Alternative News for You

by Kristian Silva and Jean Bell on March 11, 2025 at 6:18 am

Glenn Ernest Fenwick, 61, was jailed for a maximum of five and a half years after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of Christopher Jarvis, with the judge labelling the killing "brutal, unlawful and dangerous conduct".

by Cointelegraph by Martin Young on March 11, 2025 at 6:16 am

Solana network revenue and total value locked onchain have collapsed in the past two months as interest in memecoins has continued to taper off. Weekly network revenue on the Solana blockchain hit a record high of $55.3 million in mid-January amid the height of the memecoin minting frenzy. However, revenue has since tanked 93% to around $4 million in the past week, back to levels not seen since September, according to DeFillama data. Solana weekly decentralized application (DApp) revenue has also slumped around 86% from $238 million in mid-January to $32 million for the past week.  Meanwhile, DeFi total value locked on Solana has also declined by almost 50% over the same period, falling from a January high of just over $12 billion to current levels of around $6.4 billion. Solana weekly revenue and TVL. Source: DeFillamaMemecoin trading, primarily on the Pump.fun platform comprises roughly 80% of the Solana blockchain’s revenues, according to a March 5 report by VanEck. Pump.fun daily revenue hit a peak of $15 million in late January but has since slumped by around 95% to $800,000 on March 7, according to data from Dune Analytics. Memecoin mania peaked when Donald Trump launched his own namesake token (TRUMP) on Jan. 18, shortly followed by his wife, Melania, who launched MELANIA on Jan. 20.“The launch of TRUMP and MELANIA marked the top for memecoins as it sucked liquidity and attention out of all the other cryptocurrencies,” said CoinGecko founder Bobby Ong on March 6. Both tokens surged following their launches but dumped in the days that followed. TRUMP is currently down 86% from its peak, trading at $10.50, while MELANIA has collapsed 95% in just seven weeks to $0.71.Related: Solana down 45% since Trump token launch as memecoins divert liquidityMemecoin market cap hit a peak of $137 billion in December but has since tanked 68% to $44 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. Memecoin market cap meltdown. Source: CoinMarketCapSolana (SOL) prices have also taken a battering over the past few weeks, resulting in a 58% fall from their mid-January all-time high of $293. The asset was down a further 5% on the day, trading at $122 at the time of writing. Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest

by Eva Blandis on March 11, 2025 at 6:11 am

Luke Sweetman had so much of his life ahead of him when he was punched in a "horrific attack" outside a suburban Adelaide hotel last year. Now, his family has confronted his killer.

by Cointelegraph by Stephen Katte on March 11, 2025 at 6:09 am

A Russian-backed hacking group has claimed responsibility for the massive cyberattack on X, which saw the social media platform unable to be accessed by thousands of users, although user functionality was quickly restored. Cybersecurity group SpyoSecure said in a March 10 post to X that hacker group Dark Storm made a Telegram post taking credit for the distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, which was posted by the group’s leader. “To anyone wondering why X (Twitter) was down, it was under attack by Dark Storm Team,” SpyoSecure said. Source: SpyoSecureThe Telegram channel has since been deleted for violating the platform’s terms of service. Screenshots shared on X show them stating they “took Twitter offline,” alongside a screenshot of failed connection attempts from various global locations.Ed Krassenstein, a social media personality and co-founder of NFT marketplace NFTz.me, said in a March 10 post to X that he had also been investigating the attack and was in touch with Dark Storm’s leader, who again claimed they were behind it. “The reason he gives me for the attack is just a demonstration of our strength, with no political motives,” Krassenstein said.The Russian-backed pro-Palestinian hacker group Dark Storm has been active since 2023 and is known for targeting NATO countries. Platform owner Elon Musk confirmed the social media platform had been hit with a cyberattack preventing some users from accessing the site on March 10.He said in a March 10 interview with Fox Business’s Larry Kudlow he had a rough idea of where the IP address of the hackers originated. “We’re not sure exactly what happened but there was a massive cyberattack to try and bring down the X system with IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area.”Related: US Treasury sued for giving Elon Musk’s DOGE access to sensitive infoIt comes amid violence at Tesla facilities around the US as part of a broader “Take down Tesla” movement protesting Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is taking the axe to many government departments. Musk told Kudlow that regardless of the protests, he still thinks they are “doing the right thing here” because DOGE is cutting spending to initiatives “very few taxpayers would agree make sense.” Tesla stock is also suffering. In the most recent trading session, Tesla is down over 15% to $222 per share. In the after-hours session, it’s down a further 3% to $215, according to Google Finance. Tesla stock is down in its most recent trading session amid protests over Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Source: Google FinanceOverall, the stock has been up 24% over the past year; however, it’s still down from its all-time high of $480 set on Dec. 17, 2024.This isn’t the first time X has suffered a DDoS attack. Last August, Musk claimed the platform was hit by hackers prior to his interview with then-presidential hopeful Donald Trump. Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 2 – 8

by Daniel Ziffer and Kirsten Aiken on March 11, 2025 at 5:56 am

Bally's chair Soo Kim tells The Business he's yet to hear from Star's boss after making an eleventh-hour bid to control the company.

by Leah MacLennan on March 11, 2025 at 5:53 am

A newly-opened multi-million-dollar apartment complex in Adelaide's CBD will help women like Kiran escape from violent relationships.

by Brianna Parkins on March 11, 2025 at 5:52 am

A lawyer for veteran broadcaster Alan Jones has called for the all the contact between the state police force and media be disclosed, claiming the information about his 2024 charges were leaked.

by Cointelegraph by Jesse Coghlan on March 11, 2025 at 5:52 am

US Senate Banking Committee is set to vote on a Republican-led stablecoin framework bill on March 13, after it was updated following consultation with committee Democrats.GOP Senator Bill Hagerty, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said on March 10 that he introduced an update of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which would go to a Banking Committee vote on March 13.He added that the updated bill saw bipartisan consultation. The bill is co-sponsored by Republican Senators Cynthia Lummis and Tim Scott, who is also chair of the Banking Committee chair, along with Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand and Angela Alsobrooks.“The updated version of the GENIUS Act makes significant improvements to a number of important provisions, including consumer protections, authorized stablecoin issuers, risk mitigation, state pathways, insolvency, transparency, and more,” Gillibrand said in a statement.Hagerty first introduced the bill in early February. It aims to bring issuers of US dollar stablecoins with market caps over $10 billion — currently only Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USDC (USDC) — under Federal Reserve regulations. Those under $10 billion could opt into state-level regulation.Web3 learning app EasyA co-founder Dom Kwok said on X that the latest version of the GENIUS Act, shared by FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, gives “US-issued stablecoins a competitive advantage.”He added that the bill now holds foreign stablecoin issuers to “extra high standards” in areas such as reserve and liquidity requirements, money laundering checks and sanctions checks.Source: Dom Kwok“Most foreign issuers will find these standards hard to meet,” which gives Circle’s USDC and Ripple Labs’ Ripple USD (RLUSD) “an upper hand,” he said.Related: Crypto needs policy change more than Bitcoin reserve — ExecsCrypto lawyer and Hogan & Hogan partner Jeremy Hogan came to the same conclusion in a separate X post, saying the bill’s requirements, particularly around reserves and Anti-Money Laundering checks, “all fall neatly for RLSUD and USDC.”The GENIUS Act still has a way to go before becoming law. The Senate Banking Committee will have to vote to pass the bill and it will then be put to a full Senate floor vote where it could be debated.If it passes the Senate, it will head to the House. If the House doesn’t change the bill, then it will be sent to President Donald Trump to sign into law or veto.Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025 

