Skip to main content

Posts

US Seizes Nearly $1B in Iranian Crypto, Treasury Says

The United States has publicly documented a major advance in its sanction regime against Iran, reporting the seizure of about $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency assets. Speaking at the Reagan National Economic Forum, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. has “outright grabbed the wallets,” a maneuver he described as part of a broader financial pressure campaign. Some wallet holders may still be unaware that their funds have been seized, he added in remarks that drew attention to the speed and scale of asset freezes conducted under the administration’s sanctions strategy. Officials characterized the seizures as a component of Operation Economic Fury, a coordinated effort launched in March 2025 to disrupt Iranian access to funds held in digital assets, as well as traditional financial channels. Bessent framed the operation as a decisive step in tightening the financial noose around Tehran, arguing that the campaign has effectively cut off critical liquidity for the regime. “I ...
Post a Comment
Read more
Recent posts

SEC Charges Texas Man in $12.3M Crypto Fraud Linked to Fake AI Bots

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a Texas man with running a crypto fraud that raised about $12.3 million from roughly 150 investors by falsely claiming AI-powered trading bots would deliver guaranteed returns. The alleged scheme operated through Privvy Investments, LLC, and under the business name Gateway Digital Investments from at least October 2022 to mid-2024, according to the SEC’s complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. prosecutors say Nathan Fuller, a Cypress, Texas resident, pitched investors on investments that promised returns of 40% to 50% within 30 to 45 days, and even claimed some could secure guaranteed profits exceeding 100% in as little as 21 days. To bolster the pitch, Fuller allegedly asserted that investor funds were secured by a surety bond, insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and protected by a professional liability insurance policy. The SEC contends none of these assurances were true. Cen...
Post a Comment
Read more

BSTR Founder: Bitcoin Treasury Market Still Hosts Carnival Barkers

The rapidly evolving Bitcoin treasury space finds itself at a crossroads, split between funds with deployable capital strategies and a wave of promotional narratives. In a candid interview at BitcoinVegas, Sean Bill, co-founder of the Bitcoin treasury vehicle BSTR alongside Adam Back, warned that many peers may be overpromising and underdelivering on practical deployment of Bitcoin. “A lot of them don’t have the right capital structure to actually deploy Bitcoin,” Bill told Cointelegraph in a YouTube interview published this week. “They’re really planning on having Bitcoin do all the talking for them. I do think that you have a lot of carnival barkers in this space.” Bill argued that the value proposition for a treasury-focused firm hinges on more than simply holding Bitcoin. While cheap and easy leverage can prop up value, a company without a credible mechanism to deploy capital risks losing investor interest to simpler products—such as Bitcoin exchange-traded products—when price make...
Post a Comment
Read more

US Seizes Nearly $1B in Iranian Crypto Assets, Treasury Says

The United States has seized roughly $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency assets, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced at the Reagan National Economic Forum. He characterized the action as a direct disruption of illicit financial activity, describing it as an outright grab of wallets that some owners may not yet realize have been emptied. The disclosure situates the seizures within a multiyear effort to constrain Iran’s access to international financial networks and to press its leadership economically. Bessent said the seizures are part of a broader pressure campaign against Iran, known as Operation Economic Fury. Launched in March 2025, the operation combines cryptocurrency takedowns, banking account freezes, and coordinated asset confiscation with European partners. He framed the effort as a sustained, comprehensive push designed to “cut them off” financially, noting that the trajectory over the past five-and-a-half to six weeks has been remarkably effective. “Between five and...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ex-Celsius CEO seeks to vacate sentence after counsel withdraws

Former Celsius founder and former chief executive Alex Mashinsky has moved to vacate his 12-year prison sentence in a New York federal court, arguing that he received ineffective counsel and that the conviction rests on tainted evidence. The motion, filed in the Southern District of New York, follows Judge John Koeltl’s May 2025 ruling imposing a 144-month term for commodities fraud and securities fraud tied to the Celsius network’s downfall. Mashinsky filed the paperwork without new representation, after announcing on May 5 that he would proceed pro se. In his filing, Mashinsky contends that his defense was compromised by ineffective assistance of counsel and that the evidence underpinning his guilty pleas was tainted by a “fruit of the poisonous tree” scenario—a legal doctrine referring to evidence obtained through misconduct. He also noted that his counsel ceased communication with him at a critical juncture, forcing him to submit his reply directly to the court without new guidance...
Post a Comment
Read more

Retail sentiment still matters for Bitcoin, Swan Bitcoin CEO says

Retail investors remain central to Bitcoin’s demand dynamics, even as institutional players deepen exposure through regulated products. In a Cointelegraph interview conducted at BitcoinVegas 2026 and published to YouTube, Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten argued that the market’s backbone is still retail-driven, not solely controlled by the big players. “It’s not like BlackRock owns the Bitcoin and Fidelity owns the Bitcoin. It’s a bunch of retail accounts mostly that actually buy that,” Klippsten said during the conversation, underscoring that real on-chain demand underpins price movements even when ETFs and wrappers provide access. He noted that even buyers via institutional wrappers still have to take real supply and custody it, which implies the demand is genuine and exits supply as bitcoins move from sellers to holders. Data points surrounding the evolving ETF landscape add nuance to the story. US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs have posted a combined $2.90 billion in net outflows since May...
Post a Comment
Read more

Coinbase Extends Global Crypto Derivatives to U.S. Institutions

Coinbase Financial Markets has begun offering US institutional clients access to global crypto options and perpetual futures through a regulated futures commission merchant, including connectivity to Deribit’s crypto options platform. Coinbase said the launch follows guidance from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that allows a regulated futures commission merchant to connect US clients with global crypto derivatives liquidity. The company stressed that Coinbase Financial Markets is the first CFTC-regulated FCM to provide such access. Deribit, which Coinbase acquired in August 2025 as part of its expansion into crypto derivatives, is the largest crypto options exchange by open interest. CoinGlass data shows Deribit held roughly $31 billion in Bitcoin options open interest on May 27, compared with about $2.7 billion on OKX, $1.8 billion on Binance and $1.2 billion on Bybit. According to Friday’s announcement, institutional clients can begin onboarding immediately, while broader a...
Post a Comment
Read more