#cryptocurrency

#cryptocurrency

When Islamic State needed to move and disguise its money, it turned, US prosecutors said in 2023, to the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange: Binance. So too did al-Qaida, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, which used the platform to help bankroll its operations in the years leading up to the 7 October attack in Israel. Binance was not accused of directly financing these groups, but prosecutors found that it knowingly allowed its exchange to function as a conduit enabling extremist organisations to shift funds, evade scrutiny

Iran has executed a man convicted of spying for Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, judicial authorities announced, as Tehran continues a widening crackdown on alleged collaborators following the 12-day Israel-United States-Iran war earlier this year. Aghil Keshavarz was put to death on Saturday morning after the Supreme Court upheld his conviction on espionage charges, according to Mizan, the judiciary's official news agency.

The service integrates easily with messaging platforms like WhatsApp and WeChat and claims that users can tweak up to 50 settings-including the ability to adjust things like cheekbone size and eye position-to help mimic the face they are impersonating. But while Haotian is a robust and versatile platform, researchers and WIRED's own analysis have found that the service has been marketing to so-called "pig butchering" scammers and those running online fraud operations in Southeast Asia.

When PayPal launched almost three decades ago, the company made its name as one of the world's first fintechs. Now, PayPal faces a slew of competitors, from the payments colossus Stripe to Big Tech giants like Apple. "One of the challenges when you are at a certain scale and you've been around for a while is the very classic innovator's dilemma," Alex Chriss, the president and CEO of PayPal, told Fortune.

Early on Monday, the supply of new cryptocurrency tied to Bittensor-a decentralized network of AI projects-dropped by half. The halving was the first the currency has experienced and came about by design, reflecting how Bittensor shares the same anti-inflationary architecture as Bitcoin. The event also serves a milestone for one of the most novel and ambitious cryptocurrencies to launch in years.

Today's case examines how one cryptocurrency exchange navigated two major resets in a single year. The first was moving to a fully remote workforce, and the second was adopting a policy that explicitly banned political and social activism at work, sparking an intense debate about leadership, culture, and the boundaries of corporate engagement in social issues. Oh, and if that weren't enough, these decisions came at a pivotal moment just as the company was preparing for its historic IPO.

Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

There's a new type of money spreading rapidly across the internet, propelled by the crypto boom. It's supposed to be worth a dollar, but it's not issued by any government. Called a stablecoin, it is a digital currency that is subject to very little legal oversight and its growing popularity has recently transformed it into a $300 billion market. You can use stablecoins to buy things online, make investments or send money abroad with minimal fees.

What changed? Republicans long characterized Silicon Valley as a bastion of liberalism. But over the past half-decade, many of tech's wealthiest titans rebelled against the Biden administration's criticism and policing of their industry. Last year, many tech barons threw their support behind the GOP, which they saw as more aligned with their often-libertarian ideals and their companies' economic interests.

Crucially, crypto has provided one area of particular concern, with the continued flush lower bringing financial stress for many that will also have positions across a raft of traditional assets. The main piece of news for markets has come from overnight comments out of the BoJ, with Governor Ueda noting that the group will weigh up the pros and cons of a rate hike in December.

The rarely wrong CME FedWatch futures index currently ranks the chance of a cut to 3.5% at 85%. The data fuelling investors' confidence that the Fed is about to deliver a new round of cheaper money (a move generally good for stocks), was summed up by Goldman Sachs in a note to clients this morning titled, "Weaker Job Growth and Lower Inflation."

"I underestimated how much exposure Fannie and Freddie ('F2') have to crypto, not on balance sheet, but in their shareholder bases," Ackman said on X.

The shift was subtle, then sudden. For weeks, the riskiest trades in finance - crypto, AI stocks, meme names, high-octane momentum bets - had been slipping. On Thursday, that slow-motion retreat snapped. The Nasdaq 100 sank nearly 5% from its intraday peak, its sharpest reversal since April. Nvidia Corp. at one point shed nearly $400 billion despite beating earnings expectations. Bitcoin hit a seven-month low. Momentum names dropped in near-perfect sync.

What's interesting is that today, crypto has become an integral part of many industries - including sports. While at first glance, it may not seem like crypto and sports have much in common, in reality, they do: both are community-driven. The philosophy of cryptocurrencies is built on democratisation and decentralisation, much like the global fan bases of football. This intersection demonstrates that crypto naturally fits into the football landscape, offering new opportunities for fans and clubs to engage.

Bitcoin has also surprisingly underperformed the stock market, as it is only up by 6% year-to-date, but its 515% gain over the past five years bodes well for Coinbase's long-term prospects. Even with Bitcoin growth lagging the market and Coinbase doing the same, the company posted exceptional financial results in the third quarter. Revenue increased by 59% year-over-year while net income surged by 473% year-over-year. Coinbase wrapped up the quarter with a 24.12% net profit margin and only trades at a 24.5 P/E ratio.

The world of cryptocurrency trading continues to grow rapidly, attracting beginners and experienced investors who are eager to explore its potential. However, the crypto market can be unpredictable, with prices changing quickly and trends shifting overnight. That's why creating a balanced and well-thought-out portfolio is essential. CW-Management experts explain how traders can use diversification and CFD trading to manage risk and build a more stable crypto strategy without relying on luck or guesswork.

Liquid - $7.6M Seed Liquid, a perp DEX aggregator that routes and executes futures trades across multiple exchanges, has raised $7.6M in Seed funding led by Paradigm. Founded by Franklyn Wang in 2025, Liquid has now raised a total of $7.6M in reported equity funding. AlleyWatch is NYC's leading source of tech and startup news, reaching the city's most active founders, investors, and tech leaders.

Michael Prime sought to recover his belongings from police custody following his release from prison, including a bright orange external hard drive that he claimed held 3,443 Bitcoins. The Secret Service sent letters to Prime after his release, saying he could have some of his devices back, which would be wiped if he provided them with relevant passwords within 30 days. If not, they'd be wiped and destroyed in the stated timeframe.

On Oct. 23, Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, who goes by CZ. In 2023, Zhao resigned as the CEO of Binance and pleaded guilty to failing to rout out money laundering on his platform. He served four months in prison. After Trump's victory in 2024, Binance formed a high-level task force to strike a deal with the Trumps' nascent cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, that Binance could leverage into clemency for Zhao, The Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Yes, the president lied and blustered and then lied again. But the abiding impression conveyed by the session was the fact that it was a perfect view of the way CBS News is circling the drain. Remember when the network caved to the president to the tune of $16 million rather than fight a preposterous case regarding CBS having edited an interview with Kamala Harris?

"AI has been a great force multiplier for somebody who's an expert," said Yakovenko, describing his experience with agentic coding after more than 15 years developing software. "Now I can just watch Claude churning through its thing and I can almost smell when it's going off the rails."