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Криптовалютная торговая платформа Arkham Exchange, созданная сервисом аналитики Arkham Intelligence, будет закрыта из-за низкой популярности у пользователей. О решении Arkham изданию CoinDesk рассказал знакомый с ситуацией источник.

Quick Facts:

• Hong Kong’s SFC is officially exploring allowing perpetual futures contracts, a major step toward institutional crypto adoption in Asia.
• This move drives demand for high-performance blockchain infrastructure that can support sophisticated, high-frequency trading applications.
• Bitcoin Hyper aims to meet this demand by integrating the high-speed Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) as a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution.
• The project has attracted significant interest, with its presale raising over $31M and attracting major whale investments.

In a landmark move, Hong Kong’s top financial regulator has signaled the city is actively exploring perpetual futures contracts for licensed crypto exchanges. The announcement from Julia Leung, CEO of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), at Consensus Hong Kong, marks a profound maturation of the region’s digital asset framework.

We’re moving far beyond the simple spot ETF approvals that dominated headlines earlier this year. Frankly, this isn’t just a minor regulatory tweak; it’s a foundational shift that acknowledges the sophisticated demands of institutional and professional traders.

Perpetual contracts, which let traders speculate on an asset’s price without an expiry date, are the lifeblood of the global crypto derivatives market (we’re talking trillions in monthly volume). By opening the door to these instruments, Hong Kong is positioning itself as a premier crypto hub in Asia, aiming to capture capital that currently flows offshore.

But what most coverage misses is the second-order effect: this legitimization creates immense pressure on the underlying blockchain infrastructure. Institutional-grade trading demands sub-second execution, low fees, and deep liquidity, capabilities that legacy networks like Bitcoin simply can’t provide on their own.

This creates a paradox. Bitcoin remains the ultimate institutional asset, the digital gold standard. Yet its base layer is too slow and expensive for the high-frequency world of derivatives.

The market is crying out for a solution that bridges Bitcoin’s unparalleled security with the high-performance execution required by modern finance. The question is no longer if institutions will build on Bitcoin, but how.

Bringing Solana-Speed Smart Contracts to Bitcoin

The chasm between Bitcoin’s security and the market’s need for speed is exactly where new infrastructure is emerging. One of the most ambitious is Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER), a project designed from the ground up as the first Bitcoin Layer 2 integrated with the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM). This isn’t just an incremental improvement. It’s a quantum leap for the Bitcoin ecosystem.

By using the SVM, known for its parallel processing and blistering speed, Bitcoin Hyper aims to deliver transaction finality faster than Solana itself, all while anchoring its security to the Bitcoin mainnet. This architecture directly addresses the very limitations that prevent complex financial apps from running on Bitcoin today.

Developers can build high-speed decentralized exchanges (DEXs), lending protocols, and NFT platforms with familiar tools like Rust, unlocking a wave of innovation previously locked out of the ecosystem.

The project’s design is purpose-built for the future Hong Kong is signaling: Bitcoin for settlement, and a real-time SVM layer for execution. When traders need to execute complex strategies tied to BTC perpetuals, they’ll require an on-chain environment that can actually keep up.

Bitcoin Hyper provides a high-throughput venue for DeFi, payments, and other dApps, all while using wrapped BTC as its core transactional asset.

EXPLORE THE FUTURE OF BITCOIN L2S WITH $HYPER

Smart Money Takes Note as Presale Momentum Builds

So, is there demand for a high-performance Bitcoin L2? The numbers speak for themselves. The Bitcoin Hyper presale has seen a staggering influx of capital, raising over $31M date. With its $HYPER token currently priced at $0.0136754, this level of early-stage funding suggests a broad consensus: solving Bitcoin’s scalability is one of the biggest opportunities this cycle.

And it’s not just retail enthusiasm. Smart money is moving. On-chain analysis shows high-net wallets scooping up as much as $500K in a single purchase. Moves like this often precede wider market recognition, suggesting savvy investors are getting in position.

Delivering a flawless and secure bridge for $BTC is a massive technical challenge, and the project’s success ultimately hinges on its ability to deliver on its ambitious roadmap. We think this is definitely one of the best crypto to watch.

Still, the proposition for investors is compelling. Presale participants can stake their tokens immediately after the Token Generation Event (TGE) to earn a high APY while helping secure the network. This combination of a powerful technical narrative, clear market demand, and serious early funding places Bitcoin Hyper right at the center of the evolving Bitcoin L2 landscape.

BUY YOUR $HYPER HERE

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. The cryptocurrency market is volatile, and readers should conduct their own research before making investment decisions.

