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This is an interesting week. Market signals are mixed, but telling. 🚦 Fed holds, but cuts still expected 🚦 SNB pivots with first G10 rate cut (0.25%) 🚦 S&P futures flash crash ~$600B 🚦 Consumer sentiment & AAII bearishness at multi-year highs 🚦 Gold hits ATH 🚦 #Bitcoin BTC

Toshiba has submitted a new patent, US2025038975A1, that describes a self-supervised multi-agent cooperation system that uses IOTA’s Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) technology. The new patent, released recently, describes how multi-agent systems (MAS) can utilize DAG-based distributed ledger technology (DLT). It’ll increase trust, security, and efficiency between heterogeneous robotic agents. As per the patent document, multi-agent systems are becoming progressively self-sufficient, and various robots of differing functions have to cooperate effectively. The robots, however, are made by various manufacturers, making it difficult to be interoperable and secure. The patent outlines the method that makes robots transparent and able to accomplish their tasks accurately, even with possible security threats such as faulty units or unauthorized intrusions. Toshiba’s approach integrates a DAG structure, specifically IOTA’s Tangle, to verify and track task completion, as reported earlier. The patent describes, “each robot of the plurality of autonomous robots is configured to, once the DAG has been initialized, only submit completion information to the auditor for appending to previously submitted completion information that has been physically and cryptographically verified by the robot.” This guarantees that all the robotic agents in the system are functioning within a structure where their activity is independently verified and securely documented. Unlike classic blockchain-based frameworks, which mostly use Proof of Work (PoW) models, DAG-based architectures such as IOTA facilitate parallel and stream processing, minimize fees, and remove intermediaries. The patent’s adoption of IOTA reflects the increased movement away from the traditional blockchain models because they are inefficient. IOTA’s literature explains why DAG was the essential selection: “DAG was and still is the only choice for IOTA to achieve its objective of Digital Autonomy for Everyone.” The Tangle enables robots in the MAS to log and validate transactions without the need for sequential dependence, maintaining a high-speed and scalable network. In DAG-based systems, transactions may not be executed in rigid sequence, resulting in parallel verification and efficient utilization of network resources. “The Tangle removes many bottlenecks that hinder blockchains from being used on a meaningful scale,” IOTA’s blog writes. Toshiba’s patent utilizes these benefits to make its multi-agent system more efficient and robust. Security is a fundamental issue in MAS, where robots from various manufacturers have to collaborate without centralized control. The patent resolves this by using cryptographic verification under a DAG structure, providing tamper-proof tracking of robotic operations. This minimizes the risk of malicious behavior, operational failure, and unauthorized intervention. Moreover, the integration of IOTA empowers all robots in the system to contribute to network verification. As IOTA’s blog clarifies, “All users contribute to consensus, whether by issuing blocks that create the approvals used to propagate opinions, by delegating their voting power to validators, or by issuing validation blocks that determine the final version of the ledger.” Within a MAS framework, this guarantees decentralized decision-making and trustworthiness. Toshiba’s embracement of IOTA’s Tangle mirrors the increasing industry trend toward DAG-based networks for decentralized robotics. This indeed affirms trustworthiness, efficiency, and cooperation in next-generation multi-agent systems.

Infini Labs, a crypto-focused neobank, has filed a lawsuit against an engineer it accuses of embezzling nearly $50 million from the platform. The stablecoin digital bank accuses Chen Shanxuan of retaining “super admin” authority as the crypto platform’s smart contract went live in mainnet. As a result, the engineer stole approximately $49.5 million in USDC ( USDC ) from the firm. Infini Labs filed its lawsuit in Hong Kong, via its subsidiary BP SG Investment Holding Limited. The allegation is that as a lead developer, Chen secretively retained ‘super admin’ access and used this privilege to embezzle millions of dollars in crypto from the firm. Interestingly, the lawsuit paints the picture of Chen as a man in debt and a massive gambler. The case follows the cryptocurrency credit card provider’s suffering from an exploit that saw $49.5 million drained from its coffers. The initial reaction to the loss was tha this was the work of hackers. However, the lawsuit puts Chen on the spot, with documents presented before the court asking that the accused person’s assets be frozen. Infini Labs has also asked the court to compel its former lead smart contracts engineer to disclose further transaction details. In the crypto heist Infini suffered in February, funds had vanished without the multi-signature authorization. Chen used his full access to steal, the firm notes in the lawsuit. The lawsuit against Chen comes days after Infini founder Christian Li, asked the “hacker” to take the firm up on a white hat agreement. Li’s on-chain message also highlighted a 20% bounty the company offered to the suspected attacker. Li also reiterated that Infini Labs was not going to take any legal action if the hacker complied with the white hat offer and returned the funds as requested. Trugard CTO and co-founder Jeremiah O’Connor told crypto.news in a statement the exploit is a “textbook example of an insider attack” within the Web3 space. Specifically, when a single engineer holds “unchecked power” over a smart contract it creates a central point of failure. “Instead of revoking their super admin privileges as promised, this engineer kept a secret backdoor, deceived their own team, and made off with $50 million,” O’Connor added. “If the allegations are true, their motive—covering gambling losses—makes the situation even more alarming. When financial desperation meets unrestricted control, the results are almost always catastrophic. This serves as yet another wake-up call about the dangers of centralized authority in DeFi.” Security in DeFi must rely on more than just trust, he said. If Infini had in place decentralized safeguards like multi-signature wallets, on-chain transparency, or timelocks for admin changes, an exploit would have not been likely. As such, any project that allocates “absolute control” to one individual is “asking for trouble.” In Web3, security isn’t about trust; it’s about verifiable, enforced protections before things go south,” O’Connor concluded.

