Day: March 17, 2026

SEC will Consider most Crypto Assets not Securities under Federal Law

admin

In one of its first actions since signing a memorandum of understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it would interpret how “non-security crypto assets” fall under federal securities laws. In a Tuesday notice, the SEC said its interpretation of how to address crypto assets would serve as an “important bridge” as lawmakers in the US Congress consider market structure legislation which will codify how financial regulators oversee digital assets.  The commission said the interpretation would provide a “coherent token taxonomy…

US Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Crack Down on Prediction Markets War Bets

admin

Two Democratic lawmakers in the US Congress have introduced legislation in response to “government corruption” over bets on prediction markets platforms. In a Tuesday announcement, Texas Representative Greg Casar and Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy said they had introduced the Banning Event Trading on Sensitive Operations and ​Federal Functions (BETS OFF) Act after several Polymarket accounts made “highly unusual bets” that a war between the US and Israel against Iran would begin. Murphy said on March 4 that it was likely that people with “inside information” of US President Donald Trump’s…

Moody’s Launches Onchain Credit ratings via Canton Network

admin

Moody’s Ratings has debuted a system to deliver its credit analysis onchain, bringing its ratings data into blockchain-based financial infrastructure. The system, called Token Integration Engine (TIE), connects Moody’s traditional ratings data to blockchain networks, allowing permissioned participants to access credit insights within blockchain-based financial workflows. It is built for institutional use, with issuers controlling participation while Moody’s retains oversight of its ratings process. The company claims it is the first credit rating agency to deliver its credit analysis onchain. In June 2025, Moody’s teamed up with a fintech startup…

SEC says most crypto assets fall outside securities laws, including staking, airdrops, and mining

admin

SEC Chair Paul Atkins said Tuesday that the agency is implementing a token taxonomy and investment contract interpretation aimed at ending years of uncertainty over when crypto assets fall under federal securities laws. Speaking at the DC Blockchain Summit on March 17, Atkins said the framework would classify digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, and payment stablecoins under the GENIUS Act as categories that are not deemed securities. He said only digital securities, meaning tokenized forms of traditional securities, would remain clearly subject to securities laws under the new interpretation.…

Bitcoin Price Rally To $79K Would Make Spot ETF Holders Whole Again

admin

Bitcoin (BTC) is closing in on its average entry price for US spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) investors at $79,900. The narrowing gap between Bitcoin’s market price and the ETF holders’ cost basis coincides with onchain data that shows early signs of accelerated buying from investors. Bitcoin ETF breakeven level nears key trend test Bitcoin’s sustained price rally above $70,000 puts a key investor cohort back in focus. The ETF cost basis level acted as support in mid-2024, and a break above this level brings many ETF holders closer to…

SOL Bottomed, Now A Rare Pattern Predicts Huge Rally

admin

A recurring bottom signal for Solana’s SOL (SOL) token has flashed on its weekly chart. The pattern was first seen in 2023 when SOL went on a 1,604%, rally, then again in 2025 when the altcoin gained 142%.  Currently, SOL futures and spot market data point to a slow pickup in market activity, with the price approaching a key weekly level that may reinforce the bullish bias. Crypto analyst WebTrend has highlighted that the pattern on the weekly chart is marked by consecutive candles with long lower wicks. This structure…

Tether Unveils AI System to Run Large Models on Smartphones

admin

Tether, issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin by market cap, USDT, has released a new AI training framework that it says allows large language models to be fine-tuned on consumer hardware, including smartphones and non-Nvidia GPUs. According to Tuesday’s announcement, the system, part of its QVAC platform, uses Microsoft’s BitNet architecture and LoRA techniques to reduce memory and compute requirements, potentially lowering the cost and hardware barriers to developing AI models. The framework supports cross-platform training and inference across a range of chips, including AMD, Intel and Apple Silicon, as…

Arizona AG Files Charges against Kalshi over ‘Illegal Gambling‘

admin

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced that her office filed gambling and related criminal charges against the companies behind prediction markets platform Kalshi. In a Tuesday notice, Mayes said that the charges alleged that Kalshi operated an “illegal gambling business in Arizona without a license” and offered election wagering, in violation of state laws. Arizona authorities alleged that Kalshi’s prediction markets platform allowed state residents to bet on event contracts related to sports and state and federal elections.  “Kalshi may brand itself as a ‘prediction market,’ but what it’s actually…

Bitrefill reports Lazarus-style exploit drained funds and exposed some user data

admin

Bitrefill, the established crypto-to-gift-card platform, was hit by a sophisticated cyberattack earlier this month that drained company funds and exposed some customer data. The team disclosed the incident in an X article on Tuesday, saying that it shares strong similarities with operations linked to Lazarus Group, the notorious North Korean cybercrime collective believed to be responsible for billions of dollars in crypto thefts. According to Bitrefill, the breach happened on March 1, when attackers gained access to an employee’s device and extracted a legacy login credential. From there, they used…

VersaBank Adds FX to Tokenized Deposits for Cross-Border Payments

admin

VersaBank, a federally chartered Canadian digital bank focused on institutional lending, is adding foreign exchange functionality to its tokenized deposit platform, allowing users to convert between US and Canadian dollars within a blockchain-based system. Announced Tuesday, the upgrade enables real-time, 24/7 currency conversion using Real Bank Tokenized Deposits (RBTDs), that is, digital representations of fiat deposits issued and backed by the Ontario-based institution.  The feature is designed to improve cross-border transactions by reducing reliance on traditional foreign exchange rails, which are often slower and limited by banking hours. The update…