UK Police Seize $1.4M in Bitcoin Traced to Shuttered Darknet Markets

In briefAvon and Somerset Police forfeited 20.21 Bitcoin along with other crypto and bank funds worth $1.4 million (£1.03 million).Investigators traced the assets to darknet marketplaces that operated between 2016 and 2019 and have since been closed by law enforcement.It is the forces largest crypto seizure since the UK introduced crypto wallet freezing orders in April 2024.  Over a million dollars worth of Bitcoin that moved through darknet marketplaces nearly a decade ago has been forfeited to a regional English police force.  Avon and Somerset Police said Thursday its financial investigation unit had recovered 20.21 BTC, further cryptoassets and money held in a bank account, worth $1.4 million (£1,032,487.86) combined. The person under investigation had a previous money laundering conviction and has since died.  Officers traced the holdings, with help from the forces cyber team, to darknet markets running from 2016 to 2019. The force said those sites, all since shut down, had facilitated crimes from drug supply to people trafficking. It did not name them.  Myriad: Bitcoins next price move? Click to make your prediction  A well-documented era  That window covers the most heavily policed period in darknet history. AlphaBay, then the largest such market anywhere, was seized in July 2017, while Dutch police had

08-28انڈسٹری

Brazil central bank prepares crypto monitoring system after $180M cyberattack

Brazils central bank has developed a real-time crypto threat alert system with Hypernative that will connect banks and domestic exchanges after attackers moved part of an estimated $180 million theft into cryptocurrency.  Valor Econômico reported that the Central Bank of Brazil developed the monitoring and alert-sharing system with blockchain security company Hypernative and has already tested the tool with market participants. The system is designed to help financial institutions identify attacks, respond to suspicious activity and track funds when stolen money moves from the banking system into crypto markets.  Brazil crypto alert system moves toward integration  Regina Pedroso, executive director of the Brazilian Tokenization Association, or ABToken, said integration is expected to begin within the next two weeks. Foxbit and Mercado Bitcoin are among the crypto companies participating in the implementation.  The system is expected to distribute threat information between participating institutions, allowing alerts generated in one part of the financial system to reach companies that may encounter the funds later.  Discussions around the project began late last year, when the central bank approached industry associations and market participants about creating a working group focused on monitoring cyberattacks and sharing warnings. ABToken participated in those discussions.  Testing has since been completed with a group that included

08-28انڈسٹری

PayPal Stock Crashes 18% After Stripe and Advent Abandon $50 Billion Buyout

PayPal stock has crashed nearly 18% in pre-market trading after payment giants Stripe and Advent have reportedly walked away from acquiring the company, as per Bloomberg.   This was one of the largest buyout attempts in fintech history. Advent and Stripe previously offered PayPal over $50 billion. It is no longer pursuing a transaction.  Pre-market price now trades at $50.61, roughly 18% below the $62.73 swing high set only days ago.  BREAKING: PayPal crashes -12.5% in after-hours trading after Stripe and Advent abandon their pursuit of the company in a potential $50+ billion deal, per Bloomberg.  PayPal surged over +40% this quarter on takeover speculation and stronger Q2 earnings.  — Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio) August 28, 2026  Why the Bid Collapse Guts PayPals Rally  The scale of the drop makes sense once you look at what was holding the stock up.  PayPal shares had jumped more than 40% this quarter, lifting the companys market value to about $52.6 billion. That rally rested on two pillars: second-quarter earnings that topped analyst estimates, and relentless takeover speculation.  Bloomberg first revealed in February that Stripe was weighing an acquisition of parts or all of PayPal, after a stock slump had wiped out a large chunk of its value.  One of those pillars just disappeared,

