As the Russian government is considering a ban on cash-to-cryptocurrency transactions, some major local crypto exchange platforms have experienced police raids.

Mosca, a crypto-to-cash exchange located in the Moscow International Business Center, was raided on April 23 in connection with fraud by one of its customers, Mosca’s development head Dmitry Titarenko confirmed to Cointelegraph.

“Law enforcement agencies have carried out a standard procedure of checking our customer data,” Titarenko told Cointelegraph at the local crypto event Blockchain Forum 2025.

The Mosca office raid followed online reports linking several arrests of some Mosca customers to a crypto robbery involving a victim reportedly giving fraudsters a massive cash deposit worth millions of dollars.

Cash-to-crypto ban to protect investors?

The police raid on Mosca came the next day after Evgeny Masharov, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, proposed banning crypto exchangers from accepting cash from their customers to buy cryptocurrencies like Tether USDt (USDT).

A potential ban on cash-to-crypto transactions would be a “massive blow to fraudsters,” Masharov said, adding that phone scammers were “often using crypto exchangers for withdrawing cash funds.”

Olga Serova, a former adviser to the head of the government of Samara region, claims to have lost up to $5 million to crypto fraudsters. Source: Baza

Subsequently, local news channel Baza reported on the Mosca raid, linking the event with a “record-breaking fraud” against Olga Serova, a former government adviser in Russia’s Samara region.

Serova, 71, reportedly fell victim to scammers in late 2024, cashing out her bank accounts to pass the fraudsters about 421 million Russian rubles ($5.1 million). According to Baza, at least seven people were arrested, allegedly in connection with the case.

Mosca clients can buy up to 100,000 USDT with cash daily

Mosca, which allows investors to deposit up to 100,000 USDT ($100,000) daily, was unaware whether Serova’s incident was connected to its office raid, Titarenko said.

“Maybe it was another client,” he said, adding that the raid was the first criminal-case-related office raid at Mosca in the past three months.

Titarenko also said that Mosca has been actively beefing up its Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer checks, including maintaining a blacklist of suspicious users.

Related: Russia’s central bank, finance ministry to launch crypto exchange

The raid caught Mosca during a major local event, Blockchain Life, returning to Moscow for the first time since October 2021. The company was one of the main guests at the conference, taking two center stands and winning a title of the “best crypto exchange service.”

One of Mosca’s stands at the Blockchain Forum 2025. Source: Cointelegraph

According to Sergey Mendeleev, a prominent figure in the Russian crypto community, the proposal to ban cash-to-crypto transactions is an alarming development for the community.

Speaking at the event, Mendeleev suggested that the Russian government might be turning away from crypto adoption if it approves such a ban.

He also mentioned that raids are a common situation for crypto exchange services located at the Moscow International Business Center, also known as Moscow City.

Garantex, a crypto exchange that halted trading after Tether froze $27 million in USDT due to sanctions, was also among the exchangers located in Moscow City.

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As the Russian government is considering a ban on cash-to-cryptocurrency transactions, some major local crypto exchange platforms have experienced police raids.

Mosca, a crypto-to-cash exchange located in the Moscow International Business Center, was raided on April 23 in connection with fraud by one of its customers, Mosca’s development head Dmitry Titarenko confirmed to Cointelegraph.

“Law enforcement agencies have carried out a standard procedure of checking our customer data,” Titarenko told Cointelegraph at the local crypto event Blockchain Forum 2025.

The Mosca office raid followed online reports linking several arrests of some Mosca customers to a crypto robbery involving a victim reportedly giving fraudsters a massive cash deposit worth millions of dollars.

Cash-to-crypto ban to protect investors?

The police raid on Mosca came the next day after Evgeny Masharov, a member of the Russian Civic Chamber, proposed banning crypto exchangers from accepting cash from their customers to buy cryptocurrencies like Tether USDt (USDT).

A potential ban on cash-to-crypto transactions would be a “massive blow to fraudsters,” Masharov said, adding that phone scammers were “often using crypto exchangers for withdrawing cash funds.”

Olga Serova, a former adviser to the head of the government of Samara region, claims to have lost up to $5 million to crypto fraudsters. Source: Baza

Subsequently, local news channel Baza reported on the Mosca raid, linking the event with a “record-breaking fraud” against Olga Serova, a former government adviser in Russia’s Samara region.

