Alexander Mashinsky, the former CEO of crypto lending firm Celsius, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to two counts of fraud. Celsius Mashinsky Faces Justice The proceedings took place before US District Judge John G. Koeltl in Manhattan’s Southern District, where Mashinsky faced the repercussions of what prosecutors characterized as a sweeping scheme to defraud investors. In December, the crypto lender&#8217;s former CEO admitted guilt to charges of commodities fraud and manipulation of the Celsius token, CEL, leading to his current sentence. Related Reading: Bitcoin Soars Toward $100,000 As Treasury, Not Fed, Drives Liquidity: Expert Mashinsky’s legal troubles began in 2023 when he was arrested on multiple counts, including securities, commodities, and wire fraud. This arrest coincided with Celsius’s announcement of a $4.7 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), one of the largest settlements in the agency&#8217;s history. The resolution of this settlement remains dependent on Celsius successfully returning the remaining customer assets amidst ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, emphasizing the scale of the fraudulent activities. SEC And CFTC Pursue Multi-Billion Dollar Fraud Prosecutors alleged that Mashinsky misled investors regarding the safety and profitability of Celsius’s yield-generating platform while simultaneously liquidating tens of millions of dollars in personal holdings. Initially, Mashinsky denied any wrongdoing, but his guilty plea and subsequent sentencing have brought this lengthy legal saga to a close. Related Reading: VWAPs Don’t Lie—XRP Faces Judgment Day At Monthly Support This case is part of a broader crackdown in the cryptocurrency sector, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also filing charges against Mashinsky and Celsius for orchestrating a multi-billion dollar fraud scheme. The scrutiny of Mashinsky and his actions mirrors the fates of other high-profile crypto executives, including FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Binance’s Changpeng Zhao, as well as Do Kwon of Terraform Labs, all of whom faced serious legal challenges in the country. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

Celsius Founder Alex Mashinsky Receives 12-Year Prison Sentence

Something strange has raised the eyebrows of the Pi Network community this 
week. A wallet associated with Binance&#8217;s Stellar deposits, which had already 
been used in Pi Coin transactions, has exhibited fresh activity. That was 
enough to ignite rumors that Binance might be quietly gearing up for a Pi 
Chain integration or even a future listing of $PI. Related Reading: Tether’s 
$1 Billion Mint Powers Tron — Is A Breakout Brewing? No official announcement 
has been made by Binance. But according to what blockchain monitors have 
observed, a number of small test-like transactions have been passed through 
the same wallet that was responsible for processing previous Pi-connected 
movements. The timing is what actually made people speculate. Is $PI finally 
coming to Binance? The Binance stellar deposit wallet which is the same as 
their $PI wallet has started testing transactions on the $PI chain. The wallet 
(GABFQIK63R2NETJM7T673EAMZN4RJLLGP3OFUEJU5SZVTGWUKULZJNL6) is testing the 
transactions. #PiNetwork pic.twitter.com/2lUqPy5Ivi — MOON JEFF 🪐 
(@CRYPTOAD00) May 7, 2025 Ecosystem Update Set The wallet activity precedes, 
by just days, an upcoming Pi Network update. On May 14, the Pi Core Team will 
consider and perhaps approve a number of third-party apps to list on its 
ecosystem. It is one of the steps being taken towards integrating more use 
cases within the network, particularly following the release of its open 
mainnet in February. A Pi ecosystem announcement will be released on May 14. 
Tune in to find out what&#8217;s coming next! pic.twitter.com/5jn7m5mlmD — Pi 
Network (@PiCoreTeam) May 7, 2025 That launch was a watershed moment for Pi, 
which now boasts more than 60 million users globally. Nevertheless, the 
project continues to need to resolve important concerns such as inadequate 
smart contract functionality, slow transaction speeds, and stringent liquidity 
constraints. Those vulnerabilities have rendered it difficult for Pi to garner 
meaningful developer attention for creating apps and services. Pi Price 
Remains Stable PI coin has been having a decent performance of late. The coin 
sustained a solid run in the last seven days with a 2% increase, data from 
Coingecko shows. The ongoing rumors of a Binance listing may lift the coin 
price up further, or it could go sideways. Related Reading: Bitcoin Rebounds 
After Sharp Drop As Whales Fuel Push Toward $100K Binance Silence Keeps Market 
Guessing While some in the crypto community are optimistic, others are 
standing by. Binance has said nothing about Pi Coin. That has not deterred 
online whispers, but it certainly leaves a great many questions unasked. There 
is no evidence that Binance is looking to list Pi Coin &#8211; at least when this 
report was made &#8211; and the wallet movement could prove to be a coincidence. 
Eyes On Binance And Pi Network Ahead Of Key Date Meanwhile, the Pi community 
stands by for fresh scoop. May 14 might usher in significant changes. If the 
Binance wallet activity is the tip of a larger iceberg, and if PI does indeed 
get listed, that would shift the course of the project. Featured image from 
Gemini Imagen, chart from TradingView

