Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced the launch of regulated derivatives trading on its platform under the European Union’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).

According to a May 20 announcement, Kraken’s perpetual and fixed maturity crypto futures contracts will be available for trading by retail and institutional customers in the European Economic Area (EEA). The announcement follows the exchange acquiring an MiFID license in early February through the acquisition of a Cypriot investment firm, approved by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.

Kraken’s head of exchange, Shannon Kurtas, said, “Europe is one of the fastest-growing regions for digital asset trading and investment, with some of the most sophisticated and demanding clients and institutions.”

He added, “Clients and partners increasingly seek comprehensive offerings within a regulated framework.”

Source: Kraken Pro

Kraken had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by publication.

Release the Kraken

Kurtas said that following the deployment of the new derivatives products, “they [users] can seamlessly trade futures as part of a full suite of products” on the platform.

Derivatives, he said, will improve “capital efficiency, access to liquidity, reliability and enable sophisticated strategies and position management.” Kraken’s derivatives will be offered through a Cyprus-based MiFID II-regulated entity, Payward Europe Digital Solutions.

The launch follows Kraken completing its acquisition of the futures trading platform NinjaTrader earlier this month, as its first quarter revenue jumped 19% year-on-year to $471.7 million.

Crypto derivatives see lots of activity

Recently, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said his firm will continue to look for merger and acquisition opportunities, after acquiring crypto derivatives platform Deribit. The comments came after the publicly listed US crypto exchange earlier this month agreed to acquire Deribit, one of the world’s biggest crypto derivatives trading platforms.

Major crypto exchange Gemini has also recently received regulatory approval to expand crypto derivatives trading across Europe. Gemini’s head of Europe, Mark Jennings, said in a May 9 statement:

“Once we commence business activities, we will be able to offer regulated derivatives throughout the EU and EEA [European Economic Area] under MiFID II.”

Decentralized finance platform Synthetix also plans to venture further into crypto derivatives with plans to re-acquire the crypto options platform Derive. The transaction is subject to approval from both the Synthetix and Derive communities.

Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025

Circle co-founder and Catena Labs CEO Sean Neville has launched a project that aims to develop a financial institution that natively leverages artificial intelligence. 

On May 20, Catena Labs, the company building an “AI-native financial institution,” announced that it secured $18 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Crypto, a16z’s crypto and Web3 venture capital arm. 

Led by Neville, the company aims to realize its vision of a fully regulated financial institution for the AI economy. The company said it will be built for AI agents and human collaborators and will be operated by AI workers with human oversight and AI-specific risk management and compliance approaches. 

Cointelegraph contacted Catena Labs to get more information about the project but received no response before publication. 

Source: Catena LabsTraditional financial systems are “resistant” to AI

In the announcement, Catena Labs argued that conventional financial systems resist AI technology. The company said these systems are unprepared for AI and are hindering the growth of the agent economy. 

Neville said in a news release that AI agents will soon conduct most economic transactions, but noted that financial systems are unprepared.

The company said AI agents are becoming “powerful economic participants,” and the world’s financial infrastructure can’t keep up. Catana described the infrastructure as “slow, expensive, full of global friction, inflexible and ill-suited to the new opportunities and risks of AI.”

The company said this prompted them to create an AI-native financial institution to address the challenges of traditional financial systems. 

“That’s why we’re building an AI-native financial institution that will give AI agents, and the businesses and consumers they serve, the ability to transact safely and efficiently,” Neville said. 

In addition to the announcement, the team also shared an Agent Commerce Kit (ACK), an open-source set of patterns, components and emerging protocols for verifiable agent identity. The company said they are using an ACK as an early building block. 

Related: Coinbase data leak could put users in physical danger: TechCrunch founder

AI agents to use “AI-native” money like stablecoins

In the announcement, Catena Labs said AI agents can use traditional systems and financial rails. However, the company said the agents gain superpowers when paired with stablecoins, which the company described as “AI-native money.”

The company mentioned that regulated stablecoins like USDC (USDC) enable near-instant, low-cost, global transactions, which are essential for AI agents.

“Using AI-native money, agents can unlock new business models and greater prosperity for humans and businesses,” Catena Labs wrote. 

Magazine: Father-son team lists Africa’s XRP Healthcare on Canadian stock exchange

The German government missed out on more than $2 billion worth of Bitcoin profit after selling its holdings in 2024, according to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham.

A “German Government (BKA)” labeled cryptocurrency wallet sold 49,858 Bitcoin (BTC) worth over $2.89 billion at an average price of $57,900 across multiple transactions during June and July in 2024.

