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Tag: CRYPTOS FoxBusiness.

  • Allegations of Major Manipulation in an Altcoin Airdrop: One Person Received the Largest Share of the Tokens

    Blockchain analytics platform Bubblemaps has announced the detection of significant manipulation in the $ROBO token airdrop conducted by Fabric Protocol.

    According to the company’s findings, a single entity gained control of approximately 40% of the total tokens distributed using a method called a “syllabic attack.”

    According to Bubblemaps data, over 7,000 new wallets were created in the two months prior to the token’s launch. These wallets were found to have purchased similar amounts of Ethereum (ETH) from seven different cryptocurrency exchanges, exhibiting highly consistent on-chain behavior. It was then suggested that these funds were routed through three-tiered new wallets in an attempt to conceal the trail.

    These wallets participated in the airdrop following the $ROBO token launch on February 27th, claiming a total of approximately 199 million $ROBO tokens. This amount reportedly represents 40% of the distribution and was worth approximately $8 million at the time of launch.

    The analysis reveals that high similarities in the funding method, timing, and transfer movements of the wallets indicate that the entire operation was organized by a single entity. However, Bubblemaps added that, based on the available data, there is no evidence linking these activities to the Fabric Protocol or OpenMind teams.

    Fabric Protocol aims to develop a robotics-focused network layer powered by the OpenMind infrastructure. The project raised a total of $20 million in funding from leading investors such as Coinbase and Pantera. The $ROBO token was distributed via an airdrop at launch, representing 5% of the total supply.

    *This is not investment advice.

  • Bitcoin jumps to $70,800 as oil retreats; ether and XRP lag

    Bitcoin jumps to $70,800 as oil retreats; ether and XRP lag

    Bitcoin $BTC$70,584.30 and the wider crypto market saw a notable price bounce on Friday after major economies announced joint efforts to boost oil supplies through the now-disrupted Strait of Hormuz.

    $BTC, the largest cryptocurrency, jumped to $70,800, up more than 1% on the day, extending its recovery from overnight lows under $68,900, according to CoinDesk data. Other major coins, including ether (ETH), $XRP ($XRP), and solana (SOL), saw smaller gains of less than 1%, lagging behind bitcoin.

    West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell nearly 2% to $93.80, alongside similar losses in Brent, after Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan said they would take steps to stabilize energy markets and join collaborative efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. In a joint statement issued by the U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office, leaders of these nations condemned the attacks by Iran and urged it to halt its actions immediately.

    On Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. may soon remove sanctions from Iranian oil tankers and could release crude from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

    With the Federal Reserve expressing heightened uncertainty on growth and inflation outlooks earlier this week, traders have scaled back expectations for Fed rate cuts. That has left crypto and traditional risk assets largely at the mercy of oil price swings.

    The latest drop in oil, though positive, doesn’t end the uncertainty, as military conflict in the Middle East continues. WTI remains near recent support at $92.00, still significantly above pre-war valuations.

    “For now, WTI crude continues to hold what appears to be an increasingly important area of support. That level aligns well with prior highs and the short-term trend. As long as oil holds that support and the trend continues higher, it will likely maintain an upward bias,” Mott Capital Management said in an email to its subscribers.

    The firm added that positioning in the oil options market suggests higher levels are possible.

    Another market that bitcoin traders might want to watch is the S&P 500, Wall Street’s benchmark equity index.

    The index closed below its pivotal 200-day simple moving average (SMA) on Thursday – the first such instance since May last year – signaling a bearish shift in momentum. A potential strengthening of risk aversion in stocks could spill over into crypto and the wider financial markets.

  • Argentine Lawmakers Seek to Oust Federal Prosecutor From Leading Libra’s Probe

    Argentine lawmakers who probed the Libra incident have vowed to act against Eduardo Taiano, the prosecutor in charge of the case, after information revealed hints at a deeper relationship between President Javier Milei and Mauricio Novelli, an associate behind the token launch.

    Argentine Deputies Prepare Legal Actions To Accelerate Libra’s Case

    A group of Argentine lawmakers is preparing to take action to accelerate the Libra probe after new data linking President Milei to some individuals behind the token launch was recently made public.

    The congressional commission that investigated the Libra event is reportedly launching two complaints against Eduardo Taiano, the prosecutor in charge of the case, for not acting expeditiously, even though he had several key elements to advance the investigation.

