Kraken delists USDT, PayPal USD on March 31

Posted on February 2, 2025 by Olumide Adesina

Kraken will delist five stablecoins, including Tether on March 31 to adhere to the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The crypto exchange will progressively stop supporting TrueUSD, TerraClassicUSD (UST), PayPal USD, and Tether EURT (EURT) in the European market.

“These adjustments eventually guarantee Kraken stays in compliance and can continue to offer its outstanding trading experience to European customers in the long run,” the company stated.

The digital exchange will gradually remove USDT support by the guidelines established by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to guarantee a seamless and orderly delisting procedure.

Kraken will first put margin pairs involving the impacted assets into “reduce-only” mode in February for clients in the European Economic Area (EEA),

EEA users will only be able to minimize or eliminate their current margin positions after this restriction.

Kraken will place the impacted tokens in “sell-only” mode, allowing trading to continue to prevent EEA clients from creating deposit addresses for tokens such as USDT. Kraken will close all open orders and exchanges into other coins or fiat currencies on March 24 to stop all spot trading for the impacted assets.

Kraken’s announcement coincides with Crypto.com, another significant exchange, confirming that USDT and nine other stablecoins will be delisted beginning in January. 31, 2025.

Additionally, Crypto Dot Com will allow users to switch the impacted tokens to MiCA-compliant tokens until the end of the first quarter. According to the exchange, “If not, they will be automatically converted into a compliant stablecoin or asset of corresponding market value.”.

The European Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASP) were urged by the ESMA, a key supervisor of MiCA compliance, to begin limiting stablecoins that do not comply with MiCA.

UBS Bank Plans Gold Trading on Ethereum

Posted on February 2, 2025 by Olumide Adesina

UBS a global bank that oversees $6 trillion in assets, is investigating how blockchain technology can simplify gold investments, according to ZKSync

The main goal is to enable direct physical gold purchases for the bank’s Swiss clients using a blockchain-based system while guaranteeing interoperability, scalability, and privacy.

UBS Key4 Gold helps retail investors purchase fractional gold shares with real-time pricing, deep liquidity, and secure storage. The product runs on a permissionless blockchain called the UBS Gold Network, which links distributors, liquidity providers, and vaults.

UBS made use of ZKSync’s Validium mode to optimize performance. It is a roll-up solution with zero knowledge that improves scalability through off-chain data storage.

The bank implemented smart contracts on the Validium Testnet to mimic the UBS Gold Network as part of the proof-of-concept.

These agreements made it easier to issue and process gold tokens. “UBS’ ongoing efforts to investigate how blockchain can improve its financial offerings and support its larger digital asset strategy are reflected in this Proof of Concept.”. Alex Gluchowski, the creator of ZKsync, wrote, “I am convinced that the financial industry’s future will occur on-chain.”.

the Testnet further improved privacy by limiting participants’ access to their transactions while preserving verification procedures, . It is also possible for stablecoin and Ethereum to combine, increasing the scalability and affordability of buying gold tokens.

Bitcoin Sinks Below $100K Amid Tariffs Battle

Posted on February 2, 2025 by Olumide Adesina

Bitcoin fell below $100,000 for the first time in six days, after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing import tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China.

The three countries have already retaliated against the imposed tariffs, and there is disagreement within the crypto industry regarding how this will impact the larger market. As per a Feb. According to one White House statement,

“Trump is enacting an additional 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% tariff on imports from China.”. Canada’s energy resources will be subject to a 10% tariff reduction. “

Tariffs increase inflation, which could result in higher interest rates. Generally, investors gravitate toward more conventional assets like bonds and term deposits rather than riskier ones like crypto assets.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada declared in a press conference shortly after Trump’s announcement that he would impose a 25 percent tariff on $106.5 billion worth of US goods.

The World Trade Organization will receive a complaint from China’s Ministry of Commerce amid plans to “take corresponding countermeasures.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum directed the Secretary of Economy to “execute plan B,” which consists of “tariff and non-tariff measures in defense of Mexico’s interests.”.

Bitcoin fell below the psychological $100,000 price mark for the first time since January. 27, dropping down to $99,111. It was trading at $100.2K on Binance at publication.

Canada Begins Tariffs Attacks on U.S. Economy

Posted on February 2, 2025 by Olumide Adesina

Canada will impose 25% levies on U.S. goods in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s new tariffs. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that President Donald Trump’s actions would have tangible repercussions for them regarding imports.

Trudeau announced at a press conference that he was imposing tariffs on C$155 billion ($107 billion) worth of U.S. goods as ties between the longstanding allies who share the longest land border in the world hit a new low. S. products.

He stated that duties on the remaining C$125 billion will be imposed in 21 days, while those on C$30 billion will go into effect on Tuesday, the same day as Trump’s tariffs.

Trudeau issued this statement after Trump threatened to impose a trade war that could slow global growth and rekindle inflation by imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% on goods from China. Trump declared that all Canadian energy imports would be subject to a 10% tariff.

According to the Canadian leader, American wine, beer, bourbon, and fruits and fruit juices—including orange juice from Trump’s home state of Florida—will all be subject to tariffs.

Canada would also target home appliances, sporting goods, and clothing.

Trudeau claimed that while the upcoming weeks would be challenging for Canadians, Trump’s actions would also negatively impact Americans. Trudeau stated, “Tariffs against Canada will put your jobs at risk, potentially shutting down American auto assembly plants and other manufacturing facilities.”. S. citizens at an Ottawa press conference.

Tether Earns $13 Billion in 2024

Posted on February 1, 2025 by Olumide Adesina

Tether, the company that issues the dollar-pegged USDT stablecoin, made a record $13 billion in 2024 and now holds a larger-than-ever amount of US government bonds.

