By Shikha Singh
Senate confirms pro-crypto Scott Bessent as US Treasury Secretary.
The US Senate has confirmed Scott Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager and Donald Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary, with a 68-29 vote.
Bessent, known for his pro-crypto stance, will oversee fiscal policy, financial regulations, and the US Treasury’s $28 trillion debt market.
He has expressed opposition to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), aligning with Trump’s view that they are unnecessary in the US.
Bessent’s confirmation is expected to influence policies supporting tech and crypto innovation, with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressing confidence in his ability to foster growth in the US crypto sector.
Under Trump’s executive order, Bessent will also be part of a governmental working group to shape US crypto policy.
Arizona Senate Moves Forward With Bitcoin Reserve Legislation.
Arizona lawmakers have advanced a bill, the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB1025), which seeks to establish a state-backed Bitcoin reserve for government holdings and other public funds.
The bill was passed by the Arizona State Senate Finance Committee and now moves to the Senate Rules Committee for final debate.
If approved, it could allow up to 10% of public funds to be invested in Bitcoin, with the possibility for pension funds to allocate resources to digital assets.
This move could influence other states like Texas and Pennsylvania to follow suit, potentially increasing public interest in cryptocurrencies.
KuCoin Pleads Guilty To US Charges, Agrees To Pay $300 mn.
KuCoin has pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and has agreed to pay nearly $300 million in a settlement with the US government.
The settlement includes a $184.5 million forfeiture and a $112.9 million fine, and the exchange will exit the US market for two years.
KuCoin’s founders, Michael Gan and Eric Tang, will also forfeit $2.7 million and resign from the company.
The charges stemmed from the exchange’s failure to implement proper Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) measures, as well as its failure to register with the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
While KuCoin’s operations in other markets are unaffected, the settlement clears the path for the exchange to strengthen its compliance framework.
Metaplanet Plans To Raise Over $700 mn to Buy Bitcoin.
Japanese publicly-traded company Metaplanet has announced plans to raise over 116 billion yen around $745 million through the issuance of 21 million shares.
The funds will be used to increase its Bitcoin holdings as part of a strategy to counter the yen’s decline and strengthen its position in Bitcoin adoption.
Metaplanet aims to acquire 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025 and increase this to 21,000 BTC by 2026, totaling approximately $2.1 billion.
The company has already seen exponential growth since adopting Bitcoin as a core treasury asset, including significant unrealized gains and a sharp increase in shareholders and trading volume.
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