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Crypto custodian BitGo secures MiCA license in Germany

Goldman Sachs-backed cryptocurrency custody firm BitGo is the latest cryptocurrency company to secure regulatory approval to operate across the European Union.

Germany’s financial regulator, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), granted BitGo Europe a Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) license to provide digital asset services in the EU, the firm announced on May 12.

The license allows BitGo to offer services to crypto-native firms and traditional finance institutions, including banks and asset managers within the EU.

Source: BitGo

“This license underscores our commitment to the highest standards of security, transparency, and trust,” BitGo Europe managing director Harald Patt said.

BitGo set up the EU headquarters in 2023

Founded in 2013 in Palo Alto, California, BitGo is a major platform in the cryptocurrency industry specializing in crypto custodial services, holding cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="null"

Bitcoin set for $150K BTC price rally as US, China agree to slash tariffs

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin broke above $105,700 after the US and China agreed to slash tariffs.

A confirmed bull flag breakout on the weekly chart projects a $150,000.

Bitwise’s sentiment index warns of potential short-term overheating.

Bitcoin (BTC) bulls cheered a major development in the ongoing US-China tariff talks, with the cryptocurrency climbing over the $105,700 mark on May 12 for the first time in four months, further confirming a bullish continuation setup with a $150,000 price target.

BTC/USD weekly price chart. Source: TradingViewUS-China trade truce fuels Bitcoin boom

The catalyst behind Bitcoin’s breakout appears to be de-escalating trade tensions between the US and China.

Over the weekend, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice President He Lifeng struck a deal in Geneva to reduce tariffs that had crippled bilateral trade for months.

Source: David Ingles,

Can you stake Bitcoin (BTC)? Here’s what you need to know

Key takeaways

Though Bitcoin doesn’t support native staking, holders can earn yield through centralized lending platforms, Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) on Ethereum, and Bitcoin-related networks like Babylon and Stacks.

WBTC allows BTC holders to participate in lending, liquidity pools and yield farming on Ethereum-based DeFi platforms like Aave and Curve but introduces bridge and smart contract risks.

Protocols like Babylon and Stacks use mechanisms like native time-locked scripts or stacking to offer rewards without removing BTC from the Bitcoin blockchain.

Custodial, smart contract and regulatory risks persist. Bitcoin’s community also remains divided on whether Bitcoin yield generation features align with its decentralized and trust-minimized ethos.

Unlike proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains like Ethereum or Cardano, Bitcoin relies on proof-of-work (PoW) mining for network security. However, with the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) and layer-2 innovations, Bitcoin (BTC) holders can now generate passive income

Feds deny late disclosure of evidence in Samourai Wallet case

US federal prosecutors have rebutted claims they suppressed evidence in their case against the co-founders of the crypto mixing service Samourai Wallet, arguing their disclosure of a conversation with Treasury Department staff was made within the required timeframes.

In a May 9 letter to a Manhattan federal court, prosecutors opposed a request for a hearing, claiming they handed over “all known substantive communications” between them and the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) regarding Samourai “months in advance of pretrial motions and trial.”

“The defendants will have seven months to make use of the information before trial,” they wrote. “Nothing more is warranted.”

On May 5, Samourai co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill asked the court for a hearing, claiming that prosecutors were late to disclose that FinCEN representatives told them six months before they charged the pair that under the agency’s guidance,

Uniswap becomes first DEX to hit $3T in all-time volume

Decentralized exchange Uniswap has hit a whopping $3 trillion in aggregate all-time volume, the first decentralized exchange to hit the number.

Uniswap founder Hayden Adams noted the achievement in an X post on May 12, which included a screenshot of a Dune Analytics dashboard counting down to the milestone.

Uniswap also has a current daily volume of $3.3 billion, according to Dune. DeFillama meanwhile shows Uniswap is the leading DEX with a 23% market share in daily volumes, which it reports as slightly lower at $3 billion over the past 24 hours.

The second-largest DEX in volume is PancakeSwap, with $2.7 billion and a 21% DEX market share.

