Texas Goes Full Crypto Mode as Bitcoin ATM Operator Eyes 200 New Machines

CryptoNews

Texas’ role as a center of U.S. crypto activity is set to expand further after Bitcoin Bancorp said it plans to deploy up to 200 licensed Bitcoin ATMs across the state beginning in the first quarter of 2026.

The state is adding to an already dense network of crypto kiosks operating under one of the country’s clearest regulatory frameworks.Bitcoin Bancorp Enters Texas, Citing Clear Rules and Strong ATM Demand

Bitcoin Bancorp, which trades over the counter under the ticker BCBC, said the rollout would mark its entry into what it described as a strategically important market.

BIG NEWS! 🚀 Bitcoin Bancorp (OTC: ) is set to deploy up to 200 licensed Bitcoin ATMs across Texas starting Q1 2026!Expansion Targets One of the Most Crypto-Friendly U.S. States as Part of a Broader National Growth Strategy Excited to bring easier Bitcoin access to the…— BitcoinBancorp (@BCBC_stock)

The company is one of only three publicly traded Bitcoin ATM network owners in the United States and says it holds foundational patents tied to Bitcoin ATM technology.

Eric Noveshen, a director at the firm, said agreements are already in place that could support faster revenue growth as the company moves from planning into execution.

Following the announcement, Bitcoin Bancorp shares rose 7.83% on the day and are up 29.53% over the past five days, reflecting increased investor confidence in the expansion strategy.Source:

The expansion comes at a time when Texas hosts more than 4,000 live crypto ATMs, the highest number of any U.S. state.

Large national operators, including Athena Bitcoin, Bitcoin Depot, Coinhub, Cryptobase, and Byte Federal, have established broad coverage across major cities such as Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio.

The presence of this existing infrastructure has lowered barriers for new deployments and signaled sustained consumer demand for in-person crypto access.Why Bitcoin ATM Operators Keep Flocking to Texas

Texas’ appeal to ATM operators largely stems from its regulatory structure. State law treats virtual currency as a form of money under the Texas Money Services Act, Bitcoin ATM operators within a familiar licensing regime overseen by the Texas Department of Banking.Source:

Companies must obtain a money transmitter license, meet minimum net worth requirements of at least $500,000, post a surety bond of no less than $150,000, and submit to regular examinations.

Consumer protection has also become a growing focus. In Texas, state rules require Bitcoin ATM operators to clearly disclose fees, exchange rates, and complaint procedures.Federal Scrutiny Intensifies Around Bitcoin ATMs

Oversight of Bitcoin ATMs in the United States is tightening at the federal level as regulators respond to rising fraud concerns and increased consumer use.

Currently at the federal level, Bitcoin ATM operators are classified as money services businesses under the Bank Secrecy Act, placing them under the supervision of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

This requires operators to maintain formal anti-money laundering programs, conduct customer identity verification, and monitor transactions for suspicious activity.

Identity checks typically scale with transaction size, ranging from basic phone verification for smaller amounts to government-issued identification and enhanced due diligence for larger transfers.

Operators are also required to file currency transaction reports for cash transactions exceeding $10,000, submit suspicious activity reports when necessary, and retain records for a minimum of five years.

At the same time, federal lawmakers are moving to further regulate the sector. Proposed legislation such as the Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act of 2025 shows a more focused concern over the role of crypto kiosks in scam-related losses nationwide.What the Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act Proposes

Introduced in the U.S. Senate as Bill S. 710, the Crypto ATM Fraud Prevention Act of 2025, which has been read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, is designed to reduce fraud risks while increasing transparency for consumers.Source:

Key provisions of the bill include mandatory registration of virtual currency kiosks with the U.S. Treasury; also, operators are required to provide clear pre-transaction disclosures outlining terms, fees, and a warning that transactions are final and non-refundable.

The bill mandates prominent fraud warnings on kiosks, the issuance of physical receipts containing transaction details and fraud-reporting information, and the implementation of written anti-fraud policies submitted to FinCEN.

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Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest buys the dip on BitMine, Coinbase, Circle shares

The Block

Cathie Wood's Ark Invest expanded its exposure to BitMine, Coinbase, Circle, Block and Bullish shares on Monday, stocking up as these crypto-related equities recorded a notable decline.

According to its trade filing, Ark Invest purchased $17 million worth of BitMine shares, $16.26 million worth of Coinbase shares, and $10.8 million worth of Circle Internet Group across three of its exchange-traded funds — ARKK, ARKW, and ARKF — on Monday.

Ark also bought $5.94 million worth of Block Inc., $5.2 million worth of Bullish crypto exchange shares, and $1.24 million worth of its Ark-21Shares Bitcoin ETF.