Serova, 71, reportedly fell victim to scammers in late 2024, cashing out her bank accounts to pass the fraudsters about 421 million Russian rubles ($5.1 million). According to Baza, at least seven people were arrested, allegedly in connection with the case.

Mosca clients can buy up to 100,000 USDT with cash daily

Mosca, which allows investors to deposit up to 100,000 USDT ($100,000) daily, was unaware whether Serova’s incident was connected to its office raid, Titarenko said.

“Maybe it was another client,” he said, adding that the raid was the first criminal-case-related office raid at Mosca in the past three months.

Titarenko also said that Mosca has been actively beefing up its Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer checks, including maintaining a blacklist of suspicious users.

Related: Russia’s central bank, finance ministry to launch crypto exchange

The raid caught Mosca during a major local event, Blockchain Life, returning to Moscow for the first time since October 2021. The company was one of the main guests at the conference, taking two center stands and winning a title of the “best crypto exchange service.”

One of Mosca’s stands at the Blockchain Forum 2025. Source: Cointelegraph

According to Sergey Mendeleev, a prominent figure in the Russian crypto community, the proposal to ban cash-to-crypto transactions is an alarming development for the community.

Speaking at the event, Mendeleev suggested that the Russian government might be turning away from crypto adoption if it approves such a ban.

He also mentioned that raids are a common situation for crypto exchange services located at the Moscow International Business Center, also known as Moscow City.

Garantex, a crypto exchange that halted trading after Tether froze $27 million in USDT due to sanctions, was also among the exchangers located in Moscow City.

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Bitcoin adoption among United States financial institutions could see a major boost after the US Federal Reserve withdrew its guidance discouraging banks from engaging with cryptocurrency.

On April 24, the Fed withdrew its 2022 supervisory letter that served as guidance to deter banks from engaging in crypto and stablecoin activities. The withdrawal spurred a notable uplift in Bitcoin (BTC) investor sentiment.

The Federal Reserve Board’s withdrawal giving banks guidance on crypto activities. Source: Federal Reserve

The 2022 guidance initially warned that crypto may pose risks to investors and the stability of the US financial system.

The Fed’s move means that “banks are now free to begin supporting Bitcoin,” said Michael Saylor, co-founder of the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holding firm, Strategy, in an April 25 X post.

Source: Michael Saylor

The Fed’s decision “is a significant development, as it will simplify the path to institutional adoption,” according to Anastasija Plotnikova, co-founder and CEO of blockchain regulatory firm Fideum.

“The withdrawal of this particular guidance ensures that crypto assets will be overseen through standard supervisory processes,” she told Cointelegraph, adding:

“We still need to have GENIUS and STABLE bills to be passed to further harmonize the crypto activities amongst Fed-supervised firms and other market participants. The combination of legislative effort will be the main driver behind the institutional adoption.”

The Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, passed the US House Financial Services Committee with a 32–17 vote on April 2. The bill aims to create clear regulatory guidelines for dollar-denominated stablecoins.

Source: Financial Services GOP

The GENIUS Act, short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 18–6 on March 13.

Related: Trump fought the bond market, the bond market won: Saifedean Ammous

Fed’s shift marks end of us regulatory hostility

The Federal Reserve’s decision may be a “meaningful turning point” for Bitcoin’s institutional adoption in the US, according to Eneko Knörr, co-founder and CEO of Stabolut, a yield-bearing stablecoin project.

“Up until now, US regulatory hostility made it virtually impossible for traditional financial institutions to participate in this space,” Knörr told Cointelegraph.

“With the recent shift in the Fed’s guidance, the door is finally open. This unlocks an enormous opportunity for banks — one that until now has been dominated by players like Coinbase and other crypto-native firms,” Knörr added.

Knörr added that banks are now likely to move quickly to meet client demand and retain market share previously captured by crypto-native firms like Coinbase.

Related: Serbia’s Prince Filip says Bitcoin is being stifled, expects huge rally

Bitcoin adoption among financial institutions is also lagging in Europe, with less than 20% of European banks offering crypto services, despite the rising investor demand and regulatory clarity in the region.

