Tether Freezes $500M in USDT in 30 days, BlockSec Data Shows

Tether has also disclosed larger aggregate totals and detailed some of the cases behind them. In February, the company said it had frozen about $4.2 billion in tokens in three years over links to illicit activity, with some $3.5 billion of that amount locked since 2023 as authorities increased efforts to curb crypto-related crime.  In April, Tether said it worked with the US Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control and law enforcement agencies to freeze more than $344 million in USDT across two Tron addresses that US officials said were linked to suspected sanctions evasion involving Iran, while in February, Tether helped authorities to seize over $61 million in USDT linked to so-called pig butchering scams.  Stablecoin blacklists fuel wider freeze debate  The growing scale of blacklisting and related seizures has fed into a broader debate over how far crypto issuers and protocols should go in stopping suspect flows.  Some projects in decentralized finance, for example, have used upgradeable contracts and admin controls to halt or recover funds in major exploit cases, raising questions about who decides when such powers are used.  In stablecoins, where issuers such as Tether retain direct control over minting and burning mechanisms, onchain data and enforcement disclosures show that blacklisting

05-09Industry

BlackBerry (BB) Stock Climbs Following TSX Approval of Share Repurchase Program

Toronto Exchange Greenlights Fresh Share Repurchase Plan  The Toronto Stock Exchange has authorized BlackBerry Limiteds latest normal course issuer bid application. Under the approved program, the company can acquire up to 26,785,714 of its common shares. This volume accounts for approximately 4.58% of the public float reported as of April 30, 2026.  The technology firm maintains flexibility to execute purchases across multiple venues including the TSX, NYSE, additional Canadian marketplaces, and alternative trading platforms. BlackBerry also retains authority to conduct transactions via private arrangements or other sanctioned methods under applicable securities regulations. All acquired shares will be retired from circulation.  The authorized NCIB commences on May 12, 2026, with an expiration date of May 11, 2027. Nevertheless, the initiative may conclude sooner should the company fulfill its maximum purchase allowance. Management reserves the right to terminate the program based on evolving capital priorities.  Trading Activity Reflects Investor Response  As of April 30, 2026, BlackBerry reported 586,061,407 common shares issued and outstanding. The publicly available float totaled 584,830,432 shares on that same reference date. During the preceding six-month period, average daily TSX volume measured 2,255,303 shares.  Regulatory guidelines restrict daily TSX acquisitions to 563,825 shares under standard conditions, though block purchase exceptions apply. Open-market transactions will execute

05-09Industry

Aramco and ADNOC resume oil shipments through Strait of Hormuz

Bitcoin Ethereum News  ## Market Snapshot  Markets related to the Strait of Hormuz have reacted, with the probability of 20 ships transiting the strait by May 31 now priced at 68% YES, down from 76% 24 hours ago. Meanwhile, the likelihood of an announcement by Donald Trump lifting the blockade remains at 40% YES.  ## Key Takeaways  – The successful transit by Aramco Trading and ADNOC suggests a partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, consistent with the easing of the blockade. – Market pricing implies a decreased likelihood of a full blockade lift announcement by Donald Trump by May 31, remaining stable at 40% YES. – Current developments appear irrelevant to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait market, with no impact on its closure likelihood.  ## Article Body  Aramco Trading and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) have reportedly succeeded in transporting oil cargoes through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint that has been effectively closed since late February due to regional conflict. The strait is crucial for global energy supply, carrying around 20% of the worlds oil and LNG trade. This development marks a significant step towards potential normalization of shipping activity in the region. The closure followed airstrikes by the US and

