Latest news with #Bitfinex
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Department of Justice just seized crypto and 145 web domains from what they allege was an online marketplace for stolen credit cards
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized 145 internet domains and an undisclosed amount of cryptocurrency from an internet marketplace they allege facilitated the exchange of stolen credit cards, the agency announced on Wednesday. Known as BidenCash, the marketplace began in 2022, and attracted more than 117,000 customers, according to the DOJ. The platform's administrators allegedly charged a fee on each transaction that took place on the website, generating over $17 million in its three years of operating, according to the agency. It remains unclear what role cryptocurrency played in the operation's payment infrastructure. It is also unknown how much and what kind of cryptocurrency was seized from the operation. The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fortune. The U.S. government has been seizing cryptocurrency associated with alleged criminal activity since as far back as 2013, but the sums collected have become larger over the years. One of the largest seizures to date was in 2022, when the U.S. government confiscated approximately 120,000 Bitcoins—now worth more than $12 billion—that they say was stolen during a hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex. Prior to this year, it was customary for the U.S. Marshals Service to auction off seized Bitcoin, like it does with other assets like real estate and cars. However, that changed in March when President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, and separate digital asset stockpile which will include other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Solana. The executive order stated that the government would create the stockpile with crypto seized from criminal activity. While it is unclear exactly how much crypto the government owns, the White House's AI and crypto czar David Sacks said at the time that it held around 200,000 Bitcoins, worth over $20 billion at the currency's current price. This story was originally featured on
Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Tether Just Made Twenty One Capital a Bitcoin Powerhouse
$3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin didn't just disappear into cold storage. It went straight into Jack Mallers' hands — or more precisely, his new venture, Twenty One Capital. In just a few days, the platform has gone from under-the-radar to the third-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin globally, now trailing only Strategy (MSTR) and MARA Holdings (MARA). Confident Investing Starts Here: Tether, alongside its sister firm Bitfinex, moved 37,229 BTC across several tracked transactions. Tether's CEO Paolo Ardoino confirmed the activity in real-time, documenting the flow on-chain. Some of the Bitcoin was designated for SoftBank's investment in the venture; the rest supported convertible equity agreements. This wasn't just about stacking sats — it was about cementing a new financial architecture with Bitcoin as the foundation. Build the Future on Bitcoin Rails Twenty One Capital, helmed by Strike founder Mallers, isn't trying to be just another crypto company. It's aiming to rebuild capital markets infrastructure entirely on Bitcoin rails. Lending, custody, asset issuance — all native to Bitcoin. That's the pitch. And now, with $3.9 billion backing it and a planned SPAC merger with Cantor Fitzgerald's Cantor Equity Partners, the runway is wide open. The company is already valued at $3.6 billion before a single product goes mainstream. Back Bitcoin as Infrastructure, Not Just an Asset What makes this move more than just another institutional play is its intent: Tether and Bitfinex aren't simply investing in Bitcoin as an asset — they're backing a future where Bitcoin becomes the infrastructure for financial markets. This shift away from proof-of-stake chains and hybrid models toward pure Bitcoin rails could show that major crypto players are starting to move their money away from speculative tokens and into building real financial systems directly on Bitcoin. While Strategy's Michael Saylor stands firm against on-chain proof-of-reserves, citing security risks, Mallers and company are moving billions in full view. Transparency isn't optional — it's the foundation. Bitcoin Isn't Just a Store of Value The implications ripple far wider than a single firm's wallet size. With these transactions, Twenty One Capital is positioning itself as the institutional layer Bitcoin has long lacked. It's a rebuttal to the notion that serious financial infrastructure can't be built on Bitcoin. And it's a declaration that Bitcoin isn't just a store of value — it's the backbone of the next financial system. This also sets up a showdown of philosophies. While some players hoard BTC and keep their moves private, Mallers is building a fortress in the open. The capital is public. The intent is aggressive. And the message is clear: Bitcoin doesn't need Wall Street's blessing. It needs builders who speak its language. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is sitting at $106,649.65.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitcoin Treasury Firm Twenty One Capital Brings Total Fundraise to $685M
