Author: Tristan Lodenberg

Efforts to advance long awaited crypto market structure legislation in the United States Senate have encountered another delay, with lawmakers signaling that a key committee vote is unlikely to take place in April. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a central negotiator on the Senate Banking Committee, told reporters that the panel is now expected to consider amendments and voting on the bill in May instead. Tillis, along with Senator Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, has been working to resolve one of the primary sticking points in the legislation — the treatment of stablecoin rewards. The issue follows earlier provisions introduced…

Tether has acquired an 8.2% stake in Antalpha, a Bitcoin mining finance and lending platform, becoming one of its largest shareholders following the company’s May 2025 initial public offering. According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Tether now holds approximately 1.95 million shares through affiliated entities, with chairman Giancarlo Devasini holding shared voting and decision-making authority over the position. Antalpha provides Bitcoin-backed loans and equipment financing to mining operators and reported a loan portfolio of roughly $1.6 billion at the end of 2024. The company is closely connected to the Bitmain ecosystem, a major supplier of…

Arbitrum has frozen approximately 30,766 Ether valued at about $71.1 million after identifying funds linked to the recent Kelp DAO exploit. The action was carried out by the Arbitrum Security Council, which transferred the assets into an intermediary frozen wallet on the Arbitrum One network. According to an official update shared on X, the freeze was executed with guidance from law enforcement authorities investigating the incident. Arbitrum stated that the move was designed to secure compromised funds while ensuring that regular users and decentralized applications on the network remained unaffected. The frozen assets will remain locked unless further action is…

Bitcoin has moved back above the $75,000 level as financial markets react to progress in ceasefire discussions between Iran and Pakistan. The cryptocurrency was trading at approximately $75,933 on Tuesday morning, marking a 1.5% increase over 24 hours and a 1.7% gain for the week. The upward move followed reports that Iran will send a delegation for further talks in Pakistan, raising hopes of easing geopolitical tensions ahead of a Wednesday ceasefire deadline. Brent crude prices slipped in response, reflecting expectations of reduced supply risk in the region. Market data shows persistent negative funding rates in bitcoin perpetual futures for…

Decentralized lending platform Aave is assessing the fallout from a major exploit involving Kelp DAO, after attackers stole 116,500 Restaked Ether (rsETH) tokens valued at approximately $293 million. The breach began over the weekend when compromised nodes linked to a LayerZero powered bridge allowed the attacker to forge a transfer message that appeared legitimate, enabling the minting of rsETH tokens. The stolen tokens were later used as collateral on Aave V3 to borrow wrapped Ether (wETH), creating a potential bad debt situation within the lending protocol. Following the attack, Kelp DAO paused affected smart contracts across Ethereum mainnet and several…

New York state assemblymember and congressional candidate Alex Bores has proposed a new “AI Dividend” program designed to protect workers from potential job losses linked to artificial intelligence. In a post shared on X, Bores said the initiative aims to prepare the United States for the possibility of large-scale labor displacement as automation becomes more widespread. The proposal outlines direct payments to American citizens if artificial intelligence significantly reduces employment opportunities. Bores stated that the dividend would be funded through tax reforms that encourage companies to prioritize hiring human workers over relying entirely on automated systems. Recent labor data has…

Coinbase backed artificial intelligence payments protocol x402 has launched a new marketplace called Agentic.market, aimed at improving how AI agents discover and use compatible online services. Coinbase product lead Nick Prince introduced the platform in a video shared on X, explaining that the goal is to provide both users and their AI agents access to thousands of services without requiring traditional API keys. Prince described Agentic.market as a storefront that allows users to discover, compare and integrate x402-enabled services. The platform currently supports a variety of tools and websites that AI agents can interact with, including data platforms, travel services…

Questions about possible insider trading have intensified during the presidency of Donald Trump, as unusually timed market activity has appeared ahead of several major announcements. Analysts reviewing financial data identified repeated spikes in trading volumes minutes before public statements affecting oil, stocks, and geopolitical markets. One key example occurred on March 9, 2026, during the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. In a phone interview with CBS News, Trump said the war was “very complete, pretty much.” Market data showed Brent crude oil trading volume surged sharply at 18:29 GMT, nearly 47 minutes before the interview became public.…

John Oliver, host of the HBO show Last Week Tonight, took aim at prediction market platforms during a recent episode, raising concerns about regulation, controversial betting markets, and the risk of manipulation. The segment focused on how platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket allow users to wager on unusual or trivial events, including bets on whether members of the Trump administration would use specific words in public speeches. Oliver also questioned the role of Donald Trump Jr., who has served as an adviser to both platforms. He criticized the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) under Chair Michael Selig, suggesting…

Bybit has led an $8 million Series A funding round in Malaysian digital asset exchange Hata, marking another step in the expansion of regulated cryptocurrency services in Southeast Asia. The round included participation from several global family offices and follows Bybit’s earlier $4.2 million seed investment in the platform. The new funding will be used to improve market liquidity, expand Hata’s growing user base, and introduce additional digital asset products. Since launching operations in 2023, Hata has gained more than 209,000 registered users and processed approximately 1.04 billion Malaysian ringgits (about $225 million) in trading volume during 2025. Hata operates…