Day: March 12, 2025

US CPI comes in lower than expected — Are rate cuts coming?

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The latest US core Consumer Price Index (CPI) print, a measure of inflation, came in lower than expected at 3.1%, beating expectations of 3.2%, with a corresponding 0.1% drop in headline inflation figures. According to Matt Mena, crypto research strategist at 21Shares, the cooling inflation data adds to the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year, injecting much-needed liquidity into the markets and sending risk-on asset prices higher. Mena added: “Rate cut expectations have surged in response — markets now price a 31.4% chance of a…

Rumble embraces Trump-era crypto strategy with $17M BTC purchase

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Video-sharing platform Rumble says it had purchased more than $17 million worth of Bitcoin as part of a previously announced investment strategy. In a March 12 notice, Rumble said it had added 188 Bitcoin (BTC) to its treasury for roughly $17.1 million. The investment, suggested by CEO Chris Pavlovski in November following Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, was touted as a hedge against inflation and part of a broader move to deepen ties to the crypto industry. The platform hinted it could make additional Bitcoin purchases depending on…

Banks acting as validators risks centralization — Everstake exec

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New US regulatory guidance allowing banks to become validators for blockchain networks is a major step for institutional adoption but worsens centralization risks, Bohdan Opryshko, chief operating officer of staking service provider Everstake, told Cointelegraph.  On March 7, the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) eased its stance on how banks can engage with crypto, including permitting banks to participate “in independent node verification networks,” the regulator said.  Opryshko said US banks’ increased involvement in proof-of-stake (PoS) networks, such as Ethereum and Solana, could be a “double-edged…

Crypto exchange OKX secures MiFID II license in Europe

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Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has acquired a key European Union license that will enable the company to offer derivatives products throughout the region, potentially opening the door to a more advanced segment of the trading community.  In a March 12 announcement, OKX’s Europe CEO, Erald Ghoos, confirmed that the exchange acquired a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) license. The license will allow OKX to launch derivatives trading products for institutional investors across the EU. Source: OKX The announcement came less than two months after OKX secured a preauthorization under…

Bitcoin dominance hits new highs, alts fade: Research

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Bitcoin’s (BTC) dominance has crested new highs as altcoins’ short-lived rally fizzles, according to data from Matrixport, a cryptocurrency financial services platform.  As of March 12, Bitcoin dominance — a measure of Bitcoin’s share of crypto’s overall market capitalization — stands at 61.2%, according to Matrixport. This is up from a cycle low of around 54% in December.  Rising BTC dominance is “clear evidence that the altcoin rally was short-lived,” Matrixport said in a post on the X platform.  “It lasted barely a month, from [US President Donald] Trump’s election…

Sui Foundation onboards Blockaid to enhance ecosystem security

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Blockaid has announced a partnership with the Sui Foundation to enhance the Sui ecosystem’s security. According to the announcement, Blockaid will add protection to Sui wallets and respond to smart contract exploits, offchain threats and operational faults on Sui. The Sui Foundation supports the growth of Sui, a layer-1 blockchain launched in May 2023 with the goal of creating a decentralized network that can manage a high volume of transactions with minimal delay. According to a blog post, the total number of accounts on the blockchain reached 67.3 million in…

SEC postpones ruling on Fidelity Ether ETF options

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed ruling on whether or not to permit Cboe BZX Exchange to list options tied to asset manager Fidelity’s Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETFs).  The agency has given itself until May 14 to approve or disapprove of Cboe BZX’s request to list options tied to Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH), according to a March 12 SEC filing.  Cboe BZX initially requested to list options on Fidelity’s Ether ETFs in January, the filing said.  Listing options on Ether funds is an important step in attracting…

Low Fees Are A Symptom Of Deeper Problems

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People tend to celebrate periods of low feerates. It’s time to clean house, consolidate any UTXOs you need to, open or close any Lightning channels you’ve been waiting on, and inscribe some stupid 8-bit jpeg into the blockchain. They’re perceived as a positive time.  They are not. We have seen explosive price appreciation the last few months, finally hitting the 100k USD benchmark that everyone took for granted as preordained during the last market cycle. That’s not normal.  The picture on the left is the average feerate each day since…

SEC’s enforcement case against Ripple may be wrapping up

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission may be preparing to end its enforcement action against Ripple Labs after more than four years. According to a March 12 X post from Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, the SEC’s case against Ripple was “in the process of wrapping up” after the parties filed an appeal and cross-appeal, respectively, over a $125-million court judgment in August 2024. The civil case against the blockchain firm filed in December 2020 alleged Ripple and certain executives used XRP (XRP) as an unregistered security to raise funds.…

Axie Infinity’s new Web3 game, LVMH sued over NFT patent: Nifty Newsletter

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In this week’s newsletter, check out non-fungible token (NFT) gaming project Axie Infinity’s new trailer for its upcoming Web3 game, Atia’s Legacy. In other news, luxury fashion giant LVMH has been sued for NFT patent infringement, and NFT sales have tumbled by 63% since December 2024.  Axie Infinity teases new Web3 game as NFT outlook turns positive Blockchain gaming project Axie Infinity released a trailer for its new Web3 game Atia’s Legacy. The game is a massively multiplayer online (MMO) video game in the Axie universe. Axie Infinity developer Sky…