Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche faced sharp criticism at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday as lawmakers weighed his nomination to lead the Justice Department. The backlash centered on how the department has pursued— or deprioritized—crypto-related enforcement, particularly in cases involving the broader developer ecosystem. Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, used portions of his opening statement to accuse Blanche of weakening DOJ’s crypto enforcement capacity. Durbin referenced Blanche’s reported role in dismantling a DOJ crypto enforcement unit in April 2025 while he was deputy attorney general, arguing that the move left ongoing investigations effectively “shut down” during the Trump administration’s push toward different enforcement priorities. Key takeaways Durbin’s criticism ties Blanche’s prior DOJ actions to a broader shift in crypto enforcement, including alleged “dismantling” of the department’s crypto unit. Questions fro...

Ostium, a decentralized perpetuals trading protocol built on Arbitrum, has paused all trading after security firms reported what they described as an exploit tied to the protocol’s OLP liquidity vault. Blockaid and CertiK both said the incident appeared to stem from a compromise of Ostium’s oracle infrastructure, which feeds external price data into the platform. Blockaid estimated losses at around $18 million, while CertiK put the figure closer to $22 million. Ostium said it identified an issue affecting the vault and is investigating, but it has not yet confirmed the cause or independently verified the loss estimates. Key takeaways Ostium paused trading after reporting an issue in its OLP liquidity vault. Two security firms diverged on losses: Blockaid estimated ~$18M; CertiK estimated ~$22M. The suspected root cause is oracle compromise , according to Blockaid and CertiK. Ostium urged users to revoke approvals for its contracts while it investigates. Trading halted and us...

The US Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rule change that expands options limits for BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, IBIT. The decision raises the contract limit from 250,000 to one million contracts. Consequently, the change supports growing trading activity and strengthens the Bitcoin ETF market structure. US Sec Expands BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Options Capacity The US Securities and Exchange Commission approved a proposal filed by NYSE Arca for IBIT options. The approval became effective immediately under the existing regulatory framework. Meanwhile, the regulator continues accepting public comments on the rule change. The updated rule increases position and exercise limits from 250,000 contracts to one million contracts. Therefore, the new threshold reflects stronger trading activity across the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF market. It also aligns the exchange with recent changes adopted by other major options venues. NYSE Arca submitted the proposal under Section 19(b)(1) of the Securiti...

Securitize and Cantor Fitzgerald have announced a partnership aimed at enabling blockchain-based primary issuances and follow-on equity offerings for listed companies using tokenized securities. The initiative is designed to fit within existing regulatory pathways for public offerings, positioning tokenization as a potential upgrade to traditional IPO and secondary capital-raising workflows. According to the companies, they are developing a framework that would allow issuers to raise capital through tokenized securities while maintaining compliance with the rules applicable to public offerings. The plan covers both initial public offerings and subsequent, or secondary, share sales by companies that are already publicly listed. Key takeaways Securitize and Cantor Fitzgerald plan to build a regulated issuance and settlement framework for tokenized securities covering both IPOs and follow-on equity offerings. Securitize will provide the tokenization infrastructure, while its SEC-regis...

Bitcoin pushed to a fresh three-week high on Wednesday, riding a wave of relief after US inflation data cooled for a second straight session. The move brought BTC/USD to $65,500—its highest level since June 22—while risk assets strengthened as traders recalibrated expectations for Federal Reserve policy. The rally, however, has not erased caution among market participants. Traders highlighted nearby liquidity hurdles and pointed to historical price behavior around key moving-average levels, suggesting Bitcoin could face renewed selling pressure if it fails to hold above critical zones. Key takeaways BTC/USD traded up to around $65,500, the highest since June 22, after US Producer Price Index (PPI) data came in cooler than expected. The improving inflation picture supported a more favorable tone for risk assets and reduced certainty around near-term Fed rate hikes, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. Despite the breakout attempt, traders emphasized tight order-book liquidity l...

Robinhood’s newly launched Ethereum layer-2, built on Arbitrum technology, has quickly become one of the busiest rollups in the ecosystem—prompting fresh debate over a familiar question in Ethereum scaling: do successful L2s ultimately lift demand for ETH, or do they mainly capture value for themselves? According to Cointelegraph’s reporting and data it cites, more than $141 million in Ether was bridged to Robinhood Chain in its first two weeks . DeFiLlama’s Ether distribution data also indicates that more than half a million wallets now hold ETH on the network. Activity has spilled into trading as well: Robinhood Chain has reportedly surpassed Ethereum L1 and Coinbase’s Base L2 in 24-hour DEX volume. Key takeaways Robinhood Chain’s rollout has boosted attention on whether L2 adoption can translate into stronger ETH demand. Bridged Ether and wallet growth on the L2 are clear early signals, but that does not automatically mean higher L1 fee revenue or burn. Industry participants ...