LATEST: Tesla Gains $600 Million from Bitcoin After Regulation Shift

Tesla has taken a strategic step forward by utilizing a new accounting rule which allows the marking of digital assets to market each quarter. The adjustment showcased in Tesla’s latest earnings report reveals a significant valuation of its Bitcoin holdings. As of the end of 2024 the holdings are now worth $1.076 billion a substantial increase from the previous $184 million.

The electric car giant recorded a $600 million boost to its GAAP income attributing to its digital assets. This surge played a pivotal role in Tesla achieving a total GAAP income of $2.3 billion for the fourth quarter. Such financial maneuvers highlight the potential benefits of digital assets in enhancing corporate financial profiles.

Introduced by the Financial Accounting Standards Board the new rule mandates corporate holders of digital assets like Bitcoin to adjust their valuations each quarter. Tesla’s proactive adoption of this rule prior to its mandatory implementation in 2025 underscores the company’s forward-thinking approach and its commitment to integrating digital assets into its financial strategy.

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US crypto firms expand offerings as Trump takes over

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Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan last week said that the US banking industry will have to adapt their businesses to allow for crypto payments, should regulations progress. 

“If the rules come in and make it a real thing that you can actually do business with, you’ll find that the banking system will come in hard on the transactional side of it,” Moynihan told CNBC at the World Economic Forum. 

Crypto exchange Kraken today launched a new payments platform — Kraken Pay, which allows customers to transfer assets directly from their exchange accounts. Kraken Pay supports more…

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Bitcoin: What Went Wrong?

Something has fundamentally changed in this ecosystem. A big shift in the core ethos of things. Regardless of what you think about politics in the wider world, Bitcoin itself as a network and protocol was something explicitly designed to function in a hostile environment, in an environment where politics and governments are actively antagonistic towards it.

The core value proposition of Bitcoin itself is that, as a system, it can continue functioning despite…

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Forget About The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve For A Moment — Mining Censorship Is Back

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The news got buried in part due to Trump’s inauguration and subsequent rumblings of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), but developer b10c recently published research showing that F2Pool — a mining pool representing ~11% of hash power on the Bitcoin network — is censoring OFAC-sanctioned transactions… again.

In case you don’t know what this means: the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC)…

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CME Group to Launch Options on Its Bitcoin Friday Futures in February

CME Group, the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, has announced plans to introduce options on its Bitcoin Friday futures starting February 24, pending regulatory approval. These new contracts will be the first cryptocurrency options from CME Group to be financially settled, with expirations available each business day, Monday through Friday.

Financially-settled options, also known as cash-settled options, are derivatives contracts where the settlement at expiration does not involve the physical delivery of the underlying asset. Instead, the profit or loss from the option is calculated based on the difference between the option’s strike price and the market price of the underlying…

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LATEST: Robinhood Launches Futures Trading for Bitcoin, Oil, and Gold

Robinhood has announced plans to introduce futures trading for bitcoin, enhancing its platform to include not only traditional assets like oil and gold but also major cryptocurrencies. Slated to launch with an innovative trading ladder, this move marks a significant expansion of Robinhood’s crypto offerings.

The trading platform, well-known for its user-friendly interface, will also support futures for the S&P 500, USD, and EUR. This development is part of Robinhood’s broader strategy to diversify its investment opportunities and integrate more crypto-related products. Earlier efforts this month saw the introduction of the Official Trump memecoin and other popular tokens such as SOL, ADA, XRP, and PEPE.

Amid increasing interest in digital currencies, Robinhood’s latest update aims to attract a wide array of traders by providing a versatile platform that balances cryptocurrency with traditional investment options. This initiative follows their phased-out support for certain assets after regulatory pressures, showcasing a pivot towards more secure and diverse financial services.