Latest Crypto News & Market Updates

Hormuz Is Becoming A Fee-And-Permission Regime

Hormuz is shifting from free transit to administered passage; Omans voluntary-fee plan is the institutional package, not the war diary. (Photo by Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentinel Data 2025)　　Gallo Images via Getty Images　　The Oman Iran Hormuz plan now on the table is a Gulf-backed proposal that treats the Strait of Hormuz as something to administer, not only to threaten. Joint regional management. Ships asked for voluntaryfees tied to passage support, not a unilateral Iranian toll. A Gulf source and a Western diplomat described the plan to Reuters on Tuesday. They said Oman handed it to Iran over the weekend, and that under the design Iran would not run the waterway alone.　　That package is the signal worth pricing. The fight over Hormuz is no longer only whether tankers can move. It is who writes the rules of movement, and whether those rules include a charge.　　Energy buyers, shipowners, insurers and banks face a practical choice. Keep modelling Hormuz as a wartime disruption that snaps back to free transit, or treat it as a lasting change in route governance: charters, war-risk cover, compliance files and backup corridors that stay relevant even when the shooting pauses.　　What Oman Put On The Table　　Before the war, about a

07-28Industry

Apple kept fake bitcoin wallet on App Store after $875,000 theft report, lawsuit alleges

In the current suit, James Ramirez, claims he downloaded the app on July 25, 2025 and had 7.4 BTC “transferred to a scammer.” He reported the app and theft to Apple that day, according to the filing. Christopher Ellis allegedly lost about $840,000 after installing the app on Aug. 3.　　Jalen Delgado, who had downloaded the app around May 1, 2025, lost 1.05 BTC, then worth roughly $120,000 after relying on “Apples representations that its App Store was safe and the apps hosted in the Apple App Store had been vetted by experts,” according to the filing.　　Ramirez and Ellis said Apple never responded to their reports.　　The official Sparrow Wallet is a desktop-only application available for Windows, macOS and Linux. It does not offer an iOS version.　　The lawsuit alleges Apple ranked the fraudulent application and included it in curated cryptocurrency app collections alongside legitimate products. It also points to Sparrow developer Craig Raw warning in January 2024 that an impersonator remained available despite being reported to Apple weeks earlier.　　The case seeks reimbursement of the alleged stolen assets, compensatory and punitive damages and potentially multiplied damages. The plaintiffs also want Apple to disclose the limitations of its review process, strengthen its controls and

07-28Industry

Core Scientific lands AMD AI deal as bitcoin mining operation winds down

SummaryCore Scientific signed a 15-year, 529 MW deal with AMD for AI infrastructure, potentially generating $14 billion in base contracted revenue.The partnership includes rights for AMD to reserve up to 1.9 gigawatts of additional capacity through 2028, expanding the total to 2.5 GW.The deal accelerates Core Scientifics pivot from bitcoin mining toward AI data centers, following the termination of its ASIC agreement with Block.　　Data center operator Core Scientific (CORZ) announced an infrastructure partnership with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) anchored by 15-year leases for 529 megawatts of U.S. AI capacity, which the company said could generate more than $14 billion in base contracted revenue.　　The capacity is expected to support AMD customer deployments beginning in 2027. The agreements give AMD, under certain conditions, the right to reserve another 1,925 MW through Dec. 28, 2028, potentially expanding the partnership to roughly 2.5 gigawatts.　　AMD directly leased 377 MW across Core Scientific sites in Pecos and Hunt County, Texas, and Muskogee, Oklahoma, according to the companys quarterly filing.　　An unnamed cloud provider leased another 152 MW in Auburn, Alabama, and Dalton, Georgia, under agreements supported by AMD.　　Core Scientific and AMD will collaborate on data-center design and the deployment of AMD Instinct graphics processing units, EPYC processors