Binance Buzz: Pi Coin Wallet Activity Triggers Listing Rumors

A man from the US state of Virginia will spend over three decades behind bars 
after being convicted of sending crypto to the terrorist organization commonly 
known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Federal Judge David Novak sentenced Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa to 30 years and 
four months in prison on May 7 for sending over $185,000 to the Islamic State, 
the Department of Justice said on May 8.
Prosecutors said that from around October 2019 until October 2022, the 
35-year-old Chhipa collected and sent money to female Islamic State members in 
Syria, which helped them escape prison camps and funded fighting.
The Justice Department said Chhipa would raise funds for the United Nations- 
designated terror organization through social media &#8212; receiving money online, 
or traveling hundreds of miles to accept donations in person.
He&#8217;d convert the money into crypto and send it to Turkey for it to be smuggled 
to Islamic State members across the border in Syria, prosecutors said.
A federal jury convicted Chhipa in December, finding him guilty on a charge of 
conspiracy to provide support to a terrorist organization and four charges of 
providing and attempting to provide support to a terrorist organization.
_An undated picture of Chhipa, a naturalized US citizen born in India. Source: 
Alexandria Sheriff &#8216;s Office via __TRM_
&#8220;This defendant directly financed ISIS in its efforts to commit vile terrorist 
atrocities against innocent citizens in America and abroad,&#8221; Attorney General 
Pam Bondi said in a statement. &#8220;This severe sentence illustrates that if you 
fund terrorism, we will prosecute you and put you behind bars for decades.&#8221;
## Chhipa tried to flee US during FBI probe
Prosecutors said that during the Federal Bureau of Investigation&#8217;s 
investigation into Chhipa, he tried to flee the country to escape prosecution 
and tried to hide his tracks through a series of actions seemingly aimed at 
confusing authorities.
According to a motion for detention filed in August, FBI agents searched 
Chhipa&#8217;s house on Aug. 2, 2019, and that night Chhipa drove to a bank, 
withdrew $1,800 from an ATM, and then went to a Taco Bell, where he paid a 
stranger for a ride to a relative&#8217;s house. The relative then drove him to a 
grocery store.
_**Related:**__**US Treasury sanctions Myanmar militia group for alleged 
crypto scams**_
Three days later, prosecutors said Chhipa &#8220;purchased a series of bus tickets 
using variations and/or misspelling of his name and recently created email 
accounts.&#8221;
He then travelled from Virginia to Mexico and onto Guatemala. He then bought 
tickets to fly from Guatemala to Panama, then onto Germany, and then to Egypt, 
but an Interpol Blue Notice was issued, and he was returned to the US.
_**Magazine:**__**Terrorism and the Israel-Gaza war have been weaponized to 
destroy crypto**_