by Cointelegraph by Martin Young on March 11, 2025 at 5:29 am

Finance officials in the European Union are concerned US President Donald Trump’s embrace of digital assets could affect Europe’s monetary sovereignty and financial stability.“The US administration is favorable toward cryptocurrencies and especially dollar-denominated stablecoins, which may raise certain concerns in Europe,” European Stability Mechanism (ESM) managing director Pierre Gramegna said at a Eurogroup press conference on March 10. Gramegna cautioned that the US crypto pivot “could eventually reignite foreign and US tech giants’ plans to launch mass payment solutions based on dollar-denominated stablecoin,” adding, “And if this were to be successful, it could affect the euro area’s monetary sovereignty and financial stability.”  The ESM “supports the ECB’s urgency in making the digital euro a reality to safeguard Europe’s strategic autonomy — this digital euro is today more necessary than ever,” he added.The ESM is an intergovernmental organization established by member states of the euro area, helping countries overcome financial crises and maintain long-term financial stability and prosperity.Pierre Gramegna speaking on US crypto threat. Source: YouTube“Policy developments in other jurisdictions can have important consequences for us here in Europe,” concurred Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe. “These discussions are fundamentally linked to our own autonomy and to the resilience of our currency,” he added, stating that a European central bank digital currency (CBDC) was now critical to staying ahead of the curve.In February, the European Central Bank said it was expanding the development of its CBDC payment system to settle transactions between institutions. The ECB has been exploring CBDCs since 2020, including a consumer-facing retail digital euro and wholesale cross-border settlement between central banks.Meanwhile, Trump has spoken out against a Federal Reserve CBDC, signing an executive order in January to establish a crypto working group while prohibiting the “establishment, issuance, circulation, and use” of a US CBDC. Related: Crypto academics slam controversial ECB paper blasting BitcoinThe ECB has also rejected the idea of adding Bitcoin (BTC) to its monetary reserves or allowing other European central banks to do so. In late January, ECB President Christine Lagarde said that the reserves of central banks have to be “liquid, secure and safe,” implying that they would not include crypto assets. She added that she was “confident” that Bitcoin would not enter the reserves of banks under the European Council. Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest

by Elissa Steedman on March 11, 2025 at 5:20 am

If your area was lashed by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, chances are your home is feeling a little damp right now. It creates the perfect conditions for mould to take hold.

by Sohani Goonetillake on March 11, 2025 at 5:19 am

Canada’s next prime minister steps into the role with no prior political experience but a distinguished career in global finance.

by Charlotte Gore on March 11, 2025 at 5:17 am

ACT Policing releases dash-cam footage allegedly showing a 25-year-old Gungahlin man ramming other cars with his ute and breaking the back window of a moving car while in its tray and repeatedly kicking the driver.

by Sundance on March 11, 2025 at 5:09 am

Approximately 60 drones were launched from Ukraine overnight to attack the Russian capital city of Moscow.  This is the largest escalation of drone/missile attacks into Russia so far. The attack comes, predictably, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Nat Sec Advisor Mike Waltz and President Trump envoy Steve Witkoff arrive in Saudi Arabia for preliminary The post UK, EU and NATO Partners Launch Massive Wave of Drone Attacks Against Moscow appeared first on The Last Refuge.

by Joanna Menagh on March 11, 2025 at 5:04 am

The murder trial of the four people accused of killing Cassius Turvey hears from a security guard who helped the schoolboy as he lay bleeding in the car park of the Midland TAFE.

by David Mark on March 11, 2025 at 5:01 am

The lead plaintiff in a US class action against Australian punters in American college football says he just wants a level playing field for high school students hoping to get a collegiate scholarship.

by Angelique Donnellan on March 11, 2025 at 5:00 am

While America has recognised that military burn pits used in Afghanistan can cause cancer and other illnesses in soldiers, Australia has not accepted it.

by Lily Nothling on March 11, 2025 at 4:49 am

Supermarkets across Queensland grapple with grocery shortages in the wake of the natural disaster, with flooding expected to affect the supply of fresh vegetables in the coming months.

by Stephanie March on March 11, 2025 at 4:48 am

The ABC journeyed into Syria's coastal city of Tartous, where deadly clashes between militias loyal to the fallen regime of Bashar al-Assad and government forces have spiralled into some of the worst violence in the country in years.  

by Jake Evans on March 11, 2025 at 4:44 am

A political furore in the wake of revelations the caravan terror plot was a hoax has deepened, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton hitting back at claims he deliberately missed AFP briefings on the issue.

by Cointelegraph by Brayden Lindrea on March 11, 2025 at 4:36 am

Defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox moved almost a billion worth of Bitcoin, the second large BTC transfer in a week, as Bitcoin’s price fell to a four-month low on March 11.Of the 11,833 Bitcoin (BTC) moved, 11,501 ($905.1 million) were sent into a new wallet, while the remaining 332 Bitcoin ($26.1 million) were transferred to a warm wallet, according to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain, citing Arkham Intelligence data. The transfer cost Mt. Gox just $2.13.Transaction details of Mt. Gox’s $931 million transfer. Source: Arkham IntelligenceIt comes less than a week after Mt. Gox moved 12,000 Bitcoin worth a little over $1 billion on March 6. Arkham noted that $15 million of those funds were sent to BitGo — one of the custodians facilitating Mt. Gox’s creditor repayments.Blockchain analytics firm Spot On Chain said the 332 Bitcoin that recently went into the warm wallet may also be moved to assist with the repayments.The movement coincided with a 2.4% price fall for Bitcoin to $76,784 over 30 minutes, CoinGecko data shows, retreating to November prices when the market was rallying on the back of US President Donald Trump’s election win.While Bitcoin recovered from the slump to $79,275 soon after, Maelstrom chief investment officer Arthur Hayes advised investors to “be fucking patient” in a March 11 X post in which he predicted Bitcoin would bottom around the $70,000 mark.Source: Arthur HayesRelated: Bitcoin may benefit from US stablecoin dominance pushMt. Gox’s main wallets now only hold 24,411 Bitcoin — worth $1.94 billion — after it started offloading around $9.2 billion worth of Bitcoin in June 2024, Spot On Chain data shows.Mt. Gox’s change in Bitcoin holdings since 2015. Source: Spot On ChainLast October, the defunct crypto exchange extended its deadline to fully repay its creditors, saying it would do so by Oct. 31, 2025.Mt. Gox was the largest Bitcoin exchange between 2010 and 2014 — handling around 70-80% of Bitcoin trades before it collapsed from a hack that saw up to 850,000 Bitcoin stolen from the Tokyo-based platform.Magazine: Train AI agents to make better predictions… for token rewards

by Phoebe Pin on March 11, 2025 at 4:32 am

Former Nationals MP James Hayward had his appeal against his child sex conviction upheld because of a 'highly unusual' police interview with the complainant, court documents show.

