ukraine

#Ukraine imposes nationwide lockdown on #Polymarket for operating unlicensed gambling.
Vitalik sold another batch of altcoins in the past half hour, earning 9.4 ETH.
Central banks around the world are drafting a statement to express their support for Federal Reserve Chairman Powell.
Former New York City mayor promotes memecoin $NYC, which appears to have been ruggled within 30 minutes.
A Polymarket trader lost $2.36 million in 8 days, with a win rate of nearly 50%, yet still suffered a margin call.
#CoinRank

Ukrainian authorities have moved to block the decentralized prediction platform Polymarket, classifying it as unlicensed gambling. The National Commission for the State Regulation of Electronic Communications (NCEC) enforced the decision through Resolution No. 695, adding polymarket.com to the country’s public registry of prohibited websites. Internet providers are required to restrict access to the platform.

War-related markets draw criticism
Polymarket allows users to trade shares based on real-world events, with prices reflecting market probabilities. Ukrainian regulators argued that the platform qualifies as gambling because users stake money on uncertain outcomes for potential payouts.

The decision follows mounting ethical concerns over Ukraine-related markets. In 2025, Polymarket hosted hundreds of millions of dollars in wagers tied to the Russia–Ukraine war, including bets on the occupation of eastern cities. Open-source intelligence group DeepState accused Polymarket of using battlefield data via an unauthorized API to fuel speculation. By late December, completed Ukraine-related bets exceeded $270 million, with another $140 million active. Critics said the platform “monetizes human suffering” and gamifies conflict.

Uneven enforcement and regional scrutiny
Implementation of the ban has been inconsistent. While many users report being blocked, some can still access the platform. Ukraine’s actions reflect a wider European crackdown: Romania and France recently directed local providers to block Polymarket for operating without a gambling license and failing to provide consumer protections.

Return to the U.S. market
Despite regulatory hurdles abroad, Polymarket has relaunched in the U.S. under Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversight. The platform’s new mobile app enables real-money sports markets, following its acquisition of a licensed crypto derivatives exchange.

Legal debate continues
Polymarket highlights the global uncertainty over prediction markets. Regulators often treat them as gambling, while supporters argue they aggregate information and provide probabilistic insights rather than games of chance. The Ukraine ban underscores the ongoing challenge for crypto platforms navigating international laws, licensing rules, and politically sensitive events.

#polymarket #ukraine #predictionmarket

KYIV:
Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine's capital, setting apartment blocks alight and killing at least four people, Kyiv's police said Friday after Moscow rejected the latest post-war peacekeeping plan.
Ukraine and its Western allies, scrambling to bring an end to the war as it approaches the four-year mark, agreed this week that Europe would deploy troops after any ceasefire.
But Moscow, which says it launched its February 2022 invasion in part to prevent an expansion of the NATO defence treaty, has repeatedly rejected the idea of any Western forces stationed in Ukraine.
Such troops would be "considered legitimate military targets", Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned on Thursday, branding Ukraine and its American and European allies an "axis of war".
As diplomats wrangle for a breakthrough in what has been Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II, Russia has continued to press forward with its assault, bombarding Ukraine daily.
In Kyiv, drone strikes across the city killed four people and wounded at least 24 others, including emergency rescuers, police said.
At a residential building on the city's left bank, a medic was killed while responding to a strike as the site was hit a second time.
Some neighbourhoods were plunged into darkness during what Mayor Vitali Klitschko described as a "massive enemy missile attack".
Across the border in Russia's Belgorod, the governor said more than half a million people were without power or heating after a Ukrainian attack targeted the region's utilities.
$BTC
#russia
#ukraine
#news
#BTC