Month: March 2026

Coinbase User IRS Block Petition Dismissed After Procedural Failure

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A California court on Wednesday dismissed a Coinbase user’s attempt to block an IRS summons for his financial records, in at least the second such case in the past year to fail to reach trial.  Roger Metz filed a petition in the Northern District of California in May 2025 to quash an IRS summons ordering Coinbase to hand over his financial records in connection with an audit of his 2022 federal tax return.  His lawyers argued the summons violated his privacy rights, was overbroad and failed to meet basic administrative…

SEC Approves Nasdaq Tokenization Trading Trial

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Nasdaq has been given the regulatory green light to offer some tokenized stocks, which will trade alongside traditional securities on its exchange. The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved Nasdaq’s pilot proposal to support the trading of tokenized versions of stocks and other securities. Nasdaq first filed its proposal in September that sought to allow trades on high-volume stocks in either a traditional or tokenized form on the same exchange in a pilot with the key market infrastructure firm, Depository Trust Company. The tokenized stocks would trade alongside…

Algorand Foundation Cuts Workforce By 25% Amid Market Uncertainty

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The Algorand Foundation, the organization behind the Algorand layer-1 blockchain, said it had made the “difficult decision” to reduce its headcount by 25% on Wednesday, blaming the crypto slump and wider uncertainty. “This decision was not taken lightly and is in response to the uncertain global macro environment as well as the broader downturn in crypto markets,” the Algorand Foundation said in an X post. The Algorand Foundation said the affected employees were “best-in-class contributors” and described the decision as “incredibly tough,” adding that it would support staff through the…

Jack Dorsey’s Block brings back a few workers after mass layoffs

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At least four Block employees have rejoined the company after being cut during the firm’s sweeping workforce reduction in February. Chane Rennie, who leads creative strategy at Block, is among them. He has returned to the role just a week after announcing he had been laid off, according to a LinkedIn post. Another case is Andrew Harvard, a design engineer, who was quickly invited back after being temporarily dropped from the company by accident. He confirmed the return in a statement Some team members were rehired after their manager and…

Fold Revenue Rises 8% in Q4 Amid Continued BTC Rewards Push

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Bitcoin financial services firm Fold reported a 8% surge in revenue in Q4 to $9 million as it gained another 2,000 customers and rolled out more products aimed at integrating Bitcoin reward schemes into consumer spending. The results come just weeks after it released a Fold Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card, a Visa and Stripe-powered product, offering users cashback and rewards. During Fold’s Q4 and 2025 full-year earnings call on Tuesday, CEO Will Reeves said they believe that “Bitcoin rewards will overtake the airline miles as the preferred consumer reward in…

Erik Voorhees’ Venice rolls out end-to-end encrypted AI modes, VVV token surges 10%

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Erik Voorhees’ Venice has rolled out new encrypted AI interface models designed to make privacy verifiable rather than trust-based. Venice AI just released End-to-End Encryption Verifiable by any external party Vires in numeris Here’s how it works 🧵 pic.twitter.com/VZLWarvAUC — Venice (@AskVenice) March 18, 2026 The update adds Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) and End-to-End Encrypted (E2EE) options alongside its existing anonymous proxy access and zero-data-retention processing. TEE, operated by Venice’s external partners NEAR AI Cloud and Phala Network, runs AI workloads inside hardware-secured enclaves with attestation, preventing access by operators.…

Algorand Foundation cuts 25% of staff as macro pressure and crypto slump weigh on operations

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The Algorand Foundation said Wednesday it is reducing its workforce by 25% in response to what it described as an uncertain global macro environment and a broader downturn in crypto markets, marking one of the latest cost-cutting moves across the digital asset sector. Today, the Algorand Foundation made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 25%. This decision was not taken lightly and is in response to the uncertain global macro environment as well as the broader downturn in crypto markets. These employees have been best-in-class… — Algorand Foundation…

Bitcoin Trips After FOMC But Bulls May Keep Buying

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Key takeaways: Spot market demand through US-listed ETFs and Strategy buying BTC supports Bitcoin’s bullish momentum. Low leverage among Bitcoin bulls reduces the risk of cascading liquidations even if prices drop another 5%. Rising inflation concerns negatively impact fixed-income returns, paving the way for an eventual rotation from gold into Bitcoin. Bitcoin (BTC) faced a 7% correction after flirting with the $76,000 level on Tuesday. The downturn followed a decline in the US stock market after oil prices surged due to Israel attacking Iran’s largest gas processing facility and the…

FOMC Leaves Interest Rates Steady at March Meeting

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The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced on Wednesday that it would hold the Federal Funds rate steady at 3.5-3.75%, as it monitors macroeconomic impacts from the ongoing war in the Middle East. Economic activity has expanded at a “solid pace,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said, adding that consumer spending remains “resilient,” while business investment continued to grow.  However, the housing sector remains weak, and the labor market shows signs of softening, Powell said, while inflation remains “somewhat elevated” above the Fed’s 2% target. Jerome Powell addresses reporters…

Kalshi CEO Fires Back against Arizona Criminal Charges as ‘Total Overstep‘

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The prediction markets co-founder said that the company would “abide by court decisions“ but signaled that the charges were based partly on political bias and media attention. Tarek Mansour, co-founder and CEO of prediction markets platform Kalshi, has pushed back against criminal charges filed by Arizona authorities this week, claiming that they were a “total overstep” and “not about gambling.” On Tuesday, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced charges against the companies behind Kalshi, alleging that the company operated an “illegal gambling business in Arizona without a license” and offered…