Block, the financial services company led by Jack Dorsey, says it has launched “Builderbot,” an AI-native set of engineering tools designed to handle a meaningful portion of production software changes. The company claims the system can carry out roughly 15% of all production code changes at Block, positioning the rollout as a step beyond traditional AI coding assistants.

In describing Builderbot, Block frames the development as a practical shift: AI systems are moving from suggesting code to coordinating work that can be merged and shipped, while engineers retain responsibility for higher-level judgment and product decisions. Block also linked the announcement to its broader AI push that coincided with a major workforce reduction earlier this year.

Key takeaways

• Block says Builderbot can execute around 15% of its production code changes, turning AI from “assistive” into “operational” in day-to-day engineering.
• The company estimates Builderbot performs over 200,000 operations per day and merges about 1,500 pull requests per week.
• Builderbot is presented as an orchestration layer that coordinates multiple AI agents across Block’s full codebase rather than a single repository.
• Block attributes faster delivery—moving items from backlog to live—on the order of days rather than months, with humans still focused on key decisions.
• The rollout adds new context to Block’s February decision to cut about 40% of staff, which Dorsey said was driven by accelerating AI adoption.

Builderbot aims to bridge AI coding and real engineering

Block introduced Builderbot as a “missing layer” between AI coding tools and how software teams actually operate at scale, according to Brad Axen, head of AI capabilities at the company. Block’s internal metrics, as presented in its announcement, suggest the system is not limited to drafting snippets or generating isolated changes.

Axen said that tasks that previously took months could be completed in days with Builderbot, reflecting an emphasis on throughput and execution speed rather than experimentation alone. The company also claims Builderbot can perform more than 200,000 operations per day and merges approximately 1,500 pull requests per week, figures intended to show tangible productivity impact.

For investors and builders watching AI deployment, the key question is whether these systems can reliably translate intent into production-ready code—without overwhelming reviewers or compromising quality. Block’s decision to describe measurable operational metrics suggests it is aiming to make the case that AI-generated work can fit existing engineering workflows, including review and merging processes.

An orchestration approach across Block’s entire codebase

A central feature of the system, Block says, is that Builderbot understands the broader environment in which software runs. The company describes Builderbot as an orchestration layer that coordinates multiple AI agents across its full codebase—covering services, APIs, and internal conventions—rather than restricting agents to a single repository.

Block contrasts this with the typical approach of coding assistants that operate within one codebase boundary. In its example, an engineer working on Cash App could use Builderbot to make changes in a Square service they have never worked on, because the system allegedly already knows how that service is built and how it fits into Block’s overall architecture.

This matters because production scaling isn’t only about generating more code; it is about making changes that are consistent with system rules, dependencies, and deployment practices. If Builderbot genuinely has awareness of cross-service relationships, it could reduce the “handoff friction” that often slows teams down when changes span multiple systems.

Block adds that the practical outcome is faster iteration: an idea can move from backlog to being available to “millions of customers” in days instead of months, while engineers focus on judgment and product taste rather than repetitive scaffolding.

AI acceleration and workforce restructuring context

Block’s announcement does not arrive in isolation. The company also connected Builderbot to its earlier restructuring, noting that its February layoffs—40% of staff—were attributed by Jack Dorsey to the rapid acceleration of AI at Block.

That linkage highlights a tension that many companies in this space are grappling with: faster engineering cycles can reduce certain forms of manual work, even as firms argue that human roles shift toward oversight, product direction, and quality decisions. Block’s description of engineers remaining responsible for judgment and taste suggests it is positioning Builderbot as augmentation rather than a complete replacement.

Still, the practical question for employees and outside observers remains how responsibilities are redistributed. Metrics like merged pull requests and daily operations can indicate scale, but they don’t alone reveal how the human workload changes—whether review becomes faster, whether engineers spend more time on higher-level design, or whether roles are reduced in practice.

The broader shift toward AI-written code at major tech firms

Block is not the only company exploring AI agents for software development. Other large organizations have publicly discussed how automation is affecting coding and engineering output.

Earlier reporting highlighted that Spotify engineers have used a background coding agent called Honk, which runs a version of a Claude model through Anthropic’s Agent SDK. Separately, Spotify Co-CEO Gustav Söderström said on a February earnings call that the best developers “have not written a single line of code since December,” underscoring how far the conversation has shifted from assistance to execution.