05-09Industry

Tether froze over $500M USDT in 30 days as blacklist total hit $1.26B in 2025

Tether froze over $514 million USDT across 370 addresses in the past 30 days as its 2025 blacklist swelled to $1.26 billion, underscoring how centralized stablecoins now function as embedded enforcement rails for global regulators and law enforcement.Tether has frozen more than $514 million USDT across 370 addresses in the past 30 days, mostly on Tron.BlockSec says Tether blacklisted 4,163 addresses in 2025, freezing a total of $1.26 billion USDT on Ethereum and Tron.The growing use of blacklists underscores how centralized stablecoins now operate as de facto enforcement tools embedded in crypto rails.  Tether has frozen over $514 million worth of USDT in the last 30 days, locking funds across 370 addresses on Ethereum and Tron, according to data cited by Cointelegraph.  BlockSec‘s USDT Freeze Tracker shows that about $506 million of the frozen tokens sit on Tron and roughly $8.73 million on Ethereum, once again highlighting Tron’s central role in USDT flows.  Separately, BlockSecs on-chain report, titled “$1.26 Billion Frozen: USDT Blacklisting on Ethereum and Tron in 2025,” found that Tether blacklisted 4,163 unique addresses last year, freezing a cumulative $1.26 billion in USDT and permanently destroying more than half of it via its destroyBlackFunds function.  How Tethers blacklists work at scale  BlockSecs researchers

05-09Industry

How Ayni Golds Burn Mechanism Turns Mining Output into Deflation

Most token burns in DeFi are funded arbitrarily. Some come from transaction fees, others from governance votes, and many from treasury reserves accumulated through unrelated revenue streams. The connection between burn funding and the protocols actual operations is often loose.  Ayni Gold takes a different approach. The protocols token burn mechanism is funded directly by real-world mining output through the Success Fee structure built into staker rewards.  Every quarter, 15% of accumulated Success Fees go to buy back AYNI tokens on the open market and permanently burn them.  This article walks through how the mechanism works: where the funding comes from, how the 15% allocation gets calculated, and what the deflationary effect means for AYNI holders.  The Goal: Deflationary Pressure on a Fixed Supply  AYNI has a fixed maximum supply of 806,451,613 tokens. The protocol allows no post-launch minting, which sets the upper bound on circulating supply at launch.  The burn mechanism contracts that supply over time. Every quarter, the protocol uses Success Fee proceeds to buy back AYNI tokens on the open market and permanently retire them.  The combination of fixed supply at the top and active reduction at the bottom creates a deflationary trajectory tied to platform usage.  The whitepaper notes that this function compares to

05-09Industry

AAVE Price Prediction: $101 Target Emerges as Whale Positioning Accelerates

Technical Foundation Analysis  AAVEs current position at $94.29 reveals a consolidation pattern that often precedes significant moves. The RSI reading of 47.11 sits in neutral territory, while the MACD histogram at zero indicates balanced momentum rather than directional weakness. Within the Bollinger Bands, AAVE trades at 0.53 positioning, maintaining support above the middle band at $93.98.  The tokens proximity to its intraday high of $96.39 demonstrates underlying strength, with the recent pullback representing normal profit-taking rather than structural deterioration. Support levels have held firm around $92.00, creating a foundation for potential upward movement.  Market Structure Dynamics  Volume patterns tell a compelling story beneath the surface. While 24-hour spot volume registers $19 million, derivatives markets show heightened activity with $54.5 million in open interest. The long/short ratio among top traders stands at 1.58, with 61.3% maintaining bullish positions.  Taker buy/sell ratios at 0.80 indicate selling pressure, yet this often creates optimal accumulation conditions for institutional players. The 2.38% decline in open interest over 24 hours suggests position consolidation rather than broad-based retreat. Blockchain.news analysis indicates this pattern historically precedes breakout attempts in AAVE.  Price Trajectory Assessment  Resistance clusters around $96.59 represent the immediate hurdle, with stronger resistance forming near $98.90. Technical analysis suggests a 65% probability of testing

05-09Industry

Brent: Risk premium persists after Iran conflict – Commerzbank

Commerzbank strategists expect Brent to retain a significant risk premium even if a US–Iran agreement is reached and the Strait of Hormuz reopens. They argue that shipping and production will normalise only gradually, inventories are being drawn down, and energy agencies are likely to cut supply and demand forecasts, keeping Oil prices elevated versus pre‑war levels.  Risk premium anchored by Hormuz disruption  “Even in the event of an agreement, however, oil prices are likely to fall only limitedly at first, as a return to the old normal is not to be expected for now. It is likely to take some time before shipping traffic in the strait normalises and production in the region returns to its usual level. Not only does ramping up production take time; energy and export facilities have also suffered damage.”  “In any case, the strait is likely to remain a critical choke point for the time being, which justifies a risk premium. All these factors suggest that even in the event of an agreement, the oil price will initially (and from our perspective even until the end of the year) settle at a noticeably higher level than before the Iran war.”  “Deeper insights into the fundamental effects on the oil

