Author: Sahil Poudel

Binance Pay Teams Up with xMoney to Bring Crypto Payments to 20K+ European Businesses

Wrap-up: Crypto payments finally catch a big break in Europe. This cooperation between Binance Pay and xMoney will give users the power to splash crypto on everything-from bespoke shopping, travel, even to public services by more than 20,000 different enterprises across diverse industries-make crypto seamless, cheaper, and mainstream.

It basically means that users of Binance Pay can spend their crypto on everything, from high-end brands to online stores, even government services in places such as Lugano and Liechtenstein. Over the last year, xMoney has been scaling up its merchant network, meaning that more and more businesses could receive digital currencies without the usually painful process fraught with high commissions and slow speeds.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Kraken to Drop USDT & 4 More Stablecoins in Europe—Here’s Why

For Jonathan Lim, Global Head of Binance Pay, this will be a game-changer, with crypto payments growing bigger in everyday life. The CEO of xMoney, Greg Siourounis, on his part, said the move bridges traditional finance with blockchain to make crypto payments further approachable-and trusted.

Numbers say it all: from 8,900 two years ago, to more than 12,000 in just last year, the explosive growth of the Binance Pay merchant network will now be over 32,000 companies across the globe. The increased crypto adoption translates into easier-to-use digital assets for everyday spending thanks to such partnerships and ultimately proves that crypto is for living, not just investing.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Japan’s Banks Are Adopting Ripple Tech, But Will They Actually Use XRP?

Kraken to Drop USDT & 4 More Stablecoins in Europe—Here’s Why

Summary: Kraken is officially pulling the plug on Tether (USDT) and four other stablecoins in Europe, thanks to strict new crypto rules under MiCA. The delisting will happen in phases, with a final deadline of March 31 of this year. Users in the EEA region (which includes Germany, France, and Spain) will have time to swap their assets before they get automatically converted into a compliant alternative.

Kraken isn’t just dropping USDT—it’s also saying goodbye to PayPal USD (PYUSD), Euro Tether (EURT), TrueUSD (TUSD), and TerraClassicUSD (UST). The exchange says it’s all about staying on the right side of European regulations, which are cracking down hard on stablecoins. To help users adjust, Kraken has laid out a clear timeline: margin trading will switch to “reduce-only” mode on February 13, meaning no new positions can be opened. By the end of February, users will only be able to sell, and forced liquidations for margin positions will hit during March.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Gang Token Drama: Allegations, Mockery, and a Market Crash

By the end of March, spot trading will be fully shut down, and after March 31, any leftover stablecoin balances will be auto-converted into a compliant alternative. Kraken is making it clear—this move only affects users in the EEA. Meanwhile, other big exchanges like Coinbase and Crypto.com are making similar moves, signaling a major shift in how stablecoins will operate in Europe.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Is XRP Heading for a Price Correction in February?

Japan’s Banks Are Adopting Ripple Tech, But Will They Actually Use XRP?

Summary: Japan’s SBI Remit and SBI Shinsei Bank collaborate in upgrading cross-border payments, leaving some elbow room in the process that could be curbed with the help of Ripple’s technology. Even though they have used RippleNet for faster settlement, the million-dollar question is now whether they are integrating XRP or future Stablecoin RLUSD from Ripple.

SBI Remit has, for the last decade, been right at the forefront of Japan’s remittance space, especially where foreign residents seek to send money back home. They have used Ripple’s blockchain already, enabling smoother and less expensive transfers. The most recent deal with SBI Shinsei Bank could see them expand even further-a potential development that might extend Ripple’s ecosystem into more traditional banking services.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Crypto Tax Crackdown: India Slaps 70% Penalty on Unreported Gains

Another key angle would be that SBI Shinsei Bank participates in Project Agorá, dedicated to the exploration of CBDCs and blockchain-based cross-border payments. This directly fits into the plans of Ripple to extend its technology to the mainstream financial world, making XRP or RLUSD one of the most prospective live use cases.

Japan is still catching up when it comes to fintech and banking collaborations, but this move sets a precedent. SBI Remit and SBI Shinsei Bank are paving the way for Ripple-powered solutions in Japan’s financial sector, and if they go all in on XRP or RLUSD, it could be a game-changer for crypto-backed remittances.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Gang Token Drama: Allegations, Mockery, and a Market Crash

Crypto Tax Crackdown: India Slaps 70% Penalty on Unreported Gains

Overview: The Indian government has begun clamping down on crypto traders by imposing an unbelievable 70% tax penalty for unreported crypto gains. Under the new stringent rule, which is included under Section 158B of the Income Tax Act, comes the 2025 Union Budget aimed at tightening reins over the explosively growing crypto market.Investors who have failed to disclose their gains might well face severe fines, as the government looks back four years for undeclared gains. Crypto, for example, is now classified as a Virtual Digital Asset, or VDA, thereby making it akin to cash, gold, and jewelry for tax purposes in India.

