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CleanSpark becomes fourth Bitcoin miner to hold 10,000 BTC
US Bitcoin mining firm CleanSpark said it now holds 10,097 Bitcoin in its treasury, making it the fourth publicly listed miner to hold more than 10,000 Bitcoin.
It marks a 236% year-over-year increase in CleanSpark’s Bitcoin-denominated treasury, which CEO Zach Bradford attributed in a Jan. 9 statement to the company scaling more efficiently and responsibly.
All of CleanSpark’s 10,097 Bitcoin was mined in the US, supporting American energy and jobs while contributing to the growth of Bitcoin’s global ecosystem, Bradford said.
MARA Holdings, Riot Platforms and Hut 8 Mining also hold more than 10,000 Bitcoin, BitcoinTreasuries.NET data shows.
CleanSpark’s chief financial officer, Gary Vecchiarelli, said the firm remains committed to using its Bitcoin holdings in a way that aligns with “sound risk management principles and disciplined capital strategy.”
“By avoiding unfavorable counterparty exposure and leveraging our Bitcoin to lower our cost of capital, we are positioning CleanSpark as a leader in responsible financial innovation.” Read More
UK order clarifies crypto staking is not a collective investment scheme
The UK Treasury has amended a law to clarify that crypto staking — necessary for proof-of-stake blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana — doesn’t fall under the definition of a “collective investment scheme,” which is typically heavily regulated.
A Jan. 8 order from the department amends a section of The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 about group investments, adding that “arrangements for qualifying crypto asset staking do not amount to a collective investment scheme [CIS].”
It clarifies that “qualifying crypto asset staking” means validating transactions on a blockchain, a distributed ledger technology network “or other similar technology.”
The updated law will come into effect on Jan. 31.
“This is a good development because the management and promotion of CIS are heavily regulated,” Consensys’ lawyer and global regulatory matters director Bill Hughes posted to X on Jan. 9.
“The way a blockchain works is NOT an investment scheme. It’s cybersecurity,” he added. Read More
Philippine banks collaborate to launch PHPX stablecoin on Hedera
Several banks in the Philippines are working together to create a peso-backed stablecoin, PHPX, aimed at improving cross-border payments and financial inclusion. The PHPX token is scheduled to launch between May and July.
The PHPX stablecoin, developed by Singapore-based startup Just Finance, will be launched on the Hedera decentralized ledger technology (DLT) network.
Participating Philippine banks include UnionBank of the Philippines, Rizal Commercial Banking, Cantilan Bank and Rural Bank of Guinobatan, according to a Ledger Insights report. All participants will play a significant role in the governance of the PHPX stablecoin.
UnionBank, through its fintech arm UBX, previously managed PHX, a quasi-stablecoin within a closed-loop payment system. UBX CEO John Januszczak highlighted the need to create a token that is “publicly exchangeable to support use cases outside our ecosystem.”
Remittances account for a substantial part of the Philippine economy, with $40 billion sent by overseas workers in 2024, according to World Bank data. Read More
BNB Chain’s three-step blueprint to support the next wave of Web3 innovators
From nurturing early-stage ideas to boosting established ventures, BNB Chain’s holistic support framework aims for a meaningful, sustainable blockchain ecosystem.
BNB Chain supports a diverse range of Web3 projects of all stages with its three-phased strategy for development.
A thriving blockchain ecosystem is built on more than just a robust technological infrastructure; it requires a vision for sustainability and value. Blockchain space is filled with short-lived projects that survive only through the hype and go for good when the hype fades.
What lives after are projects that provide long-term value to the community, and such projects may have a hard time gaining traction and support in the crowded blockchain space. They often struggle to be seen, earn trust, and access the tools needed to reach their full potential. Recognizing this, one ecosystem has built a comprehensive framework designed to nurture such impactful projects at every stage of their development. Read More
Markethive Redefines "Investment" With The ILP and E1 Upgrade. Don’t Miss The Chance Of A Lifetime!
Markethive is redefining the investment realm. Markethive’s unique ecosystem combines a sophisticated inbound marketing suite replete with every innovative tool and system available to deliver successful marketing campaigns, a social networking interface, a state-of-the-art broadcasting system, and its fully functional crypto token, Hivecoin. (HVC) This unique combination sets Markethive apart, making it a complete ecosystem within the marketing and social network, digital broadcasting, and crypto industry.
As a result, the Markethive community can seamlessly accrue monetary value through micropayments for activity, content creation, rewards, incentives, and tipping. This is enhanced as the value of Hivecoin rises now that HVC is on its first crypto exchange. Given that Hivecoin is the apex of a utility token with many use cases in this prevalent industry, it stands to reason the only way the value of HVC can go is up.