Quick Facts:

• Sam Bankman-Fried has officially appealed his fraud conviction, reigniting discussions about security and trust in the crypto industry.
• The FTX collapse highlighted the severe risks of centralized custody, pushing the market toward more robust security solutions.
• BMIC is building a quantum-secure financial stack, including a wallet and staking, to protect assets from future cryptographic threats.
• The looming danger of ‘harvest now, decrypt later’ attacks makes post-quantum cryptography a critical area of innovation for digital assets.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of FTX, is officially appealing his conviction and 25-year prison sentence. The legal filing reopens one of the biggest fraud cases in crypto history, and for an industry still grappling with the fallout, it’s like pouring salt in a very old wound.

SBF’s appeal challenges various trial decisions, from witness testimony to alleged conflicts of interest. But let’s be clear: the FTX saga was never about tech failing. It was a catastrophic breakdown of trust.

Billions in user funds vanished not because of a sophisticated hack, but due to internal fraud and shockingly poor custody. That collapse forced a painful but necessary conversation across the market: How do we actually secure digital assets?

While the courts wrestle with crypto’s ghosts, innovators are already building for the future. We’re now seeing a clear shift in investor focus toward projects that prioritize provable, next-gen security over pure hype. That’s where the real story is.

The Quantum Threat and BMIC’s Future-Proof Solution

But what most market coverage misses is that while the industry defends against today’s threats, a far bigger one looms: quantum computing. State-sponsored and corporate labs are racing to build machines capable of shattering the encryption that protects everything from bank accounts to crypto wallets.

It’s a threat (one many still dismiss) known as the ‘harvest now, decrypt later’ attack, stealing encrypted data today with the plan to unlock it once quantum computers are powerful enough. For crypto, this isn’t just a problem; it’s an existential risk.

This is the exact problem BMIC ($BMIC) was engineered to solve. It isn’t just another DeFi protocol or meme coin; it’s a foundational security layer built for the quantum age. The project delivers a full stack of financial tools, wallet, staking, and payments, all shielded by post-quantum cryptography (PQC).

While traditional wallets expose public keys during transactions, BMIC uses ERC-4337 smart accounts and a Zero Public-Key Exposure model to protect users from both current and future threats. It even integrates an AI-enhanced threat detection system to proactively neutralize suspicious activity.

The key difference here is a shift from reactive security to preemptive protection. So, is your portfolio truly safe if its core cryptography has a known expiration date?

LEARN MORE ABOUT BMIC AND ITS QUANTUM STACK

A New Security Standard Attracting Early Investment

If history has taught us anything, it’s that after a major market failure like FTX, capital flows toward infrastructure that promises to prevent the next crisis. We’re seeing that play out right now. The early traction for the BMIC presale seems to prove the point, having already raised over $446K, with tokens currently priced at just $0.049474.

Frankly, this doesn’t look like speculative froth; it looks like a calculated investment in a long-term solution. It’s why we picked $BMIC as a best new cryptocurrency.

The project’s utility is centered on its native token, $BMIC, which powers the whole ecosystem. It’s used for staking on the quantum-secure network, participating in governance, and fueling its ‘Burn-to-Compute’ model for access to advanced security features.

The ripple effect of a successful quantum-proof platform could be immense, potentially setting a new security standard for the entire industry. The risk? As always, it comes down to execution and adoption. But in a market still scarred by FTX, a project building decentralized, future-proof security is a compelling story.

buy your $BMIC here

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. All investments carry risks, and readers should conduct their own due diligence.

Quick Facts:

• SkyBridge Capital is buying the Bitcoin dip, signaling strong institutional conviction in the market’s long-term outlook.
• After big consolidations, capital tends to rotate into new infrastructure projects that solve core problems like liquidity fragmentation.
• LiquidChain is being built to unify the siloed liquidity of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana into a single execution layer for cross-chain DeFi.
• There’s a growing demand for capital efficiency, highlighting the need for Layer 3 solutions that can unlock trillions in passive assets.

While Bitcoin consolidates below its all-time highs, institutional players are sending a clear signal: this is an accumulation zone, not a time to panic. SkyBridge Capital, led by Anthony Scaramucci, has been actively buying the Bitcoin dip, he shared at Consensus Hong Kong, reinforcing a narrative of long-term conviction in the face of short-term volatility.

This kind of strategic buying matters less for its immediate price impact and more for what it represents, a deeply-held belief that the current market lull is just a foundational reset before the next major leg up.

Right now, the market is wrestling with conflicting data. On one hand, spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen some pretty big outflows lately, dragging the price down. On the other hand, macro players like Scaramucci are stepping in, viewing prices in the low-$60Ks as a discount.

This divergence gets at a crucial theme. While first-gen institutions are busy scooping up Bitcoin, the next wave of value is going to come from putting that capital to work. The digital gold needs its own financial rails.

History shows that after every major consolidation, capital starts hunting for new, high-growth verticals. The problem? Trillions in liquidity remain trapped in isolated ecosystems like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

So, what’s the knock-on effect of all this institutional buying? A growing, urgent demand for infrastructure that can finally bridge these islands of capital.

