Connect with us

Crypto World

Citadel Accumulates Most Situational Awareness Portfolio Post AI Selloff

Published

on

Crypto Breaking News

Ken Griffin’s Citadel has reportedly stepped in to buy a large portion of the publicly traded stock portfolio of Situational Awareness, the hedge fund run by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner. The deal comes after steep losses tied to last month’s broad selloff in AI-linked equities.

According to the Financial Times, Citadel purchased the discounted portfolio after Situational’s performance deteriorated in July’s AI stock rout. Earlier reporting from The Wall Street Journal indicated Situational fell about 67% during July, even as it was still up roughly 80% for the year at the time of a letter sent to investors.

Key takeaways

  • Citadel reportedly bought much of Situational Awareness’s publicly traded equity portfolio after major July losses in AI-linked stocks.
  • Reports cite liquidity pressure, including the need to handle lender margin calls, though Reuters could not confirm whether formal margin calls were issued before certain share sales.
  • SEC filings show Situational held public stakes in AI-adjacent names such as Sandisk, CoreWeave-related exposure, and Bloom Energy as of March 31, alongside a sizable Bitcoin mining share portfolio.
  • It remains unclear which exact holdings were included in the Citadel transaction and whether any of the miner positions were retained.

From AI selloff to portfolio sale

The reported acquisition follows a sharp equity drawdown that hit hedge funds concentrated in AI infrastructure and related trades. The Financial Times said Citadel bought the portfolio at a discount after Situational Awareness suffered heavy losses during July’s AI stock market rout.

The sequence of events described by major outlets suggests liquidity became the limiting factor. The Wall Street Journal reported that Situational needed cash to meet margin calls from its lenders. In that account, the fund agreed late Wednesday to sell $3.5 billion of Anthropic shares to a group led by Greenoaks and Sequoia Capital, but then withdrew from the deal after agreeing terms for a Citadel-led portfolio transaction.

Reuters separately reported that Citadel bought most of Situational’s stock holdings after the AI share rout and described details of the leveraged portfolio and share sales. Reuters also stated it could not determine whether formal margin calls had been issued before the Anthropic-related sale discussions. Reuters added that Situational retained about $10 billion in stocks and private investments, including exposure to Anthropic.

Advertisement

What July losses looked like in holdings

Several stocks connected to Situational Awareness’s portfolio reportedly dropped sharply during July. Yahoo Finance data cited in the coverage shows Sandisk down about 44% for the month even after closing Thursday up 26%. CoreWeave was down nearly 26% in July, while Bloom Energy fell around 32%, according to the same dataset.

While those monthly declines underline how concentrated positions can magnify market stress, they also illustrate why a portfolio sale at “discounted” terms can become attractive to a counterparty—particularly when pricing dislocations occur across an entire thematic trade rather than a single company-specific issue.

SEC filings point to AI infrastructure and Bitcoin mining exposure

Situational Awareness’s U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing reportedly shows direct share positions in at least three companies—Sandisk, CoreWeave, and Bloom Energy—as of March 31. The SEC document is used to ground the public-equity portion of the story, including what was held before July’s drawdown.

The same filing also showed approximately $1.11 billion in shares of seven Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies, including Iren, Core Scientific, Riot Platforms, and CleanSpark. Cointelegraph previously reported that the strategy involved miner exposure that could benefit from demand for AI and high-performance computing by repurposing power supplies and data center sites.

Advertisement

In this round of reporting, however, the critical open question for investors is scope: it is not clear which specific stocks were included in the Citadel transaction, and it remains uncertain whether Situational retained any of its Bitcoin miner positions after the sale of the public stock portfolio.

Why the trade may signal shifting leverage risk

Across hedge fund industry coverage, the theme in situations like this is rarely the long-term thesis of an investor—it’s how leverage and collateral requirements interact with fast-moving equity markets. The reporting around margin calls and the need for cash suggests the fund’s ability to keep positions through volatility was constrained.

At the same time, the asymmetry between what is publicly visible and what is financially decisive remains. Reuters’ note that it could not confirm whether formal margin calls had been issued before certain transactions highlights the limits of what outsiders can verify in real time—especially when term sheets, lender discussions, and collateral mechanics are involved.

For readers tracking crypto-adjacent strategies, the story also underscores that “AI” and “crypto infrastructure” exposures are increasingly intertwined. Situational’s reported combination of AI-linked equity holdings and Bitcoin miner stock exposure reflects a broader market reality: demand for power, computing, and deployment of infrastructure can connect traditional equity investing, AI narratives, and crypto mining businesses.