At Google, CEO Sundar Pichai said in April that three-quarters of new code is AI-generated, pointing to a scale where AI output is shaping day-to-day development. Microsoft’s Satya Nadella also described, in 2025, that the company uses AI to write between 20% and 30% of code powering its software, again positioning AI as a meaningful part of the production process rather than a side tool.

Taken together, these examples place Block’s Builderbot announcement in a larger trend: CEOs and engineering leaders are increasingly measuring AI productivity in terms of code volume and delivery timelines. For the crypto industry, this matters indirectly—many crypto projects rely on fast-moving engineering teams, and the same automation patterns could influence how quickly core infrastructure is iterated, audited, and updated.

For readers tracking this space, the next signals to watch are whether systems like Builderbot can maintain reliability as they scale, how quality controls evolve with higher AI throughput, and whether other companies follow Block’s lead in publishing comparable operational metrics rather than only high-level claims.

Ready, a self-custodial crypto wallet and payments company, has reportedly restricted card access for users outside the European Economic Area, according to multiple user reports.

Ready has restricted USDC card functionality for users outside the European Economic Area following a change in its card provider, according to notices shared by users on social media.

Several users shared screenshots of an in-app notice from Ready stating: “Your Ready Card will be deactivated within the next hour,” citing changes affecting users “primarily outside the EEA.”

The reported changes left some users questioning how quickly access to crypto-linked payment cards can be restricted when providers change.

Users question speed of restriction and communication

Several users criticized the short notice period before the changes took effect, saying they lost access to the card within hours.

One user, who uses the X handle TapSatoshi, said in a post that they were frustrated with the company’s product roadmap, citing delayed features such as Apple Pay support and prioritizing the addition of a “Rewards” section.

Source: ngjupeng

Screenshots of Ready’s message also stated that users would receive automatic refunds for any remaining subscription period within 10 business days.

It remains unclear which company will serve as the new card provider for the Ready Card or what prompted the change. The previous issuer-side partner linked to the program was Kulipa, according to publicly available documentation.

Related: BitGo courts crypto firms awaiting MiCA approval amid Binance licensing concerns

Cointelegraph contacted Ready for comment regarding the issue but did not receive a response by publication time.

USDC at the center of the Ready Card

Formerly known as Argent, Ready is a wallet built for the Starknet ecosystem, an Ethereum layer-2 scaling network using zero-knowledge rollups.

While Ready’s wallet supports multiple crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), the Ready Card is primarily built around USDC, which users spend directly from their wallet balance at checkout.

Source: Ready

According to Ready documentation, the system checks a user’s USDC balance in real time when a purchase is made and processes the transaction through Mastercard’s payment network, converting crypto into fiat at the point of sale. The card issuer acts as the bridge between the self-custodial wallet and traditional payment rails.

This structure allows users to retain full control of their assets in the wallet, while the card only provides a spending layer on top of those funds. If card access is restricted, users can still hold and transfer USDC onchain without interruption.

Magazine: The end of anon? AI could unmask crypto’s hidden identities

The British pound remains under pressure following weaker-than-expected inflation data, which has reinforced expectations of further monetary easing by the Bank of England. Investors are staying cautious ahead of today’s policy meetings of both the UK central bank and the Swiss National Bank, which is affecting both GBP/USD and GBP/CHF.

The latest data published yesterday showed a slowdown in inflationary pressures in the UK. The annual consumer price index remained at 2.8%, while monthly price growth came in at just 0.2% compared with expectations of 0.4%. Core inflation also came in below forecasts, easing to 2.6% versus expectations of 2.7%. Additional signs of cooling price pressures came from a slowdown in the retail price index and weaker dynamics across several producer price indicators.

The easing of inflation pressures has increased expectations that the Bank of England could continue its gradual policy easing in the coming months. Although no change in interest rates is widely expected today, markets will focus on the accompanying statement, the voting split within the Monetary Policy Committee, and guidance on future policy steps.

GBP/USD

Yesterday, following Jerome Powell’s press conference, the pair fell sharply, renewing its recent low at 1.3300. If the 1.3300–1.3330 range, which has contained the pair’s decline for more than a month, turns into resistance, further downside towards 1.3180–1.3200 may follow. A break of the bearish scenario would require a sustained move above 1.3330.