The decision to sell the Bitcoin early cost the German government over $2.35 billion, according to crypto intelligence platform Arkham.

Source: Arkham 

“If they had held it, their BTC would now be worth $5.24B,” Arkham said in a May 19 X post, noting that Bitcoin has risen more than 80% since the sale.

At the time of publication, Bitcoin was trading at more than $104,700, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Related: Justin Sun offers to buy German gov’t’s $2.3B Bitcoin stack to minimize market impact

The German government-labeled wallet first raised speculation of a potential sell-off on June 19, 2024, when it executed a 6,500 BTC transfer worth over $425 million.

The wallet originally held around 50,000 BTC, believed to have been seized from the operators of Movie2k, a now-defunct pirated film site.

Related: Bitcoin bottom signal? German gov’t runs out of BTC to sell

German government rushed sale to maximize liquidity

The wallet’s selling patterns point to hasty transactions that weren’t optimized for the smallest market impact and best profitability, according to Miguel Morel, founder of Arkham Intelligence.

“The last thing I would have expected is that they would just go to five different exchanges and start market selling,” Morel told Cointelegraph during an interview at EthCC 2024, adding:

“The fact that they’re going to so many different exchanges just reads like they’re just trying to get as much liquidity from each order book as possible[…]”

The reports surrounding the German government’s Bitcoin liquidations may have contributed more to Bitcoin’s downtrend than the volume of sold Bitcoin.

BTC/USDT, 1-month chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Bitcoin’s price recovered above the $60,000 psychological mark on July 14, a day after the German government-labeled wallet ran out of BTC, putting an end to investor uncertainty about further selling pressure.

Magazine: Arthur Hayes $1M Bitcoin tip, altcoins ‘powerful rally’ looms: Hodler’s Digest, May 11 – 17

The German government missed out on over $2 billion worth of Bitcoin profit after selling its Bitcoin holdings in 2024, according to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham.

A “German Government (BKA)” labeled cryptocurrency wallet sold 49,858 Bitcoin (BTC) worth over $2.89 billion at an average price of $57,900 across multiple transactions during June and July in 2024.

The decision to sell the Bitcoin early cost the German government over $2.35 billion, according to crypto intelligence platform Arkham.

Source: Arkham 

“If they had held it, their BTC would now be worth $5.24B,” Arkham said in a May 19 X post, noting that Bitcoin has risen more than 80% since the sale.

At the time of publication, Bitcoin was trading at more than $104,700, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Related: Justin Sun offers to buy German gov’t’s $2.3B Bitcoin stack to minimize market impact

The German government-labeled wallet first raised speculation of a potential sell-off on June 19, 2024, when it executed a 6,500 BTC transfer worth over $425 million.

The wallet originally held around 50,000 BTC, believed to have been seized from the operators of Movie2k, a now-defunct pirated film site.

Related: Bitcoin bottom signal? German gov’t runs out of BTC to sell

German government rushed sale to maximize liquidity

The wallet’s selling patterns point to hasty transactions that weren’t optimized for the smallest market impact and best profitability, according to Miguel Morel, founder of Arkham Intelligence.

“The last thing I would have expected is that they would just go to five different exchanges and start market selling,” Morel told Cointelegraph during an interview at EthCC 2024, adding:

“The fact that they’re going to so many different exchanges just reads like they’re just trying to get as much liquidity from each order book as possible[…]”

The reports surrounding the German government’s Bitcoin liquidations may have contributed more to Bitcoin’s downtrend than the volume of sold Bitcoin.

BTC/USDT, 1-month chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Bitcoin’s price recovered above the $60,000 psychological mark on July 14, a day after the German government-labeled wallet ran out of BTC, putting an end to investor uncertainty about further selling pressure.

Magazine: Arthur Hayes $1M Bitcoin tip, altcoins ‘powerful rally’ looms: Hodler’s Digest, May 11 – 17

Avalanche, Helix and Faculty Group have launched Fusion, a new blockchain ecosystem aimed at driving real-world adoption through modular infrastructure tailored to specific industries.

Built on Avalanche, Fusion features a two-layer architecture that includes composers, customizable layer-1 networks and modules, which offer plug-and-play services like compute, identity and data oracles. 

The team said this approach would be the answer for mainstream adoption, as they attempt to deliver “outcome-driven, domain-specific” blockchain-based economies. 

“In order to achieve widespread adoption, our industry needs to shift from selling blockspace to delivering business value,” a Fusion spokesperson told Cointelegraph. They added that Fusion integrates economic alignment, network design and composability to achieve real-world outcomes.  

