Crypto World
Trump Teleprompter Operator Earned $100K Betting on Kalshi via Speeches, ABC Reports
Regulators are reportedly in talks with a former White House teleprompter operator as the U.S. probes whether nonpublic information was used to profit from political prediction markets. ABC News reported that Gabriel Perez—who has supported the Trump teleprompter since 2016—has been accused of betting on Kalshi markets tied to words and topics appearing in the president’s speeches.
According to ABC, Kalshi’s surveillance identified activity linked to more than a dozen speech-related contracts over roughly three months, with profits reportedly exceeding $100,000. The report adds a familiar but thorny issue to the growing prediction market sector: when real-time access and politically sensitive timing can create opportunities for alleged “insider” advantages.
Key takeaways
- ABC News says Gabriel Perez, the teleprompter operator since 2016, allegedly profited from Kalshi “Mentions” markets tied to Trump speeches.
- Kalshi reportedly detected the trades and referred them to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, linking activity to more than a dozen speeches over about three months.
- ABC reports that Perez sometimes exited positions mid-speech when Trump skipped prepared passages containing wagered words.
- The White House placed Perez on unpaid administrative leave after the report, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
- Congressional and regulatory attention has intensified as other prediction-market cases raised concerns about information timing and potential misconduct.
What ABC says happened on Kalshi
ABC News reported that Perez, a technical assistant who operated the president’s teleprompter, placed bets on Kalshi markets tied to phrases and topics expected to appear during Trump’s remarks. The contracts were part of Kalshi’s “Mentions” suite, which lets users trade on whether specific words, phrases, or topics will show up in public speeches.
Per ABC’s sources, the alleged conduct involved bets on more than a dozen markets associated with multiple speeches, including the State of the Union and remarks delivered at the World Economic Forum. The outlet also reported that the activity generated more than $100,000 in profits.
ABC further claims that Perez sometimes exited positions while speeches were underway, particularly when Trump skipped portions of prepared text that included words Perez had allegedly wagered would be mentioned. That detail—timing trades to the content that ultimately appears—could be central to how regulators evaluate whether the trades reflected privileged access or legitimate market behavior.
Kalshi’s surveillance and a CFTC referral
In ABC’s account, Kalshi detected the trades using its surveillance systems and referred the activity to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. For prediction market participants, the practical implication is straightforward: platform monitoring may increasingly focus not only on trading volume or profit patterns, but also on whether trades cluster around sensitive events in ways that could indicate information advantages.
The case also underscores how prediction markets, even when they are built around public speech formats and verifiable outcomes, can intersect with regulatory scrutiny if trading appears coordinated with nonpublic material.
White House response and administrative leave
Following ABC’s report, the White House placed Perez on unpaid administrative leave, according to press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Leavitt said Trump called the alleged conduct a “disgrace.”
While the report describes accusations and an ongoing regulatory engagement, readers should note that administrative leave is not the same as a final finding of wrongdoing. Still, the action signals that the alleged behavior—if confirmed—would represent more than a routine market dispute, given Perez’s role in the teleprompter operation and the claimed linkage to politically sensitive communications.
Why this matters to prediction markets now
This development arrives as prediction markets have faced mounting attention over potential insider trading risks, particularly as activity and visibility grow. Cointelegraph previously reported that Polymarket traders earned roughly $1 million after correctly betting on a U.S. strike against Iran before the end of February, raising questions about whether some traders may have had access to information ahead of public reporting. Bloomberg, citing analytics firm Bubblemaps, was also reported to have identified wallets placing bets only hours before explosions were first reported in Tehran.
Other cases described by Cointelegraph have similarly involved timing concerns. Cointelegraph reported on instances where wallets earned more than $1.2 million by betting on an onchain investigation into DeFi platform Axiom shortly before blockchain investigator ZachXBT published allegations involving an employee. Separately, another trader was reported to have made about $400,000 by wagering on a Venezuelan political event shortly before news became public, with subsequent disappearance reported by Cointelegraph.
Taken together, these examples highlight a recurring asymmetry in prediction markets: while outcomes are ultimately verifiable, the period between a potentially market-moving piece of information and its public release can create incentives to seek advantages. That tension is especially acute for contracts that map closely to political messaging, breaking news, or other time-sensitive developments.
Beyond enforcement, lawmakers have also begun to weigh in. Cointelegraph reported that Republican Representative Bryan Steil, who chairs the House subcommittee on digital assets, introduced legislation intended to bar members of Congress and their immediate families from trading prediction market contracts tied to public policy and political outcomes.
Kalshi’s referral to the CFTC and the reported involvement of a White House insider adds another dimension to the debate: even without legislative restrictions, platforms and regulators may increasingly treat “who had access to what, and when” as central to market integrity.
