Today in crypto, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened a pathway for offshore exchanges to legally serve American clients. Kanye West’s YZY token collapsed over 80% after launch, wiping out $74 million for 51,000 traders. Spot …
Today in crypto, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened a pathway for offshore exchanges to legally serve American clients. Kanye West’s YZY token collapsed over 80% after launch, wiping out $74 million for 51,000 traders. Spot Ether ETFs, meanwhile, extended their streak of outperforming Bitcoin funds to a fifth straight day.
US regulator opens pathway for Americans to trade on offshore crypto exchanges
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a US financial regulator, announced on Thursday that offshore crypto exchanges now have a pathway to legally serve US-based clients by registering under the Foreign Board of Trade (FBOT) framework.
US-based clients have had the right to trade on registered offshore platforms since the 1990s under the FBOT registry, and the framework works for all asset classes, acting CFTC Director Caroline Pham said in a statement. Pham said:
“Starting now, the CFTC welcomes back Americans who want to trade efficiently and safely under CFTC regulations, and opens up US markets to the rest of the world. It’s just another example of how the CFTC will continue to deliver wins for President Trump as part of our crypto sprint.”
Allowing offshore exchanges to serve US residents can potentially increase liquidity in the crypto markets and remove the silos that have kept crypto trapped within regions.
Kanye West’s YZY token: 51,000 traders lost $74M, while 11 netted $1M
Kanye West’s YZY (YZY) token has left most investors in the red, with over 51,000 traders losing a combined $74 million while only 11 wallets booked profits of more than $1 million, data from Bubblemaps shows. The Solana-based token, launched on Aug. 21, surged 1,400% in its first hour before dropping more than 80%.
As of now, YZY is trading at $0.55, down over 80% from its peak, with fewer than 20,000 holders, according to Nansen. Former kickboxer Andrew Tate lost $700,000 after opening a leveraged short on the token, Cointelegraph reported.
Bubblemaps flagged possible insider trading around the launch, naming Hayden Davis, previously linked to the Libra token scandal, who reportedly profited $12 million. Other groups of early buyers also recorded outsized gains.
The incident highlights risks tied to celebrity-backed cryptocurrencies. Over 30 such tokens launched on Solana in 2024 — backed by figures including 50 Cent, Caitlyn Jenner, Iggy Azalea and Ronaldinho — have dropped by more than 70% since launch.
Ether ETFs captured 10x more inflows than Bitcoin in last 5 days
Over the past five trading days, spot Ether ETFs have seen a whopping $1.83 billion in inflows, whereas Bitcoin funds have taken just a tenth of that with $171 million in inflows, according to CoinGlass.
Wednesday was the fifth consecutive trading day that spot Ether ETFs outperformed spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US in terms of inflows.
The aggregate inflow for the nine Ether (ETH) funds was $310.3 million, with BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) taking the lion’s share with a $265.7 million inflow on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the eleven-spot Bitcoin (BTC) funds saw just $81.1 million in inflows yesterday, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) taking 62% of that with $50.7 million.
