Prediction market platforms took center stage on HBO‘s Last Week Tonight on Sunday as host John Oliver addressed regulation, laws and market manipulation. John Oliver, host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, targeted prediction market platforms on his show’s latest weekly deep dive. In Sunday’s airing of the HBO show, Oliver discussed some of the trivial event contracts on platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, including betting whether members of the Trump administration would use certain words in public addresses, to the companies’ controversial partnering with news organizations. Specifically, the host questioned Donald Trump Jr.’s relationship with both platforms — an adviser to Kalshi and Polymarket — and how the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “doesn’t even seem to be trying” to block event contracts on terrorism, assassination and war under Chair Michael Selig. Read more
The funding supports a dual-licensed platform as Malaysia expands its regulatory framework for digital assets and tokenization. Bybit has led an $8 million Series A funding round in Hata, a dual-licensed digital asset exchange operating in Malaysia. The round also included participation from global family offices and follows Bybit’s earlier investment in Hata’s $4.2 million seed round. According to Monday’s announcement, the funding will be used to improve liquidity, expand the user base and develop additional digital asset products. Hata operates under licenses from the Securities Commission Malaysia and the Labuan Financial Services Authority, allowing it to offer trading and custody services for digital assets in the Southeast Asian country. Read more
While the regulator under Atkins has dropped several cases against crypto companies, the SEC still awaits passage of a market structure bill to clarify its authority over crypto. Since Paul Atkins was sworn in as chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 21, 2025, the agency has significantly changed its position on regulation and enforcement related to digital assets, marking a shift from the leadership of former chair Gary Gensler during the Biden administration. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump made removing Gensler one of his promises to the crypto industry, along with creating a national Bitcoin (BTC) stockpile and opposing the issuance of a US central bank digital currency. His November 2024 election win led to Gensler’s resignation in January 2025 and the appointment of SEC commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting chair of the financial regulator until the Senate could confirm Atkins as Trump’s pick to lead the agency. Read more
Bitcoin bulls retain control over the market, but charts show $80,000 is likely to remain a stiff overhead resistance. Will altcoins rally as BTC price consolidates? Key points: Buyers aggressively bought into the dip in Bitcoin, indicating positive sentiment. That increases the possibility of a rally to $84,000. Several major altcoins have pulled back to their support levels, signaling that the bears remain sellers on rallies. Read more
The purchase comes as the stablecoin issuer expands its investments across crypto infrastructure and financial services, including in Kaio, also announced today. Tether has taken an 8.2% stake in Antalpha, making the stablecoin issuer one of the company’s largest shareholders following its May 2025 initial public offering (IPO), according to a Monday filing. The Schedule 13D filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission indicates that Tether now holds 1.95 million shares through related entities, with Giancarlo Devasini, chairman of Tether, sharing voting and dispositive power over the position. The filing also states that Tether and its related entities may increase or reduce their holdings over time depending on market conditions and other factors. Read more