What to watch next
For market participants, the next signals to monitor are whether the CFTC’s involvement leads to formal charges, and how Kalshi and other prediction platforms refine surveillance and compliance measures for politically related or otherwise sensitive events. The broader question remains whether regulators will draw clear lines between ordinary trading behavior and trading that plausibly depends on nonpublic access—lines that will shape how confident users can be in the fairness of future prediction market outcomes.
A Dutch crypto exchange called Knaken has collapsed. A court declared it bankrupt for running without a license under the EU’s MiCA rules, its new crypto rulebook. In June, customers were suddenly locked out of their accounts. Prosecutors say about $8 million, or €7 million, has vanished.
Notably, Knaken has no relationship with Kraken. Knaken is a Dutch crypto broker based in Rotterdam that has since entered bankruptcy.
Kraken is a separate US-based global cryptocurrency exchange that continues operating. The two companies are entirely independent despite their almost similar names.
Why Knaken shut down
Knaken let people buy, sell, and store crypto. But it never got a license from the Dutch markets regulator, the AFM. The EU’s MiCA rules, formally known as the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, made that license mandatory.
The Netherlands enforced its MiCA licensing deadline early, on June 30, 2025, one of the strictest in the bloc. Knaken never complied, and it went offline in June 2026.
Dutch prosecutors asked a court to declare the company bankrupt on June 30. They said payouts had stopped and customers were at risk. Prosecutors put Knaken’s customer base at about 30,000 people. Dutch regulators had already fined OKX over MiCA breaches in 2025.
Knaken said it did not need to go bankrupt. It argued that customer money was already safe. The court disagreed. It named an independent trustee to take control and recover what it can.
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The Missing Money Tests the MiCA Rules
Dutch law gives crypto no automatic protection if a platform fails, the AFM says. So firms use a separate legal entity, usually a foundation, to hold client coins apart. Knaken set one up, called Stichting Knaken Payments. But that shield only works if the money is actually there.
Under MiCA, a licensed firm must keep client coins separate and safe. Done right, that money stays out of reach of the company’s creditors. The same problem hit the recent AscendEX exchange collapse.
Dutch financial crime investigators, the FIOD, raided Knaken on June 29 and seized computers and company assets. No one has been arrested. The criminal case is separate from the bankruptcy.
Customers also have little safety net. Dutch compensation schemes do not cover crypto, unlike bank deposits. So recovery depends on what the trustee can trace.
Payouts could take months, and nothing is guaranteed. For many, it renews an old warning about holding your own crypto.
The post MiCA Rules Trigger Dutch Crypto Exchange Collapse appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Stablecoins are increasingly moving from “cross-border convenience” to everyday financial infrastructure in parts of the developing world. In Bolivia, a new proposal would allow Tether’s USDt (USDT) to be used more broadly in payments and savings—an approach that reflects widening pressure on the local economy and the availability of dollars.
Meanwhile, the Bitcoin mining industry’s pivot toward AI and data-center infrastructure is drawing new scrutiny from investors, especially as insiders sell shares and governance questions rise. And in separate developments, CleanSpark highlighted the potential scale of long-term data-center revenue, while Bitmine reported strong results tied to Ethereum staking.
Key takeaways
- Bolivia is considering a regulatory framework that would recognize USDT as a payment currency amid a prolonged shortage of U.S. dollars.
- Bolivia is still on the Financial Action Task Force’s gray list, meaning any stablecoin rollout would need anti-money laundering controls.
- Investor focus is shifting for AI-focused Bitcoin miners, with recent disclosures of insider stock sales under Rule 10b5-1 plans.
- CleanSpark’s 20-year Georgia data-center lease could generate up to $6.6 billion in contracted revenue, with potential extensions taking the value higher.
- Bitmine reported $45.7 million in revenue from Ethereum staking and validation in the most recent quarter, with most income coming from staking.
Bolivia looks to formalize USDT payments as dollar scarcity deepens
Bolivia is weighing a regulatory path that would recognize Tether’s USDT as a payment currency, according to earlier reporting from Cointelegraph. The proposal, discussed by Economy and Public Finance Minister Jose Gabriel Espinoza, would allow USDT to circulate alongside the boliviano and the U.S. dollar for payments and savings.
Espinoza said the framework remains under review and would include anti-money laundering safeguards. The country still sits on the Financial Action Task Force’s gray list, which raises the compliance bar for any integration of stablecoins into regulated financial activity.
The policy debate comes after major currency stress earlier this year. Bolivia faced a sustained shortage of U.S. dollars following pressure on foreign exchange reserves, leading the government to abandon its long-standing currency peg. With a wider gap between the official and parallel exchange rates, demand for dollar-denominated alternatives has increased—boosting the role of stablecoins such as USDT for everyday transactions.
Bolivia’s latest move also follows two contextual shifts referenced by Cointelegraph: the lifting of the country’s crypto ban in 2024 and the new administration’s stated intent to expand access to digital asset services.
