New DOJ files reveal Jeffrey Epstein invested $3M in Coinbase in 2014 through a USVI shell company.
• Emails show a Coinbase co-founder discussed meeting him • Blockchain Capital later bought half his stake for ~$15M • Epstein made 8-figure gains before his arrest Coinbase says he had no control — but the money was there. Crypto has always been about freedom… but also about who gets in early.
For years, Layer-2s marketed themselves as “Ethereum itself.” Now that’s changing.
After Vitalik Buterin questioned whether Ethereum still needs a rollup-centric roadmap, L2 leaders are flipping the narrative: 👉 L2s are not Ethereum — they’re independent platforms.
Why this matters 👇 • Ethereum L1 is getting faster & cheaper • Scaling alone is no longer enough • Rollups must offer real utility, not just lower fees 🔍 Big players respond: • Arbitrum: “A close ally, but not Ethereum” • Base: L2s must be more than “Ethereum but cheaper” • Polygon: Focus shifts to real-world payments • Optimism: L2s = standalone services, Ethereum = settlement layer
💡 The takeaway: This isn’t the end of L2s — it’s their identity reset. Ethereum scales. Rollups specialize. The ecosystem matures.
Wall Street bank Citi says crypto markets are approaching key inflection levels after weeks of pressure.
What’s weighing on prices 👇 • Long liquidations still hitting futures markets • Strong sensitivity to equities & geopolitics • ETF inflows slowing, removing a major demand driver • Delays in U.S. crypto market structure regulation
📊 Key levels: Bitcoin dipped to ~$73K and is still below the average ETF entry price of ~$81,600, meaning many ETF holders are currently underwater. Citi highlights an important psychological zone: 🔑 $70,000 — BTC’s pre-U.S. election level This level matters because the current U.S. administration has openly supported digital assets. Holding or losing it could shape near-term sentiment.
🧠 Big takeaway: Bitcoin still trades more like a risk asset, not “digital gold.” While gold rallies on uncertainty, BTC remains tied to liquidity, regulation clarity, and macro conditions.
📌 Citi’s view: A deep crypto winter is not the base case, but the next move depends heavily on regulation progress and macro liquidity. Markets are quiet — but tension is building.
🧠 Crypto Crime Is Getting Smarter × So Is Enforcement
Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs just hit unicorn status 🦄 🔹 Raised $70M Series C 🔹 Valuation: $1 BILLION 🔹 Backed by Goldman Sachs, Blockchain Capital, Citi Ventures 🔹 Total funding now $220M
Why this matters 👇 As crypto crime evolves, enforcement is moving from wallets → infrastructure, patterns, and AI-driven tracing. TRM isn’t just tracking Bitcoin anymore. They trace activity across multiple chains, which is exactly where modern criminal networks operate.
Key signals: • Used by IRS, FBI, global law enforcement • Team includes ex-federal agents from major dark web takedowns • 500% surge in AI-enabled scams detected • Partnered with Tron + Tether to form the T3 Financial Crime Unit • $300M+ in illicit funds frozen
📌 Big picture: Institutions aren’t betting on “crypto hype” — they’re betting on compliance, tracing, and control layers. The era of anonymous, untraceable crypto is shrinking fast.
🚨 60% of Crypto “News” Is Basically Marketing or Scams
A new study just exposed something most traders feel but rarely see proven with data.
📊 Chainstory analyzed 2,893 crypto press releases Here’s what they found: 60%+ came from high-risk or scam-flagged projects Only ~2% contained real news (funding, M&A, material developments) Many had classic red flags: anonymous teams, unrealistic claims, copy-paste sites, urgency tactics The problem isn’t just bad projects — it’s distribution.
Crypto press wires: • Guarantee placement on dozens of “news” sites • Provide little to no editorial review • Place paid PR right next to real journalism
To a casual reader, it looks like legitimate coverage. In reality, it’s unverified marketing dressed as news. Even large exchanges contribute to the noise by blasting press releases for every token listing — not illegal, but it floods feeds, boosts SEO, and blurs trust.
Worst case? Scammers impersonate real brands, push fake platforms, and drain wallets before anyone debunks it.
📌 Takeaway: If you “read it on a crypto news site,” that doesn’t mean it was reported, verified, or vetted. In crypto, PR ≠ truth. Always check sources. Always verify on-chain. Always assume incentives.
One of the largest dark web drug markets since Silk Road just collapsed — and the lesson is brutal.
Incognito Market processed $105M+ in illegal drug sales, handling 640,000+ transactions across the globe. Its operator? A 24-year-old running under the alias “Pharaoh.” What brought it down wasn’t just undercover buys — it was blockchain transparency + terrible OPSEC.
Authorities linked the operation through: • On-chain transaction analysis • Undercover marketplace purchases • Domain registration tied to his real name, phone number, and address
Even worse? He was reportedly teaching cybercrime & crypto basics abroad while running the market. Crypto didn’t protect him. Anonymity was an illusion. One mistake was enough to collapse the entire operation. Blockchain remembers everything.
🚀 MetaMask just opened the door to tokenized U.S. stocks & ETFs
MetaMask has integrated Ondo Finance’s Global Markets, allowing eligible mobile users in supported non-U.S. jurisdictions to buy and trade 200+ tokenized U.S. assets directly inside their self-custodial wallet.
