Crypto News

- Bitcoin Hasn't Had a Bad Day Yet in 2026. Is the Leading Crypto Set to Bounce Back in 2026? 2025 was a disappointing year for Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) bulls. The world's top cryptocurrency saw wild swings, but it ultimately fell more than 5% for the whole year. That drop can be attributed to Treasury yields, which remained high even as the Fed cut its benchmark rate, to messy macro headwinds, and to a rotation toward more conservative investments. Bitcoin is off to a better start in 2026. It's only risen about 1% year-to-date as of this writing, but a few catalysts might stabilize its price and drive it higher throughout the rest of the year. What are Bitcoin's catalysts for 2026? It might initially seem like Bitcoin's most...

- The cryptocurrency industry has amassed $193 million in political firepower with midterm elections just ten months away, and the White House is now scrambling to rescue a stalled digital asset bill. With that kind of money on the table, the Trump administration has effectively been summoned to the negotiating table. War Chest Loaded Before The Battle Even Begins Crypto political action committee Fairshake announced Tuesday that it held $193 million at the end of 2025—nearly matching the $195 million it spent during the entire 2024 election cycle. The money is already in the bank, and the campaign hasn't even started. Ripple contributed $25 million, and venture capital firm a16z added $24 million in the second half of last year...

- If You'd Invested $100 in Bitcoin 10 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today In 2016, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was still an emerging technology. Trading at around $400, it was still fighting for acceptance as a legitimate alternative to fiat currency. Fast forward 10 years, Bitcoin has arrived. Institutions own it. Financial advisors are putting it in model portfolios and client accounts. The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved ETFs for it. And it's paved the way for other cryptos, such as Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), to emerge themselves. Bitcoin's Performance Bitcoin remains highly volatile as an investment, but it's also produced huge returns for investors over the...

- Bitcoin is becoming a wealth-building tool for a generation locked out of housing, SALT exec says Bitcoin has been called many things over the years. A currency. Digital gold. A hedge against inflation. Despite the debate about Bitcoin as money, most users treat it like an asset. They buy it, hold it, and think about how it fits into long-term financial planning. During a recent interview with TheStreet Roundtable, SALT Lending's Chief Revenue Officer Hunter Albright described Bitcoin less as a theoretical technology and more as a practical tool for building wealth, saying, “It’s a store of value right now.” Why Bitcoin is now a wealth building tool After speaking with users across multiple regions, he said one pattern keeps...

- Crypto Crime Hits $158B in 2025 – But Illicit Use Keeps Falling, Says TRM A new report by blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs showed that crypto-related crime had a record nominal value in 2025, although the proportion of illicit activity in the wider digital asset economy kept dropping as a whole. The report estimates that the volume of illegitimate cryptocurrencies had risen to $158 billion in 2025, 145% higher than the figure of a year ago, which was $64.5 billion. Although the dollar terms increased sharply, the illicit transactions formed only 1.2% of the entire on-chain volume, compared to 1.3% in 2024 and much less than the 2.4% high in 2023. These numbers are generally in line with the estimates released this month...

- Largest U.S. crypto exchange announces support for Trump Accounts The largest crypto exchange in the United States has found a new way to show up in Washington’s evolving financial agenda. Not through lobbying, lawsuits or health drinks, but this time through employee benefits. Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong revealed on Jan. 28 that Coinbase will match government contributions to Trump Accounts for eligible children of its employees, aligning the company with a fast-growing initiative backed by Donald Trump. Coinbase joins Trump-backed accounts program In a post on X, Armstrong said Coinbase is “proud to join” Trump’s initiative by matching the $1,000 seed deposit provided by the U.S. Treasury for eligible children...

- White House Summons Coinbase, Banks to Hash Out Crypto Bill Lobbying groups and executives representing the banking and crypto industries are planning to meet at the White House on Monday as tempers flare over a contentious piece of digital-asset legislation. The proposed meeting comes after Coinbase Global Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong publicly withdrew his support for a key draft of a long-awaited bill that would reshape crypto market structure. A compromise that would revive the proposal still hasn’t been hammered out despite nearly two weeks of subsequent negotiations, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Next week’s meeting could be delayed if no agreement is reached by then, according to...

