Autor Cointelegraph By Turner Wright

The France-based semiconductor company that announced a move into crypto is “no longer pursuing” a treasury strategy after less than a year.In a Thursday notice, Sequans Communications said it held 658 Bitcoin (BTC) worth about $48 million at the time of publication, which it said was “fully unencumbered” and unrestricted as it looks to refocus solely on Internet of Things (IoT) semiconductor growth.The company’s NYSE-traded shares, which have shed more than 75% since last June, were up more than 14.5% in morning trading following the announcement.According to the company, it had concluded the digital asset treasury strategy it launched in June 2025 and would “monetize remaining holdings over time.” The shift in strategy came as Sequans said it had fully redeemed all convertible debt issued in July 2025, funded with the liquidation of some of its BTC holdings at the time.CEO Georges Karam said that the company was “fully focused on scaling [its] [Internet of Things] semiconductor business,” not mentioning any plans to scale up crypto investments. Source: SequansSequans announced the sale of $384 million in equity securities and convertible secured debentures a year ago, with Karam calling Bitcoin “a premier asset and a compelling long-term investment” at the time. Since the launch of its treasury strategy, the price of Bitcoin has fallen by more than 30%, from $105,419 to $72,780.Related: Europe’s Bitcoin treasury playbook won’t be a copy of Strategy: PBW 2026Capital B shares continue dropping after Bitcoin acquisitionThe move away from a digital asset treasury reduces the total number of publicly traded European companies investing in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to 40, according to website Bitcoin Treasuries. It lists 67 publicly traded US companies, including Strategy, which announced a $2 billion purchase in Bitcoin on May 18, bringing its total holdings to 843,738 BTC.Another France-based Bitcoin treasury company, Capital B, last week announced that it had purchased more than $15 million worth of BTC, bringing its total holdings up to 3,135 coins. The company’s stock price has since fallen more than 16%.Source: Yahoo! FinanceBitcoinTreasuries data shows Capital B was the 25th-largest BTC treasury globally, trailing behind Germany’s Bitcoin Group SE.Magazine: Big Questions: Do we really only need 2–5 cryptocurrencies?

The UK government has added cryptocurrency exchange HTX to its list of sanctioned entities over its support of Russia.On Tuesday, UK authorities said that there were “reasonable grounds to suspect” HTX, formerly Huobi Global, has been supporting Russia’s government through financial services and funds facilitated by the A7 Limited Liability Company and Garantex, other sanctioned entities. The crypto exchange, headquartered in Panama, was the latest to be named as part of a crackdown on entities “exploited by Russia to circumvent UK sanctions.”“If the Kremlin thinks it can evade our sanctions by hiding behind crypto networks and shadow financial systems, it is gravely mistaken,” said UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.An HTX spokesperson told Cointelegraph: “Regulatory compliance remains our absolute top priority at HTX. We proactively monitor and strictly adhere to regulatory frameworks in all jurisdictions where we operate globally, including the UK.”Source: HTX GlobalRussia continues to face sanctions by multiple countries in the European Union and globally over its military actions in Ukraine, launched in 2022. In April, the European Commission announced a package of crypto-related sanctions targeting stablecoins like A7A5 and digital asset operators linked to Belarus.Related: UK politician Nigel Farage bought $1.8M house after $6.7M crypto giftHTX has previously been a target of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, which in 2025 opened legal proceedings against the company for illegal crypto promotions on social media. The UK watchdog said HTX had pushed promotions on TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, in violation of marketing rules.Russia could criminalize crypto activities with new legislationIn April, Russian lawmakers advanced measures that could allow authorities to impose criminal penalties on unlicensed digital asset services and mandate registration with the country’s central bank. The proposals came alongside bills that passed first reading in the lower house of parliament, imposing limits on crypto for retail investors and reinforcing a prohibition on digital asset payments.Magazine: 50K investors fight Korean crypto tax, Singapore cancels Bsquared: Asia ExpressCointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Spain’s gambling regulator blocked local users from Polymarket and Kalshi “as a precautionary measure” as authorities there address allegations the prediction markets platforms were in violation of gambling laws. On Tuesday, Spain’s Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) said the country’s Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption, and Agenda 2030 had opened legal proceedings against the two companies, as they appeared to be operating without necessary licensing. The DGOJ issued an order blocking Spanish users from Kalshi and Polymarket until the proceedings were resolved, expected in three to four months.“The DGOJ wishes to remind the public that, in Spain — in line with other European jurisdictions — prediction markets are deemed to constitute games of chance when bets are placed on uncertain future outcomes,” according to a Tuesday notice. “Consequently, operating such markets within Spanish territory requires obtaining a specific administrative license.”Source: Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs, and Agenda 2030 The move by Spanish authorities follows a similar governmental ban in Indonesia, which blocked access to Polymarket on Friday after the platform listed bets on whether President Prabowo Subianto would leave office before the end of his term. Other countries, including Australia, France, Poland, Singapore, Ukraine and Switzerland, have restricted access to Polymarket over gambling concerns, with the platforms also facing US state-level crackdowns and restrictions.Related: Kalshi valuation doubles to $22B after $1B funding roundA spokesperson for Polymarket told Cointelegraph that the platform was “committed to engaging constructively with relevant authorities in every jurisdiction.” A Kalshi spokesperson declined to comment.Kalshi and Polymarket are two of the largest prediction markets platforms by trading volume, with combined in weekly notational volume $6.1 billion, according to DeFi Rate.NYT report shines light on US federal response to prediction marketsOn Sunday, the New York Times reported that officials at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) were pushed out of the agency after they voiced concerns about prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. The financial regulator, under US President Donald Trump’s hand-picked chair, Michael Selig, has taken the stance that the CFTC has “exclusive authority” over the platforms, filing lawsuits against any state authority that challenged this position.Prediction Market Volume: Kalshi & Polymarket Aggregated Data. Source: DeFi RateLawmakers on the US House of Representatives’ Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced on Friday that they had initiated a probe into Kalshi and Polymarket over insider trading concerns. Committee Chair James Comer cited reports of “suspiciously timed trades” on the platforms ahead of US military actions against Iran, allowing certain users to potentially profit from insider information.Magazine: 50K investors fight Korean crypto tax, Singapore cancels Bsquared: Asia Express