Advertisement

Watch items after the reported deal

Investors should watch for further clarity on which holdings Citadel acquired, whether Situational retained any miner positions, and how the fund’s remaining $10 billion of reported stocks and private investments evolve after July’s volatility. Until additional filings or confirmations arrive, the practical takeaway remains straightforward: when leverage meets thematic drawdowns, portfolio exits can happen quickly—even for funds that may still look strong over a longer time horizon.

Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Crypto World

Crypto News, July 31: July Round Up, Kospi Coming Back, Bitcoin Price Ignores Political Noise as Market Splits

Published

on

btc logo

The Kospi ended July with a powerful rebound, while the Bitcoin price stayed remarkably steady despite several major headlines. We watched the Kospi recover sharply as the Bitcoin hovered near $64,300, showing little interest in politics, stock market swings, or a major crypto security breach.

July closed with markets moving in different directions. South Korean equities staged an impressive comeback, while crypto traders chased memecoins and tokenized assets instead of pushing Bitcoin higher. Even so, Bitcoin continued trading within a familiar range, reflecting patience.

Bitcoin (BTC)
24h7d30d1yAll time

Discover: The Best Token Presales

Bitcoin Price Stays Calm After Hardware Wallet Exploit

Advertisement

A major security incident became one of Friday’s biggest crypto stories. An attacker exploited a flaw affecting older Coldcard Mk3 hardware wallets, draining 594 BTC from around 500 single-signature wallets in less than 30 minutes.

The vulnerability reportedly traced back to firmware version 4.0.1, where a weakness in random number generation made some wallet seeds predictable. Many affected wallets had remained untouched for years before the coordinated theft unfolded across three blockchain blocks.

Wallet maker Coinkite confirmed the issue and said its early investigation indicates newer Mk4, Q, and Mk5 devices are not affected. Users who protected their wallets with a BIP 39 passphrase also appear to face significantly lower risk. Despite the scale of the exploit, the Bitcoin price barely reacted as it remained close to $64,300 after briefly testing $65,300 during Asian trading before retreating.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, Ethereum hovers around $1,900 while BNB is held near $590, outperforming many large-cap cryptocurrencies. Activity remained concentrated in smaller speculative assets instead of flowing into Bitcoin.

Ethereum (ETH)
24h7d30d1yAll time

Discover: The Best Crypto to Diversify Your Portfolio

Kospi Recovery Highlights Growing Market Divergence

The Kospi delivered one of Asia’s strongest performances after recovering sharply from its recent correction. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix helped drive the rally as semiconductor stocks attracted renewed buying following weeks of heavy selling pressure.

Advertisement

Taiwan Semiconductor also posted strong gains, reinforcing optimism across regional technology stocks. However, the Bitcoin price has yet to mirror the equity rebound as closely as it had earlier this month, highlighting a growing disconnect between traditional markets and digital assets.

Instead, speculative capital flowed into selected crypto sectors. Uniswap extended its rally after expanding its fee switch across additional blockchain networks, while several low float tokens recorded triple-digit percentage gains following fresh exchange listings.

South Korean regulators also remained active despite legislative delays. Officials continued discussing interim stablecoin regulations, reflecting the country’s ongoing effort to strengthen oversight while digital asset adoption continues expanding.

Advertisement

The contrast between equities and crypto defined the final trading session of July. While the Kospi recovered with remarkable speed, Bitcoin stayed disciplined and largely ignored both political headlines and market excitement.

That resilience may prove more important than short-term volatility. Security breaches, regulatory developments, and speculative rallies continue to dominate daily headlines, yet Bitcoin has repeatedly shown an ability to absorb negative news without breaking below key support levels.

As August begins, investors will watch whether the Kospi can sustain its recovery and whether the Bitcoin Price finally breaks out of its prolonged trading range. For now, patience remains the dominant theme across both markets.

Trade Crypto on Bybit and Get a Chance to Win Our $1,000 USDT Airdrop

Advertisement

The post Crypto News, July 31: July Round Up, Kospi Coming Back, Bitcoin Price Ignores Political Noise as Market Splits appeared first on Cryptonews.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto World

XRP Price Set for Institutional Boost? Evernorth Files $1B SEC Amendment

Published

on

🇺🇸

XRP price prediction is getting bullish as Ripple backed Evernorth amended its SEC registration statement again. The real question is whether the market has already priced it in.

Evernorth’s latest amended Form S-4 formalizes employment agreements for three senior executives. They include chief legal officer Jessica Jonas, chief business officer Sagar Shah, and chief operating officer Meg Nakamura. Jonas would receive an initial equity award worth about $4.5 million. Shah and Nakamura would each receive roughly $2.8 million, pending shareholder approval.

The filing also follows previously disclosed compensation for CEO Asheesh Birla and CFO Matt Frymier. Birla’s equity award remains valued at about $44 million. Together, these incentive packages fall under Evernorth’s 2026 Omnibus Incentive Plan. Locking in the executive team with equity suggests the transaction continues moving forward.