All six items that Ark bought declined on Monday. BitMine, the world's largest Ethereum treasury company, fell 11.22% to close the day at $30.95. Coinbase dropped 6.37% to $250.42, while Circle dipped 9.60% to $75.46. Block shares fell 1.13% and Bullish shares dropped 2.55%. Ark's spot bitcoin ETF price declined by 4.91% on Monday.

Bitcoin and the overall cryptocurrency market also declined on Monday. The world's largest cryptocurrency is down 4.08% to $85,799, while ether is down 5.74% to trade at $2,931 as of 11:10 p.m. on Monday.

Earlier this month, Ark Invest CEO Wood reiterated her point made in a previous webinar that the company is seeing signs of the "undercurrents of deflation" linked to new tech innovations, and predicted that there could be a "real break" in inflation in the coming year.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

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Bitcoin slides below $86,000, ether falls as traders rotate into safer assets

The Block

Bitcoin, Ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies fell Monday evening, with the world's largest cryptocurrency sliding below $86,000 as traders rotated into safer assets.

Bitcoin dropped 4.4% in the past 24 hours to $85,617 as of 11:30 p.m. ET Monday, and ether slipped 6.5% to $2,915, according to The Block's price page. BNB fell 4.2%, XRP lost 6.7%, and Solana declined 4.5%.

Rick Maeda, research associate of Presto Research, said there was no obvious crypto-specific catalyst behind the move, but the crypto sell-off mainly coincided with the U.S. cash equity open, "where stocks opened lower and dragged risk assets with them."

The S&P 500 lost 0.16%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.59%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.09%.

"Liquidity has been thinning into year-end, which tends to exaggerate moves, particularly during U.S. trading hours," Maeda added.

Vincent Liu, CIO of Kronos Research, told The Block that "risk-off" sentiment hit quickly as macro jitters returned and thin liquidity turned each dip into a broader slide.

"Traders rotated into safer assets," Liu said. "The Fed cut barely moved the needle against a cautious outlook, and with leverage unwinding and year-end liquidity drying up, selling cascaded into a sharper drop."

Last week, the Federal Reserve announced a 25 basis point rate cut, prompting analysts to assess the impact of the central bank's third cut this year. The Block has reported that a so-called "Santa rally" now appears unlikely, as bitcoin continues to fade below key resistance levels following the rate decision.

"With key U.S. inflation data due later this week, positioning has also been more cautious, leaving prices more sensitive to relatively modest flows," said Maeda of Presto.

Mining shutdown in Xinjiang

Crypto trader "NoLimit" suggested on X that Monday's crypto price drop may be linked to a recent mining-rig shutdown in China's Xinjiang region.

Jianping Kong, chairman of Nano Labs and a former co-chair of Canaan's board, said on X on Monday that at least 400,000 mining rigs recently went offline in China. He cited estimates showing the network hashrate fell by roughly 100 exahashes per second, or about 8%, from the day before.

Kong also said over the weekend that crypto mining farms in Xinjiang were shutting down machines one after another. China has recently tightened its crypto ban on the mainland, with its central bank pledging in late November to "severely crack down on illegal and criminal activities."

"This [shutdown] comes after China's mining share had quietly rebounded into the mid-teens in recent months, largely driven by cheap power and excess data-center capacity in western provinces," said Min Jung, research associate of Presto. "The speed of enforcement shows that this rebound was always fragile and dependent on staying out of public view."

However, Jung said there is no clear evidence that BTC miners from Xinjiang have sold large quantities of bitcoin recently.

Liu of Kronos said that China’s mining crackdown could weigh on bitcoin's hashrate in the short term, triggering brief sell pressure, but added that the impact is likely temporary and fundamentals remain intact.

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Crypto Market - Pragma Tokyo 2026 - 24 September 2026

CoinMarketCal

Pragma Tokyo 2026, described by ETHGlobal on its official page, is a selective Ethereum builder event focused on deep discussions between founders, protocol teams, and investors. Mechanistically, it concentrates influential actors in one place, which tends to accelerate decisions around ecosystem expansions, Asian market strategies, and technical roadmaps for core infrastructure and L2s. The direct, immediate impact on token prices is likely muted, but for ETH and major ecosystem projects, outcomes such as new partnerships, developer commitments, or regional launches can become catalysts over the following quarters, especially if they lead to measurable increases in liquidity, users, or on-chain volumes.

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Crypto Market - Pragma Cannes 2026 - 02 April 2026

CoinMarketCal

ETHGlobal’s Pragma Cannes 2026 is a curated, founder-focused Ethereum event that gathers a small group of builders and investors to discuss long-term web3 development priorities, as outlined on the official event page. The mechanism is primarily networking and coordination: high-signal conversations that influence which infrastructure, L2s, and applications receive capital and developer attention. While this type of conference has limited direct short-term price impact, it can shape medium-term narratives for ETH and leading ecosystem tokens by accelerating partnerships, funding rounds, and product roadmaps that later translate into user growth, on-chain activity, and protocol revenues.