07-28Industry

BitMEX and BitMart may be first casualties of crypto trading slump

BitMEX is now facing legal action alleging it withheld trader collateral and engaged in insider trading. The new lawsuit accuses Hayes and fellow co-founders, Ben Delo and Samuel Reed, of designing a system to retain customers‘ collateral and transfer the remaining bitcoin to the platform’s insurance fund.　　“One lawsuit wont move the market, but allegations involving 622 BTC (worth over $40.5 million) of withheld collateral reinforce the oldest doubt in crypto: your funds are safe until the day they arent,” said Samuel Videau, chief technology officer at Genius. “Whats ending is opacity,the model where you wire assets to a black box and take the operators word for it.”　　The overall crypto derivatives market has barely flinched. The perpetual swap product BitMEX built now generates the bulk of trading activity on larger exchanges like Binance and OKX, alongside traditional platforms like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).　　“The derivatives market is now much larger and more diversified,” said Edwin Cheung, executive director at crypto trading platform Gate. “Most displaced volume is likely to be absorbed by other established platforms.”　　The shift suggests exchanges now need scale, regulatory compliance and broader services to survive, rather than relying on retail trading alone.

07-28Industry

Binance makes fighting crypto crime more difficult, says new report

Under the policy, foreign law enforcement agencies must route certain requests through Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties, or MLATs. The treaties provide a formal process for governments to exchange evidence and information in criminal investigations, but requests can take considerably longer than direct cooperation with an exchange.　　The change represents a departure from Binances previous approach, under which it worked directly with authorities to freeze suspicious accounts and provide information about users under investigation, the NYT said.　　“Binance has not slowed its cooperation with global law enforcement,” a spokesperson said in an email to CoinDesk. “On the contrary, we have increased our cooperation year over year, while navigating the increasing complexity of government approaches to crypto regulation and data protection.”　　The spokesperson said Binance continues to prioritize collaboration with law enforcement agencies worldwide, including in the U.S. and Europe. Binance said its assistance goes “beyond any legal obligation upon us and what traditional financial services firms typically do.”　　“This is a deliberate strengthening of the controls and safeguards that govern how we cooperate, which is consistent with the standards expected of a regulated institution,” the spokesperson added.　　The NYTs report follows a similar account from The Information this month, which cited a Justice Department (DOJ) memo

07-28Industry

Perpetuals tied to SK Hynix hit by flash crash to $900 on Hyperliquid

SummaryPerpetual futures tied to SK Hynix on the Hyperliquid exchange plunged about 20% in one minute before quickly rebounding above $1,000.The flash crash in the USDC-denominated contract preceded a sharp selloff in South Korea, where SK Hynix shares fell 14% and the Kospi index dropped 11%.The episode comes amid thin overnight crypto liquidity and broader weakness in AI-related stocks, including a 5% drop in Nvidia after a report on its potential $250 billion financial backstop for an OpenAI-linked data-center project.　　Perpetual futures tied to SK Hynix, a South Korean chipmaker whose American depositary receipts debuted on Nasdaq earlier this month, suffered a flash crash on Hyperliquid shortly before the underlying share price came under pressure in its home market.　　Between 23:00 UTC and 23:01 UTC, the price of perpetuals tracking the Seoul-traded stock crashed 20% to $900, according to data from Hyperliquid. The price rebounded to over $1,000 the very next minute and was recently priced at $1,092. The contract is traded and denominated in dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC.　　An hour later, the Korean stock market opened on a negative note, led by chipmakers. By the end of the day, SK Hynix shares had dropped by 15% to 1,550,000 won ($1,762). Other losers included

07-28Industry

Argentina peso stablecoins take shape as BIND and Petersen advance projects

Argentina‘s banking-backed groups have moved closer to launching peso stablecoins for businesses, introducing digital peso projects designed for programmable payments while the country’s banking sector remains barred from offering crypto services directly.　　According to a report by Iproup, two financial holding groups with banking operations are developing Argentine peso-backed stablecoins through separate virtual asset subsidiaries, positioning the products for institutional users rather than retail customers.　　The projects are being advanced outside the banking entities themselves because the Argentine Central Bank has prohibited private banks from providing crypto-related services since May 2022.　　BIND Group, which manages more than $2 billion in assets and owns BIND Banco Industrial, is developing a peso-backed stablecoin through its virtual asset service provider BEN, the report said. Earlier this year, BEN also entered a partnership with Circle to give institutional clients access to USDC for treasury management and payment applications under Argentinas regulatory framework.　　A second initiative is being prepared by Petersen Group through one of its subsidiaries with technical support from crypto infrastructure provider Lirium, according to Iproup. The stablecoin, known as DIPE, already has a published whitepaper, suggesting the project has progressed beyond the early planning stage.　　Although neither offering has been launched publicly, both target corporate treasury operations

