The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has moved to scrap its $5 million settlement with crypto exchange Gemini after concluding that the enforcement case should not have been filed under the agency’s current standards. Summary The CFTC has asked a federal court to vacate its $5 million settlement with Gemini after concluding the case should
Strive, Inc. has used its SATA preferred stock program to buy an estimated 490 BTC in a single day, surpassing the Bitcoin network’s average daily issuance of roughly 450 BTC. Summary Strive’s SATA preferred stock program bought an estimated 490 BTC in one day, above Bitcoin’s average daily issuance of about 450 BTC. SATA generated
Aztec Labs has acquired ZKPassport but will keep the privacy-focused passport-scanning app fully open source. Summary Aztec Labs acquired ZKPassport but will keep the iOS app and Noir circuits open source. The privacy app proves identity attributes from government IDs without revealing personal data. ZKPassport already ran sanctions checks on Aztec’s December 2025 token sale,
BIS tokenization work has cleared its atomic settlement prototype phase and will graduate to real-value cross-border payment trials. Summary Project Agora demonstrated tokenised cross-border settlement across seven central banks and more than 40 financial institutions. The Bank of Canada joined Wednesday, with real-value transactions set as the next testing milestone. The prototype preserves correspondent banking,
HTX denies UK sanctions allegations after the Foreign Office accused affiliate Huobi Global S.A. of funnelling $1.5 billion to Russia. Summary HTX says UK sanctions apply only to Huobi Global S.A. and do not affect its operating exchange. The Foreign Office accuses the affiliate of funnelling $1.5 billion to Russia through A7 and Garantex. Global
Bitdeer names ex-Corsair finance chief Michael Potter as CFO, effective Tuesday, replacing Jianchun Liu. Summary Michael Potter takes over as Bitdeer CFO effective Tuesday, with outgoing CFO Jianchun Liu staying through June 30. Potter led Corsair Gaming’s 2020 IPO and held earlier CFO roles at Canadian Solar, Lattice Semiconductor, and STATS ChipPAC. The appointment lands
Apple is being re-rated as an AI winner on the back of “agentic” iPhone and Mac ecosystems rather than frontier models, and the next question is whether on-device agents eventually plug into tokenized payments and assets. Summary Bank of America’s Wamsi Mohan argues Apple’s end-to-end ecosystem gives it an “agentic AI moat” despite a late
Russian officials have moved closer to a long-term shutdown of crypto mining in Moscow and nearby regions as lawmakers have advanced a separate bill to jail unregistered miners. Summary A Russian power-industry commission has backed a proposal to ban crypto mining in Moscow, Moscow Oblast, and parts of Kursk until at least 2032. Kommersant reported
Stablecoin payments run through settlement and B2B rails, not consumer checkout, BridgerPay CEO Ran Cohen said. Summary Cohen said real stablecoin demand sits in cross-border settlement, B2B payouts, and treasury, not retail checkout. He argued Mastercard’s $1.8 billion BVNK deal validates the rail rather than ending the case for neutral orchestration. Cohen expects stablecoins to
FTSE Russell’s governance committee has approved a fast-entry overhaul that will allow mega IPOs to be added more quickly to its top benchmarks, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. Summary FTSE Russell governance committee backs fast-entry and minimum standard changes after market consultation IPOs whose investable market cap exceeds a Russell Top 500 threshold
