Today in crypto, TRM Labs reached unicorn status after completing a $70 million Series C funding round, new data shows that an estimated 11% of Ethereum transactions are related to address poisoning attacks and Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy reported a $482 million loss in the fourth quarter as the bull market reversed course.
TRM Labs completes $70M investment round at $1B, becomes crypto unicorn
Blockchain intelligence platform TRM Labs completed a $70 million Series C funding round, valuing it at $1 billion, becoming the latest crypto company to reach unicorn status.
The investment round was led by seed investor Blockchain Capital, with participation from Goldman Sachs, Bessemer Venture Partners, Brevan Howard Digital, Thoma Bravo, Citi Ventures and Galaxy Ventures, according to a Wednesday news release.
TRM Labs seeks to equip public and private institutions with AI solutions that combat cybercrime. The company defends against illicit activities that increasingly rely on automation.
“At TRM, we’re building AI for problems that have real consequences for public safety, financial integrity, and national security,” wrote Esteban Castaño, co-founder and CEO of TRM Labs.
The $70 million round shows that capital is flowing into blockchain analytics platforms seeking to stop the spread of AI-fueled scams and cyberattacks, including from large traditional institutions.
Stablecoin ‘dust’ txs on Ethereum triple post-Fusaka: Coin Metrics
Stablecoin-fueled dusting attacks are now estimated to make up 11% of all Ethereum transactions after the Fusaka upgrade made transactions cheaper, according to Coin Metrics.
Ethereum is now seeing more than 2 million average daily transactions, spiking to almost 2.9 million in mid-January, along with 1.4 million daily active addresses — a 60% increase over prior averages.
Coin Metrics said it analyzed over 227 million balance updates for USDC (USDC) and USDt (USDT) on Ethereum from November 2025 through January 2026.
It found that 43% were involved in transfers of less than $1 and 38% were under a single penny — “amounts with insignificant economic purpose other than wallet seeding.”
“The number of addresses holding small ‘dust’ balances, greater than zero but less than 1 native unit, has grown sharply, consistent with millions of wallets receiving tiny poisoning deposits.”
Pre-Fusaka, stablecoin dust accounted for roughly 3 to 5% of Ethereum transactions and 15 to 20% of active addresses, it said.
“Post-Fusaka, these figures jumped to 10-15% of transactions and 25-35% of active addresses on a typical day, a 2-3x increase.”
However, the remaining 57% of balance updates involved transfers above $1, “suggesting the majority of stablecoin activity remains organic,” Coin Metrics stated.
Galaxy reports $482 million loss
Galaxy, the digital asset and AI infrastructure company led by Mike Novogratz, reported a $482 million loss in the fourth quarter, citing declining cryptocurrency prices.
The losses were “driven primarily by the depreciation of digital asset prices,” the company said in its earnings report. The price of Bitcoin declined by about 20% during the fourth quarter and has since intensified its selloff, plunging toward $73,000 on Tuesday.
Novogratz told shareholders the downturn reflects a familiar phase of the crypto market cycle, adding that periods of heightened stress have historically been followed by renewed accumulation and recovery.
“I do think that we’re in the lower end of the range [of Bitcoin price],” Novogratz told shareholders. “What I would say is that we’ve been here before. Anyone who’s been in crypto for more than five years realizes that part of the ethos of this whole industry is pain.”
