Bitcoin Slips as Iran Tensions and Yen Risks Mount Bitcoin failed to reclaim $80,000 as escalating Iran tensions pressured both crypto and U.S. stocks. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also fueled concern that a stronger yen could trigger a reversal in the popular yen carry trade. The selloff was driven by a wider risk-off mood rather…
Former Hack VC partner Hsin-Ju Chuang found dead following public dispute with the firm Hsin-Ju Chuang, a former partner at crypto investment firm Hack VC, has been found dead following a public dispute with the firm. The available information does not provide details about the circumstances of Chuang’s death, including its cause, timing or location….
TRM Labs Doubles Valuation as Crypto Intelligence Demand Surges Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs has reportedly doubled its valuation to $2 billion in a Series C expansion. The company says its annual recurring revenue has quadrupled over the past three years, pointing to stronger demand for AI-powered investigations across crypto markets. The catalyst is the…
$15.6 Billion in Bitcoin Options Expire Friday—Here’s What It Means Bitcoin options worth roughly $15.6 billion are set to expire early Friday on Deribit, the largest crypto options venue. Deribit’s strike-by-strike breakdown shows about 182,000 BTC in open contracts expiring, split into roughly 106,200 call options and 75,900 put options. An options contract gives traders…
BitMEX shuts down, ending an 11-year run that helped define crypto perpetuals BitMEX, the crypto derivatives exchange best known for helping pioneer perpetual futures trading, has shut down exchange operations after 11 years, bringing an influential chapter in crypto market structure to a close. The platform said trading, deposits and the ability to open new…
Court Hands Kalshi a Win Over CFTC, Crypto Event Contracts Cleared for Launch Kalshi just won the right to list election contracts that the CFTC tried to block, and the D.C. Circuit’s refusal to pause the lower-court ruling means the contracts can trade now. The decision signals that federal regulators cannot simply label a contract…
Court Orders Crypto Firm to Surrender Records in Texas Mandamus Texas appeals court has ordered Envy Blockchain, Inc., NV Landco 1 LLC, and Stephen DeCani to produce records in a civil case, rejecting their claim of Fifth Amendment protection. The ruling sends a clear message: corporate entities cannot hide behind personal privilege when regulators or…
Court Orders CFTC to Drop Kraft Subpoenas The Seventh Circuit has told the CFTC it cannot force Kraft to hand over documents the agency already seized years ago. In a rare writ of mandamus, the appeals court ruled that the CFTC’s investigation into alleged wheat-futures manipulation crossed a legal line when it issued new subpoenas…
SEC Wins 23-Year Bilzerian Freeze, Crypto Gets the Chill A federal judge in Washington just extended a 2001 asset freeze against convicted stock manipulator Paul Bilzerian, blocking him from even trying to unlock $30 million still sitting in offshore trusts. The ruling keeps alive a two-decade-old SEC enforcement action and sends a blunt message: once…
Crypto Court Hands SEC a Narrow Win, Traders a Warning The Supreme Court just gave the SEC a limited but real victory in a long-running crypto enforcement case—ruling that certain digital assets can still fall under securities law even when traded on decentralized platforms. The decision turns on how tokens are packaged and sold, not…
CFTC Wins Key Crypto-Futures Precedent as Appeals Court Backs Wide Definition of “Commodity” The Seventh Circuit just handed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission a decisive win, affirming that the agency’s enforcement power reaches every link in the derivatives chain, even when the underlying asset is not a physical commodity. The ruling sends an unmistakable signal…
Binance Buys $100M in Circle Stock, Deepens USDC Alliance Binance has purchased $100 million worth of stock in Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, strengthening the relationship between the cryptocurrency exchange and the stablecoin issuer. The investment gives Binance a direct stake in Circle and reinforces the exchange’s alignment with USDC, a dollar-pegged digital…
COURT SLAPS SEC ON STABLECOIN RULE Fifth Circuit just told the SEC it cannot keep stretching old laws to cover new money. The ruling arrived Tuesday in a long-running fight over whether certain dollar-backed tokens are securities. Markets barely flinched on the news, but the precedent could handcuff future enforcement. The case began when a…
Regal Ruling Forces Crypto Traders to Re-Think CFTC’s Reach A New York appeals court just told crypto traders and offshore platforms that the CFTC’s anti-fraud net may stretch farther than many thought, even when the disputed trades never touch a U.S. exchange. The decision tightens the screws on anyone who structures deals to exploit the…
PokerStars Opens Its Player Pool to Rival Brands. Here’s Why PokerStars is opening its player pool to rival brands, according to the information provided. However, no further details were supplied about the arrangement, including which brands are involved, how the shared player pool will operate, or the reasons behind the change. Those details are important…
CFTC WINS MANDAMUS — COURTS CAN’T GAG ENFORCEMENT The Seventh Circuit just ordered a district judge to stop blocking the CFTC from investigating Kraft Foods and Mondelēz, ruling that a lower court exceeded its authority when it sealed documents and barred the agency from using its own evidence. The decision restores the CFTC’s ability to…
Morning Minute: Robinhood CEO Says Crypto Contracts Are Overtaking Sports in Prediction Markets Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev says cryptocurrency-linked event contracts are rapidly becoming the main driver of activity in the company’s prediction markets, and he expects sports contracts to shrink to a minority share within the next few years. Tenev made the comments in…
COURT CENTRALIZES MULTI-DISTRICT CRYPTO CASES, SETS NEW PRECEDENT Three federal judges just green-lit a sweeping consolidation of crypto-related lawsuits, moving cases from Illinois, California, and Pennsylvania into a single courtroom in Chicago. The decision signals that regulators and plaintiffs are now treating digital-asset disputes as national issues, not local skirmishes. Plaintiff Anthony Motto filed suit…
Fifth Circuit Slaps SEC for Overreach on Crypto Exchanges The Fifth Circuit just delivered a sharp rebuke to the SEC’s enforcement playbook, ruling that the agency cannot unilaterally expand its authority over crypto exchanges without explicit statutory backing. The court’s decision hands a clear win to exchanges and DeFi platforms operating in the circuit, signaling…
How the Clarity Act’s Defeat Handed the SEC and CFTC the Wheel on Crypto The defeat of the Clarity Act has left the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission at the center of U.S. crypto oversight, rather than establishing a new framework through legislation. The outcome matters because it keeps regulatory…
