Today in crypto, the IMF has raised concerns over Pakistan’s decision to allocate 2,000 megawatts of electricity for Bitcoin mining, BlackRock posts its largest spot Bitcoin ETF outflow day ever, and crypto exchange MEXC reports a 200% spike in fraud attempts during Q1 2025.
IMF raises concern over Pakistan’s Bitcoin mining power plan
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised concerns over Pakistan’s decision to allocate 2,000 megawatts of electricity for Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence data centers amid ongoing negotiations tied to the country’s extended financial program.
The initiative, announced last week, is designed to attract autonomous miners, blockchain companies, and AI firms to Pakistan.
However, the IMF has raised red flags about the move, requesting urgent clarification from the Finance Ministry regarding the legality of crypto mining and the power allocations, particularly as the nation struggles with chronic energy shortages and fiscal pressures, according to a report by local news outlets Samaa.
Per the report, the IMF was not consulted prior to the announcement and is questioning the legal standing of cryptocurrencies in Pakistan. The Fund has also voiced concerns over potential impacts on power tariffs and resource distribution.
“There is a fear of further tough talks from the IMF on this initiative,” an official involved in the ongoing negotiations reportedly said. “The economic team is already facing stiff questions, and this move has only added to the complexities of the talks.”
BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF ends 31-day inflow streak with biggest outflow ever
The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, has ended its 31-day spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflow streak with its biggest recorded outflow day since the product launched in January 2024.
On May 30, BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) ended its significant inflow streak with its largest daily outflow of $430.8 million, according to Farside data. Before this, IBIT’s largest outflow day was on Feb. 26, with $418.1 million in outflows.
ETF analyst Nate Geraci said in a May 31 X post, “What a run over the past 30+ days, though.” Geraci highlighted that BlackRock is “now pushing” approximately $70 billion in Bitcoin holdings since it launched. “Not sure I have words to describe how ridiculous this is,” Geraci said.
MEXC exchange detects 200% surge in fraudulent activity in Q1
The MEXC crypto exchange observed a 200% quarter-over-quarter surge in fraudulent trading activity between January and March 2025, it said in its quarterly report.
According to the exchange, 80,057 organized fraud attempts from over 3,000 fraud syndicates were identified in Q1. The fraudulent activity included market manipulation, wash trading, and automated trading bots exploiting users through “unfair” trading execution.
MEXC said that the rise in fraud was most pronounced in India, with the exchange flagging nearly 27,000 accounts for suspicious activity, followed by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region and Indonesia, which had 6,404 and 5,603 accounts flagged, respectively.
Tracy Jin, chief operating officer at MEXC, said the fraudulent activity was fueled by a steady stream of unsuspecting victims funneled through social engineering scams.