Ripple, Coinbase among top donors in crypto's $189 million election spending: report

Quick TakeCrypto companies have contributed $189 million so far in the 2026 midterms cycle, according to a Public Citizen analysis of FEC data.  Crypto companies have contributed $189 million so far to influence the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, accounting for 37% of the $517 million disclosed in corporate political spending this cycle, according to Public Citizen.  Entities associated with Gemini and its founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss added another $25.7 million, bringing spending by those four crypto groups to roughly $149 million, according to the report, which analyzed Federal Election Commission disclosures and OpenSecrets data.  The report also suggested that the biggest beneficiaries of cryptos corporate spending are Fairshake, a sector-focused super PAC, and MAGA Inc., the Trump-backing super PAC. Fairshake received $82.6 million in crypto-related contributions, while MAGA Inc. received $56.2 million.  Cantor Fitzgerald-backed Fellowship PAC also accounted for another crypto-focused political vehicle, receiving $10 million from the Wall Street firm, which serves as Tethers banking partner.  Crypto spends more than AI, Big Tech sectors  The report found that artificial intelligence and Big Tech companies contributed $60 million during the cycle, with $50.1 million directed to the AI-focused Leading the Future PAC. Online betting companies also spent $45.6 million, including $43 million that flowed to

07-01انڈسٹری

Nearly 1,700 UK investors sue Binance, founder CZ over alleged unauthorized derivatives sales

Quick TakeNearly 1,700 UK investors sued Binance and Changpeng Zhao in Londons High Court over crypto derivatives sold without regulatory approval since 2019.The claim lists a recovery threshold of just £200,000 ($264,900), while KP Law reportedly said the total its pursuing tops £150 million ($200 million).  Nearly 1,700 UK investors filed a group lawsuit against Binance, its founder Changpeng CZ Zhao, and Abu Dhabi-based Nest Exchange in Londons High Court on June 29, alleging the exchange sold unauthorized crypto derivatives to retail traders for years without regulatory approval.  The claim form, filed by KP Law on behalf of 1,692 claimants led by Tomas Sutas, alleges the defendants promoted and sold leveraged tokens, cryptocurrency futures, options, and margin trading products to UK consumers from around Sept. 13, 2019, in breach of the UKs Financial Services and Markets Act.  The filing argues that the sales violated the acts general prohibition on carrying out regulated activity without authorization, and that the promotion of the products separately breached the acts rules on unauthorized financial promotions.  Claimants are seeking recovery of money and property paid, plus compensation for losses and interest under the Senior Courts Act 1981.  The suit also names CZ and Binance Holdings as accessories, arguing they acted

07-01انڈسٹری

BlackRock joins Coinbase, Ripple to launch revenue-sharing stablecoin

BlackRock, Coinbase, Ripple, Mastercard, and more than a dozen financial firms have partnered to launch OUSD, a new stablecoin that distributes reserve earnings to participating institutions through a shared governance model.  SummaryBlackRock, Coinbase, Ripple, Mastercard, and other firms will launch the revenue-sharing OUSD stablecoin.OUSD offers zero-fee minting and redemption while distributing reserve income to participating partners.The stablecoin will debut on Solana and Tempo with shared governance led by institutional members.  Open Standard announced that OUSD is scheduled to launch later this year, introducing a stablecoin framework that allows partner institutions to mint and redeem tokens without fees while sharing income generated from the underlying reserves.  The organization said participating firms will also take part in governing the network through a joint board rather than relying on a single issuer.  OUSD introduces shared governance and reserve revenue model  According to Open Standard, the project was created to address several long-standing issues businesses face when using stablecoins. The organization said many existing products charge high fees for large-scale minting and redemption, while companies using those stablecoins often receive none of the income generated by the reserve assets backing them.  Under the proposed structure, Open Standard said partners will be able to mint and redeem OUSD without artificial volume

