Bitcoin Posts Eight Straight Days of Gains Despite Macro Volatility

Some members of the crypto industry are distancing themselves from the Trump administration following a fatal shooting in Minneapolis. Bruce Fenton criticized the White House for infringing on civil liberties, while Vitalik Buterin warned about the implications of ICE's actions.

Strive, a financial services company, increased its Bitcoin holdings to over $1.1 billion, becoming one of the top 10 publicly traded holders of the cryptocurrency. The firm acquired 333.89 Bitcoin at an average price of $89,851, paying off 92% of debt from acquiring Semler Scientific.

Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, has been steadily increasing its gold reserves, aiming to become one of the world's largest gold central banks. With around 140 tons of gold worth $24 billion, Tether plans to continue its gold acquisitions, which are held in a high-security Swiss vault.

Russian crypto regulation, set to be implemented in July 2027, will cap retail investors' annual crypto purchases at $4,000. The central bank will determine which coins investors can buy, with unregistered exchanges facing penalties.

South Korean investors are turning to gold-pegged stablecoins to avoid high taxes on physical gold trading. Crypto trading remains tax-free until 2027, while gold trading incurs a 10% VAT and capital gains tax.

Ethereum developers are introducing ERC-8004, a standard for AI agents to establish identities, build credibility, and coordinate tasks autonomously across systems. The proposal includes registries for identity, reputation, and validation, enabling agents to have portable, censorship-resistant identities and request independent checks of their work.

Concerns were raised by top Wall Street players during a meeting with the SEC's crypto task force about the potential risks of providing exemptive relief for tokenized securities and exempting some DeFi projects from U.S. securities laws. The meeting materials emphasized the importance of not undermining investor protection with broad exemptions for tokenized trading activities.

The UK Court of Appeal has ruled that virtual gold in Old School RuneScape is considered property under the Theft Act 1968, allowing owners to seek justice in theft cases. The ruling permits an appeal against a previous judgement that claimed the gold pieces were not "rivalrous" due to their infinite supply.

South Dakota lawmaker Logan Manhart has reintroduced a bill allowing the state to invest up to 10% of its funds in Bitcoin, aiming to improve underperforming investment returns. This proposal follows a previous attempt that was rejected in February last year.

Fidelity Investments plans to launch its own stablecoin, the Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD), available to retail and institutional investors on the Ethereum blockchain through Fidelity Digital Assets.