For investors and users, the practical question is not whether stablecoins are “faster,” but whether they can reliably substitute for dollars under local restrictions. A regulated USDT channel would potentially reduce friction for payments and savings while making compliance expectations clearer for financial providers that interact with the token.
AI pivots at Bitcoin miners face a new governance test
As some Bitcoin miners reorient toward AI infrastructure and high-performance computing, a separate theme is emerging: investors are increasingly paying attention to what insiders are doing while those strategies are being rolled out.
According to Blocksbridge Consulting, executives at TeraWulf, Cipher Digital, Riot Platforms, and Core Scientific have disclosed stock sales in recent months. Many of those sales were conducted under prearranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. Blocksbridge also pointed out that strategic investors have trimmed their holdings—including Tether, which reduced its stake in Bitdeer after Bitdeer’s AI-driven rally.
The backdrop is a softening of AI infrastructure optimism. Blocksbridge cited the TEM AI Infrastructure Growth Index, stating it fell 16% over the past month. The firm said the market is beginning to look beyond the AI growth narrative and toward whether the miners’ pivots translate into sustainable value for public shareholders.
This is a critical distinction for the sector. Miners may be building long-dated infrastructure bets, but if governance signals—such as insider selling—suggest executives are less confident in near-to-medium term returns, shareholders may demand stronger evidence before capital follows the thesis.
CleanSpark’s long-term data-center lease underscores miners’ infrastructure bet
CleanSpark drew strong market attention after announcing a 20-year data center lease in Georgia. Cointelegraph reported the shares rallied by as much as 22% on the news, reflecting how the market is evaluating the potential scale of contracted revenue as miners deepen their participation in AI-related computing.
The agreement covers a 175-megawatt data center at CleanSpark’s Sandersville, Georgia, campus and is tied to an undisclosed investment-grade global technology company. The tenant will install its computing equipment on-site, with phased deliveries expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027.
Under the announced terms, Cointelegraph reported that the contract could generate up to $6.6 billion in contracted revenue. If the customer exercises two five-year extension options, the contract’s total value could reach $11.6 billion.
The lease also fits a broader industry pattern highlighted in the coverage: miners have been searching for additional revenue streams as post-halving mining economics remain under pressure. While many publicly traded miners have reduced their Bitcoin holdings to strengthen liquidity, CleanSpark has largely remained a net accumulator, although it sold some BTC earlier in the year to fund operations.
For readers tracking this trend, the key variable to watch is how quickly these long-lead infrastructure commitments convert into realized cash flows, particularly once the phased deliveries begin. Contract size can be eye-catching; timing, utilization, and the cost of capital will ultimately determine whether these deals improve balance sheets or merely shift risk further out.
Bitmine posts $45.7 million in Ethereum staking revenue, powered by validator operations
In a different corner of the market, Bitmine Immersion Technologies reported revenue generated from Ethereum staking and validation. Cointelegraph reported that Bitmine earned $45.7 million in revenue in the most recent quarter, despite ongoing pressure on ETH prices.
According to the company’s results, Ethereum staking accounted for 98% of its revenue for the three months ended May 31. Other income streams included about $624,000 from self-mining Bitcoin and approximately $168,000 from consulting services.
Bitmine’s staking activity comes after the March launch of MAVAN, its institutional Ethereum staking platform. Cointelegraph noted that MAVAN was built on the acquisition of validator operator Pier Two Holdings. The company said it has staked roughly 85% of its Ether holdings—about 4.9 million ETH.
Chairman Tom Lee said Bitmine now stakes more Ether than any other entity and projected annualized staking rewards of $284 million once its holdings are fully staked through MAVAN and its partners.
For businesses and investors, the relevance is straightforward: staking revenue remains highly sensitive to staking participation, operational execution, and ETH market conditions. Bitmine’s figures suggest meaningful operating momentum, but readers should still focus on how staking yields evolve and whether partners and fully deployed staking capacity sustain growth into future reporting periods.
Looking ahead, stablecoin policy decisions in Bolivia and similar jurisdictions may determine how quickly dollar-like utility spreads beyond payments, while the Bitcoin mining-to-AI transition will likely be judged not just on infrastructure announcements, but on governance behavior and whether contracted deals begin translating into shareholder value. On the staking side, follow-on disclosures around full deployment through platforms like MAVAN will show whether recent revenue strength can hold.
ZachXBT has sparked debate after claiming on his Telegram channel that hardware wallets are “complete garbage” for serious crypto use.
According to him, people who often handle huge amounts are better off using a spare iPhone as a sign-in device.
ZachXBT Details the Daily Struggles of Hardware Wallet Users
The crypto investigator’s Telegram message was blunt:
“Hot take: All hardware wallets are complete garbage and I do not advise using them for important tasks like signing transactions or storing funds,” he wrote.
He went further, arguing that a separate iPhone used only as a wallet could provide a better experience than any hardware on the market right now, while he specifically criticized Ledger.
