Crypto.com secures EU license to launch crypto financial derivatives
Mobile-first crypto exchange and payment platform Crypto.com secured a license allowing it to offer cryptocurrency financial derivatives in the European Economic Area. According to a May 21 announcement, Crypto.com secured a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) license. “We have already expanded our brand presence in Europe since receiving our MiCA licence and we now […]
Bitcoin ‘blow-off top’ set at $128K with new all-time highs in sight
Key points: Bitcoin tags $108,000 for the first time since the day of its current all-time highs in January. Traders and analysts mention support extending toward $90,000, but the probability of a retest is fading. Near-term upside targets include a “blow-off top” at $128,000. Bitcoin (BTC) spiked to more than $108,000 on May 21, marking […]
South Korea tightens crypto rules ahead of institutional market entry
South Korea is tightening rules around digital asset transactions as it prepares to allow institutional players into its crypto market, introducing new guidelines for nonprofit crypto sales and stricter listing standards for exchanges. On May 20, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea said during its fourth Virtual Asset Committee meeting that it had […]
SEC’s Peirce says NFT royalties do not make tokens securities
United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce said many non-fungible tokens (NFTs), including those with mechanisms to pay creator royalties, likely fall outside the purview of federal securities laws. In a recent speech, Peirce said NFTs that allow artists to earn resale revenue do not automatically qualify as securities. Unlike stocks, NFTs […]
Theta Capital raises $175M to back early-stage blockchain startups
Amsterdam-based Theta Capital Management raised over $175 million for its latest fund-of-funds, aimed at supporting early-stage blockchain startups through specialized venture capital (VC) firms. The new vehicle, Theta Blockchain Ventures IV, will channel capital into crypto-native VC firms with a track record of backing blockchain innovation, Theta’s managing partner and chief investment officer Ruud Smets […]
Why crypto transfers can fail and what you must check before sending
Why crypto transfers can fail and what you must check before sending Crypto transfers fail more often than most people realize, but user attentiveness can stop most losses. What’s often marketed as a seamless, borderless system can become frustrating when transfers fail, with no customer service hotline to call and no easy recourse to reverse […]
KindlyMD shareholders OK merger with Trump-linked Bitcoin firm
Shareholders of the healthcare services provider KindlyMD, Inc have approved a proposed merger with Bitcoin holding company Nakamoto Holdings, founded by US President Donald Trump’s crypto adviser, David Bailey. KindlyMD and Nakamoto Holdings, a newly formed company that focuses on creating a network of Bitcoin-related entities, will both file information statements with the Securities and […]
SEC delays decision on Ether staking and XRP ETFs, as analysts expected
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its decision on Bitwise’s application to add staking to its Ether exchange-traded fund and on Grayscale’s XRP ETF bid, which analysts had expected. The SEC said on May 20 that it needed to extend its decision on Bitwise’s application by 45 days to “consider the proposed rule […]
Blackstone buys $1M worth of Bitcoin ETF in first crypto bet
Blackstone, which bills itself as the “the world’s largest alternative asset manager,” disclosed its first-ever crypto-related purchase, buying shares in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. However, Blackstone’s investment, reported in a May 20 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, only totaled around $1.08 million — a fraction of the asset manager’s $1.2 trillion […]
‘Hawk tuah girl’ Haliey Welch says FBI probed her ‘memecoin disaster’
Haliey Welch, better known as the “Hawk tuah girl,” says the Federal Bureau of Investigation briefly probed her after her “memecoin disaster” — the failed launch of a token in her image that she promoted. Welch said in a May 21 episode of her “Talk Tuah” podcast that the FBI showed up at her grandmother’s […]