Market
People
Silk Road founder receives $31.4M BTC donation after bagging $1.8M in auction
In addition to donation from multiple supporters, Ross Ulbricht also has access to millions of dollars worth of BTC that were not seized.
Stablecoins
Nobel prize-winning economist says ‘stablecoins don’t serve any clearly useful function ’; Coinmetrics co-founder disagrees
Paul Krugman believes that the ‘only economic reason’ to use stablecoins is that they ‘facilitate criminal activity.’
Mining
IMF asks for urgent clarification from Pakistan over 2,000MW power allocation to Bitcoin mining
The IMF is concerned about the impact of Pakistan powering Bitcoin mines and AI data centres amid electricity shortages.
Memecoins
Memecoin investors ‘should not be looking to the SEC for protection,’ Commissioner Hester Pierce says
Head of SEC's Crypto Task Force made it clear that most memecoins are not securities, and therefore, fall outside the agency's purview.
Stablecoins
Tether to issue separate stablecoin for U.S. despite ‘getting comfortable’ with the Genius Act, CEO says
Tether's CEO said USDT will remain focused on the unbanked outside U.S. while the separate stablecoin will serve the U.S. market.
Crypto
Former IMF chief economist believes crypto is a rising threat to the U.S. Dollar’s dominance
Kenneth Rogoff believes that “crypto has value” and its growing usage in the gray market can chip away at the dollar’s hegemony.
Politics
Trump’s controversial memecoin dinner elicited mixed responses from attendees
Some of Trump’s dinner attendees complained about the food and security, while others used the event to propel their own agenda.
Censorship
Telegram founder ‘flatly refused’ to censor political content ahead of Romanian election
Durov claims French intelligence asked him to censor right-wing content on Telegram in an attempt to manipulate Romanian elections.
Crime
Crypto investors are ramping up personal security as physical attacks surge: Report
Amid a spate of kidnappings and the Coinbase hack, more and more large crypto holders are hiring private security firms.
Memecoins
Creator of over 100 memecoins says rug pulls are the ‘easiest way to make money’
Sahil Arora said that it’s better to get rugged by him, who has ‘track record’ of success, than a random person.
Crime
Jan 2024 SEC’s X account hacker got 14 months in prison for cyber fraud
The convicted had helped co-conspirators hack the SEC’s X account to post fake news of much anticipated spot BTC ETF approval.
Politics
Concerns over Trump’s conflict of interest are slowing the progress of broader crypto policy
Democrats are delaying crypto and stablecoin legislation to stop Trump from profiting off crypto ventures.