Latest Crypto News | Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoin Updates

Gold has surged roughly 427% since 2016 and recently touched about $5,600, a level Bull Theory says historically marks the end zone for decade-long gold super runs. Prior cycles (1970–1980: +2,403%; 2001–2011: +655%) lasted ~9–10 years then cooled while capital rotated into long equity bull markets. Bull Theory argues the same macro signals — inflation cooling, rising real rates, Fed tightening and a firmer dollar — typically precede peaks. The key difference in 2026 is crypto’s maturity: institutional adoption, active ETFs and corporate BTC holdings mean post-gold rotation may not flow solely into stocks but also into Bitcoin and high-beta crypto assets. Traders should note gold is in its 10th year of the cycle, gains are large but a top isn’t confirmed; however, historical patterns suggest a multi-year rotation could follow, potentially boosting risk-on assets including equities and crypto.

Spartans, Betway and Cloudbet are presented as leading options for modern sports bettors, each targeting different needs. Betway offers a licensed, fiat-and-crypto sportsbook focused on organized markets (e.g., PSL), live statistics, real-time odds and traditional bet management for consistent wagering. Cloudbet is crypto-native, emphasizes fast stablecoin (USDT) transfers, deep odds analysis and broad tournament coverage — positioning itself for events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup and bettors who want speed and low volatility in bankrolls. Spartans blends crypto-casino mechanics with sports wagering, highlighting a centralized Bonus Buy market that lets players pay a set price to enter high-value bonus rounds immediately. Spartans pairs bonus buys with tournaments, leaderboards and instant crypto payouts, aiming to turn chance-driven play into strategy-driven opportunities. The article frames Betway and Cloudbet as stable, low-friction choices while Spartans pushes innovation through active user control, higher volatility options and competitive events. Key implications for traders: platforms supporting stablecoins and fast crypto rails can improve capital efficiency and reduce slippage; Bonus Buy mechanics increase short-term volatility appetite among users and may shift on-platform liquidity patterns.

Trend Research, led by Jack Yi, has fully exited its Ethereum (ETH) leveraged long positions — once the largest in Asia — according to Arkham on‑chain data. At its peak the firm held roughly $2.1 billion in leveraged ETH longs financed by borrowing stablecoins against ETH collateral. The complete exit, closed on Sunday, realized an estimated $869 million loss after several days of position reductions as Ether fell toward $1,750 and forced deleveraging hit the market. Yi had publicly maintained a bullish long‑term outlook days earlier, forecasting ETH above $10,000 and BTC over $200,000 while noting partial risk adjustments and concerns about liquidity and platform activity. Despite the large institutional unwind, on‑chain metrics show sustained accumulation: CryptoQuant reports 27 million ETH (about 23% of circulating supply) held in “accumulating addresses” — wallets with 100+ ETH and no outflow history or exchange ties — and notes ETH has traded below these addresses’ realized price only twice (a 2025 low and the current downturn starting January 2026). Key takeaways for traders: a major leveraged liquidation increased near‑term selling pressure and volatility (realized loss ≈ $869M), but long‑term on‑chain accumulation suggests underlying demand remains. Monitor exchange flows, open interest on derivatives, large address activity, and ETH price reaction around $1,700–$2,000 for potential short‑term support or further deleveraging.

The Bitcoin Optech Newsletter #391 recap podcast features contributors Mark “Murch” Erhardt, Gustavo Flores Echaiz, Mike Schmidt and guests Toby Sharp, Chris Hyunhum Cho, Jonas Nick, and Antoine Poinsot. Key topics include proposals and research affecting Bitcoin consensus and implementation: a constant-time parallelized UTXO database, Bithoven (a formally verified imperative language for Bitcoin Script), dust-attack mitigations, and several post-quantum signature proposals (SHRINCS, Falcon, and SLH-DSA performance claims). The episode also covers work on BIP54 clarifications and multiple notable releases and code changes across Bitcoin tooling and Lightning implementations (LDK 0.1.9, Bitcoin Core PRs, Core Lightning, Eclair, LND, Rust Bitcoin, and LDK merges). The discussion highlights engineering trade-offs for performance, verification, and security implications of adopting post-quantum schemes and script-language verification, and practical mitigations for dust attacks that may affect node and wallet behavior. For traders, the episode signals ongoing technical maturation of Bitcoin infrastructure, active development on post-quantum readiness, and continued Lightning and wallet ecosystem improvements — factors that support long-term network robustness and may incrementally reduce systemic risk.