by Cointelegraph by Arijit Sarkar on March 11, 2025 at 4:30 am

India’s contribution to the global Web3 ecosystem — primarily in software development, gaming, investments and startup funding — increased year-on-year despite an absence of locally tailored crypto regulations.India’s share of global Web3 developers grew from 5% to 12% in the last 10 years, second only to the United States as of 2024, according to the India Web3 Landscape Report 2024 by Hashed Emergent, shared with Cointelegraph.Developer growth in India since 2015. Source: Hashed EmergentSpeaking to Cointelegraph, Tak Lee, CEO and Managing Partner at Hashed Emergent, pointed out four key factors driving India to the top of global crypto adoption: retail crypto transactions on centralized services, highest trading volumes, institutional adoption and retail DeFi transactions.Gen Z dominates the Web3 developer landscape in IndiaThe growth is driven by the younger generation, as roughly 80% of all blockchain developers in India are between 18 and 27 years of age. The Indian developers in DeFi, Payments, AI and SocialFi prefer Solana as the go-to blockchain.Ton, Aptos and Base are steadily gaining momentum across other key sectors, driven by the expanding presence of layer-1 and layer-2 ecosystems, the report noted.Web3 sector and ecosystem trends in India. Source: Hashed EmergentWhile funding opportunities and builder initiatives like hackathons support initial growth, Indian developers have pointed out employers’ lack of willingness to pay salaries that match global industry standards. The challenges faced by Web3 gaming projects are the extremely high cost of customer acquisition (CAC) to onboard Web3 users and the lack of quality gameplay beyond financial incentives to retain Web2 gamers. “Therefore, several of these games are now focusing on having great quality games before integrating blockchain mechanics or tapping into Indian gamers’ craze for RMG,” Lee explained.Related: Indian town adopts Avalanche blockchain for tamper-proof land recordsIn contrast, investments into the Indian Web3 landscape saw a 224% increase in 2024 compared to the previous year — sourced from various avenues such as local funds, ecosystem funds and corporate venture arms of leading exchanges.Lee told Cointelegraph that the lack of growth capital in the Web3 world, along with the absence of traditional venture/growth/private equity funds, makes it difficult for Indian firms to raise capital, adding:“Therefore, entrepreneurs explore crowd sales as a way to fund their future growth. Some renowned projects may also explore crowd sales due to higher valuations offered but this is extremely rare and done by the extremely blue chip founders who can raise money from retail with ample certainty and high volumes.”Funding in India’s Web3 finance sector. Source: Hashed EmergentCompared to the previous years, the substantial growth in Web3 investments in 2024 “signals a gradual recovery, with investors focusing on emerging areas of decentralized finance,” the report said.India is a global hub for founders and developers, currently home to the second-largest developer market and third-largest founder base globally. Some of the main barriers preventing large-scale investments, according to Tak, have to do with the “slower than anticipated growth of some of these startups .“ Unclear regulations and compliances also hinder Web3 investments in India. Growing Web3 against all oddsDespite an active high-tax environment on cryptocurrency, small-scale crypto investments saw an uptick in India. Traders generally preferred small, frequent trades, with 96% maintaining positions less than $12 with an average of 11x-20x leverage. Females represented 1 in 10 futures traders in India, highlighting the scope for greater participation. The report called for reforms in crypto tax deductions and reporting in addition to the need for federal guidance and tax implications:“India must overcome its negative policy perception that stifles innovation and instead focus on identifying and addressing the pain points faced by stakeholders with effective regulation that will incentivize the Web3 sector to grow and thrive.”Indian Web3 firms call for progressive regulation for all stakeholders. Source: Hashed EmergentThe policy wish list for the Indian Web3 includes the regulatory framework for virtual asset service providers (VASP), tax rationalization, streamlined banking and payment access for Web3 companies, exemptions from VASP regulations and clarity on existing regulations.Recent regulatory initiatives like URL blocking of locally unlicensed crypto exchanges have resulted in the influx of funds to self-custodial solutions (decentralized exchanges) or domestic exchanges, which are regulated under Indian law.Magazine: Mystery celeb memecoin scam factory, HK firm dumps Bitcoin: Asia Express

by Sundance on March 11, 2025 at 4:20 am

In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency. This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread. Posted in The post March 11th – 2025 Presidential Politics – Trump Administration Day 51 appeared first on The Last Refuge.

by Sundance on March 11, 2025 at 4:15 am

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL. The post Tuesday March 11th – Open Thread appeared first on The Last Refuge.

on March 11, 2025 at 4:05 am

The historic Test match between Australia and England, marking the 150th anniversary of the first ever Test cricket match, will be played under the MCG lights. 

by Cointelegraph by Brayden Lindrea on March 11, 2025 at 3:55 am

The Trump administration may be intentionally creating uncertainty in the stock markets to corner Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell into lowering interest rates, according to a market commentator. Doing so increases the likelihood that the US won’t need to refinance around $7 trillion in debt it owes over the next few months, Bitcoin commentator Anthony Pompliano said in a March 10 X post.US President Donald Trump and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent are “taking matters into their own hands; they’re crashing asset prices in an attempt to force Jerome Powell to cut interest rates,” said Pompliano, who serves as the founder and CEO of Professional Capital Management and host of The Pomp Podcast. The President and his team are intentionally crashing the market.Is this a master plan or are we watching uncontrolled destruction?! pic.twitter.com/Tbc0M9Rjxu— Anthony Pompliano 🌪 (@APompliano) March 10, 2025In late January, Powell announced the Fed was not lowering interest rates from the current target range of 4.25% to 4.5% despite calls from Trump to do so.Pompliano said the recent market panic has been driven in part by Trump’s tariffs — and has been used to create a more favorable bond market while lowering the 10-year Treasury yield.He noted that the 10-year Treasury yield is already down from nearly 4.8% in January to 4.21% now — a sign that Trump’s purported strategy is “heading in the right direction.”Source: Thomas KralowWhether Pompliano’s theory is correct or not, the stock market has been tanking of late, and crypto has been hit even harder.Broad market index funds such as State Street’s Standard & Poor’s 500 index fund (SPY) fell 2.66% on March 10 alone, while the Nasdaq-100% fell 3.8%, Google Finance data shows.Both indexes are down 7.32% and 10.7% over the last month, while Bitcoin (BTC) is down 27.4% from its $108,786 all-time high, and over $1.2 trillion has been wiped from the cryptocurrency market cap since Dec. 17. If the stock market continues to tank, it will come down to a “who blinks first” contest between Trump and Powell, Pompliano said.While Trump hasn’t confirmed such a strategy, Pompliano pointed to a Fox News interview on March 9 where Trump said: “Nobody ever gets rich when the interest rates are high because people can’t borrow money.”Pompliano added that lowering interest rates would also benefit American consumers:“The big goal, get interest rates down, and that will lead to more economic activity, thanks to access to cheap capital. Give the people cheap capital and they’ll go and do things with it.”Related: Bitcoin dips to $80K in ‘ugly start,’ could retest key resistance: HayesCME FedWatch, a tool used to measure expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate change, has tipped a 96% probability that the target rate will remain between 4.25% and 4.50% following the Federal Reserve’s next meeting on March 19. However, it’s near 50-50 odds for the target rate to be lowered in the Federal Reserve’s following meeting on May 7.The Federal Reserve typically avoids lowering interest rates when inflation is high, as one of its primary objectives is to maintain price stability.However, a Trump-inflicted recession, or “Trumpcession,” as some call it, could force America’s top bank to start cutting again.Magazine: Meet lawyer Max Burwick — ‘The ambulance chaser of crypto’

