Bitcoin attempted a recovery but is facing selling at higher levels, indicating that bears continue to sell on rallies.
Crypto treasury companies and blockchain technology are creating alternative pathways to fund early-stage scientific and medical research.
The largest Bitcoin ATM operator in North America is expanding to Hong Kong, citing growing global demand for cash-to-crypto access.
AI systems drive crypto fraud while the industry relies on outdated postmortems. Real-time transaction defense must become infrastructure.
Stablecoin settlement times vary wildly depending on their blockchain. Purpose-built payment chains must remain open, or they will repeat TradFi fragmentation.
Truth Social wants to “democratize information” for its 6.3 million users with a social media prediction platform developed in collaboration with Crypto.com.
Bitcoin price dropped 2.5% on Tuesday in an attempt to fill the latest weekend CME futures gap, while traders warned that $100,000 could fail as support.
Vitalik Buterin has opposed the EU’s proposed Chat Control law, warning it undermines digital privacy and creates surveillance backdoors.
The two-week approval forecast follows analyst predictions that additional crypto ETF approvals could be a key catalyst for a broader altcoin season.
Strategy Inc. chair Michael Saylor says Bitcoin will gain after “macro headwinds” subside as treasury companies and ETFs put upward pressure on the cryptocurrency.
The EU’s landmark crypto law was meant to unify the market with a single license. Less than a year in, diverging national approaches are raising fears of regulatory arbitrage and uncertainty.
The purchase as part of the company’s accumulation strategy started in 2020 has resulted in Strategy holding more than $73 billion worth of BTC.
The growing sophistication of the mass surveillance state has created the need for new tools to obfuscate identity and restore anonymity.
Deepfake-assisted hackers are now targeting US federal and state officials by masquerading as senior US officials in the latest brazen phishing campaign to steal sensitive data. The bad actors have been operating since April, using deepfake voice messages and text messages to masquerade as senior government officials and establish rapport with victims, the FBI said in a May 15 warning. “If you receive a message claiming to be from a senior US official, do not assume it is authentic,” the agency said. If US officials’ accounts are compromised, the scam could become far worse because hackers can then “target other government officials, or their associates and contacts, by using the trusted contact information they obtain,” the FBI said. As part of these scams, the FBI says the hackers are trying to access victims’ accounts through malicious links and directing them to hacker-controlled platforms or websites that steal sensitive data like passwords. Source: FBI“Contact information acquired through social engineering schemes could also be used to impersonate contacts to elicit information or funds,” the agency added. Crypto founders targeted in separate deepfake attacks In an unrelated deepfake scam, Sandeep Narwal, co-founder of blockchain platform Polygon, raised the alarm in a May 13 X post that bad actors were also impersonating him with deepfakes. Nailwal said the “attack vector is horrifying” and had left him slightly shaken because several people had “called me on Telegram asking if I was on zoom call with them and am I asking them to install a script.” Source: Sandeep NarwalAs part of the scam, the bad actors hacked the Telegram of Polygon’s ventures lead, Shreyansh and pinged people asking to jump in a Zoom call that had a deepfake of Nailwal, Shreyansh and a third person, according to Nailwal. “The audio is disabled and since your voice is not working, the scammer asks you to install some SDK, if you install game over for you,” Nailwal said. “Other issue is, there is no way to complain this to Telegram and get their attention on this matter. I understand they can’t possibly take all these service calls but there should be a way to do it, maybe some sort of social way to call out a particular account.” At least one user replied in the comments saying the fraudsters had targeted them, while Web3 OG Dovey Wan said she had also been deepfaked in a similar scam. Source: Dovey WanFBI and crypto founder says vigilance is key to avoid scams Nailwal suggests the best way to avoid being duped by these types of scams is to never install anything during an online interaction initiated by another person and to keep a separate device specifically for accessing crypto wallets. Related: AI deepfake attacks will extend beyond videos and audio — Security firmsMeanwhile, the FBI says to verify the identity of anyone who contacts you, examine all sender addresses for mistakes or inconsistencies, and check all images and videos for distorted hands, feet or unrealistic facial features. At the same time, the agency recommends never sharing sensitive information with someone you have never met, clicking links from people you don’t know, and setting up two-factor or multifactor authentication. Magazine: Deepfake AI ‘gang’ drains $11M OKX account, Zipmex zapped by SEC: Asia Express
