Articles written by The Block - Benzinga

Ether Will Continue to Outperform Bitcoin in Near Term, Says Crypto Asset Manager

|Ether (CRYPTO: ETH) will continue to gain value relative to Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) in the near term, as anticipation of spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) trading draws investor interest to the second-largest digital asse

Riot Platforms Buys 9.25% Stake in Bitfarms Following Rejected Takeover Offer

|Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) mining firm Bitfarms (NASDAQ: BITF) rejected a nearly $1 billion acquisition proposal from Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:

Healthcare Tech Company Shares Surge 27% After Announcing Plans to Buy Bitcoin with Cash Reserves

|Medical device maker and healthcare technology company Semler Scientific (NASDAQ: SMLR) announced Tuesday it plans to buy Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) with its cash reserves and, almost immediately, the company's sha

Ethereum Foundation Says it's Working to Address Potential Conflicts of Interest

|Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) Foundation Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi said the organization is accelerating work on a formal policy to address potential conflicts of interest after two of its researchers disclosed receiving "significant" EigenLayer token incentives.

Daily Crypto Liquidations Surge as Bitcoin Price Retreats From $70,000 Again

|Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has experienced a decline from above $70,000, with the high volatility triggering an increase in liquidations.

Tether's Next Big Bet is on AI, Says CEO Paolo Ardoino

|Episode 30 of Season 6 of The Scoop was recorded with The Block's Frank Chaparro and Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) CEO Paolo Ardoino. Listen below, and subscribe to The Scoop on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Crypto Firm VersiFi, Co-Led by Former Genesis Exec, Acquires Trading Tech Startup Ather Digital

|VersiFi, a crypto trading and lending firm co-led by a former Genesis executive, has acquired Ather Digital, a crypto trading technology startup, for an undisclosed sum. The deal will help VersiFi add direct market access, algorithmic trading and smart order routing to its platform, the firm said Thursday.

Fantom Developers Introduce Foundation for Sonic, Close $10 Million Strategic Round

|The Fantom Foundation announced its plans to establish the Sonic Foundation and Sonic Labs ahead of the rollout of its Sonic blockchain. Associated with this new chain, the Sonic Foundation will manage governance and treasury, while Sonic Labs will focus on the development of decentralized applications across the network.

Grayscale Launches Two New Trusts Investing in NEAR and STX

|Crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments launched two new investment trusts for diversified crypto exposure. Grayscale Near Trust and Grayscale Stacks Trust opened on May 23, allowing individual and institutional accredited investors to access daily subscriptions.

Lightspeed Faction Leads $7.7 Million Series A Round for DePIN Weather Startup WeatherXM

|WeatherXM AG, a startup developing the weather-focused decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) WeatherXM, raised $7.7 million in Series A funding led by Lightspeed Faction. Additional participation in the round came from Protocol Labs, Borderless Capital, Arca, Alumni Ventures, Placeholder VC, Red Beard Ventures, Metaplanet, GS Futures, Consensys Mesh, Westerly Ventures, dlab

Ethereum Liquid Restaking Platform Kelp Raises Token Round at $90 Million Valuation

|Kelp DAO, an Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) liquid restaking platform based on EigenLayer, has raised $9 million in a private token sale round.

White House Opposes FIT21 but Says it's 'Eager to Work with Congress' on Balanced Framework for Digital Assets

|The White House is opposing the passage of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, also known as FIT21 or H.R.4763. "The Administration opposes passage of H.R. 4763, which would affect the regulatory structure for digital assets in the United States" according to a statement on Wednesday.

Exchanges Told SEC Leaning Towards Approval of Spot Ethereum ETFs: Report

|Securities and Exchange Commission staff told exchanges on Monday the agency is "leaning" towards approving Spot Ether (CRYPTO: ETH) ETFs, according to a report in Barron's, which cited anonymous sources.

Paradigm Leads $150 Million Raise for Web3 Social Media Platform Farcaster

|The team behind the web3 social media platform Farcaster raised $150 million in funding led by Paradigm. A16z crypto, Haun Ventures, USV, Variant, Standard Crypto and others participated in the round.

Gala Games Exploiter Returns $21 Million Taken From the $200 Million Exploit

|The wallet address associated with the Gala Games exploit appears to have partially returned funds. The digital wallet transferred out 5,913.2 ETH (CRYPTO: ETH), valued at $22.5 million, on-chain data shows.

Ether Price Volatility Set to Increase in Lead-Up to This Week's ETF Decision Deadlines, Analysts Say

|Ether's (CRYPTO: ETH) price action could become increasingly volatile ahead of this week's spot exchange-traded fund filing decision deadlines, analysts say.

Prometheum Soft-Launches Ether Custody Services, Treating it as a Security

|Controversial digital asset firm Prometheum Capital has soft-launched Ether (CRYPTO: ETH) custody services in a way that treats ether as a security under the supervision of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ethereum Foundation Researcher Justin Drake Discloses Advisor Role at Eigen Foundation

|Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake disclosed an advisory role at Eigen Foundation and a corresponding Eigen token allocation. Drake's disclosure followed discussions about potential conflicts of interest between EigenLayer and his employer, the Ethereum Foundation, arising from core devs and researchers at the organization taking advisory roles.

After Start of SEC's 'War on DeFi' UNI and Others Struggle to Recover

|It has now been over a month since it was revealed that Uniswap Labs (CRYPTO: UNI) had received a Wells Notice, indicating the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission intends to bring charges against the developers of the largest decentralized exchange.

Macro Continues to be a Key Driver for Crypto: Coinbase

|The macro environment continues to be a key driver for crypto performance, according to a Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) report.