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Eric Trump praises Bitcoin, predicts it will hit $1M at Bitcoin MENA 2024

  • Eric Trump has predicted Bitcoin will hit $1M, citing its scarcity and potential.
  • Eric compared Bitcoin’s adoption to email, emphasizing early adopter advantages.
  • Eric lauded Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation, instability, and global risks.

Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization and son of US President-elect Donald Trump, delivered a stirring keynote address at the Bitcoin MENA event in Abu Dhabi on December 10, 2024.

In his speech, he confidently predicted that Bitcoin’s price would one day surpass $1 million per coin, describing it as a transformative force in the global economy.

Eric Trump highlighted Bitcoin’s unique qualities, emphasizing its limited supply of 21 million coins, decentralized structure, and potential to serve as a hedge against inflation and political instability. “Bitcoin is not just another investment,” he stated. “It’s a global asset, a store of value, and a safeguard against the uncertainties of the world—be it economic turmoil, natural disasters, or geopolitical conflicts.”

The son of the US President-elect compared Bitcoin’s adoption journey to the widespread acceptance of email, which took decades to achieve mass use. He acknowledged that technological breakthroughs often face resistance initially, but once their utility becomes apparent, they are embraced universally.

“People are slow to adapt to new technology, just as they were with email in the 1970s. But as Bitcoin gains traction, the sceptics will realize its transformative potential,” Eric said.

Eric also addressed the role of financial institutions and governments, noting that many are beginning to pivot toward cryptocurrency. He shared an anecdote about a major bank executive, once sceptical of Bitcoin, now overseeing a crypto desk handling billions in investments.

According to Eric Trump, those who embrace Bitcoin early will reap significant rewards, while late adopters risk falling behind in the digital currency revolution.

Acknowledging Bitcoin’s recent milestone of surpassing $100,000 per coin on December 5, Eric expressed optimism about the cryptocurrency’s future. He concluded by encouraging the Bitcoin community to continue driving innovation and adoption, stating, “Bitcoiners, I love you. The Trump family stands with you. Together, we are witnessing the dawn of a new financial paradigm.”

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OKX Ventures boosts TON ecosystem with $5m investment

  • OKX Ventures’ investment adds to the recently launched $10 million Telegram Growth Hub.
  • The $5 million investment in TON Ventures targets growth for Telegram-powered apps on TON blockchain.

OKX Ventures, the investment arm of global crypto exchange OKX, has invested $5 million in TON Ventures to bolster the development of Telegram-powered TON applications.

The OKX Ventures team announced the investment in The Open Network blockchain’s dedicated venture capital fund on Dec. 10. Per the announcement, the investment will go into efforts to accelerate the TON ecosystem’s developer ecosystem.

“This investment, alongside our recently launched Telegram Growth Hub, demonstrates our long-term conviction in TON’s potential to drive mainstream adoption of onchain technologies. We’re excited to work closely with TON Ventures’ founding team, whose deep ecosystem expertise will be invaluable in scaling the next generation of TON-native applications,” OKX Ventures partner Jeff Ren noted.

OKX Ventures unveiled the $10 million Telegram growth hub alongside The Open Platform and Folius Ventures. The goal is to bring blockchain applications and its benefits to Telegram’s more than 950 million monthly active users.

Eyeing web3 expansion

TON has in the past several months witnessed the explosive surge and traction for mini-apps. Other than Catizen and Notcoin, there has been notable attention on projects such as OKX Racer.

“The OKX Ventures team were one of the first supporters of the TON value proposition, which sits at the intersection of Telegram’s social graph and TON’s blockchain rails, to develop a vibrant ecosystem of Web3 consumer applications that would onboard millions of people,” TON Ventures partner Ian Wittkopp said.

So far, TON Ventures has secured $40 million in funding, with the target for future development including gaming and monetization tools.

The post OKX Ventures boosts TON ecosystem with $5m investment appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Crypto groups oppose re-nomination of SEC’s Caroline Crenshaw

  • Blockchain Association, DeFi Education Fund and CEDAR Innovation Foundation have all opposed the re-nomination of Caroline Crenshaw as a SEC Commissioner.
  • Crenshaw is a Joe Biden appointee and is criticised for her negative stance on crypto.

Crypto and blockchain advocacy groups Blockchain Association and DeFi Education Fund have written to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs voicing their opposition to the re-confirmation of SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw.

The Blockchain Association and the DeFi Education Fund sent the letter to Senate Banking committee chair Sen. Sherrod Brown and Ranking member Sen. Tim Scott.

According to the letter, Crenshaw’s actions over the past four years have largely undermined Congress’s mandate to establish clear regulatory policies for the crypto industry.

“Congress has a clear mandate from the American people to establish sound and reasonable cryptocurrency-related policies. Unfortunately, Commissioner Crenshaw’s tenure at the SEC has been marked by actions that seem to be at odds with this charge,” the two groups said in a joint letter.

In the past month, SEC chair Gary Gensler and Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga both announced their departures from the agency in January. This leaves Hester Peirce, Caroline Crenshaw, and Mark Uyeda, with Crenshaw having joined in 2020 and seeing her term expire in 2024.

Read more: Donald Trump selects pro-crypto Paul Atkins to be the next US SEC chair

CEDAR Innovation Foundation also opposes the re-nomination

Opposition to Crenshaw’s re-confirmation arises from the fact that she largely aligned with the SEC’s negative approach to crypto. In one significant instance, she dissented on the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the US, even after the DC Circuit Court had slammed the SEC for its “arbitrary and capricious” actions in denying Grayscale’s proposal to list a spot BTC ETF.