Key events for GBP/USD:

• today at 09:00 (GMT+3): UK unemployment rate;
• today at 09:00 (GMT+3): UK average earnings (including bonuses);
• today at 15:30 (GMT+3): US Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index.

GBP/CHF

The GBP/CHF pair is showing a relatively modest decline. Price has found support at 1.0600 and is consolidating within the 1.0600–1.0650 range. A breakout from this range would provide clearer direction for the next move. A sustained move above 1.0650 could trigger a retest of the recent high at 1.0700, while a break below the lower boundary could lead to a deeper corrective decline.

Key events for GBP/CHF:

• today at 10:30 (GMT+3): Swiss National Bank interest rate decision;
• today at 11:30 (GMT+3): Swiss National Bank press conference;
• today at 14:00 (GMT+3): Bank of England interest rate decision.

Thus, the key drivers for GBP/USD and GBP/CHF today will be the Bank of England and Swiss National Bank decisions. Following weaker-than-expected inflation data, the market will be looking for confirmation of the UK central bank’s policy stance, while any shifts in expectations for future monetary policy could significantly influence GBP price action in the coming days.

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Key Highlights

• Starting June 17, Aster will allocate 99% of all platform fees toward purchasing ASTER tokens from the open market.
• Every token buyback triggers an equivalent burn from reserve supplies, generating a dual 198% deflationary mechanism.
• The initiative aims to reduce ASTER’s total supply from 8 billion down to 3 billion tokens through systematic burns.
• Tokens acquired through buybacks flow directly to veASTER stakers through the platform’s Loyalty Rewards system.
• ASTER pierced the $0.65 resistance barrier and is now testing the $0.81 threshold.

On June 17, 2026, Aster unveiled a transformative tokenomics restructuring that propelled its native ASTER token upward by more than 20% within 24 hours.

The mechanism behind this surge is clear-cut: virtually all daily platform revenue—99% to be exact—will now fuel direct ASTER token purchases from secondary markets.

These buyback operations run automatically through a time-weighted average pricing mechanism, with all transactions recorded on-chain for full transparency. The protocol has made public the dedicated wallet address (0xa0edBaBcb48034e368de286b49F9603C7AfA1b60) to enable community verification of all purchases.

In a unique twist, each ASTER token repurchased from the market triggers the permanent destruction of an equivalent token amount from the project’s reserve wallet, beginning with team-allocated holdings.

This dual-action approach creates what the protocol terms a “198% combined deflationary pressure,” simultaneously reducing circulating supply through market removal and total supply through permanent burns.

Aggressive Supply Contraction Plan

Token burns occur every two weeks and will persist until the maximum supply contracts from its current 8 billion to a final target of 3 billion ASTER.

As of the June 17 implementation date, the total supply registered at roughly 7.82 billion tokens, while circulating supply hovered between 2.68 and 2.70 billion.

Every ASTER token acquired via buybacks enters the Loyalty Rewards distribution pool. Each reward cycle features a baseline allocation of 300,000 ASTER tokens, supplemented by all tokens purchased during that period’s buyback operations, then distributed proportionally to veASTER holders according to their lock-up weights.

Additional buying pressure stems from Aster Spot’s listing mechanism. Each permissionless token listing carries a 50,000 USDT listing fee, with 100% of these proceeds channeled into the same buyback infrastructure.

Market Reaction and Technical Analysis

ASTER peaked near $0.80 immediately following the announcement before encountering profit-taking activity. At last check, the token traded around $0.74, representing a roughly 13% daily gain.

Examining the daily timeframe, ASTER successfully breached the $0.65 price level that had served as a ceiling since April.

The Relative Strength Index climbed beyond 65, while the MACD indicator generated a bullish signal with expanding green histogram bars.

The critical resistance zone now lies at $0.81, a level that has previously rejected multiple advance attempts. A decisive break above this barrier would push ASTER into price ranges unseen since the final months of 2025.

Should the price retrace, the former resistance at $0.65 is expected to provide support.

This enhanced program represents a significant evolution from earlier iterations that directed between 70–80% of platform fees toward buybacks, now capturing nearly total revenue for token economics optimization.

Fidelity Investments has launched a money market fund aimed at stablecoin issuers and institutional investors seeking to meet reserve requirements under the GENIUS Act.

