Today in crypto: Trust Wallet’s browser extension was taken offline due to a Chrome Web Store issue, Tether bought 8,888 Bitcoin to become the fifth-largest BTC holder, and Bitcoin ended 2025 in the red for the first time after a halving.
Trust Wallet browser extension knocked offline by Chrome Store ‘bug,’ CEO says
The Trust Wallet browser extension for Google Chrome Web Store is “temporarily unavailable,” delaying the release of a new version that includes tools for victims of a recent hack, according to Trust Wallet CEO Eowyn Chen.
“We hit a Chrome Web Store bug while releasing a new version,” Chen said in an X post, adding that the delayed release includes a feature to help victims of the Christmas Day hack verify and submit their reimbursement claims. She said on Sunday:
“So far, we’ve identified 2,596 affected wallet addresses. From this group, we’ve received around 5,000 claims, which indicates a significant number of false or duplicate submissions attempting to access victims’ reimbursements.”
Chen also warned users to be “alert” to fake Trust Wallet browser extensions on the Chrome Web Store until the latest version is uploaded.
The Trust Wallet was hacked on Christmas, draining over $7 million in user funds, which Trust Wallet agreed to reimburse to the injured parties. The incident highlights the danger of crypto wallet browser extensions and hot wallets connected to the internet.
Tether snaps up another 8,888 BTC, now fifth-largest Bitcoin wallet
Tether picked up 8,888 Bitcoin on New Year’s Eve, increasing its disclosed Bitcoin stash to more than 96,000 to close out 2025, its CEO Paolo Ardoino said.
The USDt (USDT) stablecoin issuer has become one of the biggest active Bitcoin holders, placing the company’s Bitcoin address as the fifth-largest behind Binance, Robinhood, and Bitfinex and ranking second among privately held corporate BTC treasuries.
The move is part of a pattern of Tether’s quarterly Bitcoin accumulations. The company has been funneling up to 15% of its earnings into Bitcoin every three months. The latest batch was worth about $780 million at the time of acquisition.
Bitcoin is not the company’s only hard asset bet. Tether purchased 26 tons of gold in Q3 2025, which was a larger quarterly acquisition than any reporting central bank and placed its total holdings at 116 tons, among the world’s top 30 gold holders.
Bitcoin ends year after halving in the red
Bitcon has ended 2025 lower than it began, marking the first time it’s fallen in a post-halving year.
Bitcoin (BTC) halvings occur every four years, when mining rewards are cut in half and fewer new coins enter the market. Historically, this has resulted in a cycle of accumulation: a post-halving bull run that peaks, followed by a sharp correction and a multi-year bear market.
After the 2012 halving, Bitcoin spiked to end the following year at a new high; a similar pattern played out in 2016 and again in 2020.
However, the pattern has broken this time.
Despite the latest halving being in April 2024, Bitcoin is now trading down more than 30% from its all-time high of $126,080, set on Oct 6 and ending the year lower than it began, according to data from CoinGecko.
The four-year cycle has frequently been used to predict and analyze how the crypto markets will broadly act.