BlackRock, the multinational investment firm and spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer, received a commercial license to operate in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. According to Bloomberg, the approval granted on Nov. 18 reflects BlackRock’s interest in expanding in the crypto-friendly region. The company is also seeking a license to operate in the…

What is OP_VAULT? OP_VAULT is a feature that adds extra security to Bitcoin, helping protect it from theft or unauthorized access. The decentralized nature of Bitcoin has revolutionized the digital economy. Still, as its use grows, so does the need for enhanced security. This is where OP_VAULT comes in, an innovative feature introducing a mechanism called…

StarkWare CEO Eli Ben Sasson says he expects transaction speed on the firm’s Ethereum layer 2 Starknet to increase four-fold while fees fall “5x” over the next three months — which could see it competing with the likes of Solana. The network improvements will mostly come from “better compilation and faster execution” on Cairo —…

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has voiced support for the newly created United States Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal agency focused on reducing spending and cutting regulations. The department will be led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. On Aug. 20, US President-elect Donald Trump floated the idea of bringing Musk into his…

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss claims the damage caused by United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler to the crypto industry is irreversible as speculation mounts that Gensler may resign. “Let’s all be clear on one thing. Gary Gensler is evil,” Winklevoss declared in a Nov. 15 X post. “He should never…

Oracle provider Chainlink has revealed the “Chainlink Runtime Environment” — a standard framework for connecting traditional financial architecture, payment systems, and legacy institutions with blockchain protocols and smart contracts within a single, unified ecosystem. According to Chainlink, the unified Chainlink Runtime Environment will encompass the runtime framework previously established by the Common Business-Oriented Language (COBOL)…

Asset manager and investor Anthony Pompliano recently stated that the global Bitcoin arms race between sovereign nations and governments has already started. In an appearance on Yahoo Finance, Pompliano argued that market participants believe President-elect Trump will keep his campaign promises and establish a Bitcoin strategic reserve, and that doing so would be in the best interest…

Tether minted $1 billion in USDt stablecoins on the Tron network and paid no fees for the large transaction, according to data from onchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. The analytics platform highlighted the Nov. 14 transaction from a “black hole address” on Tron to Tether’s multisignature wallet beginning with the characters “TBPxh.” Onchain records also show that…

Financial institutions will be the main drivers of the growing tokenization industry leading up to 2030, which could potentially see more than 50-fold growth. Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization refers to financial and other tangible assets minted on the immutable blockchain ledger, increasing investor accessibility and trading opportunities around these assets. Large financial institutions will be the…

The European Banking Authority (EBA), Europe’s regulatory agency in charge of addressing weaknesses in the banking sector, published two sets of guidelines, including a specific guide for payment service providers (PSPs) and crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). On Nov. 14, the EBA released guidelines that specify what PSPs and CASPs must do to comply with the European Union’s…