A hotter-than-expected US jobs report (130,000 January payrolls vs. ~70,000 forecast; unemployment 4.3%) reduced market odds of a March Fed rate cut, triggering risk-off moves across crypto and traditional assets. Bitcoin dropped roughly 2% to about $67,500, with altcoins such as Ethereum and Solana falling around 3%. CME FedWatch odds for a March cut fell to roughly 8% from about 20% a day earlier. The labor-market surprise pushed Treasury yields and the dollar higher while safe havens like gold rose (~1.3%). Traders pared risk positions and short-term bullish momentum for BTC weakened; however, on-chain activity and macro liquidity remain key watch points after recent volatility (BTC hit a 14-month low near $62,800 last week before rebounding). For traders: expect higher intraday volatility, lower immediate rate-cut-driven upside for BTC, and greater sensitivity of crypto prices to upcoming macro data and Fed communications.

Major banks trimmed price targets for Coinbase (COIN) ahead of the exchange’s quarterly earnings, triggering a roughly 6% intraday drop and extending a year‑to‑date decline of about 34% as shares traded near $150. JPMorgan lowered its year‑end target from $399 to $290 citing weaker crypto trading volumes, reduced stablecoin (USDC) circulation and rising competition from overseas exchanges pursuing U.S. listings. Cantor Fitzgerald cut its target to $221 (from $277) and Citi lowered its target to $400 (from $505); all maintained positive/buy ratings. The downgrades come amid broad crypto weakness — Bitcoin has fallen roughly 27% over the past month to about $67,000 — and analysts now model softer near‑term revenue and EPS (analyst Q4 2025 EPS modeled near $1.05). Market commentary also flagged Coinbase asking sell‑side analysts to submit questions ahead of the call, an unusual step some viewed as signaling caution. For traders: reduced price targets, lower projected volumes and shrinking stablecoin flows point to near‑term downside pressure on COIN, while intensified competition (OKX, Kraken, Gemini and other entrants) increases medium‑term risks to market share and revenue growth.

Bhavin Vaid, co‑founder of Birch Hill and former Principal at 1RT Fund, argues that curation and risk curators are becoming essential infrastructure for crypto markets. Curation helps users navigate unknown assets; risk curators improve pricing efficiency and liquidity matching in permissionless on‑chain credit markets. Curators are evolving into infrastructure providers that prioritise transparency to rebuild trust after past DeFi failures (e.g., Terra/Luna, FTX). Vaid warns that composability of risk can trigger cascading liquidations from a single depeg or oracle failure, so decentralized platforms must evolve guardrails to protect users. He expects Ethereum and Solana to remain dominant base layers and predicts closer integration of CeFi and DeFi (citing morpho v2 as an example) that will expand fixed‑rate, fixed‑duration credit markets and unlock new on‑chain opportunities. Traditional asset managers will migrate on‑chain but will need curators and consulting to operate natively. Vaid highlights demand for high‑quality real‑world assets, the importance of accurate real‑time on‑chain NAV reporting, and the untapped opportunity for fiat currencies at scale on‑chain. He also notes many DeFi hacks stem from phishing rather than contract bugs, and that issuers must avoid exploitative approaches aimed at retail. SEO keywords: curation, risk curator, on‑chain credit, real‑world assets, morpho v2, transparency, NAV. The article signals growing infrastructure and regulatory/compliance integration needs for asset managers and lenders moving on‑chain.

On-chain analytics tied to Fundstrat analyst Tom Lee flagged large Ethereum (ETH) purchases immediately after a recent price crash, indicating institutional accumulation at lower price levels. The report identifies a 20,000 ETH transfer (~$41.08M) from a FalconX hot wallet (tag 0x115) to a Bitmine-linked wallet (ending 0x3BF), executed during the post-crash repricing window. The same FalconX→Bitmine channel carried an earlier 20,000 ETH move six days prior (valued then at ~$46.04M), implying a lower effective cost basis on the latest buy and a scaling strategy by the buyer. Historical flow data from Bitmine shows repeated tranche transfers (e.g., 40.32K, 38.4K, 30.72K, 34.56K ETH) through BatchDeposit addresses for consolidation, custody staging or exchange settlement—behavior consistent with treasury operations rather than one-off trades. The pattern suggests institutional brokers sourcing liquidity and routing capital into Bitmine-related wallets, effectively expanding exposure during the downturn instead of reducing it. For traders, the key takeaways are: 1) sizeable institutional bids have appeared precisely after the drop, offering short-term support; 2) repeated, similarly sized tranches point to structured accumulation that can sustain buy-side pressure; 3) however, the presence of internal routing and custody movements means not all large transfers equate to immediate market buys. Primary keywords: Ethereum, ETH price crash, institutional accumulation, on-chain flows. Secondary/semantic keywords: Bitmine, FalconX, Fundstrat, whale buys, BatchDeposit, cost basis.

