Circle executive denies claims of seeking US banking license
An executive at major stablecoin issuer Circle denied reports that the company is looking to obtain a US federal bank charter.In an April 25 X post, Circle’s chief strategy officer and head of global policy, Dante Disparte, denied that the company is interested in obtaining a US federal bank charter or acquiring an insured depository institution.Instead, he said that Circle intends to comply with future US regulatory requirements for payment stablecoins, “which may require registering for a federal or state trust charter or other nonbank license.” He also urged lawmakers to reach regulatory clarity for stablecoins sooner rather than later.Source: Dante DisparteThe statement followed recent reports that major cryptocurrency firms, including stablecoin issuer Circle and crypto custodian BitGo, were considering applying for bank charters or licenses. Other firms cited as seeking such licenses included publicly traded US-based crypto exchange Coinbase and stablecoin issuer Paxos.Related: Circle’s EURC grows as trade war pushes euro higher — AnalystThe report was not entirely baselessCointelegraph reached out to all the companies cited in the report, requesting a confirmation or denial. All companies except one did not comment, with Coinbase confirming that it is considering such a license.Still, it was not the first report that Circle was interested in a US bank charter. In April 2022, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in an interview with Bloomberg that the firm was already in discussions with regulators as part of its efforts to apply for a bank charter “hopefully in the near future.”Circle did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request for further comment as of publication time. Another previous report indicated that the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had granted a preliminary, conditional approval for a US bank charter to Paxos in 2021.Related: Circle considers IPO delay amid economic uncertainty — ReportUS stablecoin regulation is evolvingThe news came as US regulators were working to change how stablecoins are regulated. The US House Financial Services Committee passed a Republican-backed stablecoin framework bill earlier this month.The bill in question is the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act. Another bill currently moving through the US legislative process is the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.The STABLE and GENIUS bills differ in how they would regulate the stablecoin industry, with the former emphasizing strict federal oversight and the latter being more flexible, allowing for both federal and state rules. The GENIUS Act bill was introduced first and passed the US Senate Banking Committee in mid-March.Magazine: Stablecoin for cyber-scammers launches, Sony L2 drama: Asia Express
US banks are ‘free to begin supporting Bitcoin’ — Michael Saylor
Bitcoin adoption among United States financial institutions could see a major boost after the US Federal Reserve withdrew its guidance discouraging banks from engaging with cryptocurrency.On April 24, the Fed withdrew its 2022 supervisory letter that served as guidance to deter banks from engaging in crypto and stablecoin activities. The withdrawal spurred a notable uplift in Bitcoin (BTC) investor sentiment.The Federal Reserve Board’s withdrawal giving banks guidance on crypto activities. Source: Federal ReserveThe 2022 guidance initially warned that crypto may pose risks to investors and the stability of the US financial system.The Fed’s move means that “banks are now free to begin supporting Bitcoin,” said Michael Saylor, co-founder of the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holding firm, Strategy, in an April 25 X post.Source: Michael SaylorThe Fed’s decision “is a significant development, as it will simplify the path to institutional adoption,” according to Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum.“The withdrawal of this particular guidance ensures that crypto assets will be overseen through standard supervisory processes,” she told Cointelegraph, adding:“We still need to have GENIUS and STABLE bills to be passed to further harmonize the crypto activities amongst Fed-supervised firms and other market participants. The combination of legislative effort will be the main driver behind the institutional adoption.”The Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, passed the US House Financial Services Committee with a 32–17 vote on April 2. The bill aims to create clear regulatory guidelines for dollar-denominated stablecoins.Source: Financial Services GOPThe GENIUS Act, short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 18–6 on March 13.Related: Trump fought the bond market, the bond market won: Saifedean AmmousFed’s shift marks end of us regulatory hostilityThe Federal Reserve’s decision may be a “meaningful turning point” for Bitcoin’s institutional adoption in the US, according to Eneko Knörr, co-founder and CEO of Stabolut, a yield-bearing stablecoin project.“Up until now, US regulatory hostility made it virtually impossible for traditional financial institutions to participate in this space,” Knörr told Cointelegraph.“With the recent shift in the Fed’s guidance, the door is finally open. This unlocks an enormous opportunity for banks — one that until now has been dominated by players like Coinbase and other crypto-native firms,” Knörr added. Knörr added that banks are now likely to move quickly to meet client demand and retain market share previously captured by crypto-native firms like Coinbase. Related: Serbia’s Prince Filip says Bitcoin is being stifled, expects huge rallyBitcoin adoption among financial institutions is also lagging in Europe, with less than 20% of European banks offering crypto services, despite the rising investor demand and regulatory clarity in the region.Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 2 – 8