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PancakeSwap (CAKE) - Cake.Pad AMA - 16 December 2025

CoinMarketCal

According to PancakeSwap’s announcement on X, the team will host a Cake.Pad AMA with LeverUp to discuss an LP-free perpetuals design, uncapped open interest, and full fee redistribution on December 16 at 1:00 PM UTC. Mechanically, this is a discovery and positioning event rather than a product launch, but it gives clarity on how derivatives volume and fee flows might be structured on PancakeSwap going forward. For CAKE, derivatives expansion can increase protocol usage and fee generation, which historically supports DEX token valuations, though any price impact will depend on eventual implementation details and realized trading activity.

PancakeSwap
@PancakeSwap
CAKE.PAD AMA: Meet LeverUp ️
We’re going deep with the @LeverUp_xyz team to dig into their vision, LP-Free perpetuals design, and how they’re building toward uncapped open interest and full fee redistribution.
️ Dec 16, 1:00 PM UTC
️ https://t.co/AvBbXJDzGB https://t.co/8WAMkH46Ba pic.twitter.com/fLVGFR40fW
Dec 15, 2025

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Solana Leads As Most Popular Blockchain Ecosystem For Second Consecutive Year – Report

NewsBTC

Solana (SOL) has emerged as the most popular blockchain ecosystem of 2025, securing its crown for the second consecutive year despite a significant decrease in chain-specific global interest compared to the previous year.

Solana Takes The Popularity Crown

On Monday, Solana was named the leading blockchain ecosystem by popularity in 2025 by crypto data aggregator CoinGecko. The study examined interest in blockchain ecosystems based on CoinGecko’s non-botted global web traffic from January 1 to December 14, 2025, only including ecosystems with actively listed coins and a non-zero percentage share of traffic.

As a result, a total of 62 blockchain ecosystems were included in the study. Out of the 62 blockchain ecosystems studied, the 20 most popular represented a majority of 95.60% of global interest in chain-specific narratives.

According to the report, the Solana ecosystem captured 26.79% of the global interest in chain-specific narratives this year, retaining its title as the most popular blockchain ecosystem for a second consecutive year.

The Base ecosystem followed in second place, accounting for 13.94% of global investor interest in chain-specific narratives this year, led by constructive developments and partnerships. However, its mindshare experienced a 2.9% decrease from the 16.81% recorded in 2024.

Similar to Solana and Base, the Ethereum ecosystem also retained its position from the 2024 list, ranking as the third most popular ecosystem with 13.43% of global interest. Meanwhile, Sui and BNB Chain moved up in the list, ranking 4th and 5th after more than doubling their mindshare in 2025.

Per the study, the Sui ecosystem recorded the largest mindshare growth, with a 6.9% year-over-year (YoY) increase to reach 11.77% of the total global interest in chain-specific narratives.

The BNB Chain ecosystem saw a 4.9% surge YoY to capture 9.05% in mindshare, fueled by the launch of Binance Alpha in May, which increased BNB Chain’s on-chain trading volumes, the report noted.

Notably, XRP Ledger, Bittensor & Hyperliquid lead new entrants into the top rankings, securing a spot in the top 10 this year.

SOL Memecoins Out Of Leading Narratives

Despite leading the popularity rankings, CoinGecko highlighted that the Solana ecosystem’s mindshare had significantly decreased from the 38.79% it had dominated in 2024.

According to the study, the ecosystem dropped by 12% this year, reflecting the blockchain’s “struggles to expand beyond its close association with meme coin speculation, as well as Solana’s range-bound price despite wider institutional adoption marked by the US ETFs launch.”

This resulted in the Solana ecosystem dropping out of the top leading narratives list this year. In a Friday analysis, CoinGecko reported that memecoin emerged as the most popular crypto narrative in 2025 with a combined 25.02% of global investor interest across the main meme coin category and 35 meme coin trends.

This represented a 5.65% decline from the 30.67% market share that the memecoin narrative held in 2024, suggesting that “the mania for purely speculative crypto may be subsiding.”

The Solana ecosystem lost its spot in the top five most popular crypto narratives, where it had ranked for the previous two years, after being overtaken by AI agents and the Made in USA narratives. Meanwhile, the Solana memecoin sector also dropped out of the top five narratives after a 3.08% decline in global investor interest from 2024.

Nonetheless, “it remains to be seen whether the Solana narrative will be able to ride on new catalysts next year, as momentum from its comeback story runs out,” CoinGecko added.

As of this writing, SOL is trading at $126, a 2.61% decline in the daily timeframe.