Eric Council Jr., 26, of Athens, Alabama, has been sentenced to 14 months in federal prison for his involvement in a cybercrime conspiracy. The case involved the hacking of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) official X (formerly Twitter) account. Eric Council Jr Sentenced to 14 Months According to a statement from federal authorities, Eric Council Jr conspired with others to gain access to the US SEC’s X account by carrying out a SIM swap. On January 9, 2024, a false post was published from the account, falsely claiming the SEC had approved Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). Bitcoin’s price rose quickly by more than $1,000 before falling after the SEC confirmed the post was not legitimate. Eric Council Jr pleaded guilty in February 2025 to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced him to 14 months in prison, ordered the forfeiture of… Read More at Coingape.com
Circle ostensibly turned down the offer since it was too low based on its market value and prospects.
Ripple is keen to expand its recently launched RLUSD to compete with Tether USDT among others.
Ripple Labs proposed to takeover Circle Internet Group Inc. for $4 billion to $5 billion. According to people familiar with the matter, Circle, the second largest stablecoin issuer, turned down the offer and termed it as too low.
Meanwhile, Ripple has not yet made another move but remains interested in acquiring Circle. Moreover, Circle’s USDC has penetrated global web3 markets to hit a market cap of about $61.6 billion and a 24 hour average trading volume of about $6.9 billion.
“We do not comment on market rumors. As we are currently in a quiet period with the U.S. SEC, we cannot comment further on our corporate financial plans. Our long-term goals remain the same,” Circle’s spokesperson told Bloomberg.
Top Reasons Why Ripple Eyes Circle
Circle’s market complexities
Earlier in April, Circle filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. SEC, with the aim of listing on NYSE under ticker CRCL. While Circle’s revenue grew by 16 percent to $1.7 billion YoY, the company’s net income and EBITDA fell sharply.
The company has attributed the decline in net income to increased partner costs, service discontinuation, in addition to operational expenses. For instance, the company has reported an increase in distribution and transaction costs from higher fees on its partners led by Coinbase Global.
Future growth prospects for RLUSD
Ripple Labs recently launched RLUSD to help streamline its cross-border payments system, which includes backing up XRP adoption. However, the company has faced intense competition from existing stablecoins led by Tether USDT.
Additionally, RLUSD has experienced significant competition from similar products, such as USD1(USD1)by Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial that has already surpassed $2 billion in market cap.
The post Breaking: Circle Rejected Ripple Takeover Bid of $4-5B appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
Circle ostensibly turned down the offer since it was too low based on its market value and prospects. Ripple is keen to expand its recently launched RLUSD to compete with Tether USDT among others. Ripple Labs proposed to takeover Circle Internet Group Inc. for $4 billion to $5 billion. According to people familiar with the …
Low Market Cap Tokens are gaining momentum as May 2025 begins, with Dragonchain (DRGN), ZORA, and Housecoin (HOUSE) leading the way. DRGN surged 115% after the SEC dropped its lawsuit, reigniting interest in the project.
ZORA gained traction after its Coinbase listing, riding the viral Content Coins trend. Meanwhile, HOUSE exploded over 250% in 24 hours.
Dragonchain (DRGN)
Dragonchain (DRGN) is a hybrid blockchain platform built for businesses, enterprises, and developers. It was originally developed inside The Walt Disney Company in 2014.
After becoming independent, the project launched the DRGN token, which briefly hit a $1.3 billion market cap in early 2018. However, a SEC lawsuit in 2022 saw the token’s market cap fall below $20 million.
If momentum holds, DRGN could soon test resistance at $0.090 and $0.107, possibly breaking above $0.11 for the first time since 2021.
However, DRGN may correct back toward $0.044 if buying pressure weakens.
A deeper drop could push the token toward $0.035 or even $0.031. For now, optimism has returned to one of the earliest enterprise blockchain platforms.
