Morgan Stanley's Bitcoin ETF Could Attract $160 Billion, Says Strategy CEO

Robinhood is working on a three-phase plan to transition stock tokens into permissionless assets that users can use across decentralized applications. The first phase allows users to buy tokenized stocks within the EU through the Robinhood app, but they cannot move them outside of it.

Kunal Mehta, a California resident, pleaded guilty to laundering over $25 million in crypto as part of a cybercrime ring. He used aliases like "Shrek," "Papa," and "The Accountant" to carry out the scheme, which involved stealing $263 million in cryptocurrency.

Haliey Welch, known as the "Hawk Tuah" girl, has been implicated in a federal class action lawsuit amendment for her involvement in promoting a meme coin launch that allegedly crashed intentionally. The lawsuit accuses Welch of being a key figure in a scheme to deceive retail purchasers.

The U.S. Department of Justice charged Firas Isa, founder of a Chicago-based crypto ATM company, with laundering at least $10 million in criminal proceeds through his company, Virtual Assets LLC. Isa and the company were charged with money-laundering conspiracy, facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has approved national banks to hold and use cryptocurrency for specific purposes, such as paying network fees and testing crypto-related platforms. This move allows banks to expand their permissible activities without acquiring crypto-assets from third parties, reducing operational risks.

Canada's federal budget, recently passed in parliament, includes a stablecoin policy overseen by the Bank of Canada. The policy requires stablecoin issuers to maintain one-to-one reserves and meet various risk management and cybersecurity requirements. Non-bank issuers are prohibited from offering interest to customers.

El Salvador's President Bukele revealed the country added 1,000 Bitcoin valued at $100 million, increasing its stockpile by 17%. Despite IMF's claim of internal transfers, Bukele continues Bitcoin purchases, with holdings now at 7,500 Bitcoin worth $698 million.

U.S. senators, including Elizabeth Warren, are investigating Trump's alleged ties to World Liberty Financial Inc., questioning potential sanctions evasion and money laundering. Warren's concerns about conflicts of interest in crypto-friendly policies have caused a split among Democrats in the Senate Banking Committee.

Vitalik Buterin advocates for Ethereum to embrace ossification, locking down core features to prevent bugs and prioritize stability over adaptability. He suggests directing innovation to layer-2 networks and the surrounding ecosystem, away from fundamental protocol changes.

On Tuesday, a significant amount of Bitcoin from Mt. Gox's wallets was moved, with 10,608 BTC worth nearly $1 billion transferred to different addresses. This marks the first major movement since March, possibly related to the creditor repayment process involving exchanges like Kraken.