Coindesk

U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged 12 individuals for stealing over $263 million in crypto. The individuals are linked to an earlier investigation where scammers were able to siphon off over $243 million from a Genesis creditor. According to blockchain sleuth ZachXBT, last year one of the creditor of defunct trading firm Genesis was spoofed by a group of scammers, who were able to steal $243 million worth of digital assets and then redirect it through crypto mixers.Several of the individuals charged, which includes U.S. nationals and foreign, were arrested in California this week, the DOJ said in a press release on Thursday. The remaining two individuals live abroad. The charges on the individuals range from racketeering, wire fraud...

XRP fell over 4% in the past 24 hours, leading losses among major cryptocurrencies as the broader market stalls after last week’s sharp rally. Bitcoin continues to hover above $104,000, with traders predicting a steady rise past $105,000, a level now acting as both psychological and technical resistance.The crypto market's total capitalization declined 2% to $3.3 trillion, according to CoinGecko, with majors such as Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) also pausing near their 200-day moving averages — a region that may either signal consolidation or the start of a short-term pullback.“Bitcoin has been smoothly forming a top for the past seven days,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro. “This kind of setup typically signals a correction is due,...

The U.S. Department of Justice will drop part of one count of its case against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm due to a recent policy memo, the agency said Thursday.The DOJ will not go to trial on a charge alleging Storm failed to comply with money transmitter business registration rules, but still plans to go to trial in July over allegations he knowingly transmitted funds tied to crimes, conspired to commit money laundering and conspired to violate sanctions law, the DOJ said in a letter filed to the judge overseeing its case."The Government writes to update the Court regarding this case, which is scheduled for trial on July 14, 2025," the letter said. "After review of this case, this Office...

“I don’t think it’s here to stay,” Dave Portnoy said, referring to meme coins—the same corner of crypto he’s often poured fuel on through his social media antics.Speaking on stage at Consensus 2025 with Tom Farley, CEO of crypto exchange Bullish, the Barstool Sports founder peeled back the layers of his short, chaotic stint in the meme coin world. With his usual brash candor, Portnoy described a journey of sudden windfalls, legal landmines, and the kind of public backlash that might make even the most hardened internet provocateur think twice.“I love the rush, I’m a gambler at heart,” he admitted. “But then the smart part of me is like, is it worth the hate?” The conversation was part of a...

The crypto rally took a long-overdue pause on Thursday as traders took some profits following weeks of relentless advance that lifted bitcoin BTC close to record prices.The consolidation occurred amid a slew of U.S. economic data releases. April retail sales missed expectations, producer prices rose less than forecast, jobless claims stayed on track, while the NY Empire State Manufacturing Index and Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey showed softening business activity—signals that did little to rattle traditional markets. The S&P 500 added 0.4%, while the Nasdaq finished flat.Bitcoin pulled back to $101,000 early in the U.S. session before rebounding above $103,000 later, modestly down over the past 24 hours.Altcoins fared worse with the broad-market CoinDesk 20 Index declining 3% during the same...