Uniswap has a current total value locked of just under $5 billion. However, this figure is around half of its 2021 all-time high, as overall DeFi

DeFi lending TVL is outpacing DEXs due to more sustainable yield — VC

Crypto users could be looking for a more sustainable yield this cycle, as total value locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) lending continues to hit new highs while decentralized exchanges (DEXs) have lagged in comparison.

DeFi lending protocols are currently the leading DeFi vertical in TVL at $53.6 billion, representing 43% of the $124.6 billion locked across all DeFi protocols. The figure also surpasses liquid staking.

Multichain lending protocol Aave currently holds $25 billion of locked value, accounting for nearly half of the DeFi lending market.

Change in crypto lending protocol TVL since 2019. Source: DeFiLlama

In stark contrast, DEXs, which once held nearly double the TVL of their closest competitor, have dropped from $85.3 billion in November 2021 to $21.5 billion today.

Explaining the rise in DeFi lending and fall in DEX TVL, the founder of crypto fund Apollo Capital,

Teens kidnap Las Vegas man at gunpoint, stealing $4M in crypto

Three teenagers have been accused of kidnapping a man at gunpoint after he was returning from a crypto event in Las Vegas, before driving him an hour outside of the city and robbing him of $4 million in crypto and non-fungible tokens.

According to police, the incident occurred last November. The victim had finished hosting a crypto-related event in downtown Las Vegas, and when he returned home, the suspects forced him into a vehicle and drove him to a remote desert area an hour away from the city.

There, they forced him to hand over passwords to his accounts, according to a May 10 report from Las Vegas local news outlet 8 News Now.

The man was allegedly told to comply with the teens’ demands if he wanted to “live to see another day,” and because they also “had his dad and would kill him,” according to the

Metaplanet now holds more Bitcoin than El Salvador

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has added another $129 million to its Bitcoin treasury, pushing its total holdings past the Bitcoin-stacking country of El Salvador.

“Metaplanet now holds more Bitcoin than El Salvador. From humble beginnings to rivaling nation-states, we’re just getting started,” said CEO Simon Gerovich on X after the latest purchase announcement.

On May 12, the Tokyo-listed firm announced that it had acquired 1,241 Bitcoin (BTC) for 14.8 million yen ($101,843) per coin.

The total buy, at its highest ever purchase price, is worth around $129 million at current market prices.

This brings the firm’s total holdings to 6,796 Bitcoin, currently worth around $707 million, and the average purchase price is $91,000 per Bitcoin. Metaplanet started its BTC accumulation strategy in April 2024.

El Salvador is the sixth-largest nation-state holder of the asset with 6,714 Bitcoin worth around $642

US-China trade deal could shed light on Bitcoin’s use case: Trader

Bitcoin’s potential price reaction to a trade deal between the United States and China could give insights into whether Bitcoin is being used as a safe-haven asset in the current market.

Bitcoin (BTC) outperformed stocks and held up “incredibly strong” during a sharp sell-off on stock markets in April, following Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs on “Liberation Day,” observed crypto trader “Daan Crypto” on May 11.

Following its plunge to $75,000 on April 7, Bitcoin recovered strongly to trade 27% higher at around $95,000 by the end of the month. Meanwhile, indexes like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq declined in April.

At the time, people wondered if Bitcoin’s relative strength came from the narrative that countries were using Bitcoin to bypass tariffs. The analyst said the opposite should theoretically occur if the trade deal is confirmed.

“Theoretically

Stablecoin bill gets second chance with Northern Mariana lawmakers

Tinian, a small island in the US territory of the Northern Mariana Islands, could get a second chance at launching a stablecoin after the territory’s Senate voted to override the governor’s earlier veto of its stablecoin bill.

On May 9, the Northern Mariana Islands Senate voted 7-1 to override Governor Arnold Palacios’ April 11 veto of the bill, which would allow the Tinian local government to issue licenses to internet casinos and includes a provision for the Tinian treasurer to issue, manage and redeem a “Tinian Stable Token.”

The bill will now head to the 20-member Northern Mariana Islands House, which will need a two-thirds majority vote to override the veto and pass the bill into law.

If the House is quick to pass the bill, the Tinian government could be in the lead for the first US public entity to issue a