Fidelity said on Thursday that the new Fidelity Reserves Digital Fund will invest in cash, short-term U.S. Treasury securities, overnight repurchase agreements backed by Treasuries, and government money market funds that qualify under the federal stablecoin framework.

The launch places Fidelity among a growing group of traditional financial firms offering products tailored to stablecoin reserve management. State Street introduced a similar product this week through its State Street Stablecoin Reserves Money Market Fund, which was also designed for issuers operating under the GENIUS Act.

Robin Foley, Fidelity’s head of fixed income, said the firm’s experience in fixed income and money markets positions it to provide a compliant reserve management solution for stablecoin issuers under the new legislation.

Fidelity expands stablecoin strategy

The new fund adds to Fidelity’s stablecoin business, which expanded earlier this year with the introduction of the Fidelity Digital Dollar, or FIDD.

At the time, Fidelity Digital Assets said the U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin would serve both retail and institutional investors and would be supported by Fidelity’s reserve management infrastructure. Mike O’Reilly, president of Fidelity Digital Assets, said the company had spent years researching stablecoins and viewed regulatory clarity as an important step for adoption.

The GENIUS Act established the first federal framework for payment stablecoins in the United States. Among its requirements, issuers must maintain reserves in cash, short-dated Treasury securities, and certain government money market funds.

Fidelity said the Fidelity Reserves Digital Fund will hold Treasury bills, notes, and bonds with maturities of 93 days or less. The portfolio will also include cash balances and overnight repurchase agreements secured by Treasury securities.

Asset managers target stablecoin reserves market

Asset managers have begun introducing products that align with the reserve standards established under the new law.

State Street said this week that its reserve fund was created to help issuers satisfy GENIUS Act requirements. State Street Bank and Trust Company and Anchorage Digital joined the launch as initial backers.

State Street Chief Executive Officer Yie-Hsin Hung said the legislation established a framework for how stablecoin reserves can be invested. Anchorage Digital Chief Executive Officer Nathan McCauley said reserve management would become increasingly important as stablecoin usage expands.

Industry projections cited by State Street estimate that global stablecoin issuance could reach between $1.9 trillion and $4 trillion by 2030. If those forecasts materialize, issuers would need to place a substantially larger volume of reserve assets into highly liquid investments permitted under the law.

Stablecoins, which are typically pegged to the U.S. dollar, currently account for roughly $320 billion in market value and are widely used for trading, payments, and cross-border transfers.

Altcoin markets (excluding Ether (ETH)) recently saw $266 billion in net selling volume on centralized exchanges, the deepest reading since the metric began tracking spot demand in 2020.

Altcoins accounted for 51% of Binance futures trading volume on June 16, compared with 28.85% for Bitcoin and 20.20% for Ether, positioning the exchange as a leader in derivatives activity in 2026.

The divergence between record selling and dominant trading activity points to capital rotating within crypto and also into alternative exchange products.

Altcoin trading stays active despite outflows

Crypto analyst IT Tech noted that the one-year cumulative buy-sell difference for altcoins, excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), dropped to -$266 billion on June 16.

One-year cumulative buy-sell volume for altcoins. Source: CryptoQuant 

The current readings show that selling pressure has outweighed buying demand for an extended period, pushing the cumulative balance to a new low.

However, altcoin trading activity tells a different story. Data shows altcoins accounted for 51% of daily futures trading volume on June 16, compared with 28.85% for Bitcoin and 20.20% for Ether. Altcoins have led exchange trading volumes for most of 2025, aside from a brief period in February when Bitcoin overtook the sector.

Volume dominance between BTC, ETH, and altcoins. Source: CryptoQuant

The combination of elevated futures trading activity and deeply negative spot demand points to capital recycling within the altcoin market rather than fresh spot inflows. This shows investors continuing to trade altcoins, although aggregate spot purchases have not kept pace with the selling volume.

Related: BitGo courts crypto firms awaiting MiCA approval amid Binance licensing concerns

Crypto liquidity shifts beyond altcoins

Market analyst MorenoDV indicated that exchange stablecoin balances have changed little since December 2024. The exchange supply ratio for ERC-20 stablecoins has fluctuated between 0.40 and 0.46, meaning roughly 40% to 46% of circulating stablecoins have stayed on exchanges for more than a year.