Unifying Trillions in Fragmented Liquidity

The core challenge holding DeFi back from hitting its full potential? Liquidity fragmentation. Bitcoin’s ~$1.3T market cap is largely passive, unable to interact seamlessly with Ethereum’s smart contracts or Solana’s high-speed applications without relying on risky, centralized bridges and wrapped assets.

This digital segregation creates friction, kills capital efficiency, and, let’s be honest, opens up huge security risks. What happens when you can execute a trade or deploy an application that draws on the native liquidity of all three giants simultaneously?

That’s the exact problem LiquidChain ($LIQUID) is engineered to solve. It’s a Layer 3 protocol that acts as a cross-chain liquidity layer, creating one single execution environment that fuses the strengths of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

Its architecture is built around a Unified Liquidity Layer. This lets developers deploy an application once to give users access to the combined liquidity and user bases of these powerhouse chains. Frankly, it’s a paradigm shift from the current clunky model.

Instead of cumbersome multi-step bridging and swapping, users could perform complex cross-chain actions in a single, verifiable transaction. Of course, the risk, as with any ambitious infrastructure play, is in the execution. But the thesis is undeniably powerful.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE LIQUIDCHAIN ECOSYSTEM

The Infrastructure Play for the Next Cycle

While Scaramucci is buying spot Bitcoin, a parallel opportunity is brewing: building the infrastructure that will service this growing pool of capital. Historically, infrastructure projects that solve fundamental problems are some of the most resilient and highest-performing investments when the market expands.

They’re the picks and shovels in a digital gold rush. LiquidChain is positioning itself squarely in this category, aiming to become the connective tissue for the market’s largest liquidity pools. It’s why we think it’s one of the best crypto to watch.

The project is still in its early stages, offering what looks like a ground-floor entry point. According to its official site, the LiquidChain presale has already raised over $535K, with the $LIQUID token priced at just $0.0136. That kind of early traction suggests its vision of a truly interoperable future is resonating with investors who are looking beyond the daily price charts.

By creating a ‘Deploy-Once’ architecture, LiquidChain drastically lowers the barrier for developers to build cross-chain dApps. That alone could spark a new wave of innovation. If DeFi is going to onboard the next 100M users, the experience has to be seamless. Unifying liquidity is the first, and most critical, step.

VISIT THE OFFICIAL LIQUIDCHAIN ($LIQUID) PRESALE SITE

This article does not constitute financial advice. The cryptocurrency market is volatile, and readers should conduct their own research before investing in any digital assets.

Бывший генеральный директор компании SafeMoon Брэден Джон Карони (Braden John Karony) получил 100 месяцев, то есть более восьми лет, тюремного заключения. Он также должен выплатить штраф размером около $7,5 млн, сообщила прокуратура Нью-Йорка.

За менее чем шесть недель объем глобального рынка токенизированных товаров вырос на 53%, превысив $6,1 млрд. Это самый динамичный сегмент рынка токенизации активов реального мира. Основной драйвер роста — перемещение золота в блокчейн.

Quick Facts:

• Top banking associations (ABA, BPI) are pushing the U.S. Senate to reject the landmark FIT21 crypto regulation bill.
• The pushback reveals a deep conflict between old-school centralized finance and crypto’s decentralized ideals.
• SUBBD Token is emerging as a decentralized, AI-driven alternative for the creator economy, aiming to fix problems like high fees and censorship.
• Washington’s regulatory stalemate could be unintentionally boosting platforms like SUBBD that operate outside traditional financial control.

As Washington grapples with regulating digital assets, a powerful banking coalition just drew a line in the sand against the landmark Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21). It’s a move that highlights the growing schism between traditional finance and crypto, a conflict that’s inadvertently pushing users toward projects operating completely outside the old guard’s control.

The banking groups involved did release a statement after the meeting, despite not moving forward, but it didn’t outline the next steps.

In a recent letter to Senate leadership, the American Bankers Association (ABA) and the Bank Policy Institute (BPI), among others, urged lawmakers to kill the bill, even after it passed the House with surprising bipartisan support. Why the pushback? They claim FIT21 would create regulatory gaps, undermine existing securities laws, and expose consumers to undue risk. The bill itself is designed to do the opposite: establish a clearer framework for digital assets by finally delineating the jurisdictions of the SEC and CFTC.

Let’s be clear: this resistance isn’t just about policy. It’s about power. The banking sector sees the burgeoning crypto ecosystem, especially stablecoins and DeFi, as a direct threat to its long-held dominance over finance.

By lobbying against regulatory clarity, they perpetuate the very uncertainty that stifles mainstream adoption. And the second-order effect? It pushes innovation and user interest right into the arms of decentralized platforms that promise to bypass the gatekeepers altogether. While titans debate, builders build.

SUBBD Emerges as an Answer to Centralized Control

This battle in Washington underscores a problem that goes way beyond finance: the pitfalls of centralization. Sound familiar? The same dynamics, exorbitant fees, censorship, and arbitrary rule changes, plaguing traditional banking, are just as rampant in the $191B content creation industry. Platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and OnlyFans can slash creator earnings with fees as high as 70%, all while holding the power of sudden de-platforming over their heads.

