Major news in the world of cryptocurrencies and finance
There were several significant developments in the world of cryptocurrencies and finance this week related to regulation, macroeconomic trends, and technology.
Legislation and regulation:
- The Utah Senate passed legislation to support blockchain technology, but declined to include Bitcoin in reserve assets;
- The U.S. Congress has voted to repeal an IRS tax rule regarding decentralized financial platforms (DeFi);
- The U.S. Senate Banking Committee has approved a bill aimed at strengthening controls on stablecoins;
- The Democratic Party has come out against the Donald Trump administration’s plans to create a Bitcoin reserve for the US;
- Turkey has strengthened its control over the cryptocurrency industry by introducing additional regulatory measures;
- The SEC has postponed a decision regarding the launch of an altcoin-based ETF.
Macroeconomic trends and financial markets:
- Japanese government bond yields hit record highs since 2008;
- The province of Ontario, Canada, has removed 25% duties on electricity exports to the US;
- Inflation figures in the US are showing signs of slowing down;
- The U.S. Republican Party passed a budget spending bill, averting a possible shutdown;
- Donald Trump is predicting significant economic growth for the United States.
Developments in the crypto industry and technology:
- The Coinbase exchange is planning to expand its presence in the US, announcing plans to hire 1,000 new employees;
- The Trump administration is lifting a number of restrictions imposed by the previous administration on cryptocurrency banks;
- Binance has attracted a significant investment of $2 billion from Abu Dhabi-based companies;
- StarkWare creates crypto reserves and begins Bitcoin transactions;
- The SEC is auditing the status of the XRP token, considering changing its classification category;
- Coinbase Derivatives has launched new trading instruments including natural gas futures and Cardano.
Updates and technological advances:
- The Holesky test network on the Ethereum platform has successfully completed a Pectra upgrade;
- Ethereum is preparing to launch a new Hoodi test network ahead of the rollout of the Pectra update;
- Solana ran into trouble when an attempt to reform the inflation system failed after an intense vote among community members;
- Solana’s revenues fell 93% due to the memcoin crash.
Political events and geopolitics:
- Elon Musk’s business empire has come under scrutiny and has come under massive attack;
- President Donald Trump predicted a possible government shutdown while promising a strong economic recovery.
Results
The week turned out to be full of events demonstrating activity both in the field of regulation and technology development. Despite regulatory pressure, institutional investors’ interest in the cryptocurrency market remains high, which opens up prospects for further growth and development of the industry.