Advertisement

At the center of Evernorth’s strategy is its planned Nasdaq listing under the XRPN ticker. The company also aims to build a $1 billion XRP treasury, targeting roughly 473 million XRP, or about 0.8% of the token’s circulating supply. If completed, that allocation would remove a meaningful amount of XRP from the open market, strengthening the long-term supply reduction narrative.

Discover: The Best Token Presales

XRP Price Prediction: Recover Toward $1.65 as Evernorth Filing Advances?

XRP is trading around $1.06, still well below Evernorth’s implied cost basis of about $2.44. That gap cuts both ways. It leaves institutional exposure underwater while supporting the case for continued accumulation. Meanwhile, XRP has traded in a relatively tight range as market sentiment remains cautious.

Advertisement

Technically, the original support levels are no longer relevant after XRP’s recent decline. Immediate support now sits near $1.00, while a break below that could expose the $0.85 to $0.90 area. On the upside, reclaiming $1.10 would improve momentum, with $1.14 to $1.15 acting as the next resistance zone.

Xrp (XRP)
24h7d30d1yAll time

The bull case remains unchanged. If XRPN lists on Nasdaq, the SEC clears the S-4 filing, and Evernorth completes its XRP treasury strategy, supply could tighten over time. That would support long term price targets around $2.80, while more aggressive forecasts extend much higher.

The base case assumes filing progress continues but the timeline slips. In that scenario, XRP may consolidate between $1.00 and $1.15 before a stronger catalyst appears. On the bearish side, SEC delays, weaker macro conditions, or a decisive break below $1.00 could open the door to prices under $0.90.

Institutional XRP price targets have been building for months, but the Evernorth catalyst stands apart. It would operate through a regulated U.S. securities vehicle, potentially making it easier for compliant institutional capital to gain exposure if the plan moves ahead.

Advertisement

Trade XRP on Bybit and Get a Chance to Win Our $1,000 USDT Airdrop

LiquidChain Targets Early Mover Upside as XRP Tests Key Levels

XRP’s institutional thesis is compelling, but at current prices, the upside to even the conservative $2.80 target requires patience and tolerance for a -$0.98 invalidation sitting only 9% below spot.

For traders already holding XRP, that’s a known risk. For capital looking to size into a higher-beta opportunity with a structurally different value proposition, the early-stage infrastructure layer is where asymmetry tends to live.

Advertisement

LiquidChain ($LIQUID) is a Layer 3 infrastructure project built around a single thesis: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana liquidity should not require bridging, wrapping, or fragmented execution environments. Its Unified Liquidity Layer fuses all three ecosystems into a single execution environment. So developers deploy once and access all.

The presale is currently priced at $0.01485, with $926K raised to date. Core architecture features include Single-Step Execution, Verifiable Settlement, and a Deploy-Once build model that eliminates multi-chain deployment overhead. The cross-chain fragmentation problem it targets is real and structurally persistent.

Research LiquidChain here.

Advertisement

Discover: The Best Crypto to Diversify Your Portfolio

The post XRP Price Set for Institutional Boost? Evernorth Files $1B SEC Amendment appeared first on Cryptonews.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto World

AMLBot Launches AI Tracer for Cross-Chain Crypto Tracking

Published

on

AMLBot Launches AI Tracer for Cross-Chain Crypto Tracking

Crypto forensics and compliance company AMLBot has launched its AI Tracer, described as a self-service blockchain analysis tool that maps visible fund movements from a transaction hash across blockchain networks.

AMLBot said the tool aims to address the current need for specialist software and knowledge to trace transactions. The company said the tool also traces through bridges that move assets cross-chain or when the assets are split among multiple wallets.

“The process is automatic: the AI traverses the transaction graph, follows the movement of funds from the starting address through intermediate wallets toward whatever endpoint the money reached, and matches known entity labels — exchanges, services, flagged addresses — against every wallet it encounters,” the company said in a press release shared with Cointelegraph.

According to the announcement, AI Tracer cannot see transfers between internal exchange accounts, determine why a payment was made, freeze assets or guarantee recovery. Its reports are intended as a starting point for investigations and do not replace an audit or legal process.

Advertisement

The tool offers a free check and offers paid plans with higher limits on the number of automated checks. Currently supported networks include Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, TRON, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Ethereum Classic, Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Solana, Cardano and Ripple.

AMLBot said the tool is suitable for journalists, researchers, traders, and crypto user who want to read transaction paths, as well as law enforcement agents investigating crypto crime and independent investigators or compliance teams.