“Ledger is the worst and Ledger Live has regular updates for UI/apps for no good reason that break simple actions,” claimed ZachXBT.
Back on X, he listed several problems that hardware wallet users could face when making a typical time-sensitive high-value transaction. The issues included dead batteries, obligatory upgrades of the device and software, UI changes, and site bugs that prevent signing multisig transactions.
Soon after, security researchers, wallet developers, and regular crypto users began responding to ZachXBT’s post. Axel Bitblaze agreed with the on-chain detective’s criticism of hardware wallets but questioned whether a phone was really a better replacement for them, since they would still leave the user with “one device and one seed as the single point of failure.”
Instead, he recommended a 2-of-3 Safe multisig setup with separate signer devices. He also advised crypto holders to store their seed phrases offline and to do a test before moving large amounts, while keeping spending wallets separate from long-term holdings.
Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm also chipped in, agreeing with the idea behind ZachXBT’s proposal but arguing that mobile wallets lack one important feature: BIP39 passphrase support.
The developer, who is facing a lengthy prison term after being convicted of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in 2025, pointed out that the extra passphrase layer is the main advantage of hardware wallets and called on software wallet makers to add support for it, which, in his view, would make them more useful for self-custody.
The debate also attracted responses from hardware wallet companies, with one of the largest, Trezor, saying that because a phone runs a full operating system, it has many possible attack points. Meanwhile, a hardware wallet is designed as a dedicated device that keeps private keys away from general computing environments.
Keystone Wallet took a more balanced position. The team acknowledged that ZachXBT was “not wrong” about the potential of an isolated phone but contended that most users are better served by purpose-built units, since the security of a phone depends heavily on strict user discipline.
Ledger’s Stance
As of this writing, Ledger had not responded directly to ZachXBT’s claims. However, it did publish a well-timed post on its X account, where it stated that its core security model is based on keeping private keys away from internet-connected devices.
“A private key that never touches the internet can’t be phished, deepfaked, or prompt-injected out of existence,” it wrote. “That’s the whole bet on hardware.”
Still, such devices are not completely immune to human mistakes. For example, an incident earlier this year saw a victim lose $282 million in BTC and LTC from their offline device through a social engineering scam.
The post ZachXBT’s Hardware Wallet Criticism Ignites Debate Over Crypto Self-Custody appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Ripple Payments Europe has joined 14 other firms in ESMA’s latest MiCA register update, lifting the number of approved crypto asset service providers to 294.
Summary
- ESMA added Ripple Payments Europe and 14 other firms to its MiCA register.
- Ripple can now provide regulated crypto services across 29 EU countries.
- AMLA warned that post-MiCA customer migration could strain compliance systems.
ESMA’s updated register identifies Ripple Payments Europe SA as an authorized crypto asset service provider, allowing the company’s European payments unit to offer regulated crypto services across 29 EU countries.
The authorization follows Ripple’s earlier approval in Luxembourg under the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework. According to Ripple, the Luxembourg license permits its European subsidiary to serve financial institutions and businesses throughout the European Economic Area.
Combined with its existing electronic money institution license in Luxembourg, the CASP approval gives Ripple permission to provide crypto asset and stablecoin payment services. Ripple has stated that banks, fintech companies, and corporate clients can use one integration to collect funds, exchange assets, and make payments.
Ripple gains access as banks enter the MiCA market
Alongside Ripple, ESMA added Portugal-based Bison Bank, Croatia’s state-owned Hrvatska poštanska banka, and Liechtenstein-based Kaiser Partner Privatbank to the register. Their inclusion shows that regulated banks are also seeking permission to provide digital asset services under MiCA.
Payment processor BitPay has separately secured MiCA authorization from the Dutch financial regulator, according to the original report. The license allows BitPay to provide crypto and stablecoin payment services across eligible EU markets through MiCA’s passporting system.
With the latest additions, ESMA now lists 294 authorized CASPs. Licensing activity has slowed since MiCA’s 18-month transitional period ended on July 1, the report noted, although the register continues to add crypto companies, payment firms, and traditional financial institutions.
MiCA requires companies offering covered crypto services in the bloc to obtain authorization from a national regulator. Once licensed, a provider can use the framework’s passporting rules to operate in other participating European markets without applying for separate approval in each country.
Ripple has also received regulatory approval from the UK Financial Conduct Authority, according to the company’s previous announcements. Its European permissions apply to Ripple’s payment services and infrastructure, including products that may use XRP, the XRP Ledger, or the RLUSD stablecoin, depending on the service and client.
July deadline increases pressure on departing crypto firms
Ripple’s entry comes as European regulators monitor customer movements following the end of MiCA’s transition window. Crypto companies that failed to obtain authorization by the applicable deadline must stop offering regulated services in EU markets unless national arrangements provide otherwise.
During a briefing before the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, AMLA chair Bruna Szego warned that firms leaving the market could face a sharp rise in withdrawal requests as customers move their assets before services close.
