Crypto Breaking News

Several U.S. gaming industry groups and labor organizations have asked Senate lawmakers to add explicit language to the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act that would prohibit “event contracts” tied to sports and casino-style gaming from being offered through prediction market platforms. In a letter reported by Semafor on Wednesday, organizations including the Indian Gaming Association and the American Gaming Association said they are concerned that prediction markets have contributed to a major expansion of gambling activity in the United States without voter approval or legislative authorization. They urged Congress, while the CLARITY Act is still under consideration, to clarify that

Kentucky has filed lawsuits against prediction market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi, escalating a dispute that pits state gambling regulators against the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over how sports-linked event contracts should be classified and regulated. In court filings announced by Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman on Wednesday, the state also named Kalshi partners Coinbase, Robinhood and Webull. Kentucky accuses the platforms of operating unlicensed and illegal sports betting and gambling services, arguing their products fall under state “sports wagering” law rather than federal commodities rules. Key takeaways Kentucky alleges Polymarket and Kalshi are offering sports event contracts that constitute

Kentucky has filed lawsuits against five prediction market platforms, escalating an ongoing legal dispute in the United States over whether certain prediction market “event contracts” constitute regulated commodities products or unlicensed sports betting. The complaints target Polymarket and Kalshi, and name Kalshi partners Coinbase, Robinhood, and Webull, alleging the platforms are effectively operating sports wagering in Kentucky without required state authorization. The move adds to a broader pattern in which multiple states have challenged prediction markets under state gaming and consumer-protection statutes. It also highlights a central regulatory fault line in the US: states view sports-related event contracts as gambling that

France’s cybersecurity agency ANSSI says it will tighten enforcement on quantum-resistant cryptography, ending certifications for security products that do not use quantum-safe—also known as post-quantum—encryption. The decision, announced by ANSSI’s chief of staff Samih Souissi at the France Quantum 2026 Summit, is scheduled to take effect in 2027, with a broader push for businesses to rely on quantum-safe products by 2030. ANSSI certification is widely treated as a gateway for adoption across French government agencies and operators of critical infrastructure. As a result, the move is expected to raise pressure on vendors to demonstrate post-quantum cryptography capability well ahead of the

US prosecutors have proposed a timetable that would keep the legal fight over Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm alive into late 2026, after a jury was unable to reach a verdict on two of three charges in his case. Separately, a federal judge set a response schedule for Celsius ex-CEO Alex Mashinsky’s bid to vacate his prison sentence, while another court ordered December 2026 trial dates for a US soldier accused of insider trading involving a Polymarket event contract. Key takeaways Roman Storm’s retrial schedule hinges on a pending Rule 29 acquittal request, with prosecutors proposing a late-October or November 2026

Ready, a self-custodial wallet and crypto payments company, has reportedly disabled USDC-related card functionality for users located outside the European Economic Area (EEA), according to multiple user reports shared on social media. Users say they received an in-app warning that their “Ready Card will be deactivated within the next hour,” with the message indicating the change affects users “primarily outside the EEA” after what appears to be a card-provider update. Key takeaways Multiple users report Ready disabled Ready Card access outside the EEA with only a short notice period. The company linked the change to a card-provider shift, but it has

Altcoin spot demand has been under sustained pressure, but derivatives activity suggests traders are still heavily engaged with non-Bitcoin assets. On June 16, altcoins (excluding Ether) recorded $266 billion in net selling volume on centralized exchanges—the deepest reading since CryptoQuant began tracking spot demand in 2020—according to figures cited by analyst IT Tech on CryptoQuant. At the same time, altcoins are taking a leading share of derivatives attention. CryptoQuant data referenced in the report shows altcoins accounted for 51% of daily futures trading volume on Binance on June 16, versus 28.85% for Bitcoin and 20.20% for Ether—an imbalance that points to

Global markets slid on Wednesday as uncertainty resurfaced around US-Iran diplomacy and the outlook for inflation. Bitcoin, meanwhile, struggled to reclaim key levels, weighed down by continuing spot Bitcoin ETF outflows in June and signs of softer institutional demand. At the same time, US Treasury yields remained elevated, limiting risk appetite across equities and crypto. For traders, the near-term question is whether improving geopolitical clarity and easing rates expectations can restart inflows into Bitcoin—or whether current momentum continues to stall. Key takeaways Spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded about $2.1 billion in net outflows so far in June, according to earlier Cointelegraph

