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Trump signs ‘Fort Knox’ cryptocurrency order; revises tariffs, Musk role in budget slashing

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Trump signs ‘Fort Knox’ cryptocurrency order; revises tariffs, Musk role in budget slashing


Trump landed at Palm Beach International Airport after delivering remarks at a White House digital assets summit.

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WEST PALM BEACH — President Trump arrived Friday evening for his fifth Mar-a-Lago visit this term at a time when his home county is increasingly more vocal and visible in opposition to his policies.

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Trump landed at Palm Beach International Airport just before 8 p.m. With him on Air Force One were billionaire and special government employee Elon Musk, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and aide Walt Nauta.

Trump arrived after delivering remarks at a White House digital assets summit. Trump touted an executive order he issued Thursday creating a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” and “Digital Asset Stockpile” saying it will create a “virtual Fort Knox.”

“That’s a big thing,” he said, adding: “This is a tremendous opportunity for economic growth and innovation in our financial sector … We feel like pioneers, in a way.”

The measures have received a mixed reaction among crypto hedge and investment fund managers while others point out that Trump’s financial stake in a crypto platform could raise conflicts of interest.

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After the late afternoon roundtable, Trump departed Washington for the Winter White House, ending a week in which he attempted to quell tumult within his own government by clarifying who exactly is in charge of the federal budget’s crash diet. And one in which he partially flipped on his decision to implement punitive tariffs on America’s closest trading partners — and which economists have said could prove costly to U.S. consumers.

The White House claimed the administration this week continued “racking up major wins” citing liquefied natural gas deals, the arrest of the ISIS-K terrorist accused of leading the deadly bombing in Afghanistan that killed 13 U.S. servicemembers in 2021 and a plummet in “illegal border crossings” last month that was 94% less than in February 2024 and “down 96% from the all-time high of the Biden Administration.”

Trump in Palm Beach County as residents grow restless over his policies

On March 4, more than 100 people gathered for the West Palm Beach version of the National Day of Action demonstration in front of the Palm Beach County Courthouse. For two hours, they alternately condemned Trump’s slew of executive orders, efforts to end diversity programs, a nationwide immigration crackdown and other initiatives.

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Two days later, in a meeting with local Hispanic and community leaders, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the county’s deputies would not engage in broad immigration sweeps but only seek to detain undocumented “bad guys” with existing warrants and criminal records.

“I am not doing immigration sweeps. Haven’t, won’t,” Bradshaw said, while also adding: “Send your kids to school, go to the hospitals when you need to go there, go to the grocery store, go wherever you want. I want people to be safe. Don’t be afraid of us.”

South Florida’s congressional Democrats have also fired broadsides at the administration, which has been in office for just six weeks. U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel of West Palm Beach said she was “appalled” by the Trump administration’s plan to eliminate 80,000 jobs from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“As the mother of a U.S. Marine war Veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, I know firsthand the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform,” said Frankel, a former mayor of West Palm Beach whose district includes the Winter White House, in a statement. “Veterans’ benefits are a sacred promise, earned through their service to our country … Slashing tens of thousands of VA jobs will mean longer wait times, delayed treatments, and increased reliance on private providers —many of whom lack the expertise to treat service-related conditions. This cruel decision doesn’t serve those who served our country — it abandons them.”

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On Friday, U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick along with her Democratic colleagues from Florida sent a letter warning the Trump administration that reducing resources for meteorologists and weather forecasts will imperil the Sunshine State, particularly during hurricane season.

“Here in South Florida, families have been hit hard by severe hurricanes, catastrophic flooding, and other natural disasters,” wrote Cherfilus-McCormick, whose district covers swaths of Palm Beach and Broward counties. “Abrupt workforce cuts at NOAA and NWS will only make it more difficult for our communities to get ahead before the next storm arrives.”

Week ends with back-and-forth on tariffs

It wasn’t just locals pushing back hard on Trump’s initiatives. After implementing long-threatened and steep tariffs, the president soon was backpedaling.