Related: AMLBot says social engineering drove 65% of crypto cases it probed in 2025

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto World

U.S. sanctions Iran-linked bitcoin insurance scheme for Strait of Hormuz ships

Published

on

BTC falls back to $76,000 as Iran reportedly shuts Hormuz again

At the time the platform’s website showed only a landing page, and CoinDesk could not verify whether it was operational or whether any cargo owners had used it. Fars claimed at the time the model could generate more than $10 billion without explaining how it arrived at that figure.

The policies were approved by the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, an IRGC-backed body Treasury designated in May. Both firms were sanctioned under an executive order covering Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors.

Designation means U.S. persons are barred from dealing with the two companies, and foreign firms that transact with them risk sanctions themselves. Payments in bitcoin carry the same exposure as payments through banks.

“With its economy in freefall and inflation in the triple digits, the regime is desperate for cash,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.

Advertisement

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints, and traffic through it has thinned during weeks of U.S. strikes on Iran that have kept oil prices elevated.

Source link

Continue Reading

Crypto World

AMLBot Rolls Out AI Tracer to Enable Self-Serve Blockchain Probes

Published

on

Crypto Breaking News

AMLBot, a crypto compliance and forensics company, has introduced AI Tracer—an automated, self-service blockchain analysis tool that follows the trail of funds from a given transaction hash across multiple networks.

The company positions AI Tracer as a way to reduce the reliance on specialist tracing software and deep internal expertise, enabling users to map visible movement on-chain from a starting transaction through intermediate wallets to the eventual endpoint.

Key takeaways

  • AI Tracer is built to trace fund movements from a transaction hash across supported blockchains.
  • It can follow cross-chain transfers through bridges and handle flows where assets are split across multiple wallets.
  • Reports rely on matching known entity labels (such as exchanges and flagged addresses) but are not a substitute for legal or audit processes.
  • The tool offers free checks and paid plans with higher limits on the number of automated analyses.
  • Initial support covers major networks including Bitcoin, Ethereum (and several L2s), Solana, TRON, and Ripple.

How AI Tracer maps transaction paths

In a press release provided to Cointelegraph, AMLBot described AI Tracer as “self-service” analysis that automatically traverses a transaction graph. The stated workflow follows funds from the starting address, through intermediate wallets, and toward whatever endpoint the assets reached.

A key part of the system is entity labeling: AMLBot says the tool matches known labels—such as exchanges, services, and flagged addresses—against wallets encountered during tracing.

This matters for investigators and compliance teams because manual graph reconstruction across complex transaction histories can be time-consuming, especially when transfers involve many hops, multiple wallets, or routing patterns typical of illicit movement attempts.

Advertisement

What the tool can’t do

AMLBot also emphasized limits that users should understand before relying on outputs. According to the announcement, AI Tracer cannot:

  • See transfers occurring between internal exchange accounts.
  • Determine the reason a payment was made.
  • Freeze assets.
  • Guarantee recovery of funds.

The company further noted that AI Tracer reports are intended as a starting point for investigations and do not replace audit procedures or legal processes. That framing is important in practice: blockchain tracing can reveal address-to-address movement, but it cannot by itself establish intent, contract context, or operational control over funds.

Cross-chain tracing and split flows

AMLBot said AI Tracer is designed to trace through bridges used to move assets cross-chain, as well as situations where assets are split among multiple wallets. These are two areas where transaction tracing often becomes harder than a simple “send and receive” pattern.

Cross-chain movement can obscure the path of value when assets are wrapped, bridged, or reconstituted on a different network. Meanwhile, split flows can require tracking multiple branches of a transaction graph to understand where value ultimately consolidated. By explicitly calling out these scenarios, AMLBot suggests AI Tracer is meant to handle more realistic transaction structures rather than only single-line transfers.

Coverage, access model, and who it’s for

AMLBot’s announcement says AI Tracer currently supports these networks: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, TRON, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Ethereum Classic, Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Solana, Cardano, and Ripple.

Advertisement

The tool includes a free check, while paid plans provide higher limits on the number of automated analyses users can run. AMLBot described the product as suitable for a range of users, including journalists, researchers, traders, and crypto users who want to read transaction paths, as well as law enforcement and independent investigators or compliance teams.

That target audience reflects a broader trend in the industry: as regulators, exchanges, and institutional participants increase expectations around transaction monitoring and provenance checks, more tools are being built to make on-chain analysis accessible beyond specialized forensics teams.

Why the launch is timely for on-chain investigations

AI Tracer’s “from transaction hash to endpoints” approach addresses a practical bottleneck in crypto investigations—turning raw blockchain data into a readable path that can be acted on. While it still cannot explain intent or replace legal review, AMLBot’s positioning suggests it is designed to speed up early-stage work: triage, mapping routes, and narrowing down where further diligence should focus.

