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DeFi Education Fund and Beba drop airdrop lawsuit against U.S. SEC

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DeFi Education Fund and Beba drop airdrop lawsuit against U.S. SEC

The DeFi Education Fund, a prominent lobbying group, and Beba, a Texas-based apparel company, have dropped a lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Summary

  • DeFi Education Fund and Beba withdraw their 2024 lawsuit against the SEC as regulatory signals on airdrops begin to soften.
  • SEC’s evolving stance under new leadership includes potential exemptions for airdrops and a move away from enforcement-led policymaking.

The lawsuit was filed back in 2024 as a pre-enforcement challenge, where the plaintiffs argued the SEC had adopted its digital asset enforcement policy without going through a formal notice-and-comment rulemaking process.

However, under new leadership, the commission has since taken a more accommodating stance toward the crypto sector, which has led to the voluntary dismissal filed on Friday. The filing was made without prejudice, which means the plaintiffs can refile the case at a later stage if needed.

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Over the past year, regulatory signals have started to evolve, including remarks from Commissioner Hester Peirce, who has indicated that airdrops may not fall under securities laws. Meanwhile, the filing also noted that the SEC is exploring a potential exemption framework for airdrops.

“Given the good work done by the SEC Crypto Task Force and recent speeches that suggest a change in the Commission’s position regarding free airdrops, we decided continuing was unnecessary for the time being and we can re-file if we need to later on,” the DeFi Education Fund wrote in an X post.

It added that the SEC Crypto Task Force is expected to address airdrops soon, which remains the central issue behind the original lawsuit.

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Under Gary Gensler, the commission was heavily criticized for its enforcement-first approach. During his time, Gensler presided over dozens of enforcement cases against major digital asset exchanges and DeFi protocols instead of focusing on rulemaking and clear regulatory guidance.

Now, with a pro-crypto leadership at the helm, the SEC has leaned into crypto legislation and has prioritized collaborative dialogue with industry participants.

The SEC has also dismissed or settled outstanding cases against several prominent blockchain firms and their executives.

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Mastercard Deepens Crypto Push With $1.8B Acquisition of Stablecoin Payments Firm BVNK

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Mastercard Enlists Ripple, Binance, and PayPal in New Crypto Partnership


The deal will include $300 million in contingent payments.

Payments giant Mastercard continues with its pro-crypto endeavors, announcing a major acquisition of the stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK for $1.8 billion.

The move followed another major expansion from last week, when Mastercard tapped Ripple, Binance, PayPal, Circle, and other crypto companies in an attempt to bridge the gap between traditional finance and blockchain.

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Mastercard’s Big Acquisition

The definitive agreement for $1.8 billion, including $300 million in contingent payments, will expand Mastercard’s end-to-end support of digital assets and value movement across currencies, rails, and regions, reads the statement.

According to the payments behemoth, the focus of the acquisition will be on real-world use cases such as cross-border remittances, business-to-business transactions, and global payouts, where stablecoins are increasingly seen as faster and more efficient alternatives.

The company emphasized that the key challenge remains integrating crypto-native systems into existing financial infrastructures, despite their evident growth over the past several years. It plans to use its global payment network, which spans over 200 countries, with BVNK’s blockchain capabilities, to deliver “secure, compliant, and scalable payment solutions.”

“We expect that most financial institutions and fintechs will, in time, provide digital currency services, be it with stablecoins or tokenized deposits. We want to support them and their customers with a best-in-class, highly compliant, interoperable offering that brings the benefits of tokenized money to the real world,” commented Jorn Lambert, Chief Product Officer, Mastercard.

He added that this acquisition reinforces what the company has been striving for – using innovation and technology to power economies and empower people. The network’s speed and programmability for every type of transaction are expected to increase with the addition of on-chain rails.

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BVNK CEO Jesse Hemson-Struthers described the deal as a major milestone for the entire industry as it would help “define and deliver the future of money” by combining complementary technologies and expertise.

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Crypto Adoption on the Rise

Mastercard’s statement explained that the new acquisition aligns with its broader push into the digital asset space, following last week’s announcement about the creation of the Crypto Partner Program. As reported, the company tapped industry giants such as Binance, Gemini, Paxos, Circle, and Ripple, alongside crypto-native and fintech behemoth PayPal, to connect blockchain with its vast global payments infrastructure.

The combined project is expected to offer a “chain-agnostic and asset-agnostic infrastructure” that will allow clients to operate across different blockchain networks without being locked into a single ecosystem.

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Argentina joins growing list of countries blocking Polymarket access

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Argentina joins growing list of countries blocking Polymarket access

Argentina has ordered a nationwide block on prediction market Polymarket after a Buenos Aires court found the platform was operating without local approval and exposed users to gambling-related risks.

The ruling directs internet providers across the country to block access to the site and its related domains, according to local media.

It also ordered Apple and Google to remove or restrict Polymarket’s mobile apps for users in the country. The measure is being carried out through ENACOM, Argentina’s communications regulator.

The case was pushed by the City of Buenos Aires Lottery, or LOTBA, and backed by casino industry group Câmara Argentina de Salas de Casinos, Bindos y Anexos (CASCBA). Prosecutors said Polymarket presents itself as a prediction market but works in practice like a betting platform, where users stake money on yes-or-no outcomes tied to politics, inflation, wars and other headline events.