US man who sent crypto to ISIS could serve prison till he’s 65

Rumble&#8217;s pro-crypto founder and CEO has confirmed that the firm will launch 
its Bitcoin and stablecoin wallet in the third quarter of this year, aimed at 
giving the Coinbase Wallet a run for its money.
The Rumble Wallet will be launched in partnership with stablecoin issuer 
Tether and compete directly with Coinbase, Chris Pavlovski said in a May 9 X 
post.
&#8220;Our goal is to become the most prominent non-custodial Bitcoin and stablecoin 
wallet, powering the creator economy,&#8221; he added.
He continued to state that the Rumble Wallet will be the &#8220;vehicle to help 
monetize creators better than most advertisers, especially in international 
markets,&#8221; though he did not provide further details other than it may support 
Tether Gold (XAUT) as well.
_Rumble Wallet. Source:__Chris Pavlovski_
The video streaming platform, founded in late 2013 as a YouTube alternative 
for small content creators, first announced the launch of a Tether (USDT) 
wallet for creators in March. Tether invested $775 million in Rumble in 
December 2024.
_**Related:**__**Tether launches on Kaia, brings USDt to LINE &#8216;s 196M user 
ecosystem**_
The Rumble Bitcoin (BTC) wallet is entering a crowded crypto wallet 
application market dominated by Coinbase, Robinhood, eToro, PayPal, Revolut, 
Crypto.com and MetaMask.
The use of mobile crypto wallets hit an all-time high of 36 million in Q4, 
2024, according to Coinbase. The firm, which Pavlovski aims to compete with, 
reported more than 100 million registered users in 2024, almost double that of 
Rumble&#8217;s video platform.
Rumble has also joined the ranks of Michael Saylor&#8217;s Strategy in becoming a 
Bitcoin acquisition company since March, when it made its first purchase of 
188 BTC. The firm currently holds 210 BTC, worth almost $22 million at current 
market prices.
## Rumble Q1 revenue beat estimates 
The firm reported a net loss of $2.7 million for the first quarter on May 8. 
However, this significantly improved over the $43 million loss in Q1 2024.
Additionally, its GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) loss of 
$0.01 per share was 90% above analysts&#8217; consensus estimates.
Rumble&#8217;s revenue was $23.7 million, exceeding estimates by 2.8% (and up from 
$17.7 million year-over-year. The firm also reported 59 million monthly active 
users, down from 68 million in Q4 2024.
&#8220;Rumble reported strong first-quarter 2025 results, highlighted by 34% year- 
over-year revenue growth to $23.7 million, driven by increased subscription 
revenue and monetization across our video and advertising platforms,&#8221; said 
Pavlovski.
_Rumble financial summary. Source:__Rumble_
Rumble shares (RUM) gained 2.37% on the day to reach $7.78 in after-hours 
trading, according to Google Finance. However, company stock has lost 40% year 
to date.
_**Magazine:**__**Bitcoin to $1M &#8216;by 2029,&#8217; CIA tips its hat to Bitcoin: 
Hodler&#8217;s Digest**_

Rumble CEO confirms Tether-collab crypto wallet to launch in Q3

Ethereum price started a fresh surge above the $2,000 zone. ETH is now up over 
25% and consolidating gains near the $2,200 zone. Ethereum started a fresh 
surge above the $2,000 resistance. The price is trading above $2,120 and the 
100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a connecting bullish trend line 
forming with support at $2,150 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via 
Kraken). The pair could continue to move up if it breaks the $2,250 resistance 
level. Ethereum Price Surges Above $2,000 Ethereum price remained supported 
and started a fresh increase above $1,880, beating Bitcoin. ETH gained pace 
for a move above the $1,950 resistance zone. The bulls were able to push the 
price above the $2,000 resistance zone. The price gained over 25% and recently 
surpassed the $2,200 resistance zone. A high was formed at $2,241 and the 
price is now consolidating gains above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the 
upward move from the $1,752 swing low to the $2,241 high. Ethereum price is 
now trading above $2,200 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. Besides, 
there is a connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $2,150 on the 
hourly chart of ETH/USD. On the upside, the price seems to be facing hurdles 
near the $2,240 level. The next key resistance is near the $2,250 level. The 
first major resistance is near the $2,320 level. A clear move above the $2,320 
resistance might send the price toward the $2,450 resistance. An upside break 
above the $2,450 resistance might call for more gains in the coming sessions. 
In the stated case, Ether could rise toward the $2,500 resistance zone or even 
$2,550 in the near term. Another Decline In ETH? If Ethereum fails to clear 
the $2,250 resistance, it could start a fresh downside correction. Initial 
support on the downside is near the $2,200 level. The first major support sits 
near the $2,150 zone and the trend line. A clear move below the $2,150 support 
might push the price toward the $2,075 support. Any more losses might send the 
price toward the $2,020 support level in the near term. The next key support 
sits at $2,000. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is 
gaining momentum in the bullish zone. Hourly RSI &#8211; The RSI for ETH/USD is now 
above the 50 zone. Major Support Level – $2,150 Major Resistance Level – 
$2,250