Fusion expects traction in composer and module development

The Fusion team expects composers and modules — the two building blocks for the protocol — to gain traction in the next two to three years. 

The spokesperson told Cointelegraph that they are starting with five composers and nearly 100 modules in the first year. The team expects this to more than double over the next two to three years.

“Because of how the ecosystem is designed, in two to three years we expect that the Fusion ecosystem will consist of tens of composers and hundreds of modules,” the spokesperson said.

Fusion’s architecture is designed to let enterprises and Web3 builders combine technology, financial tools, and identity features in ways that were previously unavailable, the spokesperson added.

“Fusion is an initiative led and funded by the Avalanche community that is only technologically possible on Avalanche,” the spokesperson said, claiming that the initiative strengthens Avalanche’s position as a blockchain that delivers real-world business value. 

Related: Indonesia’s DigiAsia shares pop 90% on plan to raise $100M to buy Bitcoin

$100 million fund to come from existing Avalanche programs

The project is funded by resources allocated in existing Avalanche programs. According to Fusion’s announcement, the funds will come from Avalanche’s Multiverse, an incentive program to accelerate the adoption of Avalanche subnets, and Retro9000, a grant program that rewards developers who build infrastructure and tools.

Fusion also uses funds from InfraBUIDL and InfraBUIDL AI, programs designed to fund Avalanche-based projects. 

“The funds will be distributed to support the medium-term growth of the Fusion ecosystem, including composers, modules and end-users,” the spokesperson told Cointelegraph.

Magazine: Father-son team lists Africa’s XRP Healthcare on Canadian stock exchange

Avalanche, Helix and Faculty Group have launched Fusion, a new blockchain ecosystem aimed at driving real-world adoption through modular infrastructure tailored to specific industries.

Built on Avalanche, Fusion features a two-layer architecture that includes composers, customizable layer-1 networks and modules, which offer plug-and-play services like compute, identity and data oracles. 

The team said this approach would be the answer for mainstream adoption, as they attempt to deliver “outcome-driven, domain-specific” blockchain-based economies. 

“In order to achieve widespread adoption, our industry needs to shift from selling blockspace to delivering business value,” a Fusion spokesperson told Cointelegraph. They added that Fusion integrates economic alignment, network design and composability to achieve real-world outcomes.  

Fusion expects traction in composer and module development

The Fusion team expects composers and modules — the two building blocks for the protocol — to gain traction in the next two to three years. 

The spokesperson told Cointelegraph that they are starting with five composers and nearly 100 modules in the first year. The team expects this to more than double over the next two to three years.

“Because of how the ecosystem is designed, in two to three years we expect that the Fusion ecosystem will consist of tens of composers and hundreds of modules,” the spokesperson said.

Fusion’s architecture is designed to let enterprises and Web3 builders combine technology, financial tools, and identity features in ways that were previously unavailable, the spokesperson added.

“Fusion is an initiative led and funded by the Avalanche community that is only technologically possible on Avalanche,” the spokesperson said, claiming that the initiative strengthens Avalanche’s position as a blockchain that delivers real-world business value. 

Related: Indonesia’s DigiAsia shares pop 90% on plan to raise $100M to buy Bitcoin

$100 million fund to come from existing Avalanche programs

The project is funded by resources allocated in existing Avalanche programs. According to Fusion’s announcement, the funds will come from Avalanche’s Multiverse, an incentive program to accelerate the adoption of Avalanche subnets, and Retro9000, a grant program that rewards developers who build infrastructure and tools.

Fusion also uses funds from InfraBUIDL and InfraBUIDL AI, programs designed to fund Avalanche-based projects. 

“The funds will be distributed to support the medium-term growth of the Fusion ecosystem, including composers, modules and end-users,” the spokesperson told Cointelegraph.

Magazine: Father-son team lists Africa’s XRP Healthcare on Canadian stock exchange

India’s Supreme Court questioned the government’s lack of regulatory clarity on cryptocurrencies despite imposing taxes on digital assets like Bitcoin.

According to the Indian legal news outlet LawChakra, the country’s Supreme Court expressed concern over the increasing use of Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies, which remain largely unregulated.

“This is a whole parallel economy running with such coins, and it is a danger to the economy of the country,” Justice Surya Kant reportedly said during a recent hearing related to an ongoing investigation into a Bitcoin transaction.

Kant said that while the government has implemented crypto taxation, it has failed to regulate the space.

“If you can tax it at 30%, also please regulate it as you have recognised it by taxing it,” the judge said.

