Microsoft Office Amid Cloud Monopoly Crackdown Worldwide
Authorities in Japan raided the Tokyo offices of Microsoft on Wednesday, investigating whether the company improperly blocked Azure cloud customers from using competing services. Japan’s Fair Trade Commission carried out the raid based on suspicions that Microsoft Japan imposed conditions that locked out rival cloud providers.
The agency claimed that this can be done by restricting access to popular services on other platforms, a source with direct knowledge told Reuters. A Microsoft Japan spokesperson said the company is “fully cooperating with the JFTC in their requests.” Japanese regulators also plan to seek clarification from Microsoft’s parent company in the United States. This marks the first time Japan’s antitrust watchdog has raided Microsoft, though the company faces similar problems across multiple continents.
Microsoft in regulatory cross hairs amid crackdown on cloud monopoly
In Britain, competition lawyer Maria Luisa Stasi also filed a 2.1 billion-pound lawsuit on December 11, 2025, claiming Microsoft overcharged nearly 60,000 British businesses that use Windows Server software on cloud platforms run by Amazon, Google, and Alibaba. Her legal team told London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal that Microsoft charges higher prices to businesses that don’t use Azure.
Lawyer Sarah Ford said Microsoft “degrades the user experience of Windows Server” on rival platforms as part of “a coherent abusive strategy to leverage Microsoft’s dominant position” in the cloud market. Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority found in July that Microsoft’s licensing practices hurt competition for cloud services “by materially disadvantaging AWS and Google.”
Google also complained to the European Commission in September that Microsoft forces customers to pay a 400% markup to keep running Windows Server on competing cloud platforms while giving them delayed and limited security updates. Meanwhile, Brazil’s competition authority opened its own investigation in January into Microsoft’s cloud and software licensing.
Brazil commences investigations into market power
The Council for Economic Defense pointed to findings from the UK, saying Microsoft’s global licensing policies likely create the same problems in Brazil. Microsoft runs two cloud regions in Brazil and announced a $2.7 billion investment plan in September 2024 to expand its cloud infrastructure there. These investigations are among the biggest regulatory challenges Microsoft has faced since the 1990s, when it fought antitrust charges over web browser dominance.
Microsoft has pushed back, saying its business model helps competition and that “the cloud market has never been so dynamic and competitive.” The Federal Trade Commission opened a broad antitrust investigation into Microsoft in November 2024. The probe looks at claims that Microsoft abuses its market power by using punitive licensing terms that stop customers from moving their data from Azure to other platforms.
NetChoice, a lobbying group that represents online companies including Amazon and Google, criticized Microsoft’s approach. “Given that Microsoft is the world’s largest software company, dominating in productivity and operating systems software, the scale and consequences of its licensing decisions are extraordinary,” the group said. Microsoft now faces investigations by regulators on four continents, all looking at whether it uses its dominance in operating systems and productivity software to push customers toward Azure while punishing those who pick competing cloud services.
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According to a report published by TRM Labs, AI-based crypto fraud increased by an impressive 500% in the past year.
The fast development of artificial intelligence in cybercrime has enabled hackers to automate, scale, and customize crypto scams, which have led to massive financial losses.
Cryptocurrency cybercrimes have increased their efficiency and scale due to the use of generative AI tools.
Nowadays, scammers use AI to perform phishing campaigns, identify as other people, and launder money more quickly than ever.
AI powers fraudulent schemes
Before the popularity of AI, mass crypto scams were massively dependent on human resources. Call centers and operators were the key to targeting the victim.
Nevertheless, automation has taken over most of the manual processes due to the introduction of AI.
Nowadays, generating convincing phishing emails, fake websites, and chatbots that look real is written by a generative AI.
Scam messages are also personalized with the help of AI. Fraudsters can find it easier to interact with their target because large language models (LLMs) are capable of generating customized content.
AI translation tools also assist fraudsters in localizing these frauds in different regions and languages, which increases their efficiency.
Deepfake technology enhances scams
The Deepfake technology has also been central to the development of AI scams. Deepfake audio and video are used to deceive executives, other people, or even lovers in a very realistic way.
The technology assists the criminals in developing confidence with the victims and deceiving them into giving out large amounts of money.
The capability of AI to handle hundreds of conversations at a time is a game-changer for fraudsters.
It allows them to upscale scams, including romance and pig-butchering scams, which would otherwise demand a lot of human effort.
Another advantage is the rate at which AI is capable of handling stolen data. Machine learning allows scammers to test stolen credentials, seed phrases, and private keys on a mass scale, which enables them to have control over the funds of victims in a short time.
