Cryptocurrency
This Canadian Crypto Exchange Gambled Away $9.5 Million of Users’ Bitcoin and Ether

The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has determined that the cryptocurrency trading platform ezBtc and its founder, David Smillie, defrauded investors of approximately $9.5 million, equivalent to 13 million Canadian dollars, in crypto assets.
The BCSC’s investigation uncovered that ezBtc and Smillie engaged in misleading and deceptive practices, misappropriating funds intended for customer accounts.
Crypto Funds Diverted for Gambling
According to the official press release shared by the Canadian regulatory agency, ezBtc began accepting customer deposits in December 2016 and ceased operations permanently around September 2019. During this period, customers deposited over 2,300 BTC and more than 600 ETH into their ezBtc accounts.
Despite claims that all crypto investments were secured in cold storage, ezBtc quickly transferred the incoming assets elsewhere. The BCSC panel found that Smillie diverted nearly a third of users’ funds for gambling and personal use. The panel concluded that the “deceit” orchestrated by the founder and the company resulted in significant losses for customers, who were unable to withdraw their assets.
“The respondents perpetrated a fraud relating to securities by lying to customers about holding their crypto assets in cold storage in ezBtc’s custody, but instead diverting 935.46 customer bitcoin and 159 customer ether for their own purpose.”
The panel has directed the executive director and the respondents to make submissions on sanctions. The executive director is to deliver submissions by September 3, 2024, with Smillie to respond by September 17, 2024.
Canada has seen its fair share of illicit activities related to crypto. For instance, Aiden Pleterski, Ontario’s ‘Crypto King,’ was arrested in May this year on fraud and money laundering charges linked to an alleged Ponzi scheme. The 25-year-old and his co-conspirator, 27-year-old Colin Murphy, allegedly defrauded around $30 million from unsuspecting victims.
However, the institutional demand in the country for crypto assets remains unfazed.
Rising Institutional Demand in Canada
A recent KPMG survey revealed a significant increase in crypto exposure among Canadian institutional investors in 2023 compared to 2021. The study, which included 65 respondents from institutional investors and financial services organizations, found that 39% of institutional investors had direct or indirect crypto asset exposure, up from 31% in 2021.
It was also found that half of the financial services firms now offer crypto services, an increase from 41% two years ago. Notably, one-third of institutional investors allocated 10% or more of their portfolios to crypto assets, reflecting a growing interest in alternative investments as hedges against inflation and economic uncertainty.
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Cryptocurrency
1,000,000 ETH: Could This Massive Move Ignite Another Price Rally?

TL;DR
Ethereum’s massive exchange outflows and increased whale accumulation fuel optimism for a continued uptrend.
However, ETH’s RSI on the daily scale has climbed to 71, entering overbought territory and signaling a potential short-term correction.
Ready for Another Catapult?
The second-biggest cryptocurrency has taken center stage lately, with its valuation soaring in the past few weeks and outperforming bitcoin (BTC) and many other leading digital assets. On Мay 13, the price for one ether (ETH) surged past $2,700 for the first time since late February.
In the following days, there was a slight retracement, and currently, the asset is worth roughly $2,550 (per CoinGecko’s data). Still, this represents a significant increase compared to the crash below $1,400 observed at the start of April and a 54% rise on a monthly scale.
According to some important metrics, there’s much more room for growth. The popular X user Ali Martinez revealed that around one million ETH had been withdrawn from exchanges in the last month alone. The USD equivalent of this significant stash is more than $2.5 billion. As CryptoPotato previously reported, nearly half of the amount was withdrawn in the past seven days.
The development indicates a shift from centralized exchanges toward self-custody methods and is generally considered a bullish factor since it reduces the immediate selling pressure.
Additionally, many well-known X users have pointed to the increased whale activity lately. CryptoJack claimed that large investors have been loading up ETH “like never before.” It is worth mentioning that he showed the buying spree of Abraxas Capital, an investment company that recently acquired millions of tokens.
The whales’ actions are closely monitored by smaller players who may decide to follow suit and hop on the bandwagon. Large-scale accumulation also reduces the available supply of ETH, and when paired with steady or rising demand, this can create upward pressure on the price.
Meanwhile, multiple analysts have recently made optimistic predictions about the short term. X user Kamran Asghar set the next target at $2,800, while CRYPTOWZRD expects a successful breakout of the $2.8K resistance level, which could push the price toward $3,550.
Those willing to explore additional forecasts involving ETH can take a look at our dedicated article here.
This Indicator Suggests a Possible Pullback
Despite the overall bullish conditions and opinions, ETH’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) warns about a potential downward trajectory in the short term. The momentum oscillator measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes to help traders assess possible trend reversals.
It varies from 0 to 100, and readings above 70 typically signal that ETH has entered overbought territory and could soon experience a correction. The RSI on a daily scale is set at 71.
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Cryptocurrency
Sportsbet.io launches 1 million USDT giveaway to mark Champions League finale