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The probe gained attention after Polymarket appeared to point to Argentina’s February inflation figure shortly before the official INDEC release. That market saw a major swing ahead of the data’s official release, suggesting some acted on privileged information.

Still, authorities said they centered their case on the platform’s legal status and consumer safeguards.

Officials said the site allowed funding through crypto and credit cards, did not apply strong identity or age checks and let users open accounts within minutes. Prosecutors argued that the setup made it easier for minors and other vulnerable users to access gambling products.

The move follows a plethora of other countries treating Polymarket as an unlicensed gambling platform. The prediction market already restricts or blocks access to users in more than 30 countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Australia, and Poland.

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In some markets, regulators have gone further. Ukraine ordered internet providers to block the site earlier this year, as part of a wider crackdown on online betting. There’s currently no legal way for Polymarket to operate in that country, according to Dmitry Nikolaievskyi, chief legal officer at the Project Office for the Development of Ukraine’s Digital Economy at the Ministry of Digital Transformation.

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EUR/USD Chart Analysis: Pair Recovers Ahead of Fed News

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EUR/USD Chart Analysis: Pair Recovers Ahead of Fed News

On 10 March, analysing the EUR/USD chart, we:
→ considered the long-term descending channel, which remains relevant;
→ noted that the sequence of lower lows A–H was broken with the appearance of a higher peak I, with 1.1680 potentially acting as resistance.

At peak I, bulls exhausted their strength: after forming a consolidation zone near the channel’s median, bears regained control and pushed the price to a new yearly low, driven by a bearish fundamental backdrop.

Tomorrow, the Fed is expected to release its interest rate decision, while the ECB will issue comments the day after. These events could significantly shift market sentiment regarding EUR/USD, and current price behaviour suggests that bulls may attempt a comeback.

Technical Analysis of EUR/USD

Note the following:

→ The descending trendline from last week has been breached; the market is holding above the breakout level around 1.14560.

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→ The pair is recovering from oversold territory just below the lower boundary of the channel. The psychological level 1.1500 may provide support.

Thus, traders should consider the scenario in which EUR/USD’s strong movement on Monday–Tuesday is confirmed by upcoming central bank news.

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Bitcoin Bulls Risk Getting Trapped at Six-Week Highs

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Bitcoin Bulls Risk Getting Trapped at Six-Week Highs

Bitcoin (BTC) risks turning its rebound into a classic “bull trap” as the price rejects at strong resistance.

Key points:

  • Bitcoin faces flat Coinbase spot demand and an open interest divergence as prices rise above $75,000.

  • This risks ending the rebound due to structural weakness, analysis warns.

  • Any push higher toward $80,000 will be “challenging.”

BTC market lacks “spot buying support”

New research from onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant released on Tuesday warns that the recent BTC price rebound may collapse.

“The Bitcoin market is currently exposing a critical structural vulnerability as it transitions from a healthy spot-led regime to an overheated rally driven primarily by derivatives,” contributor Easy On Chain wrote in a QuickTake blog post.

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Several factors support the theory, including the Coinbase Premium Index — the difference in price between Coinbase’s BTC/USD and Binance’s BTC/USDT pairs. 

Despite BTC/USD hitting six-week highs, the index continues to dip into negative territory, pointing to a lack of US spot demand.

“In this absence of spot-buying support, we are witnessing an extreme decoupling between investor cohorts where smart money is tactically distributing its supply,” Easy On Chain continued.

Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Index. Source: CryptoQuant

Fellow CryptoQuant contributor MAC_D agreed, drawing a clear distinction between old and new investors.

“Recent on-chain data shows that OG investors are distributing, while new investors are entering the market, indicating a clear transfer of ownership,” they wrote in a separate Quicktake post.

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The core issue, however, is with open interest (OI), which shows the market in a precarious situation.

“On the 1-hour timeframe, a divergence between price and open interest is emerging. While the spot market shows strength, futures traders appear reluctant to take on additional risk,” MAC_D continued. 

“If this lack of bullish positioning in the futures market continues, the current move could turn into a bull trap.”

Bitcoin OI chart. Source: CryptoQuant

Bitcoin price upside will be “challenging”

As Cointelegraph reported, Bitcoin faces a wall of selling pressure in the mid-$70,000 zone, which coincides with old local lows from April 2025.

Related: $58K BTC price still in play? Five things to know in Bitcoin this week

Data from CoinGlass shows price stalling midway through that ask-liquidity at $76,000 before reversing.

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BTC liquidation heatmap. Source: CoinGlass

Market participants thus remain level-headed when it comes to a broader market recovery. 

In his latest X analysis, Keith Alan, cofounder of trading resource Material Indicators, referenced various moving average (MA) trend lines and proprietary trading tools to put the odds of a full bull-market comeback in context.

“Bulls are currently attempting to flip resistance at the Q2 2024 Timescape Level, and now psychological resistance at $75k is coming into focus. If bulls can push higher the next targets are at the Q2 2025 Timescape Levels at $78.3k and $82.5k,” he explained.

“The confluence between the moving averages, Timescapes Levels and the structure add strength to those levels, and there is a lot of ask liquidity laddered between here and there that will make that move challenging.”

BTC/USD one-week chart. Source: Keith Alan/X

Trader Mister Crypto, meanwhile, drew comparisons between current price action and that from earlier in 2026, where BTC/USD offered a relief bounce before breaking below support.