    The first complaint accuses Taiano of hindering the Congress’s work, as he rejected a request seeking to force government officials to clarify their links to the token and did not allow the commission to access the case files that had recently been made public.

    Another complaint alleges that Taiano was covering up evidence to protect President Milei, his sister Karian Milei, and other individuals linked to the presidential group.

    Maximiliano Ferraro, former president of this commission, directly referred to Milei as a part of the Libra launch, highlighting that the Argentine president was the “protagonist and necessary participant” of a “multi-million-dollar act of corruption and of the misappropriation of the presidential office”.

    On social media, he stated that:

    “There was direct coordination between fringe operators within the crypto world and the President of the Nation’s inner circle, who leveraged his office and power to promote the cryptocurrency in exchange for payments amounting to millions.”

    Ferraro also called to request that Milei, his sister Karina, former Chief of Staff of Advisors to the President of the Nation Demian Reidel, and Milei’s advisor Santiago Caputo, disclose their communications with Mauricio Novelli on Libra’s launch day.

    In addition, they will also promote a possible interpellation of Manuel Adorni, Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers, and Secretary Karina Milei.

    All indicates that the case is facing a breaking point, and that Taiano is at the center of it.

    FAQ 🧭

    • Why are Argentine lawmakers accelerating the Libra cryptocurrency probe? They are taking action after new data linked President Milei and his inner circle to the token’s launch.
    • Why is prosecutor Eduardo Taiano facing congressional complaints? Lawmakers accuse Taiano of obstructing the investigation and covering up evidence to protect the presidential entourage.
    • What are the specific allegations against President Milei? Former commission president Maximiliano Ferraro claims Milei leveraged his office to promote the cryptocurrency in exchange for millions.
    • What are the next steps in the congressional investigation? Lawmakers are demanding the disclosure of the administration’s communications on launch day and seeking to interrogate top cabinet officials.
  • Ancient Bitcoin Whales Spring to Life, Flood Market with BTC After Years of Silence

    Ancient Bitcoin Whales Spring to Life, Flood Market with BTC After Years of Silence

    TL;DR

    • A 2013-era holder sold 1,000 $BTC worth about $71.6 million, while Owen Gunden sold another 650 $BTC worth roughly $46.3 million to market.
    • The 2013 wallet has now sold 3,500 of 5,000 $BTC for about $337 million, suggesting a measured unwind instead of a sudden full exit over time.
    • The report casts the moves as generational profit-taking that may pressure upside, while also showing Bitcoin can absorb repeated OG distribution.

    Dormant Bitcoin supply is moving again, and the timing is stirring anxiety across the market. What is resurfacing now is not ordinary selling pressure, but aged supply from Bitcoin’s earliest era. According to the report, a 2013-era holder who accumulated 5,000 $BTC at an average cost near $332 sold another 1,000 $BTC worth about $71.6 million, while Owen Gunden sold an additional 650 $BTC worth around $46.3 million. Together, the transactions suggest that some of the market’s oldest wallets are converting paper wealth into realized profits rather than holding through this stage of the cycle.

    A #BitcoinOG with 5K $BTC($356M) sold another 1,000 $BTC($71.57M) 8 hours ago.

    This OG received 5K $BTC(cost $1.66M) at $332 12 years ago, and started selling $BTC on Nov 26, 2024, selling a total of 3,500 $BTC($337M) at ~$96,262.

    Total profit: $442M — a 266x return.… pic.twitter.com/oErv0KccjN

    — Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 19, 2026

    Why the Market Watches These Old Wallets So Closely

    The first wallet tells a revealing story. This is not a sudden capitulation, but a disciplined unwind from one of Bitcoin’s cheapest positions. The source says the holder began selling on Nov. 26, 2024 and has now transferred 3,500 $BTC for about $337 million at an average sale price near $96,262. Even after the latest move, the wallet still reportedly holds 1,500 $BTC worth $106.8 million. That matters because steady legacy distribution can weigh on upside over time, even without the shock effect that would normally come from a single forced liquidation event for traders.

    Gunden’s sale adds another layer of unease because the market had treated his earlier exit as finished. The fresh 650 $BTC move suggests that high-profile whale distribution stories may end less cleanly than traders assume. Lookonchain reportedly tied the sale to roughly $46.3 million in value, after previously summarizing a much larger 11,000 $BTC liquidation worth about $1.12 billion. The report notes that Gunden’s transactions carry symbolic weight because he is seen as an important Bitcoin figure whose wallet activity is read as a signal about how some of crypto’s earliest capital is being repositioned.