RTFKT’s CloneX avatars reappear after issue blacks out NFTs
More than 19,800 CloneX digital avatars developed by non-fungible token firm RTFKT Studios have reappeared after Cloudflare blacked out the NFTs for apparently violating its terms of service.“This content has been restricted. Using Cloudflare’s basic service in this manner is a violation of the Terms of Service. Please visit cfl.re/tos to learn more,” the message read on April 24.RTFKT’s head of tech, Samuel Cardillo, has refuted claims that it missed a payment, attributing the issue to changes happening with RTFKT’s “current Cloudflare setup.”NFT content creator Wale Swoosh earlier speculated that RTFKT may have subscribed to an inadequate Cloudflare plan for high-traffic image serving. Cloudflare offers a range of web infrastructure services.Source: Wale SwooshMost of the CloneX NFTs have started to reappear, according to Cardillo, who added that Cloudflare has fixed the issue.However, the incident sparked considerable outrage from some CloneX holders, including one NFT holder who spent $1.25 million on a CloneX NFT.Source: mOpO680The issue prompted Cardillo to find a more decentralized solution to host the NFTs.“I am working closely with ArDrive to decentralize both CloneX and Animus to ensure that post-30 April, no downtime of your favorite art ever happen again.”In a separate post, Cardillo said CloneX would specifically move to the decentralized data storage platform Arweave.Cardillo is RTFKT’s last man standing since the firm shuttered in JanuaryRTFKT — which pioneered virtual sneakers and was bought out by Nike in December 2021 — has largely been a one-man show since the shoe maker shuttered its operations in January.“Keep in mind that I am the last man standing and therefore I am doing it all myself,” Cardillo said in response to a flood of complaints shortly after the incident occurred.RTFKT confirmed its closure with an ambiguous letter, claiming it “isn’t ending” and would become what it has always meant to be — an “artifact of cultural revolution.”No substantial developments at RTFKT have come about since the December announcement.Related: Polygon NFTs overtake Ethereum collectibles in 7-day salesSeveral NFT marketplaces have also shuttered in recent months.DraftKings, GameStop and crypto exchange Bybit all closed their NFT marketplaces, with Bybit citing falling NFT trading volumes in its April 8 announcement.X2Y2 also recently announced that its NFT marketplace would shut down on April 30 as the firm looks to pivot into artificial intelligence.Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again
Avalanche-powered Axiym bets on money services businesses
Global cross-border payment platform Axiym is targeting the rising demand from money services businesses (MSBs) for blockchain-based infrastructure and stablecoin solutions for international transactions, the company told Cointelegraph.Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Axiym disclosed on April 24 that it has processed more than $132 million in cumulative volume on the Avalanche blockchain.The platform uses Avalanche to deliver real-time credit and liquidity infrastructure to MSBs worldwide.Source: AvalancheMSBs — a broad category that includes money transmitters like Western Union, currency exchanges, crypto platforms, fintech firms, and check cashers — are embracing these innovations, Morgan Krupetsky, head of institutions and capital markets at Ava Labs, told Cointelegraph.In the case of Axiym, “MSBs themselves don’t operate onchain,” Axiym CEO Khibar Rassul told Cointelegraph. Instead, “Axiym connects their existing payment operations to Avalanche behind the scenes using blockchain to automate, move, and manage capital far more efficiently.” “Under the hood, Axiym has built an application that provides credit to global MSBs using stablecoins to power payments — these transactions occur on the Avalanche C-Chain,” Krupetsky said, adding:“This enables real-time cross-border liquidity provisioning that would be difficult or expensive through legacy payment rails or slower blockchains.”Related: Luxury app Dorsia taps MoonPay for crypto paymentsThe case for cross-border payments continues to growRassul told Cointelegraph that Axiym’s clients are primarily licensed payment companies based in major financial centers like the UAE, the United Kingdom and Singapore. However, these companies’ users often send funds to major remittance hubs across Asia, Africa and Latin America, he said.Axiym’s platform has been developed to address many of the pain points in traditional cross-border payments, including “capital inefficiency, SWIFT-based delays, high costs and fragmented frameworks,” Rassul said.While blockchain offers significant advantages in speed and transparency, regulatory fragmentation has made it harder for the technology to replace legacy payment systems. Axiym is attempting to solve this problem by “embedding blockchain capabilities directly into existing payment operations” using Avalanche, Rassul said.Blockchain-based stablecoins have become a key tool for enabling low-cost, efficient cross-border payments, which explains why these fiat-pegged assets have gained traction in emerging markets. A 2024 Chainalysis report showed that stablecoin remittances from Sub-Saharan Africa are 60% cheaper than traditional fiat rails. The power of blockchain technology: An average $200 remittance from Sub-Saharan Africa is 60% cheaper using stablecoins than fiat. Source: Chainalysis As Cointelegraph recently reported, blockchain company Ripple has partnered with African payment infrastructure provider Chipper Cash to support cross-border crypto transactions.Meanwhile, crypto-focused payment startups are also gaining traction in venture capital circles, with the Tether-backed Mansa recently closing a $10 million funding round to expand its stablecoin cross-border payment services.Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19
Binance rolls out Fund Accounts for asset managers, bridging crypto-TradFi gap
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has introduced a new fund management solution designed to simplify asset management for portfolio managers, highlighting the growing sophistication of institutional tools in the digital asset space. On April 24, Binance launched Fund Accounts, a tool commonly used by traditional asset managers and brokerage firms to consolidate client assets and streamline portfolio management.Binance said Fund Accounts allow portfolio managers to “consolidate externally-raised investor assets into one or multiple omnibus accounts,” which can reduce operational complexity and enable more efficient trading execution. Presumably, these omnibus accounts operate under a single custodian who executes trades on behalf of their clients. The new program is only available to eligible fund managers who must contact their Binance VIP representative for more information. A Binance spokesperson informed Cointelegraph that fund managers and their investors must pass Know Your Customer and Know Your Business requirements and be licensed or exempted in their jurisdictions to use the Fund Accounts product.Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, according to CoinMarketCap data. In December, the exchange updated the requirements for its VIP program, which is geared toward institutional investors and private clients. Top crypto spot exchanges as of April 24 based on daily trading volume. Source: CoinMarketCapRelated: Crypto Biz: Ripple’s ‘defining moment,’ Binance’s ongoing purgeTradFi and crypto continue to mergeBinance’s Fund Accounts is another example of traditional finance solutions merging with cryptocurrency, signaling growing institutional involvement. After spending the first decade of crypto largely on the sidelines, institutional investors are now entering the space, driven by the launch of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the rise of real-world asset tokenization, and attractive yield opportunities in onchain lending.Blockchain companies are also working to bring institutional trading solutions to crypto-native users. On April 24, onchain trading infrastructure provider Theo announced it had raised $20 million to expand its institutional-grade trading platform aimed at serving retail investors. Seventeen investors participated in the funding round, including angel investors from Jane Street, JPMorgan and Citadel.Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19
Angels from Citadel, Jane Street, JPMorgan back $20M raise for Theo network
Theo, a provider of onchain trading infrastructure, has raised $20 million from 17 investors to enhance its institutional-grade trading platform aimed at retail investors.The funding round was co-led by Hack VC and Anthos Capital, with additional participation from venture capital firms Manifold Trading, Miranda Ventures, Flowdesk, MEXC and Amber Group, Theo disclosed on April 24. Citadel, Jane Street, IMC and JPMorgan were listed as angel investors in the deal.Created by former quant traders, Theo gives retail investors access to advanced strategies like high-frequency trading and market making, which are tools typically used by professional trading firms.Theo’s infrastructure can be used across centralized exchanges and decentralized financing protocols, the company said. The Theo network secures nearly $29 million in total value locked as of April 23, according to industry data. Theo’s total value locked is down from its peak in February. Source: DefiLlamaTheo is part of a wave of blockchain protocols attempting to bridge the gap between institutional finance and retail. Companies like Polygon, Fireblocks, Ondo Finance, Lido, and BloFin have all played active roles in advancing this space.Related: Institutions break up with Ethereum but keep ETH on the hookInstitutions are also coming onchainWhile companies like Theo are working to bring Wall Street-level sophistication to crypto-native users, there’s strong evidence that influence is flowing in the opposite direction, too.After years of speculation, institutional involvement in digital assets is now a reality, driven by the launch of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, the rise of real-world asset tokenization, the lure of onchain lending, and the growing dominance of stablecoins as a preferred funding method.According to credit rating agency Moody’s, secondary markets built on the blockchain can streamline the investing process by removing inefficiencies and lowering barriers to asset ownership. These trends are a major reason why the majority of institutional investors say they plan to increase their crypto allocations this year, according to a recent survey by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon.The survey also determined that three-quarters of institutions could be active DeFi users within two years. Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19