The U.S. Department of Justice fined peer‑to‑peer crypto marketplace Paxful $4 million after the platform pleaded guilty to three federal charges for willful Anti‑Money Laundering (AML) failures and violations of the Bank Secrecy Act. A multi‑year DOJ investigation traced funds tied to sex trafficking and fraud through Paxful accounts, finding inadequate Know‑Your‑Customer (KYC) checks and poor transaction monitoring. Paxful negotiated with prosecutors through 2024, entered a guilty plea, and in January 2025 received court approval for the $4M fine plus a three‑year corporate probation. The company has begun overhauling compliance: appointing a new Chief Compliance Officer, deploying analytics tools such as Chainalysis, and strengthening controls. Regulators including FinCEN and the SEC are intensifying AML enforcement across crypto, pressuring peer‑to‑peer (P2P) platforms to adopt pre‑trade KYC and enhanced monitoring. Immediate market effects include user migration toward fully regulated exchanges, higher compliance costs, strained banking relationships, and rising insurance premiums for crypto firms. The case sets a precedent treating P2P platforms as money services businesses (MSBs) subject to traditional banking laws, signalling stricter regulatory scrutiny industry‑wide.

Flow and exchange HTX announced the full restoration of FLOW trading, deposits and withdrawals on HTX after a December 27, 2025 security incident on the Flow network. Flow validators and core contributors contained the exploit, patched the vulnerability and restored normal network operations while preserving legitimate user balances at the network level. HTX ran internal risk-management and asset-verification procedures in close coordination with Flow, completed reconciliation, and confirmed all FLOW assets held on the exchange remain intact and fully validated. HTX has resumed standard listing status and full FLOW services. Executives quoted include Molly Fu (HTX spokesperson) and Roham Gharegozlou (CEO of Dapper Labs and Flow Foundation board member). The announcement highlights Flow’s recent metrics — over 40 million unique accounts and 950 million transactions — and reiterates both parties’ commitment to security, governance coordination and ecosystem resilience.

XRP has fallen more than 50% since its July high and is trading below $1.50 amid sustained selling, low on‑chain profitability (Spent Output Profit Ratio < 1) and weakening funding rates. Short‑term technicals show multiple sell signals, and analysts warn XRP could test lower levels amid heightened volatility. As traders look beyond XRP for projects with live products, Mutuum Finance (MUTM) — an Ethereum‑based decentralized lending protocol — is highlighted as an alternative. Mutuum’s V1 is live on the Sepolia testnet with lending, mtTokens, borrowing and a liquidator bot available for public testing. MUTM is in a staged presale (Phase 7 price $0.04, Phase 8 $0.045) with a total supply of 4 billion tokens and nearly half allocated to presale; reports indicate ~850M tokens sold so far. Tokenomics include buybacks funded by protocol fees and staking rewards (projected yields cited at 5–10% for some positions). The piece is promotional and framed as a press release; readers are advised to perform independent due diligence before investing.

Cardano (ADA) has returned to a critical multi‑year support zone first established in 2022, a level that has acted as a long‑term demand floor. The current price cluster also coincides with the value area low, adding technical confluence and increasing the chance of buyers defending the region. Weekly RSI is deeply oversold, indicating momentum exhaustion that has historically preceded strong counter‑trend rallies for ADA. Traders should watch for bullish confirmation via sustained weekly closes and rising volume; if support holds, rotation toward the range highs becomes more likely. A decisive close below the zone would invalidate the long‑term range thesis and expose ADA to deeper downside. Key items: four‑year macro support retested, alignment with value‑area low, weekly RSI extreme oversold, need for confirmation from bullish weekly closes and volume.

