Tag: Business – Decrypt

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has opened a preliminary inquiry into Binance following reports that the cryptocurrency exchange allowed $1.7 billion in transactions tied to Iranian entities and Russia’s sanctions-evading oil trade.

The probe follows reporting by The Wall Street Journal alleging that internal Binance investigators uncovered transfers from accounts on the platform to intermediaries connected to Iran, including entities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and Yemen’s Houthi militants.

According to the report, two Hong Kong-based partners—Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust—acted as conduits for some of the transactions. The articles said investigators identified roughly 2,000 accounts associated with Iranian entities despite Binance’s stated ban on Iranian users, and that some compliance staff who raised concerns were later suspended or dismissed.

Binance has denied the allegations. In a tweet posted Tuesday, CEO Richard Teng accused the WSJ of publishing “defamatory claims” about the company’s compliance program and said the outlet failed to acknowledge corrections provided by the exchange.

In a legal letter to the newspaper, Binance said it wants the “false information” corrected immediately and the “defamatory imputations retracted.”

Binance has said its sanctions exposure is minimal, that it detected and reported suspicious activity, and that it found no evidence of violations in its own review. The company said accounts linked to the reported transactions were removed and that it stopped working with Blessed Trust in January.

Decrypt has reached out to Binance and will update this article should the exchange respond.

Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, serving tens of millions of users globally and offering trading in hundreds of digital tokens. The company has sought to position itself as having strengthened its compliance controls in recent years following heightened scrutiny from U.S. regulators.

Binance and compliance

The latest allegations come after Binance pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating U.S. anti-money-laundering laws and sanctions requirements, agreeing to pay $4.3 billion in penalties and to exit the U.S. market. Founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison for his role in the violations. He was given a presidential pardon by Donald Trump in October last year.

That hasn’t stopped U.S. lawmakers taking an interest. In a letter to Teng dated Tuesday, Blumenthal wrote that “Binance appears to have ignored warnings and recommendations to prevent Iranian money laundering schemes on its cryptocurrency exchange,” allowing $1.7 billion in transfers to Iran.

He cited reports that internal compliance staff found that Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust facilitated laundering and trade with Iranian government entities, and that investigators traced cryptocurrency transfers to wallets associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as well as payments tied to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers.

“Binance appears to have ignored clear warning signs, knowingly allowed illicit accounts to operate, and even provided hands-on support to entities engaged in money laundering,” Blumenthal wrote. “…The scale of the newly revealed illicit transfers — uncaught until nearly two billion dollars flowed to sanctioned entities — and the unexplained firing of internal investigators call into question Binance’s compliance with American sanctions and banking laws.”

He also pointed to Binance’s ties to World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture associated with the family of President Donald Trump, suggesting the company has sought to influence policymakers while facing scrutiny.

The senator requested that Binance provide extensive records by March 6, 2026, including documents related to the activities of Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust, internal reports and communications concerning Iranian and Russian-linked accounts, records tied to the use of Tether and the USD1 stablecoin in potential sanctions evasion, and documentation surrounding the suspension or dismissal of compliance staff involved in the investigations.

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.

GM!

Today’s top news:

• Crypto majors rebound sharply, up 4-8%; BTC at $65.7k
• Meta confirms plans to re-enter stablecoins across Facebook, Whatsapp and IG
• Coinbase launches 24/5 stock trading with no fees & fractional shares
• Tether teased an upcoming product, with speculation of card or neobank
• Virtual rebounds 20% as Base continues to drive the onchain AI meta

💰 Stablecoins Are Eating Everything

Forget crypto winter.

The stablecoin market doesn’t care.

📌 What Happened

On the same day, Stripe announced a $159B valuation driven largely by its stablecoin infrastructure, Meta confirmed it is re-entering the payments space with a stablecoin strategy targeting 3B users.

Meta sent RFPs to crypto infrastructure firms seeking a third-party partner to administer stablecoin-based payments across Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, targeting a launch early in H2 2026.

Stripe, which acquired stablecoin platform Bridge last year and whose CEO Patrick Collison sits on Meta’s board, is the leading candidate. This comes after Stripe processed $1.9 trillion in total payment volume last year, up 34%. Bridge volume quadrupled. Stripe also received a national bank trust charter from the OCC last week, letting it custody crypto and manage stablecoin reserves directly.

Meta is not issuing its own token, wanting a “stablecoin agnostic” integration and a new in-app wallet. Meta spokespeople clarified the project is about enabling payments, calling it “enabling people and businesses to pay using their preferred method.”

🗣️ What They’re Saying

“It may be a crypto winter, but it’s a stablecoin summer.”

“Stablecoin payments are advancing quietly and inexorably as real-world uptake continues apace.” – Patrick and John Collison, Stripe annual letter

“Nothing has changed; there is still no Meta stablecoin. This is about enabling people and businesses to make payments on our platforms using their preferred method.” – Andy Stone, Meta communications director

🧠 Why It Matters

A Meta stablecoin is a big deal.

