crypto thriller on Blu-ray. Strategy and North Face have a quilted vest collab for $135 if you want the corporate Bitcoin chic look.
BitX Gamma offers a hobbyist solo miner for around $100. It pays out rarely, but it is a great way to learn. And if you want to go premium, the Sinister Gates blockchain authenticated guitar is $4,500.
LISTENER STATEMENT
Eric writes: human verification must be open source from the beginning. If we cannot verify, we cannot trust, and the author should probably be anonymous. He wants the Git repo.
He is right. AI deepfakes are improving so fast that visual realism will be indistinguishable. The only real path forward is open source, verifiable identity systems that do not require trust in a corporation or a government.
CRYPTO PRICES (11:21 a.m. ET)
Bitcoin: $92,232 • 24h +1.8 percent
Ethereum: $3,056 • 24h +2.3 percent
XRP: $2.21 • 24h +2.8 percent
BNB: $8.96 • 24h +1 percent
Solana: $1.42 • 24h +1 percent
TRON: $0.28 • 24h +0.8 percent
Dogecoin: $0.152 • 24h 0 percent
Cardano: $0.429 • 24h +0.3 percent
Total Market Cap: $3.15 trillion • Fear and Greed: 20 • RSI: 56
Happy HODLing, Everyone.
References & Affiliates
https://www.thegrowmeco.com/course/
🔍 South Korean Police Officers Indicted in $186 Million Crypto Laundering Case
🛠️ Monad Token Extends Slide After Profit-Taking and Spoofed Transactions
🕵️ Upbit Hack Tied to North Korea’s Lazarus Group as Seoul Opens Probe
🇪🇺 KuCoin Secures MiCA License in Austria While Malta Is Left Out
🎁 Crypto Holiday Gift Guide 2025
Self-Custody Crypto Roth IRA: athenic.xyz
Use Code DCN for $30 off: DCN
Where to Find DCN:
🌐 DailyCryptoNews.net
🐦 twitter.com/DCNDailyCrypto
📈 Trader Cobb on X
🌿 The Grow Me Co
Disclaimer
This content is not financial, legal, or tax advice. It reflects personal opinions for educational and entertainment purposes only.
I am not a financial advisor or expert, and I do not guarantee any specific outcome.
Always do your own research before making any investment or financial decisions.
©Copyright 2025 Matthew Aaron Podcasts LLC