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US President Donald Trump’s memecoin team denied social media rumors that holders of the Official Trump (TRUMP) token need at least $300,000 to participate in an upcoming dinner with the president. 

On April 25, the official X account of the Trump memecoin clarified that there is no $300,000 requirement to join the memecoin project’s dinner event featuring the US president.

The rumor stemmed from community members citing the Solana blockchain explorer showing holders on the token’s contract address. At the time of writing, the explorer shows that the 220th-largest holder has 33,114 TRUMP, worth more than $400,000. However, the memecoin team said the explorer doesn’t reflect their criteria. 

“People have been incorrectly quoting #220 on the block explorer as the cutoff. That’s wrong because it includes things like locked tokens, exchanges, market makers, and those who are not participating. Instead, you should only be going off the leaderboard,” they wrote. 

Leaderboard for Trump Coin holders. Source: Trump Coin

Related: SEC task force met with Trump-supporting firms to discuss crypto regulation

Trump to hold dinner for top 220 memecoin holders

On April 23, the Trump Coin team revealed the leaderboard, showing the wallet addresses of those who are in the lead to qualify for the dinner event. 

The final guest list is still not finalized, but the memecoin team said any tokenholder who wants to be eligible must go through a background check. In addition, their wallet will also go through Know Your Customer and compliance measures. 

According to the memecoin’s official site, the team will pick the winners based on time-weighted holdings. This calculates the amount held and the time the tokens were held. “The longer you hold, the higher your weighted score becomes,” the team wrote. 

At the time of writing, the top holder in the leaderboard holds over 1.1 million tokens, worth $14.6 million, but only has a time-weighted score of over 686,000. The 220th wallet holder has 1,125 TRUMP, valued at almost $15,000, and a score of 136. 

The leaderboard also shows that some addresses with zero current TRUMP holdings remain eligible for the dinner. This is likely due to how long they previously held their tokens.

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An executive at major stablecoin issuer Circle denied reports that the company is looking to obtain a US federal bank charter.

In an April 25 X post, Circle’s chief strategy officer and head of global policy, Dante Disparte, denied that the company is interested in obtaining a US federal bank charter or acquiring an insured depository institution.

Instead, he said that Circle intends to comply with future US regulatory requirements for payment stablecoins, “which may require registering for a federal or state trust charter or other nonbank license.” He also urged lawmakers to reach regulatory clarity for stablecoins sooner rather than later.

Source: Dante Disparte

The statement followed recent reports that major cryptocurrency firms, including stablecoin issuer Circle and crypto custodian BitGo, were considering applying for bank charters or licenses. Other firms cited as seeking such licenses included publicly traded US-based crypto exchange Coinbase and stablecoin issuer Paxos.

Related: Circle’s EURC grows as trade war pushes euro higher — Analyst

The report was not entirely baseless

Cointelegraph reached out to all the companies cited in the report, requesting a confirmation or denial. All companies except one did not comment, with Coinbase confirming that it is considering such a license.

Still, it was not the first report that Circle was interested in a US bank charter. In April 2022, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in an interview with Bloomberg that the firm was already in discussions with regulators as part of its efforts to apply for a bank charter “hopefully in the near future.”

Circle did not respond to Cointelegraph’s request for further comment as of publication time.

Another previous report indicated that the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had granted a preliminary, conditional approval for a US bank charter to Paxos in 2021.

Related: Circle considers IPO delay amid economic uncertainty — Report

US stablecoin regulation is evolving

The news came as US regulators were working to change how stablecoins are regulated. The US House Financial Services Committee passed a Republican-backed stablecoin framework bill earlier this month.

The bill in question is the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act. Another bill currently moving through the US legislative process is the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act.

The STABLE and GENIUS bills differ in how they would regulate the stablecoin industry, with the former emphasizing strict federal oversight and the latter being more flexible, allowing for both federal and state rules. The GENIUS Act bill was introduced first and passed the US Senate Banking Committee in mid-March.

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The emerging blockchain industry lags behind the artificial intelligence sector in terms of job creation, but this hiring gap may narrow by 2030.

Blockchain remains one of the smallest sectors in the tech industry, with about 300,000 global jobs, compared to 1.5 million in AI and machine learning and 25 million in software development, according to a new Bitget Research report shared with Cointelegraph.

