What happened today?

Despite fears of market volatility due to the FOMC meeting earlier today, Bitcoin trades over $97k at time of writing as it continues its journey back to 6 digits. As we discussed in Monday’s edition, Maxine Waters and a group of Democrats did indeed end up walking out of Tuesday’s crypto hearing. I’m by no means a fan of hers, and I think this was an incredibly childish thing to do, however I regretfully admit she’s right to be suspicious of Trump’s conflicts of interest within the crypto industry. Even with this being the case, it’s a far better course of action to debate it out within the confines of an official House hearing rather than just walking away… after all, that’s where the rule is being made.

The conversation around the Trump family’s activities within the industry continues to heat up, with the most recent catalyst for dissent stemming from their deal with Emirati venture firm MGX to use the Trump-backed World Liberty Finance stablecoin $USD1 to pay for its $2B investment in Binance. On the surface level this may feel a bit off, as a foreign-based fund is paying a company backed by the US President for services, but it actually gets worse: the $2B in USD1 allocated for this deal now makes up over 90% of the USD1 currently issued on the market. In other words, it’s not like this is the new popular stablecoin everyone is using; USD1 was deliberately chosen for its connection to Trump and for no other reason. Current estimates show World Liberty would earn roughly $80M per year from this deal alone, assuming Binance continues to hold the USD1 rather than converting it to another stablecoin. If this deal goes through unimpeded, I believe it sets a wildly dangerous precedent for the future.

Tweet of the Day

With all the regulatory insanity we’ve dealt with for years, it’s nice to have adult in the room who gets it.

Biggest Headlines

The Beluga intern has been hard at work gathering all the most important crypto news stories so you have them in one place!

The Majors

• Ethereum price holds steady following Pectra upgrade

• Russia seen as largest Bitcoin mining benficiary if Trump’s tariffs hit in full, industry experts say

Alt Coins and Stocks

• Visa bets on stablecoin demand with investment in BVNK

• Robinhood plans blockchain platform to allow trading of US securities in Europe: Bloomberg

Regulatory

• Binance founder “CZ” seeks pardon from President Trump after four month stint in prison

• Coinbase releases treasure trove of SEC docs on Ethereum, XRP and more

Random

• How the Aptos ‘community takeover’ revived dev interest in the network

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The content on this site is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. While Beluga strives to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of information, there may be discrepancies when comparing our data to that of financial institutions, service providers, or specific product websites. Always consult with a professional before making any financial decisions.

Will McKinnon is the Head of Content for Beluga and has spent every day for many years trading coins. For that reason there are too many to name, however his largest holdings by a significant margin are Ethereum and Bitcoin. NFA DYOR

*Polyester is a marketing partner of Beluga, and Beluga’s CEO is an investor in the company.