Criminals posing as police in France coerced a couple to transfer nearly $1M in Bitcoin, using fear and authority in a 'wrench attack' that exploits people, not wallets. Abstract: Attackers used impersonation and psychological coercion to force a Bitcoin transfer, illustrating a wrench attack that targets human vulnerability rather than technical wallet exploits.

Gate News message: On April 21, according to Gate market data, as of the time of publication, GT (GateChain) is trading at $7.31. It is up 1.81% over the past 24 hours, with a high of $7.37 and a low of $7.12. The 24-hour trading volume is $350.6k. Its current market cap is approximately $350.6k. GateChain is a new generation public blockchain focused on user asset security and decentralized trading. With an original online hot-insurance account, its liquidation protection system creatively tackles core industry foundational issues such as users’ digital assets being stolen, private key destruction and loss, decentralized trading, cross-chain transfers, and more. Backed by six years of blockchain technology accumulation, two years of dedicated research, and a technology team of over 100 people, it uses outstanding innovation capabilities and strong financial resources to build a revolutionary blockchain GateChain.

Meme tokens saw significant gains on April 16, with NEIRO up 37.14%, 1000SATS rising 30.90%, and PNUT gaining 28.05%. Other tokens like BOME, PEOPLE, and MEME also posted strong advances, reflecting widespread market enthusiasm.

The Shaoguan branch of the People's Bank of China issued a cryptocurrency risk warning, highlighting illegal activities like money laundering and scams. The public is urged to avoid crypto investments and report suspicious activities.

Tether launched a self-custodial wallet called the "People's Wallet," focusing on financial inclusion and ease of use. It supports cryptocurrencies like USDT, Bitcoin, and XAUT, aiming to simplify transactions and remove intermediaries.

South Korea has recently seen multiple “revenge intermediary” organizations that use cryptocurrency as a payment method. They offer intimidation and murder services via Telegram. Even though the main culprit has been arrested, related advertisements are still being posted. Police are investigating more than 50 cases and have arrested about 30 people.

Hong Kong police have disclosed a cryptocurrency investment scam in which a woman was tricked on Instagram, losing more than 2 million yuan. The fraudster posed as an investment expert, luring her into making transfers and exchanging cash multiple times. Police remind people to be more vigilant when making online friends and to watch out for transfer scams.

The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report shows that losses from cryptocurrency-related fraud reached $11.37B, up 22% from 2024. Losses among people ages 60 and older totaled $4.4 billion, mainly stemming from cryptocurrency investment scams. California had the highest losses at $2.1B.

WLFI CEO Zach Witkoff responded to a critical article, pointing out that the article’s author is not affiliated with WLFI and that multiple pieces of information in the piece are incorrect, including confusing WLFI with the Trump meme coin and having no connection to CIC digital. He emphasized that WLFI’s main product is stablecoins and urged people to do thorough research before publishing.

Recently, small-cap altcoins have been seeing frequent surges and crashes amid easing tensions between the U.S. and Iran and a period of Bitcoin trading sideways, drawing in high-risk investors. In this kind of coin, ownership is highly concentrated and insiders control the market, with high volumes in daily futures contracts. Some people believe this high volatility attracts liquidity, but some investors are also concerned that there is no fundamental support, so trading should be done cautiously.