Viral UAE Bitcoin scare unravels

November 14, 2025

 

Reading time: 5 minutes

What a viral post got wrong about the UAE’s Bitcoin rules

Key points:

  • A misleading viral post caused panic by claiming the UAE banned Bitcoin, but legal reviews show the law does not restrict personal BTC ownership.

  • The new Central Bank framework targets unlicensed crypto service providers, not individual users or self-custody tools used privately.

News - A misleading viral post sparked widespread alarm today after claiming that the United Arab Emirates had effectively banned Bitcoin.

The confusion grew quickly across X and LinkedIn, but a closer reading of the new Central Bank law shows that the post misinterpreted its scope. While the regulation introduces tougher licensing requirements for companies offering crypto services, it does not prohibit individuals from buying, holding, or using Bitcoin.

The uproar began when trading protocol co-founder Mikko Ohtamaa alleged that the UAE criminalized self-custody wallets, blockchain explorers, and market data tools. He suggested that only Bitcoin approved by the Central Bank would be legal to own.

The post rapidly circulated among residents and professionals in Dubai, prompting concern across the broader crypto community.

Industry voices pushed back with detailed explanations. Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025, which took effect on September 16, focuses on unlicensed financial activities.

Articles 60, 62, and 170 introduce strict penalties for companies offering payments, exchange, custody, or remittance services without authorization. Technology providers that support these activities also fall within the licensing perimeter. However, the law does not restrict individuals from using personal wallets, running nodes, or browsing blockchain explorers.

What the law actually covers - The updated framework expands oversight of virtual asset financial services and requires businesses to obtain a Central Bank license if their tools support regulated financial activity. These rules apply throughout the UAE, including free zones such as DIFC and ADGM.

Why the ban rumor spread - The law’s broad references to “facilitation” and its wide penalty range fueled speculation that basic crypto tools might be outlawed. However, legal reviews and community responses consistently stress that the regulation targets unlicensed providers rather than personal Bitcoin use.

XRP ETF sets 2025 record as 149M tokens leave exchanges

Key points:

  • Over 149 million XRP worth about $336 million moved off centralized exchanges in 24 hours, tightening available liquidity as large holders shift to self-custody.

  • Canary Capital’s spot XRP ETF logged roughly $58 million in first-day volume and about a quarter billion dollars in inflows, even as XRP trades around $2.25 to $2.30 after an 8 to 9% daily drop.

News - XRP traders are watching a sharp supply squeeze collide with record institutional interest. On-chain data shows more than 149 million XRP, valued at roughly $336 million, leaving centralized exchanges within a single day.

Exchange balances have seen one of their steepest recent declines, signaling that many holders are opting for private wallets rather than keeping funds on trading platforms. The move has reduced available liquidity, yet XRP is still changing hands in the mid two-dollar range, around $2.25 to $2.30, after falling about 8 to 9% in a day.

At the same time, the new Canary Capital spot XRP ETF has delivered the strongest first-day performance of any exchange traded fund launched in 2025.

The XRPC product opened with about $58 million in trading volume and attracted roughly $245 to $250 million in first-day inflows, helped by an in-kind creation model that lets participants swap ETF shares for XRP directly. Smart money traders tracked by Nansen added around $44 million in net long XRP positions following the debut.

ETF flows rotate from Bitcoin and Ethereum into XRP - The surge into XRPC arrived on a day when spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs shed more than $1 billion in assets. Bitcoin funds recorded about $866 to $867 million in outflows, while Ethereum products lost roughly $260 million.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust alone saw more than a quarter billion leave. Analysts view this backdrop, combined with XRP’s ETF inflows and smart money longs, as evidence of capital rotating within crypto rather than a simple collapse in risk appetite.

What shrinking XRP supply means for traders - Analysts and on-chain observers describe the falling exchange balances as a sign of accumulation rather than a rush for the exits. Several charts highlight whales moving coins off exchanges, slower large-wallet deposits to trading platforms, and a steady shift into long-term storage.

On higher time frames, indicators such as the three-day RSI and two-year moving average bands point to a neutral to mildly constructive setup, with XRP trading above its long-term base but well below overheated levels.

For now, the market structure looks like a reset phase, not a blow-off top, although experts caution that supply outflows alone do not guarantee an immediate rally.

