DOJ Seeks Dismissal of $722 Million BitClub Fraudster

The US Department of Justice is reportedly moving to drop charges against the founder of BitClub Network, a purported crypto mining platform that allegedly defrauded investors of $722 million between 2014 and 2019. A court filing shows Matthew Goettsche’s attorneys wrote to New Jersey district court Judge Claire Cecchi on Wednesday, stating that the parties…

Meta’s Chief Data Officer Says Agentic Commerce is the “Next Tier of Business”

In a wide-ranging conversation on CoinDesk Spotlight, Schultz laid out a view of Meta’s future in which agentic commerce is not a product category but an inevitability. “We think it might be the next tier of business for our entire company,” he told host, Sam Ewen. The Agentic Economy Is Already Here, But It’s Unevenly…

Metaplanet Studies Bitcoin-backed Digital Bonds in Japan

Japanese investment and Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet’s securities arm, Metaplanet Securities, stablecoin issuer JPYC and tokenization infrastructure provider Progmat are tying up on a joint study on Bitcoin-backed digital credit products in Japan. The study involves using BTC as collateral and a credit enhancement tool combined with the Japanese yen-pegged JPY Coin (JPYC) stablecoin for…

US CBDC Ban to Go into Effect without Trump Signoff on Housing Bill

A bipartisan housing bill containing a ban on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the United States is set to become law as the deadline approaches for President Donald Trump to sign it. Just after midnight on Friday, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act will have been in Trump’s hands for 10 days,…

Bitcoin Whales Due Credit for $64,000 BTC Price Rebound, Says CryptoQuant

Bitcoin (BTC) demand shifts are “behind” the price rebound to $64,000, new analysis claims. Key points: New Bitcoin price analysis says that US whales are behind the latest spate of BTC price relief. The Coinbase Premium is above its 14-day moving average, a key sign of strength. Research from Bitcoin Suisse suggests that “something changed”…

Wall Street Banks Restrict Prediction Market Trading over Insider-Risk Fears

Wall Street banks are restricting employee trading on prediction market platforms due to fears that they may use nonpublic information to trade event contracts. Goldman Sachs has reportedly banned its employees from trading on event contracts that are specific to the bank, including financial markets, macroeconomic events, elections and geopolitics, CNBC reported, citing people familiar…

U.S. government digital dollar set to be banned tonight under housing law’s CBDC limit

The CBDC limit expires at the end of 2030, though there was little chance that a Fed digital currency would have been executed by then. There’s been limited appetite at the central bank, where its previous leadership — even before the arrival of Trump’s newest Fed chair, Kevin Warsh — had long said that such…

Will a $189M Lobbying Campaign Result in Crypto CLARITY?

The crypto industry has spent years convincing Washington that it deserves a seat at the table. Now, as Congress inches toward passing the CLARITY Act, a long-awaited crypto market structure bill, it seems it finally has one. The question is no longer whether lawmakers are listening to digital asset advocates, but whether the crypto lobby’s…

Japan’s CRYL Offers Bitcoin-Backed Loans of Up to $6.2M

Japanese lender CRYL has launched Bitcoin-backed loans of up to 1 billion yen ($6.2 million), allowing individuals and businesses to raise fiat currency without selling their BTC.  On Thursday, the company announced that borrowers can access between 1 million yen ($6,200) and 1 billion yen ($6.2 million) at annual rates of 3.5% to 7%. The…

Ether Bridged To Robinhood Chain Tops $70M in First Week

The amount of Ether bridged to Robinhood’s new layer-2 blockchain exceeded $70 million in just the first week, according to Token Terminal.  Robinhood Chain, an EVM-compatible Arbitrum-based layer-2 network that uses ETH as its native gas token, launched on July 1 with the company describing it as “AI-native and purpose-built for real-world assets.”  “If adoption…