Autor Cointelegraph By Jesse Coghlan

The company behind the dYdX decentralized exchange (DEX) has partnered with Robinhood to rebrand and launch the protocol as Arcus on the Robinhood Chain. An X account for Arcus posted on Wednesday that “dYdX is now Arcus” and would launch on the Robinhood Chain, Robinhood’s Arbitrum-based layer 2 blockchain that went live the same day.The dYdX Foundation said that dYdX Labs created Arcus “in partnership with Robinhood” and that the dYdX blockchain “is not affected by it in any way.” The platform is set to be blockchain’s “leading DEX” and will give users access to perpetual products and fee-free trading of 95 tokenized stocks.Source: Charles d’HaussyThe DEX is part of Robinhood’s expanded push into tokenized assets and perpetual trading, two areas of crypto that have recently exploded in popularity as US regulators have shown interest in allowing the products to more easily come to market.Robinhood’s embrace of perpetual trading comes as it looks to entice traders who have flocked to the crypto perpetual futures platform Hyperliquid, whose token has climbed nearly 150% so far this year as it has captured market share.Arcus to offer tokenized stock, perps trading“Until now, traders have been shut out of the most valuable markets on earth — US equities, commodities, and indices — because of where they live, market hours, and institutions restricting access,” Arcus said in a blog post. “We built Arcus to reduce these barriers.”The protocol said that it will offer perpetuals and tokenized stock trading that will go live this month, allowing tokenized stocks to be used as collateral for perpetuals and providing access to pre-IPO markets.Related: CFTC chair says perp trading not suitable for all assets it regulatesIt added that Robinhood Crypto, the company’s crypto technology arm, made an investment in Arcus but did not disclose further details.The dYdX Foundation said that Arcus “is a distinct, independent product built on separate infrastructure” and that the dYdX blockchain would continue to operate and be owned by its community.Major retail-focused trading platforms have been moving to expand their offerings to remain competitive. Crypto exchange Coinbase has looked to rival Robinhood and become a full-service trading platform, having added access to thousands of stocks earlier this year.Robinhood’s blockchain also follows a similar move from Coinbase in 2023, when the latter launched its Ethereum layer-2 blockchain Base that has grown to be the fifth-largest by value locked, according to DeFiLlama.Meanwhile, Bitget Wallet, the self-custodial wallet from the Bitget crypto exchange, said on Wednesday that it partnered with Robinhood Crypto to integrate the company’s blockchain to allow its users to trade tokenized stocks.The decentralized exchange 1inch also said on Wednesday that it would be among the first major swap platforms to support Robinhood Chain. Big Questions: Do we really only need 2–5 cryptocurrencies?

Shares in the Trump family-backed American Bitcoin (ABTC) sank to an all-time low on Wednesday after the crypto miner set a date for a 1-for-15 reverse stock split in a bid to stay listed on the Nasdaq.American Bitcoin said its reverse stock split will go into effect after the market closes Thursday and will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis when the market opens Monday. It would continue to trade under the ticker ABTC.It said every 15 shares of the company’s Class A and B common stock will be reclassified as one share. The company expects its common stock to be reduced from more than 1 billion outstanding shares to about 73 million.American Bitcoin is the only public crypto company tied to the Trump family’s sprawling interests in the sector, and a reverse stock split is typically seen as a negative, as it indicates the company is in distress and is looking to artificially boost its share price. American Bitcoin said the split aims to prop up its shares to maintain compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum bid requirements, which allow the exchange to delist the company if it trades below a $1 closing price for 30 consecutive trading days.Shareholders had approved the reverse stock split on June 22.American Bitcoin shares hit all-time lowShares in American Bitcoin dropped nearly 8.4% to close trading Wednesday at an all-time low of 62 cents. The stock saw a slight lift after-hours, rising 4.5% to 65 cents.American Bitcoin’s stock tumbled to an all-time closing low of 62 cents on Wednesday. Source: Google FinanceAmerican Bitcoin’s stock is down more than 63% so far this year and has fallen more than 92% since the brand started trading on the Nasdaq on Sept. 3.The company was co-founded early last year by US President Donald Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.American Bitcoin merged with the Nasdaq-listed Gryphon Digital Mining to go public, with the Trump brothers and crypto miner Hut 8 together owning around 98% of the newly formed company.Related: Bitcoin miners need billions to fund AI ambitions, led by IREN’s $21B gapThe company’s falling share price comes amid a wider downturn in the crypto market. American Bitcoin reported in May that it lost $81.7 million in the first quarter.Other crypto companies have also turned to reverse stock splits to prop up their share price. Bitcoin financial services company Nakamoto completed a 1-for-40 reverse stock split in May in a bid to stay listed on the Nasdaq after it reached a low of 16 cents in April.Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at around $60,000 early Thursday, down 32% so far this year and having more than halved from its peak of more than $126,000 in October, according to CoinGecko.Magazine: Clarity Act risks repeat of Europe’s mistakes, crypto lawyer warns

