Crypto ATMs are fast disappearing in the US as Tennessee’s ban goes into effect today while operators in Minnesota have until Aug. 1 to comply with a similar law. Cryptocurrency ATMs are fast disappearing from the American landscape as kiosk operators in two US states face bans and restrictions as new laws go into effect. Crypto ATM laws passed by Tennessee and Georgia went into effect on Wednesday, imposing a complete ban in the former and requiring transaction limits and reporting in the latter. The measures by the two states followed bans in Indiana, which went into effect in March, and Minnesota, set to enforce an ATM ban on Aug. 1. The Tennessee law, signed by Governor Bill Lee in April, bans the use and installation of cryptocurrency ATMs and kiosks, while the Georgia law requires th…
Bitcoin and Ether open interest fell sharply after $8.35 billion in long liquidations, while ETF outflows, weaker Strategy purchases and declining market depth reduced liquidity. Cryptocurrency markets entered the third quarter of 2026 with less leverage but thinner liquidity after a wave of liquidations cleared speculative positions while major sources of demand weakened during the second quarter. According to a market update from institutional data provider Talos, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) long liquidations totaled $8.35 billion in Q2. The data provider pointed out that the deleveraging coincided with spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) outflows, reduced Bitcoin buying by Strategy and a contraction in stablecoin supply. While the reset left the market more stable heading into…
The crypto industry, big tech and gambling interest groups are betting big on politicians in the 2026 primaries and elections, with almost $300 million shelled out so far. The US consumer advocacy group Public Citizen on Tuesday reported that the cryptocurrency industry had contributed $189 million toward the 2026 election cycle, following its 2024 playbook. According to a report released Tuesday, the nonprofit organization said that about 37% of all corporate contributions in the 2026 US election cycle could be traced to crypto companies, totaling about $189 million so far, with more than four months until the November election. While the watchdog group said that the crypto-aligned political action committee (PAC) Fairshake was responsible for spending more than $82 million so far, the MA…
CryptoQuant urged Strategy to pause Bitcoin buying as dividend coverage shrank. Meanwhile, CBOE eyes crypto perpetual futures and Chainlink joins a stablecoin FX project. This week, crypto analytics company CryptoQuant challenged the prevailing narrative around Michael Saylor’s Strategy, urging the company to pause Bitcoin purchases and rebuild its cash reserves. The warning came after its dividend coverage fell to just 14 months from roughly seven years. Strategy isn’t facing an immediate cash crunch, but CryptoQuant’s warning puts the spotlight on the financing structure behind its Bitcoin strategy. With cash reserves shrinking and dividend obligations increasing, Strategy’s ability to keep funding new purchases is drawing closer scrutiny. The rest of this week’s Crypto Biz shows how the…
Tokenized RWAs surge despite crypto volatility, Kraken launches SpaceX IPO xStocks, prediction markets outpace onchain gambling and Sam Bankman-Fried seeks a Trump pardon. Crypto prices have spent much of the year reacting to macro headlines and regulatory uncertainty, but tokenization has remained one of the industry’s few consistent growth stories. Active real-world assets are surging, banks are embracing blockchain infrastructure and tokenized equities are expanding into new markets. That momentum was on full display this week as Kraken rolled out tokenized access to the highly anticipated SpaceX IPO, offering eligible users in more than 110 markets a chance to participate through xStocks. Elsewhere, prediction markets surpassed onchain gambling for the first time, and former FTX CEO Sa…
FIFA and the FBI warned of ticket scams as TRM Labs identified World Cup-themed crypto fraud operations tied to multiple wallet addresses. TRM Labs warned that crypto scammers are targeting FIFA World Cup fans through fake ticketing sites, fixed-match betting schemes and event-themed crypto promotions. The blockchain intelligence company said it identified several World Cup-related scam operations, including two fake-ticketing sites and one fixed-match betting pitch tied to four crypto addresses. “Criminals always look to exploit major events and cultural moments and they don’t wait until kickoff,” Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs, told Cointelegraph. “Scammers build and position their infrastructure weeks in advance, then scale it the moment public attention peaks.”