on March 11, 2025 at 3:54 am

Rodrigo Duterte is arrested at Manila's International Airport after an arrest warrant was issued by the International Criminal Court.

by Cointelegraph by Martin Young on March 11, 2025 at 3:52 am

Crypto and tech stocks saw large selloffs on March 10 as fears of a US recession heightened despite efforts from the White House to temper concerns. Economists at Wall Street investment bank JPMorgan have raised their recession risk this year to 40%, up from 30% at the beginning of 2025. “We see a material risk that the US falls into recession this year owing to extreme US policies,” wrote the analysts, according to The Wall Street Journal. Analysts at Goldman Sachs economists also raised their 12-month recession probability to 20%, up from 15%. They said that the forecast could rise further if the Trump administration remains “committed to its policies even in the face of much worse data.” Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley economists lowered their economic growth forecasts last week and raised inflation expectations. The bank predicted a GDP growth of just 1.5% in 2025, falling to 1.2% in 2026. It comes despite a key economic adviser to US President Donald Trump pushed back against talks of a recession. Speaking to CNBC on March 10, Kevin Hassett, who heads the National Economic Council, said there were many reasons to be optimistic about the US economy. “There are a lot of reasons to be extremely bullish about the economy going forward. But for sure, this quarter, there are some blips in the data,” he said. Meanwhile, in an interview with Fox News on March 9, Donald Trump responded to a question about the possibility of a recession by saying the US economy was going through “a period of transition.”Blockchain betting platform Polymarket quipped that recession odds are “the best looking chart in finance right now.”Source: PolymarketTech stock and crypto sell-offThe so-called “Trump bump” has dissipated, with the S&P 500 now lower than it was before his Nov. 5 US election victory. The index has lost almost 10% from last month’s high, and the Nasdaq is already in a correction, having lost 14% in just three weeks.The Nasdaq has lost almost 10% this year. Source: Google Finance All US stock markets ended March 10 in the red, with the S&P 500 dropping 2.7% to its lowest level since September, the tech-heavy Nasdaq having its worst day since 2022 in a 4% fall, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping nearly 900 points or roughly 2.1%.The Magnificent 7 — America’s top tech firms — have had a tumultuous start to the week, collectively shedding more than $750 billion in market cap in one day. Tesla tanked a whopping 15%, becoming the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 this year.AI giant Nvidia lost 5.1%, Apple shed 4.9%, Meta fell 4.4% and Alphabet lost 4.5% on the day. Related: Biggest red weekly candle ever: 5 things to know in Bitcoin this weekMeanwhile, crypto markets have plunged to their lowest point since early November, with a 7.5% fall in total market capitalization to $2.6 trillion on March 11, with around $240 billion exiting the space. Crypto market cap declines 1 month. Source: CoinMarketCapBitcoin (BTC) has also fallen through previous levels of support, dropping 4% on the day and hitting $76,784 before a minor recovery took the asset back to $79,000 at the time of writing. Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest

by Dan Condon on March 11, 2025 at 3:52 am

You might come to WOMADelaide for the headliners, but you'll leave with a new favourite band.

by Blake Kagi on March 11, 2025 at 3:52 am

A former Perth childcare worker who sexually assaulted a three-year-old girl in his care could be eligible for parole after seven and a half months in prison.

by Emma Wynne on March 11, 2025 at 3:51 am

MLC Brian Walker from the Legalise Cannabis WA Party has suggested childhood vaccinations be delayed and may cause autism.

on March 11, 2025 at 3:50 am

Two people were injured — and one was taken to hospital — when a tree branch fell in Botanic Park during the WOMADelaide festival on Monday. Emergency services are urging people to take care near heat stressed trees after a hot summer.

by Rosie King on March 11, 2025 at 3:48 am

The woman, now aged 54, told the Supreme Court the stairs were poorly lit and alleged the restaurant was negligent by failing to repair the uneven surface.

by Amy Sheehan on March 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

No matter how well you plan, you'll likely need to defrost something for cooking or eating during the week.

by Nick McLaren on March 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

Artificial intelligence technology will be used to alert drivers to koalas crossing the road.

by Nick Campton on March 11, 2025 at 3:28 am

Dylan Brown's move to Newcastle in the biggest deal in rugby league history is the gamble of a lifetime for the Knights as they stake the better part of a generation on the Parramatta five-eighth. 

by Cointelegraph by Stephen Katte on March 11, 2025 at 3:21 am

A proposed rule change pushing for some crypto firms to register as exchanges could be abandoned under a new directive from the acting chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. During a March 10 speech at the Washington Conference of the Institute of International Bankers, acting SEC Chairman Mark Uyeda said he had “asked SEC staff for options on abandoning” part of the proposed changes that would expand regulation of alternative trading systems (ATSs) to include crypto firms.“In light of the significant negative public comment received on the definition of exchange with respect to crypto, I have asked SEC staff for options on abandoning that part of the proposal,” he said.“In my view, it was a mistake for the commission to link together regulation of the Treasury markets with a heavy-handed attempt to tamp down the crypto market.”Uyeda says the rule was initially crafted in 2020 under former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton to establish more straightforward rules for alternative trading systems; the guidance was intended to mainly impact US Treasury market participants.Source: US Securities and Exchange CommissionHowever, when it fell to former SEC Chair Gary Gensler to implement the rule, he took a “very different direction” by expanding the list beyond just ATSs.“Rather than focusing on the narrow issues relating to Government Securities ATSs, a new iteration of the rule was proposed in 2022 that would redefine the regulatory definition of an exchange,” Uyeda said.“The new definition of the term exchange included communications protocols without clearly defining what that term meant. Effectively, the vastly expanded definition of an exchange would have picked up various protocols used with respect to crypto assets,” he added.Related: Coinbase finds flawed analysis in SEC's proposed exchange definitionGensler’s time at the SEC came with an aggressive regulatory stance toward crypto. He brought upward of 100 regulatory actions against firms from 2021 until his resignation on Jan. 20, the same day as Donald Trump started his second term as US president. Trump had promised to fire Gensler if elected. After Genlers’ resignation, the SEC has since taken a new friendlier approach toward crypto. A growing number of firms facing legal action from the regulator have had their cases dismissed, including crypto exchange Gemini on Feb. 26, Kraken on March 3 and crypto trading firm Cumberland DRW on March 4.Meanwhile, the agency has also launched a crypto task force dedicated to developing a framework for digital assets led by crypto-friendly Commissioner Hester Peirce. Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