08-28انڈسٹری

BitGo buys NYDIG trading arm to deepen institutional crypto push

BitGo has acquired the institutional trading business of Bitcoin infrastructure company NYDIG, adding derivatives and financing capabilities as it expands services for institutional crypto clients.  BitGo said it completed the acquisition of NYDIG‘s institutional trading business under a definitive agreement, the company announced Thursday. The transaction includes NYDIG’s institutional client trading relationships and about 30 employees who joined BitGo. The companies did not disclose financial terms.  The acquired business provides derivatives, structured products, financing and capital markets services to clients including asset managers, hedge funds and companies. BitGo CEO Mike Belshe said the acquisition will “meaningfully scale” the companys trading and infrastructure capabilities and allow it to serve a broader range of institutional clients.  “This transaction allows our team to continue delivering the same innovative solutions, execution quality, and dedication clients have come to expect, now backed by an even deeper set of resources,” said Pete Janney, head of financial infrastructure at BitGo.  The companies said the sale will allow the company to focus its resources on power generation, Bitcoin mining and high-performance computing data centers. According to the announcement, NYDIGs development pipeline exceeds 3 gigawatts, including more than 1 GW of capacity it expects to deliver in 2027 and 2028.  Cointelegraph reached out to

08-28انڈسٹری

Bank of England set for new innovation mandate covering stablecoins

The UK is moving to put stablecoins at the center of a new Bank of England mandate aimed at supporting innovation in digital payments.  The government plans to give the Bank of England, the UKs central bank, a secondary objective to support innovation in payment systems and emerging forms of digital money, HM Treasury announced on Thursday.  The mandate will cover payment systems that use digital settlement assets such as stablecoins, while financial stability will remain the BoEs primary objective.  The proposal comes as the UK steps up its work on stablecoins through regulatory changes, payment experiments and closer coordination with the US.  BoE innovation mandate faces September debate  The new responsibility would extend an existing approach used to regulate central counterparties (CCPs) and central securities depositories (CSDs), which help clear, hold and settle financial assets.  Under the proposed change, the central bank would report annually to Parliament on its progress toward the payments innovation objective.  “Developments in digital payments technology, including tokenisation and DLT [distributed ledger technology], have the potential to transform financial markets across the globe,” City Minister Lucy Rigby said.  The government expects to implement the objective through amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which is scheduled for further debate in the House

08-28انڈسٹری

Bitcoins 23% rally sends beaten-down miners soaring past AI stocks

Bitcoin‘s August rally has revived some of the mining sector’s most beaten-down stocks, reversing a trend that has favored miners pivoting toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing and suggesting investors may once again be rewarding direct exposure to Bitcoin.  In its latest Miner Weekly newsletter, BlocksBridge Consulting reported that Bitcoins (BTC) roughly 23% rally over the past week outpaced most AI-linked infrastructure stocks.  Three beaten-down Bitcoin mining companies — Canaan, American Bitcoin and Cango — gained between 41% and 67%. By comparison, CoreWeave rose about 21%, Nebius gained 17% and IREN advanced 15%, while some miners with heavier exposure to AI and HPC were flat or declined.  Blocksbridge pointed to three catalysts behind Bitcoin‘s rally. The first was the US Treasury Department’s Aug. 19 announcement that it would at least double the size of its liquidity-support buybacks for longer-dated Treasury securities.  The second was renewed regulatory optimism following a White House meeting with crypto executives, where US President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass a “fair version” of the CLARITY Act, a stalled crypto market structure bill.  The third was a sharp short squeeze following Bitcoins breakout, with more than $1.6 billion in crypto positions liquidated over 24 hours.  Bitcoin mining-focused stocks outperformed companies that pivoted

08-28انڈسٹری

Why Imax hasn't lured a buyer despite its box office boom

Moviegoers watch the film “Ne Zha 2” at an Imax GT Cinema on in Guiyang, China, Feb. 23, 2025.  China News Service | China News Service | Getty Images  In December, Imax CEO Rich Gelfond opened the door to a sale. Almost nine months later, the companys stock has hit an all-time high, its box office is breaking records and the stage is set to carry its momentum through the end of 2026.  Yet, no major suitors have appeared.  Imax held preliminary talks with potential buyers earlier this year, but as of May hadn‘t fielded any official pitches, CNBC reported at the time. Imax hasn’t hired new bankers and doesnt have a formalized pitch book, a source familiar with the company told CNBC.  But its a busy time for dealmaking in the media space. Paramount Skydance is in the midst of a contested merger with Warner Bros. Discovery worth $110 billion, Fox agreed to acquire Roku in a deal worth $22 billion, and Comcast continues its corporate restructuring with the upcoming spinoff of NBCUniversal, which many in the industry say will give both resulting companies more flexibility to do deals.  With a nearly $3 billion market cap, Imax is a relatively inexpensive asset in the entertainment