Stablecoins (ERC20) exchange supply ratios. Source: CryptoQuant

During the same period, Bitcoin experienced price swings exceeding 50%, trading between $60,000 and $120,000. Binance held between 25% and 30% of the total stablecoin supply, accounting for more than half of exchange-held reserves. This indicates liquidity has stayed available, but capital deployment has become increasingly selective.

Part of the capital appears to be targeting traditional asset products offered by crypto exchanges. According to CryptoQuant, metals futures volume peaked at nearly $500 billion in March 2026, as gold and silver prices reached record highs. The trading activity in pre-IPO perpetual products expanded to $715 million in May and $2 billion in June, up from just $2 million in March.

Binance processed $10.3 billion in pre-IPO perpetual volume in June, roughly 20 times higher than the entire month of May, while controlling about 83% of the segment. Growth in metals, oil, equities, and pre-IPO contracts highlights how exchange users are increasingly allocating liquidity across a wider range of assets, with Binance continuing to hold the largest concentration of deployable stablecoin capital.

Related: Hyperliquid open interest surges 32% in week: Is $80 HYPE next?

Michelle Bond, the wife of former FTX executive Ryan Salame, will move forward to trial on illicit campaign finance-related charges after a Manhattan federal judge rejected an attempt to throw out the indictment. The decision, issued by U.S. District Judge George Daniels on Wednesday, hinged on whether prosecutors promised Bond immunity in exchange for Salame’s guilty plea.

Daniels denied Bond’s motion to dismiss, concluding there was “no ambiguity” in the written plea agreement and that prosecutors never promised Bond would be cleared. The ruling is expected to be among the final steps in the cluster of criminal cases stemming from FTX’s collapse in 2022, one of the most consequential events in the history of the crypto industry.

Key takeaways

• Judge George Daniels ruled that the plea agreement did not grant Michelle Bond immunity and that prosecutors made no binding promise to avoid her prosecution.
• The court found the government’s position was “undisput[ably]” supported by evidence that immunity was not offered when Ryan Salame pleaded guilty.
• Bond’s indictment centers on allegations that she used FTX-linked funds to bankroll her 2022 congressional campaign.
• Bond faces four separate campaign-finance counts, each carrying up to five years in prison.

No immunity in the plea paperwork

Bond asked the court to dismiss the indictment by arguing that prosecutors made assurances during a 2023 meeting. According to Bond, then–Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon told her and Salame’s attorney that if Salame pleaded guilty, prosecutors would “conclude” investigative matters related to Ryan Salame but not those related to Bond.

In his decision, Daniels rejected that argument by emphasizing the “four corners” of the plea agreement—meaning the terms that were actually set in writing. The judge wrote that there was “no ambiguity” in the agreement and found that “all parties, including the defendants and their counsel” understood that the government had not promised Bond immunity when Salame entered his guilty plea.

Daniels also pointed to testimony from Bond’s former lawyer, Gina Parlovecchio, indicating that she did not view Sassoon’s statement as a promise at the time it was made. The judge concluded the evidence showed the government did not bargain for Bond’s non-prosecution in return for Salame’s plea.

How FTX money allegedly flowed into a 2022 campaign

Prosecutors’ allegations trace the case to Bond’s failed attempt to win a House seat in 2022. In an earlier filing made by the government and reported in August 2024, prosecutors said that after Bond launched her congressional run, Salame arranged a consulting arrangement between Bond and FTX, under which Bond was paid $400,000.

According to the government, Bond then used those funds to illegally support her campaign, along with additional money—prosecutors allege Salame wired her hundreds of thousands of dollars between June and August 2022. Prosecutors further claimed Bond tried to obscure the source of payments and made false statements to both a congressional committee and the Federal Election Commission.

Bond’s defense has argued that the government’s earlier assurances about the scope of prosecution should matter. But Daniels’ ruling makes clear that, at least under current findings, the court does not accept that any side discussions overrode the written plea terms.

Where the case fits in the broader FTX fallout

FTX’s collapse in 2022 sent shockwaves through crypto markets and triggered a long-running set of criminal investigations and prosecutions. The Salame-related matter has already reached a sentencing milestone: Salame, who served as co-CEO of FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in May 2024.

That sentence followed a guilty plea by Salame to conspiring to make illegal political contributions and to operating an illegal money transmitter. Bond’s case is closely connected to those same allegations, but it targets her alleged role in financing and concealing campaign support tied to FTX.

