New York Attorney General Letitia James is trying to secure a $1.37 billion judgment against the operators of NovaTech and its predecessor AWS Mining, two successive cryptocurrency investment schemes that allegedly defrauded hundreds of thousands of investors worldwide out of more than $1 billion.
Alleged founders Cynthia and Eddy Petion never appeared in court and, according to the AG’s office, fled the country.
“NovaTech and AWS Mining scammed thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers by telling them they were making a safe investment when in reality, they were victims of a pyramid scheme,” James said in a statement. “These scammers targeted immigrant and religious communities with the promise of a better life but instead robbed them of their life savings.”
The schemes, AWS Mining and later NovaTech, relied on promoters who recruited heavily in Haitian and other immigrant communities — through prayer groups, WhatsApp chats, and ads in Haitian Creole.
AWS Mining sold crypto mining contracts promising 15 to 20 percent monthly returns and 200 percent within 15 months. It collapsed in 2019. The Petions then launched NovaTech, marketed as a registered hedge fund broker, promising weekly trading returns of two to four percent — more than 140 percent a year.
Those returns were fabricated, according to prosecutors. Records from B2Broker, which supplied NovaTech’s white-label trading platform, show that of the more than $1 billion investors deposited between 2019 and 2023, only about $26 million was ever actually traded — and NovaTech’s traders lost $18.2 million of that. Returns to earlier investors came from newer deposits, not trading. When NovaTech collapsed in mid-2023, tens of thousands of investors could not withdraw their funds.
The AG is also seeking $134.5 million the Petions allegedly withdrew to their own wallets from the investor account Cynthia Petion solely controlled, plus $4.7 million tied to the earlier AWS Mining scheme. A default judgment entered in August 2025 already bars the couple and their companies from the securities, commodities, and cryptocurrency industries.
Separately, four of the scheme’s top promoters have agreed to pay nearly $6 million in disgorgement to victims and accepted the same industry bans.
Square Tech to explore AI agent-powered payment solutions as part of its Digital Solutions (DS) business
Initial focus on integrating GOAT Network’s technology into a stablecoin payment program for foreign tourists, currently under development with Lordsystem
Proposed safeguards include verifiable on-chain identity, spending limits, and user authorization, with a phased rollout subject to Korean legal and regulatory review
SEOUL, October 22, 2026 – Square Tech (KOSDAQ: 148250) announced today that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with GOAT Network, the Bitcoin-secured infrastructure for agentic commerce, to explore AI agent-powered stablecoin payment services in South Korea as part of its Digital Solutions business. DAC Labs, the core infrastructure developer behind GOAT Network, has also joined the agreement to provide technical support.
As an initial priority, the companies will explore integrating GOAT Network’s AI agent payment technology into a stablecoin payment program for foreign tourists that Square Tech is currently developing with Lordsystem, a South Korean mobile identity verification company. The program aims to enable foreign visitors to verify their identities using mobile passports and make payments at participating merchants in South Korea using US dollar-denominated stablecoins. The partners will also evaluate potential expansion into additional services, including digital gift card and voucher purchases, subject to applicable legal and regulatory reviews.
Under the agreement, Square Tech will lead domestic business development, merchant partnerships, and regulatory engagement. GOAT Network will provide its AI agent payment technology and network infrastructure, while DAC Labs will support technical integration, security reviews, and network operations.
The collaboration comes as South Korea continues to develop its regulatory frameworks for artificial intelligence and digital assets. The country’s AI Basic Act, formally known as the Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence and Establishment of a Foundation for Trust, came into effect in January 2026. Meanwhile, discussions are underway in the National Assembly on the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act, which seeks to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets, including Korean won-denominated stablecoins.
At Korea Blockchain Week 2026 in Seoul, GOAT Network demonstrated these capabilities through an interactive agent-powered purchasing experience, highlighting early consumer interest in AI-driven commerce. The collaboration with Square Tech represents a further step toward bringing these capabilities into real-world payment applications.
The proposed solution will incorporate technical safeguards designed to ensure trust, security, and transparency when AI agents execute payments on behalf of users. Each AI agent will be assigned a verifiable on-chain identity based on the ERC-8004 standard. Spending limits, user authorization mechanisms, and comprehensive transaction records will also be implemented to enable transparent monitoring of AI agent payment activities.
In the initial phase, the companies plan to support US dollar-denominated stablecoins through arrangements that meet applicable licensing and regulatory requirements. They also intend to establish the technical foundation for potential support of Korean won-denominated stablecoins as South Korea’s digital asset regulatory framework evolves.
Kangho Kim, CEO of Square Tech, said: “South Korea is rapidly establishing the regulatory foundations for AI and digital assets. The next important step is translating these developments into practical services that consumers and merchants can use. Through this collaboration, Square Tech aims to integrate global technologies into South Korea’s domestic payment environment and regulatory framework, while building a new payment ecosystem that brings AI and stablecoins into everyday transactions.”
Kevin Liu, Co-Founder and CEO of GOAT Network, said: “The next evolution of AI agents goes beyond understanding user requests to making purchases on their behalf. For agentic commerce to scale, businesses need to make their products and services accessible to AI agents, while consumers need assurance that purchases are authorized, spending stays within defined limits, and payments are secure. Through our collaboration with Square Tech, we aim to explore how these capabilities can support real-world commerce in South Korea.”