Facebook has 3.2 billion monthly active users. WhatsApp has 3 billion, with an 84.1% daily open rate (the highest of any major app) and 100 billion messages sent every day. Instagram hits another 3 billion.

Meta’s full family of apps reaches 3.98 billion unique people per month. That’s roughly half the world’s population.

For those who don’t remember, Meta’s prior stablecoin attempt failed because regulators came down hard on a company trying to issue its own global currency. This time, Meta is doing none of that. They’re opting to be stablecoin agnostic, using third-party rails.

They learned the lesson and now the regulatory environment under the GENIUS Act has made it easier to execute.

If Meta gets this working across WhatsApp alone—remittances, creator payouts, cross-border transfers—that’s a stablecoin use case at a scale that could dwarf everything currently on-chain.

Stablecoin supply and volumes would soar.

For traders: the clearest beneficiaries are Circle (USDC issuer, likely integration candidate), Tether (always in the driver’s seat), Stripe itself, and any infrastructure layer that sits between the wallet and settlement. And Meta of course…

🌎 Macro Crypto and Markets

• Crypto majors are very green after a big rebound; BTC +4% at $65.7K; ETH +6% at $1,940; SOL +8% at $83
• Virtual (+20%), Morpho (+16%), DOT (+13%) and ETHFI (+13%) led top movers; AVAX +10% as well
• Bitcoin is down 50% from its all-time high as trader sentiment turns increasingly bearish, per Decrypt reporting today.
• The Ethereum Foundation began staking 70,000 ETH from its treasury, with an initial 2,106 ETH deposit going live today; staking rewards will fund protocol R&D and ecosystem grants
• Vitalik has sold more than 10,700 ETH since early February, netting roughly $6.1M, with the proceeds used to help fund the Ethereum Foundation
• The Trump administration is publicly pressuring the crypto industry to revive the stalled market structure bill
• Meanwhile, World Liberty Financial is siding with Coinbase against the White House’s version of the market structure bill, creating a split between Trump’s administration and Trump’s own crypto business over stablecoin yield language
• Michigan lawmakers introduced a bill that would allow state employees to receive wages in Bitcoin
• Solana DeFi TVL has declined 52% from its September peak to $6.3B
• Tether teased an upcoming product announcement, with speculation of a neobank and/or payments card

Corporate Treasuries & ETFs

Meme Coin Tracker

• Meme majors were very green alongside majors; DOGE +4%, SHIB +2%, PEPE +4%, TRUMP +5%, PENGU +8%, SPX +10%, FARTCOIN +13%
• Punch (+22%) and ARC (+25%) led notable movers; AgenC (+110x) and Claw (+52x) led new movers
• Base AI tokens soared with Virtual (+20%), VVV (+27%), FELIX (+100%) and TIBBIR (+19%)

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

• Coinbase announced tokenized stock trading, available 24/5, with 0 commission fees and with fractional shares available
• Kraken launched tokenized equity perpetual futures via its xStocks framework, offering up to 20x leverage on assets including the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, and GLD
• Binance returned to tokenized stocks for the first time since its 2021 regulatory pullback, listing 10 Ondo Finance-issued U.S. stock, ETF, and commodity tokens on Binance Alpha
• Aave DAO published an audit of Aave Labs historical performance ahead of their $51M ask tomorrow
• EtherFi announced its Earn function available on its iOS app

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

• NFT leaders were slightly red with ETH rebounding; Punks -1% at 29.7 ETH, Pudgy -1% at 4.45 ETH, BAYC even at 6 ETH; Hypurr’s +2% at 467 HYPE
• Doodles (+14%) and Moonbirds (+5%) led top movers
• Ether Rock sells for 69.9 ETH
• XCOPY’s ‘Last Selfie’ gets $1M loan

Stablecoin issuer Circle saw USDC circulation grow 72% year-on-year to $75.3 billion in the fourth quarter. The company also reported that transaction volume reached $11.9 trillion, an increase of 247%.

USDC market capitalization has wavered slightly since the end of last year, dipping as low as $70 billion at the start of February. But it has since rebounded to nearly $75 billion, according to crypto price aggregator CoinGecko.

Circle released its report early Wednesday morning and had its earnings call scheduled for 8 a.m. New York time. In pre-market trading, CRCL shares jumped 14%. After the opening bell, the gains jumped to 20%, with the stock changing hands for $73.24 at the time of writing.

“The print reinforces continued USDC adoption despite a softer crypto backdrop and should support a strong positive stock reaction today,” wrote Clear Street analysts Owen Lau and Nikhil Vijay in a note shared with Decrypt.

CEO Jeremy Allaire opened the company’s earnings call saying he believes Circle will grow in tandem with the artificial intelligence industry, and “drive the greatest acceleration of economic activity we’ve ever seen in human history.”

“Not only will our global economic system become more internet-native, but it will also become dramatically more automated,” he said. “We are entering a world where, in my view, likely tens or hundreds of billions of AI agents will interact and perform economic functions over the internet.”

He added later that the company has been building systems that support agentic payments.