[PRESS RELEASE – Tallinn, Estonia, May 15th, 2025]
Sportsbet.io, the crypto-led sportsbook, has launched a major giveaway offering users the chance to win 1 million stablecoin, USDT, as the UEFA Champions League enters its decisive final stages.
Open to all verified users of the platform, the initiative requires a 1 USDT entry fee. Participants must correctly answer a set of twenty football-focused questions. Those who submit all correct answers may be eligible to claim the full 1 million USDT prize.
The launch is timed to coincide with the conclusion of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season, one of the most-watched sporting events globally. With global interest at its peak, the campaign provides football fans an opportunity to engage directly with a skill-based challenge that blends sporting knowledge in a format that blends skill, timing, and reward. In addition to the main challenge, Sportsbet.io is running a Cup Finals Leaderboard, which tracks user performance across a set of upcoming fixtures. A separate campaign will also reward participants who place qualifying multi-leg bets using the platform’s BetBuilder tool. Together, these two initiatives carry a combined prize pool of 20,000 USDT, distributed based on performance.
Shane Anderson, Chief Brand Officer for Sportsbet.io (Yolo Entertainment), commented:
“The Champions League is a pinnacle of global football – not just for the clubs competing but for fans around the world. As the tournament nears its conclusion, this initiative offers our community a chance to take part in the energy of the final weeks in a meaningful and interactive way.”
Sportsbet.io has a track record of activations aligned with key football moments. Recent campaigns have included VIP ticket giveaways and matchday engagements tied to major events, such as El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid. The platform also maintains club-level partnerships across top-tier European football with fan engagement experiences through digital assets.
Further information, including full entry terms, eligibility requirements, and prize details, can be found on their website.
About Sportsbet.io
Founded in 2016 as part of Yolo Group, Sportsbet.io is the leading crypto sportsbook. Sportsbet.io has redefined the online betting space by combining cutting-edge technology with cryptocurrency expertise and a passion for offering its players the ultimate fun, fast, and fair gaming experience.
Official Regional Partner of LALIGA, Official Betting Partner of English football team, Hull City, and a Club Partner of Premier League team Newcastle United, Sportsbet.io provides an expansive range of betting action across all major sports and eSports, offering players more than 1M pre-match events per year and comprehensive in-play content.
As the first crypto sportsbook to introduce a cash-out function, Sportsbet.io is recognised as a leader in both online sports betting and within the crypto community.
In December 2023, a lucky Sportsbet.io player won the biggest ever online slots jackpot while playing on the site, turning a $50 spin into a prize of more than $42 million.
Sportsbet.io prides itself on its secure and trustworthy betting service, with withdrawal times of less than 90 seconds, among the fastest in the industry.
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Cryptocurrency
Bad News for Ripple as XRP Lags Behind BTC, ETH in This Key Metric

TL;DR
- A key metric showcasing the network and investor activity on a certain blockchain has revealed a massive difference in user engagement among the four largest cryptocurrencies by market cap.
- Nevertheless, analysts remain confident in XRP’s future price movements, as long as the asset remains above a critical support line.
As cryptocurrency continues to expand, here are the daily averages of new wallets created over the past month for the top 4 market caps:
1⃣ Bitcoin $BTC: 309K Per Day
2⃣ Ethereum $ETH: 112K Per Day
3⃣ XRP $XRP: 3.5K Per Day
4⃣ Tether $USDT: 36.4K Per Day pic.twitter.com/8mAjH6Hscp— Santiment (@santimentfeed) May 14, 2025
Santiment’s analysis shows the substantial lead BTC has in terms of new wallets being created on average every day for the past month. This aligns with previous reports on CryptoPotato’s website claiming that retail investors have returned for the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Ethereum, whose price also picked up the pace in the past few weeks, has enjoyed over 110,000 new wallets created daily on average within the past month, while USDT sits far behind with 36,400.
However, Ripple’s situation is rather worrisome as only 3,500 new wallets emerge on a daily basis (again, on average). This suggests that retail investors have remained on the sidelines when it comes to new engagement with XRP, which is in stark contrast with the developments in December 2024.
At the time, the newly established wallets shot up to well over 20,000 while XRP was in the middle of its spectacular run to and beyond $3. Now, though, the lack of actual retail demand could spell trouble for the asset.
The past 24 hours have been somewhat painful for XRP, whose price has tumbled by over 5% and sits below $2.5 after getting rejected at $2.7 earlier this week. However, analysts are adamant that Ripple’s cross-border token has a clear sky ahead of it and will continue to rise as long as it doesn’t lose the $2.38 support level.
You can check some of the latest developments surrounding Ripple here, which also include a few big price predictions.
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