ZORA
ZORA is the native token of the Zora platform, a marketplace built around tokenizing digital content. It launched on April 23 through an airdrop and was immediately listed on several major exchanges, including Binance Alpha, Bybit, and KuCoin.
ZORA gained even more momentum after Coinbase officially listed it with an “Experimental” label, warning users about potential volatility. With a market cap close to $46 million, it’s currently one of the most interesting Low-Market-Cap Tokens to watch.
The platform is based on Base chain, Coinbase’s Layer-2 network, and supports the rising “Content Coins” trend — where users mint digital content like memes, images, and posts as tradable tokens.
ZORA recently tested and held support at $0.016, showing resilience after its volatile launch. If the uptrend continues, the token could test resistance at $0.0198, potentially moving toward $0.023 and $0.027.
ZORA could climb further to challenge the $0.034 mark if the broader Content Coins narrative gains traction. It remains one of the early leaders in this emerging sector.
Housecoin (HOUSE)
Housecoin is a new Solana token launched on Pumpfun, built around the idea of letting users “hedge against the housing market.” It has quickly gained attention, reaching a market cap of around $48 million.
HOUSE recently crossed above $0.050 for the first time, setting a new all-time high.
Over the last 24 hours alone, the token has surged by more than 250%, highlighting the growing hype around new meme and niche sector tokens on Solana.
If the strong momentum continues, HOUSE could soon test resistance around $0.058, and a breakout could push it above $0.060 and even $0.070 for the first time.
However, if the trend reverses, HOUSE could return toward support at $0.0189. If that level fails to hold, deeper drops toward $0.0124, $0.008, and even $0.0069 could follow.
The conversation around 25-year prison sentence of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has changed. After some voices in the crypto community suggested the punishment was too harsh, lawyer John Deaton stepped in with strong opinion regarding the conversation. His comments have added a new twist to the ongoing debate about whether justice was served.
Community Member Zach Revisits SBF Sentence
In a recent post on X, a crypto community member named Zach questioned whether Bankman-Fried’s sentence was too harsh. Zach pointed out that the customers of the crypto exchange he founded are being paid back entirely with interest. He suggested that the trading platform’s downfall was not because it was bankrupt but due to cash flow problems.
While he admitted that combining FTX customer funds with Alameda Research was illegal, Zach believed it was a case of poor management rather than criminal intent. He said Sam Bankman-Fried might have made decisions based on utilitarianism and effective altruism, rather than acting out of greed.
After facing pushback from community members regarding his opinion, Zach quickly clarified that he was not arguing SBF’s innocence. Instead, he believed a 25-year sentence without parole for poor decision-making was not justice.
John Deaton Shares Hot Take
Meanwhile, John Deaton does not hold back when he responds to Zach’s argument. In his X post on social networking site X, Deaton said Sam Bankman-Fried fully deserved every year of his 25-year sentence.
Deaton did not stop at Bankman-Fried alone. He said his parents, Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried, should also be facing prison time. He pointed to trial evidence, including private chats, which showed Bankman-Fried’s public image of altruism was fake.
The crypto lawyer also criticized him for showing no remorse after the collapse of FTX and mentioned that SBF donated $10 million to the Biden administration.
Concluding his remarks, he urged former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to reopen the SBF’s campaign finance fraud case that was dropped. John Deaton said the case was dismissed only because it involved elected officials.
Is There Hope for Sam Bankman-Fried?
Some market participants believe that the Justice Department could influence the future of Sam Bankman-Fried. Recently, federal prosecutors and regulators have scaled back on crypto cases.
Notably, regulators have focused mainly on crimes directly related to cryptocurrency and have left other matters to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Unfortunately, in the recent SBF interview with Tucker Carlson, the FTX founder admitted that without intervention, he could remain in prison until his late fifties.
Despite these efforts, the strong call from John Deaton for further charges suggests that leniency remains unlikely. However, the changing environment in Washington means the door is not entirely closed. For instance, former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes bagged Presidential pardon in the United States recently.