Related: Indian high court orders steps to block Proton Mail

Government says review may follow

The Additional Solicitor General of India — a senior legal officer representing the government of India — reportedly answered the request by saying that the government “will take instructions, my lord,” indicating that the government may consider reviewing the country’s current cryptocurrency regulation.

The report follows a May 5 hearing by the Supreme Court during which Kant and lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani shared their views on cryptocurrency. Jethmalani said that Bitcoin is already being used worldwide, noting that “in Europe, you can walk into a car showroom and buy a car using just one Bitcoin.”

Related: Coinbase plans India comeback with FIU registration

While this scenario is not as common as this statement may suggest, buying a car with Bitcoin is possible at specialized sellers. The lawyer also showed that he misunderstood the pseudonymous nature of Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, claiming that he was from Japan:

“It was created by someone from Japan who used a fake name.”Concerns over misuse

Kant also expressed concern over the misuse of cryptocurrencies. He said that “there is some system of rules that applies to this.”

Kant also said that “some Bitcoins are genuine, but some might not be.” However, it’s unclear whether he meant to suggest that counterfeit Bitcoin are in circulation (there are none) or that illegal activities taint some.

The latter appears likely since the statement was followed by the judge saying that “it has also become a possible way to do illegal business.”

India’s government has not yet introduced comprehensive legislation to govern cryptocurrencies, though it taxes gains and requires firms to report certain activities to financial regulators. The lack of regulation has drawn criticism from both the industry and policymakers amid the asset class’s continued growth.

Magazine: India mulls new crypto ban to support CBDC, Lazarus Group strikes again: Asia Express

Binance has filed a motion to dismiss a $1.76 billion lawsuit brought by the FTX estate, accusing the defunct crypto exchange of trying to deflect blame for its own failure.

Filed on May 16 in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court, Binance’s legal team called the suit “legally deficient,” stating that FTX’s collapse was not triggered by market manipulation or hostile action but by internal misconduct.

“Plaintiffs are pretending that FTX did not collapse as the result of one of the most massive corporate frauds in history,” the filing said, pointing to Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried’s conviction on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy.

FTX’s estate alleges that Binance received billions in crypto during a 2021 buyback deal, funded improperly with customer assets.

Binance rejects this claim, stating that “FTX remained a going concern for 16 months” after the share repurchase and that there was “no plausible claim” the exchange was insolvent at the time.

Binance filing to dismiss FTX’s lawsuit against the exchange. Source: Law360news

Related: Binance wants arbitration for all members of securities class suit

Zhao’s tweet and FTT crash

The lawsuit also accuses former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao of triggering a collapse through a tweet on Nov. 6, 2022 announcing the liquidation of FTT tokens.

In response, Binance argued that Zhao’s tweet was based on publicly known concerns. “Binance’s decision to liquidate its remaining FTT was, in fact, ‘due to recent revelations ’— in particular, the Nov. 2, 2022, CoinDesk article” that exposed Alameda Research’s balance sheet.

The company further defended Zhao’s comment that Binance would aim to minimize market impact. “The Complaint contains no such facts” to prove Binance had no intention of following through.

CZ announced plans to liquidate FTT holdings in 2022. Source: CZ

In challenging the court’s jurisdiction, Binance said none of the foreign entities named “are incorporated in or maintain their principal place of business in the United States,” and thus fall outside the court’s reach.

The filing also criticizes the plaintiff’s narrative as “a grab bag of state law claims” based on “pure conjecture — much of it sourced from a convicted fraudster’s hindsight speculation.”

Binance has asked the court to dismiss all claims with prejudice. The FTX estate has not yet filed its response.

Related: FTX EU creditors can now withdraw money from Backpack exchange

FTX to disburse $5 billion in second round of creditor repayments

FTX is set to begin its second round of repayments to creditors more than two years after filing for bankruptcy.

In a May 15 notice, the FTX Recovery Trust announced that over $5 billion will be distributed starting May 30 through BitGo and Kraken, targeting parties in the second eligible group under the exchange’s reorganization plan.

According to the plan, five creditor groups categorized as “convenience classes” are expected to receive between 54% and 120% of their claims. In total, FTX may repay up to $16 billion, depending on the final number of valid claims.

Magazine: Father-son team lists Africa’s XRP Healthcare on Canadian stock exchange

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin is nearing a golden cross that has led to 45%–60% price rallies in the recent past.

Fundamentals like rising M2 supply and easing trade tensions support a bullish outlook.

Bearish divergence and overbought conditions show there’s still a risk of BTC falling below $100,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) will likely confirm a “golden cross” on its daily chart by the end of May, a technical pattern whose occurrences in recent years often preceded rallies.

