Category: Bitcoin News

Crypto treasury executives are calling on the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), an international banking regulatory body, to revise the 1,250% risk weight for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies under the Basel III framework. The 1,250% capital requirement means that banks must back any Bitcoin (BTC) on their balance sheets at a 1:1 ratio with approved collateral, making BTC holding more costly than other asset classes. For comparison, cash, physical gold and government debt carry a 0% risk weight under the Basel III framework. Basel III risk weights for different…

As cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly intertwined with the traditional financial world, it’s also forming the foundation of a parallel, shadow financial system. A January report from TRM Labs found a surge in illicit or illegal crypto use to an all-time high of $158 billion. This included a massive increase in crypto flows related to sanctions evasion. This was led primarily by A7A5, a Russian ruble-based stablecoin launched by Russia-based company A7. Some $39 billion in sanctions-related crypto flows were attributed to the A7 wallet cluster. Far from a small, underground…

Tether’s USDT, the world’s largest US dollar-pegged stablecoin, is heading for its steepest monthly decline in years as large holders step up redemptions, according to blockchain data. The circulating supply of USDt (USDT) fell by about $1.5 billion so far in February, following an $1.2 billion decrease in January, according to Artemis Analytics data reported by Bloomberg. This puts USDT on track for the biggest monthly drop in three years, weeks after the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November 2022. The USDT supply logged a $2 billion decrease in…

Shares in Bitdeer Technologies Group took a hit on Thursday after the Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence infrastructure firm announced a $300 million convertible senior note offering.  Bitdeer said that it intends to offer a “principal amount” of $300 million in convertible senior notes with an option for purchasers to buy an additional $45 million in a private placement.  It is the second convertible note offering from the firm, following a $150 million offering in April 2024, which also caused an 18% stock slump.  Convertible senior notes are a loan…

Illicit entities received around $141 billion via stablecoins in 2025, the highest level observed in the last five years, says blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs. TRM said in a report released on Tuesday that the increase doesn’t reflect a broader growth in crypto-enabled crime, but does show a “deeper reliance on stablecoins within specific activity types where they offer clear operational advantages.” Stablecoins have been particularly used in sanctions-linked networks and large-scale money movement services, it said.  Sanctions-related activity accounted for 86% of all illicit crypto flows in 2025. Of…

New analysis from banking data company KlariVis found that 90% of community banks in its sample had customers transacting with Coinbase. Across 53 banks where transaction direction could be determined, $2.77 flowed to the crypto exchange for every $1.00 returning, resulting in a net $78.3 million deposit shift over 13 months. The study reviewed 225,577 Coinbase-related transactions across 92 community banks and found that transfers were heavily concentrated in money market accounts, where 96.3% of identifiable transaction volume represented funds leaving banks for the exchange. “In general, community banks can…