Crypto News

- XRP Surges 12% as Traders Bet on Big Price Swings with 'Straddle' Strategy Payments-focused cryptocurrency XRP (XRP) has surged 12% over the past 24 hours, outperforming both bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). This double-digit gain has lifted XRP's price to $3.32, its highest level since July 28. The price upswing has been underpinned by sophisticated, anticipatory block option trades on Deribit, involving a bullish bet on volatility. Block trades are large transactions executed over-the-counter and outside of the public order book to minimize their impact on the prevailing market price of an asset. The first block trade executed on Thursday involved the simultaneous purchase of 100,000 contracts of the Aug. 29 expiry call and put...

- Standard Chartered forms joint venture to issue stablecoins in Hong Kong Standard Chartered said on Friday that it has formed a joint venture with strategic partners to apply for a license to issue stablecoins in Hong Kong, days after the city's stablecoin legislation came into effect. Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value, are usually pegged to a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar and are commonly used by crypto traders to move funds between tokens. Anchorpoint Financial, a joint venture between Standard Chartered's Hong Kong branch, blockchain gaming developer Animoca Brands, and telecom firm HKT, has formally expressed interest to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) in applying for...

- Binance Teams Up with BBVA to Let Customers Keep Assets Off Exchange Binance is working with Spanish bank BBVA to allow customers to hold their assets off the crypto exchange, Financial Times reported on Friday. The Spanish bank is working as one of only a small number of independent custodians for the world's biggest crypto exchange, the report added, citing two people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. BBVA did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment while Binance could not immediately be reached. The move comes as Binance faces heightened regulatory scrutiny worldwide and as crypto exchanges seek to reassure investors about fund safety in the wake of FTX’s 2022...

- SEC's Long-Running Case Against Ripple Officially Over The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's 2020 lawsuit against Ripple Labs is officially over, as the two parties have informed the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that they are voluntarily dismissing their respective appeals of a 2023 ruling in the case. The SEC and Ripple will each bear their own costs, according to the filing. This joint stipulation ends the legal struggle between the SEC and Ripple that began in 2020 when the SEC filed the lawsuit claiming that Ripple violated securities laws through the sale of XRP, a token associated with the company. After the filing, XRP experienced a 5% surge, trading at around $3.27. In 2024, the SEC filed an appeal following a...

- President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Aug. 7 allowing cryptocurrencies and other alternative assets like private equity and real estate to be included in 401(k) retirement plans, and some say this move could dwarf the impact of last year’s spot Bitcoin ETF approval. A $12 trillion engine of passive flows Dunleavy, formerly an analyst at Messari, argues that crypto’s inclusion in 401(k) plans — the employer-sponsored retirement accounts held by over 100 million Americans — could radically change the game. “In the US, roughly 100 million Americans have a retirement investment vehicle known as a 401(k). Every 2 weeks, a portion of their paychecks are routed directly into purchasing a mixture of stocks and...

- Trump Ends Biden’s War on Crypto in 200 Days, Says White House President Donald Trump completed the 200 days of his second term in the White House on Aug. 7, and the White House highlighted how the president has fulfilled his promise to end the Joe Biden era's war on crypto. “I will also stop Joe Biden’s crusade to crush crypto. We’re going to stop it. I will ensure that the future of crypto and the future of Bitcoin will be made in the USA,” Trump promised during the election campaign on May 26, 2024. After becoming president, he undertook several initiatives to encourage the adoption and regulation of crypto assets. Among the steps the White House highlighted is Trump signing the GENIUS Act into law and unveiling the crypto...

- On July 29, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) witnessed voting on 13 matters, all of which were related to crypto funds. Out of the four commissioners at the federal regulatory body, three voted in favor and one voted against all the 13 matters. Noticeably, those voting in favor—Chair Paul Atkins, Commissioners Hester Peirce, and Mark Uyeda—belong to the Republican Party, and Caroline Crenshaw—the lone member who voted against—belongs to the Democratic Party. As it is well-known that the Donald Trump administration is pursuing a pro-crypto policy as compared to the Joe Biden administration, it might be tempting to take a close look at Crenshaw's voting patterns. The votes on July 29 were concerned with amendments...

