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The seizures and freezing over three months were conducted by the District of Columbia’s Scam Center Strike Force, established by US Attorney Jeanine Pirro in November. Officials with the US Department of Justice reported “freezing, seizing, and forfeiting” more than $578 million worth of digital assets tied to criminal groups as part of a task force’s efforts targeting “Southeast Asian cryptocurrency-related fraud and scams.” In a Thursday notice, the Justice Department said the frozen and seized crypto had been “stolen by Chinese transnational criminal organizations” using websites and social media platforms to target US residents. The actions were taken by the District of Columbia’s Scam Center Strike Force, established by former Fox News host, now US Attorney Jeanine Pirro in November. “Seizures of cryptocurrency is one important part of the Scam Center Strike Force’s work,” said Pirro. “Through the legal process, my Office will seek to forfeit these funds and return them to victims to the maximum extent...
Analysts dispute claims of a daily Jane Street Bitcoin dump as spot Bitcoin ETFs post three days of inflows and DeFi debates shift to real revenue. This week, rumors of a “10 a.m. Bitcoin dump” blamed on quantitative trading company Jane Street gained traction online after it was sued by Terraform Labs’ court-appointed administrator, but market watchers said the data does not support a consistent, company-driven selloff. The accusations mounted a day after Jane Street was sued by Terraform Labs’ administrator amid allegations of insider trading that worsened the collapse of Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin ecosystem in May 2022. Elsewhere in the market, demand for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds returned after five consecutive weeks of net negative outflows. US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs took in over $1 billion in three consecutive days this week, with $254 million in cumulative inflows on Thursday, according to Farside Investors data. Read more
Bitcoin’s attempt to top $70,000 stalled throughout the week, but analysts believe that the short-term downside will be limited. Will altcoins hold on to their weekly gains? Key points: Bitcoin continues to face selling on minor rallies, indicating a negative sentiment. Several altcoins have turned down from the overhead resistance levels, indicating the bears are active at higher levels. Read more
Japan’s regulators and conglomerates are working to bring one of the world’s key funding currencies into DeFi, but retail activity remains muted. Japan is preparing its financial system for a world of stablecoins and tokenized assets, with banks, regulators and financial conglomerates working to bring the yen economy onchain. The country is the world’s fourth-largest economy, and its yen is one of the most important currencies in global finance. According to the International Monetary Fund, the yen accounted for 5.82% of global foreign exchange reserves, ranking third worldwide. A major reason for the yen’s systemic importance is the carry trade. Due to low interest rates, investors borrow cheap yen, convert it into other currencies and invest in higher-yield assets, making the yen one of the most trusted funding currencies for global markets. Read more
The blockchain-based lending platform beat revenue estimates but fell short on earnings, even as annual profit reached $134 million. Shares of Figure Technology Solutions, a blockchain-based consumer lending marketplace, plunged on Friday after the company reported mixed fourth-quarter results the prior day, signaling a more difficult operating environment even as revenue continued to climb. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, the company posted revenue of $159.9 million, up from $83.9 million a year earlier, and net income of $15.1 million, compared with $5.9 million in the same period of 2024. Earnings were $0.06 per diluted share, compared to zero a year earlier. Analysts polled by Yahoo Finance expected earnings of $0.18 per share on revenue of $157.7 million. Read more
Representative Erin Koegel proposed a total ban on crypto ATMs in Minnesota, building on a 2024 state law that imposed restrictions on kiosk operators. A Minnesota lawmaker has introduced a bill that could ban virtual currency kiosks across the state after reports of incidents involving crypto-related scams. In a Thursday session of the Minnesota House of Representatives Commerce Finance and Policy Committee, Representative Erin Koegel said the bill, House File 3642, would address the “novel” and “minimally regulated” technology of crypto kiosks. Koegel said she had heard from state law enforcement agencies that many scammers used the kiosks to trick residents into sending crypto, while legitimate traders tended to use centralized exchanges. Read more
The EU’s new crypto tax rules will require platforms to report user data and transactions, reshaping tax transparency for digital assets starting in 2026. The EU’s new crypto tax rules do not introduce new taxes but expand tax transparency by ensuring that crypto transactions are reported and shared across member states. Reporting obligations fall primarily on crypto-asset service providers, requiring them to collect user identity information, tax residency details and transaction data in a standardized format. Information reported by platforms will be automatically exchanged among EU tax authorities, reducing cross-border reporting gaps for crypto users. Read more
The UK lender is reportedly seeking a technology partner to support blockchain-based payments and deposits as stablecoin adoption accelerates across finance and Big Tech. UK banking giant Barclays is reportedly exploring blockchain technology for core banking services, the latest sign that major financial institutions are evaluating digital ledger infrastructure to modernize legacy systems. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported Friday that Barclays is seeking technology providers for a blockchain platform capable of handling payments, deposits and crypto-related applications such as stablecoins and tokenized deposits. The lender has issued requests for information to several technology suppliers, though the companies were not identified. A vendor selection could be made as early as April, the report said. Read more
Several analysts forecast Bitcoin extending its bear market into late 2026, with potential cycle lows of $30,000 to $45,000 backed by rising exchange reserves. Bitcoin (BTC) sellers returned on Friday, pulling BTC price 5.5% below Wednesday’s high of $70,000 to trade at $65,950 at the time of writing. Several analysts said Bitcoin is “going much lower,” potentially reaching a bottom during the last quarter of 2026. Key takeaways: Analysts forecast BTC price to hit a bottom in Q4 based on various technical and onchain metrics. Read more
Bitcoin struggled to breach $70,000 this month, while inflation rates decreased in Japan and some countries reevaluated crypto tax codes. The taxman cometh. In February, the tax authorities of four countries began to reconsider how they tax crypto. In the US, the number of crypto ATMs hit nearly 40,000, returning to 2021 levels of interest in crypto kiosks. The number of installations had dipped significantly after the crypto crash of 2022. Japan’s inflation dipped below 2% in February, less than in the United States. Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett said earlier this year that dollar investments were looking less attractive as the yen is providing a more stable currency. Read more
Hotter US PPI inflation data boosted precious metals but punished Bitcoin bulls, with BTC price downside nearing 3% on the day. Bitcoin (BTC) slid further into Friday’s Wall Street open as US inflation data overshot expectations. Key points: Bitcoin price downside strengthens as US inflation data comes in hot. Read more
South Korea’s National Tax Service reportedly published a wallet seed phrase in a press release, and tokens worth $4.8 million were swiftly drained in the latest custody blunder for the authorities. South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) accidentally exposed a crypto wallet seed phrase in an official press release on Thursday, leading to a loss of 4 million PRTG (Pre‑Retogeum) tokens worth about $4.8 million from the address, according to local media reports. According to multiple Korean media reports on local sites Naver, Chosun and others, the press release related to the National Tax Service’s enforcement campaign against tax delinquents and seizures that the authorities had carried out. The release reportedly included an image of a Ledger cold wallet and a sheet of paper showing the wallet’s full mnemonic phrase without any blur or masking. Blockchain researchers later identified an Ether (ETH) address linked to the leaked phrase that briefly held the 4 million PRTG tokens before the entire balance was...