Crypto exchanges and financial platforms are required to report transactions, making it tough to fly under the radar. Last year, the government unearthed $97 million in unpaid Goods and Services Tax from crypto exchanges, putting all major scrutiny on platforms like Binance and Bybit-forcing Bybit to shut down operations in India altogether. It’s not alone in this.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Gang Token Drama: Allegations, Mockery, and a Market Crash

The U.S. IRS, too, is raising its crypto tax game, imposing more stringent reporting requirements starting in 2025. Some crypto groups even sue the IRS on grounds of unconstitutionality of the new regulations. As governments around the world increase their stranglehold on digital assets, crypto traders will have to keep their wits about them-and be compliant-unless they want to pay the price.

Coinbase Bets Big on Solana & Hedera Futures – Here’s What’s Coming

Summary: Coinbase prepares to list the Solana, Hedera futures contracts in a big attempt at getting a chunk of crypto derivatives action. Watch for such contracts to hit the market as early as February 2025, pending regulatory approval, offering traders new ways of betting on SOL and HBAR.

It does, however, as Coinbase continues to attempt to ride the crypto wave-hot on the heels of big players like CME and VanEck also filing for Solana, XRP, and Litecoin ETFs. The exchange will introduce cash-settled futures with contract sizes of 100 SOL (~$24K) and 5,000 HBAR, which will give traders exposure to these assets without holding them directly. For smaller investors, “nano” Solana futures (5 SOL per contract) will also be available.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: OM Goes Wild: MANTRA Pumps 50% After $1B Tokenization Deal

Coinbase has been expanding its derivatives market under CFTC regulation, launching new products to meet growing demand. These contracts will settle on the final Friday of each month at 4 PM London time and will be cleared by Nodal Clear, LLC.

With crypto ETFs now available and changes in regulations perhaps looming, Coinbase is making a fairly bold bet that demand for futures trading will increase exponentially over the coming months. If that succeeds, it’s likely big days ahead for traders of Solana and Hedera.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: XRP’s Trading Volume Just Tanked – What’s Going On?

OM Goes Wild: MANTRA Pumps 50% After $1B Tokenization Deal

Summary: OM just went full send! MANTRA (OM) is up over 50% in the past week, smashing a new all-time high of $5.87. The hype comes after a major partnership with Dubai’s DAMAC Group, bringing real estate into the crypto world through tokenization.

MANTRA’s latest collab is a game-changer. By teaming up with DAMAC Group, one of Dubai’s top-tier real estate firms, they’re set to tokenize properties, making investing way more transparent and accessible. With the deal locked in, DAMAC will start dropping tokenized assets on MANTRA Chain this year, opening the doors for crypto investors to tap into luxury real estate like never before.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: XRP’s Trading Volume Just Tanked – What’s Going On?

The hype is already translating into numbers: at the time of writing, OM was chilling near $5.63, up 20% in just 24 hours, while its trading volume had blown up by as much as 160%. JP Mullin, the CEO at MANTRA, named the partnership a “massive win” for the RWA space while proving blockchain’s power in blowing up traditional finance.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: AI vs Crypto Crime? Trump’s Commerce Pick Drops a Bold Take

According to Statista, real estate is supposed to be the largest player in tokenized assets by 2030, and with companies like DAMAC jumping aboard, that trend is only getting stronger. To put this in perspective, the current total market cap of RWA-based crypto assets stands at 39.9 billion dollars, up 6.6% in just one day. Suffice it to say, the tokenization wave is barely off the shores.

XRP’s Trading Volume Just Tanked – What’s Going On?

Summary: XRP’s trading volume just nosedived 51.37% in 24 hours, despite the hype around an upcoming altcoin season in February. It’s not alone—big players like BTC, ETH, SOL, and BNB are also seeing dips in trading activity. But here’s the weird part: XRP’s price is still holding steady at $3.09, down just 0.70% in the same period.