The blockchain sector added around 20,000 new jobs in 2024, according to job listings aggregated from platforms like LinkedIn, Web3 Jobs and Crypto Job List.

Total workforce in tech industry. Source: Bitget Research

While blockchain-based jobs had an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45%, outpacing most traditional tech sectors, it trails the AI industry’s 57% CAGR, according to the report.

The AI industry’s maturity and larger share of venture capital investment are the main reasons behind the hiring discrepancy, Vugar Usi Zade, chief operating officer of Bitget exchange, told Cointelegraph:

“Venture investors put more than $100 billion into AI startups in 2024, with AI-centric titles topping a million vacancies worldwide,” Usi Zade said. “Blockchain companies, meanwhile, advertise barely 20,000 openings and drew only about $5.4 billion in new funding during the same period.”

Regional blockchain market distribution. Source: Bitget Research

Related: Crypto firms moving into Wall Street territory amid ‘growing synergy’

Blockchain may generate over 1 million jobs by 2030

AI-related job listings have risen between 75% and 100% year-over-year, while blockchain job growth remains around the 45% to 60% growth range.

Blockchain vs AI job listings growth. Source: Bitget Research

Blockchain could exceed 1 million jobs by 2030 if it manages to scale at the same rate as AI-based roles, the report said.

More regulatory clarity from laws such as Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) may encourage blockchain firms to increase their hiring efforts, Zade said:

“Europe’s MiCA rule-book, live since December 2024, is already thawing hiring freezes; similar clarity in the United States and Asia would unlock global head-count plans.”

“Second comes enterprise-grade performance: Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade cut typical layer-2 fees by more than 95%, signaling that blockchains can now handle corporate traffic at an acceptable cost,” he added.

Related: Trump fought the bond market, the bond market won: Saifedean Ammous

While blockchain-based jobs are poised for growth, “AI will naturally garner more talent in the next decade,” Jawad Ashraf, CEO of Vanar Chain, told Cointelegraph.

“This is because AI’s market integration has been faster than any other modern technology we can remember,” he said. “If you look at blockchain, we’re still very much focused on integrating with TradFi and broader Web3 markets like gaming, real-world tokenization, etc.”

He added: “Blockchain still hasn’t penetrated the more conventional consumer-oriented markets. It will, in the near future, but we are not there yet.”

Blockchain and AI are not competing for talent

“AI and blockchain aren’t competing for talent; they’re working together to create new opportunities,” Yakov Lebedev, chief business development officer at 3Commas, a trading automation solution, told Cointelegraph.

Combining the two technologies enables “sophisticated financial tools accessible for everyone, not just big institutions, he said, adding:

“Companies are paying top dollar for professionals who understand both AI and blockchain, recognizing the value of this cross-domain expertise.” 

Lebedev added that the integration of blockchain with AI is driving steady job growth in both fields, as financial and tech firms move integrated solutions from pilot programs into core operations.

Thanks to the synergistic benefits of the two technologies, blockchain job growth may start mirroring the AI industry, according to Adi Ben-Ari, founder and CEO at Applied Blockchain, an AI-powered blockchain development firm.

AI technology is “probabilistic and introduces uncertainty,” which creates more demand for blockchain and cryptographic technologies, he told Cointelegraph.

“AI produces outcomes that are not always accurate, can be fake, and can sometimes be incorrect,” he said. “This new uncertainty needs to be countered by a technology that brings absolute certainty, and this is where blockchain and cryptography come in.”

Ben-Ari added that blockchain’s ability to secure sensitive information through cryptography would become increasingly important as AI consumes larger amounts of personal data.

LUNA payments to STIX protocol. Source: Basescan

AI agents are already using cryptocurrency for autonomous transactions. On Dec. 16, 2024, Luna, an AI agent on Virtuals Protocol, paid another AI agent from STIX Protocol, in exchange for its image generation services — sending $1.77 worth of Virtual (VIRTUAL) tokens, onchain data shows.

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Key Takeaways:

BTC liquidation levels, onchain data and chart setups converge at the $100K target.

Profitability has surged, suggesting a rebound in market confidence.

