The SEC’s chief crypto counsel outlined a regulatory path for crypto custody at an industry conference, potentially clarifying a long-awaited framework that could clear obstacles to large-scale institutional entry.
Hong Kong-based crypto and gaming venture firm Animoca Brands has delayed its IPO plans and suspended merger talks with Currenc. Under the original plan, Animoca was to own 95% of the merged company, with talks having started late last year.
U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw nearly $1 billion in net inflows on Monday, the largest single-day inflow since October last year and the ninth-largest daily inflow of the year. Institutional capital return combined with bitcoin’s rally to its highest level since January signals sustained mainstream allocation interest.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the Justice Department are investigating whether Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, knowingly permitted users to circumvent U.S. sanctions on Iran. The focus is on whether the platform was aware and facilitated such activity, a case that could reshape crypto industry compliance standards.
Crypto industry political action committee Fairshake has pledged $30 million to oppose former Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown’s Senate bid, a continuation of crypto industry political action after the recent failure of the Clarity Act in the Senate.
The ZetaChain team has launched a governance vote to shut down its standalone Layer 1 network and migrate ZETA to the Solana ecosystem, marking another early cross-chain infrastructure chain exiting independent operation. The team will focus resources on its private AI app Anuma; the proposal still requires a second community vote.
The Wall Street Journal reports that crypto prediction platform Polymarket recently foiled a roughly $10 million fraud attempt. The report reveals that the CEO prioritized business growth over compliance requirements during the company’s rapid expansion. The incident has once again drawn industry attention to prediction market regulation, risk control, and investor protection.
CoinDesk reported that Robinhood Chain’s seven-day average fees dropped by 82% from their previous peak, while daily transaction volume remained around USD 1.5 billion. The divergence between cost and activity highlights structural shifts in crypto infrastructure.
The Wall Street Journal reports that ECB President Christine Lagarde personally intervened to block Binance from obtaining a full MiCA license across the European Union.
Core Summary U.S. government officials have disclosed that the “transit fees” Iran levies on oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz are actually settled through a bitcoin exchange. The accusation, the first time officials have publicly named a crypto channel in Iran’s gray-shipping tolling scheme, signals a deep fusion between traditional geopolitical gamesmanship and emerging digital-asset surveillance systems. Event Details According to CoinDesk citing senior U.S. government officials, Iran has operated a non-official “transit fee” system in the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict escalated. Any oil tanker entering or leaving the Persian Gulf that wishes to obtain Iranian “safe passage clearance” must pay a fee to an Iran-affiliated entity, with the amount fluctuating based on vessel tonnage and cargo value. ...