By Kapil Rajyaguru
Ohio Lawmaker Introduces Bitcoin Reserve Bill Allowing State To Buy BTC.
An Ohio House of Representatives member has introduced a bill to establish a Bitcoin fund in the state’s treasury, marking the third US state to do so in just over a month.
Ohio House Republican leader Derek Merrin on Dec. 17 introduced HB 703, tentatively titled the Ohio Bitcoin Reserve Act, which would give the state treasurer authority to purchase Bitcoin as part of “proper asset allocation,” though it would not require it.
The 136th General Assembly, which will begin on Jan. 6, 2025, and last for two years, must reintroduce the bill. The 136th General Assembly will not carry over bills not enacted before the end of the current session.
Bitwise Launches Solana Staking ETP In Europe Amid US Approval Delays.
Crypto index fund manager Bitwise has launched a Solana staking exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe with the stock ticker BSOL while it awaits registration approval in the United States for its Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) offering.
According to a Dec. 18 news release, Bitwise has listed its Solana (SOL)-based crypto-staking ETP on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s Xetra trading venue in partnership with a self-custodial automation tool, Marinade.
The new ETP offers an annual percentage yield (APY) of 6.48% for stakers, outpacing its European competitors like 21Shares, which offers 5.49%.
Metaplanet Tips First Operating Profit In 7 Years, Boosted By Bitcoin.
Bitcoin stacking firm Metaplanet expects to record its first consolidated operating profit in seven years just months after adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet for the first time.
The Japanese investment firm on Dec. 18 said it expects to generate 890 million Japanese yen ($5.8 million) in revenue for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, compared to just 261 million Japanese yen in the previous fiscal year. It tipped its operating profit to hit 270 million Japanese yen, up from a loss of 468 million Japanese yen.
Metaplanet is a publicly traded, Tokyo-based investment firm that made a major pivot to Bitcoin in April, adopting it as a treasury asset to hedge against currency depreciation.
U.S. Shuts Down North Korean Crypto Money Laundering Network.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday said it had shut down a North Korean money laundering network that used crypto to clean millions of dollars for the hermit kingdom, a global leader in crypto crime.
A front company in the UAE called Green Alpine Trading, LLC, had been converting crypto into cash for North Korea, according to a press release by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The U.S. government’s sanctions wing stuck that company on its blacklist as well as two Chinese nationals who had been participating in the network since 2022.
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