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Ice Lounge Media

Mt. Gox transfers $1B in Bitcoin in third major BTC move this month

Bankrupt crypto exchange Mt. Gox has just shifted 11,501 Bitcoin in its third significant transaction in less than a month.

Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence alerted the community of the transfer on March 25 on X, revealing the Japanese exchange had sent 893 Bitcoin (BTC) worth around $78 million at current prices to the Mt. Gox cold wallet (1Jbez) and another 10,608 Bitcoin, worth around $929 million, to another wallet, the Mt. Gox change wallet (1DcoA).

Transactions, Bankruptcy, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Data

Source: Arkham Intelligence

The latest move comes after Mt. Gox shuffled a total of 12,000 Bitcoin worth over $1 billion on March 6 and another 11,833 Bitcoin on March 11.

Blockchain analytics platform Spot On Chain said in a March 25 post to X that one of the previous transfers this month ended up in the crypto exchange Bitstamp.

Spot On Chain speculates the 893 Bitcoin “sent to the warm wallet will be moved out shortly too.”

Transactions, Bankruptcy, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Data

Source: Spot On Chain

Arkham data shows the exchange still holds about 35,000 Bitcoin worth $3.1 billion across wallets it controls.

Many speculate significant movements from Mt. Gox could mean creditor payouts are around the corner. Creditors have the option to receive their payouts in Bitcoin. A July 2024 Reddit poll following the exchange’s first payout found creditors were not rushing to sell their Bitcoin payouts.

Mt. Gox fell into bankruptcy in early 2014 after suffering an 850,000 Bitcoin loss in one of the biggest crypto hacks ever recorded. Before the security breach, it was the largest Bitcoin exchange, handling around 70-80% of trades.

After its bankruptcy in February 2014, a Tokyo court appointed a trustee to manage the bankruptcy proceedings and compensate creditors with the exchange’s assets.

Related: Mt. Gox moves $2.2B of Bitcoin, adding to BTC selling pressure

However, last October, the trustee in charge of the exchange’s Bitcoin stash extended the deadline, pushing it by a full year to Oct. 31, 2025, claiming many creditors “still have not received their repayments because they have not completed the necessary procedures for receiving repayments.”

Last December, Mt. Gox also moved over 24,000 Bitcoin, worth nearly $2.5 billion, to an unknown address after the cryptocurrency hit a milestone of $100,000. 

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Arizona’s strategic crypto reserve bills heads for full floor vote

Two strategic digital asset reserve bills in Arizona cleared Arizona’s House Rules Committee on March 24 and are now headed to the House floor for a full vote.

The bills together, if passed into law, would clear the way for Arizona to establish strategic digital assets reserves composed of existing assets confiscated through criminal proceedings in addition to newly invested public funds.

The Republicans hold a 33-27 majority in Arizona’s House of Representatives, giving both bills a decent chance of passing. 

Arizona’s strategic crypto reserve bills heads for full floor vote

Source: Bitcoin Laws

However, according to Bitcoin Laws, the final hurdle could be the state’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs. Hobbs has a history of vetoing bills before the House, having blocked 22% of bills in 2024 — the highest rate of any state governor.

Arizona’s two crypto bills explained

The two bills recently approved by Arizona’s House Rules Committee are the Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Bill (SB 1373) and the Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB 1025). 

The Strategic Digital Assets Reserve Bill (SB 1373) focuses on establishing a strategic digital assets reserve made up of digital assets seized through criminal proceedings to be managed by the state’s treasurer. 

The treasurer would be limited to investing no more than 10% of the fund’s total value each fiscal year. However, they would also be able to loan the fund’s assets in order to increase returns, provided that doing so doesn’t increase financial risks.

The Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB 1025) specifically deals with Bitcoin (BTC). The bill proposes allowing Arizona’s Treasury and state retirement system to invest up to 10% of its available funds into Bitcoin. 

Additionally, SB 1025 would also allow for the state’s Bitcoin reserve to be stored in a secure, segregated account inside a federal Bitcoin reserve, should one be established.

Related: US states lead in strategic Bitcoin reserve creation — Will Trump deliver on his BTC promise?

While Arizona is now considered to be leading the race to establish a state-based digital asset reserve, several other states are hot on its heels.

On March 6, the Texas Senate passed the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bill (SB-21) by a vote of 25-5. The Texan bill still needs to pass the House and get the governor’s signature to pass into law. Following this vote, a new bill was introduced by Democrat Representative Ron Reynolds to cap the size of the previously uncapped reserve to $250 million.

Utah also recently passed Bitcoin legislation, but all references to the establishment of a strategic reserve were removed at the last moment.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma House passed its Bitcoin Reserve Bill HB1203, 77-15 on March 25. That bill will now head to the state’s senate.

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Massachusetts subpoenas Robinhood over sports prediction markets

Massachusetts’ securities regulator has reportedly launched a probe over Robinhood’s prediction markets offering that has allowed users to bet on the outcomes for a slew of events, including basketball tournaments. 

Reuters reported on March 24 that Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin said his office subpoenaed Robinhood last week to get information on its marketing materials and the number of Massachusetts-based users that traded sports events contracts on college basketball tournaments.

Galvin said he was concerned the trading platform was “linking a gambling event on a popular sports event that’s especially popular to young people to a brokerage account.”

“This is just another gimmick from a company that’s very good at gimmicks to lure investors away from sound investing,” he added.