Since the beginning of 2025, XRP’s volume has been all over the place. In fact, just several days ago, on Jan. 28, XRP’s trading volume spiked more than 400% to almost $20B—only to crash back down to $4.52B on Jan. 31. Next, Solana went down 44.54%, while DOGE took a 40% hit. Not even the large-cap cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which saw volume falls of 21.59% and 23.97%, respectively, were spared.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: AI vs Crypto Crime? Trump’s Commerce Pick Drops a Bold Take

So, what’s behind it? A mix of market cooling-off, profit-taking, and shifting investor sentiment.This volume surge was probably FOMO-driven; this could be their way of catching their breath. Bottom line: keep your eye out for those swings, since while volume and price don’t always head in tandem, the major shifts are a possible sign of something brewing.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Nayib Bukele Calls Out ‘Karma’ as Anti-Bitcoin US Senator Faces Corruption Charges

AI vs Crypto Crime? Trump’s Commerce Pick Drops a Bold Take

Summary: Howard Lutnick, chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald and Donald Trump’s pick for US Commerce Secretary, made one bold claim from his Senate hearing AI is going to squash all crime on blockchains. He dismissed concerns about stablecoins fueling crime, saying bad actors will always find a way-just like criminals on iPhones doesn’t make Apple responsible.

Lutnick, whose firm holds a convertible bond in Tether, faced tough crypto-related questions from lawmakers. Pressed about criminals using Tether, he defended the stablecoin, saying that Tether follows strict KYC rules. He also pointed out that traditional finance isn’t blamed when criminals use cash.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Ethereum Community Backs Danny Ryan for Foundation Leadership

He added that, in fact, the transparency of blockchain makes illegal activity easier to track compared to dollars or euros, which are untraceable physical assets. Law enforcement agencies, he said, already leverage blockchain data to hunt down criminals.

Lutnick called for greater oversight, adding that stablecoins should be audited, but he did not budge from his assertion that AI will eventually eradicate blockchain crime. His comments come as the use of AI in financial security is becoming increasingly prevalent and debate over crypto regulations heats up.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Netflix Faces Legal Heat Over Razzlekhan Crypto Heist Doc

Is Bitcoin About to Tank Below $100K? All Eyes on the Fed

Summary: Bitcoin investors are on edge as the Federal Reserve gears up for its next big policy move. With talks of whether QT (quantitative tightening) will finally come to an end, crypto traders are closely watching Jerome Powell’s next words, as they could determine if BTC keeps climbing or takes a major dive.

The crypto community is split—42% of traders polled by analyst Benjamin Cowen think QT is done, while 58% believe it’s here to stay. Bitcoin has been chilling above $100K, but technical indicators aren’t looking too hot. The RSI is showing weakness, and TD Sequential just flashed a sell signal, hinting that BTC could dip to around $96K.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Netflix Faces Legal Heat Over Razzlekhan Crypto Heist Doc

Another issue? Bitcoin is struggling to break past $103,400, and the price chart is forming a bearish flag—typically a bad sign. The upcoming FOMC meeting is crucial. If the Fed softens up and hints at rate cuts, BTC might rocket past $110K. But if Powell takes a hawkish stance, we could see panic selling push Bitcoin below six figures for the first time in weeks.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: INX Digital Adds Solana, $TRUMP, & $MELANIA to Its Trading Platform

Trump Merch Now Accepts $TRUMP Memecoin – Solana Users Winning!

Summary: Trump’s merch game just went crypto! One can now purchase Trump-branded fragrances, sneakers, and pre-order watches with the $TRUMP Memecoin via Solana Pay. If anything, the move ramps up the hype around the coin and might drive up Solana’s value. Some fragrances are already out of stock, and sneakers are selling hot, proving that Trump’s brand is still cashing in big time. As it is getting hotter between the fashion and crypto space with speculation of a Melania Trump merch line next.

Trump’s official merch store is now accepting $TRUMP Memecoin through Solana Pay, making it easier for crypto-savvy supporters to flex their fandom. The fragrance line is already making waves, with some scents completely sold out at $199 a bottle. The Trump Sneakers collection is also making a splash, offering stylish kicks starting at $199, all exclusively purchasable via Solana Pay.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Illinois Proposes Bitcoin Strategy for State Reserve Holdings

Pre-orders for Trump-branded watches are now live, despite not having dropped. Every purchase made with Solana Pay will not only boost the momentum of the $TRUMP Memecoin but can give a reason for crypto traders to watch Solana’s price appreciate.

Rumors swirl that Melania may soon launch her own line of high-end merch. No word yet if it’s true, but with the recent hubbub, it wouldn’t be a shocker if the Trump brand keeps expanding.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Ethereum Community Backs Danny Ryan for Foundation Leadership

Exit mobile version