08-28انڈسٹری

Gold Mining Stocks Are Up 43% in August — Their Strongest Month on Record

Gold mining stocks are on track to deliver their strongest month on record in August, outpacing the best month semiconductor stocks posted in April.  The MSCI Inc. global gold miners index gained 43% this month. Bitcoin (BTC) rose roughly 26% over the same stretch, tying both assets to a single macro trade.  Treasury Buyback Plan Revived the Debasement Trade  The rally accelerated after the US Treasury said it would double its buyback cap for longer-dated debt to at least $4 billion and push borrowing costs lower.  This move revived the debasement trade. The “debasement trade” refers to moving out of fiat currencies, particularly the dollar, and into scarce assets such as gold, silver, and Bitcoin.  It is based on the idea that persistent fiscal deficits, rising debt, and accommodative monetary policy can erode a currencys purchasing power over time.  Discover more  Comparing High-Yield Savings Accounts  NEWS  Choosing An Online Brokerage Platform  Gold miners have emerged as one of the clearest beneficiaries of that shift in investor positioning this month. Semiconductors have had a strong 2026, yet nothing close to this.  The MSCI world semiconductor gauge peaked in April with a 27% monthly gain, while the Philadelphia semiconductor index rose 38% that month.  Nonetheless, technology stocks have since faced pressure from higher global

08-28انڈسٹری

Bitcoin Rally Faces a Massive $6.36B Options Expiry Test Today

The expiry has a 0.85 put/call ratio, meaning that calls are slightly ahead of puts across outstanding contracts.  Bitcoin (BTC) is hovering near $80,000 with a $6.36 billion Deribit options expiry due today.  With roughly 81,000 contracts set to expire and max pain at $69,000, the setup could leave the OG cryptocurrency vulnerable to large moves as traders close, roll or hedge positions.  Bitcoin Options Expiration Puts $6.36B at the Center of Fridays Trading  That expiry carries a 0.85 put/call ratio, meaning there are slightly more call contracts than puts. Calls become more prominent from about $66,000, with sizeable positions around $70,000, $72,000, $74,000 to $75,500, and $78,500 to $80,500.  Max-pain at the $69,000 level is the price at which the combined payout to option holders would theoretically be lowest. It does not mean Bitcoin will fall there, and dealer hedging can sometimes create a temporary pull toward that level as expiry approaches, although it is more a reference point than a firm magnet.  This settlement arrives after Bitcoin added more than $16,000 in less than a week, moving from a break above $65,000 to more than $81,000 before pulling back. CoinGecko data at the time of writing put Bitcoin about $300 below the $80,000 level,

08-28انڈسٹری

VET Altcoin Price Potential Signals Major Bullish Breakout

VET is trading near $0.0068 today, but that number tells only half the story. The token that once soared to nearly $0.28 during the last bull run remains roughly 97% below its all-time high, even as fresh technical signals are fueling talk of a dramatic long-term turnaround. Assessing VETs altcoin price potential right now means weighing a brutal multi-year correction against chart patterns that some analysts say point toward a major structural pivot.  Key takeawaysVET trades around $0.0068, up over 5% in 24 hours, more than 31% over seven days, and about 53% over the past month, according to CoinMarketCap data.The token remains roughly 97% below its previous all-time highof $0.2798, despite a sharp two-week rally of over 70%.Analysts point to a macro accumulation zoneand a strong reaction from a high time frame bullish order block as signs of a possible inflection point.A sustained close above $0.00813is being flagged as the level that would confirm a major bullish breakout.Price projections range from a speculative 3,800% upsidescenario to a more grounded 5x–11x forecast over the coming months.  VETs Current Market Performance and Price Trends  VET is showing short-term strength while still sitting deep in negative territory compared to its cycle peak, a combination that

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