Found 6665 news
A crypto investor in Manhattan is accused of holding an Italian man captive for weeks, allegedly torturing him for access to Bitcoin wallet credentials. A Manhattan crypto investor is facing serious charges after allegedly kidnapping and torturing an Italian man in a disturbing bid to extract access to digital assets. John Woeltz, 37, was arraigned on Saturday in Manhattan criminal court following his arrest on Friday. He stands accused of holding a 28-year-old Italian man captive for weeks inside a luxury townhouse in Soho, reportedly rented for $30,000 per month. According to police reports cited by The New York Times, the victim arrived in the US on May 6 and was allegedly abducted by Woeltz and an accomplice. Read more
Australian Senator Gerard Rennick criticized Bitcoin, saying "you can't eat Bitcoin." A Bitcoiner replied, asking if he feels the same about the internet. Australian Senator Gerard Rennick has drawn criticism from the Bitcoin community following his remarks referring to Bitcoin as a Ponzi scheme and questioning the asset’s value because it can’t be eaten. “You can’t eat Bitcoin,” Rennick said in a May 23 X post, responding to an X user who questioned his stance after Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $111,970 on May 22. “Bitcoin will ultimately go to $1 million dollars. Why because it’s a Ponzi scheme whereby BlackRock will pump more and more dollars into a supply constrained product,” Rennick said. Read more
Cathie Wood says crypto ETFs will not “lose a lot of their luster” and will stay around for those who just “wanna push a button.” ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood says crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will likely maintain their place in the economy, regardless of how widespread crypto wallet adoption becomes over the next decade. “I think ETFs are an important stepping stone because, you know, wallets seem so complicated, so much friction for consumers, they just wanna push a button,” Wood said at the Solana Accelerate event in New York on May 23. “So ETFs for those who want the convenience, I don’t think, will lose a lot of their luster,” she said. “But they will be a stepping stone into wallet-based.” Wood reiterated the extra layer of protection that crypto wallets provide: Read more
Bitcoin traders are eyeing a gradual pullback after all-time highs, CZ refutes WSJ claim of ties to World Liberty Financial: Hodler’s Digest Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng CZ Zhao has pushed back against a report in The Wall Street Journal, calling it a hit piece filled with inaccuracies and negative assumptions. In an X post, Zhao criticized the publications portrayal of his alleged involvement with World Liberty Financial, the decentralized finance project backed by a business entity affiliated with US President Donald Trump. Trumps sons Eric and Donald Jr. are involved in the management of the company. Zhao said the WSJ article portrayed him as acting as a fixer for the World Liberty Financial team and its co-founder Zach Witkoff during foreign trips. Read more
Pavel Durov is a keynote speaker at the Human Rights Foundation's Oslo Freedom Forum, a summit for universal human rights and autonomy. Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov will not be physically attending the Oslo Freedom Forum in Oslo, Norway, after French courts denied his request to travel to the Scandinavian country. According to an announcement from the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) — a non-profit organization that advocates for universal human rights and individual liberty, and the host of the Oslo Freedom Forum — Durov will still deliver his keynote address remotely over a livestream. “It is unfortunate that French courts would block Mr. Durov from participating in an event where his voice is so needed,” HRF founder and CEO Thor Halvorssen said. Read more
The incident reveals the ever-evolving tactics scammers employ against the crypto community and serves as a reminder to remain vigilant. Scammers posing as Ledger, a hardware wallet manufacturer, are sending physical letters to crypto users instructing them to "validate" their wallets or risk losing access to funds, in the latest phishing attack to impact the industry. BitGo CEO Mike Belshe shared a picture of the scam letter, which featured a QR code, presumably linked to a malicious phishing site. The letter was sent through the United States Postal Service (USPS), according to the executive. "These are all scams do not fall for any of these," Troy Lindsey wrote after receiving a copy of the phishing letter. Read more
Bitcoin is on track for over $400 billion in investment inflows by 2026, as ETFs, governments, and corporations could increasingly adopt BTC as an investment asset. Key takeaways: Spot Bitcoin ETFs have already surpassed gold ETFs in early growth, with projections of $100 billion in annual inflows by 2027. Publicly listed companies and nation-states currently hold nearly 1.7 million BTC, pointing to long-term confidence. Read more
