US Seized $500M in Iranian Crypto Assets, Treasury Secretary Says

The United States has seized nearly $500 million in Iranian cryptocurrency assets as part of a sweeping economic pressure campaign against Tehran, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday. Bessent made the comments during an appearance on Fox Business’s “Kudlow,” where he outlined the scope of Operation Economic Fury, a campaign ordered by President Donald Trump…

Bitcoin’s Negative Funding Rate Sticks While BTC Trades Above $75K

Key takeaways: Negative Bitcoin futures funding rates signal bear-market losses and forced liquidations rather than a shift in sentiment. Institutional inflows into Bitcoin ETFs and corporate accumulation suggest that spot demand remains solid. Bitcoin (BTC) sold off in early trading hours at the US stock market open, briefly losing the $75,000 level before rebounding. This…

Meta Stablecoin Move Brings USDC Payouts to Select Creators

US tech giant Meta has launched USDC payouts for creators on its platforms in the Philippines and Colombia, with plans to expand to additional markets.  Creators who opt into the service will receive payments directly into crypto wallets on the Solana and Polygon blockchains. However, Meta does not offer a built-in conversion option, so an…

Bitcoin Drops Under $75K After Fed Decides To Hold Rates: Will Bulls Buy?

Bitcoin (BTC) extended its two-day decline on Wednesday after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes confirmed the Fed’s decision to hold “the target range for the federal funds rate at 3-½ to 3-¾ percent.”  While the Fed maintains its goal of achieving “maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the…

Gibraltar Proposes Legal Framework for Tokenized Funds

Gibraltar has introduced legislation that would legally recognize tokenized fund shares and allow certain regulated funds to issue shares on distributed ledger systems, granting investors the same rights as traditional shareholdings. The Protected Cell Companies (Amendment) Bill 2026 states that “the holder of a share token is a shareholder with the same rights and obligations…

Bitcoin Jumps On $283M Liquidation But Spot Demand Falters

Bitcoin (BTC) traded between $75,000 and $73,000 over a three-hour period during the New York market open on Thursday, and the abrupt downside move liquidated $283 million in futures positions. The resulting short squeeze pushed BTC back toward $75,000, but sustaining the rebound will require steady buying volume in the spot market. BTC rebounds amid…

XXI higher by 8% on merger plans with Strike and bitcoin miner Elektron Energy

The shares of Twenty One Capital (XXI), the bitcoin-focused firm, are up over 8% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, after majority shareholder Tether Investments proposed a merger with Strike and Elektron Energy. Tether Investment, the independent investment arm of the stablecoin issuer, said it intends to vote its shares in favor of combining XXI with…

Bitcoin Long-to-Short Ratio Shows Pro Traders Cautious Over Fed, Inflation

Key takeaways: Negative Bitcoin funding rates indicate bearishness, yet whales maintain steady long-to-short ratios at major exchanges. Inflation concerns and tech corporate earnings remain the biggest drivers for Bitcoin traders’ sentiment. Bitcoin (BTC) faced rejection at $77,800 on Wednesday, then retested the $76,000 level. This movement followed a correction in the S&P 500 Index as…

Ondo and Broadridge Bring Proxy Voting to Tokenized Stocks

Ondo Finance has teamed up with financial technology giant Broadridge to give holders of tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) the ability to participate in proxy voting. Broadridge has built a Web3-enabled relay system where tokenholders connect their crypto wallet to Broadridge’s ProxyVote platform, submit their voting preference, and Ondo’s issuer then votes the real…

KuCoin EU Hires AML Chief After Austria MiCA Business Ban

Update (April 29, 17:15 UTC): This article has been updated to include comments from KuCoin EU’s AML officer Carmen Kleinhans and managing director Sabina Liu. KuCoin EU has appointed a new Anti-Money Laundering (AML) chief and expanded its compliance team in Vienna, weeks after Austrian regulators barred the exchange from taking on new business under…