U.S. CPI: +2.9% YEAR-OVER-YEAR (EST. +2.9%); U.S. CORE CPI: +3.2% YEAR-OVER-YEAR (EST. +3.3%)

On December 14, Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Binance to explore tokenizing up to $2 billion in sovereign bonds, treasury bills, and commodity reserves. Its Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority also granted initial approval for Binance and HTX to initiate their local license application processes. Previously, Pakistan had announced plans to launch a national stablecoin as part of a wider digital financial reform initiative.

December 14th — Two suspects have been arrested in Ukraine in connection with a cryptocurrency-linked car arson and murder case in Vienna, Austrian police confirmed Wednesday. The victim, 21-year-old Daniil Kuzmin, was the son of Sergei Kuzmin, deputy mayor of Ukraine’s Kharkiv. Kuzmin, who was studying in Vienna, had reportedly disclosed details about his father’s position and his family’s cryptocurrency assets to one of the suspects. The suspects are: - 45-year-old Alexander Agafiev, a former Ukrainian customs official and ex-department head at Odessa Customs (nearly $90,000 found on him during arrest); - 19-year-old Bogdan Reenzhuk, stepson of Olesia Irashko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Bulgaria. Vienna police said the pair targeted Kuzmin to steal the password to his crypto wallet. Bloodstains at the underground parking garage of Vienna’s Sofitel Hotel indicate Kuzmin was assaulted there. He was locked in his family’s Ukrainian-plated Mercedes-Benz for hours, tortured unti

On December 14, The Block reported that Rodney Burton—founder of the fraudulent crypto investment scheme HyperFund (also known as HyperVerse)—faces 11 U.S. federal charges. These include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, seven counts of money laundering, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Burton is accused of promoting HyperFund from June 2020 through May 2024, then using investor funds to purchase luxury apartments, sports cars, yachts, and other high-end goods. Co-defendant Brenda Chunga has already pleaded guilty in the case, while accused co-founder Sam Lee remains at large. If convicted, Burton could face decades in prison.

**Aevo Reports $2.7M Loss From Ribbon DOV Vault Exploit** Aevo officials announced on Wednesday, December 14, that its old Ribbon DOV vault was exploited on December 12 due to a smart contract update vulnerability, resulting in approximately $2.7 million in losses. The Aevo platform was not affected and will continue operating normally. All Ribbon vaults have been halted and will be deactivated immediately; the exploited vaults lost roughly 32% of total assets. Users are advised to withdraw their funds via the standard withdrawal process. Withdrawals will require a contract upgrade launching next week (further notifications will be provided). The claims window is open for six months, running from December 12, 2023, to June 12, 2026. After this period, the DAO will liquidate all remaining assets and distribute them to users who previously withdrew funds. Compensation is capped at the missing 19% or the remaining available amount, whichever applies.

On December 14th, Hong Kong media reported an attempted robbery at a crypto exchange store in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. Around 8 p.m. last night, the 46-year-old store owner was closing his shop—located in the mall at 608 Nathan Road—when three men approached in an attempt to rob the location. During a physical altercation with the suspects, the owner injured his finger and was later treated at Hong Kong’s Kwong Wah Hospital. Preliminary police investigations confirm the owner did not suffer any property loss. The store in question is on the 1st floor of the W Plaza Presidential Commercial Building, with surveillance cameras installed both on-site and in the mall corridor. Officers are currently tracing the whereabouts of the three suspects, and the case remains under investigation.

On December 14, per EmberCN monitoring, the whale/institution that has been swapping BTC for ETH since November 25 continued its asset reallocation today: it converted 340 BTC to 9,784 ETH via THORChain, a transaction worth $30.42 million. Over the 19 days since November 25, this entity has cross-chain swapped a total of 1,972 BTC for 58,148 ETH (valued at $176 million) and held onto the ETH, with an average entry cost of $3,028 per ETH.