Record losses and increasing Crypto crime
In recent months, the number of crypto fraud cases has reached alarming levels. In a high-profile instance, a crypto whale lost more than $280 million after being a victim of a social engineering attack.
In the same way, a British employee of an engineering firm became a victim of deep fake fraud and lost his money to the tune of 26 million.
In a different report, the federal agents of the US confiscated more than 61 million U.S. dollars of Tether USDT after they had tracked it down to money laundering in pig-butchering schemes.
In 2023, the value of illegal crypto operations reached an all-time high of 158 billion, having grown by 145%.
According to TRM Labs, 30 billion of this amount was obtained through scams.
Combatting AI Crypto fraud
The growth of AI-related scams is not an accident, as the level of AI technology development is increasing at a high pace.
Researchers such as Vectra AI have already recorded an enormous increase in AI-driven fraud, and it is expected to rise to 40 billion by 2024.
With the development of AI tools, cybersecurity experts note that similar defensive strategies should be developed.
Defenders need to use AI devices that will neutralize automated methods of the criminals to fight AI-related fraud.
The influence of AI on crypto fraud is indisputable. As scams have been automated and made more efficient, criminals have been contributing to larger revenues and making more transactions than ever.
With cybercrimes growing and criminals steadily increasing their operations, security experts have to match the technological advancements to secure the crypto ecosystem.
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Bitcoin Depot Adds ID Checks After Uptick in Crypto ATM Scams
Bitcoin Depot has launched a new rule that would require ID checks for all transactions. The company introduced the new identity check to put a stop to the rising crypto ATM fraud and improve its compliance program. The Bitcoin ATM operator has begun a gradual implementation of the new rule.
According to the new development, Customers must show ID for every transaction at its kiosks, as the company aims to improve protection against crypto ATM scams. Bitcoin Depot has been in business since 2016 and has over 25,000 kiosks around the world. The company is the first major BTC ATM operator to require ID verification for each transaction.
Bitcoin Depot activates new policy for crypto ATM transactions
The policy was activated this month and is now applied throughout Bitcoin Depot’s U.S. kiosks. It aims to “prevent account sharing, identity theft, and account takeover attempts as deployment continues.” The release had no official word yet on deployment timing in other countries. But the rollout of the new policy in the United States comes after Bitcoin Depot faced rising complaints about BTC ATM scams.
In addition to the new feature, Bitcoin Depot will pay $1.9 million to Maine to settle claims involving scams on its machines, according to a report by Cryptopolitan. The Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection (BCCP) spent two years investigating Bitcoin Depot’s kiosk operations. The probe was launched after residents filed complaints saying scammers had used the company’s kiosks to defraud them.
Maine residents scammed via Bitcoin Depot kiosks qualify for refunds under the state settlement. Victims qualify if they lived in Maine from 2022 to 2025 and used a Bitcoin Depot kiosk there to convert cash to cryptocurrency. They must also have transferred the money to an unhosted wallet controlled by a scammer. Victims must file a claim on or before April 1, 2026, and refunds are expected in May 2026.
Americans have lost more than $333.5 million to Bitcoin ATM scams
American residents lost over $333.5 million to Bitcoin ATM scams in 2025, based on data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This number is far greater than what Bitcoin Depot is paying to Maine residents. In 2024, the FBI reported losses of $250 million to crypto kiosk fraud. The figure has since increased by 33.4% to $333.5 million in one year. Coin ATM Radar shows that the top 10 operators run 27,419 crypto ATMs in the US.
This equates to 87.7% of all crypto kiosks across the country. The remaining 12.3% or 3,838 crypto ATMs are managed by 131 operators. The number of crypto ATMs has increased sharply in the U.S. from 4,251 to 31,256 kiosks spread across the country. In February 2026, 254 crypto kiosks were installed in the U.S. The speed of installations is averaging at 16 crypto kiosks daily. This creates more opportunities for scammers to target new victims.
Also, Athena Bitcoin, a crypto ATM operator, has received multiple lawsuits and enforcement actions. The District of Columbia Attorney General sued the company last September. The lawsuit alleges Athena Bitcoin knowingly facilitated fraud through its crypto kiosks. Authorities found that 93% of all deposits made through Athena Bitcoin ATMs were connected to scams. Around 50% of transactions had been flagged by the company as suspected fraud.
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ZachXBT Admits Possible Leaks Amid Insider Trading Allegations on Prediction Platforms
ZachXBT has admitted that he might have disclosed privileged information during the interview portion of his findings after teasing an investigation dropping on February 26. Users have been betting on Polymarket about which crypto platform will be mentioned in the investigation.
