Crypto News

- [CME Group Expands Crypto Product Suite] CME Group, the world’s largest derivatives marketplace, plans to list futures contracts for Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Stellar (XLM). Trading is scheduled to begin on February 9, pending regulatory approval. This move brings regulated crypto derivatives to major altcoins, expanding institutional access. Still, the announcement did not have a major impact on the prices of ADA, LINK, or XLM. CME Group announced the development in an official post. These new products will be available in both standard and micro contract sizes, targeting institutional clients and retail traders alike. Standard contracts contain 100,000 ADA, 5,000 LINK, or 250,000 XLM. Meanwhile, micro contracts have...

- California Fines Crypto Wealth Platform Nexo $500K Over 'Unlicensed' Loans California regulators have fined digital assets platform Nexo $500,000 for issuing thousands of "unlicensed" loans to at least 5,456 state residents, adding another enforcement action to the firm’s long-running regulatory troubles in the U.S. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation said its examination found that Nexo Capital Inc., a Cayman Islands–based entity and part of the Nexo group, offered crypto-backed consumer and commercial loans without holding a valid state license and without evaluating borrowers' ability to repay, existing debt, or credit history. "Lenders must follow the law and avoid making risky loans that endanger...

- Bitcoin held around $95,000 on Friday as traders weighed a calmer tone in macro markets and a fresh burst of enthusiasm for artificial intelligence stocks across Asia. Regional equities pushed higher and hovered near record levels, with chip-linked gains back in focus after strong results from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co revived the AI trade. The backdrop also turned more policy-heavy after the US and Taiwan announced a trade deal that lowers tariffs on a range of Taiwanese exports and aims to steer more investment into US technology supply chains, an outcome that investors see as supportive for the semiconductor ecosystem. Overnight, Wall Street rose as tech and financial shares led gains, extending the sense that risk...

- Bitcoin's Next Big Test: Breaking Through $100,000 Bitcoin held near $95,000 in early Hong Kong hours after a volatile rally earlier this week, with traders increasingly converging on one near-term expectation: a test of $100,000, but not a decisive breakout beyond it. Prediction markets show a 54% probability that bitcoin reaches $100,000 in January, according to one contract, making it the most likely outcome by a wide margin. Odds fall sharply above that level, with just a 22% chance of $105,000 and an 8% chance of $110,000, suggesting traders expect momentum-driven probes rather than sustained upside. Downside expectations have faded, with the probability of a move to $85,000 dropping to 15%. Market makers describe the recent...

- A 54-year-old Utah man was sentenced to three years in federal prison for operating an unlicensed cash-to-crypto business and defrauding investors of nearly $3 million. Brian Garry Sewell of Washington County was sentenced to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to wire fraud. The judge also ordered more than $3.8 million in combined restitution, including payments to investors and the Department of Homeland Security. The sentence will run concurrently with a separate three-year term imposed in another federal case involving an unlicensed money-transmitting business, according to the Justice Department. The case suggests federal authorities are increasingly willing to pursue...

- Bitcoin Price Will Pump with These Catalysts, Experts Say Bitcoin surged this week to touch $97,538 on Wednesday — its highest level in two months. Still, the leading cryptocurrency remains 24% below its October record. But the asset is “coiled for a decisive move,” according to a report by research firm Kaiko. After the US’ crypto-friendly pivot last year, Bitcoin investors hoping for new heights will have to look beyond Congress and federal regulators, market observers stated. This is what the experts say the big orange coin needs in order to soar again. The Fed As usual, when the Federal Reserve makes a move, Bitcoiners listen. Bitcoin has typically performed well in a low interest rate environment, and lower rates would help...

- Texas Homebuilder to Launch Crypto Rewards After SEC Green Light NEW YORK, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Privately held Texas homebuilder Megatel Homes LLC announced it will start issuing a crypto payments and rewards token. The announcement followed after the Securities and Exchange Commission sent Dallas-based Megatel a "no-action" letter, allowing the company to proceed. The "MegPrime" token marks Megatel's first entry into digital assets, said Megatel Chief Executive Officer Zach Ipour. Traditional companies are increasingly integrating blockchain technology into mainstream consumer programs. The SEC has made companies more comfortable venturing into the sector. The MegPrime tokens will be marketed solely as a means of making payments...

