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Crypto Whale Data

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Crypto Whale Data

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  • Kraken launches crypto derivatives trading for UK professional investors in latest expansion for the firm Crypto exchange Kraken has launched derivatives trading in the United Kingdom, the company’s second-largest market. The product is available only to "Professional Clients," as defined by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority. Kraken began "quietly" rolling out the offering in recent weeks, according to Alexia Theodorou, Kraken’s head of derivatives. "As a new product, we rolled it out gradually just to make sure that it reached a few specific clients first," she said. "Now it's open to 100% of our clients who need to go through a specific onboarding process for derivatives." Derivatives represent roughly 70% to 75% of total crypto trading volume, Theodorou said. While derivatives and spot volumes are "currently on par" on Kraken, she added that "crypto derivatives are growing at a faster pace than spot," in general. "That's why we are doubling down on derivatives, given the trends and ratios that we see as more and more institutional clients are entering the space," said Theodorou. "We see it as a big investment from our end in the UK, given how important the UK is for Kraken. Opening up our flagship derivatives product to eligible UK clients is a big thing for us." The derivatives will be offered through the Kraken Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF), a regulated platform operated by Crypto Facilities, which became the first crypto firm to secure an MTF license from the FCA in 2020. Access will be provided through Kraken’s futures broker in Bermuda. Kraken acquired Crypto Facilities in 2019 in a deal valued at over $100 million. The firm offers a number of exotic products, including multi-collateral perpetual contracts, which Kraken was the first to offer. These contracts are “a very capital efficient way of trading for institutional clients,” Theodorou said. “It gives them the ability to trade using many collaterals and leverage, but also gives them the ability to start trying out more strategies with their spot trading, be it hedging or any other market neutral strategies that they might want to execute.” Theodorou said that it’s early days for crypto derivatives and that in equities markets, derivatives often represent 10 to 15 times more trading volume than spot. A lot of this comes down to bespoke geographical regulations, which have so far prevented Kraken from expanding into major markets like the U.S., Korea, and even some European countries. “Even though the spot crypto market only now is starting to get regulated with MICA and other jurisdictions across the world, derivatives have always been regulated,” Theodorou said. “There are specific licenses that you need to hold to open up to specific countries.” Kraken has recently acquired a MiFID II entity in Cyprus and U.S.-based NinjaTrader, paving the way for future expansion of its derivatives offering in those regions. The firm has also moved beyond crypto by adding U.S. equities trading to its mobile and web platforms. “It's a matter of priority then on what other jurisdictions we want to start offering this regulated product through our licensing efforts,” Theodorou said. Kraken, which is reportedly looking to go public, generated $1.5 billion in revenue in 2024.
  • Blockchain forensics firm Crystal Intelligence plans to acquire Scam Alerts, a web3 fraud notification platform currently operated by crypto transaction monitoring firm Whale Alert. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of May. Once completed, Scam Alerts will become a standalone, non-commercial entity within Crystal Intelligence, according to a release shared with The Block. "Too often, scam victims are left with no place to turn," Navin Gupta, CEO of Crystal Intelligence, said in an email to The Block. "Scam Alert is about giving them a way to speak up and be heard. Every report submitted contributes to a clearer picture of how these scams operate, where they’re spreading, and who they’re targeting. That kind of insight is incredibly valuable for prevention and for the investigators and enforcement agencies who are trying to keep up with an increasingly complex threat landscape.” Crystal Intelligence aims to streamline how crypto fraud victims report scams as well as to aggregate individual fraud reports, the release continues. More broadly, the company seeks to improve cryptocurrency adoption by lowering the prevalence of scams within the space. Whale Alert will act as an advisory partner following this acquisition. Crystal Intelligence intends to launch a comprehensive data collection that supports numerous languages and provides a better victim support structure. Additionally, Crystal plans to bolster collaboration with law enforcement worldwide, with Scam Alert set to work closely with local blockchain communities globally. "Localization for us means more than just language; it’s about cultural context, regional fraud patterns, and trusted community partners," said Crystal COO Marina Khaustova in an email to The Block. "Scam Alert is our direct response to the urgent need to address the growing issue of fraud." Navin Gupta joined Crystal as its CEO in February 2024 after previously serving as the managing director of the crypto firm Ripple. Crypto-related financial crimes appear to be on the rise, a recent report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's cybercrime arm shows. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received around 150,000 complaints involving cryptocurrency and calculated losses to exceed $9.3 billion. This represented a 66% increase compared to 2o23, with individuals 60 years or older losing around $2.8 billion from crypto-related internet crime, The Block previously reported.
