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Ethereum: Dubious Speculation

Twenty One Capital has added another 4,812 Bitcoin to its treasury after a 
fresh purchase by major backer Tether ahead of a planned Special Purpose 
Acquisition Company merger. On May 9, Tether acquired the BTC at an average 
price of…

Tether adds 4,812 Bitcoin into Twenty One Capital’s treasury ahead of public listing

Two former executives of the bankrupt crypto lending service Cred have pleaded 
guilty to wire fraud connected to the company&#8217;s collapse.
Former Cred CEO Daniel Schatt and chief financial officer Joseph Podulka 
admitted to wire fraud as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, according to a 
May 13 text filing in a California District Court.
District Judge William Alsup accepted the plea deals and set a sentencing 
hearing for Aug. 26. Wire fraud can carry up to 20 years in prison and 
$250,000 in fines for individuals and $500,00 for businesses.
_After accepting the defendant&#8217;s guilty plea, Judge William Alsup set a 
sentencing hearing for August. Source:__PACER_
Law360 reported that as part of the plea agreement, Schatt and Podulka 
admitted to selectively presenting positive &#8220;information [while] failing to 
disclose negative news&#8221; as part of a plan to &#8220;induce customers to lend their 
US currency and digital currencies to Cred.&#8221;
Federal prosecutors have reportedly submitted a possible sentence range of up 
to 72 months for Schatt and up to 62 months for Podulka. Schatt and Podulka 
were facing 13 charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
## Cred customer losses over $150 million
When Cred collapsed and filed for bankruptcy, its customers suffered losses of 
up to $150 million, but the US Department of Justice said in May 2024 that the 
assets had since climbed to a market value exceeding $783 million.
In the plea agreement, the defendants agreed that their actions led to losses 
of between $65 million and $150 million for users.
Former Cred chief commercial officer James Alexander was also hit with wire 
fraud and money laundering charges.
Prosecutors alleged that the Cred executives misled customers about Cred&#8217;s 
lending and investment practices and didn&#8217;t disclose that its loan book relied 
heavily on a Chinese firm called MoKredit Inc. that made unsecured microloans 
to Chinese gamers.
Cred also allegedly claimed to only engage in collateralized lending, and all 
its crypto investments were hedged, which prosecutors say was false.
After the price of Bitcoin (BTC) dropped by 40% on March 11, 2020, Cred could 
not meet its margin calls and neared insolvency, and the three executives 
sought out new customers while downplaying the risks, prosecutors claimed.
When Cred declared bankruptcy in November 2020, numerous users turned to 
social media to voice concerns and ask if their funds were safe.
_**Related:**__**Uphold exchange denies owing millions to failed crypto lender 
Cred**_
Other crypto founders have also faced legal consequences this year. Alex 
Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of bankrupt crypto lending platform 
Celsius, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for fraud on May 8.
Meanwhile, Wolf Capital co-founder and head trader Travis Ford pleaded guilty 
on Jan. 10 to wire fraud conspiracy charges for his role in raising over $9 
million from investors with false promises of high returns.
_**Magazine:**__**ChatGPT a &#8216;schizophrenia-seeking missile,&#8217; AI scientists 
prep for 50% deaths: AI Eye**_

Former execs of crypto lender Cred cop to wire fraud

Bitget Wallet has unveiled a new in-app marketplace called &#8216;Shop With Crypto,&#8217; 
which enables users to make crypto payments directly for more than 300 
merchants connected to the app. According to a press release sent to 
crypto.news, the service offers…

Bitget Wallet launches new crypto in-app marketplace with access to over 300 brands

Yakovenko stated that this meta-blockchain could improve the state of data 
availability in the digital space, opening the possibility of posting data 
wherever and whenever it is cheaper in any of the available chains part of 
this structure. Solana Co-Founder Calls for the Creation of a Meta-Blockchain 
With Data Availability in Mind Blockchain as a […]

Solana Co-Founder Anatoly Yakovenko Floats Meta-Blockchain Proposal

Bitcoin-buying medical device firm Semler Scientific has seen its share price 
drop after the bell as its first-quarter revenues fell and losses deepened 
from the year-ago quarter.
In its Q1 earnings report released May 13, Semler reported its total revenues 
fell 44% from the year-ago quarter to $8.8 million, with its net losses 
hitting $64.7 million compared to a net income of $6.1 million in the first 
quarter of 2024.
Shares in Semler Scientific (SMLR) closed the May 13 trading session up over 
5% but fell 1.91% to $36 after the bell with its earnings announcement, 
according to Google Finance. Semler&#8217;s stock is down over 32% so far this year.
_Semler fell nearly 2% after announcing its Q1 results on May 13. 
Source:__Google Finance_
The company said it purchased 894 Bitcoin (BTC) over Q1 and held 3,192 BTC at 
a fair value of $263.5 million at the end of the quarter, which reflected a 
cumulative decrease of $16.9 million.
Semler added that between the end of Q1 and May 12, it purchased 616 BTC for a 
total cost of $59.6 million, increasing its holdings to 3,808 BTC at a fair 
value of $387.9 million at a purchase cost of $340 million.
Semler said that it made an unrealized gain of $41.6 million on its Bitcoin 
holdings over Q1, and its paper gains have continued to climb to $52 million 
so far this year, as of May 12.
Currently, Semler&#8217;s Debt to Bitcoin net asset value stands at 25.3%, according 
to its Bitcoin dashboard.
Semler has been aggressively ramping up its Bitcoin holdings. In an April 15 
SEC filing, the company laid out its plans to sell $500 million of its own 
shares, with part of the proceeds being used to bolster its Bitcoin treasury.
## Bitcoin buying firms on the rise
Bitcoin investment firm River reported that corporations and businesses have 
been the largest net buyers of Bitcoin so far this year, outpacing exchange- 
traded funds and retail investors.
Nearly 787,000 BTC is held by a total of 104 public companies, according to 
Bitcointreasuries.net data.
Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, has been the largest Bitcoin buyer and 
currently holds more than 568,000 BTC, or nearly 2.7% of Bitcoin&#8217;s total 
supply.
_**Related:**__**Semler Scientific buys another $10M worth of BTC**_
Analysts have stated that Bitcoin is now deflationary, as Strategy has claimed 
it has no plans to sell its Bitcoin holdings.
Meanwhile, on May 13, stablecoin issuer Tether bought $459 million worth of 
Bitcoin for Twenty One Capital, a Bitcoin investment company it has backed 
that is set to merge with Cantor Equity Partners.
Twenty One Capital is currently the third-largest Bitcoin holder after 
Strategy and MARA Holdings.
Blockstream CEO Adam Back said in April that demand from institutions will 
likely lead to &#8220;hyperbitcoinization,&#8221; which could see the asset&#8217;s market 
capitalization soar past $200 trillion.
_**Magazine:**__**Adam Back says Bitcoin price cycle &#8217;10x bigger&#8217; but will 
still decisively break above $100K**_