Prosecutors seek over 6 years prison for Mango Markets exploiter
US federal prosecutors have asked a district judge to sentence Avraham “Avi” Eisenberg, the crypto user convicted of the $110 million exploit of the decentralized exchange Mango Markets in 2022, to at least six and a half years behind bars.Ahead of Eisenberg’s May 1 sentencing hearing, US prosecutors are petitioning US District Judge Arun Subramanian for Eisenberg to face between 78 and 97 months in prison, according to an April 22 filing in a New York district court.Prosecutors argue it’s an appropriate sentence for Eisenberg’s April 2024 conviction for committing wire fraud, commodities fraud and commodities manipulation in connection with the Mango Markets exploit and separate charges that he possessed child pornography.“This sentence is necessary to, among other things, appropriately reflect the gravity of the defendant’s crimes, promote respect for the law, deter the defendant from future criminal activity, and protect the public,” the prosecutors said.“Fraud that takes over $100 million from investors and effectively shuts down a business is a shocking violation of criminal law, and it necessitates a sentence commensurate with the crime.”Mango Markets announced on Jan. 11 that it was winding down operations. It first launched in August 2021. A subsequent Jan. 18 post to X gave a date of Feb. 3 for the shutdown.Source: Mango MarketsDuring his April 2024 trial, Eisenberg’s legal team claimed he orchestrated a legal trading strategy that saw him profit $110 million from Mango Markets.He has returned roughly $67 million of the funds after the exploit, but retained more than $40 million following a community governance vote.Mango Markets hopes for restitutionIn an April 22 impact statement filed by lawyers acting for Mango Markets, the exchange asks that, in light of Eisenberg’s conviction, the court grant $47 million restitution to make everyone, “including Mango DAO, whole.”“Although Eisenberg’s attack cannot be undone, return of the funds he misappropriated is critical to righting his wrong,” Mango Markets said.Related: Mango Markets heist like a fake diamond ring scam: Prosecutor“No amount of money will fix the damage that Eisenberg has caused to Mango Markets’ reputation and the suffering his avarice caused, but returning the money, Eisenberg made off with will at least help.”Authorities arrested Eisenberg in December 2022. After his conviction, his sentencing has been postponed multiple times.Initially, it was scheduled for Dec. 12, 2024, but it was later delayed to Feb. 11, 2025, and April 10, 2025. Eisenberg’s legal team said the complexity of the sentencing issues caused the delays. Magazine: Ethereum maxis should become ‘assholes’ to win TradFi tokenization race
Russia’s central bank, finance ministry to launch crypto exchange
Russia’s finance ministry and central bank are reportedly planning to launch a crypto exchange for qualified investors under an experimental legal regime.The platform will be aimed at “super-qualified investors,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said during a ministry meeting, according to April 23 reports from Russian media group RBC and Russian news agency Interfax.“Together with the central bank, we will launch a crypto exchange for super-qualified investors. Crypto assets will be legalized, and crypto operations will be brought out of the shadows,” he said in a statement translated from Russian.“Naturally, this will not happen domestically, but as part of the operations permitted under the experimental legal regime.”Anton Siluanov (left) said the Kremlin-backed crypto exchange is only for Russian investors who meet certain income and wealth thresholds. Source: Mehmet SimsekThe Russian central bank announced a proposal on March 12 to allow a limited number of Russian investors with a certain amount of assets to buy and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) under a three-year experimental regime.Under the proposal, the bank created a new investor category, super-qualified investors, defined by wealth and income thresholds of over 100 million rubles ($1.2 million) or a yearly income of at least 50 million rubles ($602,000).Super-qualified investor definition not set in stone The deputy director of the Finance Ministry’s financial policy department, Osman Kabaloev, said the criteria for a super-qualified investor are not yet final because they were floated in the early stages of discussions last year, according to RBC.“Perhaps it will be in this format, or these indicators will be somehow adjusted in one direction or another – this is possible, I think there will be a wide range of discussions,” Kabaloev said in a statement translated from Russian.Russia implemented a ban on using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin for payments under its first crypto law, On Digital Financial Assets, which came into force in January 2021.However, the country has since been trying to make other crypto inroads. On April 16, Kabaloev said the Kremlin should be creating its own stablecoin after a recent freeze on wallets linked to the sanctioned Russian exchange Garantex by US authorities and stablecoin issuer Tether. Related: Russia using Bitcoin, USDt for oil trades with China and India: ReportMeanwhile, Evgeny Masharov, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, proposed on March 20 to create a Russian government crypto fund that would include assets confiscated from criminal proceedings.At the same time, other officials were progressing with new legislation on recognizing crypto as property for the purposes of criminal procedure legislation.Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025
