Six U.S. Senators have sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd W. Blanche, seeking details regarding potential conflicts of interest in his decision to scale back the Department of Justice’s cryptocurrency enforcement. The letter raises concerns that Blanche held significant cryptocurrency holdings while directing the disbanding of the DOJ’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. Allegations of Financial Conflict The letter claims Blanche owned Bitcoin and Ether valued between $158,000 and $470,000 when he issued the memo titled “Ending Regulation by Prosecution” in April 2025. The memo instructed prosecutors to focus on individuals committing crimes with crypto, rather than targeting platforms…
Author: Blockto Team
Bitcoin experienced a notable downturn during the latest trading session, briefly falling below the $85,500 USDT level before stabilizing. At the time of reporting, Bitcoin was trading around $85,963 USDT, marking a daily decline of approximately 3.7%. The move reflects renewed volatility across the digital asset market, following a period of relatively stable price action near recent highs. Market participants pointed to profit-taking and macro uncertainty as key drivers behind the sudden pullback. Elevated leverage in derivatives markets may have amplified the downward move, triggering liquidations as Bitcoin slipped through key technical support levels. Ethereum Falls to $2,850, Adding to…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued new guidance on tokenized securities, distinguishing between issuer-sponsored and third-party models. The move clarifies that blockchain issuance does not exempt securities from federal regulations. Issuer-Sponsored Tokenized Securities Issuer-backed tokens allow companies to tokenize their own securities, either by updating ownership records directly on-chain or issuing crypto assets that trigger off-chain ledger updates. The SEC emphasized that all traditional securities laws, including registration requirements, still apply regardless of the issuance format. Securitize said in a post to X on Wednesday; Third-Party Tokenization Third-party models involve custodial or synthetic structures. In the custodial…
Five years after the GameStop trading frenzy exposed weaknesses in traditional market infrastructure, Robinhood is advancing plans to bring tokenized stocks fully onchain. The company aims to enable 24/7 trading, faster settlement, and potential self-custody, positioning blockchain as a structural upgrade to legacy equity markets. GameStop Fallout Still Shapes Strategy Robinhood’s leadership continues to point to the 2021 trading halts as a turning point. At the time, extreme volatility combined with multi-day settlement cycles forced brokers to post significant collateral, leading to temporary restrictions on popular stocks. While U.S. equities have since moved to 24-hour settlement, residual risks remain during…
Ethereum Layer-2 solution MegaETH is preparing for its mainnet launch on February 9, following a week-long global stress test that showcased the chain’s high-speed capabilities. Stress Test Results During testing, MegaETH processed up to 35,000 transactions per second (TPS), handling 10.7 billion transactions from Web3 applications like Smasher, Crossy Fluffle, and Stomp.gg. According to testers, the apps ran smoothly with zero latency or congestion, marking a milestone in blockchain performance. MegaETH’s co-founder Lei Yang called it the fastest EVM-compatible chain ever, with the team previously hitting 47,000 TPS in controlled tests. MegaETH co-founder Lei Yang posted to X on Wednesday ; Performance Compared…
The latest U.S. unemployment claims data came in higher than market expectations, drawing attention from currency and macro investors. Initial claims rose to 209,000, exceeding the 206,000 forecast and marking an increase from the previous reading of 200,000. While the rise is modest, it provides fresh insight into labor market momentum. Weekly jobless claims are closely watched as a real-time indicator of labor market health. The uptick suggests a slight cooling in hiring conditions, though overall levels remain historically low. Importantly, the data does not yet point to a sharp deterioration, but it does reinforce signs that labor demand may…
Tokyo-listed Metaplanet has approved a large-scale overseas capital raise as part of its strategy to increase Bitcoin exposure while strengthening its balance sheet. The move reflects growing confidence in Bitcoin as a long-term treasury asset and signals continued corporate interest in digital assets. Capital Raise Structure and Size According to regulatory filings Metaplanet plans to raise up to approximately $137 million through a combination of new common shares and stock acquisition rights. The company will issue 24.5 million common shares, generating roughly ¥12.24 billion ($78 million) initially. In addition, Metaplanet approved 159,440 stock acquisition rights, which could translate into 15.9…
Cere Network, a blockchain infrastructure platform, is under legal scrutiny as its co-founder and board face a $100 million lawsuit. The suit alleges fraudulent activities during the 2021 public token launch, including secret sales that harmed investors and misappropriated company funds. Lawsuit Details Filed in a San Francisco federal court, the complaint claims that co-founder Fred Jin, his family members, and the board sold over $41 million in Cere Tokens immediately after the public launch, despite promises that tokens would remain locked for months. Investor Vivian Liu, who filed the lawsuit, alleged that the funds were transferred to personal accounts…
Ethereum’s on-chain data is showing a clear behavioral shift among holders. While ETH price remains range-bound, a growing share of the circulating supply is being removed from exchanges and locked into staking, signaling long-term confidence rather than short-term speculation. ETH Exchange Balances Continue to Decline Over the past six months, Ether held on centralized exchanges has fallen sharply, dropping from over 12.3 million ETH to around 8.15 million ETH. This steady decline comes despite the asset trading sideways, suggesting investors are choosing illiquidity over immediate selling pressure. In an X post on Tuesday, Santiment said; Analysts note that during periods…
Global cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has announced plans to launch retail banking services in February, marking a significant step beyond its core trading business. The new product, called “My Bank powered by Bybit”, will allow users to open personal bank accounts with individual IBANs, enabling seamless interaction between traditional finance and crypto services. Personal IBANs and Fiat Access According to the announcement users who complete Know Your Customer (KYC) verification will receive instant access to a personal IBAN under their own name. This will allow customers to send and receive fiat payments, deposit funds, pay bills, receive salaries, and trade cryptocurrencies…