Apart from BA and DEF, the other opposition to Crenshaw’s renomination has come from the crypto advocacy group CEDAR Innovation Foundation. The industry-backed group has launched an ad campaign seeking to convince lawmakers to reject the re-confirmation.

Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett shared CEDAR’s ad plans on X.

The US Senate Banking Committee will vote on the decision on Wednesday. If approved, the Democrat appointee will continue at the SEC for four more years until 2029.

The post Crypto groups oppose re-nomination of SEC’s Caroline Crenshaw appeared first on CoinJournal.

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El Salvador to change Bitcoin plans to secure $1.3bn IMF loan

  • El Salvador would also receive $1 billion in lending from the World Bank and $1 billion from the Inter-American Development Bank
  • Under the IMF agreement, El Salvador would change a legal requirement making businesses accept Bitcoin as payment
  • Since 2021, the IMF has been against El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law, asking the government to “narrow its scope”

El Salvador is reportedly reducing its Bitcoin ambitions as it gets ready to receive a $1.3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Financial Times reports that the Central American country, which was the first to accept Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, is expected to reach a deal in the next few weeks with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele’s government.

The deal is also expected to unlock a further $1 billion in lending from the World Bank and $1 billion from the Inter-American Development Bank over the next few years.

Under the proposed plans, El Salvador would change a legal requirement making businesses accept Bitcoin as payment, making it optional instead. The government would also reduce the budget deficit by 3.5% of GDP over three years through spending cuts and tax rises while boosting reserves from $11 billion to $15 billion.

IMF against El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption

Following El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin in 2021, the IMF sent a statement in November 2021 “recommend[ing] narrowing the scope of the Bitcoin law” while “strengthening the regulation and supervision of the new payment system.”

This was again called for in January 2022 when the IMF advised El Salvador to reconsider its decision on Bitcoin as the country’s legal tender. More recently, the IMF recommended El Salvador limit the public’s exposure to Bitcoin.

Despite the advisories, El Salvador and its president remain committed to Bitcoin, going on to buy more of the asset during price dips.

With Bitcoin reaching $100,000 last week for the first time, Bukele posted a tweet on X, showcasing its Bitcoin balance was now worth more than $600 million.

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Amazon shareholders call for the company to hold 5% of its assets in Bitcoin

  • MicroStrategy’s stock has outperformed Amazon’s stock by 537% in the past year
  • The proposal calls for Amazon to include some Bitcoin to maximize shareholder value without taking on too much risk
  • Last week, Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy called on Microsoft to adopt Bitcoin, calling it “digital capital”

A group of Amazon shareholders has requested that the company allocate 5% of its assets in Bitcoin.

The National Center for Public Policy Research, a free-market, independent conservative think tank, submitted the proposal to Amazon for consideration at its 2025 annual shareholder meeting.

The proposal, shared by Tim Kotzman, a podcast host covering Bitcoin and MicroStrategy, recommends adding “assets to its treasury that appreciate more than bonds, even if those assets are more volatile short-term.”

The proposal points to Bitcoin’s price, which has increased more than 131% over the past year, outperforming corporate bonds by more than 126%, on average.

“MicroStrategy – which holds Bitcoin on its balance sheet – has had its stock outperform Amazon stock by 537% in the previous year,” the proposal said.

“And they’re not alone. Institutional and corporate Bitcoin adoption is becoming more commonplace: more public companies such as Tesla and Block have added Bitcoin to their balance sheets; Amazon’s second and fourth largest institutional shareholders – BlackRock and Fidelity, respectively – offer their clients a Bitcoin ETF; and the US government may form a Bitcoin strategic reserve in 2025.”

The proposal points out that while Bitcoin is a “volatile asset,” Amazon’s stock was the same in the past. Because of this, companies have “a responsibility to maximize shareholder value over the long-term as well as the short-term,” adding:

“Diversifying the balance sheet by including some Bitcoin solves this problem without taking on too much volatility. At minimum, Amazon should evaluate the benefits of holding some, even just 5%, of its assets in Bitcoin.”

Michael Saylor calls Bitcoin “digital capital”

The shareholder proposal comes as Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, said to Microsoft that Bitcoin is the best asset a company should own, claiming it represents the “greatest digital transformation of the 21st century.”

In a three-minute video posted on X last week, Saylor said:

“Microsoft can’t afford to miss the next technology wave, and Bitcoin is the next wave. Bitcoin represents the greatest digital transformation of the 21st century; it represents digital capital.”

Talking about long-term capital, Saylor noted that risk – including general taxes, politics, recession, regulation, war, and the weather – is destroying over $10 trillion in capital each year.

Because of this, investors are turning their attention to digital capital, such as Bitcoin, to avoid these risks. In Saylor’s view, “it makes sense” for Microsoft to buy and hold Bitcoin rather than buy back stock or hold bonds.

“If you’re going to outperform, you’re going to need Bitcoin,” Saylor said. “You’ve surrendered hundreds of billions of dollars of capital over the past five years, and you’ve just amplified the risks that your own shareholders face. If you want to escape that vicious cycle, you’re going to need an asset without counterparty risk.”

In Saylor’s opinion, that lies with Bitcoin.

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