The cryptocurrency market saw several major developments today spanning crypto crime, stablecoin payments, blockchain-based lending and corporate Bitcoin treasury strategies.
Singaporean national Malone Lam pleaded guilty to participating in a RICO conspiracy linked to the theft and laundering of more than $245 million in cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, Visa is expanding the connection between stablecoin payments and on-chain lending, potentially giving payment businesses access to new sources of working capital.
Elsewhere, Strategy, the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, temporarily stepped away from its regular Bitcoin purchasing routine and instead spent approximately $176 million repurchasing STRC preferred shares.
Malone Lam Pleads Guilty in $245M Crypto Theft Scheme
Singaporean national Malone Lam has pleaded guilty to participating in a racketeering conspiracy that U.S. prosecutors say stole and laundered more than $245 million in cryptocurrency.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Lam played a central role in an international operation that allegedly relied on social engineering, targeted victims and physical break-ins to gain access to cryptocurrency.
Court documents indicate that the criminal enterprise operated from at least October 2023 through May 2025, with participants reportedly connecting through online gaming communities.
Lam was accused of helping identify potential victims and coordinating other members of the operation.
The case dates back to the theft of more than 4,100 Bitcoin from a Washington, D.C., resident. At the time of the theft, the Bitcoin was valued at more than $230 million.
Lam pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to one count of participating in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy.
A status hearing has been scheduled for December 8, although the Justice Department had not announced a sentencing date at the time of the report.
The guilty plea represents a major development in a case that highlights the growing sophistication of cryptocurrency-related criminal operations, particularly schemes combining online social engineering with traditional physical crimes.
Visa Connects Stablecoin Settlement With On-Chain Lending
While regulators and law enforcement continue addressing crypto-related risks, traditional financial infrastructure is simultaneously moving deeper into blockchain technology.
Visa is connecting its payment settlement data with on-chain lending infrastructure, potentially allowing businesses involved in stablecoin-linked card programs to access new sources of working capital.
Under the model, lenders can combine information from VisaNet settlement records with on-chain transaction data when evaluating borrowers and financing payment obligations.
The approach could give payment companies and card issuers another way to obtain blockchain-based financing instead of depending entirely on conventional credit channels.
Credit Coop Provides an Early Example
Visa identified Credit Coop, a blockchain-based credit protocol, as an early example of the model.
The protocol has reportedly financed more than $2.5 billion in cumulative settlement volume since 2023, spanning more than 3,000 borrowing events and 9,000 repayments.
The development comes as stablecoins become increasingly integrated into Visa’s payment ecosystem.
The payments giant now supports more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs, while stablecoin-related payment volume has increased by nearly 200% year over year.
Visa’s stablecoin settlement activity has also surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate, representing more than 15 times the level recorded a year earlier.
Stablecoins Become a Bigger Part of Global Payments
Visa’s latest initiative demonstrates how stablecoins are increasingly being positioned not simply as cryptocurrency trading instruments but as part of the broader payments infrastructure.
The company has been expanding its involvement across several parts of the stablecoin ecosystem, including card programs, settlement services and supporting infrastructure.
The growth is occurring alongside rising transaction activity. Visa’s adjusted stablecoin transaction volume reached a reported $1.79 trillion in June, setting a new record.
By connecting payment settlement information with on-chain credit markets, Visa could potentially help create a bridge between traditional payment flows and decentralized or blockchain-based financial services.
The development could also make stablecoin-based payment systems more attractive to businesses that need short-term liquidity to manage settlement cycles.
Strategy Skips Weekly Bitcoin Purchase for $176M STRC Buyback
Meanwhile, Strategy has temporarily shifted its capital allocation strategy.
Rather than making another Bitcoin acquisition, the company repurchased approximately $176 million worth of STRC preferred shares between August 31 and September 7.
According to the company’s SEC filing, Strategy bought back approximately 1.8 million STRC shares for a total of roughly $176.3 million.
The company also doubled the size of its Digital Credit Securities Repurchase Program to $2 billion.
Strategy’s decision marks a temporary departure from its recent Bitcoin accumulation strategy.
The company remains the largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holder, with approximately 845,050 BTC on its balance sheet. Those coins were acquired for an aggregate cost of approximately $63.6 billion, representing an average purchase price of around $75,412 per Bitcoin.
Strategy’s Bitcoin Treasury Remains Unchanged
Because Strategy did not purchase additional BTC during the latest reporting period, its Bitcoin holdings remained at 845,050 BTC.
The pause follows a $370 million Bitcoin purchase the previous week, which marked the company’s first BTC acquisition since mid-June.
The change in capital allocation highlights the flexibility Strategy has built around its preferred-stock financing structure.
Rather than continuously directing every dollar of newly available capital toward Bitcoin, the company can also use its resources to manage its preferred securities and potentially support their market structure.
STRC Trades Below Its $100 Target
The decision to repurchase STRC shares comes as the preferred stock has been trading below its intended $100 par value.
STRC was trading around $97.70, representing a discount of approximately 2.3% to its $100 target.
Trading below par creates an important challenge for Strategy because STRC is one of the company’s principal mechanisms for raising capital to support its Bitcoin strategy.
If the preferred stock remains below its stated value, issuing additional shares through the company’s financing program becomes less attractive.
Strategy could consequently face pressure to increase the dividend rate offered by the security in order to make it more appealing to investors.
The company had already increased STRC’s annual dividend rate to 12% as part of its broader capital strategy.
Strategy’s Broader Capital Framework
Strategy unveiled a new capital framework in June designed to provide additional flexibility in managing its Bitcoin treasury and preferred-stock obligations.
The framework allows the company to potentially sell Bitcoin to help fund dividend payments if necessary.
That approach gives Strategy another option for managing its obligations during periods when its preferred securities or other financing channels become less favorable.
The latest $176 million STRC repurchase therefore represents more than a simple share buyback. It demonstrates how Strategy is balancing Bitcoin accumulation, preferred-stock financing and shareholder obligations within a complex corporate treasury strategy.
Three Developments Highlight Crypto’s Rapid Evolution
The day’s developments illustrate how broadly the cryptocurrency industry now intersects with traditional finance and the global economy.
The Malone Lam case demonstrates the increasing sophistication of crypto-related financial crime and the efforts of U.S. authorities to prosecute large-scale digital-asset theft.
Visa’s stablecoin initiative, meanwhile, shows traditional payments infrastructure moving toward deeper integration with blockchain-based finance and lending.
And Strategy’s decision to redirect $176 million toward STRC repurchases demonstrates how publicly traded companies are developing increasingly sophisticated capital structures around Bitcoin.
Together, the developments highlight three very different sides of the cryptocurrency economy: the risks surrounding digital-asset security, the growing integration of blockchain payments into mainstream finance, and the emergence of Bitcoin as a major corporate treasury asset.
