Kategorie: Crypto Markets

• 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.

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• 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.

• Long said Ripple’s stablecoin will soon be available on other exchanges, but didn’t give an exact timeframe
• Various crypto spot ETFs are expected this year and Long believes XRP will be next after Bitcoin and Ether
• With a new US administration, it’s expected that ETF approvals will speed up

Monica Long has said she expects Ripple’s USD (RLUSD) stablecoin to be listed on major crypto exchanges “imminently.”

Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, the Ripple president said:

“We are continuing to expand distribution and availability of Ripple dollars on other exchanges. So I think you can expect to see more availability, more announcements coming soon.”

When questioned how soon, Long responded with “imminently.”

Ripple launched its RLUSD stablecoin on December 17 on the Ethereum and XRP Ledger after receiving regulatory approval from the New York Department of Financial Services.

At the time, Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO, said: “As the US moves toward clearer regulations, we expect to see greater adoption of stablecoins like RLUSD, which offer real utility and are backed by years of trust and expertise in the industry.”

At present RLUSD is available on Archax, B2C2, Bitso, Bullish, Coinmena, Independent Reserve, JST Digital, Keyrock, Mercado Bitcoin, MoonPay, and Uphold. According to Ripple, RLUSD will soon be available on Bitstamp, Flowdesk, and Zero Hash.

Ripple also teamed up with Chainlink on January 7 to bring its stablecoin to more users across the decentralized finance (DeFi) network.

An XRP ETF is coming

Turning their attention to the possibility of an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF), Long said:

“I think we will see one very soon, you know, various crypto spot ETFs this year coming out of the US. I think XRP is likely to be next in line after Bitcoin and Ether.”

In October, Garlinghouse said that an XRP ETF is “inevitable” despite ongoing legal issues between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple. Several companies have already filed for an XRP ETF, including Canary Capital.

Long continued: “We think especially with the administration change, the approvals of those filings will accelerate.”

President-elect Donald Trump’s administration is considered pro-crypto compared to Joe Biden’s outgoing team.

Trump has already made several appointments, bringing in pro-candidates including Paul Atkins as the next SEC Chair, Bo Hines, as executive director of the Crypto Council, and David Sacks who will be the lead policy advisor on artificial intelligence and crypto, dubbing him the “White House AI and Crypto Czar.”

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• Lotte has tapped the Arbitrum blockchain to power its Caliverse platform.
• Caliverse aims to introduce crypto payments and on-chain gaming with ARB token support.
• Arbitrum’s 250ms block times ensure seamless performance in virtual environments.

South Korea’s Lotte Group, a leading multinational conglomerate, has partnered with Arbitrum, the largest Ethereum Layer-2 network, to power its AI-driven metaverse platform, Lotte Caliverse.

Announced during the ongoing CES 2025 in Las Vegas, this strategic collaboration aims to enhance blockchain integration within the metaverse, leveraging Arbitrum’s high-performance technology to deliver seamless virtual experiences.

Lotte Caliverse to enable crypto payments and on-chain in-game transactions

Lotte Caliverse platform, launched in 2024, serves as a hub for exploring emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and blockchain. The platform offers users an immersive 3D environment where they can participate in virtual shopping, attend live concerts, play interactive games, and engage with branded content from global names like 7-Eleven and Tomorrowland.

With the integration of Arbitrum’s blockchain, Lotte Caliverse will soon enable crypto payments and on-chain in-game transactions, elevating the user experience.

Arbitrum’s industry-leading 250ms block times make it an ideal choice for powering virtual environments and gaming applications. Steven Goldfeder, CEO of Offchain Labs, the developer behind Arbitrum, described the platform as a “home ground for high-quality performance.”

The integration will not only reduce latency but also provide a user-friendly experience, setting new standards for blockchain interactions within virtual worlds.

As part of this partnership, the Arbitrum Foundation has awarded Lotte its largest-ever developer grant, issued in ARB tokens. While the exact value of the grant remains undisclosed, this milestone highlights Arbitrum’s commitment to fostering innovation in the web3 gaming and metaverse sectors.

John Park, Head of Korea at the Arbitrum Foundation, expressed pride in collaborating with Lotte, emphasizing the alignment of their shared vision for advancing blockchain-based virtual worlds.

The collaboration also solidifies Arbitrum’s position as a key player in the blockchain gaming space.

In 2024, Arbitrum experienced a 72% year-over-year growth in gaming adoption and now hosts 119 game titles and 23 gaming-focused blockchains through its Orbit stack, a customizable toolkit that allows developers to create tailored blockchain solutions, driving innovation across the ecosystem.

Bridging blockchain and retail expertise using Arbitrum

Lotte’s venture into the metaverse began in 2022, with its partnership with Arbitrum announced in 2024.

By merging blockchain efficiency with its extensive retail and entertainment portfolio, Lotte aims to redefine virtual interactivity.

As Caliverse evolves, its partnership with Arbitrum is expected to rekindle corporate interest in the metaverse, a concept that has seen fluctuating popularity in recent years.

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• Behnam’s last day at the Commission will be February 7
• The CFTC obtained a $12.7 billion judgment against the now-defunct FTX exchange and Alameda Research in 2024

Rostin Behnam, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair, will step down on January 20 as President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House.

In a statement released by the agency, Behnam added that his last day at the Commission will be February 7. Behnam, who has been a Democratic commissioner at the CFTC since 2017 and as Chair since 2021, said:

“Over the past several years, a multitude of domestic and global events tested the resilience of all financial markets. I am proud that the Commission consistently made deliberate and intentional decisions to ensure continued strength. We worked to address regulatory gaps and uncertainty. We also responsibly engaged new entrants to support innovation.”

Unlike the tougher stance taken by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the crypto market, the CFTC has taken a lighter approach. This despite the fact that it obtained a $12.7 billion judgment against the now-defunct FTX exchange and Alameda Research last year.

Behnam, who has advocated for crypto regulation, said that regulation in the crypto market is lacking, calling for a need to “fill this gap,” given the increasing adoption seen by traditional financial institutions and retail and institutional investors.

No successor named yet

Trump has yet to name Behnam’s successor; however, a December report from Bloomberg indicated that Brian Quintenz, a former CFTC Commissioner, is in the running to lead the agency.

Quintenz currently leads policy at a16z Crypto, the digital asset arm of venture capital Andreessen Horowitz.

Behnam’s resignation comes amid a number of other agency officials resigning ahead of Trump’s reappointment to the White House. Yesterday, it was reported that the US Federal Reserve’s vice chair for supervision Michael Barr is stepping down on February 28.

Gary Gensler, Chair of the SEC, is preparing to leave the agency on January 20.  Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga will also be stepping down later this month.

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