  • Binance founder CZ wants crypto-AI agents to have real utility as 99.99% of their tokens are ‘useless’ Changpeng Zhao, founder and former CEO of Binance, says he wants crypto-AI agents with tokens to demonstrate real utility, stating that nearly all of them are useless. “Today there are so many different AI agents with a token but agents don’t have a utility. I want to see real agents that have real utility that can really help you, with tokens. There are AI token launchpads where you click a button, and you have an AI with your own name. That token is useless — 99.99% of them are useless,” said CZ in a fireside chat at Token2049 in Dubai. “What we want to see is real AI agents that can use things.” CZ said AI will completely revamp the crypto user experience and how people interact with blockchains. This could include the app experience, customer support and risk monitoring among other improvements. “It’s all going to change,” he said. Binance's founder said it was unfortunate that the crypto industry developed before AI did. He said that it needs to change to an AI industry — embracing the benefits of the technology. He noted that he’s using AI heavily in his educational platform, Giggle, particularly in translating text to other languages. However, the flip side is that AI can easily adopt cryptocurrency. “The currency for AI is crypto,” CZ said. “AI is not going to swipe a card, get an SMS code, that doesn’t work for AI. It’s going to be crypto.” CZ said the internet data that has been used to train AI agents has now been exhausted. Going ahead, this data could be captured in a privacy-preserving way using blockchain technology, he suggested. He added that users should be able to monetize the data that they create. On the speed of development, CZ noted that crypto companies exploded much faster than internet companies did back in the day — and that AI companies are going to rise at an even faster rate. But with blockchain tech, they can more easily monetize. Helping countries adopt crypto When it comes to broader adoption, CZ said he’s speaking with around a dozen countries on helping them understand how to encourage crypto’s growth in their regions. He said there was a big shift in the last six months or so, since around the time of the US election. He referenced the new administration’s pro-crypto stance and Elon Musk’s reported idea of using blockchain for government efficiency. He said other parts of the world are also exploring similar ideas, such as the UAE looking at decentralized IDs. Today, blockchain is a single dimension for trading/financials. We can expand blockchain to multiple dimensions,” he said. CZ specified that the countries reaching out to him are looking at how to regulate crypto. Typically, these are quite advanced conversations about specific issues on regional adoption. He said regulators generally want to manage everything locally, such as having local wallets and custody solutions and local order books. Only he argued that this approach doesn’t particularly work. “If you divide each country by their own order book, liquidity is gonna suck,” he noted. On crypto reserves, he said countries are incentivized to create them earlier because they may have to buy at higher prices if they are late to the table. He recommends using professional custody solutions if they’re starting with smaller amounts, with the notion of moving to their own cold storage solution if they grow to holding larger amounts. While he highlighted a few countries that are embracing crypto, such as Hong Kong and Bhutan, he noted that Europe doesn’t seem to be in the conversation (except for Montenegro). “It’s kind of missing on the map,” he said.
  • SEC ends investigation into PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin without enforcement The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped its investigation into stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD), the payment giant said in its latest disclosure. In a Form 10-Q filed on Tuesday, PayPal said that the SEC informed the company in February that the agency was closing the inquiry surrounding a 2023 subpoena related to PYUSD "without enforcement action." In November 2023, PayPal received a subpoena from the SEC requesting information about its PYUSD stablecoin. "The subpoena requests the production of documents," the company said at the time. Such subpoenas typically serve as a way for the SEC to gather information and do not necessarily result in legal action or enforcement. The latest disclosure comes on the heels of a partnership announcement between PayPal and Coinbase. The pair announced last week that they have partnered to eliminate trading fees for PYUSD, allowing users to buy, sell, and trade PYUSD on Coinbase without incurring platform fees, and to redeem PYUSD at a 1:1 ratio for USD directly on the exchange. PayPal launched the PYUSD in August 2023 through a third-party issuer. However, the stablecoin's market presence continues to be dwarfed by rivals Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC. PYUSD has a market capitalization of $879.9 million, compared to USDT’s $148.4 billion and USDC’s $62 billion, according to The Block's price page. To boost adoption, PayPal expanded PYUSD to Solana in May 2024 and later partnered with crypto custodian Anchorage Digital to help develop a stablecoin reward program. It has also partnered with MoonPay to expand payment options for purchasing PYUSD.
