Ari Paul vs. Coinbase: Is the “Trust Us” Era Ending?

— Ari Paul of BlockTower Capital alleges Coinbase lost $25 million of his firm's funds and concealed more than $1 billion in hack losses; Coinbase denies material breaches, though the exchange did not deny the $25 million claim, leaving uncertainty about what actually occurred.

— Illinois Department of Revenue drafted a 0.2% digital asset transaction tax, expected to raise $60 million, applying to Bitcoin buys, sells, and transfers to self-custody; the tax is delayed until July 1, 2026.

— BTC Now launched a buy-now-pay-later Bitcoin product allowing purchases with up to 60 monthly installments; the model exposes buyers to uncertain personal financial conditions and keeps Bitcoin in third-party custody until full payment.

— BitBuy suffered an alleged security breach with super-admin and customer support portal access reportedly listed for sale on cybercrime forums, exposing user IDs, email addresses, account activity, and risk scores.

— Argentina introduced a citizenship-by-investment program requiring either a $350,000 non-refundable treasury donation or $800,000 zero-interest government bond with a seven-year term.

— Do not hold Bitcoin on custodial exchanges for extended periods; use non-custodial services like Bull Bitcoin or take immediate self-custody to eliminate counterparty risk, especially given ongoing allegations of institutional mishandling and potential insolvency.

— Avoid buy-now-pay-later Bitcoin schemes; they expose you to margin-call-like risks if personal financial circumstances change (job loss, injury, divorce) and tie up your Bitcoin in third-party custody while you service debt under unpredictable conditions.

— Verify receive addresses on your own hardware wallet whenever possible rather than trusting software-only wallets or public nodes alone; this adds a material security layer against address-substitution attacks.