Tether might need to sell bitcoin, precious metals, and other non-compliant assets to adhere to impending US stablecoin regulations, JPMorgan analysts suggest. The proposed STABLE and GENIUS Acts in the US require stablecoin issuers like Tether to ensure their reserves are sufficiently backed by liquid and high-quality assets, potentially impacting Tether's reserve management and market position significantly.
Tether might need to sell bitcoin, precious metals, and other non-compliant assets to adhere to impending US stablecoin regulations, JPMorgan analysts suggest. The proposed STABLE and GENIUS Acts in the US require stablecoin issuers like Tether to ensure their reserves are sufficiently backed by liquid and high-quality assets, potentially impacting Tether's reserve management and market position significantly.
The Ethereum Foundation has allocated nearly $120 million worth of Ether into various decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols to generate yield from its holdings. It transferred 30,800 ether to Aave, split between Aave's core market and Lido instance, and distributed funds to Spark of the MakerDAO ecosystem and Compound's lending platform. These investments are part of strategies to enhance its treasury value through annual yields without liquidating any assets.
New York State Senator James Sanders Jr introduced a bill to establish a 17-member task force to explore the status and impact of crypto and blockchain in the state. This includes assessing trading volumes, exchange activities, tax implications, environmental sustainability, and current regulations related to crypto. The task force aims to report its findings and suggest legislative reforms by December 15, 2027.
The Cboe BZX Exchange has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a proposal to allow staking in the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF. This filing marks the first initiative by an ETF to seek approval for crypto staking from the SEC. Previously, the SEC had approved the ETF along with others but without the staking elements. The regulatory body is generally shifting towards a more crypto-friendly approach, potentially classifying some tokens as non-securities.
Robinhood, a commission-free brokerage, observed a 400% increase in crypto trading volume in Q4, reaching $70 billion. This surge is in contrast to the declining volumes earlier in the year and reflects a continuing strong interest in crypto trading. The firm's transaction-based revenues increased significantly, largely driven by crypto trading which generated $358 million, up 700% from last year. During the same period, Robinhood also expanded its crypto offerings in the US and launched Ethereum staking in the EU.
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan identifies a significant opportunity in the crypto market due to contrasting sentiments between institutional and retail investors. Hougan notes institutional sentiment towards crypto is highly bullish, evidenced by substantial investments, including exchange-traded funds and corporate acquisitions of Bitcoin. Meanwhile, retail sentiment is at a low, affected by poor performance in altcoin investments compared to Bitcoin. Despite current retail pessimism, Hougan is optimistic about the long-term prospects for altcoins, highlighting potential regulatory clarity and the role of stablecoins as factors driving future growth.
The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January 2025 recorded a higher than anticipated annual increase, reaching 3%, a significant rise from the previous value of 2.9%. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, also saw a year-over-year rise to 3.3%. On a monthly basis, the CPI went up by 0.5% due to rising costs in shelter, energy, and food. This increase marks the largest annual CPI rise since June 2024.
Bitpanda has received approval from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to extend its crypto operations into the UK, offering the largest selection of over 500 crypto tokens available on the market. The expansion also includes plans to open a London office and the addition of tailored financial products such as staking and crypto indices for UK investors. This move reinforces Bitpanda's position as a leader in compliant, secure crypto investment solutions in Europe.
Crypto.com has received regulatory approval to offer crypto services across all European Economic Area (EEA) member states, enhancing its market presence and customer base in Europe.
Bitcoin recovered to $97,500 after initially dropping to just above $94,000 due to unexpected high US inflation data. This reversal represents a 1.4% rise over the past 24 hours, outperforming the broader crypto market's modest 0.5% gain. The rebound in crypto markets coincides with optimistic developments in traditional markets and international diplomacy, potentially influencing market sentiment.
BNB Chain aims to enhance its technology by 2025, focusing on ultra-low transaction latency, improved network throughput, and advanced AI integrations. They target sub-second transaction speeds, enabling gasless transactions for diverse tokens and refining developer tools to boost overall network performance and user experience. Additionally, AI advancements will permeate different sectors on BNB Chain, from gaming to DeFi, supported by enhanced data and AI technology.
Chainlink, in collaboration with Sony Block Solutions Labs, has launched Chainlink CCIP, Data Streams, and Data Feeds on the Soneium Mainnet. This integration enables developers to build advanced applications and drive onchain innovation more efficiently. By providing essential tools for cross-chain interoperability and real-time data feeds, Chainlink supports Soneium's commitment to scaling Web3 technologies and onboarding new users to the blockchain ecosystem.
Sol Strategies has been selected as the staking provider for 3iQ Corp's upcoming Solana Staking ETF, aimed to expand institutional Solana staking. The ETF, filed with Canadian regulators, seeks to offer regulated exposure to Solana's staking rewards. Meanwhile, the approval of a similar product in the US by the SEC appears more likely, with Bloomberg analysts giving a high chance of approval this year. Sol Strategies, showcasing robust infrastructure and compliance, marks significant growth and credibility in the crypto staking sector.
Uniswap Labs has launched Unichain, a dedicated Layer 2 blockchain aimed at accelerating Ethereum's rollup-centric roadmap and addressing the fragmentation in the Ethereum ecosystem. This release follows the recent launch of Uniswap V4 and introduces advanced features such as sub-second block times with Rollup-Boost technology and a fair priority model within its gas auctions to reduce maximal extractable value issues, enhancing user experience in the DeFi space.
The Central African Republic's memecoin, CAR, plummeted 96.7% to a low of $0.029 in slightly over 24 hours from its peak at $0.89, driven by concerns about its legitimacy and market viability. Launched as a national experiment to promote unity and development, the launch led to confusion and skepticism, further impacted by broader market instability as seen in the downturn of other meme coins following recent US tariff announcements.
