The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has raised concerns over Malta’s fast-track authorization of a crypto asset service provider (CASP) under the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, highlighting unresolved compliance issues at the time of approval. Peer Review Exposes Regulatory Gaps As part of a peer review conducted by ESMA’s Peer Review Committee (PRC), a specific CASP entity was found to have been authorized in Malta despite several key compliance matters remaining unresolved. The review questioned why the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) did not ensure that deficiencies were fully addressed before granting regulatory clearance. “It is unclear…
Author: Blockto Team
Ripple Remains Top Crypto Bet Despite Linqto’s Collapse The recent bankruptcy filing by Linqto, a secondary share platform that held over 4.7 million Ripple shares, has raised concerns among retail investors. However, leading private investment platform EquityZen has confirmed that Linqto’s financial issues pose no risk to the broader pre-IPO market. EquityZen’s CEO, Atish Davda, stated that the company has no ties or exposure to Linqto’s operations, assuring clients that their investments remain fully protected. The statement helped ease fears of contagion in a sector that’s seen growing interest amid ongoing IPO anticipation. What Is the Pre-IPO Market? The pre-IPO…
Global NFT Sales Hold Strong in H1 2025 Non-fungible token (NFT) sales totaled $2.82 billion in the first half of 2025, marking a modest 4.6% decline from the $2.96 billion recorded in the previous six months. Despite the drop, the market saw a strong start in Q1, generating $1.59 billion before tapering off to $1.24 billion in Q2. January 2025 emerged as the peak month, with sales volumes hitting $679 million, followed by a steady decrease to $388 million by June. These figures include both primary and secondary NFT sales across various blockchain networks. NFT Transactions Stay Active with Affordable…
Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, is preparing a major upgrade to its Grok language model, which could dramatically expand its scientific and technological capabilities. According to a livestream held Thursday on X, the next-generation Grok model is already in training and may be released within weeks. Grok 4 Built on xAI’s Sixth Foundation Model The current Grok 4 release is based on xAI’s sixth foundation model, a major milestone since the company’s launch. However, xAI confirmed that Grok 5—its seventh-generation model—is already in the works, with particular emphasis on improving visual reasoning and multimodal inputs. This suggests xAI is following…
Companies Add Over $17.6 Billion in Bitcoin to Treasuries Amid Bullish Market Corporate adoption of Bitcoin reached new heights in Q2 2025, with public and private companies acquiring a record 159,107 BTC, according to data released by leading crypto asset managers. This acquisition brings the total corporate holdings to over 847,000 BTC, valued at more than $91 billion based on the quarter’s closing price of $107,754 per BTC. This marks a 23.13% increase from Q1, reflecting both increased institutional confidence and the broader bullish momentum in the digital asset market. With Bitcoin now surpassing $112,000, corporate reserves represent approximately 4%…
Surge in Trading Activity for ETHA Reflects Bullish Ethereum Sentiment The spot Ethereum ETF from BlackRock (ETHA) has recorded an all-time high in trading activity, signaling intensified investor interest in Ethereum. On Wednesday, over 43 million shares of ETHA were traded, making it the largest single-day trading volume since the ETF’s inception. This surge highlights a renewed focus on Ethereum as capital continues flowing into the market at unprecedented levels. Ethereum Outperforms Major Cryptocurrencies Ether (ETH) rose nearly 6% on Wednesday, outperforming major digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC), XRP, and Solana (SOL). The rise in Ethereum’s price aligns with increasing…
Bitcoin (BTC) could be headed toward a 30% price rally, potentially breaching $140,000, according to a bullish chart pattern forming on BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), which closely tracks the asset’s spot price. The analysis, conducted by CoinDesk’s Chartered Market Technician Omkar Godbole, points to a classic bull flag breakout, signaling that Bitcoin’s five-week consolidation phase may be over. IBIT Chart Confirms Breakout Pattern On Wednesday, IBIT surged 2.85%, briefly topping its May peak of $63.70, per TradingView data. This move reconfirms the bull flag breakout that initially emerged earlier this month — a pattern that typically precedes substantial upside…
Alibaba-Backed Ant Group Moves to Onboard USDC, Pending Regulatory Clearance Ant Group, the fintech giant backed by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, is preparing to integrate Circle’s USDC stablecoin into its proprietary blockchain network. The rollout is expected to begin once the stablecoin receives certification under the latest U.S. federal digital asset regulations. This development is a significant milestone for the broader crypto ecosystem, particularly the stablecoin market, as it signals rising acceptance of regulated dollar-backed digital currencies by major global fintech players. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/07/10/alibaba-founder-backed-ant-group-to-integrate-circles-usdc-on-its-blockchain USDC to Join a Blockchain Processing Over $1 Trillion Annually Ant Group’s blockchain network is already a…
Dogecoin (DOGE) surged over 6% between July 9 and 10, breaking out of a bull flag formation before hitting key resistance at $0.186, where selling pressure reversed much of the move. Despite the pullback, chart patterns suggest the meme coin may not be done rallying just yet. Macro Tailwinds Support Risk-On Rebound DOGE’s latest breakout coincided with a broader crypto market rebound, fueled by optimism over macroeconomic shifts. The U.S. announced a three-week extension to its “Liberation Day” tariff deadline, easing geopolitical tension and spurring appetite for risk assets. Simultaneously, bets on a Federal Reserve rate cut are growing. Analysts…
Filecoin (FIL) gained as much as 4% in the last 24 hours, showing renewed strength amid a broader crypto market rally. The token climbed from overnight lows to reach a session high near $2.38, supported by a significant surge in trading volume, signaling strong institutional interest. At the time of writing, FIL is trading around $2.36, up 3.5% over the 24-hour period. This move came as the overall market, led by Bitcoin and Ethereum, pushed higher, driving renewed attention to undervalued Layer 1 storage tokens like Filecoin. Institutional Volume Points to Accumulation Trading volume for FIL reached 2.65 million tokens,…