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Liz Napolitano

Liz Napolitano

Liz Napolitano was a data reporter covering the intersection of technology and politics, with a focus on crypto policy and regulation in the U.S. Before she joined Decrypt, Liz reported on BigTech, AI and video games for CBS Moneywatch. Disclosure: Liz holds BTC.

Stories by Liz Napolitano

  • Pudgy Penguins artwork. Image: Luca Netz on X

    Why Luca Netz Will Be 'Disappointed' If Pudgy Penguins Doesn't IPO Within 2 Years

    Pudgy Penguins is on track to clock a record $50 million in revenue this year, according to its CEO Luca Netz—the culmination of a years-long play to plaster the popular IP across corners of the world typically unchartered by Web3 projects, including arcades, storybooks, and even major retailers like Walmart.  But Netz is already looking ahead to Pudgies' march to an even larger and far more lucrative arena over the next two years: Wall Street.   In an interview with Decrypt, Netz said he would...

    NewsBusiness
    4 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • Solana. Image: Decrypt.

    VanEck Files to Launch ETF With Jito's Liquid-Staked Solana Tokens

    VanEck submitted an application to the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission for a JitoSOL exchange-traded fund, as investor interest in staked crypto ETFs continues to expand. The ETF will track the price of JitoSOL, a kind of Solana liquid-staking token, or a tokenized asset that serves as a stand-in for an asset that has already been staked on a network. Staking refers to the process of locking up cryptocurrencies on a blockchain to secure the network in exchange for rewards, usually in the for...

    NewsMarkets
    2 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • XRP is a top crypto asset by market cap. Source: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    XRP Ledger Developers Refute Last-Place Security Ranking Among Blockchains

    XRP Ledger developers are pushing back against the network's last-place security rating in a recent ranking of more than a dozen blockchains by research firm Kaiko, reviving a long-standing debate over the cryptocurrency platform's decentralization and overall trustworthiness. The Kaiko Blockchain Ecosystem Ranking, released on August 13, assigned XRP Ledger a security score of 41 out of 100, the lowest among the 15 blockchains included in the report. Ethereum topped the ranking with a rating of...

    NewsDeFi
    4 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • Dogecoin is widely recognized as the first meme coin. Image: Decrypt

    Trump Family-Backed Thumzup to Acquire Dogecoin Mining Company

    Trump family-backed, cryptocurrency treasury firm Thumzup Media is planning to acquire Dogecoin mining firm Dogehash, the companies announced Tuesday. Under the all-stock deal, Dogehash shareholders will swap their holdings for a combined 30.7 million shares of Thumzup stock, the companies said in a joint statement. The miner will be renamed Degohash Technologies Holdings and trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker "XDOG.” The acquisition target's mining technology will be integrated w...

    NewsBusiness
    2 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • Ethereum. Image: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    SharpLink Reveals $601 Million Ethereum Buy as ETH Rally Cools

    SharpLink Gaming purchased $601.5 million Ethereum last week, its largest ETH buy over the past month, the company announced on Tuesday.  The online gambling marketer, which has shifted its focus to become an Ethereum treasury, purchased 143,593 ETH at $4,648 between August 10 and August 15, the company said. That brings SharpLink’s holdings to 740,460 ETH worth a little more than $3 billion as of writing time.  Ethereum was recently trading at $4,124, down 5.9% in the past 24 hours, according t...

    NewsBusiness
    2 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • Ethereum. Image: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    Billions in Ethereum Waiting to Be Unstaked Could Add Sell Pressure to ETH: Analyst

    Ethereum holders are increasingly lining up to unstake their tokens, a trend that could put significant sell pressure on the cryptocurrency, according to one crypto expert. The Ethereum blockchain's validator exit queue hit 855,158 ETH on Friday—the highest it's ever been, according to validatorqueue.com. The tokens were worth a combined $3.7 billion as of late Friday, according to data provider CoinGecko. Staking is a process by which digital asset holders lock up their tokens to secure a block...