07-01

Bitcoins quiet $59,000-$60,000 range is starting to look dangerous

The token has traded in a tight band near $59,000 to $60,000 all week. The pattern echoes a calm stretch from 2024, but this one is forming below support in a falling market, and a break could open the way toward $40,000.Bitcoin has traded in a tight range around $59,000 to $60,000 for five days, a pattern analysts say is risky because it is occurring below key support levels and downward-sloping 50- and 200-day moving averages.Some analysts warn that if this consolidation breaks lower, bitcoin could slide toward $40,000.Market sentiment is being pressured by Strategys plan to potentially sell more than $1 billion of its bitcoin reserves, a stronger dollar, and a rotation of capital into U.S. stocks on optimism over AI spending.  Bitcoin BTC  $59,073.22 is trading in a narrow range between $59,000 and $60,000 for the fifth straight day, a quiet stretch that some analysts warn is more dangerous than it looks because of where it is happening.  The range itself is normal. Bitcoin spent much of 2024, from March to October, consolidating between $55,000 and $70,000 with occasional overshoots in both directions. What makes the current setup riskier is its location, said Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, in

06-30انڈسٹری

Kalshi hit with 14-day restraining order in Michigan, blocking sports prediction markets in state

Quick TakeA Michigan judge issued a temporary restraining order against Kalshi, blocking the platform from offering sports-related event contracts in the state.Jurisdiction over prediction market platforms is an ongoing dispute between the CFTC and multiple state regulators.  The state of Michigan issued a temporary restraining order on Kalshi, barring the prediction market platform from offering sports-related event contracts in the U.S. state.  Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie E. Aquilina issued the order on Monday, according to a statement from Attorney General Dana Nessel. The temporary restraining order lasts for 14 days, meaning that it will remain in effect until July 13.  The order also stipulates that the court would fine Kalshi $120,000 for each day it does not comply with the geo-fencing requirements it imposes.  “Our gambling laws exist to protect Michiganders from unlicensed, predatory operations, and failing to comply with them carries serious legal consequences,” Nessel said in the statement.  The restraining order comes after the Western District of Michigan court granted Nessels motion to remand the states lawsuit against Kalshi back to the state court. Kalshi had attempted to remove the case to the federal level.  Michigan authorities filed a lawsuit against Kalshi in March, claiming that the federally regulated prediction market platform

06-30انڈسٹری

Benchmark sees over 500% upside in Strategy, reiterates $570 target on new capital framework

Quick TakeBenchmark reiterated its Buy rating and $570 price target on Strategy, citing the companys new Digital Credit Capital Framework.  Benchmark Equity Research reiterated its Buy rating and $570 price target on Strategy after the company introduced a five-component capital framework that expands its ability to repurchase securities, monetize bitcoin holdings, and manage capital deployment during periods of market stress.  Strategy shares closed up 12.6% at $92.68 on Monday, according to The Blocks MSTR price page. Benchmarks $570 target implies approximately 515% upside from that closing price.  Mondays gain followed Strategys announcement of its new Digital Credit Capital Framework. The initiative includes a $2.55 billion reserve representing 17.4 months of dividend coverage, a $1 billion common stock repurchase program, a $1 billion preferred share buyback plan across its STRC, STRF, STRD and STRK issues, and board authorization to sell up to $1.25 billion in bitcoin from its 847,363 BTC treasury.  In a note to clients, Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer said the framework formally grants management permission to run Strategys capital machine in “reverse” when market conditions demand it. That includes repurchasing common and perpetual preferred shares, monetizing bitcoin holdings to meet obligations, and pausing common issuance when the shares no longer trade at a

06-30انڈسٹری

ARK buys Coinbase, Circle, Bullish and Robinhood as stocks rally

SummaryARK bought nearly $16.9 million in crypto-linked stocks as Coinbase and Circle closed higher Monday.Coinbase led ARKs latest buying round, while Circle followed after expanding its BNY partnership.The purchases extend ARKs recent accumulation of crypto equities tied to trading and stablecoins.  The trades came across ARK Innovation ETF, ARK Next Generation Internet ETF and ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF.  ARK bought 45,164 Coinbase shares worth about $6.85 million at Mondays closing price. It also purchased 81,757 Circle shares worth about $6.21 million, 149,422 Bullish shares worth about $3.54 million and 2,943 Robinhood shares worth about $299,685.  Source: X  You might also like:  Securitizes $400M SPAC deal sets up Thursday NYSE debut  Coinbase and Circle lead the buying  Coinbase closed Monday up 1.74% at $151.65, while Circle rose 3.25% to $75.96. Bullish gained 1.72% to $23.69, and Robinhood climbed 3.18% to $101.83. Major U.S. stock indexes also closed higher during the session.  The largest purchase by value was Coinbase. ARK has held Coinbase across several funds and often adjusts its exposure when prices move. The firm also rebalances its ETFs so no single stock grows beyond 10% of any funds portfolio, according to The Block.  Circle expands BNY stablecoin partnership  Circles stock move came on the same day that BNY