As cross-chain activity and multi-hop transaction structures become more common, users are likely to judge tools less on whether they can follow basic transfers and more on how well they handle routing complexity—particularly bridge interactions and wallet splits, both of which AI Tracer is explicitly meant to cover.

Advertisement

Going forward, the main questions for users will be how consistently AI Tracer’s entity labeling reduces ambiguity across different networks, and how the product’s limits and supported chains expand over time—especially as investigations increasingly span L2s, bridges, and liquidity-driven flows.

Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto World

Bitcoin Price Tumbles to 2-Week Low as Fed and BoJ Keep Rates Unchanged: Weekly Crypto Recap

Published

on

It was a very eventful week in terms of economic activity, with most of the focus turned to the Wednesday conclusion of the second FOMC meeting under new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh.

But before we head into the details of the central bank’s decision, let’s explore what transpired prior to that. Last week, the US CPI numbers came out, and inflation data was actually a lot better than many expected. BTC went on a rally after that, peaking at $67,000, where it was rejected but still managed to close the week at around $64,000.

It regained some traction on Monday after the de-escalation news on the Middle East front. The cryptocurrency jumped past $65,000 and touched $65,600 on a couple of occasions. However, the predominantly bearish sentiment was too strong, and the asset dumped below $63,000 a day later.

The bulls managed to intervene and didn’t allow another immediate leg down. Instead, BTC started to regain traction after the United States Federal Reserve kept the rates unchanged. The asset challenged $65,500 once again on Friday morning. However, a familiar end-of-the-week scenario repeated, and the cryptocurrency was rejected even after the Bank of Japan followed the Fed’s example and maintained the rates.

Advertisement

The subsequent leg down has been quite painful, with BTC sliding below $62,500 minutes ago for the first time in over two weeks. Some altcoins have it even worse, with RAIN plummeting by double digits, while ZEC, XLM, and HYPE are down by up to 8%.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview Weekly July 31. Source: QuantifyCrypto
Cryptocurrency Market Overview Weekly July 31. Source: QuantifyCrypto

Market Cap: $2.275T | 24H Vol: $60B | BTC Dominance: 55.3%

BTC: $62,700 (-0.5%) | ETH: $1,858 (+1.7%) | XRP: $1.06 (-1.7%)

New York Sues Kalshi as Legal Pressure on Prediction Markets Intensifies. In a major development from earlier today, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Leticia James filed a lawsuit against Kalshi, arguing that it operates illegal gambling products without the proper license in the state.

A Rocky Year: Ethereum Turns 11 Years as ETH Trades 61% Below the High Set Last August. Ethereum celebrated its 11th birthday on July 30. In this article, we explore the good and bad over the past few years, including some controversial developments around the blockchain and the foundation behind it.

Advertisement

Bitcoin’s Next Bull Run Could Follow US Midterms: Analyst. US Midterm election years are not favorable for bitcoin historically. One analyst claimed that once they are over, BTC’s major rally could finally commence. Another analyst outlined a major price prediction, indicating that the cryptocurrency can peak at somewhere around $400,000 per unit within less than two years.

‘OC’ Actor Ben McKenzie Urges Congress to Block CLARITY Act Over Trump Ties. The CLARITY Act remains one of the most discussed topics within the cryptocurrency community and in Washington. In a surprising development from the past week, OC actor Ben McKenzie argued that the bill should be blocked over its potential aid to Trump and his family.

Circle’s IBM Patent Deal Brings Nearly 1,000 Blockchain Patents. The company behind the second-largest stablecoin said it had expanded its blockchain patent portfolio by purchasing nearly 1,000 such patents from IBM. This includes more than 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 issued worldwide, covering core blockchain tech, banking, financial services, and insurance.

Saylor’s Strategy Keeps Rebuilding Its Cash Pile, Putting Bitcoin Buys on Hold. The world’s largest corporate holder of BTC has continued its BTC purchase pause for a fifth consecutive week. Instead, Strategy keeps growing its USD reserve. Another $525 million injection brought the total USD stash to $3.75 billion, enough to cover 2.1 years of dividend payments.

Advertisement

This week, we have a chart analysis of Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Hyperliquid – click here for the complete price analysis.

The post Bitcoin Price Tumbles to 2-Week Low as Fed and BoJ Keep Rates Unchanged: Weekly Crypto Recap appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto World

Circle secures New York trust charter as crypto regulatory push accelerates

Published

on

Circle secures New York trust charter as crypto regulatory push accelerates

Circle Internet Group, Inc. (CRCL), the issuer of USDC, the world’s second-largest stablecoin, announced Friday that it secured a limited purpose trust charter from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

The trust charter is an official state banking authorization that allows the holder to legally provide fiduciary, custody and asset-management services under the New York Banking Law.