- This token creator made over $5m launching hundreds of memecoins a day While many traders are losing money chasing the next memecoin, one user is taking advantage of the lopsided market by launching hundreds of tokens every single day. A creator has earned over $5 million between two wallets by launching memecoins, according to data from the trading bot Axiom. Mainly utilizing pump.fun and bonk.fun, they launch hundreds of tokens a day, according to data compiled by pseudonymous analyst adam_tehc. The identity of the person or group controlling the wallets is unknown. But transfers between the wallets suggest they are run by the same person or group. The market value of memecoins has fallen about 45% from its December peak and...

- Block shares gain after strong gross profit growth despite EPS miss Shares of Block Inc (NYSE:XYZ) surged 8% in after-hours trading Thursday after the payments firm reported robust gross profit growth in the second quarter, defying an earnings miss. Strong gains in Cash App and Square segments helped lift investor sentiment as the company boosted its full-year outlook. Block posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.62, falling short of the $0.67 consensus estimate. However, gross profit rose 14% year over year to $2.54 billion, with Cash App contributing $1.5 billion, up 16%, and Square generating $1.03 billion, an 11% increase. The company reported operating income of $484 million, with adjusted operating income hitting $550...

- Block Raises Annual Profit Forecast on Resilient Consumer Spending; Shares Jump Block reported a rise in second-quarter income and raised its expectations for annual gross profit on Thursday, as the payments firm was helped by resilient consumer spending, lifting its shares 12% higher in extended trading. Businesses and individuals have continued to spend on essential products, even as they have cut back on discretionary expenses amid macroeconomic uncertainty. The Jack Dorsey-led firm now expects 2025 gross profit of $10.17 billion, up from the $9.96 billion it forecast earlier. Its Cash App, which enables peer-to-peer mobile payments, reported a gross profit growth of about 16% in the second quarter ended June 30. This was...

- Bitcoin, Crypto Stocks Rally as Trump Signs Executive Order Opening 401(k) Plans to Alternative Assets President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that will pave the way for alternative assets like cryptocurrencies and private equity to be included in the retirement accounts of millions of Americans. Ahead of the news, major cryptocurrencies and crypto-related stocks rallied on Thursday. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose around 2% to trade above $11,700, while ether (ETH-USD) and XRP (XRP-USD) were trading up more than 4% and more than 2%, respectively. Shares of Coinbase (COIN), the biggest publicly traded crypto exchange, ended Thursday up more than 2%. Robinhood (HOOD) and Strategy (MSTR) shares rose more than 5% and 4%...

- Trump Opens the Door for Private Equity and Crypto as 401(k) Retirement Plan Options NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of Americans saving for retirement through 401(k) accounts could have the option of putting their money in higher-risk private equity and cryptocurrency investments, according to an executive order signed Thursday by President Donald Trump that could give those financial players long-sought access to a pool of funds worth trillions. There is no immediate change in how people invest part of their work earnings. Federal agencies would need to rewrite rules and regulations to allow the expanded choices, and that would take months or more to complete. But once done, employers could offer a broader array of mutual funds and...

- On July 18, President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law. The first major crypto legislation to become a law, it regulates stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar. For those unfamiliar, a stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency that strives to keep its value stable, in comparison to usually volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, by being pegged to a fiat currency or a commodity. Trump believes his latest move would encourage the global adoption of the USD-pegged stablecoins and hence cement the dominance of the American national currency in international trade. The president's enthusiasm is understandable, given that the USD's share in the trade payments has been eroding over the past few years. The Financial Times reported...

