DeFi’s Lose-Lose Problem on Freezing Stolen Funds

Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols are stepping in to freeze stolen funds while centralized issuers face criticism for holding back. A recent intervention on Arbitrum saw attacker-linked assets frozen after a major exploit, while some stablecoin issuers, including Circle, have faced public backlash for slower or more limited responses in similar situations. Connor Howe, CEO and…

Brazil Central Bank Bars Virtual Assets From eFX Payments

Brazil’s central bank, Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), has barred the use of virtual assets in certain regulated international payment and transfer services, tightening rules for cross-border payment providers operating under the country’s eFX framework. On Thursday, BCB published Resolution BCB No. 561, amending existing rules for eFX, a regulated category covering international payments and…

Bitcoin Risks Decline After Futures-Driven April Rally: CryptoQuant

Bitcoin could be setting up for a multimonth price decline, after a rally in April driven mainly by futures traders while spot demand declined, according to the crypto analytics firm CryptoQuant. Bitcoin gained around 20% in April, rising from $66,000 to a peak of $79,000 in a rally “driven entirely by growth in perpetual futures…

Carrot’s TVL Collapses 93% in a Month Following Drift Hack

Solana-based decentralized finance yield protocol Carrot said Thursday that it is shutting down permanently, becoming one of the first DeFi protocols to fall due to contagion from the Drift Protocol exploit in early April.  In an X post on Thursday, Carrot said the Drift exploit was “catastrophic” for the protocol and had left it financially…

Strategy keeps STRC payout unchanged for May as shares rebound after prolonged slump

Strategy (MSTR), the largest publicly traded bitcoin BTC$76,987.97 holder, has maintained an 11.5% dividend rate for May on its perpetual preferred stock, Stretch (STRC), marking a third consecutive month at that dividend rate. The volume weighted average price (VWAP) during April came in at $99.76, which was close enough to its $100 par value to…

US Senate Bans Members, Staff from Prediction Markets

The US Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution banning its members and staff, who are often exposed to sensitive information, from using prediction markets. The resolution, passed by unanimous consent, changed the Senate’s rules and took immediate effect.  “Engaging in any way in a prediction market or trying to place bets where we might…

Bitcoin ETFs See $490M in Outflows as Price Fails to Reclaim $78,000 Level

Key takeaways: Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $490 million in net outflows over three days, signaling a recent dip in institutional demand. Rising inflation is eroding real yields on fixed income, likely fueling long-term demand for scarce assets like BTC. Bitcoin (BTC) faced three consecutive days of outflows from US-listed spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The outflows…

South Korea Seeks 20-Year Sentence for Delio CEO Over $169M Crypto Fraud

South Korean prosecutors have requested a 20-year prison sentence for the CEO of crypto deposit service Delio, calling the scale of alleged fraud against thousands of investors “massive.” During closing arguments at the Seoul Southern District Court on Thursday, prosecutors asked the court to sentence Jeong Sang-ho under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific…

Bitcoin Set To Sync With Stocks, Possibly Chasing New Range Highs

Bitcoin (BTC) treaded water at Thursday’s Wall Street open as the S&P 500 reached new all-time highs. Key points: Bitcoin stays locked on $74,000 after its local highs preceded a new record for the S&P 500. Analysis warns that the US midterm elections may impact the stock rally. Bitcoin could follow the Nasdaq 100 higher,…

U.S. senators won’t be weighing in on prediction markets bets after banning themselves

A U.S. Senate that’s struggled to move crypto market structure legislation moved like lightning on Thursday to ban themselves from participating in prediction markets. Acting on a simple, 14-line resolution pushed by Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, the Senate agreed unanimously to put a restriction between members and the increasingly popular, controversial betting platforms that…