Chrome’s No. 4 Ethereum wallet is a seed phrase trap

Key points:

  • Security researchers uncovered a malicious Chrome extension called Safery: Ethereum Wallet, which ranks near the top for “Ethereum wallet” searches and secretly encodes user seed phrases into Sui microtransactions to steal funds.

  • Experts warn that browser-based wallets are becoming a prime attack vector and urge users never to type seed phrases into extensions, to verify official links, and to move funds if they suspect a compromised wallet.

News - Ethereum users are facing a new kind of wallet scam hiding in plain sight on the Chrome Web Store.

Blockchain security firm Socket flagged a high-ranking extension called Safery: Ethereum Wallet that presents itself as a simple and secure way to manage Ethereum assets but is engineered to steal seed phrases through a hidden backdoor.

Similar alerts from other researchers describe malicious wallet extensions that mimic legitimate tools, quietly intercept recovery phrases, and drain funds once users import or create wallets.

In earlier cases, attackers injected scripts into the wallet interface to capture every seed phrase as it was typed, then swept assets to their own addresses before the threat was removed from the store. The Safery incident goes further by combining polished Web Store listings with a technically refined on chain exfiltration method.

How the Chrome wallet scam steals seed phrases - Socket’s analysis shows that when a user creates or imports a wallet, Safery: Ethereum Wallet encodes the BIP 39 mnemonic into synthetic Sui style addresses and sends tiny Sui transactions of 0.000001 SUI to those recipients from an attacker controlled wallet.

On the surface, the wallet behaves normally and the microtransactions look harmless, but by decoding the destination addresses the scammers can reconstruct the full seed phrase and drain affected Ethereum and other assets at any time.

The extension currently appears as the fourth search result for “Ethereum Wallet” in the Chrome Web Store, just behind well-known brands. Yet it has no reviews, minimal branding, grammatical errors, no official site, and only a Gmail contact for the listed developer, all of which are red flags for a malicious product.

Why browser wallets and scam calls are rising threats - Researchers say this incident is part of a broader wave of hybrid attacks that mix Web2 deception with Web3 specific payloads. Other malicious Chrome wallets have used deeply encoded Sui transactions, hidden JavaScript and cross-chain tricks to siphon funds while screens appear normal.

At the same time, Australian police recently warned of scammers who misuse an official cybercrime reporting system, impersonate officers, and try to pressure victims into sending crypto to attacker controlled wallets.

Across both patterns, experts repeat the same rule set. Never type a seed phrase into a browser extension, even to restore a wallet. Only install wallets from verified official links, prefer hardware or dedicated apps for recovery, and regularly review wallet activity for unexpected microtransactions or unfamiliar approvals.

Anyone who has used a suspicious extension is advised to migrate funds to a new, uncompromised wallet as quickly as possible.

Alibaba and JPMorgan fast track tokenized B2B payments

Key points:

  • Alibaba.com is building a tokenized payment network with JPMorgan that will use bank backed digital USD and EUR to shorten cross border B2B settlement times that currently take 48 to 72 hours.

  • The system uses a stablecoin-like deposit token model and will roll out alongside AI tools such as Agentic Pay and AI Mode, as Alibaba leans on tokenization and artificial intelligence to modernize its global trade platform.

News - Alibaba’s global B2B marketplace is preparing a major overhaul of how money moves between buyers and suppliers. Company president Kuo Zhang told CNBC that Alibaba.com is working with JPMorgan’s tokenization unit to launch a payment network based on tokenized dollars and euros by December. 

The tokens function like a stablecoin style layer on top of commercial bank deposits, letting funds move on blockchain rails while remaining backed by real balances at partner banks. The goal is to solve long standing problems in cross border trade, where payments can sit in limbo for 48 to 72 hours as they pass through multiple banks and currencies.

If Alibaba hits its timeline, analysts say the network could become one of the largest real world tests of tokenized money in global commerce, eventually processing billions in annual settlement volume.

How Alibaba’s tokenized rail and AI stack work together - Zhang explained that Alibaba is experimenting with tokenized USD and EUR for settlement, with room to support more currencies after launch. 

The new rail, branded Agentic Pay, uses artificial intelligence to turn chat histories between buyers and suppliers into draft contracts and then tie those agreements directly into payment flows. 

Another feature, AI Mode, is being tested as a subscription tool that helps buyers compare suppliers on pricing, capacity, shipping and reliability, with indicative pricing around $20 per month or $99 per year.

