DL News

Gold is the hottest trade in the markets at the moment, so what happens when you combine it with crypto, or more precisely, crypto lending? Pedro Solimano spoke with Swarm's Philipp Pieper and Katie Evans to learn more about a trade known as 'looping.' For DL News: https://lnkd.in/eigTWFNB

Ripple isn’t done with the SEC just yet. After its legal victory earlier this week, the company is now calling out the agency’s crypto rulebook as “confusing” and built on “novel standards found nowhere in the law.” https://lnkd.in/gjPQ6P5h

Victims of crypto investment scams in the US are getting $7 million back. It’s a rare win as law enforcement steps up efforts to trace stolen funds — even as AI makes scams harder to stop. https://lnkd.in/gpnQNGNJ

Coinbase is reportedly in talks to buy Deribit in what could be its biggest push into crypto derivatives yet. Pro-crypto tailwinds in the US may soon open the door for exchanges to offer options and futures at scale. https://lnkd.in/geepyj8F

Tether says a long-promised USDT audit may finally be within reach — and credits Trump for clearing the way. With $143 billion in circulation, the stablecoin giant is now reportedly engaging a 'Big Four' accounting firm. https://lnkd.in/grSe2mTY

Arthur Hayes, chief investment officer at Maelstrom, thinks so, estimating that the top cryptocurrency’s price will rally to $250,000 by the end of the year. He’s even more confident after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled that the central bank will allow more liquidity to flow through the American economy. “Stay nimble and cashed up,” Hayes tweeted. His bullishness comes at a challenging time for the crypto industry. Donald Trump’s zig-zagging tariff policies continue to rattle markets — the total crypto market is down 21% since the president’s inauguration. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 indexes are down about 6% and 9%, respectively, in that time. https://lnkd.in/eBVdZ6-s

When it became apparent that North Korean hackers were using Thorchain to launder $1.4 billion stolen from crypto exchange Bybit last month, it triggered a clash among the platform’s operators. Tim Craig reports. https://lnkd.in/erSBGujA

Crypto and equities markets jumped on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve opted to hold rates steady. Investors breathed a sigh of relief after the US central bank remained on course to make two cuts to interest rates this year. Aleksandar Gilbert and Pedro Solimano report with insights from CoinShares' James Butterfill. https://lnkd.in/eqikTRw3

Check out this unusual case from Arkansas... Bitcoin miners are bucking the mounting opposition to China by suing the state to let Chinese Bitcoin miners operate there. The litigation comes as local communities increasingly oppose Bitcoin mining because of the industry's excessive use of water, electricity, and the noise their machines create. Lots of crosscurrents in this one! Aleksandar Gilbert has the story for DL News: https://lnkd.in/eNDuKvhz

Trump's dizzying pivot to embrace crypto is already sending ripples across the globe. “It’s a phenomenon,” Tom Duff Gordon told me on the sidelines of Blockchain APAC's policy event in Sydney, Australia last week. He's not alone, either. Chengyi Ong, a policy lead for analytics firm Chainalysis in the Asia-Pacific region, said that though certain jurisdictions like Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore quickly set out crypto regulations, neighbouring jurisdictions are now playing catch up. “One way or another, the US is always an agenda setter in the international policy space,” she said. Find out why industry lobbyists are suddenly travelling farther and wider than ever in my latest dispatch 👇