  • South Korea's ruling party pledges spot crypto ETF trading, expanded bank access as election looms: report The People Power Party (PPP), a major right-wing political party in South Korea, has pledged to expand banking access for crypto exchanges and allow trading of spot crypto exchange-traded funds within this year, as it seeks to court the crypto sector ahead of the upcoming presidential election. In a Monday meeting at the National Assembly, the party unveiled seven initiatives to foster a crypto asset ecosystem, local news outlet Edaily reported. The party first pledged to scrap the "one exchange, one bank" rule, which financial authorities had enforced to curb money laundering and monitor suspicious transactions by requiring crypto exchanges to partner with a single bank for real-name verified accounts. The PPP also pledged to permit spot crypto ETF trading within this year. Park Soo-min, a lawmaker, said that U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have attracted strong interest and large trading volumes, adding that South Korea "cannot afford to delay any longer," according to the report. Both the PPP and the Democratic Party have previously called for lifting the ban on spot crypto ETFs. The PPP’s crypto proposals come as South Korea prepares to elect its new president on June 3. Yoon Suk-yeol, the country’s 20th president, was removed from office on April 4 after the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld his impeachment over a controversial martial law declaration in December. As part of the crypto initiatives announced Monday, the PPP also plans to legalize security token offerings and introduce a regulatory framework for stablecoins in line with global standards. It also intends to propose a bill called the "Digital Asset Promotion Basic Act." To carry out its initiatives, the PPP intends to set up a special crypto committee under its presidential candidate. The committee is expected to lead efforts to promote crypto, support industry innovation and rebuild investor confidence, according to the local media report. South Korea’s financial authorities are moving to ease crypto restrictions. In January, the Financial Services Commission said it would gradually lift a ban that prevents institutional investors from investing in cryptocurrencies. The agency is also pursuing follow-up legislation to the country’s first crypto regulatory framework, focusing on stablecoin rules, token listings and disclosure requirements.
  • US spot bitcoin ETFs see $591 million in net inflows as BTC holds above $94,000 Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. experienced $591.3 million in net inflows on Monday, extending their streak of inflows to seven days. BlackRock's IBIT, the largest spot bitcoin ETF by net assets, was the only ETF of its kind to record net inflows, drawing in $970.9 million, according to SoSoValue data. Ark and 21Shares' ARKB saw net outflows of $226.3 million, while Fidelity's FBTC recorded $86.9 million in outflows. Grayscale's GBTC, Bitwise's BITB and VanEck's HODL also logged outflows. The total trading volume across the 12 ETFs shrank to $2.4 billion on Monday, down from $3.3 billion on Friday. Their cumulative net inflows reached $39.02 billion, the highest level since Feb. 24. The continued inflows into the ETFs coincided with a relatively steady bitcoin price. Bitcoin inched up 0.2% over the past 24 hours to trade at $94,359 at the time of writing, after briefly rising above the $95,000 level earlier on Monday, according to The Block's price page. Notably, spot bitcoin ETFs recorded $3 billion in weekly inflows last week, marking the highest such value since November 2024. Meanwhile, spot ether ETFs reported $64.1 million in net inflows, extending their inflow streak to three days. Ether edged down 0.02% to change hands at $1,793.
  • Solana DeFi protocol Loopscale hit with $5.8 million exploit two weeks after launch Loopscale, a Solana-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, became 2025's latest hacking victim on Saturday, losing over $5.8 million, or 12% of its TVL, to an exploit affecting one of its markets. "The root cause of the exploit has been identified as an isolated issue with Loopscale’s pricing of RateX-based collateral," the protocol said on X. "There is an ongoing investigation into how this happened, who did this, and how we can most effectively recover funds." Loopscale, which launched on April 10, raised $4.25 million in VC funding from Solana Labs, Coinbase Ventures, and others in 2021. The protocol was known as Bridgesplit at the time, and originally proposed an NFT-based yield product. Loopscale's order book-based lending platform is different from pool-based lending protocols, such as Aave or Solend, offering more predictable terms and eliminating the rate volatility common in variable-rate lending protocols​. The protocol was audited by OShield, which found several critical vulnerabilities when it conducted the audit between January and February of this year. "Loopscale has been audited and is currently undergoing additional audits. All critical and high-risk issues identified have been fixed," the protocol's FAQ reads. Another audit, by Sec3, is reportedly in progress. "Our team is fully mobilized to investigate, recover funds, and ensure users are protected," Loopscale co-founder Mary Gooneratne wrote on X. Loopscale did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Block. The exploit adds to a lengthening list of 2025 crypto hacks and exploits. Bybit's record $1.46 billion hack in February has been joined in recent weeks by a $7 million oracle exploit affecting KiloEX, a $49 million loss from stablecoin neoback Infini, and more. Loopscale initially restricted its platform's features, but re-enabled loan repayments, top-ups, and loop closing on Saturday evening. This is a developing story