    NewsMarkets
    3 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • SharpLink Gaming is an Ethereum Treasury company. Image: SharpLink/Decrypt

    SharpLink Stock Dives After Q2 Loss as Ethereum Price Surge Cools

    SharpLink Gaming’s shares plummeted Friday as the online gambling marketer disclosed disappointing earnings for the second financial quarter. The Ethereum treasury’s shares are trading at $20.04, down nearly 15% in intraday trading. SharpLink reported $103 million in net losses for the three-month period ending on June 30—a stark contrast to its nearly $12 million net income during the same quarter last year. Revenue came in at $1.4 million for the second quarter, down 30% from the same time las...

    NewsBusiness
    2 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • Moscow, Russia. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    US Treasury Punishes Russian Crypto Firms Over Cybercrime Ties, Sanctions Evasion

    The U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control sanctioned a Russian crypto exchange on Thursday, according to its statement, a sign some federal authorities are continuing to scrutinize digital asset firms, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's directives to ease up on the industry. The exchange, Garantex Europe OU, “directly facilitated ransomware actors and other cybercriminals,” processing more than $100 million in transactions tied to illegal activities since 2019, OFAC sa...

    NewsLaw and Order
    3 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • Source: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    Google Confirms Non-Custodial Wallets Exempt From New Crypto App Rules on Play Store

    Google said it will update its Play Store policy for software wallets this fall, sparking initial concerns among digital-asset users that the changes could sideline self-custodial wallets on Android devices. Google Play will require custodial digital wallet apps, like those from exchanges, to hold jurisdiction-specific licenses—including MiCA authorization in the EU, FCA registration in the U.K., and FinCEN registration in the U.S.—before distribution in those markets, with transitional arrangem...

    NewsLaw and Order
    2 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • Bitcoin and Ethereum. Image created by Decrypt using AI

    Biotech Stock Plunges on Bitcoin Plans as Ethereum Treasuries Stay Hot

    Bitcoin hit a new record high price on Wednesday, and Ethereum may be poised to do the same very soon. But as ETH treasury firms’ stocks have surged on the recent market momentum, shares of at least one of their BTC counterparts are trending in the opposite direction.  Lixte Biotechnology's stock (LIXT) finished the day trading 16% lower at $4.06 per share on Wednesday, shortly after the clinical-stage pharmaceutical firm announced its plan to allocate up to 25% of its reserves to a Bitcoin trea...

    NewsMarkets
    3 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • Ethereum is a top crypto asset by market cap. Image: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    Tom Lee's Ethereum Treasury BitMine Ups ETH Raise by $20 Billion

    Bitmine Immersion is upping its fundraise target for buying more ETH by $20 billion, according to the firm's filing with federal regulators on Tuesday, as it jockeys to maintain its standing as the world's largest Ethereum treasury. The cryptocurrency mining company aims to raise a total of $24.5 billion of its common stock. The announcement marks a dramatic expansion of its common stock sale, for which the company had already made $4.5 billion worth of its shares available to investors. Under t...

    NewsBusiness
    2 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • SharpLink Gaming, the Ethereum Treasury Company. Image: Decrypt

    SharpLink Stock Rises, Then Falls Following $400M Deal to Boost Ethereum Treasury

    SharpLink Gaming is raising a further $400 million to expand its Ethereum treasury, with the firm expecting its total ETH holdings to top $3 billion soon thereafter, the publicly traded firm said Monday in a statement. The online gambling marketer aims to sell its shares for $21.76 each to five global institutional investors, according to the company's press release. The sale is expected to close on Tuesday, August 12, if all closing conditions are met. “The speed and scale of these investments...

    NewsBusiness
    2 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • President Donald Trump. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Treasury for Trump-Backed World Liberty to Raise $1.5B for WLFI Buys

    A financial infrastructure firm is planning to raise up to $1.5 billion to establish a World Liberty Financial treasury, according to a Monday statement from the company behind the sale—a move that could stoke investor interest in the asset as it is poised to become tradable.  ALT5 Sigma Corporation, a publicly traded company, will issue and sell 100 million of its common stock shares to investors in a private placement. The shares will be priced at $7.50 each, and the sale is expected to close...