Deposit tokens instead of traditional stablecoins - The model under consideration is a bank backed deposit token rather than a privately issued stablecoin, a structure that fits more easily within regulatory expectations as Beijing tightens its stance on stablecoins. 

Reports note that Chinese tech giants including Ant Group and JD.com have put Hong Kong stablecoin plans on hold after feedback from mainland authorities. Against that backdrop, Alibaba is looking at tokenized deposits as a way to gain the benefits of stablecoin-like settlement speed while keeping the liabilities inside the traditional banking system.

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Crypto scams uncovered

  • MIT-trained duo’s crypto heist case ends in mistrial - A federal jury in Manhattan declared a mistrial for James Peraire‑Bueno and Anton Peraire‑Bueno, two MIT-educated brothers accused of exploiting a 12-second Ethereum transaction to steal about $25 million in April 2023; jurors reported emotional strain and sleepless nights during deliberations.

  • Fake “Coinbase” ring busted in India - India’s financial crime agency recently seized roughly ₹21.71 crore ($2.6 million) in assets tied to scammers who built convincing clone websites of Coinbase to trick investors. The takedown marks a major push against crypto phishing networks targeting the country’s growing retail market.

  • US forms a global strike force to fight $10 billion “pig‐butchering” scams - On November 12, 2025, the United States Department of Justice announced the creation of the Scam Center Strike Force, targeting Southeast Asian crypto fraud networks that defrauded Americans of at least $10 billion in 2024.

Top 3 coins of the day

Zcash (ZEC)

Key points:

  • ZEC traded near $530, extending its broader uptrend while keeping a wide lead above every layer of its MA ribbon.

  • The EWO stayed in positive territory, with the latest green bars appearing slightly shorter than last week’s peak.

What you should know:

Zcash held steady above its short-term moving averages after recovering from a brief dip to the upper $480s earlier this week. The MA ribbon remained fully stretched out beneath price, showing that trend strength stayed intact even as momentum cooled slightly on the EWO. The indicator continued to print green bars, although the most recent ones were smaller than the cluster seen earlier in November. Volume stayed healthier than the levels seen through September and early October, which helped reinforce the current structure. A key non-technical driver came from renewed attention on the privacy sector. Institutional interest increased following Cypherpunk Technologies’ decision to acquire a large ZEC allocation, while broader discussions around privacy-focused networks helped keep sentiment constructive. Traders are watching whether ZEC can build toward the $600 area, with the 20 SMA region serving as the closest support zone to monitor.

Starknet (STRK)

Key points:

  • At the time of writing, STRK was trading near $0.13 after slipping 6% in the last 24 hours, cooling off from its recent November highs.

  • The Parabolic SAR stayed below the candles throughout November while the RSI hovered around 53, showing steady but moderate momentum.

What you should know:

STRK moved lower today after failing to reclaim the $0.16 region, but the broader November structure remained intact. The Parabolic SAR stayed in a bullish position since the start of the month, and RSI held above the midpoint, showing that momentum softened without turning bearish. Volume also eased compared to the strong early November inflows that lifted the token from its late October lows. External activity around the network may have supported STRK’s earlier upside, including continued interest in Starknet’s BTCFi yield program that allocated 100 million STRK to users bridging Bitcoin. Fee reductions and throughput improvements from the recent Stwo prover upgrade likely contributed to stronger participation during the early-month rally. Going forward, traders may watch the $0.16 level as resistance while the $0.12 zone remains an important support area.

Sui (SUI)

Key points:

  • SUI was last seen trading near $1.76 after extending its multi-week decline, with sellers keeping control throughout the session.

  • The 9-day SMA continued to slope downward while the RSI sat around 28, signaling persistent bearish momentum.

What you should know:

SUI slid further today as part of a broader downtrend that began in early October. Price stayed below the 9-day SMA for most of November, and every rebound attempt failed to break above this short-term barrier. RSI also fell into oversold territory, showing how sustained the selling pressure had been. Volume remained heavier on red days, reinforcing the broader shift toward risk aversion. Market sentiment may have been affected by the latest liquidation wave sparked by Bitcoin’s move below 98K, which pressured altcoins across the board. Security concerns around a malicious Chrome extension tied to Sui transactions also weighed on confidence during the recent downturn. Traders may now monitor the $1.70 region as immediate support while resistance sits near $1.90 if relief buying attempts to develop.

Wall Street Isn’t Warning You, But This Chart Might

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