Small businesses and telecom giants gain financially from decentralizing infrastructure, Nova Labs chief operating officer Frank Mong said. Decentralizing telecommunication networks financially benefits small businesses and telecom corporations alike, according to Frank Mong, the chief operating officer (COO) of Nova Labs, the founding team behind the Helium wireless decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) network. In an interview with Cointelegraph at Consensus 2025 in Toronto, Canada, Mong said that small businesses including bars, restaurants, convenience stores, and other local operators can generate revenue by hosting wireless hotspots and expanding network coverage. Large telecommunication companies and service providers can also tap into the Helium Network's telemetry to reduce operational costs and expand network coverage in dead zones. Read more
The real-time analysis of blockchain wallet activity is shaking up crypto's power dynamics, shifting influence toward those who can decode onchain behavior and weaponize transparency. Opinion by: Scott Lehr, adviser to Alteri.io In the world of cryptocurrency, knowledge isn't just power — it's a weapon. The recent collapse of Mantra's OM token, which saw a 90% drop in value within hours, underscores how wallet intelligence can be leveraged with devastating effects. Wallet intelligence is the real-time analysis of blockchain data to extract insights from wallet behaviors, transaction patterns, and asset flows. Firms like Chainalysis and Arkham Intelligence have turned raw onchain activity into high-resolution surveillance, enabling everything from compliance monitoring to predictive trading. This level of insight gives a strategic advantage to those who can access it. Read more
“This normalizes crypto exposure in conservative portfolios that might otherwise avoid digital assets,” said Bitpace’s Meryem Habibi. This past week, Coinbase joined the S&P 500, one of the world’s most elite stock indexes — a triumph for the crypto firm, which spent much of the 2020s battling US government agencies like the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission for its survival. But this attainment is not about one company alone. “This is more than an achievement for Coinbase; it’s a landmark for the broader crypto and blockchain industry,” said Meryem Habibi, chief revenue officer of Bitpace. Coinbase joining the S&P 500 doesn’t just boost the owner of the largest US cryptocurrency exchange. “It cements the legitimacy of an entire asset class,” she told Cointelegraph. Read more
Crypto trader James Wynn has pushed his Hyperliquid Bitcoin long to $1.25 billion using 40x leverage, but suffered a $29M hit following Trump’s tariff shock. Well-known Hyperliquid trader James Wynn has increased his 40x leverage long Bitcoin bet to $1.25 billion after closing his $PEPE position for a $25.2 million profit. On May 24, Lookonchain reported that Wynn entered an 11,588 BTC position with an average entry price of $108,243 and a liquidation level of $105,180. The move came hours after Wynn exited his Ether (ETH) and Sui (SUI) longs at a $5.3 million loss. At the time, he used the proceedings to double down on Bitcoin (BTC), increasing his position to 11,070 BTC. Read more
President Donald Trump’s use of the presidential seal at a $TRUMP memecoin investor dinner may violate federal law. President Donald Trump is facing scrutiny after speaking at a private event for top investors in his $TRUMP memecoin while standing behind a lectern emblazoned with the official presidential seal — a move that may violate federal law. The event took place Thursday at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, where Trump addressed 220 investors in his cryptocurrency project. According to US law, the presidential seal cannot be used in any manner that could imply government approval or sponsorship. Violators can face fines or up to six months in prison. Read more
A Bitcoin executive claims the exodus from fiat assets has "already begun," and Bitcoiners still underestimate how much Bitcoin treasury companies will ultimately hold. Moon Inc. head of Bitcoin strategy Jesse Myers says that Bitcoin holders are underestimating the significant amount of Bitcoin that corporations will accumulate by 2045. “Bitcoin Treasury Companies will hold 50% of all BTC, way more than most Bitcoiners are prepared for,” Jesse Myers said in a May 23 X thread. Myers further forecasted that Michael Saylor’s Strategy will own $70 trillion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) by 2045, “making it by far the most valuable company in the history of the world.” At the time of publication, Strategy holds 576,320 Bitcoin, worth approximately $62.24 billion, according to Saylor Tracker. Read more
A US judge vacated Mango Markets exploiter’s fraud convictions, ruling the DeFi protocol’s permissionless design left no room for misrepresentation. A US federal judge has vacated key fraud and manipulation convictions against Avraham Eisenberg, the trader at the center of the case involving a $110 million exploit of the decentralized exchange Mango Markets. On Friday, US District Judge Arun Subramanian ruled that the evidence presented at trial failed to support the jury’s conclusion that Eisenberg made materially false representations to Mango Markets. The decision vacates Eisenberg’s convictions for commodities fraud and market manipulation and acquits him of a third charge, significantly weakening the government’s case. Read more