05-09Industry

Stablecoin card spend is growing 100% year over year, Rain exec says

Stablecoin-based cards could soon account for double-digit percentages of all cards in some Latin American markets, John Timoney, head of strategic partnerships at Rain, a payments infrastructure platform, said.  Retail stablecoin card spend grew about 105% to 106% over the past year, Timoney said during a panel at Consensus Miami 2026. Cards are physical or virtual, allowing users to spend stablecoins such as tether and USD Coin (USDC) directly from a digital wallet for daily purchases.  Rain provides stablecoin infrastructure for card issuers and recently became a Mastercard Principal Member, allowing it to offer credit and prepaid cards on the Mastercard network. Rain and Mastercard are also exploring on-chain settlement for some card program flows using regulated stablecoins.  The company is not trying to replace card networks, Timoney said. It is trying to make stablecoin balances usable through existing networks that already reach merchants globally.  “The card networks over decades have rolled up hundreds of millions of merchants,” Timoney said. “Rain explicitly did not want to reinvent the wheel.”  Spend patterns are also becoming harder to distinguish from ordinary card activity, he said. Stablecoin card users are spending across typical merchant categories, including large global merchants and everyday purchases.  “Theres nothing too remarkable about that,” Timoney

05-09Industry

Tether froze over $500M USDT in 30 days as blacklist total hit $1.26B in 2025

Tether froze over $514 million USDT across 370 addresses in the past 30 days as its 2025 blacklist swelled to $1.26 billion, underscoring how centralized stablecoins now function as embedded enforcement rails for global regulators and law enforcement.Tether has frozen more than $514 million USDT across 370 addresses in the past 30 days, mostly on Tron.BlockSec says Tether blacklisted 4,163 addresses in 2025, freezing a total of $1.26 billion USDT on Ethereum and Tron.The growing use of blacklists underscores how centralized stablecoins now operate as de facto enforcement tools embedded in crypto rails.  Tether has frozen over $514 million worth of USDT in the last 30 days, locking funds across 370 addresses on Ethereum and Tron, according to data cited by Cointelegraph.  BlockSec‘s USDT Freeze Tracker shows that about $506 million of the frozen tokens sit on Tron and roughly $8.73 million on Ethereum, once again highlighting Tron’s central role in USDT flows.  Separately, BlockSecs on-chain report, titled “$1.26 Billion Frozen: USDT Blacklisting on Ethereum and Tron in 2025,” found that Tether blacklisted 4,163 unique addresses last year, freezing a cumulative $1.26 billion in USDT and permanently destroying more than half of it via its destroyBlackFunds function.  How Tethers blacklists work at scale  BlockSecs researchers

05-09Industry

IMF Warns AI Cyberattacks Threaten Global Finance

IMF warns AI-driven cyberattacks could threaten global financial stability and payments.Financial firms are deploying AI tools to detect threats and speed up cyber defenses.Anthropic restricted Claude Mythos after tests exposed advanced software hacking abilities.  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that artificial intelligence is accelerating cybersecurity risks across the global financial system, lowering the technical barriers required to launch sophisticated cyberattacks against banks, payment systems, and critical financial infrastructure.  In a report, the IMF said AI-powered threats could enable even less-skilled attackers to carry out disruptive operations that affect markets, disrupt payment networks, and weaken confidence in financial institutions across multiple countries.  According to the IMF, the growing use of AI tools in cyber operations could transform isolated security breaches into broader financial stability concerns if regulators and institutions fail to strengthen resilience measures. The organization stated that authorities should no longer treat cybersecurity as only a technical or operational matter, but instead as a core issue tied directly to financial stability and systemic risk.  IMF Highlights Cross-Border Financial Risks  The IMF said the interconnected nature of the global financial system increases the potential impact of AI-assisted cyber incidents. The organization noted that cyber threats can spread across borders, especially when financial institutions, infrastructure

05-09Industry
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