by Sundance on March 11, 2025 at 3:05 am

Vice-President JD Vance delivers remarks outlining the goals and objectives of the Trump administration to the National League of Cities Conference in Washington DC. Vice-President Vance uses the opportunity to outline how MAGAnomics impacts every day working class Americans, and specifically the goal of life affordability for American citizens.  As the largest single household budget The post Vice-President JD Vance Speech at National League of Cities Conference in Washington, DC appeared first on The Last Refuge.

by Cointelegraph by Jesse Coghlan on March 11, 2025 at 3:00 am

The reporting of crypto scams in the United States is currently handled by a patchwork of agencies that should be streamlined to better protect consumers, says Coinbase chief security officer Philip Martin.“It’s a very fragmented ecosystem. Where do you report these things? Well, you go here, you go there, you go somewhere else,” Martin told Cointelegraph at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas.“I’d love to see that addressed and really brought under one umbrella, and that then helps us get a better idea of the magnitude of the problem.”“That then helps drive resources from the whole federal government to do more to address some of the underlying causes, he added. The US has dozens of federal and state-level agencies that handle reports of financial and internet crimes, one of which is the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which gives victims a way to report cybercrime.Martin said that crypto scam victims are reporting to authorities, but it “feels like they’re screaming into the void to like IC3 or some of the government reporting websites.”He added the various reporting sites should be consolidated “into a single reporting system that not only has all the data in one place but that also, in a perfect world, gives victims some visibility.”On an earlier panel regarding online fraud, in which Martin took part, retired FBI agent Roger Campbell said many victims of crypto romance scams search the internet for how to report the crime and “all kinds of information comes up.”“It’s kind of frustrating,” he said. Campbell gave the example of the UK as a country with an “awesome reporting system” where one portal is used to report all crimes, and victims can follow the status of their complaints.FBI’s Roger Campbell (center left) on a panel with Coinbase’s Philip Martin (center right). Other panelists include former Twitter safety lead Yoel Roth (right) and MSNBC reporter Mackenzie Sigalos (left). Source: Turner Wright / Cointelegraph“You report something to the IC3, you never hear anything back 99% of the time,” he added. “It gets frustrating again for the victim. They almost feel victimized again.”Related: ‘Victim-blaming’ Americans can deter crypto scams reporting — Regulator Coinbase’s Martin told Cointelegraph that scams have a “lag in reporting,” and the way that attackers carry out schemes today won’t be known for months.“A scam may have happened six months ago, and we might hear about it tomorrow,” he said.Another difficulty in policing crypto scams, according to Martin, is that they’re “by and large” conducted from outside the US in countries including Myanmar and Laos, where “it can be hard for law enforcement to reach into those areas and really sort of strangle the stuff at the root. “He said combatting crypto scams should focus on international relations and the US, “making it a priority to work with governments around the world so that there’s no safe haven for these scammers.”Meanwhile, on March 10, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation said it received over 2,600 complaints last year and found seven types of scams it hadn’t yet discovered, including crypto mining, gaming, jobs and giveaway scams.Magazine: Influencers shilling memecoin scams face severe legal consequences Additional reporting by Turner Wright.

by Sundance on March 11, 2025 at 3:00 am

DOGE and government reform head, Elon Musk appears with Larry Kudlow to discuss ongoing events and challenges to both his private enterprises and Trump administration as a result of targeting the Deep State apparatus in Washington DC. Beginning the interview, Musk notes the X-Platform faced a DDOS attack from Ukraine origin throughout the day on The post Elon Musk Extensive Interview with Larry Kudlow appeared first on The Last Refuge.

by Cointelegraph by Christopher Tepedino on March 11, 2025 at 2:25 am

Strategy (MSTR) shares have fallen 30% since its executive chairman and former CEO, Michael Saylor, was featured on the cover of Forbes, according to stock price data from Yahoo Finance. Between Jan. 30 and March 10, Strategy’s shares dropped from $340.09 to $238.25. The tumble includes a 17% decline on March 10 amid the wider sell-off in the tech stock market.Strategy one-day stock price. Source: Yahoo FinanceAccording to Yahoo Finance, the Nasdaq Composite, to which Strategy belongs, has fallen over 4% on March 10. Renewed fears of a recession, with the Atlanta Fed projecting a negative -2.4% gross domestic product growth for the first quarter of 2025, along with the increased rhetoric of trade wars, have sparked fear among investors in the equities market. CNN’s Fear & Greed index sits at “16” for the day, which signifies “Extreme Fear.”Despite a falling stock price, Strategy remains unwavering in its commitment to a Bitcoin (BTC) strategy. The company announced on the same day plans to raise an additional $21 billion for “general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Bitcoin and for working capital.” On Feb. 24, Strategy purchased 20,356 Bitcoin for nearly $2 billion.Related: MicroStrategy, now ‘Strategy,’ records $670M net loss in Q4Although Bitcoin recorded the largest weekly decline in the asset’s history on March 10, Strategy’s Bitcoin investment is still profitable by 18.9%. The company has purchased its BTC at an average cost of $66,423, well below the price of the asset at this time of writing.While countless entrepreneurs have graced the Forbes cover over the years, some featured individuals have also fallen into controversy after the spotlight. One of those includes former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for a bevy of financial crimes.Strategy sparks debate, spawns copycatsStrategy’s move to acquire more Bitcoin by issuing stock and using debt has been met with its fair share of proponents and critics in the crypto space. Some believe it is a stroke of genius, a bet on the digital asset’s track record that has caused it to rise from nothing to a market cap of $1.56 trillion in 15 years.Others have not been so kind, likening the company to a ticking time bomb or a Ponzi. In November, crypto investor Hedgex.eth called it the latter, writing on X that Saylor “will do more damage to Bitcoin than anyone else using endless leverage.” Haralabos Voulgaris wrote on X that “at some point, the next ‘unexpected’ BTC implosion will likely be tied to MSTR.”Still, Strategy’s move has spawned copycats throughout the business world, with some companies buying Bitcoin for their treasuries and seeing a surge in investor enthusiasm. One of those companies is Metaplanet, whose share price rose 4,800% in 12 months after it announced its BTC buying strategy.Magazine: Asia Express: ‘China’s MicroStrategy’ Meitu sells all its Bitcoin and Ethereum