“Earning a New York trust charter has been a longstanding objective for Circle given the regulatory clarity that comes with it,” said Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Circle.

Circle’s stock price remains flat Friday morning at $64.24 and its stablecoin USDC has a market capitalization exceeding $71.8 billion.

Advertisement

Earlier this month, Circle received approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank.

National trust banks are authorized to provide users with custody and fiduciary services but do not accept consumer deposits or make loans like traditional commercial banks.

The stablecoin issuer said the national bank would “enhance the safety and regulatory oversight of the USDC Reserve, while enabling Circle to offer fiduciary digital asset custody and related services to institutional customers.”

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto World

What Jean Grey's Debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day Means for the Future of the X-Men in the MCU

Published

on

What Jean Grey's Debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day Means for the Future of the X-Men in the MCU
Sadie Sink as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day —Sony

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Spider-Man: Brand New Day

The Dark Phoenix will rise again. Probably. Eventually. 

A new version of Jean Grey made her debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink follows in the footsteps of Famke Janssen and Sophie Turner as the redheaded telepath who is arguably the most powerful mutant in the Marvel comics. But the Jean that Peter Parker (Tom Holland) meets is just a lonely teenager who can’t fully control her powers. She presumably won’t learn how until she meets Professor Charles Xavier and the other mutants at his school. Those X-Men are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a new cast in the iconic roles. It’s just going to take a few more years.

Disney acquired 21st Century Fox way back in 2019, and Marvel fans have been waiting ever since for Magneto, Storm, and Cyclops fighting alongside the Avengers. There have been hints of what is to come: Ms. Marvel carries the X-gene, the fabled marker of a mutant. And the Deadpool & Wolverine movie was the first X-Men movie set inside the MCU. But Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has long promised something more deliberate, a dedicated series of X-Men movies and a “reset” of the stories that came before.

Jean appears to be the first character in that reset, which is confusing because the old versions of various X-Men characters are still here. Ian McKellen’s Magneto, Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, and James Marsden’s Cyclops all turn up in Avengers: Doomsday later this year. Whether they survive it is another question, and the odds don’t look good. Here’s what Jean’s introduction tells us about how Marvel plans to get from one set of X-Men to the other.

Advertisement
Sadie Sink at the premiere of Spider-Man: Brand New Day —Gilbert Flores—Variety via Getty Images

How is Jean Grey introduced in Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

Jean is the misunderstood villain of the latest Spider-Man movie. She uses mind control to break into the Department of Damage Control, the government body originally created to clear the rubble after the fight in the first Avengers movie and since expanded into something closer to SHIELD, charged with safeguarding the public. Its head, Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman), has a private agenda: he wants to contain superpowered beings and take their abilities. He kidnaps Jean’s sister Sarah, also a telepath, and performs experiments on her. Jean tries to save her, but arrives too late.

The movie draws a parallel between Jean Grey and Peter Parker. Both are isolated. Both see their powers evolve. (We even get hints of the destructive emotions in Jean that could eventually manifest in her alter-ego Dark Phoenix.) Peter talks Jean out of killing Metzger and encourages her to find friends who can embrace her for who she is rather than shame her for being different. At the end of the movie, she boards a bus out of New York. Somewhere ahead of her is the found family at Professor X’s school.

For now, Jean is the only future X-Man we know of in Peter’s timeline. That distinction matters, because the MCU has spent years establishing that variants of the same hero exist across parallel timelines. Bruce Banner and the Ancient One lay out the branching rules in Avengers: Endgame. Loki built an entire series around the TVA, the bureaucracy tasked with policing different timeline branches. And in Deadpool & Wolverine, Deadpool shops across timelines for a Wolverine variant willing to help him save his universe. The Jean Grey played by Janssen, along with Cyclops (Marsden), Magneto (McKellen), and Storm (Halle Berry), live in one of those other timelines.

Tom Holland as Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Brand New Day —Sony Pictures

How do the events of Spider-Man: Brand New Day set up an X-Men film?

In Brand New Day, Peter’s actions may set in motion a major conflict between mutants and the government. Peter begins to develop new abilities thanks to a spike in arachnid hormones. At first, he can’t control his new powers; they make him stronger but also more angry. In an effort to return to “normal,” Peter visits Bruce Banner, a.k.a. The Hulk, who has invented a gamma radiation inhibitor to prevent himself from turning into “the big green guy.” Peter suggests that he could adapt the technology to target specific genes, preserving his “good” powers while suppressing the “bad” ones. Banner warns that judging which evolutionary traits are good or bad is an ethical slippery slope.

Nonetheless, Peter builds both an inhibitor calibrated to target his own evolved powers and a universal one, which he uses to defeat Jean Grey. By the end of the film, the Department of Damage Control has its hands on the universal inhibitor. It’s probably not the last we see of it.