    The broader takeaway is more nuanced than a bearish headline. These transfers look like generational profit-taking, but they also show how modern liquidity is absorbing old supply. The report argues that coins accumulated before institutional ETFs, treasury strategies and current exchange infrastructure are now being redistributed into a very different market structure. That does not make the selling irrelevant. On the contrary, the reactivation of dormant, low-cost $BTC remains one of the clearest windows into cycle behavior. But it also suggests Bitcoin is operating with enough depth to take repeated OG distribution without structural breakdown.

  • Arthur Hayes Loads Up on ETHFI Hours Before Upbit Listing—Signal or Coincidence?

    Arthur Hayes Loads Up on ETHFI Hours Before Upbit Listing—Signal or Coincidence?

    TL;DR

    • Arthur Hayes acquired around 132,730 $ETHFI, worth close to $72,800, roughly 5 hours before Upbit confirmed the listing.
    • The timing has triggered debate over possible insider awareness vs strategic positioning.
    • South Korea remains a dominant altcoin market, with sustained KRW-based demand since 2023, which may provide stronger liquidity and price support for $ETHFI after its debut.

    EthereumFi ($ETHFI) has returned to the spotlight after a well-timed purchase by Arthur Hayes aligned with its listing on South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, Upbit. The overlap between capital inflow and exchange exposure quickly caught market attention, as such combinations often influence short-term price action.

    Arthur Hayes $ETHFI Trade Raises Questions

    On-chain data indicates that Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and CIO of Maelstrom, received 132,730 $ETHFI from Anchorage Digital about 5 hours before Upbit enabled trading. The transaction was valued near $72,800, with the token priced around $0.55 at the time.

    The close timing between the acquisition and the listing announcement fueled speculation about potential informational advantages. Still, there is no direct evidence of wrongdoing. Hayes has remained active in decentralized finance throughout 2026, allocating more than $3.4 million across multiple protocols.

    Earlier activity also shows that roughly one month prior, wallets linked to Hayes moved about 2.15 million $ETHFI at lower price levels, pointing to a broader accumulation strategy rather than a single trade.

    As part of its standard listing procedures, Upbit introduced temporary restrictions, including a brief pause on buy orders and limit-only trading during the initial phase. These measures aim to reduce volatility and stabilize price discovery.

    Korean Market Liquidity Strengthens $ETHFI Outlook

    An Upbit listing carries weight due to South Korea’s strong participation in altcoins. KRW-denominated trading remains elevated, even when excluding major assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, BNB, and Solana.

    Data from recent cycles shows a consistent buy-side presence from 2023 through 2026, with larger participants absorbing sell pressure. This dynamic contributes to deeper liquidity and stronger support levels across altcoin pairs.

    For $ETHFI, entering this environment means immediate exposure to one of the most active trading regions globally. Listings in Korea have historically driven higher volumes and faster price discovery, especially for DeFi tokens.

    EthereumFi is part of a growing segment focused on restaking and on-chain yield strategies built on Ethereum. As demand for these mechanisms expands, $ETHFI continues gaining traction among both retail and institutional traders.

    In conclusion, while the timing of Hayes’ purchase continues to draw attention, market structure and liquidity trends provide a broader explanation. With strong Korean demand and rising interest in DeFi infrastructure, $ETHFI may extend beyond its initial listing momentum and integrate into longer-term capital flows.

  • Kalshi doubles valuation to $22 billion with new $1 billion raise

    Kalshi doubles valuation to $22 billion with new $1 billion raise

    Kalshi has raised more than $1 billion at a $22 billion valuation in a new financing round led by Coatue Management, the Wall Street Journal reported.

    The deal roughly doubles the company’s valuation from its $11 billion December raise and shows investors are still willing to pay up for exposure to the prediction market boom.

    The timing matters because prediction markets are no longer a niche side bet in crypto and fintech. Data cited by Artemis shows the sector processed roughly $27 billion in January 2026 and $23.4 billion in February. FalconX, citing Artemis data, said prediction market volume climbed nearly fourfold to about $64 billion in 2025, with activity accelerating sharply into early 2026.

    Kalshi is emerging as one of the biggest winners in that trade. The Wall Street Journal reported in December that the company’s trading volumes had already moved above $1 billion a week around the time of its $11 billion round.

