John Crawford

John Crawford

Bitcoin, Altcoins Soar After Iran Opens Strait of Hormuz

Key points: Bitcoin soared above $76,000, opening the doors for a further rally toward $84,000. Several major altcoins are showing strength, signaling broad-based buying by the bulls. Bitcoin (BTC) skyrocketed above the $76,000 resistance on Friday after Iran’s foreign minister said that the Strait of Hormuz will remain open for the remainder of the ceasefire

Singapore Gulf Bank Adds Fiat-to-Stablecoin Conversion Feature

Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB) has introduced a service that lets institutional clients mint and redeem stablecoins directly from their bank accounts, using the Solana layer-1 blockchain network to enable round-the-clock settlement between fiat and digital assets. The service will initially support Circle USDC (USDC) transactions above $100,000 and includes temporary fee waivers for minting and

French Finance Minister Backs Euro-Pegged Stablecoins in Response to US

Roland Lescure, France’s finance minister, backed an initiative by European banks to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in 2026 to compete with US dollar-backed tokens, which currently dominate the market. According to a Friday Reuters report, Lescure supported the euro-pegged Qivalis stablecoin plan launched in September 2025 by EU banks, including Dutch lender ING and Italy’s

Neo Co-Founder Proposes $461M Overhaul to End ‘Trust Me’ Governance

Neo co-founder Da Hongfei has proposed a sweeping overhaul of the Neo Foundation after years of deadlock with co-founder Erik Zhang left one of crypto’s oldest networks effectively paralyzed. The plan follows Neo’s first public financial disclosure since 2019, showing about $461 million in assets held across the Neo Foundation (NF) and Neo Global Development

Crypto Execs Ramp Up Security as Wrench Attacks Increase

The frequency of kidnap and ransom attempts on prominent cryptocurrency executives has skyrocketed in recent years. Referred to, perhaps crudely, in the crypto community as a “$5 wrench attack,” these attempts to extract millions from crypto bigwigs have spurred politicians to mitigate risk.  Policymakers in France are currently working on safeguards, including a prevention platform

Bitcoin Tops $77K as Iran Declares Strait of Hormuz Open

Update (4.17.26 6:43 PM UTC): This article has been updated to reflect updated BTC prices and rally data. Iran’s foreign minister said Friday that the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial vessel traffic for the remainder of the current ceasefire, prompting quick market reactions. “In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for

Telegram CEO Warns EU Age Verification App Risks Surveillance

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov warned Friday that the European Union’s new age-verification app could become a stepping stone toward broader online identity tracking, days after the European Commission said the system was technically ready for rollout. In a Telegram post on Friday, Durov cited analysis from security consultant Paul Moore, who said the app is

Ramp Network Launches Multichain Wallet to Cut Third-Party Handoffs

Fintech company Ramp Network said Friday it launched a multichain self-custodial wallet designed to tackle a common friction point in crypto of needing to rely on outside providers for core actions such as buying, swapping and cashing out. The company said the wallet allows users to buy, sell, trade and cash out digital assets inside

Ben Zhou: Trust, AI and a New Financial Platform

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — What will it take to build a financial system that billions of people can trust — and barely notice? That question set the tone for a fireside chat titled “Trust, Technology, and Transformation: Building the New Financial Platform for a Tokenized Economy”, where Bybit Co-founder and
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