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Stephanie Cutter will join the prediction markets company as a policy adviser, having previously worked in Democratic lawmakers’ campaigns. Predictions market platform Kalshi announced that a former staffer of US President Barack Obama had joined the company as a policy adviser. In a Thursday notice, Kalshi said Stephanie Cutter would join the prediction markets company from Precision Strategies, a communications firm she co-founded in 2013. Kalshi said the addition of Cutter came as the company planned to “deepen its relationships in DC and across the country.” According to Kalshi co-founder and CEO Tarek Mansour, Cutter’s experience allowed her to “get [the] message to the right people,” highlighting her background in government and politics. The predictions market already has staff with ties to the US government, including the appointment of the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., as a strategic adviser in January 2025, the week before his father took office. Read more
Circle had several hours or days to freeze illicit USDC funds in many of the 15 cases presented, but failed to act, according to ZachXBT. Onchain detective ZachXBT claims that Circle, the issuer of the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, has failed to freeze or blacklist about $420 million in illicit fund flows since 2022. Circle can freeze illicit funds and blacklist wallet addresses, but either took “minimal” action to freeze illicit flows or failed to act in 15 separate hack-and-fraud cases, including those linked to North Korean (DPRK) state-affiliated hackers, ZachXBT said. The stablecoin issuer allegedly failed to freeze $9 million in USDC from the GMX decentralized exchange (DEX) hack in July 2025, and blacklisted wallets linked to the $200 million Cetus DEX hack in May 2025 after USDC was converted into Ether (ETH), according to ZackXBT. Read more
Corporate Bitcoin holders split as Strategy holds firm while Nakamoto sells at a loss, exposing risks of debt-driven accumulation and a shifting treasury model under pressure. Corporate Bitcoin (BTC) holders are diverging into two distinct paths amid continued market pressure. While Strategy held steady on its massive BTC reserves, Nakamoto Holdings moved in the opposite direction, selling at a loss and trimming exposure as it reworks its balance sheet. The contrast highlights a growing divide in the corporate Bitcoin treasury model. Some holders have refused to sell, treating BTC as a long-term reserve asset and doubling down through volatility, while others are being forced to unlock liquidity, book losses or rethink capital allocation. With Bitcoin down 46% from its peak, the risks behind debt-fueled or aggressive buying strategies are becoming harder to ignore. Read more
Execution risk in crypto is the new custody risk. Live credentials, not just private keys, are now the main attack surface. Opinion by: Ido Sofer, founder and CEO at Sodot. The crypto industry is normally well ahead of its game when it comes to pure innovation and functionality, but security is a different matter. For years, custody risk in crypto was defined by a single fear: the theft of private keys. The industry responded by hardening storage with cold storage, air-gapped systems, MPC and other methods. It then recognized that protecting only the keys is not enough, introducing transaction security and policies to prevent malicious transactions that steal funds, although the keys remain safe. Both of these remain a serious threat, but focusing solely on private keys obscures a deeper shift. Read more
Bitcoin is attempting to form a bottom, but select analysts believe that the decline is not over yet and the $60,000 level may break down. Key points: Buyers are attempting to maintain BTC above the $66,500 level, but several analysts believe that the $60,000 level may crack. Some major altcoins risk breaking below their immediate support levels, signaling that bears remain in control. Read more
Binance led derivatives trading in Q1 2026 with about $4.9 trillion in volume, while Hyperliquid entered the top 10 as perp DEXs continued to gain traction, according to CoinGlass. Binance maintained its leading position in crypto derivatives trading in the first quarter of 2026, while decentralized exchange Hyperliquid broke into the top 10 venues by volume, according to CoinGlass. Derivatives trading remained the dominant force in the crypto market in Q1 2026, totaling $18.6 trillion compared with $1.94 trillion in spot trading, according to a CoinGlass report on Friday. The analysts said trading activity remained strong over the quarter, though liquidity and capital became even more concentrated at the top. “Q1 was not about euphoria. It was about recovery, concentration, and shifting market structure,” CoinGlass said. Read more