    The fundraising also lands as competitors and adjacent platforms race to capture the same category. Crypto exchange MEXC launched a zero-fee prediction market this week, pitching event contracts as a new trading vertical for its users. That follows a broader shift in crypto, where exchanges increasingly want prediction products alongside spot, futures, and options rather than leaving the category to standalone platforms.

    Polymarket remains the other major name in the space. Earlier reporting from October said the company was exploring a funding round at a valuation of $12 billion to $15 billion, after ICE, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, agreed to invest up to $2 billion at an implied valuation of about $8 billion.

    More recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that Polymarket, like Kalshi, was exploring fundraising at roughly a $20 billion valuation. That means Kalshi’s new $22 billion valuation would still put it modestly ahead of Polymarket’s latest reported target, at least on paper.

    Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

  • Crypto Clarity Act inches toward Senate hearing as lawmakers weigh legislative trades

    The negotiation to get a crypto market structure bill through its next stages in the Senate have hovered over an almost-there status for weeks, and Republican lawmakers met on Thursday to figure out how to bridge the final gaps.

    The White House was expected to get some updated legislative language on Thursday, reflecting the ongoing work on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, according to people familiar with the situation. But the talks are still going, and even if the previously uncertain senators (such as Republican Thom Tillis) become satisfied with the bill’s stablecoin yield treatment, other distinct compromises (such as the approach to decentralized finance) also need to be secured before the Senate would be able to send the crypto industry’s top policy priority to President Donald Trump for a signature.

    The longstanding debate that had focused on stablecoin yield — on which bankers and crypto businesses have been divided over the structure of stablecoin rewards programs — is close to a finish, the people said, though lawmakers have been discussing what else the community bankers might be offered to get their support while resolving some of their other priorities. That could include some unrelated provisions tied to Congress’ recent housing legislation, according to reporting from Politico.

    Officials from Trump’s administration were said to be involved with the meeting of Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee, which is the second panel that needs to advance the bill before it would be repackaged into a final version that can get a vote of the overall Senate. Even if the effort advances from the committee by the end of April, as Senator Cynthia Lummis predicted this week, a couple of further hurdles may be out of lawmakers’ hands.

    Democrats involved in the talks have said they still want senior government officials and lawmakers from profiting off of personal crypto interests — most pointedly aimed at Trump. And they want Democrats appointed to the party’s vacant seats at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission before the agency adopts new crypto rules. Those are both points that could require concessions from the White House, and crypto insiders are expecting those controversial points to be the last matters settled once the lawmakers are working on a final bill.

    On the yield issue, Lummis has said that stablecoin rewards programs that steer clear of bank-line language on savings and interest may survive the compromise, insisting they’re more akin to credit-card rewards than interest from bank-account deposits.

    Lummis said Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, whose opposition to a previous draft bill helped derail an earlier effort to get to a Senate hearing, has been more flexible in recent talks. The company didn’t immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment on its position.

    As Congress works, the Securities and Exchange Commission spent much of the week issuing and discussing new crypto policy points, including a first-ever taxonomy that sets out regulatory definitions for U.S. crypto assets. In a CoinDesk op-ed on Thursday, Chairman Paul Atkins and the two Republican commissioners suggested they’re eager to have a new law back up the policy they’re working on.

    “Only Congress can rewrite the law, and we stand ready to work with [Commodity Futures Trading Commission] Chairman Michael Selig to implement the CLARITY Act,” they wrote. “In the meantime, we are providing the responsible regulatory approach that markets demand.”

  • While Bitcoin (BTC) was falling, these altcoins outperformed the market! They became the stars of the day! Here’s the list!

    While Bitcoin (BTC) was falling, these altcoins outperformed the market! They became the stars of the day! Here’s the list!

    Although the Fed kept interest rates unchanged last night as expected, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s hawkish remarks caused sharp declines in Bitcoin ($BTC) and altcoins.

    Bitcoin fell below $70,000, while Ethereum also dropped to around $2,100.

    While other altcoins experienced significant losses, some altcoins, despite the correction, outperformed the market, leaving those expecting a decline wrong-footed.

    Among the altcoins that outperformed $BTC and most other altcoins were Dexe ($DEXE), Quant ($QNT), River ($RIVER), Kaspa ($KAS), and JUST ($JST).

