Monat: Januar 2025

• Standard Chartered launches a crypto custody entity in the EU.
• The new entity is based in Luxembourg and will operate under MiCA regulation.
• Standard Chartered has launched crypto services in the United Arab Emirates.

British multinational bank Standard Chartered has announced the establishment of a new entity in Luxembourg aimed at offering crypto custody services throughout the European Union.

This move comes in response to the EU’s newly enacted Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, which seeks to standardize the operations of digital asset providers across member states.

Standard Chartered’s forays into crypto services

The announcement was made through a press release on January 9, detailing that the Luxembourg branch will serve as a gateway for Standard Chartered’s expansion into the crypto custody market in Europe.

Notably, this move follows the bank’s previous forays into digital assets, including similar services launched in the United Arab Emirates, showcasing its commitment to capitalizing on the burgeoning crypto sector.

Heading the new Luxembourg entity is Laurent Marochini, a veteran in the innovation sector, previously with Société Générale.

Marochini expressed his honour in taking the helm at Standard Chartered Luxembourg, emphasizing his dedication to providing top-tier services to clients, team, and stakeholders. “It is an honour to join the leading international bank, Standard Chartered Luxembourg as CEO. I am fully committed to delivering excellence,” Marochini stated in the press release.

Margaret Harwood-Jones, Standard Chartered’s global head of financing & securities services, highlighted the bank’s excitement about extending its digital asset custody services to the EU region. “We are really excited to be able to offer our digital asset custody services to the EU region,” she said, underscoring the bank’s role in aiding institutional clients in navigating the digital asset ecosystem.

Standard Chartered’s engagement with cryptocurrencies doesn’t end with custody services. The bank has been notably active in the crypto space, with ventures like Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets, and it holds an optimistic view on Bitcoin’s future, predicting a potential rise to $250,000. It was recently selected by OKX as its institutional crypto custodian.

Furthermore, the bank is exploring opportunities in stablecoins, evidenced by its participation in Hong Kong’s stablecoin issuer sandbox and its participation in China’s Digital Yuan Pilot in 2023.

The expansion into the EU underlines Standard Chartered’s strategic pivot towards becoming a significant player in the digital finance landscape, aligning with regulatory frameworks like MiCA to ensure security and compliance in its operations.

The post Standard Chartered launches crypto custody entity in Luxembourg under MiCA appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Dogwifhat crashes with the broader crypto slump.
• WIF investors cash out and exchange reserves drop.
• iDEGEN could be 2025’s memecoin leader.

The popular meme coin Dogwifhat (WIF) has seen a significant tumble, dropping below the key support level of $2 to $1.70. This decline, though not isolated, occurred alongside a broader crypto market slump, which has seen investors cash out and centralized exchange (CEX) reserves diminish.

However, amidst this WIF downturn, eyes are turning towards iDEGEN ($IDGN), a new AI-driven memecoin, with speculation that it could be the next big thing in the world of memecoins in 2025, especially as its presale winds down this month.

Dogwifhat falls below $2 as a bearish flag pattern forms

Dogwifhat price has crashed nearly 20% over the past 48 hours causing panic among investors. The decline over the past two days has wiped out the memecoin’s gains of the past week after dropping from above $2.1 to $1.70 at press time.

This price crash has led to a noticeable trend of profit-taking among top investors, with one leading holder pocketing $10.8 million in profits while offloading $2.4 million worth of WIF according to Nansen’s PnL Leaderboard data.

This sell-off is mirrored by the movement of WIF tokens off exchanges, with a significant outflow of $24.1 million in the last 24 hours, suggesting that some investors are bracing for a potential rebound once the market stabilizes.

However, despite the current price decline, Dogwifhat (WIF), which started as a whimsical project on the Solana blockchain leveraging the success of dog-themed memecoins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, has seen its value soar by an astonishing 2,779,056% from its inception, embodying the wild, speculative nature of meme coins.

The current market cap of $1.77 billion and a trading volume of $357.8 million reflect a market that’s still active yet clearly under pressure.

In addition, the immediate future for WIF looks grim with technical indicators like bearish flag patterns and double-top formations hinting at further declines unless there’s a significant shift in market sentiment.

Could iDEGEN be the future meme coin king?

As Dogwifhat struggles, the crypto community’s gaze shifts towards iDEGEN ($IDGN), an AI-powered memecoin that’s not just another token but a sentient, evolving entity shaped by its community.

Launched with a presale that has already raised over $14.8 million, iDEGEN’s dynamic auction system reflects real-time market interest, making each purchase a direct influence on its future price and development.

The IDGN price fluctuates every five minutes depending on the number of purchases made. If only one purchase is made, the price remains the same while if consecutive purchases are made the price rises by 5%. Conversely, if no purchase is made, the price drops by 5%.

This presale, ending later this month, has intrigued many with its novel approach to token distribution, potentially setting the stage for iDEGEN to make waves in 2025.

Unlike WIF, which thrived on the meme culture alone, iDEGEN introduces the concept of an AI that learns from its community on X, tweet by tweet.

Although it recently received a temporary ban on X, which ends in some hours’ time, the iDEGEN AI growth is entirely community-driven, offering a unique blend of entertainment, speculation, and technological innovation.

With no human interference in its learning process, iDEGEN’s unpredictability adds to its allure, promising a narrative that could captivate the crypto world much like WIF did in its heyday.

As we approach the end of iDEGEN’s presale, the excitement around this project isn’t just about the potential for financial gains but also about participating in something groundbreaking. The community isn’t just investing in a token; they are raising an AI, shaping its personality, and watching it evolve.

This sense of ownership and involvement could propel iDEGEN to new heights, possibly positioning it as the next big thing in the meme coin arena as we look towards 2025.

However, like all cryptocurrencies, especially those driven by the volatile meme sector, the journey might be fraught with risks and uncertainties and investors should do thorough due diligence before investing.

The post Dogwifhat tumbles and CEX reserves fall: this memecoin could be the next big thing appeared first on CoinJournal.