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U.S. Crypto Investor Charged With Kidnapping and Torturing Victim Over Bitcoin

A U.S. cryptocurrency investor is facing criminal charges after allegedly kidnapping and torturing a man in Manhattan for weeks in an attempt to steal his bitcoin BTC.
John Woeltz, 37, was arraigned on Saturday on multiple charges, including kidnapping, assault, and illegal gun possession, after he held a 28-year-old Italian man captive in a luxury townhouse, authorities say.
The Italian man traveled to New York earlier this month and was lured to a five-story rental in the NoLiTa neighborhood, where prosecutors say Woeltz and an unidentified accomplice began abusing him to get his crypto wallet credentials.
The townhouse, rented for at least $30,000 a month, became the site of a weeks-long ordeal. Prosecutors say the victim was beaten, shocked with electric wires, and threatened at gunpoint.
At one point, he was dangled over a staircase railing and told he would be killed if he didn’t give in. He was also warned his family would be harmed, the New York Times reports.
The victim escaped Friday morning, flagging down a traffic officer after fleeing the house. Police arrested Woeltz at the scene and discovered Polaroid photos showing the abuse, along with weapons and other torture equipment.
A second person, Beatrice Folchi, was also arrested, while a third suspect remains at large.
This attack is part of a troubling pattern: the cryptocurrency industry has seen dozens of physical assaults this year alone. In one recent case, the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, CEO of crypto platform Paymium, were targeted in an attempted kidnapping caught on video and posted online.
That attempt failed, but earlier in the same city, a crypto millionaire’s father was abducted and had a finger severed before being rescued.
In yet another incident, David Balland, co-founder of hardware wallet maker Ledger, and his wife were kidnapped from their home. They were later rescued by authorities, and a paid ransom was seized.
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Red-Hot Circle Already Has Two ETFs Devoted to It in the Works

Two well-known ETF issuers are racing to bring funds to market that track the explosive rise of Circle’s newly public stock.
Bitwise and ProShares late Friday each submitted applications with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to Circle (CRCL).
Both funds would give investors different ways to play the Circle’s surge, which has turned heads since the IPO late last week. Up another 9% today in volatile action, shares have nearly quadrupled from their $31 offering price.
ProShares, a major name in leveraged ETFs, filed to create the ProShares Ultra CRCL ETF. The fund is designed to provide twice the daily return of CRCL stock. Leveraged ETFs are popular for short-term trades but carry elevated risk due to their compounding effects over multiple days.
Bitwise, on the other hand, is taking a more income-focused route. Its proposed Bitwise CRCL Option Income Strategy ETF would employ a covered call strategy. That involves holding CRCL shares while regularly selling call options against them—generating cash premiums that could help smooth returns, especially if the stock’s rise cools off. This kind of fund typically appeals to investors looking for yield rather than high-octane growth.
Neither fund has disclosed a ticker yet. The proposed effective date for both products is August 20, though SEC approval timelines can vary.
Circle, already a central player in the stablecoin market, has drawn attention from traditional finance and crypto investors alike. If the SEC signs off on these ETFs, they could mark another step in the blending of crypto-linked equities and mainstream investing strategies.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
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BNB Price Climbs in Strong Rebound as Trump-Musk Spat Uncertainty Fades

BNB, the native token of the Binance ecosystem, staged a swift comeback after a jolt of market turbulence rattled the broader crypto market.
The coin rose more than 4% from this week’s low and is up around 0.7% in the last 24 hours, reversing from a dip to $631 to around $657 after forming a textbook V-shaped recovery pattern, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis data model.
The rebound came as the uncertainty associated with a flare-up between U.S. president Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk that triggered a sell-off for risk assets started fading.
BNB Chain’s fundamentals have been improving. Daily active users jumped 26.4% to 1.2 million, while revenue in Q1 2025 grew 58% from the previous quarter to $70.8 million, according to a Messari report.
Technical charts show BNB hit resistance around $657 after heavy buying at the $650 level. A critical pivot now lies at $654, with traders eyeing U.S. inflation data, due to be released this Wednesday, for cues on the next move.
Meanwhile, Binance is leaning into innovation. Its June 9 hackathon opened new tracks in decentralized science and physical infrastructure.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
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Chainlink’s LINK Stages V-Shape Recovery After 14% Plunge

Chainlink LINK, the oracle network that helps bridging blockchain networks with external data, experienced significant price volatility in recent trading, recovering from a sharp 14.4% correction after finding strong support at $13.58.
The recovery gained momentum through consecutive higher lows, potentially pointing to accumulation at lower levels. However, bitcoin’s BTC performance will likely dictate the next major move for altcoins such as LINK.
LINK rose 1.4% over the past 24 hours in line with the price action of the broader digital asset market.
The crypto market benchmark CoinDesk 20 Index was up 1.1%.
Technical Indicators Point to Continued Strength:
- LINK experienced a sharp 14.4% correction from $13.972 to $13.557, followed by a strong recovery with high-volume support at $13.582.
- Notable resistance emerged at $13.960-13.970, where selling pressure intensified twice during the trading session.
- At 10:00 UTC, price action marked a decisive breakout with the highest volume of the period (1,061,645 LINK).
- A new trading range established between $13.800-13.950, indicating potential continuation of the uptrend if volume remains supportive.
- V-shaped recovery pattern formed with strong buying at the $13.785-13.790 support zone.
- The $13.830-13.840 range now establishes itself as a potential new support zone for continued upward movement.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
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