Taiwanese lawmakers on Tuesday passed a law to establish a regulatory framework for crypto, which includes licensing and rules for stablecoins.The country’s financial watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), said that the Legislative Yuan passed the law requiring all virtual asset service providers, or VASPs, to get approval from the regulator to operate.The law also says stablecoins issued in the country must get approval from the central bank and the FSC, and issuers must maintain sufficient reserves with a trustee and undergo regular audits.The law is the first to regulate crypto and stablecoins in Taiwan, bringing it in line with other nations in the region, such as Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, that have long passed laws to regulate the sector in a bid to attract the industry.The FSC said the bill further strengthens the protection of traders’ rights and that issuing stablecoins will help Taiwan integrate with the international market and secure a place in the global crypto market.Source: CointelegraphTaiwan’s rules outline seven types of VASPs, including exchanges, trading platforms, custodians and lenders, which will all be subject to rules for internal control and audits, cybersecurity systems, crypto listing and delisting rules, customer asset segregation and financial reporting.The rules outlaw crypto-based fraud and price manipulation, with violators facing between three and 10 years in prison and fines ranging from about 10 million New Taiwan dollars ($300,000) to 200 million New Taiwan dollars ($6.3 million).Those caught operating a VASP or issuing a stablecoin without a license face up to seven years in prison and fines of up to 100 million New Taiwan dollars ($3.1 million), Taiwan’s national news agency, CNA, reported on Tuesday. Related: US ban on stablecoin yield could see others fill the void: Ledger execThe implementation date of the bill is still to be determined, and the law will take effect only after it is published by the government’s executive branch.The FSC said VASPs that complete anti-money laundering registration before the bill is implemented, and institutions that provide related services under the agency, should apply for a license within 12 months after the bill is implemented.CNA reported that lawmakers also passed a resolution asking the FSC to propose a plan within a year outlining how the crypto industry can provide derivative crypto commodity services, with the aim of providing diversified investments and improving the sector’s health.Asia Express: Japanese pension fund tips 1% in crypto, G7 urges action on NK hackers

