“South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was re-elected to the presidency, heading the country's first coalition government. The ANC party, which he chairs, won 159 seats in parliament, short of a majority of 200 seats.

This election outcome is not expected to have a significant impact on the country's emerging crypto industry. South Africa recently began licensing digital asset companies, becoming one of the first African countries to do so.

In 2022, the country included cryptocurrency providers in its Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act to regulate digital assets as financial products."

Federal prosecutors in Illinois have charged two men with owning and operating the shady market Empire Market. Thomas Pavey, 38, of Florida, and Raheem Hamilton, 28, of Virginia, managed Empire Market from 2018 to 2020. The pair processed $430 million worth of transactions on a website that allows the anonymous purchase of illegal goods and services.

All transactions were carried out using cryptocurrency. Empire Market ceased operations in August 2020. Pavey and Hamilton are already in custody on other charges.

The new charges include conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, computer fraud, device fraud, counterfeiting and money laundering. The charges against both men could carry life sentences, according to the Department of Justice.

During the investigation, law enforcement seized $75 million in cryptocurrency, as well as an unspecified amount of cash and precious metals.

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which was the world's third largest, is in crisis after a sharp decline. This sent shockwaves through the industry, leading to lower prices and the collapse of many companies. Today the situation looks better, but there is a fear that the industry is repeating old mistakes and preparing for a new crisis. This raises the question of how valuable the underlying principles of cryptocurrency are.

Bitcoin {{BTC}} fell to its lowest in four weeks, losing more than 2% in an hour during the US trading session. Over the past seven days, the price of the cryptocurrency has fallen by 7.5%.

Smaller cryptocurrencies posted even larger declines, with the CoinDesk 20 index losing nearly 12% for the week. Ether {{ETH}} fell to $3,400, losing more than 10% during this period.

The rapid decline led to the liquidation of nearly $180 million in cryptocurrency derivatives trading positions over the past 24 hours, most of which were long bets on higher prices.

Uncertainty in Europe and a rising dollar also put pressure on Bitcoin.

MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, increased its offering of convertible notes by 40% to $700 million. The notes will be non-secured, senior obligations and mature in June 2032. The Company also granted the initial purchasers an option to purchase an additional $100 million of notes within 13 days of the initial issuance. Proceeds from the issuance will be used to purchase more bitcoins and for general corporate affairs. Brokerage firm Bernstein has set a target price for the company's shares of $2,890.

Canadian singer Drake could lose $1 million worth of cryptocurrency after placing two $500,000 bets on the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Mavericks winning the Stanley Cup and NBA finals, respectively. Bets were made in bitcoins at Stake crypto casino. Both teams have lost three matches in a row and will have to avoid defeat to continue the streak. Drake has previously lost Bitcoin while betting on sports.

Bitcoin is hovering around $67,000 as the cryptocurrency market consolidates. Amid weakening investor confidence, Bitcoin ETFs traded on US exchanges suffered net outflows of $226 million on Thursday. Brokerage firm Bernstein predicts Bitcoin will reach $1 million within 10 years. Former Goldman Sachs executive Connie Shoemaker has joined the board of directors of cryptocurrency company Anchorage Digital.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has withdrawn tax evasion charges against Binance executives Tigran Gambarian and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a family spokesman said.

Now the FIRS blames only Binance, through its local representative. Gambaryan no longer needs to appear in court in this case; Binance has become the only defendant.

However, Gambaryan and Anjarwalla are still involved in the trial on charges of money laundering. The next hearing in this case is scheduled for June 19. Gambaryan is still in Kuje prison.

Traders expect the price of Bitcoin (BTC) to fall further in the coming weeks, despite a strong stock market and favorable US cryptocurrency policy. The reason is the active sales of miners and the general withdrawal of profits.

Network data shows an increase in the transfer of BTC from mining pools to exchanges, which is often seen as a sign of an upcoming sale.

“Bitcoin continues to test the strength of the 50-day moving average, but does not find enough reasons for further decline,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, senior market analyst at FxPro.

Analysts at the Japanese crypto exchange bitBank note that “Bitcoin’s upper potential may be limited due to miners’ need for cash.”

Bitcoin jumped from $68,000 to $70,000 on Wednesday as the U.S. Consumer Price Index for May came in lower than expected. However, the price quickly returned to its previous level on Thursday after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) agencies cut their forecast for rate cuts this year from three times to one.

At the same time, some market observers said that Ether "looks worse" than Bitcoin in terms of short-term sentiment.

Bitcoin lost 6% for the week, while the Nasdaq hit an all-time high. This is due to cryptocurrency-specific factors such as profit-taking by holders and increased sales by miners. Earlier this week, a wallet that has been dormant since 2018 transferred 8,000 BTC worth more than $500 million to crypto exchange Binance, often signaling an impending sale. CryptoQuant data shows that the number of BTC inactive for 12 months and two years has decreased. This suggests that holders are taking profits as the price of Bitcoin holds near all-time highs.