by Cointelegraph by Stephen Katte on March 11, 2025 at 12:41 am

A California financial regulator says users reported seven new types of crypto and AI scams that it hadn’t seen before through thousands of complaints in 2024. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) said in a March 10 statement that it received 2,668 complaints in 2024 and found seven types of scams they didn’t have on record yet, such as fake Bitcoin (BTC) mining schemes, where fraudsters offer fake investments in mining. The DFPI also received complaints about fake crypto gaming schemes, where users are encouraged to deposit funds only to have their wallets drained, and fraudsters offering fake jobs that require victims to transfer crypto and provide private information.Source: California Department of Financial Protection and InnovationVictims also reported the theft of private keys through fake airdrops, fake investment group scams in WhatsApp or Telegram, AI Investment scams offering unusually high returns and losing their crypto after interacting with certain sham websites. The AI industry experienced significant growth in 2024, reaching a market cap of $638 billion, according to Precedence Research. There was also a notable rise in crimeware-as-a-service (CaaS), where experienced hackers and cybercriminals sell their tools and services to less experienced offenders for a price.DFPI Commissioner KC Mohseni said the regulator is urging caution when interacting with unknown platforms and to “verify website domains to avoid fraudulent imitations, and stay wary of crypto recovery scam sites.”Through its partnership with the State, the DFPI says it shut down more than 26 fraudulent crypto websites and uncovered $4.6 million in user losses last year. California DOJ shuts down 42 crypto scam websitesCalifornia’s Department of Justice (DOJ) took down 42 crypto scam websites in 2024 that stole $6.5 million from victims, with an average loss per person of $146,306.In a March 10 statement, the California DOJ said that because international fraudsters often carry out scams, they are difficult to prosecute and arrest.Common threads among the scam websites were promises of high returns, no contact information, offers of prizes for signing up, and no listings on legitimate crypto industry websites such as CoinMarketCap, the California DOJ said. Related: Crypto lost to exploits, scams, hits $1.5B in February with Bybit hack: CertiKA report from on-chain security firm Cyvers identified pig butchering schemes as one of the most costly in 2024, estimating the scam cost the industry over $5.5 billion across 200,000 identified cases. Meanwhile, blockchain security firm CertiK’s annual Web3 security report flagged crypto phishing attacks, which cost users $1 billion across 296 incidents, as the most significant security threat of 2024.Magazine: Bitcoin’s odds of June highs, SOL’s $485M outflows, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 2 – 8

by Cointelegraph by Cointelegraph on March 10, 2025 at 9:39 pm

Today in crypto, Mt. Gox makes its second Bitcoin move in a week, cyberattackers target Elon Musk’s X, and crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) saw their fourth straight week of outflows, with $876 million lost.Mt. Gox makes second Bitcoin move in a week as it taps $76KDefunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox moved 11,833 Bitcoin (BTC), worth $926.2 million, on March 11 — its second big BTC transfer in a week amid the cryptocurrency’s price falling to a four-month low of around $76,700.Arkham Intelligence data analyzed by Lookonchain found that 11,501 BTC was sent to a new wallet. The remaining 332 BTC were transferred to a warm wallet, which analytics firm Spot On Chain said could be moved to assist with the repayments.Mt. Gox moved 12,000 Bitcoin worth a little over $1 billion on March 6. The exchange fell into bankruptcy in early 2014 and similar moves it has made in the past have been a precursor to it paying out its creditors.Transaction details of Mt. Gox’s $931 million transfer. Source: Arkham IntelligenceBitcoin has struggled to maintain a rally amid a wider market rout that has seen investors flee risky assets like crypto. The sinking US markets saw JPMorgan economists bump the risk of a recession this year to 40%, up from 30% at the beginning of 2025.‘Dark Storm’ hacking group says they attacked XThe hacker group “Dark Storm” has taken credit for what Elon Musk called a “massive cyberattack” against his social media platform X that prevented some users from accessing the site.Cybersecurity group SpyoSecure said Dark Storm’s leader posted to Telegram to take credit for the attack, with a post saying the group “took Twitter offline,” alongside a screenshot of failed connection attempts from various global locations.Musk posted to the platform saying it gets “attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.”There were more than 33,000 reports of X outages on March 10, according to Downdetector.Musk confirmed the cyberattack in response to a social media user who detailed a series of actions against his interests, from protests against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to vandalism of Tesla stores.As NBC News reported, there have been at least 10 acts of vandalism against Tesla stores and vehicles, likely in response to the billionaire entrepreneur’s involvement in the Trump White House.Source: Elon MuskCrypto ETPs see fourth straight week of outflows, totaling $876 millionAfter posting record weekly outflows of $2.9 billion last week, crypto ETPs continued their downward trend, bringing the four-week total outflows to $4.75 billion, CoinShares reported on March 10.While the pace of outflows slowed, investor sentiment remained bearish, according to James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares.The analyst also suggested that the market has shown signs of capitulation.Bitcoin (BTC) ETPs were the primary driver of outflows, accounting for $756 million, or 85% of last week’s total. Short-Bitcoin ETPs also saw outflows of $19.8 million, the most since December 2024. With cumulative outflows reaching $4.75 billion over the past four weeks, the year-to-date inflows dropped to $2.6 billion.Weekly crypto ETP flows since late 2024. Source: CoinSharesTotal assets under management (AUM) declined by $39 billion to $142 billion, the lowest point since mid-November 2024, driven by both negative price movements and sustained outflows, Butterfill noted.This bearish sentiment was also observed among a wide range of altcoins last week, with Ether (ETH) ETPs seeing $89 million of outflows.Tron (TRX) and Aave (AAVE) were also among the most notable ETP losers, seeing $32 million and $2.4 million in outflows, respectively, according to the report.

