Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham may be one step closer to leaving the agency after the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced US President Donald Trump's pick to replace her. Michael Selig’s nomination to chair the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is headed for a vote on the Senate floor after clearing a committee hurdle. In a Thursday notice, Republican leaders with the Senate Agriculture Committee said they had advanced Selig’s nomination following a Wednesday hearing. The vote was reportedly along party lines, with no Democrats supporting Selig as US President Donald Trump’s pick to replace acting Chair Caroline Pham. The prospective CFTC chair answered questions from senators on Wednesday regarding potential conflicts of interest, his policy positions on DeFi and digital assets and the dearth of leadership at the federal agency. Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal supported his confirmation, citing Selig’s support for a digital asset market structure bill moving through Congress. Read more
Solana's newly launched ETFs continued to attract heavy inflows, but a weakening market structure threatens a deeper correction to $120 for SOL price. Spot SOL exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have continued to attract capital despite the coin’s steep price drawdown. Since launch, the products have accumulated $476 million in net inflows, with the streak extending 17 consecutive days, even as SOL’s (SOL) price plunged nearly 30% to $130 from $186. Key takeaways: Spot SOL ETFs posted 17 straight days of inflows, with Bitwise’s BSOL representing 89% of the total value. Read more
Tax revenue denominated in Bitcoin would be funneled into the US strategic BTC reserve and would not trigger a taxable event for the payer. A US lawmaker introduced a bill in the House of Representatives on Thursday that would allow Americans to pay their federal taxes in Bitcoin, which would then be funneled into the US strategic Bitcoin reserve. Under the Bitcoin for America Act proposed by Representative Warren Davidson, a Republican from Ohio, BTC (BTC) transferred to the US government for tax payments would not be subject to capital gains taxes and not be recorded as a loss or gain for the taxpayer. In a press release, Davidson said: Read more
Already convicted of one felony charge and facing a possible retrial on two others, the Tornado Cash co-founder’s future is uncertain. More than 65 cryptocurrency and blockchain companies and advocacy groups have called on US President Donald Trump to step in as federal prosecutors may be preparing to retry Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm. In a letter to Trump dated Thursday and shared with Cointelegraph, advocacy organizations including the Solana Policy Institute, Blockchain Association and DeFi Education Fund, among others, made several requests regarding crypto-related policies. The groups asked Trump to direct the IRS and US Treasury to clarify tax policy on digital assets, protect DeFi from regulators and encourage regulatory clarity through financial regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Read more
Bitcoin weakness persists as the BTC price drops to $86,000, alongside a US stock market sell-off and diminishing odds of a 50-basis-point Fed interest rate cut at the next FOMC. Key takeaways: A Q1 2025 fractal and oversold market conditions suggest BTC could consolidate before retesting the $98,000 to $100,000 zone. One analyst made a bold price prediction, suggesting that a rising wedge breakdown could open the door to a deeper correction, potentially reaching $30,000. Read more
Users can borrow up to $1 million in USDC against their Ether as Coinbase expands its Base-powered network, which has processed $1.25 billion in loans. Coinbase has launched Ether-backed loans for US users, allowing customers to borrow USDC against their ETH holdings without selling, in a new offering powered by Morpho and running on Base. The exchange said the product is available across most US states, except New York, with variable rates and liquidation risk tied to market conditions. Users can borrow up to $1 million in USDC (USDC) stablecoin. Coinbase plans to expand the program to other assets, including loans backed by its staked Ether (ETH) token, cbETH. Read more