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Callan Quinn

Callan Quinn

Callan Quinn is a Hong Kong-based journalist who has been covering the crypto industry since 2022. She has previously worked at The Block and DL News. More recently, she was a reporter at CoinDesk but quit following a controversy over an article that was deleted following pressure from Tron. She is also the founder of Scamurai, a newsletter and research company focused on scams and fraud. Disclosure: No significant crypto holdings.

Stories by Callan Quinn

  • President Donald Trump. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Trump Says World Becoming a ‘Casino’ as Soldier Charged Over Polymarket Maduro Bets

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he wasn't happy about the growing influence of prediction markets, after U.S. authorities charged a soldier with exploiting classified information to place profitable bets tied to the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. “You know, the whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino and you look at what’s going on all over the world in Europe and every place they’re doing these betting things. I was never much in favour of it,” he...

    NewsBusiness
    4 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Image: Decrypt/Village Global

    Anthropic Using ‘Fear-Based Marketing’ to Promote Claude Mythos: Sam Altman

    OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pushed back against growing alarm over rival Anthropic’s powerful new AI model Claude Mythos, suggesting the company is using “fear” to market the product. Speaking on the Core Memory podcast hosted by tech journalist Ashlee Vance, Altman argued that the use of “fear-based marketing” was geared towards keeping AI in the hands of a “smaller group of people.” “You can justify that in a lot of different ways, and some of it’s real, like there are going to be legitimate safety...

  • Judge's gavel. Source: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    Top Law Firm Admits to AI ‘Hallucinations’ in Bankruptcy Filing Tied to Alleged Scam Network

    Law firm Sullivan & Cromwell has admitted to a U.S. bankruptcy court that a recent filing in a high-profile case contained errors generated by artificial intelligence, including fabricated citations. “We deeply regret that this has occurred,” Andrew Dietderich, the firm’s restructuring head, wrote to Judge Martin Glenn, saying the document included AI “hallucinations” that produced fictitious authorities and distorted existing ones. The disclosure came in a letter to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court f...

  • A hacker. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    ‘Highly Sophisticated,’ AI-Powered Hackers Behind Vercel Breach: CEO

    Vercel’s CEO said a “highly sophisticated,” potentially AI-assisted hacking group was behind a recent security incident that exposed some customer credentials following a breach of internal systems. “We believe the attacking group to be highly sophisticated and, I strongly suspect, significantly accelerated by AI,” CEO Guillermo Rauch tweeted, adding that the attackers “moved with surprising velocity and in-depth understanding of Vercel.” Here's my update to the broader community about the ongo...

    NewsBusiness
    4 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • Nigel Farage. Source: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    Stack BTC CEO Steps Down as Farage-Linked Bitcoin Venture Reshuffles Leadership

    Stack BTC has replaced its chief executive after completing a shift in strategy, marking a fresh attempt to stabilise the UK Bitcoin-focused investment vehicle and bolster investor confidence. The company said on Wednesday that Jai Patel, who founded the business in its earlier form, had stepped down from the board with immediate effect. Announcing the change in a tweet, the firm said that incoming chief executive David Galan brings a mix of dealmaking, financial and operational experience suite...

    NewsBusiness
    4 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • Nigel Farage. Source: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    BitMEX Co-Founder Ben Delo Reveals $5.4M Donation to Farage’s Reform UK

    BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo has revealed that he donated $5.4 million (£4 million) to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, saying he was motivated to become politically active for the first time by what he described as a failing UK political system. Delo, who is based in Hong Kong, wrote in a Daily Telegraph op-ed that he made the contribution earlier this year before the introduction of a £100,000 cap on donations from British citizens living abroad. He said the funding would help build Reform into “...

    NewsBusiness
    3 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • Illustration from AB announcement of partnership with WLFI. Image: AB

    Partner of Trump-Backed World Liberty Linked to Sanctioned Cambodian Scam Company: Report

    A company partnered with World Liberty Financial—the crypto project backed by President Donald Trump—has been linked to individuals connected to a sanctioned Cambodian conglomerate accused of running global scam operations, according to an investigation published Monday by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and Guardian Australia. The investigation found that a planned “blockchain theme resort” in Timor-Leste tied to the partner, AB network, involved three individuals who were...

    NewsBusiness
    4 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • Quantum computing. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    The Quantum Threat to Bitcoin Dividing Crypto

    Two new research papers—one from Google and another from Caltech researchers at startup Oratomic—have revived a long-running question in crypto. What happens when quantum computing becomes powerful enough to break modern cryptography? Researchers warned this week that advances in the field could threaten the cryptographic systems underpinning cryptocurrencies and other digital infrastructure sooner than expected, showing that future machines may be able to break elliptic curve cryptography with...

    Deep DivesLong Reads
    5 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • IBM Q System One Quantum Computer. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Google Quantum Paper Boosts Odds of Bitcoin ‘Q-Day’ by 2032, Researchers Warn

    Google researchers warned Tuesday that advances in the field of quantum computing could threaten the cryptographic systems underpinning cryptocurrencies and other digital infrastructure sooner than expected. It has demonstrated that future quantum computers may be able to break elliptic curve cryptography—a cornerstone of modern digital security—using fewer qubits and computational steps than previously believed. "We want to raise awareness on this issue and are providing the cryptocurrency com...

    NewsTechnology
    4 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried outside Manhattan federal court in July 2023. Photo: Decrypt/André Beganski

    Sam Bankman-Fried Court Letter Under Scrutiny As Parents Call For Clemency

    Federal prosecutors have cast doubt on a recent court filing purportedly sent from prison by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, telling a judge that a March 16 letter submitted in his name may not have been sent from prison but instead shipped via FedEx from the San Francisco Bay Area. In a filing, prosecutors said the letter appeared inconsistent with Bureau of Prisons rules, which prohibit inmates from using private carriers. The envelope labeled the facility incorrectly, FedEx tracking data po...