by Cointelegraph by Marcel Pechman on March 10, 2025 at 9:30 pm

Ether (ETH) price dropped below $2,600 on Feb. 24 and has since struggled to sustain a meaningful recovery. The latest correction toward the $2,000 level triggered over $918 million in leveraged long (bull) liquidations in ETH futures within 15 days, according to CoinGlass data.Traders now question what needs to happen for ETH to break above $2,500.Ether/USD (left) vs. total altcoin market cap (right). Source: TradingView / CointelegraphEther has underperformed the altcoin market by 10% during this period, as shown in the chart above.More concerningly, this decline followed a memecoin frenzy that boosted Ethereum’s main competitor, Solana (SOL). This suggests that additional factors are hampering ETH’s price, and four major issues need to be addressed before Ether can reclaim a bull market.Ethereum’s upgrades and increased competition For some, the upcoming Pectra upgrade on the Ethereum network falls short of what is needed to drive a meaningful turnaround, whether it lowers base-layer transaction fees or significantly enhances usability.Even if the changes do improve the user experience, analysts argue that Ethereum still lacks interoperability across different layer-2 solutions, both in terms of liquidity and user accessibility.Recent reports of empty blocks on the Ethereum testnet have added to risk perception at a time when investors were already skeptical. Regardless of whether this issue is unrelated to the upcoming upgrade or easily fixable, some traders worry that any potential delay could be perceived negatively by the market.In essence, fear remains the dominant sentiment, and for this to change, several pressing issues must be resolved.Critics argue that part of ETH investors’ disappointment stems from the rise of indirect competitors, such as the modular layer-1 Berachain, which focuses on integrating liquidity and governance for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.7-day protocol fees ranking, USD. Source: DefiLlamaBerachain has successfully captured over $3 billion in deposits, as measured by total value locked (TVL) on DefiLlama.Similarly, Hyperliquid, a perpetual futures application hosted on its own blockchain, has surpassed $2.8 billion in open interest, outpacing competitors on the Ethereum network. In many ways, competition is growing beyond the traditional model.For ETH's price to regain bullish momentum, traders need reassurance that the Ethereum network offers practical and clear advantages for its projects and users. Ultimately, Ethereum's focus on decentralization and incremental improvements—whether justified or not—could be stemming demand compared to its competition.  Weak onchain activity and institutional demandThe lack of demand from institutional investors is evident in the spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, which were negative in nine of the last 10 trading days, resulting in $406 million in net withdrawals.Some analysts suggested that demand could surge following the eventual approval of native staking on Ethereum ETFs, but this theory is now less certain, given that the ETH supply is increasing at 0.7% annually.Lower demand for blockchain processing has reduced the burn-fee mechanism, causing Ether to become inflationary. As a result, the adjusted native staking reward is now below 2.5%, while deposits in stablecoins yield up to 4.5% in most DeFi projects.Ultimately, the eventual inclusion of staking in spot ETFs is unlikely to be a game-changer for institutional demand.Related: DeFi TVL drops by $45B, erasing gains since Trump electionLastly, traders are concerned that the US Securities and Exchange Commission may approve a spot Solana ETF in 2025, creating direct competition for investors who currently only have access to Ether and Bitcoin (BTC) ETF products.Therefore, for ETH price to reach $2,500 and beyond, investors need clearer evidence that Ethereum offers sustainable advantages beyond its first-mover advantage.In summary, Ether’s future depends on Ethereum network upgrades, increased network usage, a subsequent decline in supply, and reduced friction for layer-2 interoperability, ensuring that the entire ecosystem benefits from its growth.This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

by Cointelegraph by Alex O’Donnell on March 10, 2025 at 9:02 pm

The cryptocurrency industry will benefit more from US regulatory clarity than from President Donald Trump’s plan to create a national Bitcoin (BTC) reserve, several cryptocurrency executives told Cointelegraph. Trump’s March 6 executive order creating a US strategic Bitcoin reserve and a separate digital asset stockpile for altcoins left crypto industry executives underwhelmed. Meanwhile, they are still waiting for the White House to provide detailed guidance on issues like securities regulation and taxation, the executives said. “Markets expect a roadmap for innovation and clear guidelines on stablecoins, institutional adoption and taxation,” Max Giammario, CEO of Web3 artificial intelligence startup Kindred, told Cointelegraph.“Instead, the vague rhetoric and lack of immediate action only deepened uncertainty.”Trump signed a crypto executive order on March 6. Source: Margo MartinRelated: Bitcoin reserve backlash signals unrealistic industry expectationsCampaign promisesIn July, Trump promised to turn America into the “world’s crypto capital” and create a US Bitcoin reserve akin to the nation’s gold stockpile. Trump’s March 6 executive order delivered on his campaign promise but left traders disappointed. Instead of instructing the US government to buy crypto, the reserve and the stockpile will initially only comprise digital assets seized by law enforcement. Bitcoin is down approximately 13% from March 6 as traders react to the news amid a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty. Altcoins have clocked similar losses, with the total crypto market capitalization shedding more than $400 million. Those losses could worsen without clearer US policy guidance soon, industry executives said.“If Trump’s administration provides clearer regulations on stablecoins, ETFs and institutional adoption, altcoins could regain momentum,” Alvin Kan, chief operating officer of Bitget Wallet, told Cointelegraph.“Otherwise, Bitcoin dominance may continue, as it remains the primary macro asset.”Reasons for optimismEven so, crypto industry executives remain optimistic, citing Trump’s pro-crypto rhetoric and his appointment of industry-friendly leaders to key US regulatory posts. “The future of US crypto policy under Trump remains to be seen,” Theodore Agranat, Gunzilla Games’ director of Web3, told Cointelegraph. “However, given the people in all the crucial positions, we should expect to see a stream of ongoing and positive initiatives and news for crypto in general and especially crypto projects in the US.”Magazine: Legal issues surround the FBI’s creation of fake crypto tokens

by Cointelegraph by Christopher Tepedino on March 10, 2025 at 7:36 pm

Coinbase announced on March 10 that it plans to offer 24/7 trading for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) futures to US residents. The exchange is also launching perpetual futures trading with long-date expirations. According to Coinbase, much of the current crypto derivatives market takes place outside of US borders, with American traders having to navigate fixed hours and expiring contracts, “which can create inefficiencies.”Futures are a type of derivative that involves creating a contract to buy or sell an asset at a certain price and date. When the futures lack a date for the buying and selling of an asset, they are called perpetual futures, or “perpetuals” for short.Regulatory uncertainty surrounding crypto perpetual futures has led many exchanges to disallow US residents from trading such products. In its announcement, Coinbase said it is working with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for clarity. The agency oversees the trading of perpetuals for commodities to ensure these products “meet regulatory requirements.”Related: US Bitcoin reserve ups volatility, futures recoilThe crypto derivatives market reached $1.3 trillion in monthly trading volume in September 2023, according to Alpha Point, significantly exceeding the spot crypto market. For centralized derivatives, non-US markets lead in trading volume.Coinbase faces competition in US derivatives marketCoinbase’s new services face competition from various companies, including the CME Group, a US derivatives exchange with $6.1 billion in revenue in 2024. In the last quarter of 2024, the CME Group clocked an average daily trading volume of $10 billion for crypto derivatives. However, the derivatives are only available for trading six days a week.In a February 2024 earnings call, Lynn Martin, CME’s chief financial officer, said crypto derivatives were among the “contracts that we saw the largest increases [in] this year.”Coinbase may also face competition from rival Robinhood, which announced in January its own plans to offer Bitcoin and Ether futures. Coinbase already offers a crypto derivatives trading option for US residents on Coinbase Financial Markets.Magazine: Opinion: Coinbase and Base: Is crypto just becoming traditional finance 2.0?

