Fox Buys Roku for $22B, Crypto Liquidations Hit $2.88B as Manila Bans Privacy Coins

Crypto News

Fox has agreed to acquire streaming platform Roku in a cash-and-stock deal valuing the company at roughly $22 billion, accelerating the convergence of legacy media and connected-TV advertising. Roku shareholders will receive $96 in cash plus 0.9693 Fox Class A shares for each share held, implying a per-share offer near $160. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027. Once complete, Fox plans to combine its free streaming service Tubi with The Roku Channel to become a top-three operator by US TV viewing share. The company targets about $400 million in annual cost synergies and projects net-debt leverage near 2.8 times after closing.

Roughly $2.1 million was drained from a smart contract tied to Aztec Connect, a system many assumed had been retired, reviving warnings that dormant DeFi code remains an attack surface. The funds left a contract widely treated as deprecated, yet on-chain contracts do not deactivate when a front-end disappears or a team winds down. If balances remain or withdrawal paths stay open, attackers can still probe vulnerabilities. The episode underscores a structural feature of privacy-focused, zero-knowledge protocols: once deployed, immutable contracts are hard to pause or patch, and the smaller the flaw in complex bridges, rollups or cross-chain swaps, the larger the potential loss.

Cryptocurrency derivatives markets saw roughly $2.88 billion in leveraged positions liquidated over 24 hours, with short liquidations dominating at about $1.57 billion against $1.31 billion in longs. Bitcoin accounted for around $141 million and Ethereum about $91 million of the total, while altcoins including ZEC, Solana and XRP saw cascading short closures. Derivatives data shows Binance carried the largest share of exchange liquidations, and several venues reported short ratios above 90% during the brief rally. The pattern signals that traders betting on further downside absorbed the heavier losses, a classic short squeeze as prices rebounded faster than bearish positioning anticipated.

In South Korea, the COFIX benchmark that anchors variable-rate mortgages rose again in May, climbing to 2.90% from 2.89% in April and marking a second consecutive monthly increase. The index reflects the actual funding costs eight domestic banks pay on deposits, debentures and similar instruments, so an upward move signals banks are sourcing capital at higher rates. New borrowers face the most immediate impact, since the new-origination COFIX tracks recent funding flows closely. While the increase itself is marginal, persistent upward pressure on market rates and bank funding costs suggests variable mortgage rates may stay elevated, tightening household liquidity in a key Asian economy.

Capitan Silver reported a string of high-grade silver and gold drill results from its Cruz de Plata project in Durango, Mexico, where the explorer is running four rigs as part of a 60,000-meter 2026 program. One hole returned 15.8 meters averaging 250.1 grams per tonne silver-equivalent, including a 2.0-meter interval grading 1,071.1 g/t. The company says mineralization extends the trend by 25 to 105 meters down-dip, with drilled continuity now reaching 2.5 kilometers along strike. With 54 to 64 assays still pending, additional results are likely. The company uplisted from OTCQB to OTCQX in March, citing improved visibility and liquidity for US investors.

Regulatory pressure intensified in the Philippines, where the central bank issued stricter coin and token listing guidelines requiring all licensed virtual-asset service providers to build rigorous due-diligence and accreditation processes before offering any digital asset. The framework also bans anonymity-enhancing tokens, removing privacy coins such as Monero and Zcash from compliant local exchanges. Platforms must continuously monitor listed assets and define thresholds that trigger delisting, covering liquidity loss, issuer insolvency, scandals, de-pegging events and material security breaches. The move extends a year of tightening oversight and signals that emerging-market regulators are increasingly aligning listing standards with consumer-protection and anti-surveillance priorities.

Taken together, these developments map a market where capital is rotating toward scrutiny and safety rather than speculation. COINOTAG aggregate data underscores the caution: the Fear & Greed Index sits at 20, deep in Extreme Fear, Bitcoin dominance has climbed to 70.0%, and total crypto market capitalization stands near $1.89 trillion, with Bitcoin trading around $66,000. The Aztec Connect exploit and tighter Philippine listing rules reflect a maturing focus on risk management, while heavy short liquidations show leverage remains volatile. Against rising real-world funding costs and a defensive bear-market backdrop, investors are favoring transparency, regulatory clarity and hard assets over high-beta exposure.