Sciensano data shows Belgian online gambling has nearly doubled since 2018, rising from 7.9% to 14.8% of the population, despite the country’s 2023 ad ban on licensed private operators. The Belgian Association of Gaming Operators (BAGO) has called for stronger enforcement after the same survey found 52.6% of Belgians exposed weekly to gambling advertising, with the National Lottery’s Gambling Act exemption and the illegal online market behind most of that persistent reach.

Strive reported a larger bitcoin treasury after its Semler Scientific merger, reaching 15,009 bitcoin with no outstanding debt. The filing showed $929.4 million in digital assets, new medical-device revenue, and a major unrealized loss tied to fair-value accounting.

David Schwartz warned XRP Ledger users about rising airdrop and giveaway scams targeting the community. The Ripple CTO Emeritus said impersonators on Instagram, Telegram, and other platforms are likely scammers.

The institution issued a ban on Banco Topazio’s ability to conduct foreign purchases and sales of cryptocurrency assets for two years after detecting irregularities in the due diligence processes for these operations. Additionally, the institution was fined $3.2 million.

Forward Industries posted a steep quarterly loss tied to declines in solana’s market value, even as the company expanded its SOL treasury strategy and staking operations. The firm now holds nearly 7 million SOL and is positioning itself as a long-term infrastructure player within the Solana ecosystem.

Liquidators of Mirror Trading International, a massive South African crypto pyramid scheme, have received over 9,441 claims totaling nearly $395 million.

Jane Street sharply reduced several major bitcoin-linked positions during the first quarter while increasing exposure to ether ETFs and selected crypto equities. The portfolio changes came amid heightened market volatility and shifting institutional sentiment toward digital assets.

Bitcoin futures open interest across all exchanges reached $61.9 billion on Thursday, as traders positioned on both sides of a market sitting at $81,500 per coin at 3 p.m. ET. Options data from Deribit, OKX, and Binance point to $80,000 as the level where the most contracts expire worthless, a figure worth watching heading into several near-term expirations.

XRP rallied as buyers pushed the token to fresh session highs, extending gains after a breakout from consolidation. The move came alongside expanding volume, elevated momentum readings, and optimism after the Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act, which Ripple publicly supported.

Crypto ETF markets faced another sharp wave of selling on Wednesday, with bitcoin funds posting their second straight day of heavy outflows and ether ETFs extending their losing streak to three sessions. Solana stood out as the lone area of strength, while XRP products remained inactive.

After struggling to break $80,000, bitcoin surged more than $2,000 in four hours, peaking above $81,800 and eyeing the $82,000 mark.

Crypto data firm Dune has laid off 25% of its workforce, with CEO Fredrik Haga citing a sharpened focus on artificial intelligence (AI)-powered data tools and institutional clients moving onchain.

The United States Senate Banking Committee took a definitive step toward establishing a national regulatory framework for digital assets on Thursday by advancing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act.

Moody’s Ratings has assigned its highest credit rating to Blackrock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), according to a recent announcement.

Senate Democrats intensified efforts to challenge the CLARITY Act, warning the crypto market structure bill could leave major illicit finance vulnerabilities unresolved. The push to challenge the legislation coincided with a separate request for a federal investigation into World Liberty Financial.