Crypto exchange Gemini lifted the price range for its initial public offering to $24 to $26 per share, setting up a debut that could value the company at about $3.2 billion, according to a filing this week.

The New York-based exchange, run by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, previously aimed for a range of $17 to $19. The share count remains unchanged at 16.7 million.

At the top end, Gemini would raise roughly $435 million, up from about $317 million under its earlier goal.

Nasdaq partnership

Nasdaq has agreed to invest $50 million in the IPO, highlighting institutional backing for the crypto exchange as it prepares to go public under the ticker GEMI.

The partnership is seen as a vote of confidence in Gemini’s long-term prospects and a signal of Wall Street’s growing acceptance of digital asset platforms.

The IPO comes amid a flurry of fintech listings and renewed appetite for digital-asset companies. However, investor enthusiasm will hinge on Gemini’s ability to stabilize its finances while navigating an evolving regulatory environment.

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CFTC nominee allegations

The IPO is also taking place against the backdrop of fresh regulatory controversy after President Donald Trump’s CFTC chair nominee Brian Quintenz alleged that Tyler Winklevoss attempted to sway his confirmation after failing to initiate a review of Gemini’s long-running dispute with the agency.

Quintenz released private text messages showing Winklevoss sharing Gemini’s complaint against the CFTC Inspector General, which accused the regulator of pursuing unfair enforcement actions.

Quintenz said he refused to promise favorable treatment, committing only to address the matter “fully and fairly” if confirmed. In the messages, Winklevoss expressed frustration over what he described as years of selective enforcement and urged Quintenz to align with Trump’s push to reform regulatory oversight.

The disclosure, made just days before Gemini’s market debut, highlights the company’s high stakes as it seeks to convince investors and regulators of its stability.

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Early Bitcoin investor and billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya has filed to raise $250 million in blank-check company “American Exceptionalism Acquisition Corp A,” targeting the decentralized finance, AI, energy and defense sectors.

The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) would be led by Social Capital managing partner Steven Trieu as CEO and Palihapitiya as chairman, according to the registration statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. 

The $250 million raise seeks to offer 25 million shares at $10 each under the ticker AEXA on the New York Stock Exchange.

Palihapitiya and Trieu are betting on decentralized finance, not Bitcoin, to lead the next wave of financial innovation, focusing on solutions that bridge traditional markets with blockchain technology:

“While Mr. Palihapitiya has long been a proponent of Bitcoin as an inflation hedge and alternative to fiat currencies, we believe that the next stage of development is the increased integration between traditional finance and decentralized finance.” 

Circle showed DeFi can ‘disintermediate’ TradFi, execs say

The pair pointed to the success of stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group’s recent public listing, stating it “demonstrated how decentralized finance can be used to disintermediate traditional finance intermediaries and provide clear value for customers via reduced friction.”

The venture capitalists acknowledged the path toward mainstream acceptance of crypto and stablecoins has “taken longer than expected,” but that path “now appears to be inevitable.”

Palihapitiya has mixed results with past SPACs

Palihapitiya led several high-profile SPACs during 2020 and 2021, including successful mergers involving Social Capital Suvretta Holdings I and Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings V, now operating as SoFi Technologies.

However, other SPACs led by Palihapitiya, such as Social Capital Suvretta Holdings II, III, and IV, were liquidated, giving him a mixed record. 

SPACs face challenges because they are bound by strict time limits to find a private company to merge with, often struggle to identify companies worthy of high valuations, and operate under considerable regulatory scrutiny.

Palihapitiya once denounced crypto as dead in America

The naming of Palihapitiya’s American-themed SPAC comes two years after he declared the crypto industry “Dead in America,” pointing the finger at former SEC chair Gary Gensler for pursuing dozens of high-profile lawsuits against crypto firms.

Related: Ether ETFs smash records as crypto products see $3.75B inflows

Critics labeled Gensler’s crackdown part of “Operation Choke Point 2.0” — an alleged coordinated effort by regulators to pressure banks into distancing themselves from crypto firms.

Many of those cases, including ones against Coinbase and Ripple, have been dismissed under the new crypto-friendly SEC led by Paul Atkins, which has also created a Crypto Task Force to provide clearer rules while balancing innovation with consumer protection.