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After a call with leaders of America’s automotive industry, Trump removed automobiles from the list of items facing 25% duties. Another import, potash needed by farmers for fertilizer, was also added to a widening exempted list.

The partial retreat nonetheless elicited taunting from Canadian officials who called Trump’s trade back-and-forth a “psychodrama.”

“There’s too much unpredictability and chaos coming out of the White House right now,” Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly was quoted as saying.

After a call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump said he would not apply tariffs on imports covered by an existing trade agreement he negotiated in his first term.

Florida has a lot at stake with Canada, Mexico tariffs

Trump’s adopted home state has plenty at stake as Canada and Mexico are among Florida’s top trade partners. In 2022, Florida imported close to $9.6 billion worth of products from Mexico and around $5.8 billion from Canada.

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The trade war is one factor that has taken a toll on Wall Street. On Friday, the S&P 500 closed down nearly 400 points from its highwater mark of 6,144.15 last month. And the Dow Jones industrial average was off just under 2,000 points since February.

Trump, who often touted his first-term success by noting stock market wealth increases, said this week he was “not even looking at the market” because he did not doubt the strength of the U.S. economy.

Trump also walks back orders to Musk, DOGE

The president also walked back his orders to super-billionaire Musk and his efforts to take a chainsaw to the federal government budget and workforce.

Last month, Trump wrote in an all-capitalized post on his social media platform that “ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE. REMEMBER, WE HAVE A COUNTRY TO SAVE, BUT ULTIMATELY, TO MAKE GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. MAGA!”

That led to mass firings of workers and controversial weekly emails from Musk to all federal employees ordering them to detail how they were spending their work hours.

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But on Thursday, after weeks of protests, criticism and missteps in terminating vital federal employees, Trump recast his order saying the goal now is to to employ a “scalpel” and not a “hatchet” to reductions. Trump also stated he instructed that his Cabinet secretaries, and not Musk, the richest man on the planet, make the final decision on workforce reductions.

The role of Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Trump stated, is “to work” with the Cabinet members in order to “be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go.”

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Debris from SpaceX Starship seen from West Palm Beach after explosion

Pieces of the unmanned Starship spacecraft are seen in the sky a half mile south of Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach on Thursday. The spacecraft was SpaceX’s eighth flight test of its Starship. Video by Tim Lewis, West Palm Beach

Musk’s SpaceX venture also suffered its own setback when a rocket it launched on Thursday exploded in flight. The debris field over the skies above Florida was vast enough to delay flights at PBIA, Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

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A PBIA spokesperson said there was a ground stop at the airport Thursday that lasted until 7:30 p.m. It was unclear how many flights were affected.

Palm Beach Post reporters Valentina Palm and Julius Whigham II contributed to this story.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

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Best Crypto Recovery Law Firms in 2026: Leading Cryptocurrency Lawyers for Asset Recovery, Fraud Investigations and Digital Asset Disputes

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Best Crypto Recovery Law Firms in 2026: Leading Cryptocurrency Lawyers for Asset Recovery, Fraud Investigations and Digital Asset Disputes

Introduction

Cryptocurrency fraud has become one of the fastest-growing forms of financial crime worldwide. Investment scams, fake trading platforms, wallet compromises, pig-butchering schemes, recovery scams, phishing attacks, and hacking incidents continue to affect thousands of investors and businesses every year.

As digital assets have become increasingly mainstream, the demand for specialist cryptocurrency lawyers has grown significantly. Unlike traditional financial disputes, crypto-related matters often involve blockchain analysis, digital evidence, international jurisdictions, cryptocurrency exchanges, compliance considerations, and highly technical investigations.

The best crypto recovery law firms combine legal expertise with a deep understanding of blockchain technology, financial crime, digital asset tracing, and cryptocurrency investigations. Some specialise in assisting individual victims, whilst others focus primarily on institutions, exchanges, funds, and large-scale commercial disputes.

