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The detention of a United States journalist in Russia has sparked a renewed push from Alexander Vinnik, the co-founder of BTC-e, for a possible “prisoner swap” deal. Alexander Vinnik, the Russian co-founder of an allegedly illicit crypto exchange, BTC-e, is seeking release by way of a deal known as a “ prison er swap.”  According to a May 24 report in The Wall Street Journal, Vinnik’s lawyer is attempting to alter a protective order on Vinnik’s case so that he could be considered as part of a prisoner trade deal between Russia and the United States. This could see him “swapped” for detained WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich. “Mr. Vinnik should be permitted to … answer the accusations against him and advocate publicly for his inclusion in a prison er swap,” wrote David Rizk, an assistant federal defender in the Northern District of California. Citing sources familiar with the prison er-swap process, Rizk explained that such negotiations require a strong public campaign to “maximize the cha...

This week’s BTC options expiry could play a decisive role in Bitcoin price potentially trading below the $26,000 level. Bitcoin (BTC) price lost steam after a failed rupture of the $27,500 resistance on May 15, putting bears in a better position for the May 19 expiry. The regulatory newsflow likely played a key role in trimming investors’ risk appetite as governments seek more control over the sector. In a memo circulated among committee members, Democrats in the United States legislature sought to cement the SEC’s authority over crypto. The document was made public on May 10, including the argument that nearly all digital assets constitute securities. Moreover, according to Gensler’s view, even network nodes are in violation of securities laws. The United Kingdom’s Treasury Committee “strongly recommended” on May 17 regulating retail crypto trading and investment activity as gambling, consistent with the principle of “same risk, same regulatory outcome.” Treasury Committee Chair Harr...

The UK Treasury is seeking input on taxing the DeFi space, and on provisions around staking and lending. Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you the most significant developments from the past week. The taxation arm of His Majesty’s Treasury in the United Kingdom has proposed new regulatory changes to simplify how DeFi returns are taxed and reduce the “administrative burden” for taxpayers. A DeFi options protocol has raised $17 million for a buy-side marketplace and an expanded number of listed tokens. USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle launched a cross-chain USDC transfer protocol between Ethereum and Avalanche. Ordinals Finance, an Ethereum-based DeFi protocol, allegedly rug-pulled its users for over a million dollars and erased its presence from all social media platforms as news about the same broke out. The top 100 DeFi tokens by market capitalization had another mixed week in terms of price ...