Crypto exchange KuCoin enters crowded Thailand market
Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin is set to branch further into Southeast Asia, targeting the growing crypto market in Thailand. KuCoin is planning to launch a crypto exchange platform offering digital assets and related products in the country, according to an April 23 announcement. ERX Company Ltd, Thailand’s first Securities and Exchange Commission-supervised digital token exchange, has rebranded as KuCoin Thailand effective April 22, it stated. The crypto exchange will operate under ERX, which recently received a crypto exchange license from the Thai financial regulator. “We’re strengthening our ability to offer localized solutions tailored to the Thai market,” said ERX chief executive Att Tongyai Asavanund.Existing ERX users have been migrated to the new KuCoin Thailand platform, and the KuCoin TH app is available on both Android and iOS. KuCoin joins an increasingly crowded Thai market KuCoin is entering a crowded market, as there are eight other companies licensed by the Thai SEC to operate as crypto and digital asset exchanges.These are the WAAN Exchange, Gulf Binance, Thai Digital Assets Exchange, InnovestX Securities, GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics, Upbit Exchange, Bitkub Online and Orbix Trade.Bitkub is the largest by far and has a current daily trading volume of around $70 million, according to CoinGecko. Comparatively, KuCoin’s global platform claims to have $3.8 billion in daily volume. Related: Thailand SEC plans to launch tokenized securities trading systemIn January, the Thai government announced a pilot program enabling tourists to pay using Bitcoin (BTC) in a sandboxed environment on the holiday island of Phuket. However, it has yet to be launched. While crypto trading remains popular in Thailand, using crypto assets for payments was outlawed by the central bank in 2022. In early April, Thai finance regulators targeted foreign peer-to-peer crypto platforms in their latest crackdown in an effort to combat scams and money laundering. KuCoin is currently trying to get a settlement with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission resolved after it was sued under the previous administration in March 2024 for violating the Commodity Exchange Act. Magazine: Your AI ‘digital twin’ can take meetings and comfort your loved ones
LAPD recovers $2.7M worth of Bitcoin miners stolen in airport heist
The Los Angeles Police Department has recovered $2.7 million worth of Bitcoin mining machines it alleges were stolen by a crime ring in a heist at the city’s airport.The LAPD said on April 22 that detectives from its Cargo Theft Unit, along with the city’s Port Police, the railroad-based Union Pacific Police, and the city’s Airport Police, arrested Oscar David Borrero-Manchola and Yonaiker Rafael Martinez-Ramos over the thefts.Authorities claimed the pair are “prominent members” of a South American crime ring tied to the theft and sale of stolen goods in and around Los Angeles.The LAPD said searches of storage unit facilities in the San Fernando Valley, northeast of downtown Los Angeles, recovered $4 million worth of stolen goods, including the Bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs taken from Los Angeles International Airport “as the shipment was about to be loaded onto a plane headed to Hong Kong.”Detectives also found and seized over $1.2 million in allegedly stolen tequila, clothing, shoes, speakers, coffee, body wash, and pet food.Some of the allegedly stolen products were found at a storage facility in downtown Los Angeles. Source: Los Angeles Police DepartmentBorrero-Manchola and Martinez-Ramos were booked at Van Nuys Jail in the city’s northwest. Borrero-Manchola was cited for receiving stolen property and was released, while Martinez-Ramos was arrested on a no-bail warrant.The LAPD said that “the investigation remains ongoing, and additional arrests may follow.”Crypto mining rigs fetch top dollar The LAPD didn’t share the number of machines it seized or what model the rigs are, but a typical, current-model Bitcoin mining machine sells for between $3,000 to over $5,000.Related: Americans lost $9.3B to crypto fraud in 2024 — FBIUS law enforcement has recovered stolen crypto mining rigs in the past. In July, the LAPD said it arrested a man it alleged was in possession of stolen Bitcoin mining rigs worth $579,000, seizing them from a cargo van and storage unit.LAPD detectives arrested Bryan Thola, alleging his van contained stolen Bitcoin miners. Source: Los Angeles Police DepartmentOne of the largest thefts of Bitcoin mining rigs happened in late 2017 and early 2018 in Iceland, where a group robbed data centers to make off with over 600 machines.The rigs reportedly ended up in China, as just three months after they were stolen, Chinese authorities seized a similar number and model of mining rigs in Tianjin, a city southeast of the capital, Beijing.Magazine: How Chinese traders and miners get around China’s crypto ban