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This guide highlights five law firms that have established reputations within cryptocurrency recovery, digital asset investigations, blockchain disputes, fraud prevention, and financial crime matters.

1. Crypto Legal

Website: https://www.cryptolegal.uk

Why We Selected Crypto Legal as Our Top Choice

Crypto Legal stands out because it combines specialist cryptocurrency lawyers, blockchain forensic investigators, intelligence analysts, compliance professionals, and digital asset experts within a single organisation.

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Unlike many traditional law firms that outsource technical investigations to third parties, Crypto Legal performs blockchain investigations and forensic analysis internally. This allows legal and forensic teams to work together throughout a matter, providing clients with both legal expertise and technical blockchain intelligence.

Established in 2017, Crypto Legal has operated as a crypto-native legal and forensic practice since the early stages of the digital asset industry. The firm specialises in cryptocurrency fraud investigations, blockchain forensics, digital asset tracing, AML compliance, financial crime prevention, Web3 advisory services, and cryptocurrency-related disputes.

The firm has accumulated more than 70 industry awards and recognitions and has been recognised by organisations including the European Legal Awards, Legal Insider, Leaders in Law, and the Digital Economy Council of Australia.

Particularly impressive is Crypto Legal’s multidisciplinary structure, which combines legal professionals, blockchain investigators, forensic analysts, intelligence specialists, compliance experts, and cryptocurrency professionals under a single framework.

Key Areas of Focus:

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  • Cryptocurrency fraud investigations
  • Blockchain forensics
  • Digital asset tracing
  • Asset recovery support
  • Financial crime investigations
  • AML compliance
  • Exchange disputes
  • Cryptocurrency scam investigations
  • Web3 legal services

2. LegalByte

Website: https://www.legalbyte.io

LegalByte has developed a strong reputation for cryptocurrency fraud investigations, cybercrime matters, blockchain tracing, hacking incidents, wallet compromise investigations, and investment scam cases.

The firm focuses heavily on matters involving stolen cryptocurrency, fraudulent investment platforms, phishing attacks, exchange disputes, recovery scams, and digital asset tracing exercises.

LegalByte’s experience in both legal and forensic aspects of cryptocurrency investigations makes it particularly suitable for individuals and businesses seeking specialist assistance following hacking incidents or suspected fraud.

Key Areas of Focus:

  • Cryptocurrency theft investigations
  • Blockchain tracing
  • Hacking incidents
  • Investment fraud
  • Recovery scam investigations
  • Cybercrime matters
  • Wallet compromise cases
  • Financial crime investigations

3. Mishcon de Reya

Website: https://www.mishcon.com

For very large and complex cryptocurrency disputes, Mishcon de Reya is one of the most recognised names in the market.

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The firm has been involved in several high-profile digital asset and fraud-related matters and possesses substantial experience handling sophisticated commercial disputes involving digital assets, fraud, asset preservation, injunctions, and cross-border litigation.

However, the firm primarily serves corporations, financial institutions, funds, high-net-worth individuals, and large commercial clients. For smaller retail recovery matters, specialist crypto-native firms may often be more suitable.

Where a matter involves significant sums, multiple jurisdictions, extensive litigation, or complex fraud structures, Mishcon de Reya remains a notable option.

Key Areas of Focus:

  • Commercial fraud
  • Digital asset disputes
  • Asset preservation
  • Cross-border disputes
  • High-value litigation
  • Financial crime matters

4. Andersen

Website: https://www.andersen.com

Many cryptocurrency investors are unaware that losses arising from hacks, scams, thefts, or fraudulent investment schemes may have tax implications depending on their jurisdiction and circumstances.

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Andersen is one of the world’s leading tax advisory firms and has developed substantial expertise in cryptocurrency taxation, digital asset compliance, tax reporting, and crypto-related tax planning.

