From billion-dollar Bitcoin movements to courtroom maneuvers and cross-border hacks, this week’s crypto headlines span the strange, the strategic, and the staggering.
Dormant wallets from the Satoshi era suddenly sprang to life, Brazilian hackers used crypto to launder stolen bank funds, and FTX sought legal approval to distribute assets in restricted jurisdictions.
Meanwhile, Robinhood and Deutsche Bank pushed deeper into blockchain development, Ripple secured a key payments partner, and Bitcoin treasury giants like Strategy and Metaplanet doubled down on accumulation.
Here’s a roundup of the biggest developments shaking up the digital asset world this week.
Satoshi-era Bitcoin wallets activate after 14 years
- Eight dormant wallets each transferred 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) to new SegWit addresses Friday. This is one of the first movements of these funds since 2011 during Bitcoin’s “Satoshi era.”
- The transfers totaled approximately $8.5 billion worth of Bitcoin. Additionally, a suspicious transaction involving over 10,000 Bitcoin Cash (BCH) tokens was flagged before the massive Bitcoin movements began.
Brazilian bank hack proceeds laundered through crypto
- ZachXBT, an on-chain analyst, claims that hackers who gained unauthorized access to the Central Bank of Brazil’s service provider have begun using cryptocurrencies to launder some of the $140 million they stole.
- The researcher disclosed on Friday that over-the-counter desks and cryptocurrency exchanges in Latin America have converted between $30 and $40 million of stolen cash into Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), and USDT.
FTX seeks approval for restricted jurisdiction distributions
- The FTX Recovery Trust submitted a motion requesting that the court grant permission to introduce new procedures for allocating creditor claims in restricted jurisdictions abroad.
- China, Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia are among the 49 foreign countries that the trust has recognized as possibly banned.
DeFi Development Corp. expands Solana holdings
- The Solana treasury firm disclosed that it had purchased an additional 17,760 Solana (SOL) tokens.
- This brings the total holdings to 640,585 SOL.
IMF rejects Pakistan’s Bitcoin mining subsidies
- The International Monetary Fund has declined Pakistan’s repeated proposals to provide subsidized electricity for Bitcoin mining and other energy-intensive industries.
- Secretary of Power Dr. Fakhray Alam Irfan stated on Thursday that the IMF expressed concerns about potential market distortions during a session of the Senate Standing Committee on Power.
SEC pauses Grayscale fund conversion approval
- The Securities and Exchange Commission suspended the conversion of Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund LLC just one day after agency staff initially approved the fund for trading.
- In a letter to the New York Stock Exchange, SEC Deputy Secretary J. Matthew DeLesDernier indicated the commission would review the Division of Trading and Markets’ approval.
Ripple partners with OpenPayd
- The blockchain payments company has teamed with London-based fintech firm OpenPayd to develop stablecoin and payments infrastructure for businesses.
- The partnership announcement coincides with Ripple’s application for a national banking license at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
Deutsche Bank plans crypto custody service launch
- Germany’s largest bank is preparing to launch a cryptocurrency custody service next year.
- Deutsche Bank has enlisted cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda to help build the offering.
Iran’s largest cryptocurrency platform restarts
- Nobitex is gradually resuming services following an earlier breach by a pro-Israel group that resulted in $90 million in losses. Verified users will soon regain access to their accounts and wallet balances, while most other features remain disabled.
- The next phase will restore withdrawal, deposit, and trading services for verified users.
Robinhood expands crypto offerings
- The digital brokerage announced it is developing its own blockchain network based on Arbitrum (ARB) and launching tokenized stock trading services.
Strategy and Metaplanet acquire more Bitcoin
- Saylor’s Strategy acquired 4,980 Bitcoin worth $532.6 million between June 23-29, paying an average price of $106,801 per BTC according to SEC filings. This purchase brings Strategy’s total Bitcoin holdings to 597,325 BTC.
- Metaplanet purchased 1,005 Bitcoin, bringing its total cryptocurrency holdings to 13,350 BTC. The Tokyo-based hotel management service is issuing 0% interest rate ordinary bonds worth $208 million to fund further Bitcoin acquisition activities.