- Bitcoin is rebounding, and it has returned to the higher structure of the high-$90,000 and low-$80,000 area after temporarily falling to the mid-$80,000s. The shift has relieved short-term downside pressure, but market evidence indicates that the rally alone is insufficient to indicate that a new leg of a bull market is beginning. Rather, analysts believe that the next step is whether a number of deeper regime indicators start to reverse to risk-on. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading around $89,500, up about 1.4% over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin is down more than 7% over the last 14 days, showing sustained selling pressure that followed its retreat from record highs near $126,000 late last year. While prices have been...

- Bitcoin miners see profits rise 150% amid US winter storm — by not mining Bitcoin The severe winter weather sweeping across the US has handed an unexpected windfall to well-prepared Bitcoin miners. Instead of using energy for mining, they’re selling that surplus power back to stressed power grids, making far more money than they would mining Bitcoin. “The grid may ask for that energy and the mining may turn off, but that means the grid is paying more for the energy than the miner is making by mining Bitcoin,” Scott Norris, chief mining officer at tokenised Bitcoin hashpower company Omnes, explained. Norris elaborated on the financials. A miner earning 8 cents per kilowatt-hour from mining could get paid 20 cents by the grid...

- Sumsub compliance chief says crypto must balance privacy with regulation One of the longest running tensions in crypto has little to do with price cycles or network performance, but with privacy and compliance. Users want anonymity and control over their data, while regulators demand transparency and identity checks to prevent fraud. Finding a workable balance between the two has become one of the industry’s most pressing challenges. During a recent interview with TheStreet Roundtable, that question was put directly to Anastasia Sakharova, head of compliance at Sumsub. She described it as a problem nearly every serious crypto company is trying to solve. Balancing safety with freedom The goal, she explained, is to keep...

- How a Russian stablecoin drove a 400% surge in sanction-dodging crypto activity Just a little over a year after its debut, Russian ruble-backed digital token A7A5 has become one of the biggest stablecoins in existence. The token's use in dodging sanctions is likely playing a part, according to a Wednesday report from blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs. “Sanctions-related activity in 2025 was overwhelmingly driven by Russia-linked flows, largely due to the rapid growth of the ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5, which processed more than $72 billion in total volume,” the company said in its 2026 Crypto Crime Report. A7A5 is issued by a Kyrgyzstani company called Old Vector. “The token is regulated under the country’s comprehensive...

- Exclusive: Pakistan’s Crypto Chief Says Regulatory Clarity Can Give Country an Edge Over India, China Pakistan's crypto chief stated that the nation is swiftly positioning itself as a regional leader in crypto regulation. Bilal Bin Saqib, chairman of Pakistan’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and CEO of the Pakistan Crypto Council, mentioned the country's efforts in building a regulatory framework aimed at the future, aspiring to be a model for other emerging markets across Asia, the Middle East, and beyond. Pakistan’s Regulatory Ambition Takes Shape In a discussion with TheStreet Roundtable about why many major Asian economies, including India and China, seem "lagging" in adoption and whether Pakistan could become a...

- The crypto-focused subsidiary of Japan’s largest investment bank has joined the growing list of digital asset firms seeking a coveted banking charter from the U.S. Treasury Department. The subsidiary, Laser Digital, is based in Switzerland and owned by the Nomura Group, the Tokyo investment banking and brokerage giant. On Tuesday evening, Laser announced it had filed an application with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to form a national trust bank. The bank, Laser Digital National Trust Bank, would focus on digital assets and offer custody and spot trading services, the company said. “Institutional digital asset markets are entering a new phase defined by scale, regulation, and durability,” Steve Ashley, Laser...