PYUSDx lets developers issue app-specific stablecoins backed by PayPal USD with fast launch, cross-chain support and branded token options. Payment giant PayPal is expanding access to its stablecoin through a new platform it says will allow devleopers to create their own US dollar-pegged tokens backed by PayPal USD. PayPal, MoonPay and stablecoin platform M0 on Friday announced PYUSDx, a product aimed at helping developers launch PayPal USD (PYUSD)-backed stablecoins for use within applications, or tokens designed for use inside a particular app, platform or ecosystem, according to a joint announcement shared with Cointelegraph. The companies said the rollout is planned for next month. Read more
Any rollout would still require strict affordability and suitability checks, and crypto activity would need FCA authorization, Gambling Commission executive Tim Miller said. The United Kingdom’s Gambling Commission is exploring how cryptocurrency could be used for payments at licensed online casinos, as the country prepares to bring more crypto activity under a new regulatory regime led by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Tim Miller, the commission’s executive director for research and policy, said Thursday that the regulator wants to examine “the potential path forward” for allowing “cryptoasset to be used as a consumer payment option for licensed and regulated gambling in Great Britain.” Miller made the remarks at the Betting and Gaming Council’s annual general meeting in London, according to his published speech. Companies carrying out regulated crypto activities will require authorization by the FCA under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) when the new regime commences, Miller said. ...
Sentient launched Arena, a production-style platform to test AI agents on enterprise tasks, with Pantera and Franklin Templeton joining the initial cohort. Pantera Capital and Franklin Templeton’s digital assets units have joined the first cohort of Arena, a new testing environment from open-source AI lab Sentient that is designed to evaluate how AI agents perform in enterprise-style workflows. In a Friday announcement shared with Cointelegraph, Sentient positioned Arena as a production-style benchmarking platform rather than a static model test. Instead of scoring agents on fixed datasets alone, it runs them through standardized tasks modeled on enterprise conditions, including long documents, incomplete information and conflicting sources. “In this initial phase, participation refers to supporting the Arena program and developer cohort,” Oleg Golev, product lead at Sentient Labs, told Cointelegraph. Read more
The ruling keeps pre‑2019 investor claims in open court and rejects Binance’s bid to send the dispute to private arbitration in Singapore. A United States federal judge ruled that Binance cannot force a group of US customers to arbitrate claims over losses on crypto tokens they bought on its global platform before Feb. 20, 2019, keeping a major class action in open court. The decision on Thursday by District Judge Andrew Carter Jr. in the Southern District of New York held that those claims were not bound by Binance.com’s 2019 arbitration clause because users lacked sufficient notice when the company unilaterally shifted its terms of use away from the 2017 version, which contained no arbitration or class action waiver provisions. According to the judge, Binance relied on a general change‑of‑terms clause and the posting of updated 2019 terms on its website, and there was no evidence that the exchange provided any individual notice or formally “announced” the new arbitration provision to users. Read more
Bitcoin bulls were battling to flip three resistance levels back into support by the end of the week, but history shows they may need to wait another month. Bitcoin (BTC) is battling three key resistance levels at once, and the end of the bear market may depend on breaking them in March. Key takeaways: Bitcoin still faces three resistance levels on the weekly chart after its midweek gains. Read more
The top eight wallets on Polymarket netted over $1.2 million by betting on ZachXBT’s investigation into Axiom, raising insider trading concerns among blockchain researchers. A small group of crypto wallets won more than $1.2 million betting on a Polymarket contract tied to an onchain investigation into decentralized finance (DeFi) trading platform Axiom, fueling fresh concerns that prediction markets can reward people with advance knowledge of market-moving disclosures. The eight most profitable wallets on the market collectively made about $1.2 million, according to trading data compiled on Dune. The same dataset showed more than 50 wallets posting combined losses of roughly $1.23 million, while two wallets lost about $366,000. Eight out of the top 10 wallets are likely insider addresses, judging by their onchain transaction patterns, according to onchain researcher Defioasis. “There are 3 addresses that achieved profits exceeding $100,000, all of which are insider addresses that traded only this single mark...8006 items