Tether’s US Treasury portfolio is valued at about $113 billion. The USDT stablecoin, which Tether claims is backed 1:1 with liquid US dollar-denominated assets, is very popular in the crypto community, reflected in the company’s growing Treasury holdings.

USDT’s total market capitalization was about $137 billion in 2024, marginally less than Tether’s total reserves, which were over $143 billion. The numbers come from an independent accounting firm called BDO’s attestation.

Tether declared that its Treasury reserve was larger than the combined size of all but 17 governments worldwide, including Australia, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates.

Additionally, it owns Bitcoin and gold, which brought in $5 billion for the business in 2024.

Tether has $20 billion in consolidated net equity. Tether issued about $23 billion in USD in the fourth quarter and minted about $45 billion in 2024. USDT is issued and redeemed continuously.

Tether’s headquarters are in El Salvador, where it was granted a license to issue stablecoins and provide digital asset services in 2024. Tether has been reinvesting its earnings in related fields, such as education, peer-to-peer telecommunications technology, data, AI infrastructure, sustainable energy, Bitcoin mining, and neurotech.

MicroStrategy Raise $584 Million For Bitcoin

Posted on January 31, 2025January 31, 2025 by Olumide Adesina

MicroStrategy is still on a Bitcoin buying spree. The business declared on Friday it plans to raise money to acquire even more Bitcoin for its treasury, which has been finalized.

The company intends to use the $80 per share price at which it will go on the market to purchase Bitcoin. On X, formerly Twitter, MicroStrategy chairman and co-founder Michael Saylor declared that the company had increased the deal’s size from $250 million to $584 million.

The Nasdaq-listed business anticipates receiving $563.04 million in net proceeds from the sale, which it plans to use for “general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Bitcoin and working capital.

The company’s shareholders voted just last week to increase the authorized Class A common shares by 30 times, giving the company more funds to purchase cryptocurrency. According to the reasoning, more shares on the market will result in more sales and, consequently, more funds available for Bitcoin.

MicroStrategy revealed their “21/21 Plan in 2024,” which calls for raising $42 billion to purchase additional Bitcoin. The company would sell $21 billion worth of fixed-income securities and raise $21 billion through equity sales.

MicroStrategy has shifted its focus from selling data analysis software to securitizing Bitcoin While investors purchase shares of MicroStrategy to gain exposure to the orange coin without actually handling it

Ethereum Founder Keeps Bitcoin

Posted on January 31, 2025 by Olumide Adesina

Vitalik Buterin, a co-founder of Ethereum, commented on the debate over the optimal portfolio allocation, stating that his Bitcoin (BTC) holdings are less than 10%. His remarks coincide with ETH’s more than 3% increase, which has rekindled debates about the best way to allocate a cryptocurrency portfolio.

Crypto analyst Udi Wertheimer started the discussion by stating that serious cryptocurrency investors should put at least 10% of their portfolio into Bitcoin, ideally closer to 70%.

However, Buterin adopted a different position, declaring that he owns less than 10% of Bitcoin and less than 10% of any asset that isn’t Ethereum. His remarks support an investment strategy, that prioritizes Ethereum while limiting exposure to other crypto assets.

Ethereum’s bullish price action and Buterin’s portfolio disclosure happened simultaneously with technical indicators pointing to a possible rally to all-time highs.

Market analyst Ted Pillows claims that Ethereum has entered a short-term expansion phase after a period of accumulation and manipulation, paving the way for a significant breakout.

Institutional accumulation is another factor driving the momentum; Trump’s World Liberty Financial has acquired over $420 million in digital assets, including $210 million in Ethereum.

The market is closely observing whether Ethereum’s increasing adoption will result in steady long-term gains, given the significant investments made by major players in the cryptocurrency.

Trump’s Tariffs Sink Ripple’s XRP

Posted on January 31, 2025 by Olumide Adesina

Ripple’s token decline resumed after the White House denied an optimistic report about a tariff delay. President Trump pledged to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico today. XRP had risen above $3.1 before that news but swiftly fell 3.2% to hover around $3.

A Reuters report on Friday then suggested that the tariffs would be postponed until March 1 while a procedure was established to enable nations to request exemptions for specific exports. However, the White House denounced that report as “false”.

Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters that the tariffs, which include a 10 percent levy on China, would take effect on Saturday.

Bitcoin had previously risen above $106,000 and appeared poised to challenge for a new high above $109,000. However, the tariff news sent bulls away. At the time of writing, bitcoin was trading just below $102,000, down 2% in the last day.

XRP posted the highest gains among major altcoins in January. Its price has risen by almost half in the past 30 days, outpacing the gains of Solana. The altcoin attempted to breach its all-time high. However, it was rejected as soon as it reached $3.29. The development of a bullish pattern caused such rejection.

A bullish pennant is a pattern that suggests a robust uptrend will likely continue. It develops after the price spikes higher, momentarily settles between convergent resistance and support, and then starts to rise again.

Forex Signals Brief January 31: All Markets Under Risk Due to PCE Inflation and Tariffs

Posted on January 31, 2025January 31, 2025 by Skerdian Meta

Tomorrow real tariffs will start, so there might be some wild moves today, considering the PCE report as well, so all markets are at risk, although Gold seems to be a beneficiary.

Continue reading “Forex Signals Brief January 31: All Markets Under Risk Due to PCE Inflation and Tariffs” →

Forex Signals Brief January 30: ECB and US GDP to Set the Tone Today

Posted on January 30, 2025January 29, 2025 by Skerdian Meta

Yesterday the BOC delivered a 25 bps rate cut, while the FED remained on hold, today we have the ECB rate cut and the USD GDP report which will affect financial markets.

Continue reading “Forex Signals Brief January 30: ECB and US GDP to Set the Tone Today” →