Ethereum Price Explodes Past $2,200 with 25% Surge—Momentum Builds Fast

Bitcoin mining firm MARA Holdings (MARA) nearly tripled its Bitcoin holdings 
over 12 months, according to its newly released Q1 results.
However, its Bitcoin production fell, and total earnings slightly missed Wall 
Street estimates in Q1.
MARA, formerly Marathon Digital, saw its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings increase to 
47,531 BTC, up 175% from the 17,320 BTC the firm was holding at the end of Q1 
2024.
## MARA holdings inch closer to $5B after Bitcoin pump
MARA holds the second-largest amount of Bitcoin among all publicly traded 
companies, according to CoinGecko data. Strategy (MSTR) holds the number one 
spot with 555,450 Bitcoin.
The holdings represent a total value of approximately $4.9 billion, based on 
Bitcoin&#8217;s current price of $102,660 at the time of publication, according to 
CoinMarketCap data. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin&#8217;s price spiked 4.86%.
_Bitcoin is trading at $102,660 at the time of publication. 
Source:__CoinMarketCap_
However, the amount of Bitcoin that MARA produced over the quarter fell 19% 
compared to the same quarter in 2024 to 2,286 Bitcoin.
MARA attributed this to the last Bitcoin halving event, which reduced mining 
rewards to 3.125 BTC per block and tightened overall supply.
MARA fell short of analyst revenue expectations by 0.35%, according to Zacks 
Research. The analysts pointed out that MARA has only surpassed consensus 
revenue estimates once in the past four quarters.
_MARA is trading at $14.20 at the time of publication. Source:__Google 
Finance_
Despite this, MARA&#8217;s stock price jumped 7.2% during trading on May 8 but has 
since pulled back nearly 2% in after-hours trading, according to data from 
Google Finance.
## Bitcoin mining firms share same frustrations
Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms echoed similar difficulties in their recent Q1 
financial report.
Riot said that the average cost to mine Bitcoin over the quarter was $43,808, 
almost 90% more than the $23,034 it cost to mine Bitcoin in the same period 
last year. However, Riot beat its $159.8 million revenue consensus estimate by 
1%.
_**Related:**__**Bitcoin miner Hive taps Paraguay for low-cost energy 
partnership**_
Several other Bitcoin mining firms also fell short of Wall Street&#8217;s revenue 
expectations.
Bitcoin miner CleanSpark missed consensus estimates by 0.58%, reporting 
quarterly revenue of $181.71 million.
Bitcoin miner Core Scientific also fell short of analyst expectations with 
total Q1 revenue reaching $79.5 million, missing Zacks analysts&#8217; estimates by 
8.11% and falling from its $179.3 million revenue for Q1 2024.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin miner Hut8 reported the widest miss among Bitcoin mining 
firms, falling 35% short of Wall Street expectations.
Zacks Research had projected Hut8 to post first-quarter revenue of $35 
million, but Hut8 came in significantly lower at just $21 million.
_**Magazine:**__**ChatGPT a &#8216;schizophrenia-seeking missile,&#8217; AI scientists 
prep for 50% deaths: AI Eye**_
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.