Robinhood launched a prediction markets hub on March 17 that would be initially available through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated prediction platform Kalshi and would feature event contracts on college basketball tournaments and the May federal funds rate. 

A Robinhood spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the event contracts “are regulated by the CFTC and offered through CFTC-registered entities.”

“Prediction markets have become increasingly relevant for retail and institutional investors alike, and we’re proud to be one of the first platforms to offer these products to retail customers in a safe and regulated manner,” the spokesperson said.

Robinhood Markets (HOOD) share price remained relatively flat after the close of trading on March 24 after an over 9% jump over the day to close at $48.36, according to Google Finance.

Massachusetts subpoenas Robinhood over sports prediction markets

Robinhood is up nearly 30% so far this year but has fallen from its Feb. 14 all-time peak of $65.28. Source: Google Finance 

The CFTC and Galvin’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Event contracts are agreements that allow users to bet on the outcome of essentially anything, from sports games to election outcomes and the price of cryptocurrencies.

Related: Coinbase in talks to buy derivatives exchange Deribit: Report 

They were popularized on the blockchain-based prediction market Polymarket and non-decentralized rival Kalshi and have caught the ire of some regulators.

Last month, Robinhood scrapped event contracts allowing for bets on the Super Bowl a day after launching the products after the CFTC asked it to. 

The Massachusetts probe also requested Robinhood hand over internal communications about the decision to roll out the recent college basketball events contracts after the CFTC’s request to stop the Super Bowl contracts.

The CFTC also reportedly asked Kalshi and Crypto.com early last month to explain how both of their Super Bowl event contracts complied with derivatives regulations.

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USDC stablecoin receives approval for use in Japan, says Circle

Circle said it will officially launch its stablecoin in Japan on March 26 after one of its local partners received regulatory approval to list the US dollar stablecoin three weeks ago.

USDC (USDC) will first be listed on the “SBI VC Trade” crypto exchange under a joint venture between its parent firm — Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings — and Circle’s Japanese entity Circle Japan KK, Circle said in a March 24 statement.

The news comes three weeks after SBI VC Trade secured an industry-first regulatory approval on March 4 to list USDC under the Japan Financial Services Agency’s stablecoin regulatory framework.

Circle is also looking to list USDC on Binance Japan, bitbank and bitFlyer in the near future.

Japan’s bitbank and bitFlyer are two of the country’s largest crypto exchanges, having processed more than $25 million each over the last day with over 1.85 million visits to their websites in the last month.

The regulatory approval comes after two years of back-and-forth negotiations with regulators, banking partners and industry players, Circle’s Jeremy Allaire said in a March 24 X post.

“[This] unlocks tremendous opportunities not just in trading digital assets, but more broadly in payments, cross border finance and commerce, FX,” he added.

USDC stablecoin receives approval for use in Japan, says Circle

Source: Jeremy Allaire

SBI Holdings CEO and president Yoshitaka Kitao said the USDC launch would enhance financial accessibility and drive crypto innovation in Japan’s evolving digital economy.

“[This aligns] with our broader vision for the future of payments and blockchain-based finance in Japan.”

Related: Gold-backed stablecoins will outcompete USD stablecoins — Max Keiser

Meanwhile, USDC and Circle’s euro-backed EURC (EURC) stablecoin were recognized as the first stablecoins under the Dubai Financial Services Authority’s new regime on Feb. 24.

The recognition allows companies operating in the Dubai International Financial Centre — a free economic zone — to integrate the two stablecoins into a range of digital asset applications, including payments, treasury management and services.

USDC remains the second largest stablecoin by market cap at $59.7 billion, trailing only Tether’s USDT at $143.8 billion, CoinGecko data shows.

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Trump Media looks to partner with crypto.com to launch ETFs

Trump Media has signed a non-binding agreement with Crypto.com to launch a series of exchange-traded funds in the US.

Trump Technology Group Corp (TMTG) — the operator of the social media platform Truth Social and fintech brand Truth.Fi — is also part of the agreement, which is subject to regulatory approval, according to a March 24 statement from Trump Media.

The parties plan to launch the ETFs later this year through Crypto.com’s broker-dealer, Foris Capital US LLC. The ETFs will consist of digital assets and securities with a “Made in America” focus.

Crypto.com will provide the infrastructure and custody services to supply the cryptocurrencies for the ETFs, which may include a basket of tokens, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP) and Cronos (CRO).

The parties involved expect the ETFs to be widely available internationally, including in the US, Europe and Asia across existing brokerage platforms.

”Once launched, these ETFs will be available on the Crypto.com App for our more than 140 million users around the world,” Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek said.

The ETFs are anticipated to launch alongside a slate of Truth.Fi Separately Managed Accounts (SMA), which TMTG also plans to invest in with its cash reserves.

Security, Donald Trump, Crypto.com, ETF

Source: Kris Marszalek

Related: Who’s running in Trump’s race to make US a ‘Bitcoin superpower?’

The potential ETF launch would mark yet another crypto-related endeavor involving US President Donald Trump.

However, Democratic lawmakers say that conflicts of interest have already arisen between Trump’s presidential duties and the Trump Organization’s ownership of the crypto platform, World Liberty Financial, in addition to the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin that launched three days before he was inaugurated.

House Representative Gerald Connolly recently referred to the TRUMP token as a “money grab” that has allowed Trump-linked entities to cash in on over $100 million worth of trading fees. 

Democrat Maxine Waters also criticized Trump’s memecoin on Jan. 20, referring to it as a rug pull that represented the “worst of crypto.”

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

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