According to Szego, licensed virtual asset service providers receiving those customers may also struggle to process a large number of new accounts while maintaining effective anti-money laundering checks. She called on departing firms to prepare for increased customer activity and urged authorized providers to preserve compliance standards during onboarding.
AMLA’s warning places Ripple’s registration within a more demanding phase of MiCA implementation. While ESMA’s register shows that authorized providers can now serve customers across participating markets, Szego’s comments indicate that regulators expect them to manage incoming business without weakening identity checks, transaction monitoring, or other anti-money laundering controls.
Bitcoin Ordinals advocate Leonidas has proposed a new open-source Bitcoin client that would raise transaction size limits and reduce the dust threshold, seeking to remove policy restrictions affecting Ordinals and Runes transactions.
Summary
- Leonidas has proposed a new Bitcoin client that raises transaction size limits and lowers the dust threshold for Ordinals and Runes.
- Bitcoin $DOG Mode is intended to remove policy restrictions enforced by Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Knots rather than Bitcoin consensus rules.
- The proposal comes months after Ord.io shut down, as Leonidas continues to push for wider support for Bitcoin native digital assets.
In a Friday post on X, Bitcoin Ordinals advocate Leonidas introduced a proposal for an alternative Bitcoin client called Bitcoin $DOG Mode, describing it as software designed to remove limits enforced by existing Bitcoin clients rather than by the Bitcoin protocol itself.
The proposed client would increase the maximum individual transaction size to 3.9 million weight units (WU) from the 400,000 WU allowed under Bitcoin Core’s default policy. It would also reduce the dust limit to 1 satoshi, compared with the current 294 to 546 satoshis required by Bitcoin Core for standard transactions.
According to Leonidas, Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Knots have enforced transaction policies for years that are not part of Bitcoin’s consensus rules. He said the new client is intended to remove what he described as unnecessary restrictions, adding that the long-term goal is to attract enough users for Bitcoin Core to eventually reconsider those policies.
Larger transactions and smaller outputs
If adopted, the higher transaction limit would allow Ordinals users to include much larger inscriptions or entire collections within a single Bitcoin transaction, including transactions that occupy most of a block.
The lower dust limit would also make it easier to create very small transaction outputs. Under the current default rules used by Bitcoin Core nodes, users often have to increase output values above the minimum threshold before their transactions are relayed across the network. Bitcoin $DOG Mode would instead allow outputs as small as 1 satoshi.
Bitcoin $DOG Mode is being positioned as an alternative to Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Knots, the two most widely used Bitcoin clients.
Ordinals and Runes have remained divisive since their launch. Supporters view them as Bitcoin-native versions of non-fungible and fungible tokens, while critics have argued they consume valuable block space and amount to network spam.
Proposal follows Ord.io shutdown
The proposal comes just months after Leonidas announced the closure of Ord.io, one of the earliest Ordinals explorers. In May, he said the project would shut down after the team ran out of funding and no longer saw a sustainable path forward.
Ord.io, launched in 2023, had served more than 1 million users before announcing plans to go offline. The associated consumer app Zap also ceased operations after failing to reach sufficient user growth, while the team said it would preserve public Ord.io data on GitHub and remained open to another group taking over the project.
Activity around Bitcoin inscriptions has cooled since the strong demand seen during 2023 and early 2024. Runes generated $135 million in fees during the first week after Bitcoin’s 2024 halving, although transaction activity later declined.
The trust behind reimbursing creditors with ties to defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX announced that its next distribution of funds would start on July 31.
In a Friday notice, the FTX Recovery Trust and crypto exchange said that they would distribute about $900 million to claimants in the recovery plan’s “convenience and non-convenience classes.” Eligible creditors can receive funds through their BitGo, Kraken or Payoneer accounts within one to three business days starting from July 31.
The distribution will mark the fifth round of attempts of repaying FTX’s creditors. Convenience claims under $50,000 will receive a 120% reimbursement under FTX’s recovery plan, while others will receive between a 103-105% distribution.
Source: Sunil Kavuri
Following a March distribution of $2.2 billion, the trust has paid out about $10 billion since the company filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 amid a crypto market downturn that resulted in many exchanges filing for Chapter 11 protection. Former FTX executives including CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried and Ryan Salame, the co-CEO of FTX’s Bahamian affiliate, are still in federal prison as part of their role in the exchange’s misuse of customer funds.
Related: FTX estate misses out on $3B Cursor stake value after $200K sale in 2023
In May, the law firm Fenwick & West, which advised FTX before its collapse, agreed to pay $54 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed by former users. A group of 20 FTX users sued the law firm for $525 million just days earlier.
Presidential pardon looking less likely for former FTX CEO
Bankman-Fried, who pleaded not guilty to criminal charges related to his role in the misuse of customer funds at FTX, was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024. His appeal for his conviction and sentence was denied last month after a federal court upheld the New York court ruling.
