Author: James Wilson
Two French crypto investors have been held captive in London for more than 52 hours in a kidnapping and extortion case that ended with five men convicted after the victims were forced to transfer $30,000 in cryptocurrency. Summary Five men were convicted after two French crypto investors were held captive in London for more than 52 hours and forced to transfer $30,000 in cryptocurrency. Prosecutors said the victims were tortured and threatened during the ordeal, while the alleged mastermind remains at large. Police rescued the victims after tracing a forgotten mobile phone and arrested several suspects following a high speed…
The National Football League urged the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to strengthen its proposed sports prediction market rules in a July 27 letter to CFTC Chair Michael Selig. Summary NFL asked the CFTC to strengthen proposed safeguards for sports prediction markets and game integrity. The league supports a minimum trading age of 21 and centralized self exclusion protections nationwide. CFTC rules would generally permit contracts tied to final scores, standings, statistics, and advancement outcomes. The NFL wants explicit restrictions on insiders using confidential information obtained through league relationships improperly. The proposed review must begin within ten days after listing,…
Rumors that Trade.XYZ has been seeking a $200 million equity financing at a $1.5 billion valuation have sparked conflicting views across the crypto community, with supporters calling the report credible while others have dismissed the claim. Summary Trade.XYZ is rumored to be raising $200 million at a $1.5 billion valuation through an equity financing round. Cobie dismissed the fundraising reports, while other crypto community members argued the rumors could be credible. Trade.XYZ has not confirmed the reported financing or announced any plans to raise new capital. The funding speculation surfaced days after Trade.xyz announced reimbursements for users affected by the…
PayPal reported its second-quarter results on July 28, saying total payment volume reached $486.4 billion for the three months ended June 30. Summary PayPal processed $486.4 billion in second-quarter payment volume, rising 10% from the prior year period. The company created Payment Services & Crypto, grouping PYUSD with Braintree and merchant processing operations. PYUSD supply stood near $2.7 billion, below the more than $4 billion recorded in March. That was up 10% from a year earlier, or 9% on a currency-neutral basis. The company also placed stablecoins inside its formal innovation plan and confirmed a three-business structure that includes Payment…
Binance will remove Across Protocol, Hashflow, PIVX, Vulcan Forged PYR, Vanar and Viction from spot trading on Aug. 17, 2026, at 03:00 UTC after completing its latest asset review. Summary Six tokens will leave Binance spot trading on August 17 after the exchange’s periodic review. Futures positions will settle August 7, while token withdrawals remain available through October 17, 2026. Binance will not support VANRY’s Base migration, requiring holders to use Vanar’s migration portal themselves. The exchange said every spot pair tied to ACX, HFT, PIVX, PYR, VANRY and VIC will close. Outstanding spot orders will be canceled. Binance did…
BNB Chain said on Aug. 1 that it was pursuing legal action against a former employee who allegedly retained unauthorized access to a seed phrase and later used the associated wallet address with a new memecoin. Summary BNB Chain says a former employee retained unauthorized seed phrase access after leaving the company. Four wallets allegedly bought 79.67% of ASTEROID’s supply for $10,000 before later selling most tokens. Lookonchain estimates 1,103 BNB in sales produced approximately $628,000 in profit for the alleged operator. The network said it was cooperating with authorities but did not identify the individual, jurisdiction, agency or court.…
Minnesota’s prediction market ban remained blocked on Aug. 2, one day after the law was scheduled to take effect. Summary July 27 injunction keeps Kalshi and Polymarket operating while Minnesota’s preemption case continues in court. Walz barred state employees from using confidential information to trade prediction markets for private benefit. Fairshake reported $126.97 million cash on hand through June, amplifying crypto’s broader election influence nationwide. U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez granted a preliminary injunction on July 27 to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Kalshi and Polymarket US. The order prevents Minnesota from enforcing its new statute against CFTC-registered designated contract…
Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said on Aug. 2 that the Coldcard security failure strengthens the case for U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, especially for investors who want long-term price exposure without managing private keys. Summary Galaxy traced 1,367.05 BTC across 4,585 addresses, valuing observed Coldcard losses near $88.6 million total. Balchunas argued institutional custody makes Bitcoin ETFs preferable for investors seeking only long-term price exposure. ETF investors avoid seed management but surrender direct ownership, payments, and round-the-clock Bitcoin network access. His comments followed Galaxy Research’s estimate that three suspected attack waves drained 1,367.05 BTC, worth about $88.6 million,…
Dogecoin community contributor Mishaboar urged Coldcard users on Aug. 1 to move their Bitcoin to wallets controlled by newly generated seed phrases. Summary 1,367.05 BTC worth $88.6 million was drained from 4,585 addresses across three suspected attack waves. Coinkite says firmware updates protect new seeds but cannot repair seed phrases from vulnerable versions. Mishaboar advised users never to reuse affected seeds or enter recovery phrases into computers online. The warning followed Galaxy Research’s estimate that three suspected attack waves drained 1,367.05 BTC, worth about $88.6 million, from 4,585 addresses. Mishaboar wrote, “If you have ever used a COLDCARD device of…
Trump Media & Technology Group’s Truth API became available to institutional customers on Aug. 1, giving trading firms rapid, machine-readable access to posts from influential Truth Social accounts, including U.S. President Donald Trump’s account. Summary August 1 launch gives institutions millisecond access to influential Truth Social posts with continuous coverage. Schiff and Warren asked the SEC to investigate whether the paid feed violates securities laws. Trump’s trust holds 41% of Trump Media, linking the product’s revenue directly to his wealth. The launch followed a July 16 Form 8-K in which Trump Media said it had already signed customers and was…