Bitcoin might drop to $30,000, but that’s OK

    Regardless of any short-term pullback, Bitcoin will spend this year further cementing its reputation as digital gold. Indeed, just as it did in March 2023 during a narrowly avoided banking crisis, BTC will likely hold up in ways many traditional assets — perhaps even gold — fail to. It is true that the grand institutional…

    SEC’s settlement gag rule ‘undermines regulatory integrity’ — Hester Peirce

    A United States Securities and Exchange Commission rule forbidding defendants from criticizing the agency’s claims when settling enforcement actions “undermines regulatory integrity” and free speech, says one of its commissioners. In a Jan. 30 statement, SEC commissioner Hester Peirce disagreed with her agency’s denial of a petition to amend its 1972 “gag rule” — which forbids defendants from…

    Visa enables crypto withdrawals on debit cards in 145 countries

    Global payment giant Visa is doubling down on cryptocurrency adoption by enabling another method to exchange crypto to fiat currencies without using a centralized exchange. Visa has partnered with the Web3 infrastructure provider Transak to introduce cryptocurrency withdrawals and payments through the Visa Direct solution, the firms announced on Jan. 30. The new integration allows users to…

    UAE makes first digital dirham transfer via mBridge CBDC platform

    The central bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) conducted its first cross-border digital dirham transfer using the mBridge central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform on Jan. 29. The 50 million dirhams ($13.6 million) cross-border CBDC transfer was sent to China using the multi-CBDC mBridge platform, according to Gulf News. The chairman of the board of the…

    Exchange token listing scams resurface after crypto market thaw

    Crypto exchange listing scams are making a comeback amid a broader market recovery. According to a Jan. 29 post by Yi He — a co-founder of Binance and the spouse of the exchange’s former CEO, Changpeng Zhao — a LinkedIn impersonator is using her name and position to offer token listings in exchange for payment. “I do…

    SFC flags Floki staking programs as unauthorized

    The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has cautioned the public about potentially risky investment products called “Floki Staking Program” and “TokenFi Staking Program.” Both products are affiliated with the Floki ecosystem. According to the SFC, these products offer staking services and claim to deliver annualized returns ranging from 30% to over 100%. However, the…