Solana, XRP Jump as Trump Reportedly Mulls ‘America-First’ Strategic Crypto Reserve, but Experts Suggest Otherwise

A strategic bitcoin reserve has been a large part of the crypto discussion ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, but does the incoming 47th president have other tokens on his mind? Solana’s SOL, Ripple’s XRP and Hedera’s HBAR are among the altcoins outperforming on Thursday, in part thanks to a NYPost report that Trump was “receptive” … Read more

RampMeDaddy Turns Telegram Into Your Memecoin Wallet

In the crowded world of crypto startups, standing out often requires a dash of audacity. Enter RampMeDaddy, a name that echoes the bold branding of domain registrar GoDaddy, while promising something entirely different: seamless crypto transactions via Telegram. What began as a hackathon project at Consensus 2024 has evolved into the first Telegram-native memecoin wallet, … Read more

Crypto for Advisors: Bitcoin, IRAs and Tax Prep

In today’s issue, Bryan Courchesne from DAIM explains how bitcoin can be included in U.S. Individual Retirement Accounts, what to watch out for, and the importance of working with a financial advisor. Then, Eric Tomaszewski from Verde Capital Management shares tips on preparing for tax season in Ask and Expert. – Sarah Morton You’re reading … Read more

Crypto Firm Ctrl Wallet Up for Sale With Bids Due by the End of the Month

Ctrl Wallet, the multi-chain self-custody wallet solution is up for sale, the company’s CEO and founder Emile Dubie told CoinDesk in an exclusive interview. The sales process was triggered after the company received two M&A approaches late last year, Dubie said. The wallet provider, formerly known as XDEFI, received a takeover offer from a crypto … Read more

Why Litecoin Might Be the Next Crypto to Get Its ETF

With U.S. President-elect Donald Trump only four days away from inauguration and new leadership coming to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), additional cryptocurrencies may soon join bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) and receive their own spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Of these, litecoin (LTC) is likely to be the first to receive the nod, according … Read more

CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: HBAR Jumps 17%, Leading Index Higher

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index. The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 3878.91, up 3.6% (+133.71) since 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Thirteen of 20 assets are trading higher. Leaders: HBAR (+17.0%) and LTC (+13.0%). Laggards: ETH (-3.4%) and UNI (-1.4%). … Read more

Coinbase to Offer Bitcoin-Backed Loans Through Morpho

Coinbase (COIN) is adding bitcoin-backed loans to its U.S. product lineup, leaning on Morpho, the largest lending platform on its Base network, to drive eyeballs and wallets to its growing on-chain economy. The lending product isn’t completely new: those familiar with playing on Base have long been able to borrow USDC against their bitcoin on … Read more

Upbit, South Korea’s Largest Crypto Exchange, May Face Sanctions in the Country: Report

Crypto exchange Upbit may face possible sanctions in South Korea for not complying with the country’s money laundering and know your customer (KYC) obligations, according to a report from local news site Maeil. Upbit which is one of South Korea’s largest exchanges was reportedly notified by the Financial Information Analysis Institute (FIU) under the Financial … Read more

Crypto Daybook Americas: Bitcoin Bulls Lose Momentum Before Bessent Confirmation Hearing

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) The crypto market has had a bullish 24 hours, thanks to Wednesday’s soft U.S. core inflation print that alleviated hawkish Fed concerns. The momentum, however, has slowed. With the inflation data out of the way, crypto traders are refocusing on President-elect Donald Trump’s swearing-in on Jan. … Read more

Malaysia Weighs Introduction of Crypto, Blockchain Legislation

Malaysia may introduce crypto and blockchain legislation to regulate the sector and keep pace with other jurisdictions, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said during a visit to Abu Dhabi. “I proposed several months ago how our agencies, including security, treasury and Bank Negara study how Malaysia can explore this so we aren’t left behind,” … Read more

Nomura-Backed Komainu Receives $75M Bitcoin Investment From Blockstream Capital

Komainu, a crypto custody joint venture between Nomura, Ledger and Coinshares, has raised $75 million in a strategic investment from Blockstream Capital Partners, the company said in a press release on Thursday. The deal is novel in that it is funded with bitcoin (BTC). Komainu will establish its own BTC treasury to manage the crypto … Read more

Bitcoin Revisits $100K as Trump Inauguration May Spur a Breakout: Van Straten

On Wednesday, bitcoin (BTC) briefly exceeded $100,000 for the fourth time, with trader sentiment switching to greed from fear as the price ranges between $90,000 and the six-figure level. The largest cryptocurrency may take several attempts to push through $100,000, as previous CoinDesk research showed. Since touching an all-time high of around $108,000 on Dec. … Read more

Bitcoin Poised to Top Record as Trump Inauguration Nears, Major Coins Due for 10% Swings: Traders

