Author: Coindesk
Cryptocurrencies jumped on Wednesday on news that Donald Trump stepped back some tariff burdens on countries — except for China.According to Trump’s post on Truth Social, he issued a 90-day delay on tariffs and a substantially lowered 10% rate of reciprocal tariff for this period against all countries except China. Meanwhile, he said he raised tariffs for China to 125%, “effective immediately.”Donald Trump’s announcement on tariffs on April 9 (Truth Social) Bitcoin (BTC), treading water around $77,000 during most of the U.S. session, surged above $81,000 on the news, up 5.5% over the past 24 hours. Altcoin majors rallied even…
Paul Atkins is just one oath away from taking over the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as President Donald Trump’s pick to oversee the nation’s securities sector — including whatever role the crypto sector plays in that.A swearing-in ceremony will soon put the former SEC commission in charge of the high-profile regulator — a matter cheered on by the digital assets sector that sees him as a strong ally after his significant background advising crypto firms as a financial-services consultant in Washington. Atkins’ Senate confirmation was easily cleared on Wednesday in a 52-44 vote.The longtime figure in U.S. financial policy…
The Trump administration’s friendliness toward the crypto sector is going to deeply change the bitcoin (BTC) lending market over the next four years.That’s according to Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, co-founder of Ledn, a firm that specializes in providing digital asset loans.“You’re going to see a Cambrian explosion of bitcoin-backed loans, because the rates are going to drop to a point that is going to make them competitive with home equity or personal lines of credit, or other types of instruments,” Di Bartolomeo told CoinDesk in an interview.The kicker, he said, is that these rates will drop not just in the U.S.…
Under far heavier pressure than the rather modest decline in bitcoin (BTC) over the past few days would suggest, crypto stocks are posting outsized gains as markets surge higher on the Trump tariff pause.Among the movers are Strategy (MSTR), which rose 25%, while Coinbase (COIN) climbed 21%. Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) were among the bitcoin miners posting gains in the teens.Other movers included Semler Scientific (SMLR) and Fold (FLD), with advances closer to 10%.The strong uptick was in line with the big move in other U.S. stocks — the Nasdaq rocketing more than 10% higher and the…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave the green light for the trading of options tied to ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs).On Wednesday, the regulator approved a filing from Nasdaq ISE, filed last July, which asked to list options contracts on the BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA). Options are a popular trading vehicle to leverage and hedge risk and are especially attractive to institutional investors who are looking to control large amounts of shares.The Commission had until today to make a decision. James Seyffart, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said the approval was “100% expected.”The options apply specifically to ETHA,…
Ukraine’s top financial regulator is floating the idea of taxing cryptocurrency as personal income, with possible carveouts for certain foreign asset-backed stablecoins, under a newly proposed taxation matrix published on Tuesday.In a translated letter introducing the potential new approach, Ruslan Magomedov, head of Ukraine’s National Securities and Stock Market Commission, said that effective tax policy is a necessary step in preventing financial abuse and facilitating the “legal and responsible use of digital assets.”“Establishing fair and understandable taxation rules is also a prerequisite for attracting investment and integrating the Ukrainian virtual asset market into the global financial market,” Magomedov added.Under the…
President Trump’s administration wants a weaker dollar and that’s bullish for bitcoin (BTC), asset manager Bitwise said in a report Tuesday.”When it comes to the tariff push, the thing i’m most certain of is this: the Trump administration wants a significantly weaker dollar,” wrote Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise.After a week of market turmoil cryptocurrencies surged on Wednesday following President Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on tariffs for countries that haven’t retaliated against the U.S..A weaker dollar has significant implications for bitcoin. Bitwise notes that over the last five years the cryptocurrency has had a negative correlation…
Justin Sun’s allegations that Hong Kong-based custodian First Digital Trust is insolvent have landed him in the cross-hairs of a defamation claim initiated by the company.First Digital’s FDUSD stablecoin briefly de-pegged on April 3 after Sun claimed the company was “insolvent,” though it has since virtually recovered, according to CoinDesk markets data. The writ of summons, the first step in a defamation claim, was filed late last week and requests the Hong Kong High Court to issue an injunction restraining Sun from making further statements on the matter. It also asks for an injunction requiring Sun to publish retractions.(Hong Kong…
Bootstrapping decentralized finance (DeFi) on any blockchain usually requires a mix of builders with big ideas and funders to back them. That much is as true for baselayers as it is for the financial protocols launching atop them.Arch Labs, whose eponymous network is one of the many projects trying to bring DeFi to Bitcoin, had no trouble raising its $7 million launch capital from big-name venture firms last year. Now it’s shifting focus to help fund those smaller protocols that could make the whole network boom.In that goal it has found a willing partner. An entire venture company, DPI Capital,…
World Liberty Financial, the Donald Trump family-backed DeFi project, reportedly started to sell its ether (ETH) stash at $1,465 a token despite purchasing the asset for $3,259 at the start of the year.On-chain data from Arkham shows that a wallet closely tied to World Liberty Financial sold 5,471 ETH for around $8 million on Wednesday after racking up a $125 million loss.The sale comes just two months after Eric Trump, the U.S. president’s son, said it was a great time to buy ETH, which was trading at $2,880.The main World Liberty Financial wallet still holds $98 million worth of crypto,…