    NewsLaw and Order
    4 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • Iran and crypto. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    UK to Dissolve Crypto Exchange Accused of Aiding Iranian Sanctions Evasion

    Britain’s company register, Companies House, has moved to dissolve Zedxion Exchange Ltd., a cryptocurrency platform accused of processing funds for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to a notice published on its website. The action follows U.S. sanctions imposed in January by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which designated Zedxion and a related entity, Zedcex, for their alleged role in enabling Iran to evade sanctions and for links to sanctioned f...

    NewsLaw and Order
    3 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • Image: Pudgy Penguins/Decrypt.

    Pudgy Penguins Launched A New Game. Crypto Scammers Made A Fake Version

    A fake website impersonating Pudgy Penguins’ newly launched Pudgy World browser game is attempting to steal cryptocurrency wallet passwords, cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes Labs warned Tuesday. In a report, Malwarebytes said the phishing operation, pudgypengu-gamegifts[.]live, uses highly convincing replicas of crypto wallet interfaces to deceive users. “Some features are tied to digital collectibles and in-game items stored in cryptocurrency wallets. That means the official game sometimes asks...

    NewsGaming
    3 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Crypto Funds Pull In $1B for Third Straight Week as US Investors Drive Demand

    Digital asset investment products attracted $1.06 billion in inflows last week, marking the third consecutive week of gains as investors increased allocations to crypto amid geopolitical uncertainty, according to a report from asset manager CoinShares published Monday. The continued inflows suggest institutional investors are turning to digital assets as portfolio diversifiers during periods of global stress, with Bitcoin in particular benefiting from its perceived role as a macro hedge. "Signi...

    NewsCoins
    4 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • Nigel Farage. Source: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    Nigel Farage Backs Bitcoin Treasury Firm Chaired By Former Chancellor

    Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has invested in Bitcoin treasury‑focused firm Stack BTC Plc as part of a £260,000 ($333,000) fundraising round split between him and Blockchain.com, the company said Monday. “I am delighted to have become an investor in Stack and lend my support to the team,” Farage said in a statement. “I have long been one of the UK’s few political advocates for Bitcoin, recognising the role digital currencies will play in the future of business and finance.” The firm, formerly k...

    NewsBusiness
    4 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • Nigel Farage and George Cottrell. Image: Shutterstock/HTLMBiteback/Decrypt

    Nigel Farage Confidant Linked to $550K Loss On Iran Strike Polymarket Bet: Report

    An account on the prediction market Polymarket that appears to bear the name and birth year of British financier and Nigel Farage confidant George Cottrell lost more than $550,000 on bets about whether the U.S. would bomb Iran. The “GCottrell93” account wagered roughly $550,000 on the outcome "No" to the question "US strikes Iran by February 28, 2026?" according to Polymarket data first cited by UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph. The position was wiped out after the United States struck Iran on F...

    NewsBusiness
    4 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • Malware code. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Apple iPhone Hacking Kit Used By Spies, Crypto Scams Could Have US Intelligence Origins

    Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) has uncovered a powerful iPhone hacking toolkit capable of infecting devices when a user visits a malicious website, meaning malware can be transferred without anything being clicked on by the target. The framework, dubbed “Coruna,” includes five full iOS exploit chains and 23 vulnerabilities targeting iPhones running iOS 13 through 17.2.1. Researchers said some of the exploits rely on previously unseen techniques to bypass Apple’s security protections....

    NewsTechnology
    3 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • Iran and crypto. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Iran Conflict Not Major Concern For Bitcoin Mining Hashrate, Say Experts

    The escalating conflict in Iran is unlikely to significantly disrupt the global Bitcoin mining network, industry analysts and operators said, countering circulating rumours on social media platforms suggesting a disastrous hit to hashrate and a flood of Bitcoin sell-offs. “I don’t think it’s of any major concern for Bitcoin,” Wolfie Zhao, head of research at TheMinerMag, told Decrypt, dismissing suggestions that conflict-related power outages in Iran would materially affect the network. While in...

    NewsCoins
    3 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • Binance. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Democrat Senator Launches $1.7B Iran Sanctions Probe Into Binance

    U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has opened a preliminary inquiry into Binance following reports that the cryptocurrency exchange allowed $1.7 billion in transactions tied to Iranian entities and Russia’s sanctions-evading oil trade. The probe follows reporting by The Wall Street Journal alleging that internal Binance investigators uncovered transfers from accounts on the platform to intermediaries connected to Ira...

    NewsBusiness
    4 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • A broken step. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Solana DeFi Project Step Finance to Wind Down Weeks After $29M Hack

    Solana-based DeFi projects Step Finance, SolanaFloor and Remora Markets will be winding down operations, according to a Tuesday tweet by Step. “Following the hack at the end of January we explored every possible path forward, including financing and acquisition opportunities. Unfortunately, we were unable to secure a viable outcome and have made the difficult decision to end all operations effective immediately,” the project said. Today we are announcing that Step Finance, SolanaFloor, and Remo...

    NewsDeFi
    3 min read
    Callan Quinn
  • Polymarket. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Netherlands Bans Polymarket Over ‘Illegal Gambling Services’

    The Netherlands Gambling Authority (Ksa) has imposed a penalty order on Adventure One QSS Inc., the operator of prediction market platform Polymarket, for offering what it called illegal gambling services in the country without a license. It marks the latest legal setback for the company as regulators worldwide intensify scrutiny of the sector. In a statement published Tuesday, the Ksa said it had ordered Polymarket to immediately cease offering services to Dutch users. If the company fails to c...

    NewsBusiness
    5 min read
    Callan Quinn
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