However, even before the appellate court ruling became public, Bankman-Fried applied for a pardon from Donald Trump, something the US president said in a January interview that he did not plan on granting. Despite the statement from Trump, this week the US Senate unanimously adopted a resolution opposing clemency for the former FTX CEO.
The measure can’t stop Trump from issuing a pardon but reflected bipartisan opposition to the president granting clemency to a convicted felon. Many lawmakers have criticized the president issuing a pardon for former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao after a UAE entity invested $2 billion into the crypto exchange using a stablecoin issued by the Trump family business, World Liberty Financial.
Magazine: Strategy became a symbol of the dot-com crash: Could history repeat?
Stablecoins have long been pitched as a faster way to move dollars across borders. In Bolivia, they’re increasingly becoming a way to access dollars in the first place. The country’s recent proposal to recognize Tether’s USDt (USDT) for payments underscores how economic instability is driving adoption in many emerging markets.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin miners are discovering that pivoting to AI infrastructure may unlock new revenue streams, but it doesn’t shield them from investor scrutiny.
Bolivia weighs recognizing USDT amid dollar shortage
Bolivia is considering a regulatory framework that would recognize Tether’s USDT as a payment currency, marking another step in the country’s push to integrate digital assets into its financial system.
Economy and Public Finance Minister Jose Gabriel Espinoza said the proposal would allow USDT to circulate alongside the boliviano and the US dollar for payments and savings. The framework remains under review and would include anti-money laundering safeguards, as Bolivia is still on the Financial Action Task Force’s gray list. The initiative follows the lifting of the country’s crypto ban in 2024 and the new administration’s pledge to expand access to digital asset services.
The proposal comes as Bolivia struggles with a prolonged shortage of US dollars after pressure on foreign exchange reserves forced the government to abandon its long-standing currency peg earlier this year. The resulting gap between the official and parallel exchange rates has increased demand for dollar-denominated alternatives such as USDT, which has become an increasingly popular payment tool in the country.
Source: EL DEBER
Bitcoin miners’ AI pivot draws scrutiny over insider stock sales
Investors are increasingly scrutinizing insider stock sales at Bitcoin miners pursuing AI infrastructure strategies as enthusiasm for the sector cools and governance concerns take center stage.
According to Blocksbridge Consulting, executives at TeraWulf, Cipher Digital, Riot Platforms and Core Scientific have disclosed stock sales in recent months, many of them made under prearranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. Strategic investors have also trimmed their holdings — including Tether — which reduced its stake in Bitdeer following the company’s AI-driven rally. The shift comes as the TEM AI Infrastructure Growth Index has fallen 16% over the past month.
Blocksbridge said investors are increasingly looking beyond the AI growth story to assess whether the benefits of miners’ strategic pivots will flow to public shareholders.
Most stocks in the 20-company TEM AI Infrastructure Growth Index were down over the past month through July 8. Source: Miner Weekly
CleanSpark stock jumps on $6.6 billion data center lease as AI pivot accelerates
CleanSpark shares rallied as much as 22% after the Bitcoin miner signed a 20-year data center lease in Georgia that could generate up to $6.6 billion in contracted revenue, underscoring its push into AI and high-performance computing infrastructure.
The agreement covers a 175-megawatt data center at the company’s Sandersville, Georgia, campus and was signed with an undisclosed investment-grade global technology company. The tenant will install its computing equipment at the site, with phased deliveries expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027. If the customer exercises two five-year extension options, the contract’s total value could reach $11.6 billion.
The deal reflects a broader trend among Bitcoin miners seeking new revenue streams as post-halving mining economics remain under pressure. While many publicly traded miners have reduced their Bitcoin holdings to shore up liquidity, CleanSpark has largely remained a net accumulator despite selling some BTC earlier this year to fund operations.
CleanSpark remains a net accumulator of Bitcoin. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NET
Bitmine generated $46 million from Ethereum staking last quarter
Bitmine Immersion Technologies generated $45.7 million in revenue from Ethereum staking and validation last quarter, demonstrating the strength of its business even as ETH prices remained under pressure.
Ethereum staking accounted for 98% of the company’s revenue for the three months ended May 31, compared with $624,000 from self-mining Bitcoin and $168,000 from consulting services. The results follow the March launch of MAVAN, Bitmine’s institutional Ethereum staking platform, which was built on the acquisition of validator operator Pier Two Holdings. The company said it has staked roughly 85% of its Ether holdings, or about 4.9 million ETH.
Chairman Tom Lee said Bitmine now stakes more Ether than any other entity and projects annualized staking rewards of $284 million once its holdings of the token are fully staked through MAVAN and its partners.
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Keyrock has completed its acquisition of the trading and brokerage assets of BlockFills’ institutional digital asset business, expanding its reach across crypto market making, over-the-counter trading, options and other capital-market services.
Summary
- Keyrock acquires BlockFills trading assets, adding institutional clients, derivatives expertise and technology to its platform.