07-28Industry

South Korea police raid former mayor's home in crypto disclosure investigation

South Korean police have searched the home of former Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok and city offices as part of an investigation into allegations that cryptocurrency assets were omitted from his local election financial disclosure.　　According to South Korea‘s Yonhap News Agency, investigators from the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency’s Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit carried out search and seizure operations on Sunday at Yoos residence and the General Affairs Division of Incheon City Hall, where they collected evidence including mobile phones and computers as part of an investigation into alleged violations of the Public Official Election Act.　　The investigation centers on claims that Yoo and his wife intentionally failed to report approximately 21,000 cryptocurrency tokens after transferring the holdings to an overseas exchange before submitting mandatory asset disclosures during South Koreas June 3 local elections.　　Police have already questioned Yoo, his wife, identified only by her surname Choi, along with individuals connected to complainant Park Chan-daes campaign, Yonhap reported. The newly executed searches are part of efforts to secure additional evidence as investigators continue examining whether the reported assets should have been included in the election filings.　　Police expand probe into crypto disclosure allegations　　According to Yonhap, the allegations first surfaced roughly 10 days before

07-28Industry

Strategy hits a 5 week pause on Bitcoin, using $25M to quietly buy back its own discounted stock

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has begun buying back its STRC preferred stock as the Bitcoin treasury company shifts more capital toward supporting its financing structure.　　In a July 27 SEC update, Strategy said it purchased 288,930 STRC shares for $25 million between July 20 and July 26, marking the first disclosed use of a $1 billion preferred-stock repurchase program approved last month.　　The shares were acquired at an average price of $86.52, a sizeable discount to STRCs $100 stated amount.　　The move comes during Strategys longest pause in its once-regular Bitcoin accumulation. The firm has not purchased a single BTC for the past five weeks, its longest hiatus since 2024.　　Despite this pause, the Michael Saylor-led company remains the largest public holder of the top crypto with 843,775 BTC. They were acquired at an average purchase price of $75,476 per Bitcoin, or $63.69 billion.　　STRC discount pushes Strategy toward direct support　　The STRC repurchase follows a prolonged period of weakness in the variable-rate perpetual preferred stock, which Strategy intends to keep trading close to its $100 stated amount.　　STRC fell below $77 over the past month before recovering to around $88 as of press time. Despite the rebound, the security remains well below Strategy‘s target level, complicating its

07-28Industry

OKX app returns to South Korea's Google Play Store after four day suspension

OKX has returned to South Korea‘s Google Play Store after a four-day suspension, while Bybit’s app remains unavailable in the country.　　According to a July 28 report by Digital Asset, the OKX: Trade Bitcoin & Crypto app once again appears in search results on South Koreas Google Play Store, allowing users to install the application or update existing versions after it disappeared from the platform on July 24.　　The publication verified that the exchanges Android app had resumed normal distribution as of 8:00 a.m. local time on July 28. The restoration comes roughly four days after South Korean users lost access to new downloads and updates through Google Play.　　Bybit, however, remains in a different position. Digital Asset said the exchanges app, which became unavailable on July 10, was still blocked from search results and installation at the time of publication.　　OKX becomes the first recent exchange to regain Play Store access　　Only days earlier, Digital Asset had reported that the OKX app could no longer be found on South Koreas Google Play Store, preventing Android users from installing or updating the application. At the time, other major overseas exchanges, including Binance and Bitget, continued to appear normally in search results and remained available for

07-28Industry

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