Crypto News
Fresh $1B in Tether mints on Tron, closing gap again with Ethereum
The Tron network has drawn closer to regaining the lead from Ethereum in Tether circulation after another big mint by the US stablecoin issuer.On May 5, Tether minted another $1 billion Tether (USDT) on the Tron network, according to Arkham Intelligence. This brings the total USDT on Tron to $71.4 billion, according to the Tether Transparency report. In comparison, there is currently $72.8 billion USDT circulating on the Ethereum network, so just $1.4 billion more USDT on Tron will see it become the leading network for the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, as it has been previously over the last two years. Tron was ahead of Ethereum for USDT circulation between July 2022 and November 2024, but a large $18 billion mint on Ethereum pushed the network ahead again, according to CryptoQuant. The third-largest network for USDT is Solana, which has $1.9 billion circulating, and there are smaller amounts on Ton, Avalanche, Aptos, Near, Celo and Cosmos. USDT circulation on Ethereum and Tron. Source: CryptoQuantTether’s total circulation is currently at a record high of $149.4 billion USDT, having increased by 8.6% since the beginning of this year. This gives the firm a commanding stablecoin market share of 61%, according to CoinGecko. Related: Tether AI platform to support Bitcoin and USDT payments, CEO saysIts closest competitor, Circle, has a market share of 25% with almost $62 billion USDC (USDC) in circulation.Stablecoin issuance has surged over the past six months, and they currently represent 8% of the total crypto market capitalization.In a report in late April, the United States Treasury Department predicted that the stablecoin market could reach $2 trillion by 2028 if regulatory clarity is achieved. Stablecoin legislation nearing next vote It is widely believed that two key pieces of legislation need to be passed into law in the US to cement the position of stablecoins. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act sets out clear definitions for “payment stablecoins” and reserve rules for stablecoin issuers.Lawmakers in the US Senate will move forward with a vote on the GENIUS stablecoin bill before May 26, according to reports. Meanwhile, the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act, which governs the approval and supervision of “federally qualified nonbank payment stablecoin issuers,” is also going through Congress. Tether is also planning to launch a US-based stablecoin later this year, with timing dependent on the passing of legislation. Magazine: Bitcoin to $1M ‘by 2029,’ CIA tips its hat to Bitcoin: Hodler’s Digest
Published Date: 2025-05-06 02:57:27Creator: Cointelegraph by Martin Young
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New crypto bill draft seen to curb big crypto firm influence
The new “Digital Asset Market Structure Discussion Draft” introduced by House Republicans on May 5 could work to reduce the dominance of large crypto firms and promote more participation in the broader market, according to an executive from Paradigm. The discussion draft, led by the House agricultural and financial services committee chairs Glenn Thompson and French Hill, is an “incremental, albeit meaningful, rewrite” of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), Paradigm’s vice president of regulatory affairs Justin Slaughter said in a May 5 X post.One-pager of the digital asset market structure discussion draft submitted by House Republicans on May 5. Source: US House Agriculture CommitteeOne of the major changes from FIT21 is that the draft defines an affiliated person as anyone who owns more than 1% of a digital commodity issued by the project — down from 5% in the FIT21 bill — a move Slaughter said may curb the influence of big crypto firms and lead to more participation in the crypto market.“This is a portent of the entire bill. There are often criticisms of crypto being too dominated by a few large firms. This bill makes clear the regulatory regime proposed is going to push against that fact and strongly encourage more small-d ‘democratization’ of the space.”The draft also defines a “mature blockchain system” as one that, together with its related digital commodity, is not under the “common control” of any person or group.Source: Justin SlaughterThe Securities and Exchange Commission would be the main authority regulating activity on crypto networks until they become sufficiently decentralized, Slaughter noted.The draft also clarified that decentralized finance trading protocols are those that enable users to engage in a financial transaction in a “self-directed manner.” Protocols that meet this criterion are exempt from registering as digital commodity brokers or dealers.The draft also referred to digital commodities as “investment contract assets” to distinguish their treatment from stocks and other traditional assets under the Howey test.According to Slaughter’s analysis, securities laws won’t be triggered unless the secondary sale of tokens also transfers ownership or profit in the underlying business.Crypto firms would also have a path to raise funds under the SEC’s oversight while also having a “clear process” to register their digital commodities with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the committee members said in a separate May 5 statement.Joint rulemaking, procedures, or guidelines related to crypto asset delisting must be established by the CFTC and SEC should a registered asset no longer comply with rules laid out by the regulators.A ‘clear opportunity’ to advance crypto innovation, rules once and for allSpeaking about the need for a comprehensive crypto regulatory framework, the House committee members said crypto is a “clear opportunity” to advance innovation in the US — most notably through modernizing America’s financial infrastructure and reinforcing US dollar dominance.The Republicans criticized the previous Biden administration and the Gary Gensler-led SEC for adopting a regulation-by-enforcement strategy rather than creating clear rules for market participants.Related: VanEck files for BNB ETF, first in USMany crypto firms were stuck in “legal limbo” as a result of the unclear rules, which pushed some industry players overseas, where clearer rules exist, the House committee members said.