Deepfake-assisted hackers are now targeting US federal and state officials by masquerading as senior US officials in a latest brazen phishing campaign to steal sensitive data. The bad actors have been operating since April, using deepfake voice messages and text messages to masquerade as senior government officials and establish rapport with victims, the FBI said in a May 15 warning. “If you receive a message claiming to be from a senior US official, do not assume it is authentic,” the agency said. If US officials’ accounts are compromised, the scam could become far worse because hackers can then “target other government officials, or their associates and contacts, by using the trusted contact information they obtain,” the FBI said. As part of these scams, the FBI says the hackers are trying to access victims’ accounts through malicious links and directing them to hacker-controlled platforms or websites that steal sensitive data like passwords. Source: FBI“Contact information acquired through social engineering schemes could also be used to impersonate contacts to elicit information or funds,” the agency added. Crypto founders targeted in separate deepfake attacks In an unrelated deepfake scam, Sandeep Narwal, co-founder of blockchain platform Polygon, raised the alarm in a May 13 X post that bad actors were also impersonating him with deepfakes. Nailwal said the “attack vector is horrifying” and had left him slightly shaken because several people had “called me on Telegram asking if I was on zoom call with them and am I asking them to install a script.” Source: Sandeep NarwalAs part of the scam, the bad actors hacked the Telegram of Polygon’s ventures lead, Shreyansh and pinged people asking to jump in a Zoom call that had a deepfake of Nailwal, Shreyansh and a third person, according to Nailwal. “The audio is disabled and since your voice is not working, the scammer asks you to install some SDK, if you install game over for you,” Nailwal said. “Other issue is, there is no way to complain this to Telegram and get their attention on this matter. I understand they can’t possibly take all these service calls but there should be a way to do it, maybe some sort of social way to call out a particular account.” At least one user replied in the comments saying the fraudsters had targeted them, while Web3 OG Dovey Wan said she had also been deepfaked in a similar scam. Source: Dovey WanFBI and crypto founder says vigilance is key to avoid scams Nailwal suggests the best way to avoid being duped by these types of scams is to never install anything during an online interaction initiated by another person and to keep a separate device specifically for accessing crypto wallets. Related: AI deepfake attacks will extend beyond videos and audio — Security firmsMeanwhile, the FBI says to verify the identity of anyone who contacts you, examine all sender addresses for mistakes or inconsistencies, and check all images and videos for distorted hands, feet or unrealistic facial features. At the same time, the agency recommends never sharing sensitive information with someone you have never met, clicking links from people you don’t know, and setting up two-factor or multifactor authentication. Magazine: Deepfake AI ‘gang’ drains $11M OKX account, Zipmex zapped by SEC: Asia Express
Coinbase has reportedly fired a group of customer support agents following their alleged involvement in social engineering attacks on users. The contracted agents were based in India. According to a May 15 Fortune interview, Coinbase's chief security officer, Philip Martin, said the company flagged customer support contractors who allowed scammers access to user data, suggesting they could be Indian nationals. The CSO’s comments came after some crypto users reeled from attempted phishing attacks using their Coinbase data, which the exchange estimated could cost them between $180 million and $400 million in remediation and reimbursement.Qiao Wang, a core contributor to Alliance DAO, said in a May 15 X post that he may have been a victim of one of these attacks. He said a scammer notified him his Coinbase account had been compromised, asked him to verify his personal information, to which the criminals likely had access through the compromised agents, and requested he withdraw all his funds to a “Coinbase self-custodial wallet.”“I called them out at the end of the call telling them they need to step up their game [...],” said Wang on X. “They told me that had made $7m that day.”Cointelegraph reached out to Martin and Coinbase for comments, but had not received responses at the time of publication.This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.
Coinbase has reportedly fired a group of customer support agents following their alleged involvement in social engineering attacks on users. The contracted agents were based in India. According to a May 15 Fortune interview, Coinbase's chief security officer, Philip Martin, said the company flagged customer support contractors who allowed scammers access to user data, suggesting they could be Indian nationals. The CSO’s comments came after some crypto users reeled from attempted phishing attacks using their Coinbase data, which the exchange estimated could cost them between $180 million and $400 million in remediation and reimbursement.Qiao Wang, a core contributor to Alliance DAO, said in a May 15 X post that he may have been a victim of one of these attacks. He said a scammer notified him his Coinbase account had been compromised, asked him to verify his personal information, to which the criminals likely had access through the compromised agents, and requested he withdraw all his funds to a “Coinbase self-custodial wallet.”“I called them out at the end of the call telling them they need to step up their game [...],” said Wang on X. “They told me that had made $7m that day.”Cointelegraph reached out to Martin and Coinbase for comments, but had not received responses at the time of publication.This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.