This is the exact friction point that SUBBD Token ($SUBBD) was built to solve. It’s a Web3-native alternative that merges a decentralized ethos with powerful AI tools, aiming to become the ultimate hub for the modern creator.

The platform tackles the industry’s biggest pain points head-on, offering creators multiple ways to earn, from subscriptions and tipping to NFT sales, all within a transparent ecosystem on Ethereum.

What most coverage misses is the parallel here. The banking lobby fears disintermediation, and frankly, the creator economy is more than ready for it. SUBBD’s entire architecture is designed to hand power back to the user. It integrates an AI Personal Assistant for automating fan interactions, AI voice cloning, and even the ability to launch fully AI-driven influencers.

For fans, the platform isn’t just about consumption; it’s about participation through token-gated content and staking rewards. It creates a symbiotic economy where both sides win, without a middleman taking an outrageous cut.

CHECK OUT THE $SUBBD TOKEN ON ITS PRESALE PAGE

Presale Momentum Signals a Shift in Creator and Fan Sentiment

The market’s appetite for a decentralized fix is becoming undeniable. The ongoing SUBBD Token presale has already pulled in over  $1.4 mwith tokens priced at just $0.057495. That kind of early-stage funding isn’t just noise; it’s a clear signal that people believe the creator economy is ripe for a shakeup.

Investors aren’t just buying a token; they’re buying into a whole new model for content ownership. The project’s staking mechanism, which offers a fixed 20% APY for the first year, gives an immediate incentive to get involved.

Stakers get access to exclusive content, livestreams, and other perks, transforming them from passive consumers into active participants. The risk? Well, like any new platform, it all comes down to achieving critical mass, attracting enough great creators and dedicated fans to make the ecosystem thrive.

Ironically, the regulatory gridlock in the U.S. might just be SUBBD’s biggest catalyst. As legacy institutions fight tooth and nail to preserve the status quo, they’re inadvertently making the best possible case for platforms that are transparent and fair by design.

The traction in SUBBD’s presale says it all: creators and users aren’t waiting for permission from Washington or Wall Street anymore. They’re just building a better system themselves. Join the SUBBD Token presale here.

BUY YOUR $SUBBD HERE

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. All investments in cryptocurrency carry inherent risks, and you should conduct your own research.

Владелец контрольного пакета криптобиржи Binance Чанпэн Чжао (Changpeng Zhao) рассказал, что в 2014 году продал свою квартиру в Шанхае за $900 000 и купил 1500 BTC по средней цене $600 за монету.

A White House meeting aimed at breaking the logjam over stablecoin rewards under pending crypto market structure legislation aka Clarity Act ended without a compromise, even as both banking and crypto participants described the session as “productive,” according to details shared by Crypto In America reporter Eleanor Terrett citing sources in the room.

The follow-up gathering, smaller than the first meeting last week, zoomed in on what has become the most combustible line item in the Clarity Act debate: whether, and under what constraints, crypto firms can offer “rewards” tied to stablecoin usage. The White House urged both sides to reach a deal by March 1, Terrett reported, though it remains unclear whether another meeting of this scale will occur before the end of the month.

Crypto Clarity Act Update

Terrett said banks and banking trade groups came prepared with a written handout titled “Yield and Interest Prohibition Principles,” framing “payment stablecoins” as payment instruments and pushing for a bright-line ban on consideration paid to holders.

“In the GENIUS Act, Congress specifically designed payment stablecoins to be payment instruments,” the document states. “Consistent with this design, market structure legislation should incorporate the following yield and interest prohibition principles to limit deposit outflows that reduce the availability of credit for communities.”

The handout’s core demand is sweeping: “No person may provide any form of financial or non-financial consideration to a payment stablecoin holder in connection with the payment stablecoin holder’s purchase, use, ownership, possession, custody, holding, or retention of a payment stablecoin.” It pairs that with a call for regulator enforcement authority and civil monetary penalties, anti-evasion language, and strict marketing and disclosure rules that would bar firms from implying rewards are “interest,” “risk-free,” or comparable to insured deposits.

One source highlighted a narrow shift in bank posture: the inclusion of “any proposed exemptions” language, which Terrett said was viewed as a concession because banks had previously been unwilling to discuss exemptions “with respect to offering rewards on a transaction-based basis at all.” Even so, the handout insists exemptions must be “extremely limited in scope” and must not “drive deposit flight that would undercut Main Street lending.”

Terrett reported that a major share of the discussion centered on “permissible activities”: the types of account behavior that could qualify a crypto firm to offer rewards. Crypto representatives want those definitions broad; banks want them narrowed. That framing captures the heart of the dispute: whether rewards can be designed as functional incentives for payments activity, or whether any such consideration is inherently deposit-like and therefore destabilizing for traditional funding models.

Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty struck an optimistic tone after the session, writing via X: “Productive session at the White House today – compromise is in the air. Clear, bipartisan momentum remains behind sensible crypto market structure legislation. We should move now – while the window is still open – and deliver a real win for consumers and America.”

Dan Spuller, EVP of the Blockchain Association, described the meeting as a shift from general debate to “serious problem-solving,” while underscoring the gap that remains. “Stablecoin rewards were front and center,” he wrote. “Banks did not come to negotiate from the bill text, instead arriving with broad prohibitive principles, which remains a key disagreement.”

The meeting was led by Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the President’s Crypto Council, and included Senate Banking Committee staff, Terrett reported. Crypto-side attendees included Coinbase’s Paul Grewal, a16z’s Miles Jennings, Ripple’s Alderoty, Paxos’s Josh Rosner, Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger, and Ji Kim of the Crypto Council. Banks represented included Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi, PNC Bank, and U.S. Bank, alongside trade groups including the Bank Policy Institute, the American Bankers Association, and ICBA.

Mersinger said the continued convenings signal momentum even without a deal. “Today’s second White House meeting reflects continued, meaningful momentum toward delivering bipartisan digital asset market structure legislation, and we’re encouraged by the progress being made as stakeholders remain constructively engaged on resolving outstanding issues,” she said. “We’re thankful to Patrick Witt and the Administration for their continued leadership and commitment to keeping this process moving forward.”

For now, the White House appears to be applying time pressure rather than dictating terms. Further discussions are expected “in the coming days,” Terrett reported, setting up a race to define “permissible activities” narrowly enough to satisfy banks, but broadly enough for crypto firms to preserve rewards as a competitive product feature before the March 1 target date.

At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $2.26 trillion.

Американская инвестиционная компания Grayscale опубликовала отчет, в котором утверждает, что биткоин больше не коррелирует с золотом, а его краткосрочные движения зависят от акций технологических компаний.

Гендиректор Galaxy Digital Майк Новограц (Mike Novogratz) заявил, что на смену эпохе «Шалтая-Болтая» с хаотичными колебаниями цен, на рынок приходит более зрелая, где решения крупных игроков определяют котировки криптовалют.

В случае дальнейшего снижения курса биткоина компания Strategy намерена рефинансировать долг, а не продавать цифровые активы, заявил председатель крупнейшего корпоративного держателя BTC Майкл Сейлор (Michael Saylor).

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has escalated its enforcement action against crypto exchange HTX, accusing the platform of illegally promoting crypto services to British consumers and seeking to restrict its presence across digital platforms in the country.

HTX Faces UK App Store Ban 

In a statement released on Tuesday, the FCA said it has formally asked major social media companies and app store operators to block access to HTX in the UK. 

The regulator is seeking the removal of HTX’s applications from Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store for UK users, as well as the blocking of the exchange’s social media accounts for British audiences. 

The regulator alleged that HTX has repeatedly advertised “illegal crypto services” on popular social media platforms, including TikTok, X (previously Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. According to the FCA, these promotions breached UK financial rules governing how crypto products can be marketed to the public.

The FCA also alleged that HTX operates through an “opaque corporate structure” that conceals the identities of its owners and those responsible for running its website. The FCA also said that its repeated attempts to engage with the company have gone unanswered.

While HTX has taken some steps since the legal proceedings began—specifically by restricting new UK users from registering for accounts—the FCA said those measures do not go far enough. 

The FCA added that HTX has not provided any assurance that its restrictions on new users will be permanent, leaving concerns that breaches could continue.

FCA Signals Tougher Crypto Enforcement

Steve Smart, the FCA’s joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said the regulator’s rules are intended to support a stable and competitive crypto market while ensuring consumers can make informed decisions. 

He said HTX’s behavior sharply contrasts with that of most firms attempting to comply with the UK’s regulatory framework. Smart noted that this is the first time the FCA has taken enforcement action against a crypto firm for illegally marketing its products to UK consumers.

HTX is currently listed on the FCA’s Warning List, meaning consumers who engage with the platform are not eligible for protections such as access to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Commenting on the case, Nick Barnard, a partner at law firm Corker Binning, said it highlights the difficulty of regulating the crypto industry from a single jurisdiction. 

He noted that the FCA’s options are limited when a company has no physical presence in the UK. However, he added that the regulator has likely concluded it must still demonstrate a firm stance against companies that openly flout UK rules.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

Управление по финансовому надзору Великобритании (FCA) обвинило криптобиржу HTX, ранее известную как Huobi Global, в незаконном продвижении криптовалютных продуктов среди британских пользователей и нарушении требований к рекламе финансовых услуг.

Снижение курса биткоина ниже $70 000 может указывать на то, что рынок прошел лишь половину текущего медвежьего цикла, считают аналитики Kaiko Research.

UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has taken legal action against crypto exchange HTX for illegal promotions to UK-based users.

FCA Has Started Legal Proceedings Against Crypto Exchange HTX

The FCA, UK’s financial watchdog, has begun legal proceedings against HTX, as revealed in a press release on the regulator’s website. The reason for the action is the crypto exchange not complying with FCA’s digital asset promotion rules. “Firms providing crypto products to UK consumers need to comply with rules which protect consumers from unfair and misleading marketing,” noted the regulator.

The rules first came into effect back in October 2023 and since then, the majority of firms that FCA has engaged with have responded positively in complying with the regime. FCA previously served a warning to HTX for illegally promoting services to UK consumers, but unlike other companies, the exchange continued to push financial promotions on its website and social media platforms.

“HTX’s conduct stands in stark contrast to the majority of firms working to comply with the FCA’s regime,” said Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA.

Formerly known as Huobi, HTX is a crypto exchange founded in China that now operates offices in various countries. The FCA has described the platform’s organizational structure as ‘opaque,’ with the identities of the owners and website operators remaining unknown, and repeated attempts by the regulator to engage with the firm ignored.

Following the initiation of the proceedings by FCA, HTX has restricted new accounts from users based in the UK. The crypto platform hasn’t stopped existing users from logging in, however, and has also not given any assurance that the changes are permanent, leaving the regulator concerned that the risk of ongoing breaches continues.

“This is the first time we’ve taken enforcement action against a crypto firm illegally marketing their products to UK consumers,” noted Smart. Alongside the legal action, the FCA has requested Google Play and Apple stores to drop HTX’s applications in the UK. The regulator has also asked social media platforms to block the exchange’s accounts to UK-based users.

Although the ownership structure of HTX is hidden, a name that has publicly been associated with the crypto exchange is billionaire Justin Sun, who serves as a global advisor. Sun’s name, however, doesn’t appear in FCA’s lawsuit.

In some other news, Coinbase Advanced witnessed net outflows of stablecoins earlier, as highlighted by CryptoQuant author Darkfrost in an X post. Stablecoins are digital assets that have their price pegged to a fiat currency. Generally, investors withdraw into these tokens when they want to avoid the volatility associated with cryptos like Bitcoin, so exchange outflows related to stablecoins can be a sign that traders are retreating from the market.

From the chart, it’s visible that recently the trend has started to reverse, with stablecoins flowing into Coinbase Advanced once more, a potential sign that US-based whales are becoming interested in swapping into the volatile side once more.

Bitcoin Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $68,700, down 6% over the last week.

As Russia moves to regulate the crypto sector later this year, the European Union (EU) is considering implementing strict sanctions on all digital asset transactions linked to the country to curb sanctions evasion.

EU Seeks Sanctions On Russian Crypto Transactions

On Tuesday, the Financial Times (FT) reported that the European Commission (EC) is evaluating measures to prohibit all crypto transactions with Russia, stepping up its efforts to crack down on the country’s use of digital assets to evade sanctions.

According to documents reviewed by the FT, the Commission has seemingly proposed a broader prohibition “instead of attempting to ban copycat Russian crypto entities spun out of already sanctioned platforms.”

“In order to ensure that sanctions achieve their intended effect [the EU] prohibits to engage with any crypto asset service provider, or to make use of any platform allowing the transfer and exchange of crypto assets that is established in Russia,” explained the internal document outlining the proposed sanctions.

The Commission argued that “any further listing of individual crypto asset service providers … is therefore likely to result in the set-up of new ones to circumvent those listings.”

Notably, the proposal reportedly focuses on preventing the growth of successors to the Russia-linked crypto exchange Garantex. In 2022, the US sanctioned the platform for “operating as the exchange of choice for cybercriminals”.

Moreover, the document is aimed at the payments platform A7, a company reportedly conceived as a mechanism to facilitate cross-border trades due to sanctions imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine, and its connected ruble-pegged stablecoin A7A5, previously used by Garantex to transfer funds to Kyrgyz exchange Grinex.

As reported by Bitcoinist, the EU, UK, and US have adopted restrictive measures against the payment platform. Despite this, recent reports revealed the stablecoin has an aggregate transaction volume of $100 billion.

In addition, the EC suggested adding 20 banks to the list of sanctioned entities and a ban on any digital ruble-related transactions. The Commission also proposed a ban on the export of certain dual-use goods to Kyrgyzstan, claiming that local companies have sold prohibited goods to Russia.

Nonetheless, imposing the measures would require the unanimous support of member states, and three of the bloc’s countries have reportedly expressed doubts, three diplomats briefed on discussions told the FT.

Russia’s Digital Assets Landscape

The potential crackdown comes as Russia continues to develop its upcoming digital assets framework. The CBR recently unveiled its comprehensive regulatory proposals to enable retail and qualified investors to buy digital assets through licensed platforms in the country.