“America needs to be the powerhouse for digital asset investment and innovation. For that to happen, we need a commonsense regulatory regime,” said Dusty Johnson, chairman of the subcommittee on commodity markets, digital assets and rural development.Slaughter added: “This is the bill that will, finally, provide a clear regulatory regime on crypto that many have been calling for.”Republicans already facing roadblocks over discussion draftHouse Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters plans to block a Republican-led event discussing digital assets on May 6, a Democratic staffer told Cointelegraph.The hearing, “American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets,” is expected to discuss the new crypto markets draft discussion paper pitched by Thompson, Hill, and other committee members.However, according to the unnamed Democratic staffer, the current rules require all members of the House Financial Services Committee to agree on such hearings.Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight
Published Date: 2025-05-06 02:38:34Creator: Cointelegraph by Brayden Lindrea
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Samourai Wallet says feds hid advice that crypto mixer was in the clear
Samourai Wallet’s lawyers allege federal prosecutors suppressed advice that the firm didn’t need a license before they charged executives at the crypto mixing service months later. In a May 5 letter to a Manhattan federal court, lawyers for Samourai co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill said prosecutors disclosed that the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) representatives told them six months before they charged the pair “that under FinCEN’s guidance, the Samourai Wallet app would not qualify as a ‘Money Services Business’ requiring a FinCEN license.”“Shockingly, six months later, the same prosecutors criminally charged Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill with operating just such a business without a FinCEN license,” the lawyers added.The letter claimed that prosecutors were required to share their discussions with FinCEN over Samourai two weeks after they unsealed charges, making the deadline May 8 last year, but instead “suppressed this information for over a year, disclosing it only on April 1, 2025.” Prosecutors charged Samourai CEO Rodriguez and its technology chief Hill with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and money laundering conspiracy in February 2024, unsealing the charges and arresting the pair in April that year. Samourai’s mixing service took crypto from multiple users and blended it together to hide its origins. The government alleged the platform helped with over $2 billion in illegal transactions and facilitated over $100 million worth of money laundering transactions from online black markets and scammers.Rodriguez and Hill both pleaded not guilty.In the letter, their lawyers said prosecutors shared details of a call with Kevin O’Connor, chief of FinCEN’s Virtual Assets and Emerging Technology Section in the Enforcement and Compliance Division, and Policy Division staffer Lorena Valente.According to an email from one of the prosecutors summarizing the call, FinCEN said that “because Samourai does not take ‘custody’ of the cryptocurrency by possessing the private keys to any addresses where the cryptocurrency is stored, that would strongly suggest that Samourai is NOT acting as an MSB [money services business].”An excerpt of an email from prosecutor Andrew Chan said FinCEN “did not have a sense” of what it would decide on Samourai. Source: CourtListenerThe email said O’Connor and Valente agreed that the government could try to argue that Samourai functionally controlled the crypto, “but that has never been addressed in the guidance, and so it could be a difficult argument” for prosecutors.Samourai’s lawyers asked the court for a hearing “to determine the circumstances surrounding the Government’s late disclosure” and to administer a remedy.Samourai to renew dismissal bid if case goes onRodriguez and Hill’s lawyers said that, using this latest information, they would again ask for the charges to be dismissed, arguing they lacked fair notice and “understood they were acting lawfully.”Related: US Treasury’s OFAC can’t restore Tornado Cash sanctions, judge rules Prosecutors and Samourai asked the court for more time on April 28 to consider potentially dismissing the case after the Justice Department rolled back its crypto enforcement.Rodriguez and Hill bid to dismiss the case in early April, arguing it should be dropped as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in an April 7 memo that the Justice Department wouldn’t prosecute crypto mixers for “unwitting violations of regulations.” In the latest letter, their lawyers said if the government “were to resist the Blanche Memo’s directive and push forward,” then they would bid to dismiss as “if they were not money transmitters under FinCEN’s guidance, then they could not possibly be prosecuted for not having a license.”Magazine: Tornado Cash 2.0 — The race to build safe and legal coin mixers
Published Date: 2025-05-06 01:17:18Creator: Cointelegraph by Jesse Coghlan
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New York district gets interim US Attorney as ex-SafeMoon CEO trial kicks off
Acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) John Durham has departed as President Donald Trump’s pick takes control of the office.In a May 5 notice, the US Attorney’s Office for EDNY said Joseph Nocella will serve as interim US Attorney for the region for 120 days or until a Senate-confirmed nominee assumes the role. Nocella’s appointment came as jury selection began in the criminal trial of Braden John Karony, the former CEO of crypto firm SafeMoon.It’s unclear how the advancement of Nocella, appointed by US President Donald Trump this month, could affect prosecutors’ case against Karony, who faces charges of securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. Nocella said he intended to help prosecute “narcotics-traffickers, gang members, terrorists, human-traffickers and other criminals.”The former SafeMoon CEO asked the court in February to consider pushing back the start of the trial based on “significant changes” Trump had proposed affecting US securities laws, potentially impacting his criminal case.Related: What do crypto users want to happen to Alex Mashinsky?Though not as well known for criminal cases involving high-profile figures in the crypto industry, the Eastern District of New York has been responsible for overseeing cases against individuals tied to digital assets, including a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaint against Hex founder Richard Heart and fraudsters. Its neighboring district, the Southern District of New York, will oversee the sentencing of former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky on May 8. Jay Clayton, a Wall Street insider and the former chair of the SEC, became the interim US Attorney for the district in April.Criminal trial to start on May 6SafeMoon’s Karony, Kyle Nagy, and Thomas Smith were charged in November 2023 for “diverted and misappropriated millions of dollars’ worth” of the platform’s SFM token between 2021 and 2022. Karony has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has been free on a $3 million bond since February 2024.In a May 5 filing, Karony agreed to have jury selection for his trial proceed under US Magistrate Judge James Cho. District Judge Eric Komitee is expected to oversee the trial starting on May 6.Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight
Published Date: 2025-05-05 22:10:00Creator: Cointelegraph by Turner Wright
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OpenAI to stay nonprofit, scrap proposed overhaul
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has abandoned plans to become a for-profit company and reaffirmed commitment to its nonprofit status. In a May 5 blog post, OpenAI confirmed plans to convert its for-profit business unit into a so-called Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), which would remain under the nonprofit’s control. PBCs are for-profit companies that are legally obligated to prioritize a social mission alongside the interests of shareholders. The plans mark a reversal for OpenAI, which had previously floated a for-profit conversion involving spinning out the nonprofit entity. “OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit, and is today overseen and controlled by that nonprofit. Going forward, it will continue to be overseen and controlled by that nonprofit,” the ChatGPT-maker said. This can be done without compromising OpenAI’s ability to raise funds for AI development, which “currently requires hundreds of billions of dollars and may eventually require trillions of dollars,” OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, said in a letter to employees announcing the decision. In 2024, OpenAI took a starkly different view, asserting that the for-profit entity was “necessary” for raising capital to amass the “vast quantities of compute” needed to run AI models. OpenAI’s May 5 governance announcement. Source: OpenAIRelated: OpenAI expects to 3X revenue in 2025 but Chinese AI firms are heating upControversial Plans OpenAI was originally founded as a nonprofit in 2015, and in 2019 it created a for-profit entity purportedly to help AI developers raise funds. The for-profit unit has remained under the nonprofit’s control since then. In 2024, Tesla CEO Elon Musk — one of OpenAI’s cofounders — sued Altman for allegedly “violating terms of Musk’s foundational contributions to the charity,” according to a November court filing. In the lawsuit, Musk alleges Altman “assiduously manipulated Musk into co-founding their spurious nonprofit venture, OpenAI,” while secretly planning to convert OpenAI to a for-profit entity. Musk has since launched xAI, the developer of AI chatbot Grok, which he said has fallen victim to OpenAI’s allegedly anti-competitive practices.OpenAI’s leadership expects its revenue to hit $29.4 billion by 2026, Bloomberg reported in March. It forecasts earning revenues of $12.7 billion in 2025. In March, OpenAI raised $40 billion from Softbank at a $300 billion valuation. Magazine: Bitcoin to $1M ‘by 2029,’ CIA tips its hat to Bitcoin: Hodler’s Digest, April 27 – May 3
Published Date: 2025-05-05 21:33:00Creator: Cointelegraph by Alex O’Donnell
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Good actors were 'unfairly targeted' by SEC — OpenSea's CEO
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) enforcement approach on crypto firms has left a lasting “regulatory overhang” within the industry, according to Devin Finzer, co-founder and CEO of OpenSea. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Finzer said that during Biden's administration the agency unfairly targeted good actors in the crypto space, including OpenSea. “There's all sorts of digital assets, you know, you shouldn't treat them all the same. That's obvious. But I think the approach that the prior SEC was taking was kind of this, you know, very, very generic.”The SEC issued a Wells notice — a formal notification that is often a precursor to enforcement action — to OpenSea in 2024, alleging that the NFT marketplace was operating as an exchange for unregistered securities. At the time, Finzer criticized the SEC for taking an approach of “regulation by enforcement” and said that OpenSea was prepared to “stand up and fight.”With the SEC under new leadership by Chair Paul Atkins, Finzer is hopeful for a more balanced regulatory framework. “Good crypto regulation needs to balance, sort of, protecting consumers but also preserving the ability to innovate,” Finzer said. “It’s not just a one-size-fits-all problem, right?”Under the Trump administration, the SEC has scaled back enforcement actions against several crypto firms, marking a policy shift in the US after years of enforcement actions led by former Chair Gary Gensler.For instance, the agency has withdrawn legal challenges against exchanges Coinbase and Kraken, NFT companies Yuga Labs and OpenSea, and decentralized finance protocol Uniswap — most of them opened during Gensler’s term. The SEC has even dismissed its years-long case against Ripple.During the 2024 US election cycle, the crypto industry widely backed then-candidate Donald Trump, who promised to make the United States “the crypto capital of the planet.” Overall, crypto super political action committees, or PACs, donated over $119 million into the coffers of pro-crypto candidates, helping shape the elections.Related: Crypto’s debanking problem persists despite new regulationsNFTs: Low trading volume, high innovationThe SEC crackdown on crypto firms had weighed on the markets downturn following FTX collapse in November 2022, driving investors away from crypto products such as nonfungible tokensSince then, NFT trading volume has plummeted from its 2021 peak, affecting protocols and platforms such as OpenSea. In 2023, the company laid off 50% of its staff amid the market turmoil.Finzer says the NFT space is still flourishing, with innovation and new applications coming to life — especially in the gaming industry and art collectibles. Despite this, OpenSea has started exploring other areas, seeking to diversify its business to become a destination for all onchain trading beyond NFTs.“I mean, for the first time in the history of the internet, people have the ability to own digital stuff, right, in a real way,” Finzer said. “[...] you can move them around between different applications and take them with you wherever you go on the internet. And that's something that's really powerful.”Related: OpenSea denies NFT airdrop rumors, calls website a test page
Published Date: 2025-05-05 21:15:00Creator: Cointelegraph by Christopher Tepedino
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Trump’s crypto dealings face scrutiny as House Republicans unveil digital asset bill
US President Donald Trump’s crypto businesses are drawing increased scrutiny on Capitol Hill and beginning to influence the progress of US digital asset legislation. As Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives unveiled their draft of a digital asset market structure bill on May 5, Democrats prepared for a united response to Donald Trump’s deepening connections with the industry.Speaking to Cointelegraph on May 5, a Democratic staffer with knowledge of the matter said that House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters planned to lead some members of her party out of a Republican-led hearing discussing digital assets. The May 6 hearing, entitled “American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets” and led by Committee Chair French Hill, could address draft legislation proposed by Republican lawmakers to establish a crypto market regulatory structure.In a May 5 statement, Rep. Hill and three top Republicans unveiled the draft bill, which could clarify the treatment of digital assets by the US’s financial regulators: the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Hill and others echoed some of Trump’s talking points on crypto — e.g, making the US a “crypto capital of the world” — suggesting deference to the president’s previously announced policies.The draft bill included a provision requiring the SEC and CFTC to issue joint rules defining digital commodities. According to the text, transactions involving digital commodities “shall be deemed not to be an offer or sale of an investment contract” as long as the purchaser did not have “an ownership interest or other interest in the revenues, profits, or assets.”According to the Democratic staffer, rules required all members of the House Financial Services Committee to agree to move forward with the digital asset hearing, suggesting that Waters intended to block the Republican-controlled event and conduct a shadow hearing to explore Trump’s and his family’s ties to the crypto industry. At least nine Democrats have reportedly considered a similar move to oppose a proposed stablecoin bill in the Senate.Calls for impeachment, criticism from both sidesSome members of Congress have already called for Trump’s impeachment after he offered the opportunity for some of his top memecoin holders to tour the White House and attend a private dinner. In addition to the memecoin, the president’s family has backed the firm World Liberty Financial, which recently launched its own stablecoin, and an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm used the USD1 stablecoin to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance.Related: US Senator calls for Trump impeachment, cites memecoin dinnerWaters, according to the staffer, requested that Hill and Republicans amend any proposed legislation to explicitly prevent potential conflicts of interest in which Trump could personally enrich himself through crypto ventures. Cointelegraph reached out to Hill’s office but did not receive a response at the time of publication. The Arkansas lawmaker reportedly said in March that the Trump family’s involvement in the crypto industry makes related legislation “more complicated.”Republican lawmakers in the United States currently have control of the House, Senate, and presidency. At least two senators supportive of Trump have criticized his memecoin dinner, hinting that the president was selling access to his office. It’s unclear at the time of publication who among the memecoin holders could attend the May 22 dinner in person.Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questionsThis is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.
