Umia Wraps Seven-Day Token Auction, $6.1M Raise Backed by 700 Individual Bidders
Umia, a team specializing in token launch services, sold UMIA tokens through a seven-day auction at an $18 million fully diluted valuation, raising $6.1 million with participation from ten funds and nearly 700 individual bidders.
CFTC Kicks Off Rulemaking, Drawing a Federal Framework for Leveraged Retail Crypto Trading
The CFTC has officially launched a rulemaking process, putting forward two proposals—Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM—while planning to establish a new exchange category called "crypto asset market," targeting leveraged and margined retail crypto trading.
Injective CEO: US INJ ETF Could Arrive Well Before 2027
Injective CEO Eric Chen told The Block that a US spot INJ ETF could hit the market sooner than 2027. Two applications are currently on the table: the 21Shares Injective ETF and the Canary Staked INJ ETF.
OKX-ICE Joint Venture OKXICE Files With SEC for Tokenized US Stock Trading Platform
OKXICE, a joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and NYSE parent company ICE, has notified the US Securities and Exchange Commission of its intent to apply for a tokenized securities trading platform under the innovation exemption rules.
Drift Exploit Claims Open First Payout Round, DFX Holders Recover Only About 1% of Losses
Drift has opened its compensation mechanism for victims of the exploit incident, with the first payout covering only about 1% of users' losses. DFX holders can choose to cash out now or keep waiting for further funds to arrive, as officials have not provided a timeline for full repayment.
ECB Floats Three Models for Putting Central Bank Money On-Chain, Eyes Settlement Infrastructure
The European Central Bank (ECB) has put forward three models for bringing central bank money on-chain, echoing financial institutions' recent push to explore settlement infrastructure — though details and timelines for the models have yet to be disclosed.
Ethereum Foundation Launches zkAPI: Zero-Knowledge Proofs Let AI Payments Leave No Identity Trace
The Ethereum Foundation has partnered with the Open Anonymity Project to launch zkAPI, allowing users to anonymously pay for AI model usage fees through zero-knowledge proofs. The system is already running on Ethereum mainnet, bringing to life the design Vitalik Buterin proposed back in February.
SEC Proposes New Framework: Investment Advisors and Funds May Get Green Light to Self-Custody Crypto Assets
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has put forward a draft framework for crypto asset custody, allowing investment advisors and funds to self-custody crypto assets under certain conditions, with state trust companies available as an alternative custodian option.
NEAR Intents Hacked for $3.8 Million, Deposits and Withdrawals Suspended Across 11 Chains Pending Fix
NEAR Intents has confirmed that a contract vulnerability was exploited, resulting in losses of roughly $3.8 million. The team has patched the bug, but deposit and withdrawal functions across 11 networks remain offline, with officials pledging full compensation for affected users.
Clarity Act Stalls in Congress, But Bitwise Says Crypto Actually Got Faster Regulatory Progress Out of It
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan argues that with the Clarity Act failing to pass, the crypto industry actually ended up with fewer restrictions and quicker SEC action — his contrarian take on the legislative setback.
CFTC Wins Fundsz Crypto Fraud Case, Two Defendants Ordered to Pay Over $30 Million
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accused two defendants of involvement in the Fundsz cryptocurrency fraud scheme. After the fact, the defendants tried to walk back their involvement, but the court ultimately ruled in favor of the CFTC, with damages exceeding $30 million.
Base Rolls Out Cobalt Upgrade, Adds Conditional Transactions and New B20 Asset Features
Base has completed an upgrade dubbed Cobalt, introducing conditional transaction mechanics and new features for assets issued under the B20 standard. Details and use cases are still pending further clarification from the team.
DogeOS Public Testnet Goes Live, Dogecoin Set to Plug Into EVM Smart Contracts
DogeOS has launched a zero-knowledge rollup public testnet, enabling Dogecoin to run EVM smart contracts, with the testnet using DOGE to pay gas fees.
UK Financial Regulator Opens Crypto Licensing Window, Sets February 2027 Deadline for Review
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened an application window for crypto firms to obtain authorization, setting February 28, 2027 as the deadline by which domestic operators must pass re-vetting under the new regime.
Robinhood Adds Perpetual Futures and Weekend Stock Trading, Rolls Out AI Agent Builder
Robinhood announces its US stock platform will open up perpetual futures trading and weekend stock trading, while also launching Robinhood Agents in the same update, letting users build their own custom AI agents right in the app.
Bitwise Launches First US Spot NEAR ETF, Staking Rewards Flow Straight Into NAV
Bitwise's NRR is the first NEAR ETP in the US, charging a 0.75% fee and staking its NEAR holdings in-house, with staking rewards passed on to shareholders through the fund's NAV mechanism.
Coinbase Secures CFTC Clearing License, Bringing All Three Derivatives Functions In-House
Coinbase has obtained Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) status from the CFTC, allowing it to list, broker, and clear fully collateralized derivatives on its own—filling in the last missing piece of the puzzle.
Senate Report Names Names: USDT Emerges as Core Tool in Iran's Shadow Banking System
A new US Senate investigative report states that Tether and its stablecoin USDT have become central to the operation of "Iran's shadow banking system"—details are scarce, but the allegation is unambiguous.
Citi Expands Coinbase Partnership to Bridge Fiat and Stablecoin Payment Infrastructure for Enterprises
Citi has announced an expanded partnership with Coinbase, aiming to provide enterprise clients with infrastructure that connects traditional fiat payments with stablecoins, further integrating the two payment rails.
Bitget Rolls Out Phased Withdrawal Resumption After $388 Million Hack
Crypto exchange Bitget has disclosed a $388 million security incident, saying the exploited vulnerability has been patched and that losses will be fully covered by its user protection fund, with withdrawals being restored in phases.
Anti-Snipe Tax Turned Self-Enrichment Tool: Pons V2's 10 Projects Expose $18.4M Rug Pull Operation
On-chain analysts discovered that across 10 token projects on the Pons V2 platform on Robinhood Chain, founders exempted specific wallets from the anti-snipe tax—wallets that then bought up the majority of token supply, totaling $18.4 million.
Blockchain Association CEO Shake-Up: Summer Mersinger Stepping Down Next Month
Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger will step down next month, with Kristin Smith returning as interim CEO to temporarily helm the DC-based lobbying group.
Magic Eden Legacy Approval Exposes $5.7M in NFTs, White Hats Rescue 23,155 Tokens
An outdated approval mechanism on Magic Eden that was never revoked left $5.7 million worth of NFTs exposed to potential attack, with white hat hackers stepping in to rescue 23,155 tokens before further damage could occur. Details of the incident are still pending official clarification.
Strategy Puts Shareholder Vote to the Test: Four Preferred Stocks May Switch to Daily Dividend Payouts
Strategy is seeking shareholder approval to switch the dividend payout method for its four U.S.-listed preferred stocks—STRC, STRD, STRF, and STRK—to a daily accrual basis, with details still pending confirmation at the shareholder meeting.