Coin Market

Bitcoin landfill man loses appeal, says he has one ‘last legal option’

Published

2 months ago

March 17, 2025

A UK man’s bid to obtain a permit to search a landfill for his hard drive — holding private keys to 8,000 Bitcoin — has been rejected by the UK Court of Appeals.

“Appeal request to the Royal Court of Appeal: refused,” Howells said in a March 14 X post.

“The Great British Injustice System strikes again… The state always protects the state,” the early Bitcoin adopter added before revealing his “next stop” would be the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

UK Royal Court of Appeal Judge Christopher Nugee knocked back Howells’ application, stating that there was no “real prospect of success” and there was “no other compelling reason” as to why it should be heard, according to a March 13 filing shared with Cointelegraph.

Source: James Howells

Nugee’s decision follows an earlier dismissal on Jan. 9 from High Court Judge Andrew Keyser, who similarly said there was “no realistic prospect” of Howells’ case succeeding at a full trial.

In a note to Cointelegraph, Howell said his “last legal option” to exhaust is at the ECHR — where he will claim that the UK High Court and UK Court of Appeal breached his right to property and right to a fair trial under Article 1 of Protocol 1 and Article 6 of the ECHR.

“The British establishment want to sweep this under the carpet, and i will not let them. It will not go away — no matter how long it takes!”

The ECHR cannot overrule a UK court decision — however, a verdict in Howells’ favor would call on the UK courts to consider whether its legislation was interpreted in a way that is compatible with the ECHR’s provisions.

In a separate statement shared with Cointelegraph, Howells said he would file a claim to the ECHR in the “coming weeks.”

The court filings follow repeated rejections from the Newport City Council allowing Howells to search through the Docksway landfill — where Howells’ former partner disposed of a bag containing the hard drive at the site in 2013.

Howells’ 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC) is worth around $660 million at current prices. While few predicted Bitcoin would reach such heights back then, Howells’ incident illustrates the importance of properly securing self-custodied crypto funds.

Howells also appears to be running out of time, as the Docksway landfill is reportedly set to shut down sometime during the UK’s 2025-2026 financial year, BBC News reported on Feb. 9.

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Coin Market

Bitcoin pushes for $98K as 2025 Fed rate cut odds flip 'pessimistic'

Published

37 minutes ago

May 7, 2025

Key points:

Bitcoin and gold trade in lockstep on low timeframes as macro volatility triggers heighten.

The Federal Reserve interest rate decision and news conference are just hours away.

Market sentiment for rate cuts in 2025 decreases sharply ahead of the FOMC meeting.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a flash short-term trend change on May 7 as geopolitical triggers gave risk assets fresh volatility.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Bitcoin traders eye Fed for “tone changes”

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed an abrupt turnaround for BTC/USD after the pair dipped under $94,000 to set new May lows.

The previous day’s Wall Street trading session set the stage for a return to strength, even as stocks finished lower.

XAU/USD 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Bitcoin and gold reached local highs of $97,700 and $3,435, respectively, before consolidating.

News of tensions boiling over between India and Pakistan, along with potential progress on a US-China trade deal, kept markets lively.

This reaction to US-China trade talks being scheduled tells you all you need to know.

A LOT is already priced-in here. pic.twitter.com/jT6pKOdgiQ

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) May 7, 2025

Traders had no time to relax, with the Federal Reserve interest rate decision due later on May 7.

While market expectations for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting were practically unanimous, as Cointelegraph reported, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s subsequent statement and news conference were of more interest.

“The market will be eager to watch for any dovish or hawkish changes in their tone, which has been pretty mixed recently,” popular trader Daan Crypto Trades summarized in an ongoing X analysis alongside data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Fed target rate probabilities for May 7 FOMC meeting. Source: CME Group

Examining Bitcoin order book activity, Keith Alan, co-founder of trading resource Material Indicators, said that nearby liquidity had been “cleared out” before the event.

“Pleasantly surprised BTC held above the YOU, but won’t be surprised if price round trips the range before the end of the week,” he told X followers, referring to the yearly open level at $93,500 as a potential downside target.

BTC/USDT order book data. Source: Keith Alan/X

”Clearly pessimistic”

Continuing, Darkfost, a contributor to onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant, noted declining odds of rate cuts coming sooner in 2025.

At the time of writing, the June FOMC meeting had combined rate cut odds of around 30% — noticeably lower than in recent weeks.

“Expectations are clearly pessimistic for now,” he concluded.

“If the Fed does decide to cut rates in this context, it will trigger volatility and might spark fear among investors (depending about how many Bps).”Fed target rate probability comparison for June 18 FOMC meeting. Source: CME Group

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.

Coin Market

Tether launches on Kaia, brings USDt to LINE’s 196M user ecosystem

Published

37 minutes ago

May 7, 2025

Tether deployed its flagship stablecoin, USDt, on the Kaia blockchain as part of a broader collaboration with Line Next, the Web3 arm of Line, Japan’s popular messaging platform with more than 196 million monthly active users.

The integration means USDt (USDT) will now be supported across Line’s messenger-based Mini DApp ecosystem and self-custodial wallet, enabling users to interact with stablecoins inside an interface they already use daily, Tether said in a May 7 announcement.