Bitcoin’s fluctuating correlation with US equities is raising questions about its role as a global safe-haven asset during periods of financial stress.Bitcoin (BTC) exhibited a strong negative correlation with the US stock market when analyzing the short-term, seven-day trailing correlation, according to new research from blockchain data provider RedStone Oracles, shared exclusively with Cointelegraph.Bitcoin, S&P 500, 7-day rolling correlation. Source: Redstone OraclesHowever, RedStone said that the 30-day indicator signals a “variable correlation” between Bitcoin price and the S&P 500 index, with the correlation coefficient ranging from -0.2 to 0.4.This fluctuating correlation suggests that Bitcoin “doesn’t consistently function as a true hedge for equities” due to its lack of a strong negative correlation below -0.3, which is needed for “reliable counter movement during market stress,” the report states.Bitcoin, S&P 500, 30-day rolling correlation, 1-year chart. Source: Redstone OraclesRelated: $1B Bitcoin exits Coinbase in a day as analysts warn of supply shockThe research suggests that while Bitcoin may not be a dependable hedge against stock market declines, it still offers value as a portfolio diversifier.This fluctuating dynamic signals that Bitcoin often moves independently from other assets, potentially offering additional returns while other assets are struggling. Still, Bitcoin has yet to mirror the safe-haven dynamics of gold and government bonds, RedStone suggests.Related: Nasdaq-listed GDC plans to buy Bitcoin and TRUMP memecoin for $300MBitcoin needs to “mature” before decoupling from stock marketWhile Bitcoin is poised to grow into a safe-haven asset in the future, the world’s first cryptocurrency still needs to “mature” as a global asset, according to Marcin Kazmierczak, co-founder and chief operating officer at RedStone.“Bitcoin still needs to mature before decoupling from stock markets,” Kazmierczak told Cointelegraph, adding:“Increased institutional adoption will absolutely help — we’re already seeing this effect with corporate treasury investments reducing Bitcoin’s 30-day volatility and with BlackRock repetitively praising BTC as an asset in a portfolio.”Meanwhile, Bitcoin will see growing recognition as a portfolio diversified, with an annualized return of over 230% for the past five years, which “significantly outperformed” both stocks and traditional safe-haven assets, Kazmierczak said, adding that “even a small 1–5% Bitcoin allocation can meaningfully enhance a portfolio’s risk-adjusted returns.”Source: Vetle LundeMeanwhile, Bitcoin’s falling volatility supports BTC’s apparent growing maturity as a global financial asset. Bitcoin’s weekly volatility hit a 563-day low on April 30, a development that may signal more stable price action.Bitcoin’s price volatility fell below the realized volatility of the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100, signaling that investors are increasingly treating Bitcoin as a long-term investment vehicle, Cointelegraph reported on May 13.Magazine: Uni students crypto ‘grooming’ scandal, 67K scammed by fake women: Asia Express
GD Culture Group (GDC), a Nasdaq-listed holding company focused on livestreaming, e-commerce and artificial intelligence-powered digital human technology, plans to raise up to $300 million for a cryptocurrency treasury reserve.In a May 12 statement, GDC and its subsidiary, AI Catalysis Corp., announced entering into a common stock purchase agreement with a British Virgin Islands limited liability company to sell up to $300 million of its common stock.The proceeds from the stock sale will be used to fund the firm’s crypto treasury, which will include purchases of Bitcoin (BTC) and the Official Trump (TRUMP) token.“Under this initiative, and subject to certain limitations, GDC intends to allocate a significant portion of the proceeds from any share sales under the facility to the acquisition, long-term holding, and integration of crypto assets into its core treasury operations,” the company said in the announcement. GDC described the strategy as a move to align with the broader “decentralization transformation.”GDC stock price, 1-year chart. Source: NasdaqFounded in 2016, GDC is a micro-cap company with a current $34 million market capitalization, according to Nasdaq data.Related: Multi-wallet usage up 16%, but AI may address crypto fragmentation gapGDC’s chairman and CEO, Xiaojian Wang, said the initiative builds on the company’s strengths in digital technologies and positions it for a blockchain-powered industrial shift.“GDC’s adoption of crypto assets as treasury reserve holdings is a deliberate strategy that reflects both current industry trends and our unique strengths in digital technologies and the livestreaming e-commerce ecosystem,” Wang said.The stock offering was announced over a month after the firm received a noncompliance warning from Nasdaq related to its stockholders’ equity. The notice indicated that the firm reported stockholders’ equity of only $2,643, well below the minimum requirement of $2.5 million.The firm was given until May 4 to submit a plan to comply with the listing requirements. If accepted by the Nasdaq, the compliance plan will allow the firm up to 180 days from the notification period to comply with the requirements.The Nevada-based company joins a small but growing group of public firms that are allocating part of their balance sheets