Whilst Andersen is not a cryptocurrency recovery firm, its expertise can be highly valuable following a loss event. Investors should understand whether losses may be reportable or potentially deductible under applicable tax frameworks.

For this reason alone, Andersen deserves consideration within any discussion relating to cryptocurrency recovery planning.

Key Areas of Focus:

  • Cryptocurrency taxation
  • Digital asset tax planning
  • Tax compliance
  • International tax matters
  • Crypto reporting obligations
  • Tax treatment of digital asset losses

5. CMS

Website: https://www.cms.law

CMS is one of the largest international law firms operating within the blockchain and digital asset sector.

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Unlike specialist crypto recovery firms, CMS focuses more heavily on regulatory advisory work, financial services, fintech, digital asset compliance, commercial matters, and institutional legal services.

Although the firm is not primarily known for cryptocurrency recovery or blockchain investigations, its extensive international presence and expertise in financial regulation make it a valuable option for businesses, exchanges, fintech companies, and institutional participants operating within the digital asset sector.

Its inclusion highlights the importance of regulatory compliance and legal risk management in preventing cryptocurrency disputes before they arise.

Key Areas of Focus:

  • Financial regulation
  • Fintech advisory
  • Digital asset compliance
  • Commercial law
  • Blockchain projects
  • International legal services

Final Thoughts

Cryptocurrency recovery often requires far more than legal advice alone. Successful outcomes frequently depend upon a combination of blockchain forensics, digital asset tracing, intelligence gathering, fraud analysis, regulatory expertise, and legal strategy.

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For individuals and businesses seeking specialist assistance with cryptocurrency fraud, scams, asset tracing, hacking incidents, or blockchain investigations, firms that combine legal and forensic capabilities generally offer the most comprehensive approach.

Among the firms reviewed, Crypto Legal stands out for its unique integration of legal services and in-house blockchain forensic expertise, whilst LegalByte remains a strong specialist option for hacking incidents, fraud investigations, and cryptocurrency-related cybercrime matters.

Disclosure: This content is provided by Crypto Legal. Insider Monkey’s editorial team doesn’t review the content provided by third party contributors for accuracy.

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El Salvador Adds to Bitcoin Reserve Again as Daily Buys Push Stack Past 7,680 BTC

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El Salvador Adds to Bitcoin Reserve Again as Daily Buys Push Stack Past 7,680 BTC

Key Takeaways

Buying the Dip, Every Day

El Salvador has once again added to its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, summing up its strategy in four words, i.e. “Buying the dip, every day.” The latest buy continues a routine that has become a defining feature of President Nayib Bukele’s economic policy.

Image source: X

The country’s reserve now stands at 7,687 BTC, valued at more than $510 million, according to recent counts. Bitcoin.com News reported that El Salvador has been treating market weakness as an invitation to add to the national stack, scooping up coins even as bitcoin slid close to $66,000.

Between January and April alone, authorities added more than 1,600 coins, consistent with a long-running policy of acquiring close to one bitcoin per day regardless of short-term volatility.

That steady, mechanical approach, often described as dollar-cost averaging at the national level, has allowed the country to keep growing its holdings without trying to time the market. Each purchase is small, but the cumulative effect has pushed El Salvador into the ranks of the largest sovereign bitcoin holders.

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The IMF Standoff Explained

The buying persists despite friction with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) because under a $1.4 billion financing agreement, the IMF has urged El Salvador’s public sector to halt bitcoin accumulation, and the fund has repeatedly questioned how the country reconciles its purchases with the deal’s terms.

Last year, El Salvador passed an IMF review even as it continued to expand its holdings, leaving observers puzzled over how both can be true at once.

Bukele has shown no sign of backing down as he has long insisted the country will not sell, framing its conviction with the mantra that 1 BTC = 1 BTC regardless of the U.S. dollar’s price. The government’s position is that the reserve is a long-term bet on bitcoin’s appreciation, not a trading position to be unwound during downturns.

