COURT SLAMS CFTC OVER “REGULATE FIRST, EXPLAIN LATER” TACTICS Trevor Kitchen just forced the CFTC to hit the brakes. In a stinging rebuke, the D.C. Circuit ruled that the agency cannot simply declare a crypto trading platform an illegal, unregistered futures exchange without first proving its own legal footing. The decision, handed down June 5,…
Bitget Hacked as $350 Million Vanishes From Crypto Exchange Wallets Bitget has reportedly suffered a security breach in which approximately $350 million disappeared from the crypto exchange’s wallets. The available information does not specify when the incident occurred, which assets were affected, or whether customer accounts were directly impacted. It also does not include details…
CFTC WINS — CROMBIE LOSES — CRYPTO GETS ITS FIRST CLEAR RULE The Ninth Circuit just handed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission a decisive win against James Devlin Crombie, confirming that the agency’s enforcement reach covers crypto futures and spot trading alike. The ruling matters because it is the first appellate-level decision to treat certain…
U.S. Judge Orders Crypto Accounts Seized in IRS Tax Probe A federal court just handed the IRS a powerful new weapon: the ability to seize cryptocurrency accounts directly through civil forfeiture, even when the owners are unknown. In a case involving 24 separate wallets tied to tax evasion, the court ruled that digital assets can…
SEC Scores Early Win as Binance Case Advances Judge rejects Binance motion to dismiss, case moves forward. The Securities and Exchange Commission just cleared its first major hurdle in its lawsuit against Binance, with a federal judge refusing to toss the case despite the exchange’s aggressive legal pushback. This ruling keeps the largest crypto platform…
KelpDAO Developer Sues LayerZero Over $292M Bridge Exploit A KelpDAO developer has sued cross-chain interoperability protocol LayerZero over a bridge exploit that allegedly involved $292 million in assets. The case places renewed attention on the risks associated with blockchain bridges, which allow assets and messages to move between otherwise separate networks. Because bridges connect multiple…
COURT KILLS FORTRESS TOKEN FRAUD CLAIM BEFORE TRIAL Delaware’s top commercial court just threw out a crypto-related fraud suit before it reached a jury, signaling that token-sale disputes may now face a higher bar. The ruling matters because it arrives as regulators and exchanges watch every Delaware precedent for clues on how private token deals…
Court Slams SEC for Bitcoin ETF Double Standard The D.C. Circuit just handed the SEC a humiliating loss that could force the agency to finally approve a spot Bitcoin ETF. Grayscale’s challenge to the Commission’s refusal to convert its GBTC trust into an ETF was upheld in full, with judges ruling that the SEC had…
COURT SLAMS CFTC FOR CHASING A GHOST The Seventh Circuit just torched the CFTC’s theory that a crypto trader’s “simulated” trades were fraud because no real money ever changed hands. In a crisp reversal that shrinks the regulator’s reach, the panel ruled the CFTC failed to prove Donelson’s simulated trading ever touched the commodities markets…
IBM Connects Banks to Swift’s Blockchain Ledger for Tokenized Deposits IBM has connected banks to Swift’s blockchain ledger to support the use of tokenized deposits, according to the announcement. The initiative links participating financial institutions with infrastructure designed to record and manage these digital representations of bank deposits. Tokenized deposits represent traditional bank deposits in…
Coinbase Wins Early Round in SEC Showdown Coinbase just forced the SEC to explain itself in public, and the agency’s own internal logic may now be on trial. A federal appeals court granted the exchange’s petition for review, meaning the SEC must defend—before judges—why it refused to clarify crypto rules that traders, issuers, and exchanges…
Elliptic Wants Every Cop to Read a Crypto Wallet in Seconds—With AI Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has introduced a new AI-assisted tool designed to help law enforcement quickly interpret on-chain activity without needing a specialist unit. The product, called Pulse, is built to generate a plain-language explanation of what a wallet address or transaction appears…
U.S. commodities firms can invest in tokenized assets and use blockchain records: CFTC U.S. commodities firms may invest in tokenized assets and use blockchain-based records, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The position gives commodities firms greater clarity on the potential use of blockchain technology in their activities. Tokenized assets represent traditional or…
Tether and Fasanara Target $3 Billion in Private Credit Tether and Fasanara Capital are launching a $400 million evergreen private credit fund designed to expand asset-backed lending through fintech platforms in more than 60 countries. The move pushes USDT beyond trading desks and into real-world credit markets, where the potential returns are larger but so…
Bitcoin holders are cashing out, just not the way they did at prior market tops Bitcoin holders are reducing their exposure, but the pattern differs from the selling typically associated with previous market tops. Rather than following the same distribution behavior seen in earlier cycles, investors appear to be taking profits through a different set…
DoubleZero Brings Election Market Data to Crypto Traders DoubleZero is expanding access to Kalshi’s political prediction-market data ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. The move gives institutional and automated traders real-time election signals as betting activity continues to grow. The development connects Kalshi’s fast-moving political markets with DoubleZero’s data infrastructure, potentially making election probabilities easier…
U.S. SEC’s Steadiest Crypto Advocate, Hester Peirce, to Depart Next Week Hester Peirce, one of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s most consistent advocates for a more supportive approach to crypto, is set to leave the agency next week. Peirce’s departure will remove a prominent voice from the SEC who has repeatedly pushed for clearer…
Bank Tests Proprietary Stablecoin Across Stellar A US bank has moved its proprietary USBDC stablecoin between North American and European entities in a cross-border pilot on the public Stellar blockchain. The trial matters because it puts bank-issued digital money into a real international settlement setting—not just a laboratory. The transaction tests whether USBDC can move…
Bitcoin ETF flows turn positive for 2026 after erasing $5.8 billion deficit Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows have flipped back into positive territory for 2026 after previously logging a deep year-to-date deficit. According to the latest figures, Bitcoin ETFs were down as much as $5.8 billion in net outflows for the year at one point…
Bitcoin holders are cashing out, just not the way they did at prior market tops Bitcoin holders are taking profits, but the pattern of selling looks different from what has typically marked major market peaks in the past. The shift suggests that while some investors are moving to lock in gains, the market is not…
