Category: crypto

The Bank for International Settlements warns that as financial institutions pursue tokenization of real-world assets, significant governance, legal, and regulatory risks must be addressed. While tokenization promises cost reduction and efficiency, uncertainty remains regarding its legal treatment and central banks’ roles, necessitating careful regulatory oversight and collaboration.

Institutional investors now hold about 20% of US-traded spot Bitcoin ETFs, totaling over 193,000 BTC across 1,179 institutions, including major firms like Millennium Management and Goldman Sachs. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust leads in absolute BTC holdings, but ARK 21Shares has the highest institutional ownership percentage, indicating rising institutional interest and price correlation.

Across Protocol co-founder Hart Lambur proposed capping the ACX token supply at 1 billion tokens to address recent vulnerability concerns. He denied claims of critical flaws in its ERC-20 implementation and emphasized that the change would enhance economic stability without altering smart contracts, benefiting all stakeholders in the ecosystem.

Bitcoin miners face profit pressure due to halving and reduced transactions. Exploring Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) offers a solution—monetizing idle GPU resources for AI developers. This shift could boost miner revenues, democratize access to compute power, and promote decentralization, although challenges in performance and adaptability remain.

Japan’s government promotes Web3 through tax reforms and regulations, fostering a safe business environment. Monex Group supports Web3 initiatives with consulting and its OASIS NFT project, fostering community engagement. Major corporations, like NTT Docomo and Square Enix, are entering the space, enhancing innovation in Japan’s Web3 ecosystem.

The Lightning Network is a Bitcoin scaling solution for fast, inexpensive transactions. Traditional metrics like node and channel count are limited. Max Flow, a metric assessing payment feasibility, reveals network health and liquidity optimization. As Bitcoin prices rise, Max Flow enables better performance, making it crucial for the network’s growth.

Indian regulators are considering banning private cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, favoring central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for safer financial systems. Officials argue that CBDCs can achieve benefits of private cryptos with less risk. The government supports CBDCs’ programmability for financial inclusion and is expanding digital rupee pilots, emphasizing central bank control.

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor advocates for Bitcoin custodianship by large financial institutions, dismissing fears of government seizure as misguided. He criticizes crypto-anarchists for rejecting regulation, arguing that institutional custody complies with legal requirements, thus reducing risks. His stance sparked backlash in the Bitcoin community, emphasizing the importance of self-custody.

A major fraud trial in France involves over 20 defendants accused of defrauding 1,300 individuals, including professional football clubs, of approximately €28 million through fake investment schemes in diamonds and cryptocurrencies. The case, lasting four weeks, highlights the complexities of tracking transnational financial crimes. Authorities have recovered €2.8 million for victims.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse emphasized the company’s bipartisan approach in supporting pro-crypto politicians ahead of the US elections, focusing on policies that foster innovation. Meanwhile, co-founder Chris Larsen donated $10 million in XRP to Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, igniting debate within the crypto community over party alignment.