06-30

MiCA July 1 deadline could leave 10 million crypto users searching for a new platform in the EU

The European Unions (EU) July 1 Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) deadline could leave more than 10 million users looking for a new platform, Alex Fazel, chief partnership officer at Swissborg, told CoinDesk in an interview.  The latest deadline implementing the EUs crypto rules are forcing dozens of exchanges to halt or restrict services, with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) warning that crypto-asset service providers operating without a MiCA license after July 1 should wind down their businesses while helping customers move to authorized providers or self-hosted wallets.  The deadline also comes as the European Banking Authority (EBA), which directly supervises significant stablecoin issuers under MiCA, proposed a framework on Friday that would allow fines of up to 12.5% of annual turnover for major issuers that breach the regulation. The consultation runs until Sept. 28, after which the methodology will be finalized.  Europe was thought to have had more than 3,000 registered virtual asset service providers (VASPs), the pre-MiCA categorization, as of 2024. As many as 80% of them will not continue after the deadline, Erald Ghoos, CEO of OKX Europe, told CoinDesk.  The immediate impact will fall on customers whose exchanges are withdrawing services, Fazel told CoinDesk  Several exchanges, including Binance, have announced

06-29

BlackRock pushes deeper into DeFi with Ethena integration, sending ENA up 8%

Ethena said its yield-generating “synthetic dollar” token will be integrated into BlackRocks (BLK) Aladdin investment management platform as the crypto protocol is deepening its relationship with traditional finance firms.  The Monday announcement sent Ethenas governance token $ENA ($ENA) up about 8% on the day as investors welcomed another high-profile institutional partnership.  Aladdin is BlackRocks portfolio construction, trading and risk management platform used by banks, insurers, pension funds and asset managers overseeing more than $20 trillion in combined assets. The integration will give institutions using Aladdin access to $USDe, Ethenas yield token designed for onchain savings and settlement.  Ethena also said BlackRocks tokenized money market fund, BUIDL, will serve as the primary reserve asset for a forthcoming white-label product. The companies also plan to establish a liquidity facility for BlackRocks tokenized products.  The announcement is the latest in a series of partnerships between global asset managers and decentralized finance protocols.  Earlier this year, BlackRock expanded its tokenized money market fund through a partnership with Uniswap and also invested an undisclosed amount in the decentralized exchanges UNI token. Private markets giant Apollo Global Management (APO) struck a deal with lending protocol Morpho to bring tokenized private credit assets onchain.  Ethena has been increasingly focused on expanding to institutions

06-29

Kalshi and Polymarket could become M&A targets as prediction markets consolidate: Bernstein

The rapid consolidation of the prediction market technology stack is raising the odds of a new wave of mergers and acquisitions across sports betting and financial markets, according to Wall Street broker Bernstein.  Over the past eight months, every major consumer-facing prediction platform has moved to own both customer distribution and exchange infrastructure, the report said.  “Kalshi and Polymarket own the stack but trail on distribution, which leaves each as plausibly a target as an acquirer,” analysts led by Ian Moore said in the Monday report.  The analysts noted that DraftKings acquired Railbird to launch its DKeX exchange, Robinhood partnered with Susquehanna to build Rothera, Coinbase acquired The Clearing Company shortly after launching event contracts, and Flutter established a dual-FCM structure to preserve access to multiple exchanges.  The trend reflects Bernsteins view that prediction markets are converging with sports betting and consumer finance into a single competitive landscape, opening the door to combinations that previously seemed unlikely, including sportsbooks buying exchanges, exchanges buying sportsbooks, and consolidation among sportsbook operators themselves.  Prediction markets have surged into the financial mainstream over the past two years, fueled by the success of election betting, the expansion of sports event contracts and growing adoption by major retail trading platforms. Companies

06-29
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