- Cryptocurrency Crime Reaches Record $158 Billion in 2025: TRM Labs Report The cryptocurrency transactions related to criminal activities reached a record $158 billion in 2025, reversing a multi-year decline and marking the highest level in at least five years, according to the 2026 Crypto Crime Report from blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs. The surge represents a roughly 145% increase from 2024 and underscores how state-linked actors and professionalized financial networks are reshaping on-chain crime. TRM Labs notes that Russia-connected structures were the primary driver of the jump, as increasingly sophisticated systems emerged to help sanctioned entities and their partners move value outside the traditional banking system...

- Bitcoin, Ethereum Steady as Fed Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate steady on Wednesday, formalizing a data-dependent approach to balancing the U.S. labor market against inflationary risks, amid ongoing White House pressure to accelerate monetary easing. The decision, which was widely expected, kept the federal funds rate at a target range of 3.50% to 3.75%. The move followed three consecutive 25-basis-point cuts late last year that had sought to engineer a “soft landing” for the economy. “Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated,” the Fed said in a statement. “Job gains have remained low, and the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization. Inflation...

- The White House on Monday will meet with executives from the banking and cryptocurrency industries to discuss a path forward for landmark crypto legislation, which has stalled due to a clash between the two powerful sectors, said three people familiar with the matter. Summit Focus The summit hosted by the White House's crypto council will include executives from several trade groups and will focus on how the bill treats interest and other rewards crypto firms can offer on customer holdings of dollar-pegged tokens known as stablecoins, the people said. The White House meeting could help the industries reach a compromise and underscores how keen President Donald Trump's administration is to get the legislation across the line. The...

- Strive Enters Top 10 Publicly Traded Bitcoin Holders, Pays Off Debt After Semler Acquisition Publicly traded financial services company Strive boosted its Bitcoin holdings to more than $1.1 billion worth, making it one of the 10 largest publicly traded holders of crypto’s leading asset, the firm announced on Wednesday. The firm acquired 333.89 Bitcoin for an average price of $89,851, bringing its total holdings to 13,131.82 BTC. Strive also said that it paid off 92% of the debt accrued from its recently completed acquisition of Semler Scientific, a medical technology firm that had adopted a BTC treasury strategy. “Strive continues to demonstrate leading execution in managing a world-class, Bitcoin-powered treasury, retiring over...

- Two years have passed since spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) began trading in the U.S., a significant development in both the ETF industry and the broader cryptocurrency space. Key Aspects of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF One prominent fund in this category is the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (NYSEMKT: ARKB), which recently celebrated its second anniversary with $3.3 billion in assets under management (AUM). This places it among the largest crypto ETFs. This strong start suggests that both advisors and retail investors are favoring this product. However, it also highlights the need for market participants, particularly newcomers, to understand the workings of spot Bitcoin ETFs, including the ARK fund. Below are three important...

- Zodia Custody, the digital asset custody startup founded by Standard Chartered, has partnered with Dubai Insurance to introduce a crypto digital wallet designed for the UAE insurance sector. The wallet will allow policyholders to pay premiums and receive insurance claims in digital assets, offering greater transparency and “operational modernization” across insurance workflows, said the firm. Premium Payments and Claims in Digital Assets The new digital wallet provides a regulated infrastructure that supports the receipt of premiums and the settlement of claims using crypto assets. Dubai Insurance said the initiative is intended to streamline processes while ensuring high standards of governance, security, and compliance. The...

- Bitcoin, XRP Jump Ahead of Fed’s First 2026 Interest Rate Decision Bitcoin and XRP are moving higher ahead of the Federal Reserve’s first policy call of 2026. It’s one of those days where macro traders are staring at the same things: the Fed decision on interest rates and Chair Jerome Powell’s statement during the press conference. Crypto just happens to be the loudest “risk-on” gauge on the screen when the market is feeling jumpy. And while the base case is boring—no rate cut—the setup isn’t. U.S. Economy Stays Resilient as Markets Flirt with New Highs The Fed decision lands in an economy that still looks sturdy, even with rate-cut expectations getting pushed out. Policymakers are set to announce their decision at 2:00 p.m. ET...