Crypto traders are optimistic again, anticipating bitcoin (BTC) will surpass record highs amid volatile trading as pro-crypto President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 nears. The price of bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency, has risen 11% from Monday’s lows under $90,000. It has jumped nearly 3% in the past 24 hours, topping $100,000 at one point, … Read more

XRP’s Bullish Momentum Strongest Since January 2018 as Futures Open Interest Hits Record High

Payments-focussed cryptocurrency XRP, which failed to set new price highs during the 2020-21 bull run due to regulatory struggles, is chalking out its fastest ascent in years, with derivatives tied to the token seeing record activity. The cryptocurrency’s price has surged 50% to seven-year highs above $3 this month, extending the past quarter’s 240% rally, … Read more

Indian Telecom Giant Jio Joins Hands With Polygon to Bring Web3 to Over 450M Users

Indian telecom and technology company Jio Platforms (JPL) is taking significant steps to enhance the digital experience for its more than 450 million users. Jio Platforms is a wholly-owned subsidiary of energy giant Reliance Industries. Reliance is led by one of Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, and his family. Jio has partnered with with Polygon … Read more

The Protocol: Sony Launches Blockchain to Controversy

Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Ben Schiller, CoinDesk’s Opinion and Features editor. In this issue: Sony’s blockchain faces memecoin controversy Bubblemaps readies BMT and new intel desk Babylon enhances Bitcoin’s interoperability Prosecutors seek 95k BTC Bitfinex return This article is featured in the … Read more

XRP Hits 7-Year High Above $3 as Large Holders Accumulate $3.8B of Tokens

XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger network closely related to Ripple, surged to a six-year high on Wednesday as bitcoin (BTC) rallied to $100,000, with traders encouraged by this morning’s highly-anticipated U.S. CPI inflation data report. The token briefly topped $3 during early U.S. trading session for the first time since early 2018 … Read more

Eight U.S. Blockchain Lobby Groups Unite Ahead of Trump’s Crypto Friendly Regime

With only a handful of days remaining until the second inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, crypto policy groups are readying to kick things into higher gear. Blockchain associations from eight U.S. states announced on Tuesday the creation of the North American Blockchain Association (NABA), an organization aiming to provide cohesive crypto policy recommendations to … Read more

Good Riddance to Gary Gensler

On Jan. 20, 2025, the United States will start a new chapter in more ways than one. While the nation will be focused on President Trump’s inauguration as our 47th President, the U.S. financial sector will be celebrating the resignation of Joe Biden’s Securities and Exchange Commission Chair, Gary Gensler. As a member of the … Read more

Still Learning After All These Years

Last June, a sailing buddy (and aerospace engineer) asked if I could check out a family friend’s “bitcoin.” He forwarded me an image of a plastic bitcoin wallet held with a private key partially obscured. The family friend had received the card as some sort of “gimmick at a conference” and tossed it in a … Read more

MicroStrategy Targeting $2B Perpetual Preferred Stock Offering: Benchmark

The analyst who wrote this piece owns shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR). Since MicroStrategy (MSTR) become a bitcoin treasury company in August 2020, it has used three primary instruments to acquire bitcoin (BTC): cash on hand, at-the-market (ATM) offerings and convertible bond offerings. MicroStrategy’s next method of raising capital is to buy bitcoin through perpetual preferred … Read more

UK Appoints Emma Reynolds as Economic Secretary to Oversee Crypto

The U.K. government has appointed Emma Reynolds as the new Economic Secretary in charge of overseeing digital assets and central bank digital currencies — alongside the broader financial sector. The appointment was announced on Tuesday following the resignation of Tulip Siddiq, who set out the government’s crypto agenda weeks ago. It is not yet clear … Read more

How to Ensure Blockchains Are Really Decentralized

Decentralization is the foundation of blockchain technology, promising a more resilient and censorship-resistant alternative to centralized systems. But are the industry’s leading protocols as decentralized as they claim to be? Decentralization can be measured across multiple dimensions. At first glance, the number of entities participating in the validation or block-mining process of a network is … Read more

U.S. Prosecutors Ask Court to Green-Light Return of 95,000 Stolen Bitcoin to Bitfinex

U.S. prosecutors have asked a federal judge to green-light the return of nearly 80% of the 119,754 bitcoins stolen in the 2016 hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex. In a Tuesday court filing, prosecutors said the 94,643 bitcoins recovered by the government from the original wallet used by the hacker, Ilya Lichtenstein, can be paid to … Read more

Boerse Stuttgart’s Crypto Business Accounts for 25% of Its Revenue as Volume Triples

Boerse Stuttgart, one of Germany’s leading stock exchanges, has seen its cryptocurrency trading business explode in recent years to now account for approximately 25% of its overall revenue. While not revealing the exact cryptocurrency trading volume, the exchange group shared in a press release at the end of last year that the metric “almost tripled” … Read more