Bernie Sanders Blasts Trump Family’s ‘Unprecedented Kleptocracy’ As Crypto Tops List Of Deals: ‘Made $4 B

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) sharply criticized the Trump family’s reported profiteering from cryptocurrency and other deals on Thursday.

Sanders Spotlights Old Report On Trump Family’s Deals

Sanders denounced these deals as “unprecedented kleptocracy.”

The White House didn’t immediately return Benzinga’s request for comment.

The Crypto Effect?

The January article reported that the Trumps’ cryptocurrency gains surged by $646 million to $3.013 billion, boosting their total gains to $4.05 billion.

Criticism Mounts

Beyond Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has sharply criticized the Trump family’s cryptocurrency ventures, labeling them a “superhighway of crypto…

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VanEck Flags Dual Bullish Signals For Bitcoin As Funding Turns Negative, Hash Rate Slips

Bitcoin’s latest onchain and derivatives data point to a constructive setup, with VanEck highlighting negative funding rates and a clustered hash rate drawdown alongside softer volatility and cautious positioning. 

The firm notes in their latest report that realized volatility fell from about 56% to 41% as US‑Iran tensions eased, while the 7‑day average funding rate dropped to roughly -1.8%, its lowest level since 2023 and in the 10th percentile of readings since late 2020.

Since 2020, bitcoin’s average 30‑day return during periods of negative funding has been 11.5%, compared with 4.5% across all periods, with a 77% hit rate for positive performance. When annualized…

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DOJ Drops Criminal Probe Of Fed Chair Powell, Clearing Path For Warsh

The Department of Justice ended its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, removing the last major obstacle to Senate confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the central bank’s next leader — a development with consequences for monetary policy and Bitcoin.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced the closure of the probe, which had been launched over alleged cost overruns on a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s Washington headquarters. 

Pirro said she was transferring the matter to the Fed’s own inspector general, calling for “a comprehensive report in short order.” She left open the possibility of reopening…

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Cardano Founder Partners With Google On New AI Privacy Blockchain ‘Midnight’

The $250 Million Monument Deal

Hoskinson said the deal makes sense because compliance officers can write scripts defining what’s allowed and how assets interact with other chains while staying compliant with UK regulation.

He credited Fahmy Syed, who formed over 100 partnerships in nine months at the Midnight Foundation, with closing the deal. 

The partnership creates a direct path to syndicate similar deals with U.S. and European financial institutions and the Bank of England.

Monument wants to step into what Hoskinson calls the “Web 2.5 space”—one foot in traditional regulated business and one foot in crypto with rules and control. “There really isn’t a bespoke chain for…

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Blockchain Just Had Its First Bank Run: Key Investor Takeaways

After the $294 million hack at Kelp DAO last weekend, traders yanked over $15 billion from major protocols. It’s as close as DeFi’s ever come to an old-school bank run, sending shockwaves across DeFi markets. The twist? You didn’t have to use Kelp to feel it.

Welcome to DeFi’s new reality. If you make a bet on one protocol, you need to reckon with every other chain it touches.

The Hidden Risk In Your Yield

DeFi’s core appeal hasn’t changed, but restaking protocols like Kelp DAO have broadened it. Instead of earning from just one source of yield, you can now stack multiple types of return atop the same underlying asset. Deposit ETH, receive a liquid token like rsETH, then deploy that…

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‘You’re Fooling Yourself,’ Top Ripple Exec Says About Alleged Major XRP Announcements

The NDAs Don’t Mean What You Think

Schwartz addressed rumors on X that Ripple is quietly working on major undisclosed announcements involving central banks and XRP adoption.

“I’m saying the conspiracy theories that constantly claim something big is about to happen or that the government is going to do something massive are almost always going to be completely false,” Schwartz wrote. 

“And if you’re investing time, money, or emotion based on them, you’re fooling yourself,” he added.

Moreover, Schwartz acknowledged that many of Ripple’s partners insist on NDAs to keep their business confidential, but he stressed that non-disclosure agreements don’t imply a major…

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7 Reasons JPX Should Reconsider Its Proposed Digital Asset Exclusion From TOPIX

A closer look at why the consultation’s proposed deferral sits awkwardly inside a rules-based benchmark — and what a better path forward might look like.

JPX Market Innovation & Research (JPXI) is considering a new rule that would defer companies whose principal asset is cryptoassets from new inclusion in TOPIX and other periodically reviewed indices. The proposal is measured in tone, and the underlying concern — how to treat a newly emerging category of issuer — is a reasonable one for any index provider to think about.

But the specific rule under consultation raises real questions. It would affect companies like Metaplanet, Remixpoint, and ANAP Holdings, along with a…

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Nakamoto (NAKA) Launches Bitcoin Derivatives Program To Capture Volatility Income And Hedge Downside Risk

Nakamoto Inc. has launched an actively managed Bitcoin derivatives program aimed at generating income from market volatility while reducing downside exposure, according to a company statement released Friday.

The program, in operation since the first quarter of 2026, is structured as a complement to Nakamoto’s core strategy of holding Bitcoin as a treasury asset. It uses a portion of the company’s Bitcoin holdings as collateral in a derivatives strategy managed by Bitwise Asset Management through a separately managed account. Custody services are provided by Kraken Institutional.

The initiative centers on two primary components: an income sleeve and a hedging sleeve. The…

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Metaplanet Issues $50M In Zero-Interest Bonds To Buy More Bitcoin 

Metaplanet said it will issue ¥8 billion ($50 million) in zero-interest bonds to expand its Bitcoin holdings, according to a Friday statement, extending a financing strategy that has defined its balance sheet shift toward digital assets.

The issuance marks the firm’s 20th series of ordinary bonds and will mature in April 2027. The bonds are unsecured and carry no interest, giving the company access to capital without added debt servicing costs. Proceeds are earmarked for additional Bitcoin purchases, with repayment due at par upon maturity.

The bonds were allocated to EVO FUND, a Cayman-based investor tied to Evolution Financial Group that has backed several of the…

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Bitcoin ETFs Add $2.1B In 8 Days—Last Time This Happened, Bitcoin Hit An All-Time High

The ETF Momentum Is Back

Bitcoin has climbed from $68,000 to $77,000 over the streak—a 12% move that has coincided almost perfectly with the ETF bid returning. Cumulative ETF net inflows since launch now sit at $58 billion, and total assets hit $102 billion.

The $80,000 Test Ahead

Bitcoin just reclaimed its True Market Mean at $78,100, which tracks the average cost basis of actively transacted supply. This is the first time that level has been reclaimed since mid-January.

The problem is the next level. The Short-Term Holder Cost Basis sits at $80,100, which is the average entry price for anyone who bought in the last 155 days. 

A move above it would push more than 54% of recent buyers into…

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