Binance sued in Nigeria MiCA approves 10 stablecoin issuers

Reprinted from jinse

02/20/2025·3M

Headlines

▌Binance was sued in Nigeria and asked to pay a fine of up to $81 billion

Nigerian authorities sued cryptocurrency exchange Binance for compensation of more than $79 billion in economic losses and $2 billion in repaid taxes. The amount is almost 19 times the $4.3 billion fine paid by Binance after he admitted to violating the U.S. Banking Act in 2023. According to reports, the Federal Taxation Agency (FIRS), a Nigerian tax authority, also claimed that Binance operates illegally within the country.

▌EU MiCA approves 10 stablecoin issuers, Tether is not listed

The list of EU's "MiCA compliant stablecoin issuers" has been announced. Circle, Crypto.com, Societe Generale and other 10 institutions have been approved to issue euro and US dollar stablecoins, involving a total of 10 euro stablecoins and 5 A stablecoin for US dollar. Tether (USDT, with a market value of over US$141 billion), the world's largest stablecoin issuer, did not appear on the list.

Quotes

As of press time, according to Coingecko data:

BTC's recent transaction price is US$96,616.72, up and down +1.1% intraday;

ETH's latest transaction price is US$2,715.90, with an intraday increase and decrease of +1.7% ;

BNB's recent transaction price is US$651.11, with an intraday increase of +0.6% ;

SOL's latest transaction price is US$169.03, with an intraday increase and decline of -0.3 % ;

DOGE's recent transaction price is US$0.2549, with an intraday increase and decrease of +1.3% ;

XPR's recent transaction price is US$2.74, with an intraday increase and decrease of +6.8 % .

policy

▌U.S. President Trump: Will announce tariffs on cars, semiconductors, chips, pharmaceuticals and possible wood within one month

U.S. President Trump said he would announce tariffs on cars, semiconductors, chips, pharmaceuticals and possible wood within the next month or earlier.

▌Trump : Ended Biden administration’s war on bitcoin and cryptocurrency

US President Trump said I have signed an executive order to put the United States in the field of artificial intelligence and end the Biden administration’s war on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, marking a new era of digital assets.

▌ The ETF Store President: US SEC has acknowledged the 19b-4 file submitted by Cboe

Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, said on social platforms that the SEC has acknowledged the 19b-4 file submitted by Cboe, which seeks to approve the staking feature in the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF.

▌Trump : Considering 20% of the money saved by the Ministry of Efficiency to Americans

U.S. President Trump said he was working to balance the budget immediately. I hope to achieve a balanced budget, but I don't want to make a commitment now. Trump said he was considering distributing 20% of the money saved by the Department of Efficiency (DOGE) to Americans, and he might also use DOGE to save 20% of the money to repay debts.

▌U.S . Department of Justice: Prosecutor filed a civil confiscation lawsuit against a crypto investment fraud case, recovering crypto assets

According to the official website of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. prosecutor filed a civil confiscation lawsuit against a crypto investment fraud case, recovering crypto assets such as 7.24 BTC, 14,120 USDT, 105.75 ETH, etc. The investigation shows that a Massachusetts resident was lured to join a fake investment group and was deceived to transfer funds to a suspicious trading platform. Law enforcement found that at least three victims across the United States sent money to the same platform, and some funds were seized in October 2024. The prosecution stressed that using telecommunications means to defraud or conceal the proceeds of crime are federal crimes, and the relevant assets will be returned to the victims after the civil lawsuit is over.

▌US SEC seeks public opinion on WisdomTree XRP ETF proposal

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) formally accepted the WisdomTree XRP ETF application on Wednesday and sought comments from the public. The SEC requires the relevant comments to be submitted within 21 days of the publication of the Federal Register. The agency may decide to approve, reject or 'initiate further review procedures'.

▌Montana Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Legislation has passed committee review and is about to enter the House of Representatives voting stage

According to market news, the strategic Bitcoin reserve legislation in Montana, the United States, has passed the committee's review and is about to enter the House of Representatives voting stage.

Previously reported that on February 9, the U.S. House of Representatives Act No. 429 of Montana will authorize until July 15, 2025, the state Treasury Secretary will need to invest up to $50 million from a general fund for a market value of more than $750 billion. Digital Asset', i.e. Bitcoin. These investments must be held by qualified custodians or traded funds through trading platforms.

Blockchain application

▌ FOX reporter: Canary Capital launches AXL Trust Fund, the first trust to provide blockchain interoperability investment

FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett shared that Canary Capital has launched the AXL (Axelar) trust fund Canary AXL Trust, which will include native tokens of the Axelar network and is the first investment trust to provide investment in a common blockchain interoperability protocol.