Crypto analyst TARA warned that XRP could drop below the $1 psychological level if Bitcoin undergoes a near-term correction. TARA noted XRP’s strong correlation with Bitcoin and pointed to Fibonacci support and a liquidation gap as deeper support levels should BTC decline toward a projected short-term correction around $65.8k before pushing back up to $75.4k. TARA still retains a constructive long-term view on XRP, with macro targets in the single digits. Another analyst, CasiTrades, said XRP appears to be in a Wave 4 relief bounce; failure to hold a key retracement would open a final wave down to significantly lower levels, while those lower levels could present attractive long-term buying opportunities due to probable bullish divergence. At the time of reporting, XRP was trading lower for the day. Primary keywords: XRP, Bitcoin, BTC correction, Fibonacci support. Secondary/semantic keywords: Wave 4, retracement, liquidation gap, long-term buy zone, crypto trading.

BNB has dropped below the high-timeframe $620 “golden pocket” (0.618 Fibonacci) and is trading around $609, testing the 200-week moving average — a key macro support. The break under $620 shifts the technical outlook from a clean hold to a support probe: if buyers reclaim and sustain above $620 with rising volume and a strong weekly close, the move may be a brief deviation and bullish structure would be restored. Failure to regain $620 and sustained weekly closes below the 200-week MA would open the door to deeper consolidation and downside toward lower value areas before a new base forms. Upside remains capped by the $932 high-timeframe resistance if macro structure holds. Key points for traders: monitor weekly closes, volume on any reclaim, and price action around the 200-week moving average; a reclaim of $620 is the first bullish trigger, while sustained acceptance below it favors further weakness.

Bitcoin fell below $66,000 after three days of declines following a failed attempt above $70,000. On-chain and exchange data point to spot-led selling—particularly on Binance—while a negative Coinbase premium signals muted US investor participation. Key metrics: Binance cumulative volume delta (CVD) extended to about –$5.7 billion, aggregated open interest slid to $17.6 billion (from $20 billion), and CryptoQuant’s 30-day new money flow flipped negative near –$2.8 billion. The young-supply (0–1 month) share cooled to ~13%, indicating reduced speculative movement. Together these indicators show sellers dominating, leverage being unwound, and price drops failing to attract fresh capital inflows. Traders should note increased spot selling pressure, decreasing open interest, and low US spot demand as short-term bearish signals for BTC.

White House-led talks between banks, crypto firms and lawmakers made constructive progress on a Senate market-structure bill for stablecoins but stopped short of a final agreement. Participants — including Ripple and the Blockchain Association — described sessions as productive and willing to compromise. The main dispute centers on whether stablecoin issuers or third parties (exchanges/custodians) may offer yield or “rewards” on stablecoin holdings. Banking groups pressed a principles paper seeking broad prohibitions on stablecoin-linked interest, arguing it could threaten bank deposits and financial stability. Crypto firms pushed back against blanket bans; some previously withdrew support when restrictive language surfaced. Stakeholders and the White House said talks will continue to reconcile positions. Congress has shown bipartisan interest but has not yet secured Senate consensus after related House action earlier in the year. Traders should watch legislative language on issuer-paid yields and third-party rewards closely — outcomes could affect stablecoin flows, lending demand, centralized exchange custody strategies and overall liquidity in dollar-pegged crypto assets.

Coinbase launched Agentic Wallets, a new wallet infrastructure designed for autonomous AI agents to hold funds, manage digital identities, and execute onchain transactions without human intervention. The system integrates the x402 protocol — a machine-to-machine payment standard that has processed over 50 million transactions — and targets automated use cases like API fee payments, compute purchases, and inter-agent transfers. Developers can deploy and fund agents in under two minutes using Coinbase’s CLI and a prebuilt library of financial functions (trading, yield strategies, transfers, payments). Agents can transact on Base, Coinbase’s layer-2 network, without paying gas fees directly, easing continuous automated activity. Coinbase positions the product as foundational infrastructure for AI-driven onchain economies, enabling software agents to act as independent economic participants rather than passive tools.

