8 May 2025, 07:08

Abraxas Capital Mgmt Withdraws 21,999 ETH from Kraken, Securing $39.92 Million in Ethereum Gains

Abraxas Capital Management has made a significant move in the cryptocurrency market by withdrawing 21,999 ETH from Kraken approximately eight hours ago. This substantial withdrawal is valued at around $39.92

8 May 2025, 07:01

Binance Schedules Major Maintenance to Ensure Uninterrupted Crypto Experience

Binance announces maintenance for Tron and eCash networks in May 2025. Spot trading remains unaffected, while deposits and withdrawals are paused. Continue Reading: Binance Schedules Major Maintenance to Ensure Uninterrupted Crypto Experience The post Binance Schedules Major Maintenance to Ensure Uninterrupted Crypto Experience appeared first on COINTURK NEWS .

8 May 2025, 07:01

Binance Founder Zhao Confirms He Applied For Presidential Pardon From Trump After Prison Stint

Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao says he applied for a pardon from United States President Donald Trump after serving a four-month prison sentence last year. CZ, once the crypto world’s golden boy, said on the Farokh Radio podcast aired on Tuesday that he “wouldn’t mind” a pardon and that his lawyers had filed the paperwork on his behalf two weeks ago. “We only submitted after the Bloomberg article and the Wall Street Journal article came out,” Zhao posited. He was referring to two stories published in March that reported he was seeking a pardon from President Trump amid discussions of a potential business deal between the Trump family and Binance.US. The Binance founder refuted the reports at the time but did not rule out the possibility of seeking a pardon. He claimed that seeing the news reports prompted the application for clemency. “If they’re writing this article, I may as well just officially apply,” he said on the recent podcast. He further noted that the President’s pardon of three co-founders of the BitMEX crypto exchange , including Arthur Hayes, encouraged him to also seek a pardon. CZ pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in 2023, agreeing to step down as CEO and receiving a lifetime ban from “managing or operating” Binance. He was released from a 4-month stint in prison in September after also agreeing to pay a $50 million fine, while Binance agreed to pay a record-setting $4.3 billion . After stepping down, CZ was replaced by former Abu Dhabi regulator Richard Teng, who has led Binance to invest heavily in regulatory compliance, which he described as “Binance 2.0.” No Plans To Return As Binance CEO In the U.S., the President can forgive individuals convicted of crimes in what is called a ‘pardon.’ If pardoned, it will not effectively wipe Zhao’s money laundering conviction from his record; however, it could potentially allow him to return as CEO of Binance. However, CZ clarified during the podcast that he has no interest in returning to the CEO position despite seeking a presidential pardon. “I’m not really looking to become CEO of Binance again,” quipped Zhao. Regardless, he remains Binance’s biggest shareholder, owning an estimated 90% stake in the world’s largest digital asset exchange.

8 May 2025, 07:00

Bitcoin’s Realized Cap Hits Record High as Accumulation Continues

Bitcoin is currently trading just under the $100,000 psychological threshold, maintaining a sideways trajectory in recent weeks. At the time of writing, the asset trades at $97,005, reflecting a modest 2.6% gain over the past seven days and a 3.3% increase in the last 24 hours. While volatility remains subdued, recent on-chain data highlights a steady rise in investor activity that could hint at future price movement. Related Reading: Bitcoin In The Middle Of A Decision Point, Analyst Says—Here’s Why Bitcoin Investor Confidence Reflected in On-Chain Metrics CryptoQuant contributor Carmelo Alemán has outlined an ongoing trend that points to sustained investor interest. In a recent QuickTake post, Alemán noted that Bitcoin’s Realized Cap, representing the aggregate value of coins based on their last movement, has reached an all-time high for the third consecutive week. The metric, calculated by multiplying each unspent transaction output (UTXO) by its purchase price, rose to $890.7 billion, indicating growing capital inflow into the asset. According to Alemán, the consistent climb in Bitcoin’s Realized Cap demonstrates a continuation of accumulation by both long-term and short-term holders. The increased capital invested in BTC over the past few weeks suggests that market participants are positioning themselves for a potential price breakout. This pattern of capital inflow may be laying the groundwork for a stronger bullish phase if sustained investment continues. Long-Term Holders (LTHs) and Short-Term Holders (STHs) appear to be increasing their stakes during this consolidation period. Alemán emphasized that the rising Realized Cap does more than reflect price, as it also captures market conviction. The metric signals a growing belief in Bitcoin’s longer-term value proposition when paired with steady accumulation trends. If historical patterns repeat, the market may be in the early stages of forming a new uptrend. Coinbase Premium Gap Signals Localized Pressure Despite the on-chain optimism, other indicators suggest reasons for caution. Another CryptoQuant analyst, Abramchart, recently highlighted the Coinbase Premium Gap as a sign of regional bearish sentiment. The gap, which was at -5.07 at the time of reporting, means Bitcoin is trading lower on Coinbase, an exchange largely dominated by US investors, compared to global platforms. This negative gap is often interpreted as an indicator of selling pressure from American participants. Abramchart noted that although the premium had previously recovered, the recent decline aligns with Bitcoin’s failure to push beyond the $97,000 level. Persistent negative values in the premium gap typically signal weak demand in the US market, which could act as a headwind to upward momentum. If the gap continues to trend downward, it may reinforce current price stagnation despite broader accumulation trends. Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView

8 May 2025, 06:57

Bhutan Government Partners with Binance to Create Crypto Tourism System

Bhutan , a country located in the Himalayan region, has partnered with Binance to offer a cryptocurrency payment system for the tourism industry, further partnering with local DK Bank to enable crypto payments nationwide. Bhutan is well known for its Bitcoin treasury accumulation. This is the first time a country has initiated a crypto payment system to boost tourism. South Asian countries have announced a far-reaching system that accepts crypto payments for services, including flights, hotel bookings, transportation, and local shopping. Binance Pay will help facilitate the system using static and dynamic QR codes. Bhutan seeks to boost local businesses, such as vendors in the provincial regions, by allowing tourists to make payments with QR codes. Binance will facilitate the payments with 100 supported cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, USDC, and Binance token BNB. The ambitious project comes at a time when many countries are trying to boost tourism. Damcho Rinzin, director of tourism in Bhutan, said that the project was more than just another payment system; it was an attempt to boost innovation and convenience. Binance organises the payments by collaborating with local bank DK Bank to convert payments to fiat currency for the vendors automatically. This is an essential part of the process so vendors can use the system with little change to their business practices. Tourists, meanwhile, can use 100 different cryptocurrencies to pay for products and services during their holiday. The system may be convenient for tourists because they now have a complete solution for handling their monetary concerns. A tourist doesn’t have to worry about finding an outlet to exchange their currency or a compatible ATM to withdraw cash. Tourists can also secure their savings with a crypto wallet, which may be an extra relief, using a trustless network without relying on a bank. Binance also eliminates gas fees so that the costs are minimal. In 2020, Bhutan’s Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) issued a warning about cryptocurrencies, focusing on the Pi token as an example of a risky asset. Despite Bhutan being a key exemplar of a country with a crypto treasury, the country still has a lot of regulatory gaps regarding digital assets. The RMA is particularly interested in how disreputable tokens affect the local economy. The focus on crypto-funded tourism may be a way for Bhutan to find productive use cases for Bitcoin that benefit the economy. This seems like a positive approach, combining a Bitcoin treasury strategy with a practical plan that lets people use Bitcoin to help the country recover from various crises, including a pandemic that disrupted tourism and a trade war that has divided the world. Bhutan owns around $1.2 billion of cryptocurrencies, ranking fifth amongst other countries, beating El Salvador, which also has a reputation for embracing crypto at the federal level. Bhutan owns 12,000 BTC and 659 ETH, worth roughly $1 billion and $1 million, respectively. Most of Bhutan’s Bitcoin tokens were mined using green energy in the Himalayan region. Bhutan has been investing in Hydropower to offset the negative consequences of proof-of-work algorithms. Bhutan has shown an interest in developing practical crypto uses, with recent policies allowing public servants to be paid with crypto. The country has also reportedly used crypto reserves to pay for health upgrades in the public sector.

8 May 2025, 06:46

a16z-backed project Balance rallies over 70% ahead of Bithumb listing

EPT, the native token of the AI-powered Web3 platform Balance, surged as much as 72% today ahead of its upcoming listing on South Korea’s Bithumb exchange later in the day. According to CoinGecko data, Balance (EPT) printed what traders call a “god candle” on May 8, rallying to an intraday high of $0.012. This pushed its market cap over $27 million while daily trading volume spiked 44% from the previous day, hitting around $63 million. The key catalyst behind today’s move was Bithumb, a major South Korea-based crypto exchange, which announced the addition of a KRW trading pair for the EPT token set at 6:00 PM KST on Friday, May 8, 2025. Bithumb becomes the latest exchange to pick up EPT, following earlier listings on Binance Alpha, Gate.io, KuCoin, Bitget, and MEXC, all of which listed the token back on April 21, right after Balance’s token generation event (TGE) and mainnet launch. At launch, the total EPT token supply was set at 10 billion. Activity in EPT’s derivatives market spiked after the Bithumb announcement broke. Data from CoinGlass shows that open interest in EPT futures spiked 52% over the past 24 hours, reaching nearly $20 million. Meanwhile, the funding rate stayed steady at 0.0050%, suggesting most traders are holding bullish positions and betting that the rally still has room to run. You might also like: Is Binance listing Pi Network soon? Wallet activity sparks rumors ahead of planned May 14 ecosystem update From a technical perspective, things are still looking positive. On the 4-hour USDT chart, EPT has broken above the upper boundary of a descending parallel channel pattern that it had been stuck in since its launch. This kind of breakout often signals a potential trend reversal and the start of a new bullish phase. EPT price, 20-day SMA and MACD chart — May 8 | Source: TradingView EPT’s price is now holding above the 20-day moving average, reinforcing the bullish sentiment. On top of that, the MACD line has crossed above the signal line, another classic sign that the recent bearish trend might be over. If the current positive momentum keeps up, EPT could push toward the next key psychological resistance at $0.014. A clean break above that level could open the doors for a move back to its all-time high of $0.017, representing a possible 54% gain from current prices. At the time of writing, EPT was trading around $0.011 per token. What is Balance? Founded in February 2024, Balance is a Web3 AI-powered platform designed to merge gaming, social engagement, and decentralized finance within a unified blockchain ecosystem. It’s built on a multichain infrastructure that allows users to explore AI-driven virtual worlds while earning rewards through its native token, EPT. The EPT token plays a central role in the Balance ecosystem, powering governance, staking rewards, liquidity incentives, and in-game utility across the platform. In September 2024, Balance raised $30 million in funding from prominent investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Galaxy Interactive, Amber Group, and Animoca Brands, aiming to accelerate its AI-integrated Web3 gaming and social experiences. Read more: Altcoin season nears as Bitcoin dominance gets ‘overbought’ Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.