Month: February 2026

Bitcoin Depot mandates ID verification for all crypto ATM transactions

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Bitcoin Depot, a major operator of crypto ATMs across North America, is rolling out a new identity verification policy for all transactions at its kiosks in efforts to combat fraud and respond to regulatory pressure from state prosecutors, according to a Tuesday announcement. The Atlanta-based company said the policy began rolling out in February and will apply across its US network, extending verification requirements beyond initial account setup to every subsequent purchase. Bitcoin Depot has long placed a strong focus on regulatory standards and protecting users, CEO Scott Buchanan said…

Bitcoin Depot Introduces ID for All Transactions

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Bitcoin Depot has begun a phased rollout of a new requirement for users to provide identification for every transaction at its crypto ATMs amid increasing pressure from regulators and lawmakers for operators to curb illicit activity. Bitcoin Depot said on Tuesday that it began the rollout earlier in February across the company’s US network ATMs, with the goal of helping to detect suspicious activity in real time and eliminate misuse by bad actors, such as account sharing, identity theft, and account takeover. “Continuous verification allows us to detect suspicious activity…

Ethereum Price Rebound Pauses at $1,950, Traders Eye Next Move

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Ethereum price started a fresh decline below $1,865. ETH is now recovering losses from $1,800 and might struggle to recover above $1,925 or $1,950. Ethereum started a recovery wave from the $1,800 zone. The price is trading above $1,900 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $1,935 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could start a fresh decline if it stays below the $1,950 zone. Ethereum Price Attempts Recovery Ethereum price failed to stay above…

Stripe Eyes PayPal Acquisition as Stock Hits Multi-Year Low

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Payment processing firm Stripe is reportedly considering an acquisition of all or parts of its rival PayPal Holdings. Stripe is in early talks and has expressed preliminary interest in PayPal or parts of its business, though no deal is guaranteed, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. It comes as Stripe, which enables enterprises to accept payments, make payouts, and automate financial processes, said on Tuesday that it was valued at $159 billion in a tender offer to shareholders and employees, a 74% jump from a year…

Discord delays global age verification rollout until H2 2026

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Discord, the communication platform popular among gaming communities and online groups, will postpone the global rollout of age verification measures until the second half of 2026, following user backlash. The company previously planned to implement “teen-by-default” settings in March, which would have required users to prove they are adults to access the platform’s full features through facial age estimation or by uploading a government ID. Many users criticized the proposal as intrusive, leading some to cancel paid subscriptions and seek alternative services. Discord’s co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy explained in a Tuesday…

Bitcoin Price Attempts Comeback, but Technical Hurdles Challenge Bulls Ahead

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Bitcoin price failed to stay above $65,000 and dipped further. BTC is now recovering losses from $62,500 and faces hurdles near the $66,500 zone. Bitcoin started a fresh decline and traded below the $65,000 support. The price is trading below $66,500 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $66,600 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken). The pair might dip again if it trades below the $65,500 and $65,000 levels. Bitcoin Price Recovers Some Ground…

US senator probes Binance over alleged Iran and Russia sanctions violations

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Richard Blumenthal, the senior Democratic senator from Connecticut, is investigating Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, over allegations that it enabled Iranian money laundering schemes and sanctions evasion linked to Russian oil trade. In a letter sent Tuesday to Binance CEO Richard Teng, Blumenthal pointed to reports from the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Fortune that Binance partners Hexa Whale and Blessed Trust allegedly acted as intermediaries for illicit transactions tied to Iranian government entities, terrorist groups including the Houthis, and Russia’s shadow oil fleet.…

Anthropic Accuses Three Firms of Using Sophisticated Distillation Attacks

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Artificial intelligence firm Anthropic has accused three AI firms of illicitly using its large language model Claude to improve their own models in a technique known as a “distillation” attack. In a blog post on Sunday, Anthropic said that it had identified these “attacks” by DeepSeek, Moonshot, and MiniMax, which involve training a less capable model on the outputs of a stronger one. Anthropic accused the trio of generating “over 16 million exchanges” combined with the firm’s Claude AI across “approximately 24,000 fraudulent accounts.”  “Distillation is a widely used and…

Bitwise Acquires $2.2B Crypto Staking Firm Chorus One

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Crypto asset manager Bitwise has acquired the staking services company Chorus One, which oversees more than $2.2 billion in staked assets and could help Bitwise expand its portfolio of crypto staking products. Bitwise said on Tuesday that 50 of Chorus One’s employees will join Bitwise Onchain Solutions, where several billion dollars’ worth of crypto assets are already staked.  The acquisition could see Bitwise diversify its range of exchange-traded products, including staking, as the Securities and Exchange Commission has shown support for a broader range of crypto investment products. Staking allows…

What To Expect For Ripple’s XRP If A Retail Run Were To Happen

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A crypto analyst and XRP enthusiast known as BarriC recently noted that XRP could experience two very different types of rallies: a retail-driven run or a utility-driven run. The price outcomes under each scenario would not only differ in magnitude but also in structure and sustainability. A retail surge could push the token into the $5 to $10 range. However, a broader utility run tied to global adoption could, in his view, send prices far beyond the double-digit price range. What To Expect With A Retail Run For XRP A…