CoinShares’ James Butterfill said recent crypto outflows reflect a macro-driven sentiment shock, while other analysts warned Bitcoin’s rebound may remain fragile. Cryptocurrency market outflows reflect a sentiment shock, as geopolitics, rate expectations and capital rotation into artificial intelligence weigh on digital assets, according to James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares. In a statement sent to Cointelegraph, Butterfill said that sentiment in crypto markets has “soured drastically” after billions of dollars flowed out of digital asset investment products in recent weeks. “This is a pure sentiment shock rather than a structural break,” Butterfill said.
Venture capitalist Simon Dedic said Anthropic’s latest AI models drop the cost and skill needed to find crypto exploits to “basically zero.” AI company Anthropic on Tuesday released the first public version of its powerful Claude Mythos model, called Fable 5, with some crypto users worried it could be used for malicious purposes, despite embedded guardrails. Anthropic said last month that its Mythos model uncovered more than 10,000 high or critical-severity vulnerabilities in “systemically important software,” leading many to question if it should be publicly released. This is despite the company saying on Tuesday that Fable 5 was “made safe for general use,” and has safeguards that reroute some topics, such as cybersecurity, to a different model, Claude Opus 4.8
Among the issues US lawmakers are expected to discuss in a digital asset taxation hearing are “de minimis” reporting exceptions for crypto transactions. The US House Ways and Means Committee circulated seven discussion drafts of bills to address digital asset taxation ahead of a Tuesday hearing on the matter, covering stablecoins, staking, mining and transactions. Among proposals in the draft legislation are reducing the tax paperwork required for crypto holders, providing clarity for mining and staking tokens and a potential “de minimis” reporting exception for transactions. The seven discussion draft bills preceded a Tuesday hearing on digital asset taxation in the House committee, chaired by Republican Jason Smith. Crypto industry advocates have been urging US lawmakers to address lesse…
The law, part of a budget plan passed by Illinois lawmakers, would put the burden of collecting a 0.2% tax on crypto transactions on a registered broker. Some digital asset industry advocates are pushing back against a provision in a $56 billion state budget passed by the Illinois General Assembly on Monday, due to its impact on crypto users. In a Senate bill included as part of the Illinois state budget for the fiscal year 2027, lawmakers proposed a 0.2% tax on crypto transactions, to be imposed by the “digital asset broker making or effectuating the sale of the digital asset business activity.” The 1624-page bill, part of the revenue and tax package to fund the state’s 2027 budget, passed along party lines early on Monday. Senate Bill 3019. Source: Illinois General Assembly
Strategy’s Bitcoin sale challenged the “never sell” narrative, while JPMorgan attacked CLARITY and Capital B pursued a huge fundraising plan for BTC. Strategy’s sale of 32 Bitcoin shouldn’t have mattered. The company still holds hundreds of thousands of BTC, and the transaction barely moved the needle on its balance sheet. Yet the market reaction was swift, exposing how much of the Bitcoin treasury trade had been built on a simple assumption: companies buy Bitcoin… and they never sell it. Elsewhere in crypto this week, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon escalated his fight against the industry’s preferred market structure bill and a French Bitcoin treasury company pushed the limits of capital formation by asking shareholders to approve a massive $122 billion fundraising mandate. Michael Saylor’s Str…
Tether-linked billionaire Christopher Harborne and BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo donated $9.4 million to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the first quarter. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK received 7 million British pounds ($9.4 million) from two crypto billionaires this year, with total funds raised outstripping all other political parties. The party received a $4 million donation from Christopher Harborne, who has a stake in the stablecoin issuer Tether, and a $5.4 million donation from Ben Delo, the co-founder of the crypto exchange BitMEX, according to Electoral Commission data released on Thursday. The Labour and Conservative parties each received around $5.4 million in the first quarter of the year.
