Decrypt - Decrypt

15 hours ago

A search through the trove of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein provides thousands of results related to crypto and Bitcoin, highlighted by Epstein’s early involvement and awareness of notable crypto projects and protocols. Over the course of the week, Decrypt has highlighted s

Japan's Crypto Industry Faces Critical Test Ahead of Snap Election

a day ago

As Japan heads to the polls on Sunday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is staking her political future on translating approval ratings of 60-80% into a parliamentary majority that could accelerate crypto reforms. Takaichi has turned the election into a referendum on her leadership, declaring she is "p

Justin Bieber Paid $1.3 Million for a Bored Ape NFT. It's Now Worth $12K

Pop music icon Justin Bieber became one of the most famous members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club when he spent 500 ETH—or around $1.3 million—in January 2022 for Ethereum-based NFT, Bored Ape #3001. Bieber’s ape, among the most common in the collection in terms of its visual attributes, is now valued

President Trump Launches TrumpRx, Promising Lower Drug Prices: Is It Legit?

TrumpRx.gov, a government-backed platform aimed at slashing U.S. prescription drug prices by tying them to the lowest rates paid in other developed countries, launched late Thursday. The site, branded as a “most-favored-nation” pricing tool, is positioned as a clearinghouse to help users find the be

Bitfarms Stock Pumps as It Dumps Bitcoin Mining for AI With Name Change, Move to US

Publicly traded Bitcoin miner Bitfarms is fully detaching itself from the top crypto asset, changing its name to Keel Infrastructure as it seeks to transition its business to the United States to focus on empowering artificial intelligence (AI). The firm first announced its intentions in November t

Coinbase's Crypto-Backed Loans Notch Record Liquidations Amid Bitcoin, Ethereum Plunge

Coinbase customers are experiencing pain in new ways as Bitcoin and Ethereum tumble, with losses piling up for thousands of users through the exchange’s crypto-backed lending product. Over the past week, Coinbase users have lost $170 million worth of collateral through liquidations on DeFi platform

Strategy, BitMine, Coinbase Shares Chart Major Rebound as Bitcoin Stabilizes

Bitcoin juggernaut Strategy, Ethereum giant BitMine Immersion Technologies, and crypto exchange Coinbase all looked much more verdant Friday as the price of BTC stabilized after dropping 14% on Thursday. Strategy, which trades on the Nasdaq under the MSTR ticker, had gained 22% since the opening bel

South Korean Crypto Exchange Accidentally Gave Away $43 Billion in Bitcoin

A South Korean crypto exchange accidentally credited users with billions of dollars’ worth of Bitcoin this week, triggering a flash crash in the platform’s listed value of the token. Instead of airdropping users 2,000 won (a sum worth $1.37 at writing), the exchange, Bithumb, reportedly sent 2,000 B

'Bitcoin is Offensive, Gold is Defensive': Bitwise

Gold and Bitcoin work most effectively when they're in the same portfolio, a Bitwise executive has argued. Speaking at the Digital Assets Forum in London, Bradley Duke, Managing Director and Head of Europe at the digital asset management firm said that gold "is a better cushion" when markets are fal

China Formalizes Ban on Yuan Stablecoins, RWA Tokenization

China’s central bank and nine other regulators have moved to lock in a sweeping crackdown on crypto-related activity, issuing a joint notice on Friday that bans unapproved yuan-linked stablecoin issuance, classifying most real-world asset tokenization as illegal. The notice frames virtual currencies

Cathie Wood's Ark Invest Dumps Coinbase Shares Amid Bitcoin Crash

Ark Invest, the firm of noted tech investor Cathie Wood, sold more than $19 million in shares of crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) on Thursday—just days after buying more COIN—as Bitcoin’s price fell rapidly to a bottom of nearly $60,000. The firm sold 119,236 shares of COIN across three of its active

What Is World Liberty Financial? The Trump Family DeFi Project Explained

U.S. President Donald Trump has a long list of crypto ventures, profiting to the tune of some $1.4 billion as of January 2026. Of them, a DeFi project dubbed World Liberty Financial might be the biggest. The platform, which President Trump co-founded, according to its website, along with his three s