Published Date: 2025-05-05 20:53:56Creator: Cointelegraph by Turner Wright
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Bitcoin sell-off to $93.5K is a brief hiccup — Data still supports new BTC highs in 2025
Key takeaways:Bitcoin price slips, but BTC dominance is on the rise.Sizable purchases by Strategy and the spot BTC ETFs highlight institutional investors’ appetite for Bitcoin.Bitcoin’s (BTC) price has dropped by 4.3% in the last three days after nearly reaching $97,900 on May 2. Despite showing resilience at the $94,000 level on May 5, some traders are disappointed that strong institutional inflows have not been enough to maintain bullish momentum. However, several encouraging signs suggest that a new all-time high for Bitcoin in 2025 remains within reach.Bitcoin market share excluding stablecoins. Source: TradingView / CointelegraphBitcoin’s dominance over the broader cryptocurrency market has surged, currently standing at 70%, its highest since January 2021. This has occurred despite a wave of new token launches, including several top-50 projects such as SUI, Toncoin (TON), PI, Official Trump (TRUMP), Bittensor (TAO), Ethena (ENA), and Celestia (TIA). This dominance makes riskier altcoins less appealing to new market entrants.The spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $4.5 billion in net inflows between April 22 and May 2. At the same time, the increasing appetite for Bitcoin futures signals growing institutional adoption regardless of whether leverage is used for downside protection or bullish bets.Bitcoin futures aggregate open interest, BTC. Source: CoinGlassAccording to CoinGlass, the total open interest in Bitcoin futures markets has reached 669,090 BTC, a 21% increase since March 5. Even after Bitcoin’s price crashed below $75,000 in early April, demand for leveraged positions remained strong. The open interest in BTC futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) alone exceeds $13.5 billion, indicating robust institutional demand.Several factors explain why Bitcoin has struggled to reclaim the $100,000 level. Traders who bought in anticipation of the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve bill on March 6 are growing increasingly frustrated, as the government has yet to disclose its BTC holdings or announce plans for further purchases. Additionally, similar state-level Bitcoin bills have repeatedly failed, including the latest setback in the US state of Arizona.Strategy doubles its plans for BTC acquisitions despite the global trade war Over the past three months, gold has outperformed most assets, rising 16%, while Bitcoin has declined by 5% and the S&P 500 has corrected by 6.5%. This has challenged the notion of Bitcoin as an uncorrelated asset, as the cryptocurrency has repeatedly failed to decouple from the S&P 500 amid rising economic risks. The global trade war has led investors to favor fixed-income assets and cash positions.5-year US Treasury yield (left) vs. Bitcoin/USD (right). Source: TradingView / CointelegraphBitcoin’s recent drop to $94,000 is particularly concerning given that Strategy, a US-listed company led by Michael Saylor, announced the acquisition of 1,895 BTC on May 5, after doubling its capital increase plan to fund further Bitcoin purchases. However, since investors were previously uncertain about Strategy’s ability to raise additional capital, the announcement of an $84 billion plan on May 1 has reduced some of this risk.For Bitcoin to reach a new all-time high, investors will likely need reassurance that US-China trade relations are improving, as tariffs have negatively impacted overall risk appetite. Nevertheless, the key elements for a BTC bull run above $100,000 appear to be in place.This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Published Date: 2025-05-05 20:44:08Creator: Cointelegraph by Marcel Pechman
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US Treasury sanctions Myanmar militia group for alleged crypto scams
The United States Department of the Treasury has sanctioned a Myanmar militia group known as the Karen National Army (KNA), accusing it of crypto-related scams and other criminal activities. According to a May 5 press release issued by the agency, the Karen National Army has been orchestrating a variety of crypto scams, including the infamous “pig butchering” scam, which lures victims into contributing more and more to fake crypto schemes. Americans “have collectively lost billions of dollars” from scams such as those emanating from Myanmar, the release reads, without specifying an amount.“Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Karen National Army (KNA), a militia group in Burma, as a transnational criminal organization, along with the group’s leader Saw Chit Thu, and his two sons, Saw Htoo Eh Moo and Saw Chit Chit, for their role in facilitating cyber scams that harm U.S. citizens, human trafficking, and cross-border smuggling,” the release reads.Many international bodies, including the US, continue to refer to “Burma,” the country’s former name, to demonstrate that they don’t recognize the military regimes that have been in power at various times since a 1989 coup in which the military changed the name to Myanmar. The KNA operates in southeastern Myanmar, along the Thailand border.The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued numerous sanctions against crypto-offenders over the past few years, including Middle East-based terrorist groups, cybercrime units operating overseas, and privacy-focused crypto technology like Tornado Cash.Related: FBI warns of North Korean ’social engineering’ schemes to steal cryptoCrypto scams target US residentsAccording to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Americans lost $9.3 billion to crypto scams in 2024, an increase of roughly 66% from 2023. The most affected group is formed by individuals over the age of 60, who reported a cumulative loss total of $2.8 billion.Pig butchering scams are known for their significant impact on victims, both in the crypto space and beyond. The scam consists of a long-term financial fraud where scammers build trust with victims over time, often through social media or messaging platforms, before convincing them to invest in fake or manipulated crypto schemes. According to TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence company, these scams accounted for well over $4.4 billion stolen in 2023.According to the Treasury Department’s press release, this type of scam is currently common in Southeast Asia, primarily involving trafficked individuals defrauding victims. The Karen National Army is allegedly engaged in orchestrating both pig butchering scams and human trafficking networks that enable them to operate at scale.Magazine: Influencers shilling memecoin scams face severe legal consequences
Published Date: 2025-05-05 20:26:47Creator: Cointelegraph by Christopher Tepedino
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VanEck files for BNB ETF, first in US
Asset manager VanEck has asked US regulators for permission to list an exchange-traded fund (ETF) holding BNB, the native token of Binance’s BNB Chain, regulatory filings show. The ETF is designed to accumulate spot BNB (BNB) tokens and “may, from time to time, stake a portion of the [fund’s] assets through one or more trusted staking providers,” according to the ETF’s S-1 prospectus. The filing marks the first time an asset manager has filed for a BNB ETF in the United States.The BNB token has a market capitalization of roughly $84 billion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. As of May 5, BNB stakers earn a yield of approximately 2.5%, according to data from Stakingrewards.com. Binance’s BNB Chain is among the most popular smart contract networks, with a total value locked (TVL) of nearly $6 billion, according to data from DefiLlama. BNB Chain is among the most popular blockchain networks. Source: DeFILlamaRelated: Binance co-founder CZ proposes Bitcoin, BNB for Kyrgyzstan reservesBitcoin's “spillover” effect?The filing comes days after Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao reportedly said he expects the popularity of Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs to eventually “spill over” into altcoins.“This cycle so far has been the ETFs. And it’s almost all Bitcoin. Ether hasn’t had as much success but Bitcoin success will spill over to the others eventually,” CZ reportedly said during the Token2049 conference in Dubai. Spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted net inflows of more than $40 billion since launching in January of 2024, according to data from Farside Investors.Cumulative inflows into spot BTC ETFs. Source: Farside InvestorsVanEck’s filing is the newest in a flurry of filings seeking to list ETFs holding altcoins. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has acknowledged dozens of cryptocurrency ETF proposals since US President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20. They include plans for ETFs holding native layer-1 tokens such as Solana (SOL) as well as memecoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE).VanEck has filed to list other cryptocurrency ETFs over the past few months, including funds holding Solana and Avalanche (AVAX).Magazine: ZK-proofs are bringing smart contracts to Bitcoin — BitcoinOS and Starknet
Published Date: 2025-05-05 19:00:45Creator: Cointelegraph by Alex O’Donnell
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