CFA Report Pegs US Crypto Fraud Losses at $80.7B

Mastercard's recent acquisition of a BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services underscores its commitment to regulatory compliance in the crypto sector. The company aims to support stablecoins and tokenized deposits as part of its long-term strategy.

The DTCC and Stellar Development Foundation plan to integrate tokenized securities onto the Stellar network by the first half of 2027. This move aims to facilitate issuance, settlement, and management of blockchain-based traditional securities, including exploring tokenizing highly liquid assets like major indices and U.S. Treasury debt instruments.

South Korean prosecutors have charged five individuals for orchestrating a meme coin rug pull on Pump.fun, causing $600,000 in damages. The defendants created the CatFi token on Solana, which quickly crashed after a significant pump, resulting in losses for 256 investors.

U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized the importance of federal regulators maintaining control over prediction markets, opposing state gambling laws and denouncing state officials as "scum." He highlighted the need for the CFTC's exclusive authority to oversee this sector, linking it to the broader effort to retain crypto activity in the U.S.

The former CEO of Hodlnaut, Zhu Juntao, has been charged with fraud by Singapore authorities for allegedly making false representations during the collapse of the TerraUSD ecosystem. If convicted, Zhu could face up to 20 years in prison and fines under Singapore law.

A $1.3 billion block of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) shares was traded in a dark pool, marking one of the largest off-exchange Bitcoin ETF transactions. The transaction highlights institutional selling off-exchange to avoid impacting the order book.

Bitcoin's market capitalization has dropped to $1.5 trillion, causing it to fall to 13th place among the world's largest global assets. Precious metals like gold and silver have seen significant gains, with silver becoming the fifth largest asset by market capitalization. Semiconductor stocks have outperformed Bitcoin, with companies like TSMC and Broadcom surpassing it in market value.

In Texas, crypto-focused political committees have spent over $9 million in the current election cycle, influencing races and backing industry-supported candidates. The defeat of Rep. Al Green by Democrat Christian Menefee in the 18th Congressional District runoff highlights the consequences of anti-crypto stances in elections.

TeraWulf has acquired a large development site in Kentucky to build a significant AI data campus, with plans for over one gigawatt of data center capacity. The company's stock price surged by 9% following the announcement, reaching its highest point in the last year.

The United Kingdom imposed sanctions on HTX, a major crypto exchange, for allegedly aiding Russia by providing financial services to entities in the Russian financial sector. The British government banned all institutions from engaging in financial relationships with HTX and may consider any on-chain transactions involving the exchange as prohibited.