  • Ethereum public goods funding protocol Gitcoin winding down its software division Ethereum public goods funding protocol Gitcoin is shutting down its primary software development unit, Gitcoin Labs, according to an announcement on Friday. The decision was made in part because a “path to profitability” was unrealistic, Gitcoin co-founder Kevin Owocki said in a statement. “The financial overhead of Grants Lab has outpaced its financial runway in the current environment,” Owocki said on X. “This decision was made in consultation with the top stewards of Gitcoin and lead of Grants Lab … From the perspective of Gitcoin Governance, is for Grants Lab to not submit another budget to Gitcoin’s governance for H2 2025.” The remaining funds will go towards paying severance “to all whose employment is affected,” Owocki noted. Native token GIT is up around 4% at press time. Gitcoin is a platform that empowers communities to fund and support open-source projects and public goods in the web3 ecosystem, primarily through its Grants Program. The platform has distributed over $60 million using a mechanism co-created by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin called Quadratic Funding. The project is part of the wider “regen” movement, short for regenerative finance (a play on degen), which is focused on staying true to crypto’s founding cypherpunk ethos. It has backed notable projects, including Optimism, Polygon, Sei and Celo. “We're not retreating — we're refocusing,” Owocki said. “Gitcoin will continue, but with a leaner team aligned around a more focused Gitcoin Grants program and managing its portfolio of assets. And Gitcoin remains a vibrant, resilient community with many years of runway, and which is more than any one team or product.” The move comes about a year after a strategic overhaul of the community-led project, which saw it take a more streamlined and capitalistic approach. In February 2024, Gitcoin condensed several constituent DAOs, sunsetted its Layer 2 Public Goods Network, and invested in money-making opportunities like for-profit projects and yield strategies. As part of the latest shift, Gitcoin will shut down Grants Stack, a tool for managing grants programs, as well as wind down the Allo Protocol, its blockchain system for democratic capital allocation. The project, however, does intend to continue maintaining the Human Passport digital verification system. "To our partners and users: the tech you rely on isn’t disappearing overnight. We’re working to ensure a smooth transition, including evaluating tech handoffs and continuing support where we can," Gitcoin wrote. "Today marks a big shift for us at Gitcoin — and while it’s a tough day, I’m feeling incredibly hopeful about what’s ahead and the opportunities to build on the foundations we've laid and the momentum we've built," Gitcoin Grants Program lead Mathilda DV said on X. "The Grants Stack era is coming to a close, but the Gitcoin Grants Program isn’t going anywhere. In fact, we’re doubling down on it." Notably, the project has also announced that the Grants Program is funded until "2029ish"
  • Lutnick's Cantor plans $3 billion bitcoin venture with SoftBank and Tether: FT Brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald is planning a $3 billion bitcoin investment project with SoftBank, Tether and Bitfinex, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Cantor is currently led by chair and CEO Brandon Lutnick, son of former CEO Howard Lutnick who resigned earlier this year to assume the role of U.S. Secretary of Commerce under the Trump administration. The reported bitcoin initiative involves Lutnick's special purpose acquisition company, Cantor Equity Partners, using the $200 million it raised in January to establish a new entity called 21 Capital. According to the FT report, Tether is set to contribute $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin to 21 Capital. Japanese investment giant SoftBank would contribute $900 million in bitcoin, while Bitfinex, the crypto exchange owned by the same company that owns Tether, reportedly plans to supply $600 million worth of the cryptocurrency. With crypto contributions worth billions of dollars, 21 Capital aims to emulate the success of Michael Saylor-led Strategy's bitcoin investment approach by creating a "publicly listed alternative," the FT report said. Strategy issued stocks and speculative debt to purchase bitcoin, with its current holdings standing at 538,200 BTC. Its stock price has risen 159% in the past year, according to Google Finance data. The reported investments would eventually see the three companies' bitcoin holdings converted into shares of 21 Capital at $10 per share, implying a valuation of $85,000 per bitcoin. Separately, Cantor's vehicle will raise a $350 million convertible bond and a $200 million private equity placement for additional bitcoin purchases, the report said. The FT report said the deal is scheduled to be officially announced in the coming weeks, while noting that it could still be revised or abandoned. The Block has reached out to Cantor, Tether, SoftBank and Bitfinex for comment. The report of Cantor's potential bitcoin foray comes as the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump has brought favorable changes for the crypto industry, promising friendlier crypto policies while rescinding enforcement actions against various companies.
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