Many cryptocurrency investors find it difficult to calculate their taxes. MetaMask users now have some good news: the cryptocurrency wallet platform has integrated Crypto Tax Calculator to make tax management simpler. The integration lets users get an automatic tax summary suited to their countries, therefore drastically reducing tax ambiguity and risk. Who has time to individually analyze blockchain transactions in the hectic environment of today? MetaMask users may obtain immediately applicable tax reports by means of integration with the Crypto Tax Calculator. Not only that, but these reports are compliant with the rules of 23 different jurisdictions, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and several European countries. The tool still provides capital gains and income tax reports customizable to local tax laws for users outside of these areas. Users can also add several wallets at once, so all transactions can be immediately reconciled. The outcome is a more practical procedure free of the trouble of repeatedly visiting several platforms. On the other hand, MetaMask seems to be growing more aspirational in offering its offerings. The corporation announced on February 28, 2025, plans to extend support to the Solana (SOL) and Bitcoin (BTC) networks. This move helps MetaMask to maintain its position as a versatile and easily available multi-chain wallet. One additional fascinating detail, though, is their intention to eliminate gas charges going forward. Users’ interactions with DeFi might be altered by this move. MetaMask wants to remove that obstacle and streamline transactions if past users had to have ETH only to pay gas fees. Apart from developments in taxation and blockchain systems, MetaMask has also entered the direct payments space. According to CNF , MetaMask Card has been introduced in Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil. By use of Mastercard integration, this card lets users make seamless crypto transactions. Users no longer have to worry about trading their crypto assets to fiat before they may spend them for regular shopping. During a transaction, crypto can be directly converted into fiat money with this card, therefore removing middlemen like crypto exchanges. This is a big step toward bringing traditional finance into line with the crypto space. MetaMask also unveiled in November 2024 the Gas Station feature, another innovation. This function lets users include directly in the swap quotes the network fees. One of the primary challenges in the Ethereum ecosystem was always needing ETH to pay gas fees. Users of Gas Station can avoid carrying ETH specifically for that. This gives more freedom, particularly for people who would rather keep their assets in different tokens.

Onchain analytics firm Nansen has appointed Robert Leshner, founder of Superstate and Compound, to its Board of Directors, according to a note shared with crypto.news. Leshner, a key figure in decentralized finance, will help shape Nansen’s strategic direction as it expands its offerings in onchain intelligence, staking , and multi-chain analytics . Leshner is known for pioneering DeFi through Compound, a protocol that introduced algorithmic lending in crypto markets. His background in protocol development and tokenization is expected to contribute to Nansen’s mission of providing real-time analytics for traders, investors, and builders. “Robert is a pioneer in DeFi, and his insights into decentralized systems and crypto markets will be invaluable as Nansen scales to new heights,” said Alex Svanevik, CEO and Co-Founder of Nansen. Leshner’s appointment comes as Nansen accelerates product rollouts, including its Nansen Points initiative and expanded staking services. He joins a board that includes representatives from Accel and a16z Crypto, reinforcing the company’s leadership in onchain analytics. “Nansen has built the most valuable intelligence platform in crypto, and I’m excited to help the team continue to innovate,” Leshner said. Nansen provides AI-driven tools to help users analyze crypto markets, track portfolios , and identify trends. The company aims to enhance transparency and decision-making for participants in the evolving onchain economy.