Magazine: How Ethereum treasury companies could spark ‘DeFi Summer 2.0

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-bull-and-billionaire-files-for-250m-spac-targeting-defi-ai/feed/ 0 53952 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/fincen-flags-247-million-crypto-kiosk-scam-surge-targeting-elderly/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/fincen-flags-247-million-crypto-kiosk-scam-surge-targeting-elderly/#respond Wed, 06 Aug 2025 03:14:09 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/fincen-flags-247-million-crypto-kiosk-scam-surge-targeting-elderly/

The US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a warning about the growing use of crypto kiosks in scams, especially those targeting older adults.

In an August 4 notice, the agency said losses tied to these machines reached nearly $247 million in 2024, a 31% increase compared to the previous year.

Often referred to as Bitcoin
BTC


$113,380.30

ATMs or convertible virtual currency (CVC) kiosks, these machines have seen a rise in usage and complaints. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received over 10,950 related reports in 2024.

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At the same time, the number of kiosks operating across the US has surged from around 4,100 in 2019 to more than 37,000 today.

FinCEN highlighted several problems with how many of these kiosks are run. A number of operators fail to register as money service businesses, and many skip basic steps like verifying users’ identities.

Some advertise privacy and charge high fees, sometimes as much as 25%, while allowing repeated transactions without ID checks.

The alert also noted that adults over 60 are suffering the most harm. Despite being less likely to use cryptocurrency, they make up more than two-thirds of those affected by these scams.

In many cases, victims are pressured into withdrawing savings or retirement funds and converting them into crypto, which is then sent through a kiosk.

The Michigan town of Grosse Pointe Farms has recently introduced rules to regulate crypto ATM operations, despite none currently existing there. What do the rules include? Read the full story.

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A multi-state, multi-million dollar investigation dubbed Operation Teller-to-Telegram just concluded with the arrest of several individuals who allegedly engaged in a bank fraud scheme that targeted the elderly.

In a statement, the office of the Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says that eight individuals behind an $8.8 million bank fraud ring are now facing RICO charges, criminal use of personal information and other serious felonies. 

The fraud operation involved three bank employees in Maryland, identified as Barbara Frazee, Camala Shafer, and Antonio Penn, who allegedly sold and shared the account information of senior customers using the encrypted mobile messaging app Telegram.

The other perpetrators used the victims’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and bank account information to drain savings, then transferred the stolen funds to accounts that they opened.

Says Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd,

“This wasn’t some small-time scam, this was a well-organized fraud ring stealing millions from innocent victims across the country. They thought they could hide behind mobile apps and fake accounts, but we found them, and we’ll continue to go after anyone who targets hardworking people’s life savings. Racketeering is a serious crime, and we will pursue as many felonies as possible against each one of these suspects.”

Frazee, Shafer and Penn are now facing charges along with their alleged co-conspirators: Okeroghene Akushe, Michael Nevarez, Roshado Durrant, Hassan Phillips and Kevin Clayton.

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An ATM scheme has reportedly drained tens of thousands of dollars from elderly customers of the biggest banks in the United States.

New York City police are warning senior citizens to be on the lookout for a trio of scammers at ATMs after a crime spree that occurred between May and June, reports The New York Post.

Authorities warn that the group – made up of two men and a woman – act as good Samaritans by offering to help the elderly use the ATM or strike up a conversation with them as a distraction to try and steal their bank cards.

Police say that on May 14th, the trio stole $20,000 from the bank account of a 90-year-old woman and drained $3,000 from the account of an 83-year-old woman in two separate incidents that occurred just one hour apart.

On June 2nd, one of the thieves started up a conversation with a 71-year-old man while withdrawing cash at a Chase Bank ATM. While the victim was distracted, the scammer stole the man’s bank card and linked up with another man at a different Chase Bank ATM location, where they tried to take out $5,500.

The 71-year-old says the scammers charged $6,000 to his account in just one hour.

The thieves struck again on June 19th when they targeted an 86-year-old woman and stole about $24,000 from her account.

According to the police, the trio is responsible for stealing at least $70,000 from elderly victims.