Edward Felten said Ethereum L2s need responsive pricing to scale, as Arbitrum’s new model tests an alternative to EIP-1559-style fee swings. Ethereum layer-2 networks need “responsive pricing” to scale to billions of users and reduce the fee swings that still accompany congestion, Offchain Labs co-founder Edward Felten said during a keynote at EthCC 2026. Ethereum’s EIP-1559 upgrade launched in August 2021, as part of the London hard fork. It reformed the Ethereum fee market by modifying the gas fee limit and introduced a feature that burns part of the transaction fees, removing them permanently from circulation. Felten said gas-price swings are still the main mechanism for protecting networks from being overrun during periods of heavy demand, even though that produces the kind of fee volatility mainstream users tend to reject. Read more
A CKPool-connected solo miner just landed a $210,000 Bitcoin block reward, one of only 20 solo‑mined blocks in the past year, as listed miners sell BTC to stay afloat. A solo Bitcoin miner secured a roughly $210,000 block reward on Thursday, proving that the so-called “mining lottery” is still paying out even if industrial operators dominate the network. The miner, connected to CKPool’s solo service, found block 943,411 and earned 3.139 BTC in subsidy and transaction fees, according to data from block explorer mempool.space. Solo mining remains rare. Statistics compiled by Bennet’s tracker show that solo mining pools have found just 20 Bitcoin (BTC) blocks over the last 12 months, paying out a total of 62.96 BTC, roughly one win every 18.7 days on average. The longest “drought” between blocks was 58 days, and the previous solo win came on Feb. 28. Read more
Dmail Network will shut down on May 15 after citing high infrastructure costs, failed fundraising and weak token utility. Decentralized email platform Dmail Network is shutting down after five years of operations, citing high infrastructure costs, weak monetization, failed funding efforts and limited token utility. The platform said it will gradually cease all services starting May 15, and urged users to export their data before then. It said all nodes will shut down after that date, making emails and accounts inaccessible. Dmail Network positioned itself as a Web3 communication platform focused on decentralized, wallet-based email, encrypted messaging and onchain notifications. In January 2025, DappRadar ranked Dmail second among AI DApps, with 4.9 million unique active wallets for the month. Read more
A plan to move supervision of major crypto asset service providers to the France-based ESMA is testing MiCA’s balance between EU-level control and national-level decision-making. Europe’s next crypto battle is no longer about whether to regulate the industry, but who gets to hold the pen. European Union leaders are weighing a European Commission proposal to hand direct supervision of the bloc’s largest crypto asset service providers (CASPs) to the Paris-based European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), shifting front-line control away from national regulators. France, Austria and Italy believe the move is overdue. In a joint September 2025 paper, their market authorities called for “a stronger European framework,” arguing centralized oversight is needed to address “major differences” in how countries authorize firms and curb regulatory shopping. Malta’s Financial Services Authority (MFSA) is not convinced. A spokesperson told Cointelegraph it is “premature to introduce structural changes” like centrali...
A Bank of Canada staff paper found Aave V3 avoided bad debt in 2024, but said the model pushed losses onto borrowers during liquidations. A Bank of Canada staff paper found that Aave V3 reported zero non-performing loans in 2024, with overcollateralization and automated liquidations helping prevent lender losses in its Ethereum lending market. Using transaction-level data from Jan. 27, 2023, to May 6, 2025, the study found that positions were typically liquidated before collateral values fell below outstanding debt, helping contain lender losses across the sample. But the model came with a tradeoff, the paper said. While it protected lenders from unrecovered losses, it also shifted risk onto borrowers and constrained capital efficiency compared with traditional lending systems. Read more
ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood said that Bitcoin as a "proven" asset would no longer experience drawdowns of 85% or more from all-time highs. Bitcoin (BTC) is “done” with drawdowns of 85% or more from all-time highs, says ARK Invest CEO, Cathie Wood. Key points: Bitcoin will not see another correction of 85% or more versus its latest all-time high, Cathie Wood argues. Read more
Drift Protocol initiated onchain contact with wallets tied to the $280 million exploit as an unknown sender also attempts to pressure the attacker. Drift Protocol, a Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX), said Friday it had opened onchain contact with wallets tied to funds stolen in the exploit that outside firms have estimated at roughly $280 million to $286 million. Drift said on X that it had initiated onchain contact with wallets holding the stolen Ether (ETH), seeking to open a line of communication. The team sent onchain messages from its Ethereum address (0x0934faC) to four wallets linked to the exploiter at the time of publication, urging the attacker to reach out via Blockscan chat. “We are ready to speak,” Drift said. Read more