- The Axelar protocol has become the leading cross-chain protocol and works closely with Ripple to support the interoperability of its stablecoin RLUSD.

- Axelar acts as a bridge between XRP Ledger and XRP Ledger EVM (Ethereum- compatible network).

- The trust will provide institutional investors with investment opportunities in blockchain interconnection technology, connecting the Web3 ecosystem such as XRP Ledger, Hedera, Stellar, TON, Sui, Solana and Bitcoin.

Cryptocurrency

▌ Coinbase CEO: Individuals are not Meme currency traders, Coinbase adheres to the principle of "free market" on the listing of coins

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong expressed his views on the Meme coin craze on the X platform. He said that although he is not a Meme coin trader, he believes that Meme coin has become a phenomenon that cannot be ignored in the cryptocurrency field. From early Dogecoin to various Meme coins today, although these tokens seemed like "toys" at the beginning, they may evolve into more powerful tools over time.

Regarding Coinbase’s currency listing standards, Brian Armstrong said that from the first principle, we believe in free market capitalism. If our customers want it, and it is legal, our goal is to let them make their own choices. But our job is to provide them with the best information we can find so that they can make informed choices. If the token is a scam or a fraud, we will delete it. But if it's just low quality, customers should be able to see comments or community notes and make their own choices. We want to provide useful information to consumers rather than play the role of judges and juries, or endorse/recommend investments.

▌ Strategy has approximately 1,400 institutional shareholders and holds approximately US$34 billion worth of MSTR shares

While Strategy, led by Michael Saylor (formerly MicroStrategy), accelerated its purchase of Bitcoin in the fourth quarter of 2024, institutional investment managers are also raising their holdings in MSTR stocks.

According to the latest 13F report submitted, institutional investment managers who manage at least $100 million in equity assets continued to increase their holdings in MSTR in the fourth quarter. According to Fintel data, Strategy currently has about 1,400 institutional shareholders and holds about $34 billion worth of MSTR shares. Vanguard, the world's second largest asset management company, sold about 1.5 million MSTR shares between the third and fourth quarters, but still ranked as the largest shareholder with a holding of 16.3 million shares. Capital International Investors holds 12.5 million shares, while BlackRock follows closely with 11.2 million shares.

It is worth noting that institutions also hold nearly $37 billion worth of MSTR options, double the previous quarter. Susquehanna International Group holds 16.8 million shares of put options, while Citadel Advisors follows with 13.6 million shares of put options. Meanwhile, Jane Street holds 13.6 million calls, showing more optimistic market expectations.

▌Billionaire Mark Cuban suspends Meme coin plan, saying major changes are needed

Billionaire Mark Cuban announced a suspension of Meme coin plans, saying major changes are needed.

On January 21, Mark Cuban posted: "If Meme coins are feasible, maybe I will issue one. The same terms as TRUMP, 20% in circulation supply, the same release schedule. There is one difference, that is, the tokens are sold All income from the U.S. Treasury Department. The wallet address will be published so that everyone can track it. If you want to gamble, come on. But at least use it to reduce U.S. debt.”

▌Institutional Bitcoin spot ETF positions in Q4 2024 increased by more than 200% compared with Q3

According to data from the 13F filings filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the size of spot Bitcoin ETFs held by large institutions such as pensions or hedge funds tripled in the fourth quarter of 2024.

As of Q4 2024, institutional investors held $38.7 billion worth of spot Bitcoin ETFs. This figure is more than three times that of Q3, which reported holdings of just $12.4 billion.

Among them, the Wisconsin Investment Commission increased its BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) shares to slightly above 6 million shares. Billionaire hedge fund investor Paul Tudor also nearly doubled its IBIT holdings from 4,428,230 shares to 8,048,552 shares.

Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said that 1,100 institutional holders of IBIT have filed a 13F account. Most newly launched ETFs usually have less than 10 institutional holders.

▌ Vitalik Buterin: Ethereum is not a commercial company. If Ethereum becomes a company, it will lose its meaning of existence

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin responded to the question "Do you think Ethereum needs more commercial management?" in a text AMA held on the Tako platform, saying: "I think Ethereum is a decentralized ecosystem, not a company, if When Ethereum becomes a company, we will lose most of the meaning of Ethereum. In fact, there are many large companies in the Ethereum ecosystem: consensys, various client teams (nethermind, nimbus, etc.), Coinbase, L2 teams (including aztec and Intmax, their privacy technology is very interesting and underestimated by many people). The best way is to find ways to give these companies more opportunities to realize the advantages of the company, and the foundation serves as a coordination role."