The ESMA says crypto companies without MiCA authorization must stop serving EU clients from July 1, even if their licence applications remain under review. The European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation hits a hard deadline on July 1 when the transitional period ends and in-scope crypto asset service providers operating under national regimes must either hold a MiCA licence or stop serving EU clients. A spokesperson from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) told Cointelegraph that from that date, non-authorized entities “will not be allowed to operate within the EU” and should implement wind-down and client migration plans rather than rely on open-ended transitional status while awaiting a decision. The deadline could force some crypto firms to suspend EU operatio…
“Investors still believe in crypto, but now that it’s a contrarian bet, they favor fundamentals over vibes,” says Bitwise investment chief Matt Hougan. Crypto is turning into a “contrarian bet” as institutional investors are being drawn to artificial intelligence stocks, says Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan. “The crypto market is brutal right now,” Hougan wrote in a market note on Tuesday. “One major reason is that crypto is no longer the belle of the ball. AI stocks, robotics companies, SpaceX … who needs crypto when the Nasdaq-100 is up 43% year-over-year?” Stocks linked to companies involved in AI have skyrocketed as the technology has captured investor attention after OpenAI launched ChatGPT to the public in late 2022. Shares in Nvidia, which makes computing components key…
Bitcoin and altcoin prices crumbled as BTC lost the $70,000 level. Will investors’ pivot to AI stocks continue to weigh on crypto markets? Key takeaways: Bitcoin (BTC) faced a sharp 9% drop over 48 hours, hitting the $67,000 support for the first time in two months. This correction wiped out a substantial $176 billion from the total crypto market cap in just two days, triggering $1.5 billion in forced liquidations for overleveraged long positions. Traders remain uncertain about the drivers behind crypto's underperformance, especially since US equities have shown notable strength.
Bitcoin treasury firms made up nearly all May inflows, but BTC-linked capital formation also dropped sharply from April. Monthly inflows into digital asset treasury (DAT) companies fell to $180 million in May, the lowest level since October 2024, according to DefiLlama data. The May total was down 95% from April's $4.4 billion and about 93% below the monthly average for January through May. The drop followed two strong months for DAT inflows, with data showing $4.2 billion in March and $4.4 billion in April. Bitcoin treasury companies accounted for nearly all of May's DAT inflows, with $177 million (about 98%) of the monthly total. However, Bitcoin inflows were also down sharply from their $3.8 billion recorded in April.
MEXC, a leading 0-fee cross-asset trading platform, today announced the official launch of 'RealStocks.' Mutsamudu, Comoros, June 1, 2026 – MEXC, a leading 0-fee cross-asset trading platform, today announced the official launch of 'RealStocks.' This innovative equity product is now accessible to eligible users globally. The product seamlessly integrates real ownership rights of traditional financial assets with the low-friction experience of a crypto platform, further expanding MEXC's 0-fee cross-asset trading ecosystem. For a long time, investors looking to enter the U.S. stock market were limited to two less-than-ideal options. The first was trading through traditional brokerages, which requires enduring tedious currency exchange and deposit processes. The second was trading synthetic as…
CertiK says May is the third month so far in 2026 to record crypto losses under $100 million. Losses from exploits of crypto platforms fell to $68.3 million in May, down almost 90% from the $650 million lost in April, says crypto security company CertiK. “After a particularly bad April, May is now the third month of 2026 to record losses under [$100 million],” CertiK posted to X on Sunday. Around $2.6 million of the total crypto stolen in May was due to phishing attacks, while roughly $9.4 million was recovered or returned, it added.
Over $935 million was wiped out across the crypto market as traders shifted their focus to $70,000 as the last line of defense for Bitcoin. Bitcoin (BTC) sold off into the early Asian trading session on Thursday as the drop to $72,600 produced significant liquidation of leveraged positions across the crypto market. Key takeaways: The BTC/USD pair fell as low as $72,620 on Thursday, reversing all gains made since April 13 after the US reportedly carried out a new wave of military strikes on Iran.
Around 47% of crypto organizations onboarded in 2026 are operating at alerting standards that would have ranked among the industry’s strictest five years ago. Nearly half of the organizations onboarded into the crypto industry in 2026 are operating at alerting standards that would have made them industry leaders only a few years ago, according to Chainalysis. In a preview of a report published on Wednesday, Chainalysis said that the crypto industry’s compliance baseline around alert severity, trigger sensitivity and minimum dollar detection floors is tightening, with about 47% of organizations onboarded this year using alerting standards that would have placed them in the top 10% of strictness in 2020. It added that companies have become more uniform in direct monitoring, where funds arriv…