BTC breakout patterns point to $100K as a short-squeeze and euphoria magnet.

Bitcoin (BTC) is flashing multiple technical and onchain signals suggesting that a rally to $100,000 is possible by May. Here are five charts making the case for a near-term breakout.

BTC double bottom hints at $100,600 target

BTC’s daily chart has formed a textbook double bottom, confirming a breakout above the neckline resistance at $87,643. The structure projects a measured move to $100,575 or above.

BTC/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

Momentum indicators like the relative strength index (RSI) support this thesis, staying in bullish territory with more room to expand. Meanwhile, the 50- and 200-day exponential moving averages (EMAs) have flipped into support, offering additional tailwinds.

Volume has remained steady post-breakout, showing that buyers are still in control. This setup creates a strong foundation for Bitcoin to push toward $100,600.

Bull pennant setup eyes six-figure BTC price

On the hourly timeframe, BTC consolidates inside a bull pennant following a sharp rally. This pattern indicates temporary indecision before the next leg higher. The target sits near $100,900.

BTC/USD hourly price chart. Source: TradingView

The pennant formed after a steep rise, suggesting that BTC price is likely coiling before resuming its up move. Despite the low volume, the structure remains intact and is supported by strong EMA alignment.

A breakout above the pennant’s upper trendline could trigger fresh upside momentum, attracting short-term traders and algorithms targeting round-number breakouts.

Bitcoin’s falling wedge breakout targets $102,000

The three-day chart shows a completed falling wedge breakout, with the price breaking a key resistance zone near $94,000. The projected move targets $102,270.

BTC/USD three-day price chart. Source: TradingView

Falling wedges are typically bullish reversal patterns, and BTC’s clean breakout above the upper trendline adds technical conviction. Price is also riding above the 50-3D EMA, a key trend signal.

Volume surged during the breakout, suggesting strong buyer conviction.

The $94,000-95,000 resistance is now capping Bitcoin’s upside attempts. Breaking it means BTC could deliver its complete measured move toward $100,000 quickly.

Binance heatmap shows liquidity magnet at $100K

Liquidation data reveals a thick cluster of short liquidations around the $100,000 level. These positions often act like a magnet, pulling the price toward them as market makers hunt for liquidity.

BTC/USDT three-month liquidation heatmap. Source: CoinGlass

If BTC continues climbing, it will pressure short sellers who may be forced to exit, triggering a cascade of buy orders.

Related: $635M liquidated in 24H as trader predicts $100K Bitcoin short squeeze

Liquidity maps often front-run price. With such dense activity near six figures, the path of least resistance appears upward in the near term.

Bitcoin profitability increases post-breakout

As of April 23, 87.3% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply was in profit, up from 82.7% when BTC last traded near $94,000 in early March, according to Glassnode data.

The increase indicates that a significant portion of the Bitcoin supply changed hands at lower levels during the March correction, reflecting a fresh wave of accumulation.

BTC percent supply in profit. Source: Glassnode

Historically, when the Percent Supply in Profit remains above 90% for an extended period, markets tend to enter a euphoric phase. With profitability now nearing that threshold, bullish sentiment continues to build.

Combined with bullish chart structures and concentrated short liquidity overhead, BTC remains positioned for a potential move toward $100,000 by May.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

The tide of capital once destined for raw spot Bitcoin has begun to flow through institutional canals, spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), structured products and wrapped exposure, and while the water is rising fast, the waves aren’t quite the same. 

Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas, pointed out on X that there is a large movement in leveraged long ETFs and, at the same time, safer bets like gold and cash. Suppose one had to choose if Bitcoin (BTC) was a risk-on or risk-off asset. In that case, it may come down to how investors interpret its narrative, whether they see it as digital gold or another speculative vehicle.

Bitcoin’s ETF ecosystem has entered a new phase of capital absorption. On April 23, 2025, daily inflows surpassed $912 million, setting a record for the year. This seemingly marked a dramatic return to bullish sentiment just weeks after prolonged outflows.

But this surge is not just a simple return to form. What is taking shape is a strategic redistribution of investor positioning, one with structural implications that could temper the speculative heat familiar from past crypto bull cycles.

