Bitcoin reserves augment through strategic moves, Nexo resumes operations in the U.S., and former Celsius CEO confronts potential 20-year sentence – Weekly Review Summary
Here's the Daily Crypto Roundup:
Strategy Goes Big on Bitcoin
- Strategy, once MicroStrategy, dropped a cool $1.42 billion on 15,355 Bitcoins, with an average price of $92,737 per BTC. That brings their total Bitcoin holdings to a whopping 553,555 BTC, or about 2.5% of the entire supply.
- Michael Saylor, Strategy's executive chair, ain't backing down from Bitcoin's volatility talk, and he's stoked that over 70 public companies are jumping on the digital gold bandwagon. By the end of 2025, they're aiming to hold 691,249 BTC. Analysts are bullish—no surprise there!
Nexo Bounces Back in the US
- After growing in Europe, lending platform Nexo is back in the United States, marking a two-year absence. They're ready to dish out high-yield savings, credit lines, and more. Remember, they had to shut shop in the US in 2023 due to a $45 million SEC fine for unregistered lending products.
### Cryptocurrency Markets and Controversies
- The trial of Celsius Network founder Alex Mashinsky is heating up. Feds have requested a 20-year prison sentence for him, but some investors want him locked up for life after the crypto lender collapsed.
- The SEC has put the brakes on decisions for XRP and Dogecoin ETFs. The new deadlines are June 15 for the Bitwise Dogecoin ETF and June 17 for the Franklin XRP Fund.
- The SEC has wrapped up its investigation into PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin, another sign of the agency scaling back crypto-related investigations under new leadership. (Check out Dragonchain, Coinbase, Gemini, Uniswa, and Ripple too.)
- Coinbase filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the Harper vs IRS case, advocating for increased privacy protections in crypto transactions.
NFT Sales Skyrocket, Pudgy Penguins Recover
- NFT sales jumped 22% to $107 million, with the resilient Pudgy Penguins leading the charge.
Trump, Crypto Billions, and Freight Technologies
- A new report estimates that nearly 40% of Donald Trump's net worth comes from digital assets, amounting to around $2.9 billion.
- Freight Technologies signed a whopping $20 million deal to scoop up Official Trump memecoins, making it one of the first companies to anchor its digital asset strategy on the U.S. president.
- Eric Trump told CNBC that banks need to embrace blockchain technology to thrive, and he thinks the current financial system is a broken mess.
Ripple's Failed Circle Acquisition Attempt
- Ripple tried to snap up Circle, the company behind USDC stablecoin, but it didn't work out. Sources say they're still eyeing Circle, but they haven't decided if they'll make another move.
Movement Labs Suspends Co-Founder Amid Token Controversy
- Movement Labs, an Ethereum layer-2 startup, gave co-founder Rushi Manche the cold shoulder after he unauthorizedly offloaded 66 million MOVE tokens.
Tether Plans US-Focused Stablecoin Launch
- Tether is prepping to launch a US-focused stablecoin in late 2025 or early 2026. This move will complement their $148 billion USDT stablecoin and should help them fit within US regulatory guidelines.
Stolen Bitcoins Recovered, A North Korean Job Candidate Exposed
- About $7 million of the $330 million stolen from an "OG Bitcoiner" earlier in the week has been recovered, thanks to the efforts of on-chain sleuths and Binance's security team.
- Kraken nabbed a North Korean job candidate during a routine interview. Instead of cutting ties, they continued the process to gather intel on their tactics.
Ripple Defends Legal Victory Against SEC
- Ripple's attorney clarified the company's recent legal win against the SEC. In summary, the SEC backed off on crypto enforcement, allowing Ripple to continue operating as usual.
- Strategy's latest investment strategy involves buying Bitcoin, with a purchase of 15,355 Bitcoins at an average price of $92,737 per BTC.
- Michael Saylor, executive chair of Strategy, believes that over 70 public companies are showing interest in Bitcoin and aim to hold 691,249 BTC by the end of 2025.
- Nexo, a lending platform, has returned to the US after a two-year absence, offering high-yield savings, credit lines, and more despite a $45 million SEC fine in 2023.
- The trial of Celsius Network founder Alex Mashinsky is ongoing, with the FBI requesting a 20-year prison sentence and some investors advocating for a life sentence after the crypto lender's collapse.
- The SEC has postponed decision-making on XRP and Dogecoin ETFs, with new deadlines set for June 15 (Bitwise Dogecoin ETF) and June 17 (Franklin XRP Fund).
- The SEC has concluded its investigation into PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin, another indication of the agency reducing cryptocurrency-related investigations under new leadership.
- Coinbase has filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the Harper vs IRS case, advocating for increased privacy protections in crypto transactions.
- NFT sales surged 22% to $107 million, with Pudgy Penguins leading the surge in sales.
- A new report estimates that nearly 40% of Donald Trump's net worth comes from digital assets, amounting to around $2.9 billion.
- Freight Technologies signed a $20 million deal to acquire Official Trump memecoins, marking one of the first companies to anchor its digital asset strategy on the U.S. president. Eric Trump also advocated for the embracement of blockchain technology by banks to ensure their survival.
