Author: Tristan Lodenberg

The White House has reaffirmed that President Donald Trump has no intention of granting a pardon to Sam Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive of collapsed crypto exchange FTX. The clarification comes as Bankman-Fried has stepped up public commentary on social media, posting frequently about politics, the economy and his criminal case. According to administration officials, Trump previously stated in a January interview that he did not plan to pardon Bankman-Fried, and that position remains unchanged. While the president has granted clemency to certain high-profile figures connected to the digital asset industry, Bankman-Fried is not under consideration. Sam Bankman-Fried Appeal and…

Kraken has unveiled tokenized stock perpetual futures for eligible non US clients, offering round the clock leveraged exposure to major US equities, stock indexes and gold. The contracts, available in more than 110 countries, provide up to 20x leverage and trade without expiry, following the structure of perpetual futures. The products are built on the xStocks framework, which creates blockchain-based representations of publicly traded shares and exchange-traded funds. Rather than holding the underlying stocks directly, the contracts reference tokenized equity benchmarks, enabling continuous trading beyond traditional market hours. Expansion of Tokenized Equities and Derivatives Markets The launch follows Kraken’s agreement…

Coinbase has officially rolled out stock and exchange traded fund trading to all users across the United States, marking a major step in its transition toward a multi-asset trading platform. Customers can now access approximately 6,000 US-listed securities directly within the Coinbase app, trading equities alongside cryptocurrencies on a 24/5 schedule. The new service offers commission free trades, fractional share investing and instant funding using US dollars or USDC. By integrating traditional equities with digital assets, Coinbase is positioning itself as a unified destination for diversified retail portfolios. Multi-Asset Strategy and Tokenized Equities Growth The expansion follows Coinbase’s broader push…

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has cautioned firms offering leveraged crypto derivatives that certain products marketed as “perpetual futures” or “perpetual contracts” could fall within the European Union’s contracts for difference (CFD) regulatory framework. In a recent notice, the regulator stated that derivatives referencing cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum may meet the legal definition of CFDs if their structure mirrors leveraged exposure products. Where applicable, firms must comply with product intervention measures, including leverage caps, mandatory risk disclosures, margin close-out mechanisms and negative balance protection. MiCA Compliance and Regulatory Oversight of Crypto Derivatives ESMA, which oversees compliance…

Crypto asset manager Bitwise has acquired Chorus One, a major staking infrastructure provider overseeing more than $2.2 billion in staked digital assets. The move significantly expands Bitwise’s staking capabilities across over 30 proof of stake blockchains, positioning the firm to broaden its range of staking-enabled investment products. Chorus One supports networks including Solana, Avalanche, Sui, Aptos, Tezos, Hyperliquid and Monad. With the acquisition, approximately 50 Chorus One employees will join Bitwise Onchain Solutions, adding operational depth to the company’s existing staking operations that already manage several billion dollars in crypto assets. Expansion of Staked Crypto ETFs and Investment Products The…

Neptune enters the market at a time when privacy and quantum security are becoming serious concerns for blockchain users. Built as a Layer 1 network, it combines zk-STARK zero knowledge proofs with Proof of Work consensus to deliver private transactions by default. This means users and developers do not need to rely on optional privacy tools or third party solutions. Confidentiality is embedded directly into the protocol. The use of zk-STARKs enables transaction verification without exposing sensitive data while post-quantum cryptography is designed to protect the network from future computational threats. Mutator Sets further enhance privacy by allowing state updates…

A solo Bitcoin miner has secured more than $200,000 in rewards after successfully validating a full block using rented computing power. The miner processed block 938092 and earned the 3.125 BTC block subsidy, valued at roughly $200,000 at current prices of Bitcoin. According to blockchain data and statements from Braiins, the miner spent approximately 119,000 satoshis about $75 to rent 1 petahash per second of on-demand hashrate. The operation was conducted through CKPool, a service that enables independent miners to submit block solutions without joining large mining collectives. Solo Mining Remains Statistically Rare Validating a block independently remains uncommon due…

Meta is reportedly preparing to re-enter the stablecoin space, signaling a renewed push into digital payments across its global platforms. According to recent report of coindesk, the company has approached third-party providers to support stablecoin based transactions and may integrate a new digital wallet as part of the initiative. The move would mark a strategic shift for the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, which collectively serve billions of users worldwide. Sources indicate that Meta has issued requests for proposals to payment infrastructure firms, with discussions reportedly involving companies such as Stripe. From Libra and Diem to Stablecoin Integration…

More than 400k BTC have been accumulated between $60k and $70k during Bitcoin’s latest market correction, signaling strong dip-buying activity as prices retraced sharply. Data from Glassnode shows supply in this price band climbed from roughly 997,000 BTC on Jan. 1 to approximately 1.43 million BTC, marking a 43% increase. This means over 8% of Bitcoin’s non-exchange circulating supply now holds a cost basis within the $60K–$70K range, creating a dense ownership cluster that may act as structural support. URPD Data Highlights Investor Cost Basis Shift The analysis is based on Glassnode’s Unspent Transaction Output Realized Price Distribution (URPD), which…

UK listed The Smarter Web Company has secured a $30 million Bitcoin backed credit facility from Coinbase Credit to accelerate Bitcoin acquisitions following equity fundraises. The facility is collateralized by Bitcoin held in custody with Coinbase. The company said the credit line is intended to bridge the gap between raising capital and receiving settlement proceeds, enabling faster deployment into Bitcoin during volatile market conditions. It emphasized that the facility is not designed as long-term debt for ongoing Bitcoin accumulation. Corporate Bitcoin Treasury Holdings and Market Context Smarter Web, listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market and trading on the…