Source: Benjamin CowenPrevious golden crosses led to 45%-60% BTC price rallies

As of May 20, Bitcoin’s 50-day simple moving average (50-day SMA; the red wave) was eyeing a close above its 200-day SMA (the blue wave) for the first time since October 2024, forming a golden cross.

BTC/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

Previously, BTC price had gained over 60%, with the reelection of Donald Trump as the US president playing a key role.

In October 2023, the golden cross was followed by a 45% BTC price rally, helped by Bitcoin ETF euphoria. September 2021 saw 50% gains in BTC price after painting a similar SMA crossover.

Bitcoin’s golden crosses can fail

Using indicators that worked in the past is not a guaranteed strategy.

Traders learned that in February 2020, when Bitcoin’s golden cross preceded a 62% price crash, primarily due to the global market rout led by the COVID-19 lockdowns.

BTC/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

That episode underscores the importance of using golden crosses with broader technical and macro indicators while factoring in the possibility of unexpected events.

As of now, Bitcoin’s upcoming golden cross aligns with mostly supportive fundamentals, placing the signal on the bullish side of the ledger.

Increasing M2 money supply and easing US-China trade tensions, for instance, have propelled bets on a new record high for Bitcoin.

Source: Michaël van de Poppe

What’s notable this time is that BTC is signaling a correction after its relative strength index (RSI) crossed above the overbought threshold of 70 earlier in May.

Related: Bitcoin trading in six-figure territory shows BTC is ready to carry gold’s ‘baton’ — Fidelity exec

So, instead of an immediate rally after the cross, Bitcoin may initially pull back toward its SMA supports, sitting around the $92,400-95,000 range as of May 20.

BTC/USDT daily price chart. Source: TradingView

A growing bearish divergence between the rising Bitcoin price and falling RSI furthers the chances of short-term downside. Nonetheless, some technical indicators see the BTC price rallying toward $150,000 in the coming months.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

A recent data breach at crypto exchange Coinbase has raised concerns about user safety after hackers gained access to sensitive information, including home addresses.

Coinbase, the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, confirmed that less than 1% of its transacting monthly users were affected in an attack that may cost the exchange up to $400 million in reimbursement expenses, Cointelegraph reported on May 15.

However, the “human cost” of this data breach may be much higher for users, according to Michael Arrington, the founder of TechCrunch and Arrington Capital.

“Very disappointed in Coinbase right now. Using the cheapest option for customer service has its price,” Arrington said in a May 20 X post, adding:

“Something that has to be said though – this hack – which includes home addresses and account balances – will lead to people dying. It probably has already.”Source: Michael Arrington

While no passwords, private keys or account funds were exposed, cybercriminals reportedly bribed overseas customer service contractors to access internal systems. This allowed them to steal personal data that could be used in social engineering scams or even physical extortion attempts.

Related: Hoskinson promises audit, is ‘deeply hurt’ by $600M Cardano treasury claims

With Bitcoin (BTC) trading above $100,000, crypto wealth has become a growing target for criminals. Experts warn that leaked address data could expose high-net-worth individuals to real-world risks.

On May 16, Cointelegraph reported on six violent robberies that targeted cryptocurrency investors, aiming to extort digital assets via kidnapping or torture.

In a ruthless attack on May 4, the father of a French crypto entrepreneur was abducted in Paris, France. The kidnappers cut the victim’s finger and sent a video to his son, demanding 5 million euros in crypto.

The victim was held for two days before French police were able to find and rescue him. According to CNN, five people were arrested in connection with the kidnapping. 

Related: US crypto funds top $7.5B inflows in 2025 as investor appetite grows

Crypto exchanges need “layered” cybersecurity

To prevent similar user data breaches, crypto exchanges need to adopt a “layered defense strategy,” according to Ronghui Gu, the co-founder of CertiK Web3 security firm.

“This can include privileged access management, zero trust architecture, multifactor authentication across internal systems, and continuous monitoring with behavioral analytics,” Gu told Cointelegraph, adding: 

“Preventive measures such as regular phishing simulations, tailored security training, and restricting third-party access to sensitive systems may help reduce these risks.”

However, crypto platforms will need to “rethink their security posture” as attackers “increasingly target human vulnerabilities rather than technical ones,” added Gu, warning of the rising threat of social engineering schemes.

Incidents and losses in 2024 by month. Source: CertiK

Social engineering schemes, such as phishing scams, were the most significant security threat of 2024, costing the industry over $1 billion across 296 incidents, according to CertiK.

Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19