MicroStrategy, the largest corporate owner of Bitcoin, received an "outperform" rating with a $2,890 share price target from Bernstein. According to Bernstein, the value of Bitcoin could reach $1 million by 2033 and $200,000 by 2025.

MicroStrategy owns 1.1% of the total global supply of Bitcoin, worth about $14.5 billion. The company began buying the cryptocurrency in 2020, adopting it as a reserve asset.

MicroStrategy's long-term convertible debt strategy allows it to have ample time to benefit from Bitcoin's potential growth with limited risk of liquidation of the cryptocurrency on its balance sheet.

Bitcoin ETFs traded on US exchanges experienced outflows of more than $226 million on Thursday, marking the third day of outflows this week. This is reminiscent of the outflow that occurred at the end of April.

The largest outflow was recorded from FBTC from Fidelity - $106 million, according to preliminary data from SoSoValue. GBTC from Grayscale recorded an outflow of $62 million, and ARKB from Ark Invest recorded an outflow of $53 million.

Only BlackRock's IBIT recorded a net inflow of $18 million. ETFs from Valkyrie, Franklin Templeton, Hashdex and WisdomTree showed no inflow or outflow activity.

Wednesday was the only day this week to record a net inflow of these products, which added $100 million in one day. This comes amid general volatility in Bitcoin and the broader crypto market following the key US inflation report and the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday.

Cryptocurrency custody company Anchorage Digital has tapped former Goldman Sachs executive Connie Shoemaker to its board of directors. Shoemaker currently serves as COO and CFO at Bridgewater Associates Holdings, the parent company of the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates.

Anchorage Digital is the only crypto bank licensed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The expansion of the board of directors is part of an effort to meet growing institutional demand for secure and federally regulated digital asset infrastructure.

Anchorage Digital co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley said Shoemaker's experience in the traditional financial world will be "invaluable" to the company's growth.

A US judge has approved a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Terraform Labs and its former CEO Do Kwon. The agreement includes a fine of $4.5 billion and a ban on trading in “cryptoactive securities.”

Kwon, who is in custody in Montenegro awaiting a decision on his extradition, did not attend the trial where the agreement was reached.

Terraform Labs is currently under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, its CEO Chris Amani said in court, and has approximately $150 million in assets on hand.

The Holograph protocol token (HLG) fell more than 60% after an attacker exploited a vulnerability and created 1 billion HLG.

Blockchain data indicates that the acc01ade.eth wallet was involved in the operation. A Github page links this account to HLG.

The Holograph protocol allows a single contract address to be used across all EVM blockchains, providing stable tokenization and secure cross-asset transfers.

At current market prices, the 1 billion HLG that the attacker took possession of is worth just over $6.7 million.

The team has launched an investigation and is in contact with law enforcement.

Cryptocurrency markets remain under pressure during US trading, continuing a pullback that began after the Federal Reserve said it planned to cut rates just once this year.

The price of Ethereum (ETH) jumped following an announcement by Gary Gensler, Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, that full approval of an Ethereum ETF is expected by the end of the summer. However, an hour later the price fell by 3%.

Bitcoin (BTC) also fell nearly 5%, trading near a weekly low of $66,300.

Macroeconomic data indicating a continued softening in inflation and the economy failed to improve sentiment in the crypto market.

At the end of 2017, the cryptocurrency boom attracted millions of people to the idea of ​​getting rich through their smartphone. In December alone, three million people downloaded an app for Coinbase, the main US cryptocurrency exchange. Robinhood, a popular stock trading app, missed out on the Bitcoin boom, announcing its expansion into cryptocurrency trading only at the end of the bubble. However, the company managed to adapt to the next stage in time by offering options trading to its clients.

Microsoft is building large AI data centers in Arizona and Wisconsin, causing increased energy and water consumption. However, Bitcoin mining can help stabilize power grids due to miners' ability to quickly regulate power consumption.

Thus, in the state of Oklahoma, Bitcoin mining is encouraged to stabilize energy networks. Texas, Scandinavia and Iceland actively use mining to balance energy consumption and prevent network congestion.

Bitcoin mining also contributes to the financial viability of renewable energy projects by ensuring constant and predictable demand for electricity.

Looking ahead, Bitcoin mining, AI data centers and renewable energy projects could offer new opportunities for innovation in energy management.

The Biden administration has proposed a 30% tax on “cryptocurrency miners.” The proposal, part of the government's budget proposal for the next financial year, has sparked heated discussions. Many believe that such a tax would destroy the digital mining sector and result in investors losing billions of dollars. It is proposed that the tax would be phased in over three years, starting at 10% in the first year and reaching 30% in the third year.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Gary Gensler said final approval for trading of Ethereum's ether exchange traded fund (ETF) should be completed this summer. He told senators at a budget hearing on Thursday.

Gensler said the process has been going smoothly since the ETF panel's initial approval. Once these applications are approved, the new ETFs can be listed, opening up wide markets for easily traded funds that hold real Ether, as was the case with previously established funds in place of Bitcoin that hold {{BTC}}.