Bitcoin BTC treasury firm Twenty One has raised an additional $100 million through convertible senior secured notes, pushing its total capital raised to $685 million as it advances toward a planned merger with Nasdaq-listed Cantor Equity Partners (CEP), a Thursday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows. The fresh financing comes from existing investors and sponsors who exercised their option to buy more of the notes, originally granted during the April fundraising round, the regulatory filing said. The new notes carry a 1% coupon and are due in 2030. The $100 million boost adds to the $385 million initially committed, bringing the total note financing to $485 million. That's on top of $200 million in private investment in public equity (PIPE) disclosed last month. CEP is lower by 1.5% in morning U.S. trade as bitcoin slips below $107,000. Twenty One is the latest example of firms with a crypto treasury strategy, following Michael Saylor's Startegy (MSTR). The firm is being launched by Brandon Lutnick—the son of U.S. Commerce Secretary and former Cantor Fitzgerald chairman Howard Lutnick—via a a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) structure using Cantor Equity Partners. Owners include iFinex—the parent company of Bitfinex—and Tether, the issuer of the $150 billion USDT. The company will be led by Strike CEO Jack Mallers. The company recently disclosed a $458 million BTC acquisition earlier this month. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitcoin Rally Stalls Below $110K as Short-Term Holders Take $11B Profits
After softly rising over the weekend, bitcoin BTC slipped back to $109,000 on Monday in sluggish trading as traditional U.S. markets remained closed in observance of Memorial Day. The top cryptocurrency is still up 1.7% in the last 24 hours and only a breath away from the all-time high it notched last week. Looking at the CoinDesk 20 — an index of the top 20 digital coins by market capitalization, except for stablecoins, memecoins and exchange coins — the day's big winner is decentralized exchange Uniswap UNI, which saw its token rise 6.6%. Tokens for Chainlink LINK and Avalanche AVAX also gained 3.3% and 3.4% respectively. The gains happened overnight, spurred by the Trump administration's temporary walkback on EU tariffs. Trump said on Sunday that the implementation of 50% tariffs on EU goods — which on Friday he'd called to go into effect on June 1 and caused a sell-off in risk assets including cryptocurrencies — would be delayed until July 9. European stocks, initially shaken by the threat, rebounded on the news. While the crypto market retraced some of the losses in the weekend tumble, BTC has likely entered a choppy phase as traders digest the rapid, almost 50% run from the April lows, Bitfinex analysts said in a Monday report. Increased profit-taking by short-term holders could also cap bitcoin's near-term upside: this investor cohort realized $11.4 billion in cumulative profits over the past 30 days, compared to $1.2 billion in the previous 30-day period, the report noted. "At these levels, the risk emerges that profit-taking outpaces new demand inflows," Bitfinex analysts wrote. "Unless thereʼs a corresponding rise in new capital entering the market to absorb this supply, prices may begin to stall or even retrace. "The next few days will be key to gauge whether the dip to $106,000 has set the range lows or a bigger reset is in the cards, the report said. If a deeper pullback materializes, the key level to watch is the short-term holder cost basis around $95,000, the average price this group bought the asset, the authors noted. Strong inflows to U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs — totaling $5.3 billion in May so far —, low volatility and lack of froth suggest that bitcoin will likely resume its uptrend into the third quarter of the year after a pause, the analysts in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman Brandon Lutnick Says He Personally Checked Tether's Reserves
Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman Brandon Lutnick personally verified Tether's reserves when the firm began its relationship with the stablecoin giant, he said on Wednesday at Consensus 2025 in Toronto. The 27-year-old said that in the early days of Cantor Fitzgerald and Tether's relationship, there were 'a lot of rumors' that Tether didn't have the assets it claimed to have, referring to then-rampant speculation that Tether was not fully backed. New York Attorney General Letitia James alleged in 2019 that Tether had a nearly $1 billion hole in its books, though the regulator later settled these allegations with Tether and its sister firm, Bitfinex. 'I personally checked a lot of their reserves, and we proved a lot of those rumors wrong,' Lutnick said. Tether has maintained it has been fully backed, at least since its settlement with New York. Lutnick was appointed chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald — the private parent company that controls the investment bank of the same name, brokerage BCG Group, and commercial real estate company Newmark Group — in February, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump named his father, Cantor Fitzgerald's former CEO Howard Lutnick, U.S. Commerce secretary. Prior to taking the helm at Cantor Fitzgerald, Lutnick worked for the firm in another executive role. He denied reports from Bloomberg that he interned with Tether in Lugano, Switzerland in 2023. 'Bloomberg actually reported that I was a Tether intern. That is not true,' Lutnick said. 'But I did learn a lot about crypto from the Tether guys — they orange-pilled me.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
