Crypto is in a cooling period after running to a new record last week and was pulled lower by the DeepSeek-driven sell-off in tech stocks.

Police seized almost 1,000 Bitcoin mining machines allegedly stealing electricity in Asia. Officials raided the building where the crypto equipment was stored in Chonburi province, Thailand, on January 9. The building was equipped with ventilation fans to disperse heat from the machines. Police seized 996 Bitcoin mining machines, four computers, three routers, and an electricity meter modified to show lower electric consumption. Police Lieutenant Colonel Ritthichai Chumchuay of the Crime Suppression Division said the raid was carried out following investigations into a 'suspicious' company engaged in crypto trading. He said: ‘This company has been stealing electricity from June 2023 until now, causing more than 110 million baht (2.6 million GBP) in damages. ‘The staff of the Provincial Electricity Authority have filed a report to press charges against the company.' Cryptocurrency prices have been surging after President Trump's victory in the U.S. elections. Bitcoin surged to a record 106,877 USD on December 16 after he reiterated plans to create a U.S. Bitcoin strategic reserve. Trump was initially skeptical of crypto, but has since changed his stance and vowed to make the U.S. the 'crypto capital of the planet'. Analysts have attributed the gains to anticipated crypto-friendly policies that Trump's term would bring. The price was also boosted by the involvement of long-time Bitcoin supporter Elon Musk, who campaigned for President Trump and has been rewarded with an influential post at the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency, which is named after Doge coin. (1 GBP = 42.56 THB)

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with additional information. The U.S. government has received approval to liquidate a significant portion of its Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) holdings seized from the infamous darknet website Silk Road, according to a Wednesday report. What Happened: The Justice Department was cleared to sell 69,370 Bitcoins, valued at approximately $6.5 billion, by a federal judge, DB News reported, citing officials. The...

DeepSeek has produced an open-source AI model that could rival ChatGPT while being significantly cheaper to produce.

The cryptocurrency market has long been characterised by its volatility, making Bitcoin a high-reward and high-risk asset. A new class of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), branded as “Protected Bitcoin ETFs,” is set to reshape this narrative. These ETFs aim to provide a safety net for investors by shielding them from losses while limiting their gains.