Last month, the Committee on State Building and Legislation at the State Duma also advanced a bill to regulate the seizure of crypto assets in criminal proceedings and reduce the risks associated with the use of digital assets in criminal activities, including money laundering, corruption, and terrorist financing.

Meanwhile, Russia’s largest bank by assets, Sberbank, recently announced that it is preparing to offer crypto-backed loans to corporate clients following strong corporate interest.

The bank affirmed its readiness to work with the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) to develop regulations, and it is finalizing the necessary infrastructure and procedures for potential scaling of crypto-backed lending.

Project 11 CEO Alex Pruden is challenging a CoinShares estimate that only 10,200 bitcoin sit in “genuinely” quantum-vulnerable legacy addresses, arguing instead that roughly 6.9 million BTC could be exposed if cryptographically relevant quantum computers arrive sooner than the market expects.

The dispute, amplified by Castle Island partner Nic Carter, goes to the heart of a debate that has started to spill out of academic circles and into investor-facing research: not whether quantum computing would be catastrophic for today’s signature schemes, but how much Bitcoin is already exposed given how keys are used on-chain and how quickly the ecosystem would need to coordinate a migration.

Why ‘Only 10,000’ Bitcoin Are The Wrong Estimate

Pruden’s core objection to the “only 10k BTC” framing is definitional. In his thread, he argues quantum vulnerability extends well beyond old-style pay-to-public-key (P2PK) outputs and includes “any address that has signed a transaction once (and left residual funds there),” because the public key becomes visible on-chain once a spend is signed. In that model, coins left behind in those UTXOs could be vulnerable to an attacker able to derive a private key from a known public key.

He points to a “constantly updated tracker” run by Project Eleven listing 6,910,186 BTC as quantum-vulnerable, and cites Chaincode Labs’ technical report on post-quantum threats to Bitcoin as a cross-reference.

Pruden also singles out Satoshi Nakamoto’s presumed holdings as a large, dormant target surface. “The entity believed to be Satoshi alone holds 1,096,152 BTC across 21,924 addresses. All vulnerable,” he wrote, framing those coins as exposed under his broader definition.

Carter, responding to coverage circulating around the CoinShares number, said: “re that number of ‘only 10k quantum-vulnerable BTC’ you are seeing reported today… as much as I respect Chris and his work at Coinshares, he’s wrong on this one.”

Pruden situates the Bitcoin debate inside a wider shift among large tech companies and security institutions toward post-quantum planning. He cites a Google blog post by Hartmut Neven and Kent Walker that characterizes post-quantum cryptography as an urgent, systemic transition requiring coordinated action and accelerated adoption.

He also references a Google research result suggesting breaking RSA-2048 may require “~1 million noisy qubits,” lower than earlier estimates, and argues this compresses perceived timelines — even if Bitcoin uses ECDSA rather than RSA. To reinforce the uncertainty, Pruden quotes prominent theoretical computer scientist Scott Aaronson warning against complacency around Shor-vulnerable systems:

“On the other hand, if you think Bitcoin, and SSL, and all the other protocols based on Shor-breakable cryptography, are almost certainly safe for the next 5 years … then I submit that your confidence is also unwarranted. Your confidence might then be like most physicists’ confidence in 1938 that nuclear weapons were decades away, or like my own confidence in 2015 that an AI able to pass a reasonable Turing Test was decades away… The trouble is that sometimes people, y’know, do that.”

Pruden’s conclusion from that framing is less about predicting a date and more about avoiding a planning regime built on “it’ll be slow.”

Pruden argues the CoinShares post underestimates the operational reality of a post-quantum transition for an already-deployed, decentralized system. He highlights the need to migrate “millions of distributed keys,” the lack of a centralized authority, and the fact that asset ownership is enforced purely by digital signatures, with “no fallback.”

He also cites peer-reviewed research claiming “the BTC blockchain would have to shut down for 76 days” to process migration transactions for the existing UTXO set in a best-case scenario — a datapoint meant to stress that even a distant threat can demand near-term engineering and governance work.

Pruden further criticizes what he calls an appeal to authority in citing a hardware-wallet executive as evidence quantum is far away, arguing vendors may have incentives to downplay urgency if quantum-resistant signatures would obsolete existing devices.

At press time, BTC traded at $69,050.

Bitcoin is struggling to reclaim key resistance levels as the broader market navigates a phase of heightened uncertainty and weakening demand. Despite multiple rebound attempts, price action remains constrained, reflecting a lack of sustained buying interest and fragile investor sentiment. According to a recent CryptoQuant report, a critical shift is occurring beneath the surface: new investor inflows have turned negative, suggesting that the ongoing sell-off is not being absorbed by fresh capital entering the market.

Data shows that cumulative 30-day flows have dropped to approximately −$2.6 billion, highlighting persistent capital outflows rather than accumulation. This dynamic contrasts sharply with typical bull-market corrections, where price dips tend to attract new participants seeking discounted entry points. Instead, current declines appear to be met with caution, reinforcing a defensive market posture.