Democrats Blast SEC Over Crypto Retreat, Justin Sun’s Alleged China Ties Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, was among lawmakers who criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission over its handling of enforcement actions against crypto firms. The letter, also written by Reps. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Sean Casten (D-IL), accused the regulator of selectively enforcing securities laws against crypto firms, while alleging that Tron founder Justin Sun has connections with China, putting U.S. security at risk. “The SEC’s whiplash policy reversal from vigorous enforcement against unscrupulous crypto players to possible abandonment of a strong case creates the appearance that...

- Azteco CEO says Bitcoin adoption starts with small amounts and simple access Bitcoin (BTC) adoption is often discussed in terms of price cycles, institutional products, and macro hedging. Akin Fernandez, founder and CEO of Azteco, sees it differently. He argues that Bitcoin’s next phase of growth will come from making it easy for people to use very small amounts, especially in regions where traditional financial rails are either inaccessible or unnecessary. During a recent interview on TheStreet Roundtable, Fernandez described Azteco as a company built around Bitcoin’s technical reality rather than its mythology. Azteco sells prepaid Bitcoin vouchers, similar to gift cards, that give users direct access to the Bitcoin network...

Democratic Lawmakers Allege 'Pay-to-Play' In SEC Crypto Case Dismissals The Securities and Exchange Commission’s moves to dismiss several prominent enforcement actions against crypto firms in the context of President Donald Trump’s support from the industry “has created the unmistakable inference of a pay-to-play scheme,” according to a letter to Chair Paul Atkins from Democratic lawmakers. In the letter, House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), as well as Reps. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and Sean Casten (D-Ill.) catalog dismissals of cases against Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken, and urge the agency not to do the same in the case against Justin Sun, who is accused of manipulative trading to boost...

- Iran’s Crypto Economy Hit $7.8 Billion in 2025 as Protests Fueled Bitcoin Use: Chainalysis As Iran’s economy reels from deepening unrest and a collapsing currency, cryptocurrency activity tied to the country surged to nearly $7.8 billion in 2025, according to a new report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. According to Chainalysis, the data shows digital assets increasingly serving two distinct roles—as a financial escape valve for civilians during periods of instability and a growing channel for state-linked actors operating under sanctions. “For Iranian citizens living under a government struggling to maintain economic stability amid inflation rates of 40-50%,” Chainalysis wrote, “cryptocurrency represents not just a...

- Lightning struck twice this week for solo Bitcoin miners, with each of them earning roughly $300,000 worth of BTC. Early Thursday morning, a solo miner landed a 3.157 BTC reward (including fees), worth roughly $304,000 at the time it was paid. This was preceded by another solo miner successfully mining a block on Tuesday and earning a payout valued at $295,000. Instead, each miner received the full payout, a rare outcome given the dominance of large, industrial-scale mining operations. The Bitcoin mempool is dominated by Foundry USA, AntPool, and F2Pool, which collectively account for nearly 57% of all blocks that have been mined. Bitcoin mining is the process by which transactions are confirmed and added to the blockchain, the...

- Inside BlockDAG’s $442m crypto maze of missing miners, unpaid employees, and breached contracts Adam wants to know what happened to his money. The 47-year-old restaurateur based in Australia is one of thousands of investors who backed BlockDAG, a crypto project pitched as an ultra-fast layer 1 blockchain secured by mining machines. Over 22 transactions between April 2024 and May 2025, reviewed by DL News, Adam — not his real name — sank nearly $25,000 into the project. He was granted anonymity to speak candidly about his experience. Adam says he was lured by BlockDAG’s flashy sponsorship deals with international football clubs and aggressive promotions — including an appearance at Las Vegas’ famed entertainment arena, the Sphere...