Authorities say that a total of nine incidents of thieves using the same scheme against seniors at Chase Bank, Bank of America, Capital One and Citibank locations in New York were reported between May 8th and June 26th.

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Semler Scientific, the second public company in the United States, has adopted Bitcoin as its main Treasury protection asset, appointed Joe Burnett as director of Bitcoin Strategy, and announced plans to accumulate Bitcoin. Healthcare Technology Company holds 10,000 Bitcoins by the end of 2025, 42,000 by 2026 and 105,000 by 2027.

This announcement comes as Semler continues to expand Bitcoin Holdings. The company recently acquired 185 Bitcoin for $20 million between May 23 and June 3, bringing total holdings to 4,449 BTC, worth around $446.2 million at its current price.

“We look forward to Joe joining the Bitcoin Strategy Team and driving his three-year plan to own 105,000 Bitcoin,” said Eric Semler, chairman of Semler Scientific. “Joe is an analytical thought leader in Bitcoin and Bitcoin finance companies. His expertise contributes as he pursues Bitcoin financial strategies and aims to provide long-term value to shareholders.”

Since adopting the Bitcoin standard in May 2024, Semler “has achieved a BTC yield of approximately 287% and a BTC $177 million by June 3, 2025,” Semler said. The company currently reports a BTC yield from the start of the year of 26.7%.

As former market research director for Unchained, Burnett helped support the adoption of Bitcoin on the system by providing joint custody solutions. He previously served as head analyst for Blockware Solutions, helping to launch one of the largest Bitcoin mining platforms in the United States.

“We are witnessing global monetization as a great form of money in Bitcoin,” Burnett said. “The trend to adopt Bitcoin as part of the Corporate Treasury has clearly accelerated. SemlerScientific is at the forefront of the movement as the second public US company to adopt the Bitcoin standard.”

Semler’s Bitcoin strategy includes using revenue from equity and debt financing and operational cash flows. Since launching its market offering program in April 2025, the company has raised approximately $136.2 million through stock sales.

The company acquired 4,449 Bitcoin for $40 million with an average price of $92,158 per Bitcoin. “We continue to use our operating cash flow to increase Bitcoin Arsenal, increasing revenue from debt and equity funding,” Semler said.

Coinbase officially launched Coinbase Payments on June 18, a three-layer platform that enables commerce providers to add USDC checkout without running their blockchain infrastructure.

The stack begins with Stablecoin Checkout, a wallet-native interface that supports hundreds of wallets, delivers gas-free transactions, and records payments in USDC. 

Beneath it, an E-commerce Engine exposes application programming interfaces for authorization, capture, refunds, ledgering, and subscriptions, allowing payment service providers to integrate stablecoin flows into existing merchant dashboards. 

At the base, the Commerce Payments Protocol executes smart contract escrow and settlement on Base, Coinbase’s layer-2 network, in sub-second blocks. 

The company stated that the modular design eliminates the need for “crypto-native teams” and can settle global transactions at a lower cost than traditional card networks.

Early production use at Shopify

Shopify activated the stack last week for an early-access cohort of merchants, marking one of the first retail deployments of USDC at scale. 

Buyers pay in USDC, and Shopify receives fiat payouts unless a merchant opts to retain the stablecoin. 

Stripe helped abstract the crypto logic from sellers’ workflows, and Shopify plans to add 1% USDC cashback incentives for consumers. 

Coinbase stated that Stablecoin Checkout handles consumer interaction, the E-commerce Engine manages merchant controls through APIs, and the protocol layer facilitates smart-contract escrow and settlement behind the scenes.

Market context and adoption target

According to Coinbase, more than half of Fortune 500 firms are experimenting with on-chain tools while roughly one-third of small businesses already accept some form of crypto. 

By making stablecoin rails accessible through a single integration, the exchange aims to position USDC as a default internet payment method.

Additionally, platforms that onboard can add off-ramps to local currencies, audit trails via open-source contracts, and programmable reward systems in a forthcoming update.

Coinbase invited payment processors, marketplaces, and e-commerce software vendors to integrate immediately, noting that the same stack powering Shopify’s rollout is now available through the company’s developer portal.

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