Donald Trump’s Media Group Eyes Purchase of Crypto Exchange Bakkt: Report Trump Media and Technology Group, which operates Truth Social, is nearing an all-stock deal to purchase Bakkt, a struggling crypto trading venue owned by Intercontinental Exchange.

Crypto Exchange Gemini Starts Up in France With EU’s MiCA Laws Weeks From Kicking In Companies registered in EU nations by year-end will be able to operate in those countries while they secure licenses under MiCA regulations that take effect at the end of the year.

Bitcoin at $100K No Longer a Dream Believe Traders, but Blow-Off Top Warning in Near Term QCP traders expect a run to $100,000 — nearly 10% higher than the current record of over $93,000 — in the coming months, with those gains flowing into altcoins in a mark of a general “alt season.”

California Judge Puts the Kibosh on Kraken’s Interlocutory Appeal Attempt A California judge has rejected Kraken’s motion for interlocutory appeal, saying in a Monday decision that allowing an appeal would only “delay resolution” of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) ongoing case against the crypto exchange.

Decentralized AI Project Morpheus Goes Live on Mainnet Like other decentralized AI networks, Morpheus seeks to curtail the negative side effects of AI, such as centralization, censorship, and data monopolies.

Can a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Move Forward Without Congress? Experts Disagree It’s unclear whether the U.S. government has the authority to use seized bitcoin to constitute a strategic reserve.

Spot Bitcoin ETF Options Could Start Trading As Early As Tomorrow Options trading on spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds could become available as soon as Tuesday, according to Nasdaq.

Polymarket Trader Loses Millions on Tyson After Making Bank on Trump Plus: the market is not confident if Matt Gaetz will be confirmed as Trump’s attorney general.

Beyond the Ballot: How DeFi Is Preparing for DC’s Next Chapter Innovation, consumer protection and financial inclusion are neither Republican nor Democratic values — they’re American ones, says Rebecca Rettig, Chief Legal & Policy Officer at Polygon Labs.

Only Congress Can Ban Election Betting, Kalshi Tells Appeals Court in New Filing The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) may not like election betting, but only Congress — not the regulator — has the authority to ban it, embattled prediction market purveyor Kalshi argued in a Friday court filing.

Bitfinex Hack Launderer Heather ‘Razzlekhan’ Morgan Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan, who helped launder the proceeds of the 2016 Bitfinex hack led by husband Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison in the incident that drained almost 120,000 bitcoin from the exchange.

CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: XLM Surges 73.2% Over Weekend in Broad Rally The CoinDesk 20 gained 6.5% over the weekend with all but two assets trading higher.

Lido Co-Founders Said to Plot Competitor to Sam Altman’s World Network The new digital identity platform, Y, forgoes World Network’s controversial biometric authentication for a system based on users’ online activities.

Project Liberty Joins SOAR to Challenge Centralized Social Media Giants With AI, Decentralized Data AI studio SOAR, created by Ancestry founder Paul Allen, brings Project Liberty data sharing and storage portals for families and communities focused on local government.

MARA to Offer $700M Convertible Senior Note, Shares Fall 5% MARA holdings announced a $700 million convertible senior note due 2030, plans to acquire more bitcoin.

Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy Added Additional 51,780 Bitcoin for $4.6B The company now holds 331,200 bitcoin acquired for roughly $16.5 billion and worth just shy of $30 billion.

First Mover Americas: Solana Breaks Out to New Cycle Highs The latest price moves in bitcoin (BTC) and crypto markets in context for Nov 18, 2024. First Mover is CoinDesk’s daily newsletter that contextualizes the latest actions in the crypto markets.

Semler Scientific Added 215 Bitcoin to Holdings, Bringing Stack to 1,273 BTC Semler Scientific raised $21.5 million through its at-the-market equity offering, purchased 215 BTC.

Missed BTC Rally to $93K? Bitcoin Memecoins Could Be Next to Watch Data, however, show no uptick in Runes protocol on chain metrics as of Monday. Onchain metrics typically follow social activity and narratives, with prices leading afterward.

Bitcoin Near a Record High Might Be Just Half the Journey as BCA Research Signals $200K According to BCA Research analysis of fractal patterns, the bitcoin price might climb above $200,000.