Hollywood director Carl Rinsch has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for defrauding Netflix out of $11 million, which he spent on crypto, stocks and luxury goods.A Manhattan federal court on Monday sentenced Rinsch, known for directing the 2013 film “47 Ronin,” starring Keanu Reeves, to 30 months in prison after he was convicted in December on charges including fraud and money laundering.“Rinsch orchestrated a scheme to steal millions by seeking $11 million from a subscription streaming service, falsely claiming that money would be used to finance a television show that he was creating,” Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement Monday.“Instead of using the money to make the show, Rinsch made risky bets on highly speculative stock options and cryptocurrency, and spent millions of dollars on luxury goods for himself,” Clayton added. “Today’s sentence sends a deterrent message: fraud will not be tolerated.”Rinsch’s sentence was far below the maximum possible prison time of 90 years he was facing for his seven total charges, to which he pleaded not guilty. His defense also argued that he suffered from mental health issues.The sentence brings to a close a 15-month saga after Rinsch was arrested in March 2025 for defrauding what prosecutors referred to in court documents as “Streaming Company-1,” which multiple reports have identified as Netflix.Source: US Attorney SDNYRinsch makes $27 million on Dogecoin betAccording to a March 2025 indictment and a November 2023 New York Times report on a confidential arbitration proceeding between Netflix and Rinsch, the company initially gave Rinsch $44 million for his sci-fi show “White Horse,” later renamed “Conquest,” but he asked for more funds to finish the show, prompting Netflix to wire an additional $11 million in March 2020.Rinsch used $10.5 million from the fresh funding to gamble on the stock market and quickly lost about half of it in a few weeks by trading options on pharmaceutical companies and the S&P 500.Rinsch transferred more than $4 million in remaining funds to crypto exchange Kraken and went all in on the memecoin Dogecoin (DOGE), a bet that ultimately generated around $27 million when he liquidated in May 2021, according to an account statement seen by The Times.Carl Rinsch giving an interview in 2013 for his feature directorial debut film 47 Ronin. Source: YouTubeWith the DOGE winnings, Rinsch then spent about $10 million on personal expenses and luxury goods, including $1.8 million on credit card bills, $1 million on lawyers to sue Netflix, $3.8 million on furniture and antiques, $2.4 million on five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, and $652,000 on watches and clothes, according to the indictment.Related: Onchain, in court: What happened in crypto legal news this weekRinsch never finished the show or returned the funds Netflix provided to complete it.Prosecutors asked for five yearsRinsch was convicted of one count each of wire fraud and money laundering, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, along with five counts of making monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity, each carrying a maximum of 10 years.Prosecutors asked the court in a mid-June sentencing memo to give Rinsch five years in prison after he argued for a sentence without prison time.Rinsch’s defense said he suffered from mental health issues, with friends and family members writing to the court to say that his behavior changed around the time of the offenses. Keanu Reeves also wrote to the court in support of Rinsch.In addition to his two-and-a-half-year prison term, Rinsch was sentenced to three years of supervised release, $11 million in forfeiture and $700 in mandatory special assessments.Magazine: China’s 107 Bitcoin memory thief, Bithumb CEO booked: Asia Express

Crypto exchange users in Australia will soon face stricter rules on all transfers as the country’s travel rule is set to come into force on Wednesday, aligning it with similar rules in the EU, US and UK.From July, all crypto sent and received on locally-regulated crypto exchanges will require users to provide additional information, such as the name of the person the crypto is being sent to or received from, and the name of the platform.Gabby Lewis, the head of fraud and financial crime at Swyftx, told Cointelegraph that for most exchange users, “the impact should be very limited. They’ll provide the required details once, and then these will be saved for future use.”The rules are set to bring Australia in line with other countries that have implemented the travel rule for years, which the Financial Action Task Force, an international policy-making body, first extended to crypto in 2019.Crypto users have long expressed concern that the rule would impact the anonymity of the technology and the risks of data linking crypto transfers to personal information being leaked.However, Lewis said that the “travel rule isn’t crypto-specific. It already applies across financial services and has been implemented in areas including Singapore, the United States, New Zealand and the UK. Australia is now following suit.”The rule aims to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and scams by increasing the traceability of crypto transfers. It will be enforced by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), the country’s financial intelligence agency.Transfers from a regulated crypto exchange to a self-custodial address, such as a cold storage wallet, will also prompt a user to verify and declare that they are the owner of that address. “We’re generally talking about a quick confirmation that the wallet is theirs,” Lewis said. “The additional steps mainly come into force for transfers that involve another party or another exchange.”Australia’s travel rule has no minimum value threshold, meaning a transfer of any size will require an exchange to gather information, aligning it with countries including France, the Netherlands and Japan that have no minimum.Source: Sam GreenOther countries have set minimum reporting thresholds, such as the US, which only collects information on transfers starting at $3,000.Some crypto exchanges operating in Australia have already begun to implement the travel rule, such as Kraken, which started on March 31, and CoinJar, which started on Tuesday.Related: Australia passes digital asset bill bringing crypto platforms under licensingCrypto users online have recently given mixed reactions to the rule, which the Australian parliament passed into law in 2024.“With these new rules, you can forget about sending crypto anonymously,” a Reddit user wrote earlier this month.“New travel rule is insane,” another Reddit user wrote earlier in June. “Thinking of moving everything to cold storage instead now.”In response, one Reddit user said that “the regulated platforms were never anonymous.” “This is less of a problem than you’re making it out to be unless you’re involved in activities the authorities would be interested in already,” another user wrote.Magazine: Crypto scammers face death, Aussie CGT makes Asian hubs attractive: Asia Express