Chainalysis announced upgraded support for the Stellar blockchain, extending coverage beyond the native XLM token to include automatic detection and tracking of new fungible and non‑fungible tokens that adhere to Stellar’s classic token standard and smart‑contract assets. The integration means newly minted Stellar tokens are added to Chainalysis’ platform automatically, enabling real‑time monitoring via Chainalysis KYT (Know Your Transaction), entity screening, and investigation through Reactor. Stellar is positioned as a high‑performance Layer 1 with about $187 million TVL, widely used for tokenization and cross‑border payments. The upgrade provides customers actionable alerts, continuous monitoring, transaction tracing, visualization of fund flows, and improved ability to identify potential illicit activity on Stellar. Primary keywords: Chainalysis, Stellar, XLM, automatic token support, KYT. Secondary/semantic keywords: Reactor, tokenization, TVL, blockchain analytics, on‑chain monitoring. The main keyword "Stellar" appears multiple times to aid search relevance.

Research from Borderless.xyz shows wide variation in stablecoin-to-cash conversion costs across Africa. The median conversion cost in January 2026 was about 3% (299 basis points), but some corridors are far worse: Botswana peaked at 19.4% and Congo exceeded 13% based on nearly 94,000 pricing checks across 66 currency corridors. Regions with multiple providers, like South Africa, see much lower rates (~1.5%), while overall Africa shows a “TradFi Premium” of 1.2% (119 basis points) compared with traditional bank exchange rates. The report attributes high fees to low competition and unclear regulation that deter new entrants; the underlying blockchain rails work cheaply, but the final on‑ramp/off‑ramp step — converting digital dollars into local cash — drives costs. Analysts and policymakers at venues such as Davos have noted digital currencies can cut remittance costs, but the benefit only appears where market competition exists. Key implications for traders: higher friction in African stablecoin liquidity and fiat on/off ramps can widen spreads, reduce usable arbitrage, and concentrate volume on a few providers, increasing counterparty and execution risk. Primary keywords: stablecoin conversion fees, Africa stablecoins, remittance costs. Secondary keywords: Borderless.xyz, TradFi Premium, on‑ramp/off‑ramp, competition, regulation.

Ripple has partnered with UK asset manager Aviva Investors to pilot tokenization of traditional investment funds on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Aviva says tokenization can streamline fund administration, cut operational costs and speed settlement; Distribution Director Jill Barber highlighted time and cost efficiencies for clients. The pilot will leverage XRPL’s fast confirmations, low transaction fees, energy-efficient consensus and built-in compliance tools. Ripple underlined XRPL’s scale—over four billion transactions, more than seven million wallets and around 120 independent validators—and recent upgrades such as XLS‑80 that enable permissioned zones for institutional use. Neither party has disclosed which funds will be tokenized first or regulatory timelines. The collaboration marks Aviva Investors’ first move into fund tokenization and is Ripple’s first European investment-management partnership; both expect a long-term, multi-year relationship potentially extending beyond 2026. Traders should note this is a strategic institutional adoption story for XRPL that could increase on‑chain volume and institutional flows if the pilot advances, but concrete product launches and regulatory approvals remain outstanding.

Bitcoin (BTC) rallied above $67,000 after several weeks of consolidation, with trading around $67,000 on April 10, 2025. The breakout followed mid‑March lows near $58,000 and a consolidation range into early April (~$65,000). Rising trading volume accompanied the move. Primary drivers include sustained net inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, dovish Federal Reserve commentary weakening the dollar, improved regulatory clarity in major jurisdictions, and stronger on‑chain metrics (higher active addresses, settlement volume, larger long‑term holder share). Additional context from earlier reports showed similar bullish signs around renewed ETF activity, falling exchange reserves, institutional inflows (weekly ETF flows > $1.5B in some weeks), rising hash rate and Lightning Network adoption. Technical indicators place BTC above its 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages with supportive RSI. Short‑term support sits between $62,000–$64,000, near recent consolidation lows, while the next upside target is the prior all‑time high (~$69k). Analysts note this rally appears structurally healthier than 2021’s cycle—less derivatives leverage and more spot accumulation—but caution that macro tightening, regulatory shocks, miner energy debate and profit‑taking by long‑term holders could trigger volatility. For traders: expect stronger institutional demand and deeper liquidity, but plan for elevated volatility around macro or regulatory headlines and manage positions around the cited support ($62k–$64k) and resistance (~$69k) levels. Reliable data sources: CoinMarketCap/CoinGecko for prices and Glassnode/CryptoQuant for on‑chain metrics.