This includes tokenized exposure to major names like Tesla, Apple, Nvidia, plus ETFs linked to gold, silver, and the Nasdaq — all without opening a traditional brokerage account.
This is a big step for real-world asset (RWA) adoption. Instead of juggling banks, brokers, and limited trading hours, users can now access traditional markets on-chain, 24/7, while keeping full custody of their assets.
With tokenized RWAs already surpassing $22B in market value, this move shows how crypto wallets are evolving from “just storage” into full financial hubs, blurring the line between TradFi and DeFi.
As Consensys CEO Joe Lubin put it: one wallet, self-custody, no intermediaries — a model legacy finance still can’t match.
📉 Galaxy Digital posts massive Q4 loss — stock reacts fast
Galaxy Digital (GLXY), led by Mike Novogratz, reported a $482M net loss in Q4 2025, sending its stock down more than 6% in pre-market trading to around $24.70. The drop comes even as broader crypto equities rebound after the recent market crash.
The company blamed the weak quarter on falling crypto prices and roughly $160M in one-time costs, highlighting how volatile earnings can still be for crypto-native financial firms. For the full year, Galaxy reported a $241M net loss, or $0.61 per diluted share.
That said, the picture isn’t all bearish. Galaxy generated $426M in adjusted gross profit in 2025 and finished the year with a strong $2.6B in cash and stablecoins, giving it a sizable liquidity buffer.
Operationally, the firm showed growth: • $2B in net inflows into its asset management platform • $12B in total assets by year-end • Record trading volumes and profits • Data center power capacity doubled to 1.6 GW in Texas
Bottom line: markets are punishing the headline loss, but Galaxy is still expanding aggressively in trading, asset management, and infrastructure. Investors now face the classic question — short-term pain vs long-term positioning in crypto finance.
🚀 Elon Musk merges SpaceX and xAI — aiming for space-based AI scale
Elon Musk announced that SpaceX has acquired xAI, combining his rocket company with his artificial intelligence venture in a move that could redefine how AI infrastructure is built and powered.
According to Musk, today’s AI boom relies heavily on massive terrestrial data centers that consume enormous electricity and cooling resources — a model he says is not sustainable at global scale. His solution? Move AI infrastructure to space.
“Space-based AI is obviously the only way to scale,” Musk said, arguing that even capturing a tiny fraction of the Sun’s energy would dwarf all current human energy usage. The vision suggests future AI systems powered by solar energy in orbit, bypassing Earth’s physical and environmental limits.
Bloomberg reports the combined entity could pursue an IPO valued at $1.25 trillion, with xAI previously valued around $230B and SpaceX near $800B. If accurate, this would place the new company among the most valuable tech giants in history — before even going public.
This isn’t just an AI story. It’s a long-term infrastructure bet on energy, space, and computation converging — and another signal that Big Tech’s next frontier may be off-planet.
🇪🇺 Ripple secures full EMI license in Luxembourg — EU expansion unlocked
Ripple has officially received full authorization as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) from Luxembourg’s financial regulator (CSSF), clearing the way to scale regulated payment services across the entire European Union.
This license allows Ripple to roll out and expand Ripple Payments, its cross-border payments product designed for banks, fintechs, and enterprises, using blockchain rails under a fully compliant framework. Luxembourg is a key financial hub for EU-wide passporting, making this a strategic base for rapid regional expansion.
The approval comes after Ripple met all regulatory conditions following preliminary approval last month and builds on its recent UK FCA authorization. With this, Ripple’s global license count now exceeds 75, reinforcing its positioning as one of the most regulated players in crypto payments.
As the industry shifts toward institutional adoption and regulatory clarity, Ripple is clearly betting that compliance — not avoidance — is the path to scale in Europe.
🇮🇳 India keeps crypto taxes unchanged — adds penalties instead
India’s 2026–27 Union Budget retained the 30% tax on crypto gains and 1% TDS on trades, disappointing industry players who had pushed for relief to boost liquidity.
Instead of tax reform, the government is tightening compliance rules. From April 1, 2026, entities that fail to properly report crypto transactions will face ₹200/day fines for non-filing and a ₹50,000 penalty for incorrect or uncorrected data.
Officials say the move strengthens transparency, but traders warn the unchanged tax structure continues to hurt activity and push volume offshore, especially for retail participants.
Layer-1 blockchain Story Protocol has postponed the first major unlock of its $IP token by 6 months, pushing team, investor, and early contributor releases from Feb 2026 to Aug 2026.
The project says the move aims to slow new supply, reduce sell pressure, and better align with the community during a difficult market phase. Total supply and allocations remain unchanged, with the delay enforced via an automated smart contract.
Despite a valuation near $500M, Story currently generates less than $100 in daily on-chain revenue, raising concerns around low-activity, high-FDV launches and token vesting practices. Over the past month, $IP is down ~32%, underperforming the broader market.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling for congressional hearings after reports that a UAE intelligence chief secretly bought a 49% stake ($500M) in Trump-linked crypto firm World Liberty Financial.
Gift for You 💝
The deal allegedly sent $187M to Trump family entities and tens of millions to allies — months before the U.S. approved advanced AI chip sales to the UAE.
Democrats warn this could be a national security and corruption risk, while Trump officials deny any conflict and say ethics rules were followed.
Crypto is no longer just markets — it’s power, policy, and geopolitics.