The companies intend to comply with all applicable South Korean laws and regulations, including the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, and the Act on Reporting and Use of Certain Financial Transaction Information. Where necessary, they will work with appropriately licensed service providers to deliver the proposed services. Consumer-facing features will be introduced in phases, subject to legal and regulatory review.
About Square Tech
Square Tech was founded in 2002 and is based in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The company develops and produces LTCC (Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic) components and substrates used in the telecommunications, defense, and automotive industries, and has been listed on KOSDAQ since 2016. Through its Digital Solutions business, Square Tech is expanding into digital asset payments. The company is developing a stablecoin payment program for foreign tourists with Lordsystem, a South Korean mobile identity verification company, and is pursuing cooperation with Anchorage Digital, a US-based institutional digital asset platform, on institutional digital asset infrastructure.
About GOAT Network
GOAT Network is Bitcoin-secured infrastructure for agentic commerce, connecting businesses, consumers, developers, and AI agents. Its core product, GOAT Flow, makes products and services discoverable, understandable, and purchasable by AI agents, while GOAT AgentKit provides developers with tools to build agent-native applications. GOAT Network’s core infrastructure is developed by DAC Labs, a research and engineering company specializing in blockchain infrastructure, zero-knowledge technology, and AI agent systems.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored press release. Readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence before acting on any information presented in this article.
Robinhood has taken a clear step into corporate Bitcoin ownership. On October 7, 2026, Johann Kerbrat, the company’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of Crypto and International, disclosed that Robinhood has added $25 million worth of Bitcoin to its own corporate balance sheet—its first proprietary BTC holding.
Kerbrat framed the purchase as more than a financial allocation. Speaking in an interview at the Digital Asset Summit Asia, he described it as a deliberate signal of commitment: “We care deeply about bitcoin and the ecosystem around it. For us, it’s more aligning our company and our vision with the crypto community.” He was equally clear about scale, noting that Robinhood’s market capitalization sits around $100 billion and that “the $25 million worth of bitcoin is not going to change a lot of the current trajectory of the company.”
The company did not disclose an exact coin count. Using this week’s average price near $84,960, the outlay equates to approximately 294 BTC. Other estimates based on prices around $84,000 place it near 300 BTC. The precise figure is expected to appear in Robinhood’s next public filing.
Signal Over Size
For Bitcoin For Corporations, the absolute size is less important than the decision itself. Robinhood is a publicly traded fintech platform with massive retail reach. Moving from solely facilitating customer crypto trading to holding Bitcoin as a corporate treasury asset represents a meaningful shift in posture. It is the difference between offering the product and putting principal capital behind the thesis.
This is distinct from the much larger pool of digital assets Robinhood already holds in custody for customers—roughly 185,000 BTC (approximately $15.5 billion) plus other cryptocurrencies, totaling around $25 billion across multiple chains according to on-chain analysis. Those assets belong to users. The new $25 million position belongs to the company.
An Early, Directional Allocation
Kerbrat’s comments make clear this is an initial step rather than the launch of a large-scale treasury program akin to Strategy’s. The amount is modest relative to Robinhood’s cash position and market value—roughly half a percent of reported cash holdings in some analyses and a rounding error against a $100 billion valuation. Yet first allocations of this kind often serve as internal and external catalysts: they align incentives, educate boards and investors, and create optionality for future expansion.
In the broader corporate landscape, the purchase lands alongside continued accumulation by established Bitcoin treasury companies. Strategy, for example, acquired 334 BTC for approximately $28.7 million in early October at an average price near $85,839, bringing its total holdings higher. Robinhood’s outlay sits in a similar dollar neighborhood but marks an entry point rather than an addition to an already dominant position.
Why This Matters for Corporate Strategy
Corporate Bitcoin adoption continues to mature from niche experiment to recognized strategic tool. Companies are increasingly evaluating Bitcoin as a reserve asset, a hedge against monetary debasement, a long-duration store of value, and a market signal that can differentiate them with investors and stakeholders. Robinhood’s move fits this pattern: a high-profile operating company in the financial sector publicly affirming Bitcoin’s role on the balance sheet.
For other public and pre-IPO companies watching, the lesson is practical. Allocations do not need to be transformative on day one to be strategically valuable. Clear messaging, disciplined sizing relative to overall capital structure, and alignment with the firm’s broader vision can turn a modest purchase into a credible signal. The next questions for Robinhood—and for peers considering similar steps—will center on governance frameworks, custody arrangements, accounting treatment, investor relations positioning, and whether this initial holding evolves into a more systematic treasury strategy.
Robinhood’s decision adds another data point to the growing list of public companies treating Bitcoin as a corporate asset. At Bitcoin For Corporations, we view every such step—large or small—as progress toward normalizing Bitcoin on balance sheets with clarity, confidence, and capital efficiency.
Disclaimer: This content was prepared on behalf of Bitcoin For Corporations for informational purposes only. It reflects the author’s own analysis and opinion and should not be relied upon as investment advice. Nothing in this article constitutes an offer, invitation, or solicitation to purchase, sell, or subscribe for any security or financial product.
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