Author: James Wilson
Bitstamp by Robinhood has received a Major Payment Institution license from Singaporean financial authorities, following the deadline set for unlicensed crypto firms to cease operations in the region. According to a press release issued on July 3, Bitstamp by Robinhood has received an MPI license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Institutions that hold a major payment institution license are recognized and regulated by financial authorities in the region. License holders are granted permission to provide payment services without having to fulfill monetary thresholds to keep operating. These requirements include a minimum of 3 million SGD in monthly transaction volume…
The U.S. Department of Justice has credited stablecoin issuer Tether for helping recover $40,300 in stolen crypto tied to a scam that impersonated the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee. According to the July 2 release, the scam occurred in December 2024, when impersonators tricked a political donor into sending $250,300 in USDT (USDT) on Ethereum by posing as the co-chair of the Trump-Vance committee. The scammers used a lookalike email address to make the fraudulent request, swapping an “I” for a lowercase “L” in the email address to deceive the victim into thinking the request was legitimate. Thinking it was real, the…
China’s leading tech giants JD.com and Ant Group are actively lobbying Chinese regulators as part of a push to counter the U.S. dollar’s growing digital dominance. Both companies have urged the People’s Bank of China to authorize the issuance of stablecoins based on the offshore yuan in Hong Kong, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. In private talks with the POBC, JD.com has emphasized that offshore yuan stablecoins are urgently necessary to advance the internationalization of the yuan, the sources explained. The same views have been expressed by others. “It would be a strategic risk if cross-border yuan payment…
The IMF has declined Pakistan’s bid for subsidised electricity for crypto mining, despite earlier plans to allocate 2,000 megawatts of surplus power to the sector. In a session with the Senate Standing Committee on Power, chaired by Senator Mohsin Aziz, Secretary of Power Dr. Fakhray Alam Irfan outlined the government’s recent efforts to negotiate subsidised electricity tariffs with the International Monetary Fund, as reported by Pakistan outlet Profit. Dr. Irfan explained that the proposal aimed to offer reduced electricity rates to energy-intensive sectors, particularly crypto mining and certain industrial operations, in hopes of spurring economic activity and utilising surplus power.…
Artificial intelligence company OpenAI has publicly denied any involvement with Robinhood’s tokenized equity campaign, warning that recently promoted stock tokens are not legitimate. In a July X statement by the Open AI Newsroom, the company clarified it had no role in the creation or distribution of the “OpenAI tokens” promoted by Robinhood, which were claimed to represent shares in the firm. “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it,” wrote the company. OpenAI’s statement came shortly after the trading platform’s co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev announced at an event in Cannes that…
Key Takeaways SIFMA stated that the issues surrounding tokenised equities are too significant to be decided through individual relief applications. SIFMA cited growing reports that several crypto platforms are pursuing no-action or exemptive relief to allow them to offer tokenised equities or securities. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) has formally requested that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) deny attempts by crypto firms to obtain exemptions or no-action relief for offering tokenised securities. The trade association, which represents major players in the traditional finance sector, addressed its concerns in a letter to the SEC’s Crypto Task…
BlackRock continued its aggressive Bitcoin accumulation through June, adding billions to its holdings as demand for its spot ETF showed no signs of slowing down. According to blockchain intelligence platform Arkham, BlackRock ramped up its Bitcoin purchases in June, accumulating approximately $3.85 billion worth of BTC over the course of the month. The billion-dollar acquisition came in several parts throughout the month, including a $1.4 billion purchase spread over six consecutive days. BlackRock’s BTC bet isn’t happening in isolation. The steady accumulation aligns with the growing success of its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which continues to dominate the U.S. spot…
ICNT, the native token of the decentralized infrastructure protocol Impossible Cloud Network, is set to be listed on multiple major centralized exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, and KuCoin, following its TGE and mainnet launch. According to an official X announcement, Binance will be the first exchange platform to list the token later today. Trading on Binance Alpha and Futures will begin at 10:00 UTC and 13:00 UTC. The exact time of its spot listing on the main exchange is yet to be announced. Eligible Binance users will be able to redeem Alpha points for an undisclosed allocation of ICNT tokens via…
Infinity Ground, an AI-powered Web3 development platform that allows users to create Web3 apps by chatting in natural language, is set to debut on Binance Alpha on July 5. Infinity Ground (AIN) is set to debut on Binance Alpha on July 5, with eligible participants able to claim their AIN airdrop using Alpha Points once trading opens. Full details will be announced on Binance’s official channels. In parallel, Infinity Ground has launched its first community airdrop, distributing 10 million AIN tokens (1% of the total supply) to reward early adopters who fall into one of the eight contribution criteria detailed…
Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author and do not represent the views and opinions of crypto.news’ editorial. Crypto airdrops began life as a highly successful marketing tool that would drive liquidity and new users to a protocol. Their execution was easy: show up, click some buttons, and boom! Users were rewarded with free tokens. In early 2021, this was enough to create significant buzz around certain projects, and some still carry the prestige of having pulled off a “legendary” drop. Indeed, according to CoinGecko, crypto projects awarded over $26.6 billion to users via airdrops…