Two Texas Congressional candidates supported by millions of dollars in spending from interest groups aligned with the cryptocurrency industry are headed for runoffs this week in races for the US Senate and House of Representatives.On Tuesday, Democratic voters in Texas’ 18th congressional district will decide between incumbent Al Green and challenger Christian Menefee to run in November’s general election. Statewide, voters will choose between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and incumbent John Cornyn for the Republican primary for US Senate.Both Tuesday races are runoffs after none of the candidates failed to secure a majority in Texas’ March primaries. The crypto industry, through spending on media by political action committees (PACs), has stakes in both races, which could influence policy and the makeup of Congress going into 2027.As of Sunday, Protect Progress, affiliated with the Ripple- and Coinbase-backed Fairshake PAC, reported spending $5 million to support Menefee over Green. The PAC spent $2.8 million on ads opposing Green. Menefee also has the endorsement of the Blockchain Leadership Fund, a committee backed by Anchorage Digital and Chainlink Labs, though it had not reported any expenditures as of Monday.Source: US Federal Election CommissionThe outcome of the primaries could influence who will ultimately win Texas’ 18th district and one of the state’s two Senate seats in the November general election, potentially affecting which political party controls Congress in 2027. Under a Republican majority, lawmakers have passed key pieces of legislation supported by the crypto industry, including the stablecoin GENIUS Act.At least one of the ads funded by Protect Progress to support Menefee did not mention crypto or blockchain, but rather Green’s opposition to US President Donald Trump. Bill King, a former opinion writer for the Houston Chronicle, said in a local FOX26 segment that aired on Sunday:“I saw 12 television commercials yesterday paid for by the Protect Progress PAC […] and that same group of people are the ones that are primarily funding Trump.”Related: Texas Lt. Gov. calls for study of crypto, prediction markets  The Fellowship PAC, funded by Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald and Anchorage, reported spending $500,000 to support Paxton over Cornyn for the US Senate seat. The expenditure came about 24 hours after Trump endorsed Paxton, saying that Cornyn had been “very late in backing” him as a Republican candidate for president.Prediction markets heavily favor Paxton and MenefeeThe Kalshi prediction market gave its users 91% and 96% chances on event contracts favoring Menefee over Green and Paxton over Cornyn, respectively. Source: KalshiThe platform has consistently provided event contracts favoring the Democratic candidate since February, while Paxton’s odds surged above 90% for the first time after Trump’s endorsement on Tuesday, and stood at almost 96%, at last look on Monday. Bets on that race topped more than $16 million in total volume.Rival predictions market platform Polymarket gave both candidates similar chances in Tuesday’s runoffs.Magazine: ETH bears growling, Tom Lee’s buying, XRP to ‘explode’: Market Moves

The chair of the US House of Representatives’ Oversight and Government Reform Committee sent letters to the CEOs of Kalshi and Polymarket, questioning the companies’ response to incidents of insider trading on the platform.In a Friday X post, Committee Chair James Comer confirmed reports that he had sent letters to Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan and Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour, asking them for internal records on how the companies were handling insider trading. The Kentucky lawmaker said there were concerns in Congress over elected officials using “basic insider knowledge” to profit off the government’s actions.“More than 80 suspiciously timed trades were placed ahead of Iran military operations,” said Comer. “Politicians and government officials with inside information are placing bets and taking profits. This insider trading must end.”Source: James ComerThe “suspiciously timed trades” to which Comer was referring included those from a May 13 New York Times report, detailing incidents of prediction market users betting on Israel’s military actions against Iran, US President Donald Trump announcing a ceasefire in the country’s war with Iran and event contracts related to congressional elections. Polymarket said in March that it had updated its approach to potential insider trading on the platform, while Kalshi announced in April that it had banned three US politicians for betting on their own races. Related: Polymarket team says user funds safe as exploit losses climb above $600KCointelegraph reached out to Polymarket and Kalshi for a response on the House inquiry but did not receive an immediate response from either company.US soldier who allegedly profited from Venezuela bet still in courtIn April, the US Justice Department announced a criminal indictment against Master Sergeant Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a soldier who was involved in the military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Prosecutors alleged that Van Dyke used event contracts on Polymarket related to Maduro’s capture to profit by more than $400,000 using classified information.Van Dyke pleaded not guilty to the charges, which included commodities fraud and the unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain. He was released on $250,000 bail and limited to traveling between areas of North Carolina, California and New York.Magazine: ETH bears growling, Tom Lee’s buying, XRP to ‘explode’: Market MovesCointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.