By Shikha Singh
XRP Surpasses USDT in Market Capitalization.
XRP has recently outperformed USDT in market capitalization, reaching $138.26 billion, driven by a 10.6% increase in value over the past week.
Strong whale activity and positive investor sentiment are responsible for this surge.
In contrast, USDT, with a market cap of $137 billion, has experienced subdued growth due to regulatory concerns associated with the MiCA legislation.
XRP has gained momentum, benefiting from growing interest in exchange-traded Funds (ETFs) and filings from asset managers like WisdomTree.
Ripple Labs has also bolstered its position by launching the RLUSD stablecoin, which aims to compete with USDT and USDC.
Terraform Labs Co-Founder Do Kwon Pleads Not Guilty in US Court.
Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, pleaded not guilty to U.S. fraud charges related to the $40 billion crash of Terra LUNA in 2022. The charges include money laundering, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and securities violations. Kwon’s legal troubles began in May 2022 when TerraUST and Terra LUNA collapsed, triggering a wider market downturn. Following his escape, Kwon faced arrest in Montenegro in March 2023 due to the use of a fake passport, and subsequently, he received extradition to the U.S. in December 2024. Kwon faces nine charges, more than FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who faced seven charges. The case’s progress and whether Kwon will accept a plea deal remain uncertain.
Binance Reaches Milestone in Brazil, Becomes First Exchange With Securities Brokerage Capabilities.
Binance has reached a significant milestone in Brazil, becoming the first cryptocurrency exchange in the country to acquire a securities brokerage license.
The Central Bank of Brazil approved its acquisition of Sim;paul Investimentos, enabling Binance to offer a full range of investment options, including securities, stocks, and funds to Brazilian customers.
CEO Richard Teng emphasized Binance’s commitment to compliance and security in Brazil’s growing cryptocurrency market.
The acquisition, which took over two years to finalize, aligns with Binance’s efforts to integrate more fully into the local financial system while focusing on offering secure financial solutions.
Virtuals Protocol fixes bug, pledges bounty for researcher’s discovery.
Blockchain company Virtuals Protocol swiftly fixed a flaw that pseudonymous security researcher Jinu discovered in one of its audited smart contracts.
The bug, which prevented the creation of AgentTokens due to a lack of validation, could have had an impact on the ecosystem.
After the vulnerability became public, Virtuals Protocol fixed the issue and contacted Jinu, but they have not yet announced a reward.
The company apologized for earlier miscommunication and stated that they would review the severity of the issue before issuing a bounty.
Stablecoin issuers dominate on-chain revenue with over 40% share in December.
In December 2024, Tether continued its profitable streak, generating over $500 million in revenue, making it the best performer for the month. Together with Circle, stablecoin issuers accounted for 43.66% of the $1.5 billion in on-chain revenue, with Tether alone pulling in $532.1 million. Ethereum led blockchain networks with $162.49 million in revenue, followed by Tron at $68.47 million. Solana’s revenue was notably low at $57.98 million. Layer-2 networks had weaker earnings, with Base generating $13.7 million.
Despite high fees, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) such as Uniswap and Pancakeswap saw lower-than-expected revenue. Additionally, Telegram trading bots became a new revenue source, accounting for $91.08 million. BullX topped the bot sector, signaling growing adoption of crypto trading via Telegram.
Frax Community Approves frxUSD Stablecoin Backed By BlackRock’s BUIDL.
The Frax community has passed FIP-418, approving the use of BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) as collateral for its frxUSD stablecoin.
BlackRock’s highly trusted fund, which manages over $10.4 trillion in assets, backs the stablecoin, providing frxUSD holders with potential yield-bearing opportunities while minimizing counterparty risk.
Frax Finance founder Sam Kazemian highlighted the significance of combining blockchain transparency with BlackRock’s stability. The move is part of a broader trend to create yield-bearing stablecoins, with other projects, like Ethena Labs and Curve Finance, also adopting BUIDL for similar purposes.
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