Crypto Crime Hit A Massive $154 Billion In 2025: Report

Crypto crime surged to unprecedented levels in 2025, fueled by a combination of nation-state activity, large-scale thefts, and increasingly professionalized criminal infrastructure, according to newly compiled data from Chainalysis shared with Bitcoin Magazine.

Illicit crypto addresses, an account involved in criminal activities like scams, ransomware, darknet markets, etc, received at least $154 billion over the year — a 162% increase from 2024 — with sanctioned entities accounting for a dramatic 694% of that growth. 

Even excluding sanctioned actors, 2025 still set a record for illicit crypto activity, highlighting the broadening scope of the threat landscape, according…

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The 3 Conditions To Extend The Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP Rally: Bitwise

Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise Invest, outlined three key conditions that must be met for cryptocurrency markets to extend their early 2026 rally and transition from a bounce into a sustained uptrend.

What Happened: Crypto markets have started 2026 strong, with Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) both up roughly 7% year-to-date, while higher-beta altcoins have significantly outperformed.

Hougan said the rally can continue if three major boxes are checked:

No major market blowups

The biggest near-term risk has been another forced liquidation event similar to the Oct. 10, 2025 deleveraging that erased nearly $19 billion.

Hougan noted that this risk has largely…

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Bitcoin Struggles Around $90,000 As Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin Slide On Heavy ETF Outflows

Bitcoin trading around $90,000 as crypto sentiment remains neutral and ETFs see heavy outflows; liquidations stand at $465.67 million over the past 24 hours.   

Bitcoin ETFs saw $486 million in net outflows on Wednesday, while Ethereum ETFs reported $98.5 million in net outflows.

Time For Bitcoin To Push Higher Again?

Michael van de Poppe said Bitcoin is at a key inflection point after testing the 21-day moving average. Holding this level keeps a move toward $94,000 next week in play, while losing it could trigger a liquidity sweep of recent lows before continuation.

Crypto trader Jelle noted the Federal Reserve expanded its balance sheet for the first time in nearly three years, a…

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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Envisioned Compressing ‘Excess Energy’ Into AI Models — Grayscale Touts This Crypto As Right Match

Leading digital asset manager Grayscale Investments highlighted on Wednesday Bittensor (CRYPTO: TAO) as the token embodying Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang’s vision of a currency that transforms excess energy into AI models.

Does Bittensor Really Fit The Bill?

Grayscale reacted to Huang’s remarks made at the Bipartisan Policy Center on Sept. 27, 2024, where he discussed the intersection of energy and cryptocurrency.

Huang started by giving the example of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) mining and how the process takes “excess energy” and stores it into a new form.

He later extended the thesis to include data centers and high-performance computing.

“Transfer that energy, compress…

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China’s Decision To Pay Interest On Digital Yuan Gives Them Competitive Advantage Over The US, Says Brian Armstrong: ‘Rewards Benefit Ordinary People’

Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong expressed concerns on Wednesday over the competitiveness of dollar-pegged stablecoins in light of China’s decision to pay interest on its central bank digital currency.

Armstrong Questions Policymakers

In an X post, Armstrong argued that China’s move to pay interest on its official digital currency, Digital Yuan, gives it a “competitive advantage.”

“Rewards [or even paying interest] benefits ordinary people just like community lending does. We have to let the market do both,” Armstrong said.

The cryptocurrency mogul said the U.S. is “missing the forest through the trees” and risks losing the competitive edge if…

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Gavin Newsom ‘Stealing’ People’s Bitcoin? Gemini Exchange Co-Founder Accuses California Governor Of Feeding His ‘Money Pit’ Machine

Tyler Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini Space Station, Inc. (NASDAQ:GEMI), slammed the state of California and Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday for approving a bill that lets authorities take control of unclaimed cryptocurrency.

Winklevoss Targets Newsom

In an X post, Winklevoss alleged that the “failed state” of California wants to “steal” the Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) that people had held for long periods.

The cryptocurrency mogul said that the state administration is trying to feed its “money pit grift machine” with the move.

Notably, Tyler and his twin brother Cameron are primarily based in New York City, where Gemini and their venture capital firm, Winklevoss Capital…

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Dogecoin X Account Touts ‘People Power’ After Community Member Overcomes Challenges And Adopts Sherman The German Shepherd

The official X account tied to meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) celebrated the rescue of a German Shepherd on Wednesday after a community member was initially stopped from adopting the dog.

Dogecoin Community To The Rescue Of Sherman?

Dogecoin credited community pressure for the release of the dog, named “Sherman.”

“We did it,” the handle wrote. “People power works.”

The controversy began when Doge Van, a well-known member of the DOGE community and dog rescuer, claimed that the Downey Animal Shelter in Los Angeles canceled the adoption, citing a “clerical error” on Sherman’s aggression status.

Doge Van denied that the dog was “aggressive,” adding that the…

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