US gaming and tribal-related organizations, along with labor groups, are urging lawmakers to tighten federal rules around crypto-linked prediction markets. In a letter reported by Semafor, they ask the Senate to include language in the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act that would “explicitly prohibit event contracts tied to sports and casino-style gaming.” The groups’ core argument is jurisdictional and policy-driven: they contend that sports betting belongs under state and tribal regulatory frameworks, not under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Their request comes as the CFTC, under Chair Michael Selig, has asserted “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction markets. Key takeaways Sports

Barry Moore won the Republican primary runoff for Alabama’s U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday, defeating Democrat Everett Wess by securing 55.8% of the vote, according to NBC News. The race became necessary after neither candidate received a majority in the May 19 contest. Moore is set to take the seat held by outgoing Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville, in a development that is drawing heightened attention from the crypto political ecosystem. Federal Election Commission (FEC) disclosures indicate that pro-crypto political committees backed by Fairshake—an advocacy group associated with cryptocurrency companies—spent more than $12 million on media and advertising to support Moore across

Crypto-linked political spending helped shape the outcome of Alabama’s U.S. Senate runoff, where Republican nominee Barry Moore defeated Democrat Everett Wess. The race hinged on advertising campaigns backed by industry-aligned political committees, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings reviewed in reporting by NBC News. Moore’s win came with him set to replace retiring Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville. After no candidate secured a majority in the May 19 primary, the runoff took place Tuesday, with Moore winning 55.8% of the vote to Wess’s 44.2%, NBC News reported: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-primary-elections/alabama-senate-runoff-results. Key takeaways FEC filings show Defend American Jobs PAC—affiliated with crypto advocacy group

Blockchain.com is widening its tokenized real-world assets lineup through a partnership with Ondo Finance, adding 173 tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to its marketplace. The expansion takes Blockchain.com’s catalog of tokenized traditional assets to more than 430 offerings spanning Ethereum, Solana and BNB Chain. In a Wednesday announcement, Blockchain.com said the newly listed products include tokenized exposure to private-company shares, actively managed ETFs, US Treasury-related offerings, and covered-call income strategies—highlighting SpaceX’s SPCX token among the additions. It also added themed baskets linked to areas such as AI infrastructure, energy, robotics, autonomous vehicles and quantum computing, alongside income-focused products from Global

Two US senators—one Republican and one Democrat—are pushing back against any attempt by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to secure executive clemency from President Donald Trump. Senator Cynthia Lummis and Senator Rubén Gallego plan to introduce a non-binding resolution stating that under no circumstances should Bankman-Fried receive a pardon or commutation. The lawmakers say the aim is to protect the integrity of the sentencing outcome and deterrence for large-scale financial fraud. The resolution argues that the 25-year sentence imposed on Bankman-Fried reflects the “extraordinary scale and deliberateness” of his crimes, his lack of remorse, and the harm inflicted on millions of

Efforts to verify identity without exposing sensitive personal data are moving from theory into patent filings and public funding applications. In a new European filing, The Hashgraph Group, operating within the Hedera ecosystem, and Italian ultra-wideband sensing firm Truesense describe a framework they call Continuous Identity Trust Infrastructure (CITI), designed to link physical presence events to decentralized digital identity credentials. The companies also say they have applied for €74.3 million in EU funding to help deploy the system across sectors such as transport, smart-city infrastructure, and enterprise environments. While the initiative remains at the application stage, it signals growing interest in

QCP says fears that Strategy may need to sell more Bitcoin to fund dividends are still weighing on BTC, even as a US-Iran MOU eases Strait of Hormuz disruption risk.

Two US senators—Cynthia Lummis, a Republican, and Rubén Gallego, a Democrat—are co-sponsoring a congressional resolution urging President Donald Trump to deny any request for executive clemency for convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. The move highlights how high-profile enforcement outcomes in the cryptocurrency sector are increasingly becoming part of the broader political and compliance landscape around financial fraud and accountability. The proposed resolution, to be introduced Wednesday, is framed as non-binding, while acknowledging that clemency decisions remain constitutionally within the president’s authority. Still, the senators argue that granting a pardon or commutation would undermine deterrence and could be read as a signal

Prediction market platform Kalshi is partnering with compliance software provider StarCompliance to roll out a monitoring system aimed at helping financial firms oversee employee activity tied to prediction market trading. The announcement, made this week, comes as regulators and lawmakers in the United States intensify scrutiny over whether insiders can exploit non-public information through event contracts. Kalshi and StarCompliance say the new platform is built to detect patterns that may indicate misuse, using signals such as transaction volume, trading behavior, market categories, and even whether activity occurs during work hours. It also positions firms to centralize investigations and maintain audit records