CFA Report Pegs US Crypto Fraud Losses at $80.7B

PNC Bank introduced a service allowing select customers to trade Bitcoin through Coinbase, part of a strategic partnership announced in July. The offering, limited to Bitcoin initially, targets high-net-worth customers and business owners of PNC Private Bank.

The UK's Liberal Democrats and Labour Party have requested the Electoral Commission to investigate a £9 million donation to Nigel Farage's Reform UK by crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Concerns were raised about potential conflicts of interest and the influence of wealthy donors on the political system.

The king's son in Malaysia introduced a stablecoin called RMJDT, pegged to the ringgit, for cross-border trade and foreign investment. The stablecoin, with an initial supply of 500 million tokens, will be backed by ringgit cash deposits and local government bonds.

Tyler Warner's daily newsletter, Morning Minute, features insights from Michael Saylor and Tom Lee's recent significant crypto investments. Saylor's Strategy added $963M in BTC, while Lee's BitMine acquired $429M in ETH, boosting their cash positions as well.

BMW Group and JPMorgan collaborated to conduct the first fully pre-programmed FX transaction using JPMorgan’s Kinexys Digital Payments network. The automated process allowed for seamless fund transfers between Frankfurt and New York, optimizing liquidity and enabling near-instant cross-border payments.

IREN completed a refinancing with a $2.3 billion convertible senior-note offering and a $544.3 million repurchase of existing notes. The new issuance includes $1 billion of 0.25% notes due 2032 and $1 billion of 1% notes due 2033, among others.

Standard Chartered has revised its Bitcoin price targets, lowering the 2025 forecast to $100,000 from $200,000. The bank attributes the downgrade to decreased demand expectations and a slower pace of institutional adoption, particularly in ETFs.

The Comptroller of the Currency defended over $2 trillion in digital custodial activity, warning against efforts to block national trust banks from engaging in crypto custody. Gould refuted claims that approving crypto custody services would break with OCC precedent, citing decades of nonfiduciary custody activities.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has granted licensing and custody exemptions for stablecoins and wrapped tokens to promote innovation in the digital assets sector. This relief includes allowing intermediaries to distribute eligible tokens without separate licenses and hold digital assets in omnibus accounts.

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich raised the question of whether Strategy (MSTR) will list a perpetual preferred equity in Japan during the Bitcoin MENA conference. Gerovich aims to introduce two new instruments, "Mercury" and "Mars," into Japan's perpetual preferred market, highlighting the potential for higher yields compared to traditional Japanese investments.