- The transaction expands Keyrock’s regulatory reach through Cayman registration and a proposed U.K. FCA entity.
- BlockFills entered bankruptcy after reported losses, while Keyrock now plans phased integration of acquired operations.
The Brussels-based firm said the deal adds BlockFills’ client relationships, trading technology and derivatives expertise to its existing institutional platform.
According to Keyrock’s announcement, the transaction also expands its regulatory footprint through a CIMA-registered entity in the Cayman Islands. It also includes the proposed acquisition of an FCA-authorized entity in the U.K., subject to regulatory approval. Keyrock said the combined business will support institutional clients with trading infrastructure backed by its balance sheet and compliance framework.
The company did not disclose the purchase price in its announcement. However, earlier U.S. bankruptcy court filings showed that Keyrock agreed to pay $3.25 million for substantially all of BlockFills’ assets while assuming certain liabilities, customer relationships, equity interests and proprietary technology. A U.S. bankruptcy judge approved the sale in June.
BlockFills deal strengthens Keyrock’s derivatives business
The acquisition also brings experienced BlockFills staff into Keyrock. Perry Parker, who previously worked at Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank and led institutional options at BlockFills, is joining the company alongside Dan Schak, who oversaw risk and trading operations. Other employees across trading, operations and commercial functions will also move to Keyrock.
Keyrock co-founder and chief strategy officer Juan David Mendieta called the deal “an exceptional opportunity to further strengthen our team with outstanding talent and accelerate our global reach.” He also pointed to BlockFills’ institutional derivatives expertise and trading technology as key parts of the transaction.
Keyrock said digital asset derivatives are among its fastest-growing business lines as institutional demand for options and structured trading products expands. The BlockFills assets add specialist staff and client-facing systems in that area, giving the firm more capacity to serve hedge funds, asset managers, market makers and other professional counterparties.
The completed sale follows months of financial pressure at BlockFills. As crypto.news previously reported, the company froze deposits and withdrawals in February after suffering a reported $75 million lending loss. Co-founder and CEO Nicholas Hammer later stepped down as the firm searched for a buyer or strategic partner. BlockFills entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March.
Meanwhile, the acquisition comes as Keyrock expands its own institutional business. In March, the firm reached a $1.1 billion valuation in a Series C funding round led by Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures. The company has continued to build services covering liquidity, OTC execution, derivatives, credit, onchain markets and asset management.
Keyrock said it will integrate the acquired BlockFills operations in phases and communicate directly with clients as services become available. The deal gives the company a larger institutional client base and deeper derivatives capabilities while extending its regulatory presence across additional markets.
Piero Cipollone has warned that stablecoins could drain bank deposits as Coinbase fell 1.75% to $157 and Circle lost 6% across five sessions to trade near $60.
Summary
- Piero Cipollone warned that growing stablecoin use could pull deposits away from traditional banks.
- Coinbase shares are testing $157 support, with Compass Point maintaining a $140 downside target.
- Circle remains inside a descending channel as Mizuho forecasts a potential drop to $50.
The European Central Bank executive board member raised the concern during a July 17 speech at the Federation of Cooperative Credit Banks in Rome, where he linked increased stablecoin use with a possible decline in customer deposits.
According to Cipollone, consumers may become less willing to keep money in conventional bank accounts if stablecoins gain wider use. He argued that the European Union should speed up the digital euro to protect the role banks play in the financial system and limit reliance on privately issued tokens.
His comments have added a European voice to concerns already raised by US banking groups during negotiations over the CLARITY Act. In a letter to the Senate, the groups called for changes to Section 404 that would stop stablecoin companies from offering rewards or yield through affiliated firms.
Banking groups warned that interest-bearing stablecoins could pull deposits from community lenders and weaken their ability to provide credit. Circle, which issues the USDC stablecoin, has become especially exposed to the dispute because any limits on stablecoin rewards could affect how exchanges and other partners promote USDC.
Stablecoin fears deepen pressure on crypto stocks
Circle shares briefly dropped to $58 during pre-market trading on July 17, their lowest level since February 2026, before recovering toward $60.46. The decline continued even after Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest purchased about $15.4 million worth of Circle shares.
Legislative uncertainty has also weighed on sentiment. As crypto.news reported, President Donald Trump met with senators on July 16 as Republicans tried to resolve disputes holding up the CLARITY Act. The bill requires Democratic support in the Senate, where disagreements over ethics provisions and Trump’s crypto interests have complicated negotiations.
Coinbase faces a separate risk because changes to US market rules could affect stablecoin revenue, institutional services and trading activity. Compass Point analysts forecast that COIN could fall to $140 if Congress fails to pass the CLARITY Act, arguing that the bill may have more influence on the stock than Coinbase’s second-quarter earnings scheduled for July 30.
