Crypto industry sounds off on SEC’s Crenshaw ahead of vote

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The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Wednesday is set to vote on whether Caroline Crenshaw will remain an SEC commissioner.  

While the crypto industry has criticized SEC Chair Gary Gensler, crypto lobbyist group Cedar Innovation Foundation (and others) have called Crenshaw even more anti-crypto than him.

Coinbase’s Emilie Choi last week pointed out that Crenshaw “embarrassingly” opposed spot bitcoin ETFs. Those have amassed combined net inflows of $33.9 billion and counting.

Indeed, Crenshaw called the SEC’s approval of the products in January…

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Microsoft BTC-related shareholder proposal rejected

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There was a proposal asking Microsoft’s board of directors to assess whether holding bitcoin on the company’s balance sheet would benefit shareholders long-term. 

Shareholders voted against it, the company revealed Tuesday. This wasn’t really a surprise, as the board had pushed for that result, giving the following rationale:

Still, bitcoin bull Michael Saylor got some face time (sort of) with company directors and shareholders via a pre-recorded presentation played at today’s meeting.

Saylor has creatively described bitcoin in many ways over the years — from an…

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Traders brace for key inflation data this week 

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US equity markets were muted Tuesday as traders await key inflation data. November’s consumer price index (CPI) report will drop tomorrow before the open, followed by the producer price index (PPI) report on Thursday morning. 

A quick recap of expectations for tomorrow: 

Analysts are anticipating November’s annual CPI figure to come in at 2.7%, a moderate uptick from October. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is projected to show a 3.3% annual increase and a 0.3% month-over-month increase in November. 

Housing costs will be in focus tomorrow after the…

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NFT marketplace Magic Eden airdrops ME

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After announcing its ME token back in August, Magic Eden finally launched the token today, alongside an impressive number of listings across several tier one and two centralized exchanges.

About 10 minutes before launch, ME saw a 47% spike from $6.04 to a high of $8.9 on its pre-launch perps on Aevo. Two hours after launch, however, ME has cratered to a $581 million market cap, down 60% from $1.48 billion.

Source: OKX

Users are reporting technical difficulties trying to claim the airdrop on the Magic Eden wallet. As part of Magic Eden’s criteria, users had to install its mobile wallet…

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Radical change at the ICF: A new era for the Cosmos ecosystem?

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The Interchain Foundation (ICF) has acquired Skip, a 20-person team deeply embedded in the Cosmos ecosystem, signaling a transformative shift in its operational model. The acquisition establishes a new subsidiary, Interchain Inc., which will oversee product development, ecosystem strategy and execution, led by Skip co-founders Barry Plunkett and Maghnus Mareneck.

The move departs from ICF’s previous model of funding independent teams to develop parts of the Cosmos stack. Instead, it centralizes development efforts to align work across the Cosmos Hub, its tech stack and the broader… Read more on Blockworks

Why Bitcoin is the Most Islamic Money

The Islamic conceptualisation of finance is built around a set of core principles which give primacy to honesty, fairness and accountability in trade and transactions. As such, Islamic finance seeks uphold justice, transparency, and shared prosperity in economic systems. Arguably, fiat currency achieves the exact opposite of these principles, since it introduces uncertainty, speculation and inequities that punish the poor, who earn and spend fiat, and favours the rich who invest in assets that benefit from inflation. In this backdrop, Bitcoin emerges as a solution that aligns remarkably well with Islamic finance principles. This article explores why Bitcoin, with its decentralization,…

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JUST IN: Marathon Digital Acquires 11,774 BTC for $1.1 Billion

Bitcoin mining leader Marathon Digital (MARA) has announced the purchase of 11,774 BTC for $1.1 billion, boosting its total Bitcoin holdings to an impressive 40,435 BTC. This acquisition cements MARA’s position as the second-largest public company by Bitcoin holdings, trailing only MicroStrategy.

The purchase was funded using proceeds from MARA’s zero-coupon convertible notes offerings and acquired at an average price of $96,000 per BTC. The miner reported strong performance metrics, achieving a Bitcoin yield of 12.3% quarter-to-date and 47.6% year-to-date. With Bitcoin currently trading around $97,000, MARA’s holdings are valued at approximately $3.9 billion.

MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor praised MARA’s results, particularly its 47.6% year-to-date BTC yield. Interestingly, MARA’s announcement closely follows MicroStrategy’s acquisition of 21,550 BTC for $2.1 billion, bringing the software firm’s holdings to 423,650 BTC—well ahead of Marathon.

This competition underscores the growing trend of publicly traded companies increasing their Bitcoin reserves, signaling strong institutional confidence in the cryptocurrency’s potential as a strategic asset.