    NewsBusiness
    2 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • Donald Trump (center) and the Winklevoss twins. Image: Tyler Winklevoss

    Bitcoin Billionaire Winklevoss Bros Back Trump Sons’ Crypto Miner

    Gemini founders and Bitcoin billionaires Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have invested in a crypto mining company tied to President Donald Trump's sons, according to an executive linked to the company. The Winklevoss twins invested an undisclosed amount of Bitcoin in a private placement for American Bitcoin Corp., Hut 8 Corp. CEO Asher Genoot said Thursday during a call with investors. American Bitcoin was formed earlier this year by folding Hut 8’s mining assets into an entity whose backers includ...

    NewsBusiness
    2 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • SharpLink Gaming is an Ethereum Treasury company. Image: SharpLink/Decrypt

    Ethereum Treasury Sharplink to Raise $200 Million for More ETH Purchases

    Sharplink Gaming plans to raise roughly $200 million to add Ethereum to its corporate treasury, the company said Thursday in a statement. The ETH treasury firm has entered into an agreement to sell its common stock to four institutional investors, with shares priced at $19.50 each. The offering is expected to close on August 8, if the deal's closing conditions are met. This deal brings the online gambling marketing firm closer to its goal of holding 1% of all Ethereum in circulation. “Sharplink...

    NewsBusiness
    2 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • Coinbase. Image: Decrypt

    Why Analysts Aren't Worried by Coinbase's Stock Dive After Earnings Miss

    COIN plunged 17% on Friday, just a day after Coinbase posted mostly disappointing earnings results. But investors shouldn’t rush to sell shares of the company’s stock just yet, according to several analysts. The U.S. crypto exchange’s shares could gain ground again as it closes several strategic partnerships and acquisitions that stand to broaden its customer base for its growing crypto and non-crypto services, according to these analysts. Those deals should enable Coinbase to post stronger fina...

    NewsBusiness
    3 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • Coinbase flag. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Coinbase Stock Dives as Company Misses Q2 Revenue Forecasts

    Coinbase clocked $1.5 billion in total revenue, a 25% drop from the previous financial quarter, as the trading platform faced financial fallout from its May data breach but also experienced upside from its investment in the recently publicly listed stablecoin issuer Circle, the company said in its second-quarter earnings statement.  The trading platform's second-quarter revenue came in roughly 6% below analysts’ forecasts of $1.59 billion, according to FactSet data. Adjusted earnings (ebitda) of...

    NewsBusiness
    3 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • A tornado. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    Privacy Takes Center Stage in Closing Arguments at Tornado Cash Developer Roman Storm's Trial

    Developer Roman Storm created coin mixer Tornado Cash not to champion Cypherpunk principles like privacy but to “make bags and bags of money,” U.S. prosecutors said Wednesday during a criminal trial in New York.  “The business was privacy for criminals,” federal prosecutor Benjamin Gianforti said in closing arguments, pointing to evidence that criminals had laundered stolen funds through the decentralized, non-custodial privacy protocol he had built back in 2019. Storm's lawyers argued to the ju...

    NewsLaw and Order
    3 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • Ethereum is the second biggest crypto asset by market cap. Source: Decrypt/Shutterstock

    Tom Lee's Ethereum Treasury BitMine Approves $1 Billion Stock Buyback

    BitMine Immersion Technologies has approved an up to $1 billion stock repurchase to support its Ethereum treasury pivot, the company announced Tuesday, The buyback, which is open-ended and allows periodic repurchases of BitMine’s common stock. Texas-based BitMine had 121,739,533 fully diluted common shares outstanding as of July 28, according to the company’s press release. BitMine’s goal is to stake and hold 5% of Ethereum’s total supply, BitMine Chairman Tom Lee reiterated Tuesday in a stateme...

    NewsBusiness
    2 min read
    Liz Napolitano
  • Securities and Exchange Commission building, Washington, D.C. Image: Shutterstock/Decrypt

    SEC Delays Decision on Trump-Linked Bitcoin, Grayscale Solana ETFs

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed its decision on whether to approve exchange-traded funds tied to Bitcoin and Solana, the agency said in separate filings Monday, extending a pattern of regulatory caution toward crypto-linked investment products. The SEC will take up to an additional eight weeks to decide on whether to allow the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF to begin trading and whether to approve the conversion of the Grayscale Solana Trust into an exchange-traded fund, accor...

    NewsLaw and Order
    3 min read
    Liz Napolitano
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