The crypto industry’s inability to access banking services still concerns many industry observers despite recent policy victories. In past years, financial services firms and banks concerned about fiduciary risk, reporting liabilities and reputational risk often would refuse to offer service to crypto firms — i.e., “debanking” them. Legislative efforts in the United States and Australia…
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US President Donald Trump introduced a slew of tariffs on April 2, sending markets into a tailspin and dividing crypto observers as to their possible long-term effects. At a special event at the White House, Trump signed an executive order and claimed emergency powers, leveling reciprocal tariffs at every country that has a tariff on…
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The crypto industry’s sway in Washington DC has made it more likely that the industry will get beneficial legislation, but it’s also creating problems. Concerns of regulatory capture — a situation in which regulators or lawmakers are co-opted to serve the interests of a small constituency — have grown as crypto lobbying gains influence in…
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March was a rough month for markets — US President Donald Trump’s uncertain tariff policies created volatility in Bitcoin and crypto markets; meanwhile, decentralized finance (DeFi) struggled with security concerns. Retaliatory tariffs on US goods in China and the European Union hit markets on March 10 and 12, respectively. Amid the tête-à-tête between the United…
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Bitcoin is seeing unprecedented adoption with the US establishing a “strategic Bitcoin reserve,” but some prominent Bitcoin advocates believe the project is getting away from its roots. Earlier this year, Jack Dorsey, a Bitcoin proponent and founder of Twitter, said that he believed if Bitcoin becomes just a form of “digital gold” then the project…
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World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the Trump family’s crypto project, is planning to release a stablecoin, raising concern over the US president’s exposure to the digital asset industry. The project released a memecoin immediately prior to President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the price of which skyrocketed and crashed soon after, causing many to accuse WLFI of a…
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US President Donald Trump wants to make his country a “Bitcoin superpower,” but the question remains as to who he is competing against. Speaking at Blockwork’s Digital Asset Summit on March 20 to a crowd of crypto industry executives and observers, he said, “Together we will make America the undisputed Bitcoin (BTC) superpower and the…
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Ripple is celebrating the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision not to pursue a court case against the firm, but it provides little legal certainty for the crypto industry. The US financial regulator has apparently dropped an appeal against Ripple, the issuing firm of crypto asset XRP. The industry saw the case as…
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Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been allowed to leave France temporarily, but the preliminary charges against him raise significant questions for the crypto community. On March 13, a French court gave the founder and CEO of the encrypted messaging app Telegram permission to leave for Dubai, where he had previously resided. Durov had been in…
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The decentralized finance (DeFi) industry is breathing a sigh of relief as Congress relaxes reporting obligations, but questions remain about how lawmakers will regulate DeFi. On March 12, the House of Representatives voted to nullify a rule that required DeFi protocols to report gross proceeds from crypto sales, as well as info on taxpayers involved,…
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