Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here are the latest developments affecting Bitcoin, blockchain, DeFi, Web3, crypto regulation and the wider digital asset market.
Today’s biggest crypto stories include Hunter Biden’s planned LAPTOP memecoin, a tokenized cross-border payment involving Citi and DBS, and a major security incident affecting Bitcoin sidechain Liquid.
Hunter Biden Plans LAPTOP Memecoin With Airdrop for TRUMP Holders
Hunter Biden, the son of former US President Joe Biden, plans to launch a new memecoin called LAPTOP on Wednesday. According to The Wall Street Journal, 20% of the token’s one-billion supply will be allocated to holders of President Donald Trump’s memecoin and other eligible participants.
The token takes its name from Hunter Biden’s laptop, which became the subject of major political controversy before the 2020 US presidential election.
Biden and the project’s co-founders will initially control 30% of the total token supply. However, those tokens will remain locked for six months and will fully vest over a two-year period.
Another 20% of the LAPTOP supply will be allocated to charity and operating expenses.
LAPTOP Token Includes Political Burning Mechanism
The project also features an unusual token-burning system linked to political and cryptocurrency market events.
Up to 30% of the LAPTOP supply could be permanently destroyed if specific conditions occur. These include a Democrat winning the 2028 US presidential election, Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high, or LAPTOP’s fully diluted valuation exceeding that of the TRUMP memecoin.
The launch follows Hunter Biden’s growing interest in blockchain technology and his criticism of the Trump family’s involvement in crypto.
It also adds another major political name to the memecoin market as US lawmakers continue debating how digital assets should be regulated.
Citi and DBS Complete Weekend Tokenized Cross-Border Payment
Singapore-based financial group DBS and US banking giant Citi successfully completed a tokenized cross-border payment between Singapore and the United States on Saturday.
The transaction was completed through the Swift Digital Ledger using tokenized bank deposits.
According to DBS, the technology allowed the banks to process the transaction outside normal banking hours. As a result, the transfer was finalized within minutes.
Traditional cross-border bank transfers can sometimes take as long as two business days.
The test highlights how major financial institutions are exploring blockchain technology to improve international payments while keeping deposits within the traditional banking system.
Major Banks Expand Tokenized Payment Trials
Citi and DBS are not the first major institutions to test this technology.
Standard Chartered and HSBC completed a tokenized cross-border transaction using Swift’s blockchain ledger in August.
In July, Swift said its blockchain-based ledger was ready for initial use. The global financial messaging network also announced plans to test tokenized cross-border payments with 17 major banks.
Participants include Citi, DBS, HSBC, BNP Paribas, UBS, ANZ and Standard Chartered.
These trials show that tokenization is becoming an increasingly important area for traditional banks as they search for faster and more efficient payment infrastructure.
Bitcoin Sidechain Liquid Pauses Operations After $320 Million BTC Withdrawal
Bitcoin sidechain Liquid paused operations after actors described as possible white-hat hackers withdrew approximately $320 million worth of Bitcoin.
On Sunday, Liquid said its bridge nodes had been disabled. This prevented new transactions from being processed.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency exchanges either stopped or prepared to stop deposits and withdrawals involving L-BTC, the Bitcoin-backed asset used on the Liquid Network.
Blockstream, which provides the technology behind Liquid, began contacting the actors through signed onchain messages.
According to subsequent communications, the actors reportedly asked Blockstream to patch the vulnerability and ensure that every node had been updated before they would return most of the Bitcoin.
Galaxy Digital research head Alex Thorn also reported that encrypted technical information about the vulnerability had been sent to Blockstream.
At the time of the report, the withdrawn Bitcoin had not yet been returned.
SideSwap Says Its Systems Were Not Compromised
SideSwap said the withdrawal was processed through its peg-out service as a customer transaction using its Peg-out Authorization Key, or PAK.
However, the company said the key itself had not been compromised.
According to SideSwap, the L-BTC involved in the transaction originated from a vulnerability in Elements, the open-source software that supports the Liquid Network, rather than from a security failure within SideSwap’s own systems.
The withdrawn Bitcoin represented approximately 95% of the affected wallet’s previous balance of around 4,200 BTC.
Liquid said other assets issued on the network were not affected. These include USDT, DePix and various real-world assets.
The Bitcoin sidechain remained paused while federation members worked to address the vulnerability and restore normal operations.
Crypto Market Developments to Watch
Today’s crypto news shows how quickly the digital asset industry continues to evolve.
Political memecoins remain a growing part of the speculative crypto market, while major global banks are increasingly experimenting with blockchain-based payment infrastructure. At the same time, the Liquid incident highlights the security risks that can emerge within blockchain networks and Bitcoin-related infrastructure.
Investors will now be watching for further details about the LAPTOP token launch, additional institutional tokenization trials and updates regarding the recovery of the Bitcoin withdrawn from Liquid.
