US Prosecutors Ask Judge to be Lenient on ex-Celsius Exec, Citing Cooperation

Federal prosecutors are recommending a light sentence for Roni Cohen-Pavon, the former chief revenue officer of defunct cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius. In a Monday letter filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), US Attorney Jay Clayton cited Cohen-Pavon’s “substantial assistance” to the government, by being prepared to testify…

Bitcoin price retakes $81K: Is BTC in bear market rally or a ‘supercycle’?

Bitcoin (BTC) climbed 3.5% this week to hit $81,325 on Tuesday, its highest level since January. But is Bitcoin’s multi-month highs just a bear-market rally, or has it already bottomed to resume the so-called “supercycle,” as some traders suggest? Key takeaways: Bitcoin may rally to $180,000–$200,000 as institutional accumulation offsets bear-market pressure Selling pressure remains…

Microsoft-backed Space and Time Launches Virtual Vaults for Institutional Lending

Space and Time (SXT), a level-1 data blockchain that secures onchain finance projects, has launched a virtual vault platform that it says is purpose-built for institutional lending. The Microsoft-backed blockchain said on Tuesday that its new virtual vaults can be configured by institutional lenders and borrowers to their specific agreement, with cryptographically verified, continuously updated…

Crypto platform Bullish to buy transfer agent Equiniti for $4.25 billion, building tokenized securities infrastructure

Bullish (BLSH) has agreed to acquire transfer agent and shareholder services firm Equiniti in a $4.25 billion deal that would fold a core piece of traditional market infrastructure into its digital asset platform, expanding its push into tokenized securities. The transaction gives Bullish, CoinDesk’s parent company, a regulated transfer agent, a required function for public…

Bitcoin Breaks $80K Barrier: Will Altcoins Follow?

Key points: Bitcoin’s rally through $79,500 opens the door to a move toward $84,000. Ether, Dogecoin and Hyperliquid are showing strength, but the other major altcoins are yet to pick up momentum. Bitcoin (BTC) opened the new week with a rally above $80,500, suggesting the bulls are attempting to take charge. Analysts are closely watching…

Polygon Launches Wallet Privacy Feature to Hide Senders, Receivers and Amounts Onchain

Ethereum scaling solution Polygon has launched private stablecoin payments in an effort to attract more businesses and institutions to the chain.  In a statement on Sunday, Polygon introduced its new wallet feature that enables users to privately route transactions through a shielded pool, with verification handled by zero-knowledge proofs. The move is part of an…

Aave Challenges Law Firm’s Freeze on Kelp Exploit Ether

Decentralized finance protocol Aave filed an emergency motion on Monday in New York to vacate a restraining notice from a US law firm aimed at blocking Arbitrum DAO from transferring 30,766 frozen Ether to the victims of the Kelp exploit.  Gerstein Harrow LLP served Arbitrum DAO with a restraining notice on Friday, arguing its clients…

EU Sanctions Target Russian Crypto Exchanges, CBDC, Stablecoins

The European Commission announced a package of crypto-related sanctions against Russia in response to the country’s military actions against Ukraine. In a Thursday notice, the commission said the sanctions targeted Russia’s energy and financial sectors, including a “total sectorial ban on carrying out exchanges with any Russian crypto asset service provider as well as any…

Bitcoin Next Stop May Be $85K: Here’s Why

Key takeaways: Improved Bitcoin mining profitability and massive ETF inflows have calmed investors’ fears that miner selling could cap BTC price. Bitcoin dominance hits its highest level since July 2025 as investor interest shifts away from struggling altcoin sectors. Bitcoin (BTC) surged to $80,000 for the first time in three months on Monday, triggering $270…

Western Union Rolls Out USDPT on Solana

Western Union has launched its US dollar-denominated USDPT stablecoin on Solana, marking its first move into blockchain-based payments and onchain settlement for its global remittance network.  One of the crypto infrastructure platforms involved in the launch, Fireblocks, said on Monday that USDPT is initially being rolled out in Bolivia and the Philippines, while Western Union…