Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s conviction misapplies money transmitter laws, crypto industry group says. The conviction of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm could set a “dangerous” precedent for developers and privacy, legal observers in the crypto space say. Storm was found guilty of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business on Wednesday, Aug. 6. The crime carries a maximum sentence of five years. The jury could not reach a consensus on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate US sanctions. Federal prosecutors could still retry him on these two charges. While Storm is yet to face sentencing, other crypto-related cases, including former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and OneCoin co-founder Karl Greenwood, were tried and found guilty in the same district and ended up serving prison time. Read more
As the adoption of digital assets grows rapidly, there has been a significant increase in the amount of funds lost to scams and hacks. In the fast-evolving landscape of blockchain and the digital assets ecosystem, stories of overnight riches often overshadow the darker side: sophisticated scams that prey on the inexperience and trust of victims. One such cautionary tale unfolded in Thailand when a retired Australian police officer, Michael Reinecke, reported to the authorities on July 18, 2025, that he had fallen victim to a cryptocurrency scam that cost him nearly 40 million Thai baht, approximately $1.2 million. Read more
Chinese regulators ordered local firms to halt seminars and research on stablecoins, citing concerns over potential fraud and herd-driven speculation. Chinese authorities told local firms to stop publishing research or holding seminars related to stablecoins, according to a Friday report from Bloomberg. Chinese financial regulators reportedly instructed local brokers and other entities to cancel seminars and halt the promotion of research on stablecoins. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said the authorities were concerned that stablecoins could be exploited as a tool for fraudulent activities. Christopher Wong, a currency strategist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore, said Beijing may be aiming to prevent a speculative surge among retail investors. Read more
XRP price may continue to climb toward $4.50 over the next few months as it breaks out of a classic bullish continuation pattern. Key takeaways: XRP futures volumes have popped by over 200% in the last 24 hours. XRP price chart bull flag targets $4.50 by September or October. Read more
Publicly traded companies are building strategic reserves in digital assets like BNB and Solana. Industry leaders explain why this could be the next institutional on-ramp for crypto. Publicly traded companies are increasingly swapping traditional cash reserves for digital assets, and they’re doing it in ways designed to attract both retail and institutional investors. In the latest Byte-Sized Insight episode, Cointelegraph’s Savannah Fortis spoke with two leaders in this space: David Namdar, CEO of the newly renamed BNB Network Company (formerly CEA Industries), and Joseph Onorati, CEO of DeFi Development Corporation (DFDV). “This is a story that hasn’t been told well… a lot of people, particularly in the US, really haven’t seen the growth of BNB Chain or how massive Binance is globally,” said Namdar. Read more
Stability DAO said it had identified two CrediX Finance team members and was working with other projects and authorities to recover the stolen funds. The team behind the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol CrediX Finance seems to have disappeared following a $4.5 million exploit that drained funds from the platform, raising suspicions of an exit scam. On Monday, blockchain security firms flagged the exploit and determined that crypto assets worth $4.5 million had been taken from the platform. In response, the DeFi protocol paused its website to prevent users from depositing any more funds. Blockchain security firm SlowMist wrote that six days before the exploit, the attackers accessed the protocol’s multisig admin and bridge wallets. The access was used to mint crypto that was used as collateral to drain the DeFi protocol’s liquidity pools. Read more
Despite aggressive bullish bets, market odds imply under 3% chance of $200,000 BTC price by December of this year. Key takeaways: Diagonal and butterfly spreads benefit from BTC near $160,000. $200,000 year-end call options imply less than 3% chance of profit. Read more
Trump’s executive order opening 401(k)s to crypto has drawn a mix of praise, caution and criticism from industry leaders and skeptics alike. United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday opening the door for Americans to include crypto and other alternative assets in their 401(k) retirement accounts and other defined-contribution plans, a policy shift that has sparked optimism and caution from the crypto industry. Trump’s executive order directs the US Labor Department to reevaluate restrictions on alternative assets like crypto, private equity and real estate in 401(k)s and other defined-contribution plans. As of the first quarter of 2025, US retirement assets totaled $43.4 trillion, according to the Investment Company Institute and the Federal Reserve Board. Defined-contribution plans, including $8.7 trillion in 401(k)s, accounted for more than $12 trillion. Read more