The absence of the strong inflow spikes historically associated with sustained uptrends further underscores this shift. Liquidity conditions remain tight, and participation appears to be narrowing, with existing holders rotating positions rather than new investors driving demand. Until consistent inflows resume, upside momentum may remain limited, and Bitcoin could continue facing resistance pressure as the market searches for a clearer directional catalyst.

Bitcoin Liquidity Contraction Signals Fragile Market Structure

According to the report, Bitcoin’s current market behavior increasingly resembles the transitional phase that typically follows a cycle peak. In strong bull markets, price corrections tend to attract accelerating capital inflows, as investors view pullbacks as opportunities to accumulate. By contrast, early bear-market environments often show the opposite dynamic: weakening price action triggers capital withdrawal rather than fresh demand. Current on-chain readings suggest Bitcoin may be entering this latter phase.

Data indicates that marginal buyers — those who usually provide incremental liquidity during uptrends — are stepping back. As a result, price movements appear increasingly driven by internal capital rotation rather than genuine net inflows. This means existing participants are repositioning funds within the market instead of new investors entering, which typically reduces momentum and amplifies volatility.

Without renewed inflows, any upward price movement is more likely to represent corrective rebounds than sustainable trend reversals. This aligns with early bear-market conditions characterized by contracting liquidity, declining participation breadth, and cautious investor behavior. Historically, markets tend to remain fragile until new demand returns consistently.

The absence of strong inflows suggests that Bitcoin’s recovery potential may remain constrained, with price action likely dependent on whether fresh capital eventually re-enters the ecosystem.

Critical Support Zone Comes Into Focus

Bitcoin’s weekly chart shows a clear deterioration in market structure following the rejection from the $120K–$125K region. Since that peak, price action has transitioned from a higher-high sequence into a pattern of lower highs and expanding downside volatility, a classic characteristic of mid-cycle bearish phases. The latest drop toward the $65K–$70K zone confirms that sellers continue to dominate momentum.

Technically, BTC has now broken below its short- and medium-term moving averages, while the longer-term trend line near the high-$50K region remains the last major structural support. Historically, sustained trading below the 50-week average often signals prolonged consolidation or deeper corrective phases rather than quick V-shaped recoveries.

Volume behavior also deserves attention. The recent decline occurred alongside elevated sell-side activity, suggesting forced liquidations or distribution rather than orderly profit taking. This tends to prolong volatility because coins change hands from weaker holders to stronger balance sheets.

From a macro perspective, the $62K–$65K range emerges as a critical demand zone. Holding this region could stabilize sentiment and enable accumulation. A decisive breakdown, however, would likely expose the market to deeper retracement levels, potentially toward the realized price cluster seen in previous bear phases.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com 

BitMine Immersion Technologies kept buying as prices fell, scooping up 40,613 ETH during last week’s sell-off. Reports say the purchase totaled roughly $83–$84 million, made when Ether traded near $2,020 per token.

BitMine’s Growing Stake And The Man At The Helm

According to recent coverage, the move pushed BitMine’s total Ethereum holdings to around 4.32–4.33 million ETH, a stash worth billions at current prices. Executive chairman Tom Lee has framed the dip as an attractive entry point and has voiced confidence in a bounce back.

Paper Losses Widen As Prices Slide

Reports note that the firm’s large cost basis for its accumulated ETH has left its treasury sitting on multibillion-dollar unrealized losses.

Estimates in the latest pieces place those paper losses between about $7.5 billion and $8 billion, depending on which price is used to mark the holdings. That gap widened as Ether fell from higher levels into the low-$2Ks.

Market And Shareholder Response

BitMine’s aggressive buying did not calm all investors. News outlets tracked a drop in the company’s stock (BMNR), which was reported down roughly 5% in pre-market trading around the same time the ETH buy was disclosed.

Traders appear to be weighing the long-term thesis against the immediate hit to the company’s net asset value.

Why The Company Is Still Adding

Reports say BitMine sees this as part of an intentional treasury play. Some of the firm’s ETH is staked, which generates yield and can help offset paper losses over time.

Tom Lee has forecast a strong rebound, calling for a V-shaped recovery in ether. That kind of outlook explains why purchases came even while the market was weak.

What To Watch Next

Short term, price moves in ether and shifts in investor sentiment will be the clearest signals. If ETH stages a steady climb, the unrealized losses will shrink quickly.

If the token continues to trade lower, the company’s paper loss metrics will remain a headline for shareholders and analysts.

Reports say details such as financing, staking returns, and any further disclosed buys will shape how investors view the firm’s risk profile.

BitMine’s choice to keep buying at lower levels is a clear bet on future price recovery. Whether that bet pays off for shareholders depends on the market’s next moves, and on whether patience and staking income can outweigh a large short-term drawdown.

Featured image from Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, chart from TradingView