Texas has become the first U.S. state to officially buy Bitcoin for its Strategic Reserve, securing $5 million worth of BTC at around $87,000 each. The acquisition was executed through BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as the state continues preparing to self-custody its holdings. Lee Bratcher, President of the Texas Blockchain Council, confirmed the landmark purchase and said Texas will eventually hold its own Bitcoin directly.

The move strengthens Texas’ push to position itself as America’s leading crypto-friendly hub. Lawmakers approved the creation of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve earlier this year, aiming to treat BTC as a long-term strategic asset. The announcement follows a wave of institutional adoption, with Harvard’s endowment tripling its IBIT holdings to more than $442 million, alongside growing exposure from Emory University and Abu Dhabi’s Al Warda Investments.

Momentum is spreading to other states as well. New Hampshire recently approved a $100 million Bitcoin-backed municipal bond, the first of its kind globally. The state’s plan allows private borrowers to leverage over-collateralized Bitcoin, signaling broader government-level confidence in BTC as a financial instrument.

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On November 20, Texas became the first U.S. state to buy Bitcoin for its Strategic Reserve, acquiring $10 million at roughly $87,000 per BTC, according to Lee Bratcher, President of the Texas Blockchain Council.

The purchase was made through BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) while the state finalizes plans for self-custody.

The move signals growing state-level interest in Bitcoin as a reserve asset. Texas had previously explored strategic Bitcoin legislation last year, wanting to create a Bitcoin reserve without using taxpayer funds. 

In June of this year, the Texas governor signed the legislation into law, creating a state Strategic Bitcoin…

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Polymarket, the world’s largest crypto-based prediction market, announced today that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an Amended Order of Designation. 

The approval allows Polymarket to operate an intermediated trading platform under the full set of federal rules for U.S. exchanges.

The move enables the market to onboard brokerages and customers directly. Users can now trade through futures commission merchants (FCMs) and access traditional custody, reporting, and market infrastructure.

“People rely on Polymarket because we provide clarity where there is confusion,” said Shayne Coplan, the founder and CEO of Polymarket. “This approval lets us…

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MSCI is considering a new rule that would remove companies from its Global Investable Market Indexes if 50% or more of their assets are held in digital assets such as Bitcoin. The proposal appears simple, but the implications are far-reaching. It would affect companies like Michael Saylor’s Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), Eric and Donald Trump Jr’s American Bitcoin Corp (ABTC), and dozens of others across global markets whose business models are fully legitimate, fully regulated, and fully aligned with long-standing corporate treasury practices.

The purpose of this document is to explain what MSCI is proposing, why the concerns raised around Bitcoin treasury companies are…

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Bitcoin price is down more than 30% from its October record and continues to leak lower, slipping another 1% overnight to trade near $87,000 this morning. It’s the latest episode of a near two-month-long drawdown that has caught traders off guard. 

And while the selling has slowed, the mood across markets remains fragile.

The move reflects a global risk-off tone. S&P 500 futures were slightly red after a strong rebound yesterday. Asia traded mixed. Europe opened flat-to-lower. The bitcoin price followed suit, behaving more like a high-beta tech asset than a macro hedge — a correlation that has only strengthened in recent weeks.

The slide puts the Bitcoin price back near…

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Japan is preparing another major tightening of its digital-asset rulebook, with the Financial Services Agency (FSA) planning to require crypto exchanges to set aside liability reserves to compensate customers in the event of hacks, operational failures, or bankruptcies, according to reporting from Nikkei. 

The proposal marks a shift in how Japan views the risks attached to digital-asset custody. Exchanges are already required to store customer crypto in cold wallets — a measure meant to reduce the chance of theft because the assets are kept offline.

 But under current law, firms have no obligation to hold reserve funds if losses occur despite these safeguards. Regulators now see…

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