    According to CoinMarketCap data, $DEXE (13.05%), $QNT (9.8%), $RIVER (4.1%), $KAS (3.9%), and $JST (2.9%) were among the top-performing altcoins, outperforming the market.

    According to Coinmarketcap data, the biggest losers in the last 24 hours are as follows: 1st place Mantle (MNT) with a 10.5% loss, 2nd place Worldcoin (WLD) with a 9.9% loss, 3rd place Bittensor (TAO) with an 8.9% loss, 4th place Zcash (ZEC) with a 7.5% loss, and 5th place RENDER with a 6.7% loss.

    A popular analytics company that attempts to measure the emotional reflexes of cryptocurrency investors calculated a “fear and greed index” today with a score of 23 out of 100, indicating extreme fear. This index is calculated based on market volatility, market volume momentum, social media interest, Bitcoin dominance graph, and trends in online research related to cryptocurrencies.

    *This is not investment advice.

  • OpenClaw developers targeted in GitHub phishing scam offering fake token airdrops

    OpenClaw developers on GitHub, a platform for collaboration and version control, are being targeted in a phishing campaign using fake token giveaways to lure victims into connecting crypto wallets that can then be drained.

    The attackers created bogus GitHub accounts and tagged developers in issue threads, claiming they had been selected to receive roughly $5,000 worth of CLAW tokens, Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity company OX Security said in a blog post on Wednesday.

    The attackers’ posts link to a near-identical clone of the OpenClaw website, but with a key addition: a prompt to connect a crypto wallet. Once a wallet is connected, malicious code can trigger transactions or approvals that allow attackers to siphon funds. The phishing page supports major wallets including MetaMask, WalletConnect and Trust Wallet, widening the potential impact, OX said.

    The campaign highlights an increasingly common attack vector in crypto: social engineering paired with wallet connection requests, often disguised as airdrops or developer rewards. By targeting GitHub users who interacted with OpenClaw-related repositories, the attackers made the outreach appear more credible.

    OpenClaw is an open-source AI agent framework and developer tool that has recently attracted attention, and controversy, over crypto-related scams exploiting its name.

    Peter Steinberger, the founder of OpenClaw, said last month he was about to delete the entire codebase because of crypto. “I didn’t know that they’re not just good at harassment, they are also really good at using scripts and tools.”

    His statement followed a blanket ban he imposed on any mention of crypto, including bitcoin BTC$70,426.40, in the project’s Discord after scammers in January hijacked OpenClaw’s old accounts. The hackers promoted a fake CLAWD token that briefly hit a $16 million market cap before collapsing after Steinberger When Steinberger publicly denied any involvement.

  • Bitcoin $20,000 put option is third most popular strike ahead of quarterly expiry

    Bitcoin $20,000 put option is third most popular strike ahead of quarterly expiry

    Nearly $600 million worth of $20,000 bitcoin put options has emerged as the third most popular strike ahead of Deribit’s quarterly expiry, showing how traders are positioning for extreme downside scenarios due to the Middle East conflict.

    A put option gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to sell bitcoin at a predetermined price. With bitcoin trading below $70,000, the $20,000 strike is considered deep out of the money, meaning it would only gain value in the event of a sharp market collapse, or a 70% drawdown from current prices.

    Roughly $596 million in notional value, the total dollar value of underlying contracts, is concentrated at the $20,000 strike, making it one of the three most dominant positions. The others sit at $75,000, with $687 million, and $125,000, with $740 million, highlighting a wide spread of expectations across both downside and upside scenarios.

    Looking at it from face value, large positioning in a $20,000 put option could suggest fears of a meltdown. However, the structure of the market is more nuanced.
    Much of this activity is likely driven by traders selling these far out of the money puts to collect premium, reflecting the low probability of bitcoin falling to $20,000 rather than a direct hedge against a crash. In other words, it is often a strategy tied to income generation or volatility positioning, rather than outright bearish conviction.

    The total notional value of bitcoin options expiring on Deribit is $13.5 billion. While, even though the market is in extreme fear, the options market still leans slightly bullish, with a put call ratio of 0.63, indicating more call options than puts, typically used to express bullish views. Total open interest stands at 195,719 $BTC, with 120,236 $BTC in calls and 75,482 $BTC in puts.

    Meanwhile, the max pain level, the price at which the largest number of options expire worthless, is $75,000, which could potentially act as a magnet into expiry. As options market makers often hedge around this level, pulling price toward where the greatest number of contracts expire worthless.