Author: Kryptonews

South Korea’s Supreme Court handed down its first explicit ruling that Bitcoin held in centralized exchanges can be seized by investigators, marking a notable shift in how exchange‑custodied crypto is treated under criminal law. In a decision on Dec. 11, 2025, and disclosed via the court’s official bulletin, the court upheld the seizure of 55.6 Bitcoin (BTC) held in a Korean exchange account by a suspect under a money laundering investigation.Bitcoin is now an “object of seizure” under the Criminal Procedure Act because it is electronic information with independent manageability, tradability and economic value. The ruling builds on earlier Supreme Court precedents…

Financial authorities in the United Kingdom set a timeline for a new crypto licensing regime, requiring aspiring companies to seek full authorization before the framework comes into force. Crypto asset service providers (CASPs) will be able to apply to enter the UK under the crypto licensing regime starting this autumn, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Thursday.“We expect the application period will open in September 2026,” the FCA noted, adding that the timeline will be confirmed in due course.The FCA’s gateway will offer a limited window for applications to be processed before the regime goes live, expected on Oct. 25,…

New York Assemblyman Clyde Vanel has reintroduced legislation to the US state’s lower house that aims to restrict what event contracts prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket can offer.Vanel resubmitted the Oversight and Regulation of Activity for Contracts Linked to Events, or ORACLE Act, to the New York State Assembly on Wednesday, which was first introduced in November and aims to ban certain markets tied to politics, sports, the stock market and others.Prediction markets have gained popularity over the past year and offer bets on a range of events, but markets on sports are a particular money maker, with…

The Prix Marcel Duchamp, France’s most esteemed art prize, has named the artists nominated for its 2026 award. While there are normally four nominees, this year there are technically five. Those nominees include Joël Andrianomearisoa, a Malagasy artist whose vibrant textiles have been exhibited widely, and Josèfa Ntjam, a participant in last year’s Bienal de São Paulo whose installations and sculptures address fluid identities, often by making reference to the African diaspora. Also nominated this year are Laura Henno and the duo David Brognon and Stéphanie Rollin. They will compete for a chance to win €35,000, or just over $40,000,…

Today, market analyst Phoenix Group released fresh data showing top crypto assets that recorded strong social engagement and positive sentiment among retail users across various social media channels. The data identified top crypto communities that are highly enthusiastic about certain tokens’ capabilities and offerings. This enthusiastic outlook comes amid increased volatility in Bitcoin and the broader crypto market, heightened by the US-Venezuela tension that limits investor risk appetite and renews the digital asset’s consolidation mood. The crypto market, which started the new year with strong momentum during the first week of this month, is already witnessing corrections as indicated by…

The massive crypto crash in October decimated market makers, ending an era where crypto traders were able to make easy money, says crypto exchange BitMEX.The crash between Oct. 10 and 11 wiped out $20 billion in the “most destructive event for sophisticated market makers in crypto history,” BitMEX said in its State of Crypto Perpetual Swaps in 2025 report released on Thursday.A feedback loop of auto-deleveraging, where exchanges liquidate profitable, leveraged positions to cover themselves and prevent further losses, broke the market makers’ “‘safe’ delta-neutral strategies,” forcing them to pull liquidity and leave orderbooks at multi-year lows, BitMEX said.“For years,…

Internet access in Iran was cut on Thursday by the government as protests spread across the Middle Eastern country, raising the question: Can its citizens still use crypto?  Around seven million people, out of the country’s 92 million population, are estimated to be crypto users, according to Statista. TRM Labs tracked roughly $3.7 billion in total crypto flows in Iran between January and July 2025.But internet access has been cut off in the country as protests began over worsening economic conditions, and after the Iranian rial hit record lows against the US dollar. Some outside observers, such as Bitwise CEO…

Ethereum price has failed another attempt to move past $3,300, with price action stalling amid cooling U.S. demand. Summary Ethereum failed to reclaim the $3,300 resistance despite modest weekly gains. On-chain data points to fading U.S. institutional demand as the Coinbase Premium Gap drops to a 10-month low. Derivatives positioning and ETF outflows suggest traders are still cautious, keeping downside risks in play. ETH was changing hands near $3,115 at press time, down 0.7% over the past 24 hours. Over the last week, the token has traded between $3,008 and $3,293, ending the period up about 3%. Ethereum (ETH) is…

2025 was quite a year for the Smithsonian Institution, which found itself in the crosshairs of the second Trump administration early and often. Last year began with Trump calling for a purge of “anti-American ideology” from the institution’s 19 museums. 2026 appears to have brought more of the same. On Thursday, the New York Times reported that the Trump Administration has redoubled its efforts to bring the Smithsonian to heel and has put forward a deadline of next Tuesday for it to comply with a comprehensive review of its content and plans. That is with an eye toward bringing it inline…

Key NotesThe Venezuela-focused fintech detected compromised wallet authentication and activated emergency protocols.Co-founder pledged to cover all damages while users reported drained accounts without transaction records.This follows a January 5 attack that stole 340,000 USDC from over 1,000 users. The startup Kontigo, backed by Y Combinator and which raised $22 million in 2025, was attacked again and has paused access to its platform, according to a statement posted on its X account. This would be its second cyberattack affecting its services so far in 2026. According to a statement from Kontigo’s X account, the company claims to have detected a new…