US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a straight week of daily inflows for the first time in four weeks. US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded-funds (ETFs) have recorded a total of $2.75 billion in inflows this week amid Bitcoin surpassing its January all-time high of $109,000. The $2.75 billion in inflows is approximately 4.5 times larger than the previous week’s $608 million, according to Farside data. On May 23, the final day of the trading week, spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs recorded $211.7 million in inflows. However, BlackRock’s IBIT was the only fund to post gains in the trading day, adding $430.8 million and extending its inflow streak to eight consecutive days. Read more
Fellow Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal said that Bjelic has always been “a force behind so much of what makes Polygon what it is today.” Mihailo Bjelic, co-founder of Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Polygon, has stepped down from his role at Polygon but suggests he will stay active in the crypto industry in some capacity. His resignation drew reactions across Polygon and the wider crypto community, with several seeing it as a loss for Polygon, which has been tied to several major developments in recent months. “After much thought and reflection, I’ve decided to step down from the board of the Polygon Foundation and wind down my day-to-day involvement with Polygon Labs,” Bjelic said in a May 23 X post. Read more
Tariff threats from US President Donald Trump disrupted BTC’s bullish momentum, putting bulls’ chance of securing $110,000 before a $13.8-billion options expiry at risk. Key takeaways: Bitcoin bulls aim to push BTC above $110,000 by May 30 to capitalize on $4.8 billion in call options. Spot BTC ETF inflows and weak put positioning give bulls a strong edge in the monthly expiry. Read more
Tokenization could pave the way for widespread micro-ownership of businesses, said Akshay BD, nCMO at the Solana Foundation. The current structure of capital markets is failing to serve a broad base of investors, according to Akshay BD, non-chief marketing officer at the Solana Foundation. During a panel at the Accelerate 2025 conference, Akshay argued that blockchain technology could help address these shortcomings, claiming that Solana could “make everyone an investor or a dreamer over time.” Akshay noted growing uncertainty among investors, citing concerns from investment managers who report heightened anxiety among clients. “You have low bond yields, you have asset price bubbles, and people don't really know how the traditional asset allocation model works anymore,” he said. The 60-40 portfolio hasn’t delivered consistent returns in a long time.” He attributed some of this tension to a widening gap between income earned through wages and wealth accumulated through asset ownership. Retail investors, he add...
Obscuring sensitive user data from artificial intelligence will become increasingly necessary as AI improves, Shielded CEO Eran Barak said. Blockchain privacy tools such as zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs will become increasingly necessary to protect online user data in the age of artificial intelligence, according to Eran Barak, CEO of Shielded Technologies, the developer behind the Midnight privacy chain. In an interview with Cointelegraph at Consensus 2025, Barak said corporate service providers and centralized servers are expected to become honeypots for AI-assisted hackers and malicious actors looking to steal valuable data, including private keys, financial metadata, medical records, and government documents. Hackers targeting centralized entities have a "massive" return on investment (ROI) and are incentivized to hack centralized targets that contain millions of valuable records, the CEO told Cointelegraph. Barak added that ZK-proofs, a way of verifying onchain data without revealing it, solve this problem:...
Semler's shares have risen 53% since the company announced its first Bitcoin purchases. Semler Scientific, a medical device company, purchased of $50 million worth of Bitcoin between May 13 and May 22, bringing the market value of the company’s Bitcoin (BTC) holdings to $474.4 million, keeping it within the top 13 of BTC Treasury companies. According to a May 23 disclosure, Semler bought a total of 455 BTC for an average purchase price of $109,801. To buy the Bitcoin, Semler Scientific used proceeds from an at-the-market stock offering program. So far, the company has sold roughly 3 million shares of common stock for net proceeds of $115 million. Semler Scientific’s shares have fallen 1.36% on the same day as the disclosure, though the decrease in its share price is largely in line with the Nasdaq’s performance. That index, which follows top tech stocks, is down 1% on the day. Read more6665 items