A device that can suppress superhuman abilities will likely play a major role in future X-Men films. Mutants, and Magneto in particular, are frequently in conflict with the government over the attempt to eliminate or “normalize” them. While Professor X advocates for finding a way to live harmoniously beside humans, Magneto frequently takes the stance that humans will inevitably target mutants because of their differences. With the inhibitor, Peter may have accidentally seeded a future conflict between whoever this universe’s Magneto turns out to be and Bill Metzger, should Metzger attempt to use this technology to continue to capture, control, experiment on, and eliminate mutants as he does to Sarah.

Advertisement

Already some early fans are comparing Peter’s invention of this universal inhibitor to J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer: The physicist built the atomic bomb and then came to regret it, spending years advocating against nuclear proliferation. By the end of Brand New Day, Peter has accepted his own evolution and come to realize the government had specifically designed weapons to contain him. Once Peter understands how the universal inhibitor could be weaponized against people with special abilities, he surely will side with the mutants against its use.

James Marsden as Cyclops in Avengers: Doomsday —Marvel Studios

How are the Fox X-Men in Avengers: Doomsday if they are from a different timeline?

Trailers and casting announcements have confirmed a substantial Fox contingent in Doomsday: Stewart as Professor X, McKellen as Magneto, Marsden as Cyclops, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, and Channing Tatum as Gambit, who never appeared in the Fox movies but did make his debut in Deadpool & Wolverine.

It’s unclear which timelines these X-Men hail from. Stewart’s Professor X has already died three different times: vaporized by Jean Grey in X-Men: The Last Stand, stabbed through the chest by X-24 in Logan, and neck-snapped by Wanda Maximoff in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Whatever version shows up in Doomsday, it’s presumably a variant we haven’t met.

The Doomsday trailers suggest that Marvel is employing a specific mechanism that gets all the superheroes in the same room: an incursion, a catastrophic event where the two separate universes collide and destroy one another. In a recent trailer, Professor X seems to witness an incursion. Fans are speculating that various superheroes travel across timelines to join forces and stop both the incursions. In fact, the Fantastic Four have already made that journey: At the end of Thunderbolts*, Yelena (Florence Pugh) spots the Fantastic Four’s ship entering her universe. If the Fantastic Four can reach the Avengers’ timeline, the Avengers can presumably reach the X-Men timeline.

Robert Downey Jr. debuts as Doctor Doom as the Marvel Studios Panel at 2024 San Diego Comic-Con —Matt Winkelmeyer—Getty Images

What role will the X-Men play in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars?

Feige said at a fan event that Secret Wars will launch “a new age of mutants” in the MCU. That tracks with the comics storyline from which the movie takes its name. In the comics, every parallel timeline is destroyed. A great many heroes and villains die. Many survivors forget their past lives and live on the single remaining planet, Battleworld, ruled by Doctor Doom. That story let Marvel writers clear the board, cut the characters who weren’t working, keep the ones who were, and introduce new ones.

On screen, Secret Wars is a tidy way to justify a new cast and a rebooted storyline. How Jean Grey fits into this plan is unclear. She could survive the incursions and wind up on Battleworld, possibly alongside Peter Parker, who winds up in space in a Brand New Day post-credits. Or perhaps she will become an early recruit to the X-Men team after the events of Secret Wars.

Advertisement
Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine —Marvel Studios

When will there be a new X-Men movie?

A new X-Men movie is in the works, though fans won’t see it until after 2027’s Secret Wars. Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier is helming with a script by Lee Sung Jin (Beef) and Joanna Calo (The Bear).

At the San Diego Comic-Con in 2026, Feige told fans, “I can’t wait for all of you to see Avengers: Doomsday. We have a movie after that called Avengers: Secret Wars, and then after that the mutants are coming, and the X-Men are coming. That’s been a dream of mine.” He has since said the cast will be young, as the characters are in the comics.

A lot is riding on the Marvel Studios’ execution of the X-Men saga. Fans have expressed frustration at how convoluted the Marvel multiverse has become and how newer additions to the MCU haven’t reached the emotional highs of Iron Man or Captain America. Refocusing on the X-Men could open up new stories and offer a more streamlined Marvel storytelling experience going forward.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto World

ECB Says Digital Euro App to Exceed EU Accessibility Standards

Published

on

ECB Says Digital Euro App to Exceed EU Accessibility Standards

Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.