- Less than a day after Coinbase dramatically pulled support for the Senate’s crypto market structure bill, the crypto industry is reeling—wondering whether their coveted legislation now stands any chance of passage. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced on Wednesday his company would no longer support the bill as written, less than 24 hours before the Senate Banking Committee was due to vote on it. After a chaotic evening, pro-crypto senators ultimately opted to delay the vote—and have yet to reschedule it. Crypto policy leaders have scrambled to voice their commitment to the bill and mitigate what some see as the damage done to its chances of passage by Coinbase’s abrupt about-face. “If Coinbase is on an island, though, it is...

- X API Ban Kills Kaito and InfoFi Crypto Projects: The Death of AI Slop? X has revoked API access for apps that reward users for posting on the platform, effectively banning so-called “InfoFi” projects that paid users to generate engagement. Product lead Nikita Bier said the model created “a tremendous amount of AI slop and reply spam,” adding that the changes should quickly improve the quality of content once automated bots stop getting paid. InfoFi Crypto Projects Collapse The decision triggered an immediate sell-off across InfoFi tokens. Kaito, Cookie DAO, BubbledMaps, Loud, Arbus, and several others fell sharply within hours as traders priced in the loss of their core distribution and growth engine. In response, Kaito...

- Senator Warns: Crypto Threatens Banking Collapse — SVB Was Just “The Preview” As the Senate Banking Committee prepares to mark up new crypto market structure legislation, a warning from a senior Democratic senator has reignited debate over crypto’s role in the U.S. financial system and its connection to the banking failures of 2023. The senator argues that the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank was not an isolated accident but an early signal of what happens when crypto-linked activity collides with an already fragile banking system. The warning draws heavily on findings from a 292-page investigation released by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. How Crypto-Era Bank Runs Slipped Past Regulators Until It Was Too...

- Cube CEO says crypto trading should be as easy as Robinhood For years, crypto exchanges have struggled to balance user control with the speed and liquidity of centralized trading. Bartosz Lipinski, co-founder and CEO of Cube Group, believes the solution lies in removing complexity altogether. Cube was founded by Lipinski, a Solana core developer and former Citadel executive, along with CTO Larry Wu. It is a crypto exchange that combines centralized trade execution with decentralized custody. It is built on Solana infrastructure using multi-party computation (MPC). Cube Group was acquired by Mercer Park Opportunities Corp. (TSX: SPAC.U), a Cayman Islands-based special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a deal valued at $300...

- NIP Group Inc., the publicly traded parent company of long-running esports team organization Ninjas in Pyjamas, announced Thursday that it mined approximately 151.4 Bitcoin—about $14.5 million worth—during its initial three months of operation from September through November. The company, which trades as NIPG on the Nasdaq, first revealed plans to enter Bitcoin mining last July. In November, the company said that it was expanding its fleet of mining rigs, targeting monthly production of 160 BTC. In Thursday’s announcement, the firm updated that estimate to 140 BTC per month (currently about $13.5 million worth). Mining refers to the act of securing the Bitcoin network by using high-powered computers to crunch calculations, with...

- Welcome to the US Crypto News Morning Briefing—your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead. Grab a coffee as Ethereum, crypto capital, and one of the world’s biggest creators collide in a deal that has everyone talking. Crypto News of the Day: Tom Lee's BitMine Backs MrBeast YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, may have claimed he has “negative money,” but his company, Beast Industries, just received a massive boost. In a Thursday announcement, BitMine Immersion Technologies revealed a $200 million equity investment. The deal was announced during BitMine’s Annual Stockholder Meeting at the Wynn Las Vegas. The firm has positioned itself as a global leader in Ethereum...

- MrBeast Eyes DeFi as Tom Lee's Ethereum Treasury BitMine Invests $200 Million BitMine Immersion Technologies, the Ethereum treasury firm chaired by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, unveiled a $200 million investment on Thursday in Beast Industries, a company founded by YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson, recognized worldwide as MrBeast. In a press release shared with Decrypt, Lee described Donaldson as a generational content creator “with a reach and engagement unmatched with GenZ, Gen Alpha, and Millennials.” Lee also described Beast Industries as “the largest and most innovative creator-based platform in the world,” which also oversees the creations and distribution of MrBeast-linked goods, including various merchandise and Feastables, a...