Line users will be able to use USDt for in-app payments, cross-border transfers and decentralized finance (DeFi) activities.

“Through LINE NEXT’s blockchain infrastructure, over 200 million LINE users will now have a straightforward way to engage with digital assets in everyday life,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said, adding:

“Tether’s expansion to Kaia underscores its commitment to fostering stablecoin adoption across Asia and beyond.”Source: Tether

Line users to transfer USDT via in-app wallet

Initial features include mission-based USDT rewards within Mini DApps and peer-to-peer USDT transfers via Line’s in-app wallet. Future additions may expand stablecoin functionality across other app layers.

The Kaia blockchain, which powers Line’s Mini DApps, offers low-latency transactions and immediate finality, making it a strong partner for stablecoin activity, according to Kaia DLT Foundation chair Sam Seo.

Seo added that this collaboration aims to bring “the fastest, easiest, and most reliable” USDT experience to users across platforms like LINE, DeFi apps, and centralized exchanges.

Line Next CEO Youngsu Ko also claimed that the stablecoin integration will help create a “dollar-based gateway” for users, making Web3 services more practical and accessible for the region’s everyday consumers.

Tether’s USDT is the largest stablecoin in terms of market capitalization, with a circulating supply of over 149.4 billion tokens, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

The stablecoin issuer has also been consistently minting new tokens. On May 5, Tether minted another $1 billion USDT on the Tron network, bringing the total USDT on Tron to $71.4 billion.

In comparison, there is currently $72.8 billion USDT circulating on the Ethereum network.

On May 6, Tether announced a partnership with Chainalysis that will integrate the company’s compliance and monitoring tools onto Tether’s tokenization platform. The move comes amid expanding oversight across the crypto industry.

Magazine: Lazarus Group’s favorite exploit revealed — Crypto hacks analysis

Coin Market

Movement Labs terminates co-founder Rushi Manche, launches new firm

Published

2 hours ago

May 7, 2025

Movement Labs confirmed the termination of its co-founder, Rushi Manche, following controversies over a market maker deal that he brokered.

Movement Labs made the announcement in a May 7 X post, stating it had “terminated Rushi Manche.” The project said it “will continue under a different leadership.” The post also hints at upcoming governance changes.

The termination follows Movement Labs announcing Manche’s suspension earlier this month, explaining that the “decision was made in light of ongoing events.” It also comes after Coinbase’s recent decision to suspend the Movement Network (MOVE) token, citing its failure to meet its listing standards.

Source: Movement

Movement Labs launches Move Industries

In addition to terminating Manche, Movement Labs announced the launch of Move Industries, with former Movement Labs employees Torab Torabi as the firm’s CEO and Will Gaines as its chief marketing officer. “In light of recent news, we needed a clean break. Movement started with the community and our builders,“ the announcement stated.

The firm promises better governance with new leadership, town halls for heightened transparency, and improved vetting and verification procedures. Other, less tangible changes include “evolved leadership philosophy” and a “return to crypto’s radical roots.”

Market makers at it again

The termination comes after a recently announced third-party review requested by the Movement Network Foundation into an agreement orchestrated by Manche with Rentech. Rentech then helped broker an agreement with market maker Web3Port.

After the deal concluded, Web3Port reportedly sold the 66 million MOVE that it gained through the deal, about 5% of the total supply. This led to $38 million in downward price pressure in December 2024.

The investigation is being conducted by private intelligence firm Groom Lake. The organization’s founder Fernando Reyes Jr. told Cointelegraph that he “won’t reveal any information about Movement Labs or Movement Foundation without the express written consent.”

Still, he hinted at developments by citing Byzantine Emperor Basil II “The Bulgar Slayer.” He promised:

“I will soon do what he did to a large swath of scammers in this industry. I will break them.“

Market makers make or break tokens

A mid-April analysis report suggested that the right market maker can be a launchpad for a cryptocurrency project, opening the door to major exchanges and providing valuable liquidity to ensure a token is tradeable. Still, the same kind of organization can also destroy a project before it even really gets started.

In summer 2024, reports suggested that up to 78% of new token listings since April 2024 had been poorly conducted, with some suggesting that market makers are involved. Market makers have been accused of unsavory practices many times in the past.

Creditors of bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network have claimed that leading crypto market maker Wintermute was involved in the wash trading of the Celsius token. Wash trading is a form of market manipulation, creating an illusion that a particular asset is trading at a higher volume than it is.

Other similar cases include Fracture Labs — creator of the Web3 game Decimated — filing a suit in late 2024 against market maker Jump Crypto for allegedly orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme using its in-game currency, DIO. Some reports claim that DWF Labs — one of Binance’s largest trading clients — engaged in market manipulation, wash trading, and inflated trading volumes amounting to $300 million through deals with crypto projects. DWF Labs and Binance later denied the accusation in May 2024.

US regulators have started taking matters into their own hands by creating a fake digital asset and looking for market makers to manipulate its market. As a result of this action, last month, a Massachusetts court fined crypto market maker CLS Global for fraudulent manipulation of trading volumes.

Magazine: What do crypto market makers actually do? Liquidity, or manipulation