Oppenheimer has lowered its Coinbase price target to $209, citing weak trading volumes on the exchange. The revised target remains above the current market price but points to reduced expectations for transaction revenue.
COIN and CRCL remain pinned near key support
On the daily chart, COIN is testing the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement at $156.92 after closing around $157.12. A break below this area would expose the psychological support at $150, followed by the May low at $139.13, close to Compass Point’s $140 target.
COIN’s MACD line has crossed above its signal line and produced a positive histogram, suggesting that bearish momentum has eased. Both lines remain below zero, however, while the relative strength index at 45.77 stays under the neutral 50 level.
A recovery would first need to clear $160–$165 before testing the 61.8% Fibonacci level at $170.89.
Circle’s daily chart places CRCL inside a descending channel that has controlled its slide from roughly $100 in early June. The $58–$60 zone remains the first support area, while a breakdown could expose $50, matching Mizuho’s downside target.
Mizuho analysts also warned that the new OpenUSD stablecoin could take market share from Circle, adding another risk to CRCL’s stock price.
CRCL’s MACD has formed an early bullish crossover below zero, but the Chaikin Money Flow reading of minus 0.29 shows continued capital outflows. A close above the channel resistance around $64–$65 would weaken the bearish setup, whereas another rejection could send the shares back toward $58 and Mizuho’s $50 forecast.
Bitcoin slipped below $63,000 on Friday as renewed U.S. military action against Iran added to a broader retreat from risk assets.
Summary
- Bitcoin fell below $63,000 as renewed U.S.-Iran fighting and wider risk-off sentiment pressured markets Friday.
- U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs added $79.15 million Thursday, providing limited support during renewed geopolitical selling.
- Technical levels place $65,000 as resistance while losing $62,200 could expose Bitcoin’s lower trading range.
According to crypto.news market data, BTC traded near $62,777, down 2.19% over 24 hours, after moving between $62,705 and $64,753.
The decline extended BTC’s pullback after sellers rejected prices near $65,000 earlier in the week. Asian equity markets also fell sharply on Friday, although a major selloff in technology and semiconductor stocks was a central driver of the broader market weakness. The MSCI Asia-Pacific index dropped 2.7%, while Japan and Taiwan recorded heavier losses.
Meanwhile, geopolitical pressure increased after the U.S. carried out another wave of strikes against Iran. The latest attacks targeted infrastructure and military-linked sites in southern Iran, including bridges and facilities near key ports. Iran also continued retaliatory attacks across parts of the Gulf region.
Fresh tension between Washington and Beijing added another source of uncertainty. President Donald Trump released intelligence and alleged Chinese interference connected to the 2020 U.S. election.
China denied the allegations, while previous U.S. intelligence assessments found no evidence that Beijing changed the election result. Markets are also watching whether the dispute affects Trump’s planned September meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Bitcoin traders watch $62,200 support and $65,000 resistance
Despite the latest decline, institutional flows offered some support. According to the SoSoValue figures provided for the July 16 session, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $79.15 million in net inflows, led by BlackRock’s IBIT with $33.44 million.
The inflows follow a period of uneven institutional demand. Bitcoin recently faced pressure from rising oil prices and renewed U.S.-Iran tensions while traders watched support around $62,000. That analysis identified resistance between roughly $63,100 and $64,700.
The latest technical setup remains mixed. The chart data provided for this report showed BTC below its nine-day simple moving average near $63,765, while the relative strength index stood at 47.74. That places momentum slightly below neutral without showing deeply oversold conditions.
Bitcoin has also remained inside the broader $60,000–$65,000 range for more than a month. A sustained recovery above $64,000 and $65,000 would improve the short-term structure. However, another rejection from that area could keep the cryptocurrency locked inside its current consolidation range.
Analysts highlight key resistance and support levels
Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe said BTC’s broader setup remains constructive despite the latest correction. In his view, a clear breakthrough above $65,000 could open the way for stronger upside momentum.
Meanwhile, Ardi identified the $63,300–$63,800 region as an important trendline area and placed horizontal support near $62,200. He warned that losing both areas could signal that the current relief rally has ended.
Ali Charts offered a longer-term view based on Bitcoin’s previous market cycles. He noted that BTC has historically formed major bottoms about 12 months after major market peaks. If that pattern repeats, he said the next major bottom could emerge around October. However, historical cycles do not guarantee that Bitcoin will follow the same timeline again.
In addition, Crypflow also pointed to Bitcoin’s two-week MACD as a potential confirmation signal. The analyst noted that during the 2018 and 2022 bear markets, BTC had already reached its cycle bottom before the two-week MACD produced a bullish crossover. Based on that pattern, a future crossover could confirm an existing bottom rather than identify it in advance.
The asset is also moving through a large options settlement. As crypto.news reported earlier Friday, around $1.2 billion in BTC options expired with maximum pain near $63,000. The expiry came as Bitcoin remained inside the $60,000–$65,000 range that has contained price action for more than a month.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
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