The U.S. Department of Justice secured a $4 million criminal penalty after Paxful Holdings, a former peer‑to‑peer bitcoin marketplace, pleaded guilty to charges including anti‑money‑laundering (AML) violations, knowingly handling criminal proceeds and facilitating illegal prostitution. Prosecutors say Paxful — popular in parts of Africa and shut down in 2023 — processed as much as $3 billion in crypto trades from 2017–2019, including transactions linked to Backpage, a platform used for illicit sex work. Authorities initially sought over $112 million but reduced the fine to $4 million after determining Paxful could not pay. Paxful has accepted responsibility, agreed to cooperate with ongoing investigations and will implement remedial compliance measures. For crypto traders, the case highlights enforcement risk for peer‑to‑peer and OTC channels and underscores the importance of AML controls and suspicious-activity reporting; this action is primarily a compliance and criminal‑liability enforcement, not a market‑manipulation case.

Rising housing unaffordability is driving Generation Z toward speculative crypto products, industry figures reported at Consensus Hong Kong. CoinFund partner David Pakman said home prices now average about 7.5 times a Gen Z annual salary versus roughly 4.5 times for earlier generations; only 13% of 25‑year‑olds own homes while more than half of Gen Z investors hold crypto. With traditional wealth routes constrained by student debt, wage stagnation and asset inflation, younger investors are increasingly using perpetual futures, zero‑day options, prediction markets, memecoins and leveraged tokens to chase higher returns. Market figures cited include roughly $100 trillion in annual notional volume in perpetual futures, prediction markets’ growth from ~$100 million to $44 billion in three years, memecoin daily volumes near $18 billion and zero‑day options trading about $2 billion daily. Speakers described this shift as a rational “risk recalibration” but warned it raises market‑stability and regulatory risks because of 24/7 trading, high leverage, retail accessibility and decentralized venues. For traders: expect elevated retail‑driven volatility across derivatives and memecoins, rapid liquidity swings in prediction markets, and increased regulatory scrutiny that could affect leverage products, exchange listings and margin availability.

Dogecoin (DOGE) broke a key $0.095 support level that had held since February 2024, falling 2.18% to $0.09083 amid broader market bearishness. Trading volume rose 11% to $845 million despite the decline. Technical indicators show strong downward momentum: the Average Directional Index (ADX) is 51.33, well above the 25 threshold. Analysts warn that failure to reclaim $0.095 could precipitate a 35% decline, with the next minor support at $0.0883 and a major support zone at $0.05710. Futures data point to elevated bearish positioning—shorts total about $14.46 million versus $8.26 million in longs—clustered around $0.0888 (downside) and $0.0948 (upside), raising the risk of liquidation cascades and rapid moves. Some analysts counter that DOGE may be testing a long-term ascending trendline (since 2017) and that current levels could present a buying opportunity if historical support holds. Key takeaways for traders: DOGE has broken a near-year-long support, momentum indicators favor further downside, leveraged short concentration increases volatility risk, and a reclaim of $0.095 would be needed to shift the technical outlook back toward neutral or bullish.

Hong Kong lawmaker Johnny Ng urged a revamp of the city’s cryptocurrency regulation at Consensus Hong Kong, recommending lessons from the United Arab Emirates and South Korea. Ng—who sits on Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and China’s CPPCC National Committee—argued that clearer, more unified frameworks attract institutional capital and reduce uncertainty. He noted Hong Kong’s current hybrid model (Securities and Futures Commission licensing plus multiple oversight bodies) creates overlapping supervision and bureaucratic friction. From the UAE, Ng highlighted the benefits of zone-based single regulators such as Dubai’s VARA and ADGM’s framework: explicit rules, a single licensing contact point, and agility that has drawn major exchanges. From South Korea, he cited centralized government-led regulation (Financial Services Commission/FSS) and the Digital Asset Basic Act’s focus on investor protection, reserve requirements, real-name banking and AML—measures that restored public trust and mainstream adoption. Analysts see two converging global models: specialist dedicated regulators and empowered traditional financial regulators. For Hong Kong, Ng recommends integrating elements of both—streamline oversight, clarify responsibilities, and strengthen transparency for custody and reserve practices—to maintain competitiveness as a gateway to mainland China. The piece notes regulatory clarity correlates with higher registered virtual asset providers and foreign investment. The article concludes that Hong Kong must adapt to secure its position as a fintech hub.