“In fact, we just went into testnet release of a new capability, the Circle Gateway, that allows for agents to autonomously and programmatically automate cross chain USDC transactions with a transaction cost of $0.00001,” Allaire said.

The company saw its revenue and reserve income reach $770 million in Q4, a 77% increase from the previous year.

Circle saw a net loss from continuing operations reach $70 million in 2025, noting that it was significantly impacted by $424 million worth of stock-based compensation tied to vesting conditions of the company’s initial public offering.

Circle made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange last June and was so popular with investors that NYSE halted trading three times within the first hour. But the company saw its momentum slow in 2025 as the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates and investors fretted that it would impact interest earned on the cash reserves that back USDC stablecoins.

WisdomTree said on Tuesday that it’s enabling instant settlement for its tokenized money market fund, indicating its product won’t be limited by Wall Street’s pace any longer.

The shift is expected to reduce “cash drag” associated with settlement delays in traditional markets, while harnessing certain advantages that are innate to digital assets, the institution with $168 billion in assets under management said in a press release.

The arrangement, which also enables round-the-clock trading for the WisdomTree Treasury Money Market Digital Fund (WTGXX), required exemptive relief from the SEC.

On Tuesday, the regulator said it was okay for investors to trade WTGXX’s shares at $1 with a dealer on an intraday basis, regardless of WTGXX’s net asset value. That is typically determined every business day immediately after U.S. markets close.

“The SEC is committed to working with market participants to foster innovation and modernization, especially in enabling the tokenization of our capital markets.” Brian Daly, SEC director of the division of investment management, told Decrypt. “This relief preserves the protections of a regulated money market fund while permitting retail investors intra-day liquidity.”

Although funds registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 have historically functioned as investment vehicles, the SEC’s relief positions WisdomTree’s product as a form of digital cash that can be spent, moved, or traded instantly at any hour.

WisdomTree described that functionality as “unprecedented,” while unlocking the efficiency and liquidity advantages native to digital representations of real-world assets.

WisdomTree noted that its broker-dealer subsidiary gained FINRA approval to engage in principal trading for WTGXX. The company said that enables round-the-clock liquidity for shares in its tokenized money market fund, which can be exchanged for stablecoins.

At the same time, WisdomTree said its rollout “continues dividend accrual” for WTGXX, which involves using blockchain timestamps to track how long investors hold the token. That allows shareholders to earn yield even as WTGXX moves between wallets, WisdomTree said.

WTGXX was valued at $730 million on Tuesday, according to RWA.xyz. It has been issued across nine networks, such as Ethereum and Solana, while offering an annualized percentage yield of 3.5%. Backed by U.S. Treasuries, its shares aim to trade at a value of $1 like a stablecoin.

The development underscores how the SEC is becoming increasingly comfortable with mainstream financial products augmented by their blockchain-based format. In its relief order, the SEC said its green light was “appropriate in the public interest.”

In July, SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the agency was committed to modernizing securities rules and regulations enabling financial markets to move on-chain through an initiative called “Project Crypto.”

In the press release, WisdomTree Head of Digital Assets Will Peck indicated approvals from the SEC and FINRA are paving the way for that transition.

“This is a true innovation and improvement in the investor experience, and it demonstrates how blockchain can serve as a new set of rails for capital markets,” he said.

Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication with a comment from the SEC.

A Bitcoin miner that rented $75 of mining power defied the odds by finding a solo block reward, earning more than 3.1 BTC worth around $200,000 early Tuesday. 

The individual rented the minimum 1 Petahash/s (PH) of hash power via Braiins hash power marketplace, which allows users to rent Bitcoin mining capacity directly from the company without needing to install or operate any physical hardware themselves. 

Based on the current hash rate of the Bitcoin network, at that mining capacity, a success would only occur approximately every 1 out of 1.1 million blocks, or about 21 years’ worth of mining, according to estimates from SoloChance.com. 

Solo mining wins are rare, as most Bitcoin blocks are found and awarded to large mining pools that have dedicated massive amounts of computational power to solving cryptographic puzzles, which underpin Bitcoin’s public ledger and network. 

But the act, likened by experts to “playing the lottery,” has provided a handful of jackpot winners of late. In January, two solo Bitcoin miners pulled in more than 3.1 BTC in respective rewards worth around $300,000 at the time. In December, another miner beat the odds, scoring a reward of more than $282,000 based on BTC’s price at that time. 

The feats are even more impressive when you consider the growing hashrate, or the total computational power of the network, which is above 1.1 Zhash/s on average per day according to data from Bitinfo. At this time last year, the network’s overall computational power was around 730 Ehash/s—about 61% of its current capacity.

That growing share may be coming from miners in China or elsewhere, as North American mining pools saw a declining share of computation power in 2025. A portion of that decline can be attributed to pools and miners that had previously been focused on mining BTC shifting their attention to growing demand for AI compute.

For example, publicly traded Bitcoin miners like Bitfarms are completely winding down their mining operations, while others like Riot Platforms are being urged by investors to capitalize on opportunities in AI.

A representative for Braiins did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.