- Veteran Trader's Message to Bitcoin Supporters Veteran trader Peter Brandt issued a blunt warning to Bitcoin supporters on an X post on Wednesday. Brandt, who has spoken in favor of Bitcoin many times before, criticized how many Bitcoin supporters believe the digital currency can fundamentally replace the fiat-based currency system. Brandt went on to say, "Bitcoin seems to be a religion to way too many people." He added, "These people actually give Bitcoin a bad image." A few hours later, in a new post, Brandt pushed back against what he calls the "Hodl-or-does-not-count" crowd. He said that if Bitcoin had existed in 1975, when he started trading with little life savings, he wouldn't have been able to support his family and...

- Ripple has faced questions over allegedly controlling the XRP Ledger, and the crypto payments company's chief technology officer, David Schwartz, has tried clearing the air. Interview Details In an interview with Decrypt on Aug. 6, Schwartz addressed the controversy again. Though he admitted there is a lingering misconception that Ripple controls the XRP Ledger, he said the Ledger's code isn't secretly controlled by Ripple even if the financial institution is a major contributor to the ecosystem. Though the XRP Ledger is "obviously very important" to Ripple, it has no interest in running the network, he added. Origins of the Centralization Concerns It is crucial to understand why the questions around Ripple's centralized...

- Key Points Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) is roaring higher in Thursday's trading. The cryptocurrency was up 6.4% over the previous 24 hours as of 11 a.m. ET today. Meanwhile, Bitcoin was up 1%, and Ethereum was up 6.5%. Dogecoin is soaring today following news that President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order that could have major positive implications for the cryptocurrency market. The order would pave the way for crypto and other alternative assets to be included in 401(k)s. Dogecoin is soaring in response to a potentially major executive order on 401(k)s With the executive order that President Trump is expected to sign today, Dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies will get another big round of backing from the...

- This Biotech Penny Stock Is Betting Big on Ethereum. Does Its Rapid Crypto Transformation Make It a Buy? In recent weeks, a major trend on Wall Street is unfolding. Companies from all industries and sectors are turning their attention to crypto treasury strategies, using their capital to buy up cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTCUSD) and Ethereum (ETHUSD). Headquartered out of Palo Alto, California, 180 Life Sciences Corp (ATNF) was founded as a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapeutics for inflammatory diseases, fibrosis-related conditions, pain, and post-operative cognitive decline. Once valued at a market cap of $290 million, the company’s current market cap is now a fraction of those levels...

- Trump to sign executive order putting crypto in 401(k)s President Donald Trump will reportedly sign an executive order on August 7 that will allow assets such as cryptocurrency, real estate, private equity, and other alternative assets to be included in 401(k), as per Bloomberg. 401(k) is the employer-sponsored retirement plan that allows individuals to invest a portion of their earnings before taxes are deducted. According to Bloomberg, the executive order is directed at the Labor Department (DOL), which is then set to explain, redefine, and reevaluate guidance regarding alternative assets subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The Labor Department will also lay down the government's stance on...

- Unity Software Inc. has enhanced and expanded its digital platform capabilities by launching Unity Vector in early 2025. Unity Vector is a new AI-powered advertising platform that uses self-learning AI models to optimize user acquisition through real-time machine learning, better data utilization, and higher campaign efficiency. Upon its launch, the company achieved approximately 15-20% growth in the number of app installations and in-app purchase value, even without full integration of all Vector components. This new digital platform, alongside other tools including Unity Ad Network and Unity Mediation, is boosting Unity Software’s revenue visibility and profitability structure, despite ongoing economic challenges. The demand for...

- Ripple acquires new surprising stablecoin platform Ripple has agreed to acquire Rail, a stablecoin platform for global payments, for $200 million, the crypto payments firm said on Aug. 7. The fintech firm is one of the leading players in the global stablecoin market that issues RLUSD, a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar. “Stablecoins are quickly becoming a cornerstone of modern finance, and with Rail, we are uniquely positioned to drive the next phase of innovation and adoption of stablecoins and blockchain in global payments,” said Ripple President Monica Long. Backed by Galaxy Ventures and Accomplice, Toronto-based Rail has partnered with more than 12 banks to offer seamless service to its clients. Rail CEO Bhanu Kohli...