Metaplanet’s Stock Hits 3-Month High After $104 Million Bitcoin Purchase

Ethereum’s inability to establish a strong foothold above $2,000 continues to dampen investor sentiment, causing many traders to keep their assets liquid in case of a potential selloff. 

This cautious stance is reflected in ETH withdrawals from exchanges, which have plunged to a seven-month low.

ETH Exchange Activity Signals Growing Bearish Sentiment

An assessment of Ethereum’s exchange transaction dominance shows a significant decline in ETH withdrawals since late January. According to Glassnode, ETH’s exchange withdrawal transactions totaled 59,755 coins on Tuesday, marking its lowest single-day count since August 31. 

When ETH withdrawals from exchanges drop, it means fewer investors are moving their holdings to private wallets or cold storage. This suggests they are not planning to hold the coin long-term. Instead, they are keen on keeping their ETH coins on exchanges; a trend that signals a readiness to sell.

At the same time, ETH deposits have climbed, confirming the increasing selling pressure in the market. According to Glassnode, the number of ETH coins sent to exchanges has surged by 10% since the beginning of March.

When an asset’s exchange deposits spike like this, more investors are moving their holdings onto exchanges, often in preparation to sell. As bearish sentiment grows weaker, these coins are sold for profit, putting more downward pressure on ETH’s price. 

Will ETH’s Uptrend Hold? Bulls Face Resistance at $2,148

At press time, ETH is trading at $2,073, marking a 3% gain over the past week as part of the broader market recovery. 

On the daily chart, the leading altcoin follows an ascending trendline, signaling sustained price growth. If bullish momentum intensifies and exchange withdrawals increase while deposits slow, ETH could maintain this trend and reclaim the $2,148 level. 

However, if exchange activity remains unchanged and selling pressure rises, ETH risks breaking below the ascending trendline, potentially falling to $1,759.

The post Ethereum Withdrawals Plunge to 7-Month Low—Will Prices Tumble Below $2,000? appeared first on BeInCrypto.

New York State Representative Clyde Vanel proposed a bill attempting to legislate regulations around crypto scams. The bill defines a wide variety of crypto-related crimes as fraud, but it limits the resultant penalties.

The crypto community has responded positively to the effort, citing the unprecedented torrent of scams. Federal regulators have reduced their crypto enforcement lately, but legislative efforts could pass constructive new statutes.

New York Bill Plans Crypto Regulation

US crypto regulation is in limbo right now, and New York State Representative Clyde Vanel may be able to provide solutions. Since President Trump took office, federal regulators like the SEC have been claiming they don’t have jurisdiction over crypto enforcement and dropping a tranche of lawsuits.

To that end, Vanel proposed a new bill to clarify crypto regulation.

“Any person, partnership, corporation, company, trust or association, developer, or any agent or employee thereof who violates the provisions of this article shall be subject to a civil fine of not more than $5 million or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both,” it read. These lesser fees apply to individuals, while organizations could face fines of up to $25 million.

Vanel’s crypto regulation bill sets an ambitious task for itself. The section on penalties is fairly boilerplate, but its various statutes define much of the entire Web3 industry.

The bill describes several distinct types of scams, thefts, and other criminal practices, legally defining them as fraud. These definitions don’t just apply to crypto; they also cover NFTs, blockchains, DeFi projects, and more.

Wave of Crypto Scams Continue to Harass the Community

So far, the crypto community has responded favorably to the bill’s proposed regulations. It’s easy to see why, as the community is stuck in an unprecedented wave of scams.

The largest crypto hack ever just happened, social engineering scams are raking in huge amounts, and fake political meme coin scams are being launched by sitting heads of state.

In short, the community is worried that these scams may damage crypto’s credibility. Therefore, a bill to actually hammer out beneficial regulations could be very useful.

Under Biden’s administration, federal regulators led the charge on crypto crimefighting, sparking fears of overreach. Maybe a legislative effort could change these perceptions.

Since Vanel filed this bill in New York, its proposed regulations could have a serious impact if passed. The state is a critical finance hub in the US, and New York-based prosecutors handle some of the biggest crypto crimes.

Vanel’s effort doesn’t even ascribe particularly harsh penalties; it’s more important to legally define these actions as fraud. Case in point, the Southern District of New York sentenced Sam Bankman-Fried to higher fines and jail time than Vanel’s bill would allow.

However, it’s still too early to say whether this bill may pass. The community’s initial reaction was positive, but other opinions may come to light.

Additionally, Vanel introduced this without any cosponsors. The Democrats hold a firm grasp on New York, so Republican cooperation is not necessary, but the bill may still die in committee.

The post NY State Bill Defines Civil Fine of Up To $5 Million for Crypto Scams appeared first on BeInCrypto.

The Solana-based memecoin MELANIA, named after US First Lady Melania Trump, is under growing scrutiny after a series of large token sales linked to the project’s team.

On May 3, blockchain researcher EmberCN revealed that project-linked wallets offloaded nearly 10 million MELANIA tokens in just eight days.

MELANIA-Linked Wallets Offload $23 Million in Tokens Since March

These sales amounted to nearly $4.6 million, raising strong concerns over the project’s long-term viability and team motives.

According to EmberCN, the sales followed a Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) strategy alongside unilateral liquidity provision. These techniques allowed the project to reduce price impact while quietly exiting large positions.

Notably, this is not the first time the project has utilized this approach. In April, the same wallets sold 3 million tokens in exchange for about 9,009 SOL—roughly $1.2 million at the time—employing a similar liquidation approach.

Meanwhile, these selling activities have been ongoing for a long time. Since mid-March, the wallets have quietly liquidated around 41.67 million MELANIA tokens for around 170,000 SOL, worth approximately $23 million.

EmberCN pointed out that most of these proceeds appear to have been converted to USDC and withdrawn. This suggests an ongoing effort by the project’s team to exit their significant positions in the token.

The repeated and large-scale token sales by wallets tied to the project have fueled suspicions among holders.

Many now question whether the meme coin was ever designed for long-term utility or merely crafted to capitalize on the name recognition of the US first lady.

MELANIA launched in January 2025 amid media buzz, spurred by its branding and the timing of President Donald Trump’s inauguration. However, that early momentum has rapidly faded amid a broader market lull that significantly impacted meme coins.

According to BeInCrypto data, the token trades at roughly $0.38, down more than 6% over the past day and 31% in the last seven days.

More notably, MELANIA has plunged approximately 97% from its January 20 peak of $13.70.

The post MELANIA Meme Coin Wallets Dump $4.6 Million Worth of Tokens as Price Slides appeared first on BeInCrypto.