Cardano founder says Trump’s actions have politicized crypto and alienated half the country.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
The launch deepens scrutiny around World Liberty as it seeks a U.S. bank charter, with critics pointing to Trump family financial conflicts.
Bernstein said the window to pass the bill is rapidly narrowing amid a dispute between banks and the crypto industry over stablecoin rewards.
The rally came shortly after Powell said that the DOJ had threatened him with criminal charges over his June 2025 congressional testimony.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Cathie Wood, ARK Invest’s founder and CEO, said she expects the Trump administration could move beyond simply holding seized bitcoin and begin purchasing BTC to build a US strategic reserve, a shift she argued could become a catalytic signal for markets and other governments. Speaking on ARK’s “Bitcoin Brainstorm” podcast in an episode dated Jan. 08, Wood framed government buying as a potential inflection point at a time when she believes institutional participation remains “just beginning” and bitcoin’s supply dynamics are getting harder to ignore. “We have seen very little institutional buy-in, it is just beginning,” Wood said. “And I think if we get the US, for example, not adding just confiscated bitcoin to a strategic reserve but, you know, out there buying, and we don’t know if that’s going to be the case. But if they were to do so, I have a feeling that would set off what we’re all waiting for, which is, you know, the scarcity value to reassert itself again now that we’re near 20 million bitcoin outstanding and we only have one more million to go.” Related Reading: Bitcoin Emerges As A Hedge Amid Rising Global Geopolitical Tensions In the discussion, Wood suggested the administration’s posture so far has effectively been limited to confiscated holdings. She contrasted that with what she described as an earlier ambition for scale, noting “the original intent was to own a million bitcoin,” before adding her view that a pivot toward purchases is plausible. Midterms Could Drive US Bitcoin Reserve Buys Wood linked that possibility to political incentives heading into the 2026 US midterm elections, describing Trump as motivated to keep momentum and avoid being politically sidelined. “President Trump does not want to be a lame duck,” she said. “So I have a feeling that he is going to work with his crypto and AI czar to do a few things… [and] it seems as though there’s been reticence about actually buying bitcoin for the strategic reserve. So far, so far it’s confiscated… So I actually think they will start buying.” Related Reading: Bitcoin Indicator With 84% Hit Rate Flashes Again: Is A Price Rally Next? Wood also pointed to what she sees as aligned constituencies around the president, arguing he has “all kinds of reasons” to lean into crypto while emphasizing that the political calculus matters because of the midterm timeline. When the conversation turned to how such purchases could be executed, Wood echoed the idea that any reserve strategy would need to be budget-neutral. She didn’t outline a mechanism, but treated the constraint as a key gating factor for feasibility. Wood argued that explicit US buying would not just be a domestic market event. Iit could force other capitals to revisit reserve policy. “Something that’s really important… we thought that countries would adopt it much earlier than they have,” she said. “I think if the US actually says, ‘Okay, now we’re going to buy,’ that’s going to spur a lot of other governments to think this thing through. Do they want to be hostage to the dollar…? And you know, no, they don’t. So put some bitcoin in your reserves.” If that dynamic accelerates, Wood warned emerging-market currencies could face renewed pressure, describing a scenario where reserve diversification toward bitcoin reshapes volatility across weaker fiat regimes, a downstream effect, she suggested, of Washington making the first overt move from holding seized BTC to competing in the open market. At press time, BTC traded at $90,578. Featured image from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com
The founder of ARK Invest said crypto was 'part of the reason [Trump] won the presidency,' and could be a politically salient midterm topic.
The president told the New York Times he won't pardon ex-FTX CEO SBF, nor will he be granting help to Sean Combs or Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
On Jan. 7, Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial (WLFI) formally applied for a national banking charter to establish the “World Liberty Trust Company.” This is a proposed national trust bank specifically designed to handle USD1 stablecoin issuance, custody, redemption, and reserve management. USD1 is WLFI's flagship product, with more than $3.3 billion in supply across […]
The post Why is Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is applying for a banking license right now? appeared first on CryptoSlate.
World Liberty Financial is trying to launch the World Liberty Trust Company, a stablecoin-focused national trust bank, it said Wednesday.
The Senate is approaching a potential markup that may advance crypto legislation to a vote, and industry insiders are amassing for a lobbying push this week.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
The U.S. hacker pleaded guilty to stealing and laundering nearly 120,000 bitcoin from cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2016.
The Truth Social parent said it will issue a new digital token on Crypto.com’s Cronos blockchain, with shares and crypto prices rising following the announcement.
The move represents Trump Media's latest partnership with Crypto.com, including a series of crypto-related ETFs and a predictions market.
There's always something going on in the crypto space, and this year was no exception. We take a look back at 2025's highlights.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Bitcoin is trading near $86,600 after a volatile trading day, with analysts expecting continued volatility amid macroeconomic uncertainty.
Potential 2028 presidential candidate Gavin Newsom again goaded the president with a website highlighting ties to those with criminal records, including some in crypto.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Under Atkins’ leadership, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has undergone a near-complete reversal of the way it regulates crypto.
On decentralized prediction markets platform Polymarket, Waller currently has a 15% chance of being nominated as the next chair.
The influential Democrat is the most vocal critic of the crypto legislation, and she continues to throw rhetorical sand in the gears of the negotiation.
Williams has helped cement crypto gains in Congress alongside White House allies.
Hougan also expects bitcoin to show lower volatility and falling correlation with stocks, creating a favorable "trifecta" for investors.
Rodriguez was sentenced to five years for operating a crypto mixing service that helped launder millions of dollars in criminal proceeds.
The Tornado Cash developer’s trial this summer is evidence that the crypto industry is still severely lacking regulatory clarity.