The judge’s ruling is therefore significant not just for Bond, but for the pace of closing out FTX-linked prosecutions. If upheld through further proceedings, it would keep the focus on Bond’s indictment and move the case closer to trial.

Charges and potential exposure

Bond is facing four criminal counts connected to campaign finance and donation-related conduct. The charges listed in the indictment include conspiracy to cause unlawful political contributions; causing and receiving a straw donor contribution; causing and accepting excessive campaign contributions; and an unlawful corporate contribution.

Each of the four counts carries a statutory maximum sentence of up to five years in prison. The case turns largely on whether the alleged payments and related campaign activity violated U.S. campaign finance laws, and whether Bond’s attempts to conceal the funding sources or make related statements crossed criminal lines.

With Judge Daniels denying the motion to dismiss, Bond will now have to litigate the merits of the government’s allegations rather than seeking relief based on alleged immunity promises tied to Salame’s plea.

For observers watching the final chapters of the FTX criminal saga, the key next development is how Bond responds at trial or in any subsequent motion practice—particularly given the judge’s emphasis on the written plea agreement and what communications were or were not treated as binding promises.

Crypto platform Blockchain.com has added 173 tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds through a partnership with Ondo Finance, bringing its catalog of tokenized traditional assets to more than 430 offerings across Ethereum, Solana and BNB Chain.

According to an announcement on Wednesday, the new listings include tokenized exposure to private company shares, active exchange-traded funds, Treasury products and covered-call strategies, with Blockchain.com highlighting SpaceX’s SPCX token among the additions.

The expansion also adds themed baskets tied to AI infrastructure, energy, robotics, autonomous vehicles and quantum computing, alongside income-focused products from Global X and other issuers.

A recent proposal by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to scrap two rules in its national market system regulations has been described by Galaxy head of research Alex Thorn as “one of the biggest unlocks yet for tokenized stocks” as it would remove “one of the biggest structural barriers to tokenized US equities trading in DeFi.”

Blockchain.com said the assets are available immediately through Ondo’s routing and liquidity infrastructure, which supports trading across all 173 new listings at launch.

Ondo is one of the largest tokenization platforms by asset value, with roughly $3.8 billion in distributed assets across 267 tokenized products, according to RWA.xyz data.

Source: RWA.xyz

The launch comes a week after Blockchain.com introduced a SpaceX-linked perpetual contract for institutional clients, expanding its push into tokenized and traditional financial markets.

Related: Tokenization could push DeFi assets to $2.7T by 2030: Standard Chartered

Onchain stocks building momentum

The tokenized equities market has grown rapidly this year. RWA.xyz data shows tokenized equities hold roughly $1.57 billion in distributed value, up nearly fivefold from about $330 million a year ago.

The market includes tokenized shares of public companies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and private firms. Among the largest tokenized equity assets by value are Strategy, Circle, Nvidia and Exodus shares.

Source: RWA.xyz

Competition has been intensifing as crypto exchanges and wallet providers race to offer onchain access to traditional financial assets. Earlier this month, Exodus launched a marketplace for more than 200 tokenized stocks, ETFs and other real-world assets through a separate partnership with Ondo Finance.

Several crypto platforms also introduced products tied to SpaceX’s IPO, ranging from tokenized IPO access and pre-IPO contracts to perpetual futures linked to the company’s shares. Binance said its SpaceX tokenized IPO offering attracted more than $557 million in USDC deposits from users seeking exposure to the listing.

However, the SpaceX IPO also highlighted some of the sector’s challenges. Several exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, Bitget Wallet and MEXC, were forced to cancel tokenized SpaceX offerings and issue refunds after failing to secure share allocations. Many of those products relied on Kraken-owned xStocks for distribution and settlement infrastructure.

The IPO was reportedly nearly four times oversubscribed, attracting more than $250 billion in investor demand for a $75 billion offering, according to Reuters.

Magazine: Bitcoin, the ‘canary in the coal mine,’ XRP transaction demand falls 91.5%: Market Moves

A Florida man known in crypto circles as “Bitcoin Rodney” has pleaded guilty to participating in a large fraudulent crypto scheme tied to HyperFund, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Rodney Burton entered the plea in federal court in connection with an alleged conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business used to promote the platform.