to crypto assets. Related: Crypto speculation dominates $600B cross-border payments: BIS reportTrump token dinner planned for top holdersGDC’s announcement coincides with an upcoming high-profile event tied to the Trump token project. The 25 largest holders of TRUMP tokens are set to attend a private dinner at the White House on May 22.However, the TRUMP memecoin project said in a May 12 X post that it has stopped considering additional purchases for the dinner and that the attendees had been notified to apply for background checks.According to data provided on the project’s leaderboard, the top 220 wallets held more than 13.7 million tokens as of May 12, worth roughly $174 million at the time of publication.Top 10 TRUMP memecoin holders as of May 12. Source: TRUMP memecoin projectSome US lawmakers have criticized the dinner. Senator Cynthia Lummis reportedly said that the idea of the US President offering exclusive access for people willing to pay for it “gives [her] pause.”Crypto regulation experts also fear that the Trump family’s crypto endeavors may trigger more regulatory scrutiny by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, as politically affiliated memecoins introduce a new challenge for crypto legislation.Magazine: Uni students crypto ‘grooming’ scandal, 67K scammed by fake women: Asia Express
The lawyer for a group of Caitlyn Jenner memecoin buyers said they will continue their legal fight against the ex-Olympian after a judge threw out the case for failing to adequately support the securities and fraud claims it brought.Jenner had escaped a class-action lawsuit from buyers of her self-titled memecoin, Caitlyn Jenner (JENNER) after California District Court Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. said in a motion filed on May 9 that it was “sufficient to conclude that all nine causes of action are deficient” and sided with Jenner in dismissing the suit in its entirety for failure to state a claim.He allowed the class group to amend its suit, which must be filed by May 23, but warned it had “to be more focused and judiciously pleaded” than the original.A lawyer for the class group, Fitzgerald Monroe Flynn PC partner Jack Fitzgerald, told Cointelegraph it was “pleased the Court recognized we may be able to state some claims against the defendants, and intend to amend and press forward with the case.”Jenner and her manager, Sophia Hutchins, were sued in November by a group that bought the JENNER token and accused them of having “fraudulently solicited financially unsophisticated investors” to the token, which they alleged was an unregistered security.Lee Greenfield, a UK citizen, was added as the lead plaintiff in January and claimed he lost over $40,000 buying JENNER. But the court found, for a start, that claims of securities law violations couldn’t stand as it wasn’t alleged that his JENNER buys took place in the US, as the law requires, and gave “scant details” about the purchases.The court didn’t allow the class to swap its lead for a US-based member, adding it must report by May 16 on how the suit will proceed (highlights added for emphasis). Source: PACERCourt dismisses all claims by JENNER tokenholdersIn all, Judge Blumenfeld dismissed a further eight claims the class group brought in an amended complaint filed in February, which included accusations that Jenner and Hutchins either made misleading statements, sold unregistered securities, or committed various fraud.Judge Blumenfeld said the suit failed to allege that Jenner sold the token through a prospectus that contained an untrue statement, as “Greenfield admits that the $JENNER tokens were not sold through a prospectus.”The court also tossed a common-law fraud accusation, saying the complaint alleged omitted information and noted various X posts by Jenner “stating that she would continue to support the tokens,” but it did not identify which of the statements related to the fraud claim.The group also accused Hutchins of aiding and abetting Jenner’s allegedly fraudulent conduct, but Judge Blumenfeld said that claim failed as the complaint “does not adequately allege any viable fraud claim.”In a footnote, Judge Blumenfeld said Jenner and the class group disputed whether the JENNER token was a security, but he was not going to decide at this stage as the “securities claims fail on other grounds.”Related: Top TRUMP whales hold $174M in tokens ahead of dinner with US president “Because the determination of whether the tokens are securities is fact-dependent and may be affected by an amended pleading, the Court declines to resolve that issue at this stage and instead assumes without deciding that the tokens are securities subject to the federal securities laws,” he wrote.JENNER first launched in May 2024 via Pump.fun on the Solana blockchain but was soon embroiled in controversy after Jenner and other memecoin launching celebrities claimed collaborator Sahil Arora scammed them. Jenner relaunched the token on Ethereum, which the class group claimed tanked the value of the original Solana token, but gave Jenner the benefit of collecting a 3% fee on every transaction.JENNER has lost essentially all its value since launch. CoinGecko shows its market value has crashed to around $58,775 from a June 3 peak of nearly $7.5 million. The token has seen just $61.10 worth of trading volume over the last day.Magazine: Memecoins are ded — But Solana ‘100x better’ despite revenue plunge
