Coinbase Rejects $20 Million Ransom Demand, Offers Bounty for Cybercriminals' Capture

Progress has been made on the Senate's GENIUS Act, with new language addressing national security, ethics, and Big Tech in stablecoin legislation. The bill still exempts the president and vice president from issuing stablecoins, but now prohibits executive special government employees from doing so.

Arthur Hayes predicts that Trump's economic policies and global instability will drive investors away from US Treasury bonds, pushing Bitcoin to $1 million by 2028. Hayes also suggests that capital controls may be implemented to prevent money leaving Western nations, potentially boosting Bitcoin further.

Bitcoin Depot's shares surged 20% to $2.04 after reporting a first-quarter profit of $12.2 million, with revenue up 19% to $164.2 million. The company holds $7.8 million in Bitcoin and aims to expand into New York by 2025.

Movement Labs, backed by Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial, allocated large token stakes to early insiders without disclosing the deals, raising questions about the project's power dynamics. The agreements with advisers, including Thapaliya and Parekh, were not disclosed to investors but were crucial in shaping Movement's trajectory.

0x, a decentralized exchange infrastructure firm, acquired rival Flood to enhance its competitiveness in the DEX aggregation market. Flood's proprietary software impressed 0x, leading to a complete rewrite of their technology stack for improved performance.

Top cryptocurrencies saw a pullback on Thursday, with Bitcoin dropping to $101,500, signaling a delay in reaching all-time highs. Altcoins like Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin also experienced sell-offs, while the stock market's risk appetite cooled due to the Federal Reserve's interest rate adjustments.

Research from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime reveals an increase in criminal use of cryptocurrency in Western Balkan nations like Albania and Serbia. The region faces challenges in seizing illicitly sourced crypto, with limited documented cases of asset seizures to date.

Telegram terminated a major crypto-fueled black market, Haowang Guarantee, which laundered over $27 billion in Asia's cyber scam economy. The platform banned thousands of accounts linked to the illicit marketplace, forcing it to shut down immediately.

A new partnership between Mastercard and a crypto company, MoonPay, will enable users and businesses to conduct transactions using stablecoins globally. The collaboration leverages infrastructure from Iron, a stablecoin payment firm acquired by MoonPay. Despite regulatory uncertainties, card networks are increasingly embracing stablecoin technology for various financial applications.