The Daily: Winklevoss twins move $130 million in BTC to Gemini, South Korean prosecutors sell seized bitcoin and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Tuesday! Bitcoin’s (BTC) next move may hinge less on crypto headlines and more on oil prices, Treasury yields, and Federal Reserve policy, with ETF flows acting as a key barometer of market direction, according to Bitfinex analysts.

In today’s newsletter, the Winklevoss twins transfer $130 million in bitcoin to Gemini hot wallets, South Korean prosecutors sell $21.5 million in seized bitcoin, Polymarket partners with controversial AI-driven U.S. data analytics firm Palantir and more.

Meanwhile, Starknet plans to deploy its STRK20 framework later this year to enable privacy-focused stablecoins and other assets.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out The Funding, a biweekly rundown of crypto VC trends. It’s a great read — and just like The Daily, it’s free to subscribe!

Winklevoss twins move $130 million in bitcoin to Gemini as estimated profit tops $1.8 billion: Arkham

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have transferred about $130 million in bitcoin to Gemini hot wallets over the past week, a move blockchain analytics firm Arkham said was “presumably to sell.”

• Arkham estimates the twins have generated roughly $1.8 billion in profit from bitcoin since first buying the asset 13 years ago.
• The brothers purchased about $11 million worth of bitcoin at around $120 per BTC in April 2013 using proceeds from their $65 million settlement with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
• The Winklevoss twins still hold roughly $764 million in bitcoin, and at one point controlled about 1% of the cryptocurrency’s circulating supply, per Arkham.
• Gemini, the crypto exchange they founded, raised $425 million in its September 2025 IPO but recently announced plans to exit several international markets and cut about 25% of its global workforce.
• The wallet activity comes amid broader institutional bitcoin movements, including the Bhutan government transferring another 175 BTC on Monday.

South Korean prosecutors sell $21.5 million in seized bitcoin once lost to phishing attack

South Korea’s Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office sold 320.8 BTC for about $21.5 million and transferred the proceeds to the national treasury, according to local media reports.

• Authorities originally seized the bitcoin from an international gambling platform that operated between 2018 and 2021.
• Officials subsequently lost the seized assets in a 2025 phishing attack but later regained control of them after the hacker unexpectedly returned the funds.
• The incident highlights broader crypto custody failures across South Korean agencies, including bitcoin lost by a Seoul police station and an exposed recovery phrase by the National Tax Service.

Polymarket taps Peter Thiel-backed Palantir to develop sports betting AI monitoring tool

Polymarket is working with the controversial U.S. data analytics firm Palantir Technologies to build an AI-powered integrity platform for its sports prediction markets.

• The system will use the Vergence AI engine developed with TWG AI to monitor trades and detect manipulation, insider activity and other anomalies in real time.
• The initiative comes as prediction markets expand into sports betting, despite regulatory pushback and as competitors like DraftKings launch prediction-style products across dozens of U.S. states.
• Polymarket is in the process of reentering the U.S. after acquiring a CFTC-regulated platform, as it also explores fundraising that could reportedly value the company at $20 billion.

Armed attackers force French couple to transfer $1 million in bitcoin during home invasion

Armed attackers posing as police officers forced a French couple in the Paris suburb of Le Chesnay to transfer about €900,000 ($1 million) in bitcoin during a home invasion before fleeing the scene.

• One suspect threatened the woman with a knife while demanding the transfer, and the attackers later tied up the man after receiving the funds, according to information reported by French broadcaster TF1 and statements from local prosecutors.
• Prosecutors in Versailles opened an investigation into kidnapping, armed robbery by an organized gang, and criminal conspiracy, with no arrests announced so far.
• The incident reflects a growing wave of physical “wrench attacks” targeting crypto holders and industry figures globally, but particularly in France, where several other investigations are also underway.

‘America is now the crypto capital of the world,’ CFTC’s Selig says as digital asset rules take shape

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig said the U.S. is “now the crypto capital of the world,” outlining the agency’s plans to establish clearer rules for digital asset markets.

• Selig said the CFTC is developing a crypto asset taxonomy with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the “Project Crypto” initiative to clarify regulatory jurisdiction across agencies.
• The regulator is also preparing guidance for non-custodial software developers and reviewing rules covering leveraged retail crypto trading and the classification of crypto perpetuals.

In the next 24 hours

• U.S. mortgage data is due at 7 a.m ET on Wednesday. U.S. CPI inflation figures follow at 8:30 a.m.
• U.S. FOMC member Michelle Bowman will speak at 8:30 a.m.
• The FIA Global Cleared Markets Conference continues in Florida.

Never miss a beat with The Block’s daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.

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