Based on Polymarket bets, the most probable candidate remains Meteora, the Solana DEX. On-chain investigator ZachXBT stated he was probably one of the reasons for the leak, as he had to interview representatives and experts. While this is not the first time the on-chain sleuth has teased a report, the prominence of prediction markets has contributed to his latest investigation announcement going viral.
ZachXBT admits mistake in latest interview
According to ZachXBT, this is the first teaser to go viral and spark a Polymarket pair. Based on the updated prediction activity, Meteora is still the leader with odds of 47%. The odds remain relatively unchanged, but are still inconclusive. The actual investigation will launch tomorrow, and ZachXBT has not yet given more hints of the real platform.
The presence of a market means the company may bet against the odds if it is certain of the investigation. Since there is no explicit standard in the crypto space, multiple platforms were suggested as probably being the object of investigation. As of February 25, accounts flagged as potential insiders have also been betting on alternatives to Meteora.
One trader bought ‘yes’ shares for Axiom, the non-custodial DeFi trading platform. The account even came back for more ‘yes‘ shares. Within a day, the mentions of the Polymarket prediction expanded their mindshare on social media. Trading volumes increased from around $5M to over $14M. The market climbed to the second spot on the Polymarket trending page.
MET on the rise after recent lows
Following speculation about Meteora insider activity, MET recovered to $0.17. Currently, only one whale is shorting MET through Hyperliquid. The whale uses the same address to make predictions on short-term crypto directional trading through Polymarket. Other than the initial panic, there is not much data to suggest future headwinds for Meteora.
The exchange remains a relatively liquid DEX for meme tokens and SOL swaps, as well as a hub for trading against USDC. One of the former whales that shorted MET on the first day after the market launch already closed the position. The whale still holds around $6,515.15 in ‘yes’ shares for Meteora. Despite the speculations of insider trading, for now, there are no entities with outsized bets.
The top holder of ‘yes’ shares holds 53,015 tokens on Meteora, while the counter-trader holds 84,670 ‘no’ tokens. Currently, the market is made up of smaller traders, though the viral status of the market is boosting the volumes. Insiders themselves are not holding outsized positions, but other traders are tracking their decision and boosting the odds of Meteora.
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Bitcoin accumulation was one of the factors that could calm the market, as there were signs of accumulation to new addresses. In February, the pace of accumulation slowed down, showing that even spot demand was weakening at the current price range.
Bitcoin accumulation remained weak in February, despite the lower price range. As sentiment remained near all-time lows, neither whales nor retail rushed in to buy the dip. BTC remained under selling pressure, as all attempts at recovery were followed by selling. In the short term, the leading coin still managed to recover to $65,000, but rejected the $70,000 range. As a result, instead of FOMO buying, BTC is now undergoing slower accumulation and waiting for a further correction.
Bitcoin accumulation slowed down in February
According to data from Glassnode, the Bitcoin accumulation score has barely budged above 0.5 points since early February. Currently, BTC trades in a defensive price range, dipping below previous support levels. The market also went through the sharpest capitulation event since 2022, with almost no hopes of a rapid recovery. BTC addresses with non-zero balance are still growing, but at a much slower pace.
New address creation is flat, instead of breaking out exponentially, showing BTC is no longer the object of rushed investments. The current BTC holding ratio shows no dominance of either whales or retail. The ratio has remained flat in the past month. Most of the whale transfers in BTC are linked to institutions or market makers, as some of the crypto native whales slowed down their activity.
Traders are still cautious and waiting for more signs of a local bottom to form, with potential predictions of a dip to the $50,000 range. While inflows to wallets slowed down, more BTC moved to exchanges, and particularly to Binance. Exchange reserves in total are at 2.75M BTC, close to the lower range. However, Binance reserves expanded in February, reaching their highest level since late 2024.
Binance holds over 674K BTC, with increased whale inflows. Binance is used as the most liquid market to take profits. Inflows to the exchange have usually coincided with BTC selling and new local lows. The BTC price direction is often dictated by derivative markets. However, the presence of coins potentially ready to sell is also a big factor.
Binance is especially exposed to selling, which may liquidate long positions and discourage directional bets on BTC. The crypto fear and greed index is therefore at 11 points, signaling extreme fear. This reflects the reluctance to take up long positions, which could be liquidated by selling. The slowdown of spot holders also raises the question of long-term trust in BTC. The slow accumulation and selling undermine trust in long-term BTC growth, or at least point to a longer crypto winter.
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