Prosecutors said Burton helped provide unlicensed money-transmitting services to advance HyperFund, described as a global wire-fraud operation that affected thousands of investors. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland said the guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes, along with agents from the Washington Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation unit and Homeland Security Investigations, New York.

Key takeaways

• Rodney “Bitcoin Rodney” Burton pleaded guilty to conspiracy involving an unlicensed money-transmitting business connected to HyperFund.
• Prosecutors allege HyperFund promised investors daily returns while purportedly lacking the mining revenue used to justify payouts.
• Burton is accused of promoting the scheme using investor funds to enrich himself between June 2020 and January 2022.
• HyperFund’s collapse in November 2022 followed multiple rebrands, including a DeFi ecosystem relaunch as HyperFund.
• Burton faces up to five years in federal prison; sentencing is scheduled for July 23.

Guilty plea tied to unlicensed money transmission

In the government’s account, Burton conspired to provide money-transmitting services without the required authorization, which prosecutors framed as a mechanism used to facilitate HyperFund’s broader fraud. The statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland emphasizes that Burton’s role was not limited to marketing—federal prosecutors describe his conduct as part of the infrastructure used to support the operation.

According to the DOJ announcement, Burton promoted HyperFund and used investor funds during the period from June 2020 to January 2022. Prosecutors also stated that Burton controlled multiple companies that were represented as consulting-related entities, and that he personally received at least $7.8 million in proceeds from the scheme.

The case adds another layer to the government’s ongoing focus on fraud networks that use financial rails—especially those operating without appropriate licensing or oversight. While crypto fraud prosecutions often center on misrepresentations to investors, this matter also targets how money moved through the scheme.

HyperFund’s claimed returns and alleged fake mining revenue

Prosecutors said HyperFund falsely promised investors daily passive returns ranging from 0.5% to 1%. Federal authorities alleged that the platform claimed those payouts came from cryptocurrency-mining revenue, even though prosecutors said the underlying revenue source did not exist as represented.

That mismatch—high-frequency returns supported by alleged income that investors could not verify—has been a common feature of many crypto investment scams. In this case, the government’s filing ties those promises to a broader wire-fraud scheme, with Burton’s activities presented as assisting the operation.

The DOJ described HyperFund as one of the largest crypto fraud schemes, indicating that it impacted thousands of investors. Earlier coverage by Cointelegraph has also grouped similar large collapses into the “Ponzi-style” category, including OneCoin (reported to have taken over $4 billion) and BitConnect (estimated to have caused more than $2 billion in investor losses), though those comparisons are drawn from the wider historical pattern of fraud.

How HyperFund evolved—and why the timeline matters

HyperFund did not appear in the market as a single static product. Prosecutors said HyperCapital launched in January 2022 as a DeFi ecosystem and was later relaunched six months afterward as HyperFund. After additional rebrands, federal authorities said the scheme collapsed in November 2022.

For investors and compliance professionals, rebranding can matter because it can signal an attempt to reset reputational risk, change marketing language, or adjust the narrative as scrutiny increases. In HyperFund’s case, the government’s timeline suggests the operation continued through multiple iterations until it ultimately unraveled.

Earlier in the case, federal prosecutors in Maryland announced charges in January 2024 against two other individuals connected to the alleged scheme. The DOJ announcement said the defendants were Sam Lee, an alleged co-founder, and Brenda Chunga.

Other defendants and sentencing outlook

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, Lee, a 35-year-old Australian, and Chunga of Maryland were charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud. Prosecutors said Chunga’s sentencing has been delayed multiple times and is currently scheduled for June 29. Lee, according to the DOJ statement, had not been found guilty at the time of the announcement.

Burton, meanwhile, faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. The government states sentencing is scheduled for July 23, following Burton’s guilty plea.

For readers watching crypto enforcement, the case underscores that authorities are pursuing not only the “front-facing” marketing of fraudulent platforms but also the financial and corporate mechanisms they used to operate. As proceedings continue against other alleged participants, the details of how funds were moved—and how the promised returns were financed—may further clarify the alleged mechanics of HyperFund.

Next, investigators and prosecutors will likely focus on how the scheme’s money flows worked in practice and whether additional participants or entities remain tied to the operation—points that could become clearer as Burton’s sentencing approaches and related court proceedings move forward.