House Financial Services Committee Democrats have asked SEC Chair Paul Atkins for documentation explaining the suspension of an enforcement case against Tron founder Justin Sun, saying the agency has halted “nearly all” crypto enforcement since the 2025 administration change. Committee leaders cite internal communications indicating revised enforcement priorities in early 2025 that placed multiple high‑profile cryptocurrency probes on indefinite hold. The Justin Sun/Tron matter, reportedly in final review after investigations beginning in 2023 into token registration and alleged market manipulation, was paused in February 2025 despite staff recommendations to proceed. SEC leadership says case prioritization follows risk assessments and cannot be discussed case‑by‑case due to confidentiality; Atkins has offered a private briefing. Former enforcement officials and legal scholars say broad suspensions may reflect policy shifts under new leadership and could undermine perceived regulatory independence. Markets reacted: TRX showed roughly 8% volatility within 24 hours of the congressional probe becoming public, and institutional product launches have been delayed amid uncertainty. The dispute raises international concerns about regulatory coordination, with potential effects on cross‑border investigations and global oversight. House Democrats may use formal requests, hearings or subpoenas to press for transparency; the outcome could set precedent for enforcement policy during administration transitions.

RIVER (RIVER) surged about 20% in 24 hours after renewed stablecoin partnerships, a PancakeSwap RIVER/USDT pool launch and a technical breakout from a week-long triangle consolidation. The token climbed back to roughly $19 (press time) after earlier 2026 highs near $86 and lows around $3. Recent stablecoin activity included a crvUSD swap at 1:1 with River’s satUSD and broader market strength in stablecoin-related tokens. On the hourly chart RIVER broke out and retested $12.66, trading along an ascending trendline toward a $23 target; $20 is the immediate resistance to clear. Indicators showed strong buying interest: Trend Strength Index at 0.86 and sentiment at 93%, while community bullishness on CoinMarketCap was 57%. On-chain and derivatives data point to heavy futures activity — Binance futures volume ~$806M, OKX ~$612M — with 12‑hour futures net flows of $8.37M versus $100K in spot flows. CoinGlass reported about $3M of short liquidations during the move; liquidity was thin above $19, with notable long liquidity concentrated near $16–$17. The report warns the rally may be leverage-driven and vulnerable if overleveraged; key levels to watch for traders are $20 (near-term hurdle) and $23 (next upside target).

Ethereum (ETH) has dropped to around $1,976, down 4.25% over 24 hours and nearly 13% for the week, pushing the price below the cost basis at which large whale addresses began accumulating in June 2025. On-chain tracker CryptoQuant and analyst CW8900 report that despite unrealized losses, whale accumulation has accelerated — a pattern highlighted by Coin Bureau — suggesting strong conviction among major holders. Market cap sits near $238.4 billion. Short-term charts show continued selling pressure (one‑hour loss ~0.56%), but increased stacking by whales may signal expectations of a future rebound. Key takeaways for traders: ETH is trading below realized/whale cost basis (potential support/resistance implications), whale buying may reduce sell-side liquidity and precede a recovery, but current momentum is bearish across short and weekly timeframes. Primary keywords: Ethereum, ETH, whales, accumulation, cost basis. Secondary/semantic keywords: realized price, CryptoQuant, market cap, on‑chain data, short-term selling pressure.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched legal action against HTX (formerly Huobi), linked publicly to Justin Sun, for repeatedly promoting crypto products to UK consumers in breach of the UK financial promotions regime that took effect in October 2023. The FCA says HTX continued advertising across platforms including TikTok, X, YouTube and Facebook despite prior warnings. Key issues cited are HTX’s failure to engage with the regulator, an opaque ownership and website-operator structure, and the risk that existing UK users continue to see unlawful promotions even after HTX restricted new UK registrations. The FCA has requested Apple, Google Play and social platforms to block or remove HTX’s UK-facing apps and accounts and has kept HTX on its public warning list; customers are not covered by the UK Financial Ombudsman Service and may not recover funds if the firm fails. This is the FCA’s first enforcement action under the crypto promotions regime, signalling tougher cross-border enforcement of financial promotion rules for crypto platforms — a development traders should watch for potential access restrictions, liquidity shifts and reputational effects on HTX and related tokens.