Live Feed

Kraken has launched xChange, an on-chain trading engine and integrated execution layer for its xStocks issued on Solana and Ethereum. According to The Block, the platform allows users to directly trade tokenized on-chain versions of over 70 U.S. stocks and ETFs, including Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, and the S&P 500.

Cryptocurrency lender Blockfills is in crisis after receiving a court order to freeze its assets, CoinDesk reported. The company recently suffered a $75 million loan loss amid the market downturn. Following this, its creditor, Dominion Capital, requested a court to freeze 70.6 BTC that it owns, citing growing concerns about a potential bankruptcy. Industry observers believe the company's chances of recovery are very low.

Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) has been sued for trademark infringement by the owner of the clothing brand Original Penguin, The Block reported. PEI Licensing, which owns the Original Penguin brand, stated that it sent a cease-and-desist letter to Pudgy Penguins in October 2023, but the NFT brand continued with its strategy to produce retail products. PEI argued that the value of its brand, established in 1955, is being diluted by Pudgy Penguins' similar products.

Whale Alert reported that 250 million USDC has been minted at the USDC Treasury.

Whale Alert reported that 250 million USDC has been minted at the USDC Treasury.

Whale Alert reported that 250 million USDC has been minted at the USDC Treasury.

Iranian authorities have stated they have no intention of blockading the Strait of Hormuz, Walter Bloomberg reported. The announcement follows reports from multiple media outlets on March 3 that a senior official from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had warned of plans to block the strait. The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic waterway through which approximately 20% of the world's oil supply passes.

Research firm Culper announced it is shorting Ethereum (ETH) and Bitmine (BMNR), publishing a related report. In a post on X, Culper argued that ETH's tokenomics have been compromised since the Fusaka upgrade in December of last year. The firm countered claims from Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee that fundamentals had improved with rising active addresses and transactions. Culper's investigation concluded that most of this activity stems from poisoning—a scam that tricks users into sending funds to fraudulent addresses mimicking their own—and dusting, where attackers send tiny amounts of crypto to track wallets. The firm attributed these issues to excess block space. The report also asserted that the gas limit increase in the Fusaka upgrade was miscalculated and that ETH founder Vitalik Buterin has been and continues to sell his holdings because he knows the tokenomics are broken. Culper concluded that ETH continues to lose market share to Solana (SOL) and Layer 2 solutions, and that Tom Lee will eventually be cornered.

Illicit financial activity involving cryptocurrencies is expected to reach an all-time high in 2025, driven by sanctions evasion from countries such as Russia, Iran, and North Korea, according to a report by Chainalysis. Last year, entities under sanctions received at least $104.0 billion in cryptocurrency, CoinDesk reported. This figure represents a nearly eightfold increase compared to 2024. The total value of illicit crypto transactions hit a record $154.0 billion. Chainalysis highlighted the case of A7A5, a ruble-pegged stablecoin issuer, explaining that it served as a payment system enabling sanctioned Russian companies to engage in cross-border trade. The token is said to have processed $93.3 billion in transactions in less than a year.

CleanSpark (CLSK) sold most of the Bitcoin it mined last month, CoinDesk reported. The company mined 568 BTC in February and sold 553 of them for $36.65 million, at an average price of $66,279. The proceeds are believed to have been used to fund the company's pivot into high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI). As of the end of last month, CleanSpark held 13,363 BTC.

Russian lawyers are finding cryptocurrency holdings to be a major hurdle in divorce proceedings, DL News reported. They noted that since the monetary value of tangible and intangible assets can only be assessed in fiat currency, experts are required to determine the value of cryptocurrencies. The lawyers anticipate that as crypto's popularity grows in Russia, the number of related disputes in divorce cases will also rise. Anastasia Madi, a family law attorney at Kislov Law Firm, described Bitcoin, altcoins, and stock options as the most difficult assets to divide during a divorce. She explained that while Russian law recognized crypto as a form of intangible asset in 2020, the process remains complex. It involves difficult tasks such as proving actual ownership, calculating the asset's value in rubles, and compelling the disclosure of private keys and wallet information.