The reported acquisition talks come as South Korea is considering a 20% cap on major crypto exchange shareholders, which would force major platforms to restructure ownership. South Korean brokerage Korea Investment & Securities (KIS) is reviewing a potential stake in crypto exchange Coinone, according to Korean media reports and company comments, though no deal has been finalized. Citing people familiar with the matter, the Korea Herald reported that KIS started engaging with regulators and politicians as part of a broader process tied to a potential investment in Coinone. Coinone also said no specific transaction had been decided. The news comes as South Korea considers a proposal to cap major shareholders’ stakes in domestic crypto exchanges at 20%, a move that could force ownership changes across parts of the sector if enacted. Coinone Chairman Cha Myung-hoon reportedly controls about 53.44% of the exchange, meaning a stake sale could become one way to adapt if the proposed cap advances into law. Read more
January saw the largest attack against a DeFi protocol of the quarter, the $40 million private key compromise of portfolio management platform Step Finance. Crypto hackers stole over $168.6 million in cryptocurrency from 34 decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols in the first quarter of 2026, falling significantly from the same period last year, according to data from DefiLlama. The $40 million private key compromise of Step Finance in January was the largest exploit of the quarter, the data shows, followed by a smart contract manipulation that drained $26.4 million in ether (ETH) from Truebit on Jan. 8. The third-largest was a private key compromise targeting stablecoin issuer Resolv Labs on March 21. The quarterly figure is low given that the industry saw $1.58 billion stolen in the first quarter of 2025, with the bulk coming from the $1.4 billion Bybit exploit. However, experts warn that crypto hacks aren’t tied to specific periods within a year. Read more
CryptoQuant data shows there are 8.2 million Bitcoin currently at a loss, which is still under the amount of Bitcoin at a loss during the 2022 bear market. The amount of Bitcoin supply in profit and loss is now getting closer to levels typical of a bear market, according to a CryptoQuant analyst. There are currently about 11.2 million Bitcoin (BTC) in profit. The previous bear market recorded 9 million BTC in profit at its lowest point, CryptoQuant analyst "Darkfost" said Thursday. CryptoQuant data also shows there are about 8.2 million Bitcoin at a loss, with Glassnode data confirming it’s at levels not seen since late 2022. Read more
The IMF said tokenization could improve cross-border payments and financial inclusion in emerging economies but cited concerns over volatility and the “erosion of monetary sovereignty.” The International Monetary Fund said tokenization has the potential to remove friction and boost transparency in finance, but warned that the technology could also create challenges that affect financial stability. "The net effect of tokenization on financial stability is uncertain,” the IMF said in a 23-page report on Thursday, stating that “atomic settlement and enhanced transparency reduce some traditional risks, but speed and automation introduce new ones.” More than $27.6 billion worth of real-world assets, minus stablecoins, is currently tokenized onchain, data from RWA.xyz shows. Boston Consulting Group estimated in 2022 that the tokenization market could rise to $16 trillion by 2030, while McKinsey & Co in 2024 predicted a more conservative $2 trillion over the same time frame. Read more
Stablecoin monthly transaction volume hit $7.2 trillion in February, surpassing the $6.8 trillion processed by the Automated Clearing House network. Stablecoin transaction volume surpassed the US Automated Clearing House network for the first time in February, a significant milestone for an asset class that has existed for less than 12 years. According to data from blockchain analytics platform Artemis, the total 30-day adjusted rolling stablecoin volume hit $7.2 trillion in February, beating the Automated Clearing House network at $6.8 trillion. The data is based on 30-day rolling adjusted volume of stablecoin transactions in US dollars, excluding MEV activity and intra-centralized exchange transactions, comparing this to the daily average volume of other financial systems. Read more
Circle, known for issuing stablecoins including USDC and EURC, is expanding into the Bitcoin space, targeting institutional users. Stablecoin issuer Circle said it plans to launch its own version of a wrapped Bitcoin, which would put it against incumbents Coinbase and BitGo as it targets institutional users. The asset, called cirBTC and announced on Thursday, is set to launch on Ethereum, backed 1:1 by bitcoin (BTC) and aimed at over-the-counter desks, market makers and lending protocols. Circle said the asset is designed to provide institutions with a “highly secure and neutral version of wrapped BTC.” Read more10222 items