Official Trump Meme Coin, WLFI Lead Losses Following World Liberty Financial Probe

Official Trump (TRUMP) and World Liberty Financial (WLFI) have fallen 14.6% and 10.8% in the past 24 hours, as the cryptocurrency market continues to weather steep losses amid falling sentiment. TRUMP is now priced at $3.41, marking a 24.7% loss in a week, a 37.7% drop in a month, and a 95% collapse

Morning Minute: Bitcoin Erases Trump Pump, Falls to $60k

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack. GM! Today’s top news: Crypto majors crash on Thursday as BTC hits $60k before rebounding HYPE /

Polymarket Files for Crypto Token Trademarks as Legal Battles Mount

Polymarket has filed trademark applications for "POLY" and "$POLY" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, signaling concrete steps toward launching its long-anticipated native token, even as the prediction market faces mounting regulatory challenges. The filings, submitted Thursday by Polymarket

Crypto Advocates Round on Democrats’ ‘Crypto Crash’ Message

Crypto industry leaders fired back at Democrats on Friday after the party's official X account posted "yikes" alongside a graphic mocking crypto market losses, drawing accusations of partisan insensitivity as Bitcoin plunged and investors lost billions. The Democratic Party's tweet featured a chart

Crypto Sentiment Sinks to Lowest Level in 3.5 Years

Investor fear in the crypto market has intensified to a degree not seen since the collapse of the Terra Luna ecosystem in mid-2022, driven by a brutal, macro-led selloff. Bitcoin’s price fell to a 15-month low of $60,255 on Thursday, marking a 52.2% decline from its October 2025 all-time high of $1

Senator Lummis Urges Banks to 'Embrace' Stablecoins Amid CLARITY Act Stalemate

Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has urged traditional banks on Thursday to embrace stablecoins and view digital assets as a business opportunity, pushing back against banking industry opposition that has stalled crypto's flagship market structure bill. "I'd like to see the banks embrace this rather th

Bitcoin Miners IREN and CleanSpark Slide After Earnings Misses Deepen Sector Pressure

Publicly traded Bitcoin miners IREN and CleanSpark saw their share prices drop sharply on Thursday, as disappointing quarterly results coincided with a broader crash across cryptocurrency markets. CleanSpark shares closed sharply lower, falling $1.95, around 19%, on the session, and were trading at

Does Bitcoin's Retreat Signal a New Bear Market for Crypto?

Bitcoin’s sharp retreat from its late 2025 peak, capped by its worst single-day drop since the 2022 market crash, has reignited concerns that crypto has already entered a bear market under conventional definitions. Between February 4 and 5, Bitcoin logged one of its sharpest trading periods in more

OpenAI and Anthropic Roll Out Rival AI Models as Competition for Enterprise Heats Up

OpenAI and Anthropic unveiled new flagship AI models in their respective product lines within an hour of each other on Thursday, highlighting intensifying competition among leading developers to dominate enterprise software and advanced coding tools. Anthropic announced Claude Opus 4.6, touting gain

Waymo’s ‘Self-Driving’ Claims Called into Question on Capitol Hill

Waymo’s claim that its vehicles operate without human drivers drew sharp scrutiny on Wednesday after a senior executive acknowledged that overseas operators help guide the company’s autonomous cars through difficult situations on U.S. streets, raising new questions about what “self-driving” really m

Crypto Treasuries Fall Deeply Underwater as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana Dive

Prominent digital asset treasuries (DATs), including Bitcoin behemoth Strategy (MSTR) and leading Ethereum firm BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), are now well down on their crypto investments, according to data gathered by blockchain analytics firm Artemis. The losses are growing among firms t

Bitcoin Giant Strategy Records $12.4 Billion Q4 Loss as MSTR Shares Hit 18-Month Low

Strategy announced fourth-quarter earnings against a precarious backdrop on Thursday, with losses mounting on paper for the Bitcoin-buying firm amid the asset’s latest slide. With Bitcoin trading around $63,000, the company faces an unrealized loss of nearly $9 billion on its holdings, which were va

Bitcoin Miners Could Face Crisis After BTC Price Falls 50% From Peak