Important economic trends

▌Federal Bostic: Confidence in the economic outlook for 2025 has decreased

Fed Bostic said confidence in the economic outlook for 2025 has been reduced. It is difficult to take into account all potential policy changes in the economic outlook; unanticipated inflation progress will show a straightforward trend. The Fed did not cut interest rates significantly last year, and the policy remains binding; I am satisfied with the suspension of interest rate cuts to observe economic development. The Fed is approaching its balance sheet threshold level, and debt ceilings are a factor in determining that; it is hoped to focus on the balance sheet every day to ensure that assets shrink without excessively.

▌The probability of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged in March is 97.5%

According to CME's "Federal Observation": the probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged in March is 97.5%, and the probability of cutting interest rates by 25 basis points is 2.5%. The probability of maintaining the current interest rate unchanged by May is 88.9%, the probability of a cumulative interest rate cut of 25 basis points is 10.8%, and the probability of a cumulative interest rate cut of 50 basis points is 0.2%.

▌Feder Vice Chairman Jefferson: Monetary policy remains restrictive

Fed Vice Chairman Jefferson said monetary policy remains restrictive. The US economy is quite strong; the US labor market is stable, inflation has slowed but is still at a high level, and the road to returning to the 2% inflation target may be bumpy; the Fed can wait while considering the next monetary policy; the Fed's interest rate cut is reducing actual borrowing cost.

▌The three major U.S. stock indexes all closed slightly higher

The three major U.S. stock indexes all closed slightly higher, with the S&P 500 rising 0.24%, continuing to hit a record high; the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.16%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.07%. Intel fell by more than 6%. Palantir fell about 10%, the biggest single-day drop since August last year.

▌Analysts : Under many influencing factors, US stocks still tend to be positive

U.S. stocks hovered between slightly higher and slightly lower on Wednesday, with investors analyzing minutes of the Fed's January policy meeting and digesting the tariff measures announced by Trump. The S&P 500 is expected to hit a record closing high for the second consecutive day, with the Nasdaq basically flat and the Dow falling slightly. "Faced with high valuations, lower first-quarter earnings expectations and uncertainty in global trade, the market still tends to be on the positive side," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, New York. In minutes of the Fed's January meeting, stubbornness," said the Fed's report. Policymakers expressed concern about the impact of inflation and the possible impact of Trump's policy proposals, especially tariffs, on their efforts to reduce price growth to their targets. "The Fed will continue to rely on data, and they are not in a hurry to cut rates. (It is true) there is no new news, but there is also no unexpected negative news," Stovall added.

▌Federal Minutes: Hope to see further progress in inflation before interest rate cuts

Fed meeting minutes show that the Fed hopes to see “further progress in inflation” before deciding to cut interest rates again. The Federal Reserve stabilized interest rates in the range of 4.25%-4.5% at its last meeting on the grounds that inflationary pressure was rising, and the market expected that interest rates would not be cut in March. According to the minutes of the meeting, the committee agreed that “the Fed has sufficient time to assess the prospects of changing economic activity, labor market and inflation.” Many economists and market strategists worry that tariffs and stricter immigration policies may increase inflationary pressures, potentially offsetting the positive impact of lower taxes and relaxation of regulation. The Fed has previously shown that it is not in a hurry to cut further interest rates due to continued high inflation. Inflation has fallen from post-epidemic highs, but is still stubbornly above the Fed's ideal level. For example, the Consumer Price Index rose 3% year-on-year in January, the fastest pace in seven months and also higher than the Fed's 2% target.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌What is fractal Bitcoin

Fractal Bitcoin is an innovative blockchain expansion solution based on recursive virtualization technology that enhances Bitcoin’s scalability by creating multi-layer network structures while maintaining a secure connection to the main network. The creative background of fractal Bitcoin originated from the emergence of the Ordinals protocol and related applications in 2023. For security reasons, Bitcoin imposed restrictions on opcode and block storage space in its iteration. When the Bitcoin chain ecosystem was developing rapidly, there were limitations in on-chain computing power and block space, so the developers proposed that The concept of fractal Bitcoin is expected to solve the shortcomings of the Bitcoin network.

Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, the content of the articles published by Golden Finance is for information reference only and is not used as actual investment advice. Please establish the correct investment philosophy and be sure to improve your risk awareness.