The IMF, for its part, has argued that some of El Salvador’s reported accumulation amounts to shuffling existing coins rather than net new purchases, a characterization the government disputes. The opacity around exactly how and when coins are added has made the precise reserve figure difficult to pin down, even as the trend line points steadily upward.

A Long-Term Bet

El Salvador became the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, and although it later adjusted that status under IMF pressure, Bukele has kept the reserve growing. The strategy has drawn both criticism and imitation, with other governments and corporations studying the model of steady, programmatic accumulation.

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The approach has also reshaped how the country talks about its finances, given officials now report bitcoin alongside traditional reserves, and Bukele frequently uses unrealized gains on the stack as a talking point during market upswings. Either way, the reserve has become a central part of the nation’s economic identity.

Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see whether the IMF tolerates El Salvador’s trajectory or escalates its objections, thereby helping determine how far Bukele can push his bitcoin experiment.

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Crypto’s Courtside Takeover: Digital Assets in Pro Tennis

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Crypto’s Courtside Takeover: Digital Assets in Pro Tennis

Courtside advertising suddenly looks quite different. The traditional mainstays like Rolex and BMW and luxury car brands are still out there on the digital hoardings, of course. But they are increasingly sharing space with various cryptocurrency platforms and blockchain networks. It’s an interesting visual contrast for a sport that has historically been very particular about its aesthetic, pointing to a broader shift in who is funding global sports entertainment.

This presence goes much deeper than simple baseline signage. Running a modern tennis tournament requires substantial capital and organizers have found a willing partner in the tech sector. 

These blockchain firms have moved quickly from the margins of the internet straight onto the umpire chairs. While seeing digital asset companies backing a sport famous for its strict traditions can feel unexpected, it simply demonstrates how quickly these platforms have integrated into mainstream commerce.

A New Opportunity for Career Longevity

Then you have the players. A few years ago, a top-tier pro would retire and immediately sign a deal to commentate or sell luxury SUVs. Now, newer athletes are signing deals to take portions of their prize money in digital tokens. It makes sense if you look at it from their perspective. 

An active career in tennis is notoriously short – one bad knee injury during a slippery slide on clay can end a livelihood – and diversifying into volatile digital assets feels like a calculated risk when you already live a high-stakes lifestyle. They pitch these platforms to fans who are stuck sitting in traffic on their morning commute, dreaming of hitting a clean backhand down the line.

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Evolution of Fan Interaction

Naturally, marketing teams had to find a way to drag the average fan into this ecosystem. Enter the era of fan tokens and experimental NFT drops… for a minute or two. Every major tournament seemed convinced that fans wanted a digital JPEG of a tennis ball that granted them the right to vote on the pre-match warm-up music, rather than cheaper stadium food or cleaner bathrooms. 

Most of these experimental projects eventually settled into a quiet, heavily discounted corner of the internet, but the underlying infrastructure remained intact. People got used to the terminology, downloaded the apps, and stopped viewing digital wallets as a niche hobby for the tech bros of the major cities around the world.

A Broader Shift

This entire courtside takeover did not happen in an isolated sporting vacuum. Audiences became comfortable with digital transactions through casual everyday utility, not by reading dense technical whitepapers. Whether someone bought a digital skin in an online video game, tried to time a speculative market swing, or spent an evening exploring how people use alternative assets at crypto casinos to avoid traditional banking delays, the familiarity grew organically.

When people are already utilizing alternative currencies to fund their hobbies or pass the time online, seeing those same financial logos plastered across the net at a Masters 1000 event stops looking strange. It blends into regular, mundane reality.

We probably will not see the sport abandon its traditional roots entirely. Wimbledon will keep its strawberries and cream, and players will still bow to the royal box. But the digital asset money has settled into the clay. It pays for the prize pots, it funds the lower-tier challenger circuits that struggle to survive, and it keeps the digital scoreboards running. The bright tech logos are now as much a part of professional tennis as bad line calls and broken rackets.

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