by Cointelegraph by Ezra Reguerra on March 10, 2025 at 7:00 pm

The Texas Senate passed the Bitcoin strategic reserve bill SB-21 on March 6. This followed a debate in which State Senator Charles Schwertner, who introduced the bill, argued that it would help Texas add a valuable and scarce asset to its balance sheet. Amid fears of Bitcoin (BTC) contending against the US dollar as a global reserve currency, Pro-Bitcoin lawmakers argued that Bitcoin was similar to gold and a hedge against inflation. If SB-21 is enacted, Texas will be the first state in the US to have a digital asset reserve. However, the governor must still sign the bill before it becomes law. Continue readingNew York bill aims to protect crypto investors from memecoin rug pullsNew York lawmakers introduced a bill to protect crypto users from memecoin rug pulls, where insiders abandon a project after investors have purchased their token. These scams usually end up with token prices plummeting, causing millions in losses to crypto investors. On March 5, Assemblymember Clyde Vanel introduced the legislation to establish criminal penalties for offenses that involve “virtual token fraud.” This explicitly targets deceptive practices associated with crypto. Fideum co-founder and CEO Anastasija Plotnikova told Cointelegraph that scams and rug pulls should be more thoroughly regulated. “In my view, these activities should fall firmly within the jurisdiction of law enforcement agencies,” Plotnikova added.Continue readingSEC’s Crypto Task Force to host roundtable on crypto security statusThe Crypto Task Force of the US Securities and Exchange Commission will host a series of roundtables to discuss the “security status” of crypto assets, with the first set for March 21. Crypto Task Force lead Commissioner Hester Peirce said she is looking forward to “drawing the expertise of the public” to develop a workable framework for crypto. The roundtable series is called the “Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity,” and the first topic of discussion is dubbed “How We Got Here and How We Get Out — Defining Security Status.” Continue readingUtah’s Senate passes Bitcoin bill — but scraps key provisionUtah lawmakers passed a Bitcoin bill after removing a section that would have allowed its state treasurer to invest in Bitcoin. While the HB230 bill passed the state Senate, it removed a key reserve clause that would’ve authorized the state treasurer to invest in digital assets with a market cap of over $500 billion.The clause passed the second reading but was scrapped in the third and final reading. Still, the bill provides citizens basic custody protections, the right to mine, run a node and stake, among other things.   Continue readingArgentine prosecutor aims to freeze assets in LIBRA memecoin fraud caseArgentine Federal Prosecutor Eduardo Taiano, the lead prosecutor investigating Argentine President Javier Milei’s alleged role in the LIBRA crypto scandal, requested the freezing of almost $110 million in digital assets related to the memecoin case. Taiano also requested the recovery of Milei’s deleted social posts and detailed records of all LIBRA transactions since its launch. The prosecutor aims to reconstruct the financial operations of Feb. 14 and 15, when the project’s trade volume peaked. Continue reading

by Cointelegraph by Sam Bourgi on March 10, 2025 at 5:43 pm

The X social media platform has been hit with a “massive cyberattack” that has prevented some users from accessing the site, platform owner Elon Musk confirmed on March 10.“We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved,” Musk said.Source: Elon MuskAlthough user functionality was quickly restored, Musk implied that the attack was still ongoing.At the time of writing, there were more than 33,000 reports of X outages on March 10, according to Downdetector.Musk confirmed the cyberattack in response to a social media user who detailed a series of attacks against the entrepreneur’s interests, from protests against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to vandalism of Tesla stores.As NBC News reported, there have been at least 10 acts of vandalism against Tesla stores and vehicles, likely in response to the billionaire entrepreneur’s involvement in the Trump White House.Source: Elon MuskRelated: US Department of Government Efficiency slapped with more lawsuitsDOGE expands cost-cutting measuresShortly after winning the November presidential election, Donald Trump appointed Musk to head the Department of Government Efficiency with the mandate of reducing wasteful government spending. So far, Musk’s DOGE claims to have saved $105 billion in taxpayer dollars across 10,492 initiatives, according to a live tracker. DOGE reportedly has its sights set on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and has even called on the public to provide examples of “waste, fraud and abuse” at the agency. Musk previously described the SEC as a “totally broken organization” that, instead of prosecuting real criminals, misallocates its resources on things that don’t matter.With regard to crypto, the SEC’s mandate under President Trump has changed dramatically. According to the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, “We should expect the SEC under the second Trump administration to scale back rulemakings adopted under the Biden administration and former Chair Gary Gensler that many viewed as increasing impediments to one of the SEC’s core missions of capital formation.”Magazine: Legal issues surround the FBI’s creation of fake crypto tokens

by Cointelegraph by Alex O’Donnell on March 10, 2025 at 5:16 pm

Asset manager REX-Osprey is seeking to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) designed to hold the Movement Network’s native token, MOVE, according to a March 10 announcement. The filing comes as Movement, a layer-2 (L2) blockchain network, launches its public mainnet beta, Movement said. It is the latest example of a fund sponsor filing to list an ETF comprising an alternative cryptocurrency, or “altcoin.” “Traditional investors have expressed keen interest in gaining regulated exposure to emerging blockchain technologies without directly managing tokens,” Cooper Scanlon, Movement Labs’ co-founder, said in a statement. Movement is an Ethereum L2 blockchain designed using Move, a Rust-based programming language originally developed by Meta. Its public mainnet has approximately $250 million in total value locked (TVL), according to Movement. The MOVE token has a fully diluted value of around $5 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.The US Securities and Exchange Commission authorized ETFs holding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to list in the US in 2024 but has not yet approved any altcoin ETFs. “Breaking the pattern of ETFs limited to long-established cryptocurrencies opens doors for institutional capital to support next-generation blockchain innovation,” Rushi Manche, Movement Labs’ co-founder, said in a statement. REX-Osprey has filed for a MOVE ETF. Source: SECRelated: Bitwise files to list a spot Aptos ETF — the 36th largest cryptocurrencyAltcoin ETFs aboundAsset managers are seeking the SEC’s approval to list ETFs for holding upward of half a dozen different altcoins.On March 5, asset manager Bitwise filed to list a spot Aptos ETF in the US — a token created by a team led by two former Facebook (now Meta) employees in 2022.On Feb. 25, US securities exchange Nasdaq requested to list a Grayscale ETF holding the Polkadot network’s native token, DOT (DOT). Other altcoin ETFs awaiting approval include those holding Litecoin (LTC), Solana (SOL) and Official Trump (TRUMP), among others. US President Donald Trump, who started his second term in January, said he wants America to become the “world’s crypto capital” and has appointed pro-crypto leaders to key regulatory agencies, including the SEC.Bloomberg Intelligence has set the odds of the SEC approving Solana and Litecoin ETFs at 70% and 90%, respectively. Magazine: Meet lawyer Max Burwick — ‘The ambulance chaser of crypto’

by Sundance on March 10, 2025 at 5:06 pm

Canadian leftists have selected Mark Carney as their replacement for Justin Trudeau, Carney will be sworn in as Prime Minister shortly and complete the remaining segment of Trudeau’s term before new Canadian elections. The only issue on the mind of voters in Canada is which candidate will fight U.S. President Donald Trump the hardest.  Conservative The post Canada’s Next Leftist Prime Minister Vows to Defeat President Trump and Win Trade War appeared first on The Last Refuge.