Prediction market traders are optimistic about Bitcoin's short-term upside but are less confident about Ethereum (ETH), Decrypt reported. Traders on Myriad Markets see a higher probability of BTC rising to $84,000 before falling to $55,000. For ETH, however, they see a greater chance of it dropping to $1,500 before rising to $3,000. On the platform Kalshi, the probability of ETH trading above $2,500 this month is seen as 39% or less. Meanwhile, some predictions on Polymarket suggest ETH could lose its spot as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization this year.

Whale Alert reported that 430,000,000 USDT has been transferred from HTX to Aave. The transaction is valued at about $430 million.

Multiple officials from Russia's Ministry of Finance are considering introducing a new bill specifically for stablecoins, DL News reported. They added that they want to propose this legislation separately from the broader cryptocurrency regulations scheduled to take effect on July 1. Meanwhile, Alexei Yakovlev, Director of the Financial Policy Department at the ministry, stressed that stablecoins hold immense and even astronomical potential.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with Axios that the United States should be directly involved in the selection of Iran's next leader.

Doppler, a token launch platform on the Ethereum Layer 2 network Base, is expanding its services to the Solana (SOL) network, The Block reported. The company explained that this move involves more than simple support, as it will optimize for Solana's architecture and programming model. Currently, the Solana network leads in new token creation, largely due to the influence of platforms like Pump.fun (PUMP), with Base ranked second.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has fallen below $71,000. BTC is trading at $70,976.3 on the Binance USDT market.

International seafarers' unions and the shipping industry have declared the Middle East Gulf region, including the Strait of Hormuz, a Warlike Operations Area. The designation gives seafarers the right to refuse to sail into the region, Walter Bloomberg reported.

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has proposed a plan to grant crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken the authority to issue tax documents electronically, The Block reported. Previously, exchanges were required to offer users the option to receive paper copies, but this proposal would remove that obligation, allowing for electronic-only issuance. This change is in line with the cryptocurrency transaction reporting system implemented this year, which requires brokers, including exchanges, to report gross proceeds and cost basis from cryptocurrency sales to the IRS. The agency plans to use this data for taxation. The proposal will be discussed for implementation following a public comment period.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested John Daghita for allegedly stealing $46 million in cryptocurrency that had been seized and was under the management of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), Aggr News reported. Daghita, who operated under an online alias, is the son of the president of CMDSS, a firm contracted by the USMS to manage government assets. He is accused of transferring the cryptocurrency from USMS custody to his personal wallet and then attempting to launder it. On-chain analyst ZachXBT had previously exposed Daghita's alleged activities in a post on X this past January.

An address associated with crypto market maker Flowdesk deposited 1.61 million LINK ($15.19 million) and 6,091 ETH ($12.92 million) to Binance over the past 20 minutes, according to Onchain Lens. The total value of the deposit is approximately $28 million. Such transfers to exchanges are often interpreted as a precursor to selling.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has fallen below $72,000. BTC is trading at $71,959.47 on the Binance USDT market.

Glassnode reported that Bitcoin spot ETF fund flows are showing signs of stabilizing after a period of sustained outflows. The firm noted that netflow turned positive again on Feb. 14 as Bitcoin broke through the $70,000 mark, suggesting that selling pressure is easing. While demand from institutional investors remains uncertain, the analysis concluded that early signs of accumulation are emerging.

The three major U.S. stock indices opened lower today. - S&P 500: -0.45% - Nasdaq: -0.40% - Dow Jones: -0.80%

Cryptocurrency mining firm Core Scientific (CORZ) has announced it secured up to $1 billion in strategic financing from Morgan Stanley. The agreement includes an initial 364-day loan commitment of $500 million, with an accordion option to increase the amount by an additional $500 million subject to certain conditions. Core Scientific recently announced a strategic shift to become an AI data center infrastructure company and revealed that it sold 1,900 BTC ($175 million) in January.