Bitcoin, in 2025, is no longer a monolithic asset. It is a spectrum of exposure. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was declared the “best new ETF product” by etf.com. From IBIT to derivatives, trusts and leveraged vehicles, the market is now defined by access mechanisms just as much as by price. That access may be soaking up energy that once fueled altcoin seasons, meme runs and vertical spot rallies.

This is not a cycle of runaway liquidity. It is one of refined distribution.

When exposure displaces ownership

Since the United States greenlit spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, over a dozen products have emerged. By April 2025, ETF inflows had become a primary barometer of market sentiment. Year-to-date, these ETFs have pulled in more than $2.57 billion in net inflows.

The biggest single-day surge hit $978.6 million on Jan. 6. Conversely, Feb. 25 saw the largest outflow of the year at $937.9 million. Across 81 trading days in 2025 so far, only 37 have been net positive. The average daily net flow is a modest $31.8 million, suggesting that while institutional interest is robust, it remains volatile and dependent on external signals.

These data points reveal a new structural rhythm. ETF capital tends to flow in pulses, reacting to macroeconomic headlines, not crypto-native momentum. Unlike 2021, when funding rates and leverage dominated market direction, today’s price action hinges on whether allocators view Bitcoin as a hedge, a risk asset or both.

Related: A guide to crypto trading bots: Analyzing strategies and performance

This new market plumbing is both a blessing and a bottleneck. Liquidity is deeper than ever, but it is not as kinetic. Long-horizon capital doesn’t chase candles. It waits for basis points. That creates a more stable floor but a lower ceiling. It also suppresses the retail euphoria that once catalyzed altseasons and speculative parabolas.

The frontier has not disappeared — it has been absorbed.

When everyone buys Bitcoin, but nobody buys risk

The same forces responsible for Bitcoin’s institutional ascent may also be strangling the lifeblood of altcoin speculation. One of the most notable shifts in 2025 is the absence of a classic altseason. In past cycles, BTC dominance would rise, then rotate into Ether (ETH), mid-caps and micro-caps. But this year, the cascade has stalled.

Capital that would once have dripped into altcoins now stops at the ETF gateway. With the likes of Larry Fink floating a $700,000 BTC projection, the capital behind that optimism stayed in structured products. It went into IBIT, not Uniswap or a centralized exchange like Coinbase.

ETF liquidity fragments exposure. Sovereign wealth funds buy Bitcoin. They do not ape into Solana NFTs. They buy ticker symbols and rebalance quarterly. Their entry provides stability but crowds out chaos, which has always been crypto’s native accelerant.

Ether and Solana ETF proposals are now pending. If approved, they may not revive altseasons but institutionalize them. Instead of meme rotations, we may see ETF pair trades instead of MetaMask and Bloomberg terminals. This is capital concentration, not dispersion.

Macro catalysts reinforce this trend. In both February and March, CPI prints exceeded expectations. Bitcoin ETFs saw inflows above $200 million on each release, turning inflation anxiety into passive accumulation. This behavior mirrors gold’s post-2008 ETF boom, when monetary policy began shaping commodity flows.

Bitcoin has now entered that regime. It is still speculative but no longer wild. Still volatile and still increasingly calculable. The market still runs on belief but trades on compliance.

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Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, to a low-security US federal correctional institution

Bankman-Fried was moved to the low-security Terminal Island federal correctional institution. Previously, he was located at the Victorville medium-security facility, a notoriously violent place, according to prison consultant firm Elizabeth Franklin-Best.

Samuel Goldfaden, a partner at the crypto-centric lawfirm, DLT Law told Cointelegraph that while his previous facility was violent, BankmanFried had been held in a safer part of the facility, adding:

“Sam Bankman-Fried spent most of his detention in the more secure dorm units of MDC Brooklyn, reportedly alongside other high-profile inmates such as Sean P. Diddy to ensure his safety.“Terminal Island FCI review. Source: Elizabeth Franklin-BestIn “good” company

Terminal Island is located in San Pedro, California and houses involved in financial crime. According to Franklin, notable inmates at the facility include ormer stockbroker Anthony Elgindy (wire fraud, racketeering, securities fraud and extortion) and internet music entrepreneur Mouli Cohen (wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion

New York ttorney Aaron Brogan told Cointelegraph that Bankman-Fried’s “non-violent record may well have been incorporated into a risk score” which led him to this low-security facility. His alleged autism, on the other hand, was unlikely to have had an influence despite layers playing it as a card:

“I’ve heard reports that describe Sam as autistic, but that is within a particular subclinical contemporary lens — autism can be a debilitating condition, but Sam graduated from MIT, founded multiple billion-dollar companies, and successfully defrauded millions of people.“

Goldfaden suggested a tie between Bankman-Fried’s interview with political commentator Tucker Carlson, which was not approved by prison authorities and followed by solitary confinement. He highlighted that shortly after the interview,“was transferred, to improved conditions and moved closer to his family.

A win for the FTX co-founder

Brogan pointed out that lower security facilities are usually “nicer” and said that as a result he is less likely to become a victim of violent crime. will probably have a “slightly easier” time communicating with his attorneys.

Still, Brogan said that those are suppositions that are likely to be true, but not guaranteed and the change may be negative for Bankman-Fried instead:

“It is hard to say from the outside, but generally one would expect lower security prisons to make such communication less challenging.“

The timeline of the FTX co-founder’s appeal will not be affected by the move, his pardon-seeking. The move also raises questions about the markedly different safety and rehabilitation environments that inmates guilty of non-violent offences find themselves in.

Still, Brogan said that is “the nature of the United States prison system.” He highlighted that “the prison system treats all inmates unfairly, and almost nobody cares.” He :

“This is a punishment and the mass of people want it to be hard. There is some threshold of human decency, but nothing that has happened to Sam approaches that.“

Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea regained its position as the leading platform for digital collectible trading, even as overall market activity declined.

Data tracker NFTScan shows that OpenSea has held the top spot in NFT marketplace trading volume for the last 30 days. According to the data, OpenSea holds more than 40% of the market’s trading volume, while Blur, its largest competitor, is at 23%. NFT platform Magic Eden has a 7.69% market share, while OKX NFTs have a 5% market share. 

The data tracker also shows that in the last month, almost 70% of the wallets transacting with NFTs engaged with OpenSea. More than 610,000 wallets used OpenSea. In the last three months, OpenSea had over 2.1 million wallets engaging with its platform. 

By comparison, wallets engaging with Magic Eden, Blur and OKX NFT reached a combined market share of 17%, about 103,000 wallets. In the last three months, the platforms had a total of 380,000 wallets trading NFTs on their platforms. 

NFT marketplace wallet distribution data. Source: NFTScanOpenSea regained NFT dominance amid platform developments

In the last quarter of 2024, OpenSea promoted the launch of its new platform OS2. OpenSea co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer said they would “reimagine everything,” and that a new version would come in December.  

On Feb. 13, OpenSea launched the open beta for OS2, allowing the public to finally use its platform after a period of reserved access for private beta users. The NFT marketplace also teased the launch of the project’s official token, SEA. 

Apart from launching a revamped NFT marketplace, the project ventured into crypto token trading.

On April 19, the platform announced that it had opened its Solana trading access for all its users, skipping a scheduled closed beta phase limited to 50,000 users. The new feature allows OpenSea users to trade Solana tokens, including popular memecoins like Bonk and Ai16z. 

In addition to platform developments, the NFT marketplace had also been freed from regulatory scrutiny. On Feb. 22, Finzer said the US Securities and Exchange Commission had dropped its investigation into the digital collectible marketplace. 

Related: Polygon NFTs overtake Ethereum collectibles in 7-day sales

NFT sales dropped 61% in the first quarter of 2025 

OpenSea is regaining its market dominance amid a slowdown in NFT sales volumes. CryptoSlam data shows that in Q1 2025, NFT sales volumes reached $1.5 billion. This represented a 61% decline compared to the $4.1 billion volume in the same period in 2024. 

Despite declining sales volumes, some metrics show that NFTs are still interesting to many traders. CryptoSlam shows over 359,000 NFT buyers in the last seven days, a 52% increase compared to the previous week. 

Furthermore, despite the volume slowdown, some collections have shown signs of life. In the last seven days, CryptoPunks surged 82% in sales. In the last 30 days, the collection reached almost $20 million in sales volumes. 

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