Author: Tristan Lodenberg

Bitcoin ($BTC) faces a critical week as $18.6 billion in monthly options are set to expire this Friday. Currently trading around $69,852, Bitcoin has been confined to a tight range between $67,700 and $71,600, closely following fluctuations in US stock markets amid the US-Israel-Iran conflict. March Bitcoin Call and Put Options Overview Call options dominate the March open interest at $11.2 billion, while put options stand at $7.4 billion, a 34% lower total. Despite the bullish inclination, Bitcoin has struggled to maintain levels above $74,000 for seven weeks, raising concerns that over 90% of call options could expire worthless if…

Reports indicate that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval commander Alireza Tangsiri was killed in a strike in the coastal city of Bandar Abbas. There has been no official confirmation from Iran, but Israeli sources stated that he was overseeing operations linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. If confirmed, the killing would mark another major casualty in the conflict that began on February 28. Strait of Hormuz Blockade Disrupts Global Shipping Tangsiri, who had served since 2018, played a key role in Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz, a route that normally carries about 20 percent of…

Bo Shen, co-founder of venture capital firm Fenbushi Capital, has offered a 10%-20% bounty for the recovery of roughly $42 million in digital assets stolen from his personal wallet in a 2022 hack. Shen confirmed that onchain investigators ZachXBT and Taylor “Tayvano” Monahan have already helped freeze about $1.2 million in related assets. Rewards will be distributed once significant recovery milestones are achieved. Stolen Assets and Investigation Details The stolen funds include approximately $38.2 million in USDC, 1,607 ETH, nearly 720,000 USDT, and 4.13 BTC. The assets were moved across multiple exchanges, including ChangeNow and SideShift. Blockchain analytics firm SlowMist…

A federal court has certified a class action against Nvidia and CEO Jensen Huang, allowing investors from August 10, 2017, to November 15, 2018 to pursue claims that the company concealed over $1 billion in crypto mining-related GPU sales. Plaintiffs argue that Nvidia recorded much of this revenue within its gaming segment, misrepresenting the company’s exposure to crypto market fluctuations and affecting its stock price. The ruling by Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. noted that Nvidia failed to prove its crypto disclosures had no price impact, enabling the class action to move forward. Investors first filed the lawsuit in 2018,…

Stablecoin issuer Circle, the company behind the USDC dollar pegged token, has come under fire for freezing 16 hot wallets connected to crypto exchanges, online casinos, and foreign currency businesses. Onchain investigator ZachXBT claims these wallets were unrelated to any wrongdoing and could have been identified as operational business wallets within minutes using standard blockchain analysis tools. Allegations of Mismanagement ZachXBT described the freezes as “potentially the single most incompetent freeze” he has seen in over five years of onchain investigations, criticizing Circle for outsourcing decisions to federal authorities rather than having an internal verification process. He emphasized that the…

XRP is trading just above $1.40, forming one of its tightest ranges in months. Volatility has fallen to levels not seen since January 2026, indicating a potential sharp move is approaching. Sellers have repeatedly capped price near $1.43, while buyers continue defending the $1.40 support zone. This compression phase suggests that a break of either level could trigger a rapid price shift. Traders are watching whether $1.40 holds for a rebound toward $1.43–$1.45 or fails, potentially opening a downside target near $1.35. Late-session selling briefly pushed XRP below short-term support before stabilizing, highlighting the importance of volume in confirming the…

Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the U.S., has again declined to support the latest draft of the Clarity Act. The company cited concerns over provisions that would prevent crypto platforms from paying rewards on stablecoin holdings and restrict access to transaction size data, complicating reward calculations. The bill is led by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks and aims to address banking concerns over deposit flows. Coinbase Revenue at Stake Stablecoin yield is a major revenue stream for Coinbase. In 2025, the exchange reported $1.35 billion in stablecoin revenue, primarily from USDC distribution payments through its partnership with Circle.…

Elon Musk’s social media platform X has appointed Benji Taylor as its new head of design, bringing extensive experience in crypto wallets and decentralized finance to the company. Taylor will oversee design initiatives across X, with ties to xAI and SpaceX, as the platform prepares to roll out its financial service, X Money. Taylor previously founded Los Feliz Engineering, the team behind the self-custody wallet Family, which was acquired by Aave Labs in 2023. He served as chief product officer at Aave until October 2025 and most recently led design at Base, the Ethereum-based blockchain network built by Coinbase. His…

Franklin Templeton is partnering with Ondo Finance to launch tokenized exchange-traded funds that can be accessed directly through crypto wallets. The initiative aims to provide investors with onchain exposure to equities, bonds, and gold while bypassing traditional brokerage accounts. The products will initially be available to investors in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America, with U.S. access dependent on regulatory approval. Under the structure, Ondo will purchase shares of Franklin Templeton ETFs and issue tokens through a special-purpose vehicle, granting holders economic exposure to the funds without owning the underlying shares. Tokens can also be used as collateral…

Google has announced a target year of 2029 to complete its migration to post-quantum cryptography (PQC), warning that rapid progress in quantum computing could threaten existing encryption sooner than expected. The company highlighted advancements in quantum hardware and improvements in quantum error correction as key factors driving urgency. This marks the first time Google has publicly set a firm deadline for deploying quantum-resistant security across its products. Google stated that quantum computers are expected to pose serious risks to current cryptographic standards, especially encryption and digital signature systems that secure authentication services. By setting an early timeline, the company aims…