The Entrepreneur One Upgrade is a gateway to a host of benefits. It allows you to acquire ILPs, become an equity holder, and participate in the platform’s future development. This unique investment approach, which bypasses the traditional finance route, positions Markethive as a compelling investment opportunity.
Markethive is heading into a future rooted in the principles of transparency and decentralization. It is a community-driven platform offering operational efficiency, freedom, and financial sovereignty not seen previously in conventional tech, aka Web 2.0, which has primarily been confined to the ethos of centralization. Read More
Ripple President Says 2025 Will Be a Big Year for Crypto, Predicts More Spot ETFs Will Be Launched – Here’s Why
Ripple president Monica Long thinks additional crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) approvals will usher in another big year for digital assets in 2025.
Long predicts in a new interview with Bloomberg Crypto that “various crypto spot ETFs” will receive a seal of approval in the US this year.
The Ripple president also says payments-focused altcoin XRP is “likely to be the next in line” in terms of ETF approvals.
Multiple ETF providers filed Form S-1 registration statements for XRP ETFs with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last year, including Bitwise Asset Management, 21Shares, Canary Capital and WisdomTree.
The SEC greenlit the first spot market Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs last January, bringing in billions of dollars worth of inflows to the top digital asset by market cap. The regulator subsequently approved Ethereum (ETH) ETFs for trading in July.
Long predicts the approvals on those newer XRP filings will accelerate due to President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory and the upcoming change of leadership at the SEC. Read More
Blockchain Gaming Firm Partners With AI Agents Platform Virtuals Protocol To Enhance Gameplay and Interactions
Ethereum (ETH)-based games developer Illuvium (ILV) just announced that it is joining hands with Virtuals Protocol, a platform that allows users to create their own artificial intelligence (AI) agents that are capable of performing tasks autonomously.
In a series of posts on social media platform X, Illuvium says the partnership will allow it to tap on Virtuals’ GAME Framework, the protocol’s decision-making engine that enables AI agents to autonomously execute actions based on provided information.
“We’re leveraging https://Virtuals.io’s modular framework to create autonomous, decision-making NPCs (non-playable characters) that enhance gameplay and interactions.”
Illuvium is optimistic that the collaboration will place it at the forefront of AI innovation, as it anticipates improvements in its NPCs.
“Imagine AI-driven strategies, autonomous NPCs, and personalized player experiences – all within your favorite games…
With unparalleled decision-making capabilities, modularity, and scalability, we can focus on crafting immersive gameplay while https://Virtuals.io handles the complex AI infrastructure.” Read More
US Bitcoin reserve would have ‘profound’ impact on adoption: CoinShares
The Bitcoin Act’s passage could eventually send BTC’s price past $1 million per coin, industry executives say.
Establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the United States would accelerate Bitcoin’s adoption even more than 2024’s exchange-traded fund (ETF) launches, cryptocurrency researcher CoinShares said in a Jan. 10 blog post.
In 2024, US lawmakers proposed the Bitcoin Act, which would direct the US Treasury Department to create a “strategic Bitcoin reserve” by purchasing 1 million BTC over a 5-year period. President-elect Donald Trump endorsed the plan, which has not yet been passed into law.
“We believe that the enactment of the Bitcoin Act in the United States would have a more profound long-term impact on Bitcoin than the launch of ETFs,” CoinShares said.
CoinShares said “numerous interactions with institutional clients” showed that Bitcoin’s “credibility” as an asset class remains a primary barrier to institutional BTC adoption.
Passing the Bitcoin Act “would significantly diminish the stigma faced by institutional investors” by “effectively granting Bitcoin the endorsement of the world’s largest government,” the post said. Read More
Omnichain DeFi liquidity brings zero-slippage crosschain swaps — Here’s how
An omnichain approach to DeFi aims to unify liquidity and enable zero-slippage swaps, boosting scalability, speed and security.
Imagine a successful hamburger chain opening new franchise locations all over the country. Each location has its own wacky signature sauce or a twist on the bun recipe. It sounds amazing at first until you realize you have to drive miles to each spot, pay different upcharges and navigate their conflicting loyalty programs just to sample every new flavor.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) traders and investors mimic this “fast-food joy ride” across the Web3 space, seeking opportunities across multiple networks as each offers its own yield-generating products, community culture and niche services. This expansion presents a powerful draw but also introduces new challenges, including fragmented liquidity and convoluted bridging mechanisms due to the siloed nature of blockchain technology.
Crosschain bridges — blockchain protocols that move assets between networks — were introduced as a quick fix. However, they ended up only creating more complexities by requiring users to lock liquidity in separate pools and pay hefty transaction fees.
Moreover, security risks associated with bridging remain a persistent concern, as bridging protocols can become prime targets for exploits or misconfiguration. Crosschain bridge exploits continued to plague the blockchain ecosystem throughout 2024, according to Web3 security experts. Read More
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
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