All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crypto World

New York Sues Kalshi, Alleging Illegal Gambling Activities

Published

on

Crypto Breaking News

New York has filed a lawsuit against prediction market platform Kalshi, arguing the company operates an illegal, unlicensed gambling business in the state by offering contracts tied to outcomes such as sports events and elections. The case seeks to halt Kalshi’s alleged activity, recover money described as illegal gains, and impose civil penalties.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement that “no matter what they call themselves, prediction markets like Kalshi are gambling platforms, plain and simple,” adding that the state is acting to enforce its laws and protect residents. The complaint also follows regulatory action by the New York State Gaming Commission, which previously issued a cease-and-desist order.

Key takeaways

  • New York is suing Kalshi to stop what it characterizes as unlicensed gambling conducted through “event contracts” tied to outcomes including elections and sports.
  • The lawsuit seeks forfeiture of alleged illegal gains, restitution to users, and civil penalties stated as three times those gains.
  • The dispute reflects a wider U.S. jurisdiction fight over whether states can enforce gambling laws against event contracts listed by federally regulated exchanges.
  • The CFTC has argued—through emergency court filings in connection with the case—that it holds exclusive authority under the Commodity Exchange Act.
  • Regulatory pressure on prediction markets comes as the segment grows, including through blockchain-based products and large-scale event-driven trading activity.

New York’s claims against Kalshi

According to the lawsuit, New York’s core position is that Kalshi’s prediction products amount to gambling under state law because they allow users to wager on outcomes. The state is asking the court for multiple remedies: an order stopping the alleged illegal operation, forfeiture of illegal gains, restitution to affected users, and civil penalties equal to three times those gains.

New York’s filing also follows earlier enforcement steps. The New York State Gaming Commission issued Kalshi a cease-and-desist order in October 2025. Kalshi responded by suing the regulator in federal court.

As described in the lead-up to the new lawsuit, a judge denied Kalshi’s request for a preliminary injunction in July, and an appeals court later rejected Kalshi’s attempt to block enforcement while its appeal continues.

Advertisement

Kalshi disputes New York’s framing. Elisabeth Diana, the company’s head of communications, said the action is “political theater,” arguing that states cannot simply shut down a federally licensed exchange, and warning that such a move would push users “offshore.”

CFTC says federal oversight should control

New York’s case sits within a broader legal contest about regulatory authority over prediction markets. In the days leading up to the lawsuit, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed an emergency motion in federal court seeking to block New York’s enforcement efforts.

The CFTC argued that New York’s approach interferes with the agency’s exclusive authority under the Commodity Exchange Act to regulate designated contract markets, including platforms such as Kalshi. Put differently, the federal regulator is asserting that once an exchange is operating within the CFTC’s framework, state gambling laws should not be used to restrict the same kinds of event contracts.

The CFTC has taken similar stances in disputes involving multiple states, positioning the conflict as an issue of federal supremacy and consistent commodities oversight. The regulator’s concern, as reflected in its court filings, is that allowing individual states to prohibit event contracts listed by federally regulated venues would create conflicting rules and “undermine federal commodities regulation.”

Advertisement

This framing matters for participants because it affects where prediction market activity can legally occur and how compliant operators must be. It also has practical implications for platform design and market access: if a state can apply its gambling rules regardless of federal designation, exchanges could face uneven compliance burdens across jurisdictions.

Prediction markets and mainstream momentum

Prediction markets operate by allowing participants to buy and sell contracts tied to future outcomes, with contract prices intended to reflect the market’s estimate of the probability that an event will occur. In recent years, this model has attracted increased attention—especially around high-profile events that draw large audiences.

Kalshi is not the only major player facing regulatory scrutiny. Polymarket, another prominent prediction market, has also encountered challenges abroad, with reporting noting restrictions and investigations tied to gambling and licensing concerns.

Meanwhile, the sector has continued to experiment with blockchain-based infrastructure. Kalshi began expanding into blockchain-based infrastructure in December 2025, launching tokenized prediction markets on Solana and later adding support for multiple blockchain networks. That shift underscores how prediction market operators are adapting product delivery, potentially changing how users access contracts and where trading activity occurs.

Advertisement

On-chain prediction markets have also shown signs of scale around major global events. According to analytics firm Chainalysis, blockchain-based prediction markets processed about $20 billion in trading tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with more than 400,000 wallets participating—an example of the demand that can emerge when widely watched events create an appetite for probability-based trading.

What to watch as the legal fight advances

For market participants, the key question is whether the courts treat event-contract regulation as primarily a matter of federal commodities oversight—or whether states retain meaningful authority to apply their gambling laws to prediction platforms operating within (or near) federally regulated structures. The CFTC’s emergency motion and New York’s pursuit of enforcement remedies suggest the case could be used to clarify that boundary.

Readers should watch next for how federal courts address the CFTC’s arguments about exclusive jurisdiction, and whether any interim rulings change Kalshi’s ability to offer specific event contracts within New York while the broader appeal process plays out.

Risk & affiliate notice: Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2025