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Today, in crypto, US President Donald Trump has expanded the utility of his memecoin, enabling holders to buy merchandise. The Czech National Bank may invest up to 5% of its reserves in Bitcoin and Cboe BZX refiled for four Solana ETFs.
Trump expands crypto footprint, gives memecoin utility for merch purchases
US President Donald Trump has tied his official memecoin to merchandise, allowing holders to purchase sneakers, watches and fragrances with the Official Trump (TRUMP) token. The move shows the expanding crypto footprint of the 47th president of the United States, a remarkable turnaround since saying crypto value is “based on thin air” years ago.
According to a Jan. 29 Bloomberg report, the three websites accepting TRUMP for the president’s merchandise are GetTrumpSneakers.com, GetTrumpWatches.com and GetTrumpFragrances.com. According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Trump-linked company CIC Ventures LLC owns the websites.
In addition to Trump’s token, the websites accept Bitcoin (BTC).
The move gives utility to TRUMP, which had previously been used simply for speculation or support of the new president. According to Solscan, the memecoin has around 700,000 holders, though affiliates of the Trump Organization own 80% of the supply.
TRUMP holders can use the memecoin and Bitcoin to pay for purchases. Source: Trump Sneakers
Czech National Bank governor to propose $7B Bitcoin reserve plan
The Czech National Bank (CNB) may become the first European central bank to invest in Bitcoin as part of its diversification strategy for the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
CNB Governor Aleš Michl is set to present his Bitcoin (BTC) acquisition plan to the bank’s board meeting on Jan. 30, he told the Financial Times. André Dragosch, head of research at Bitwise, noted the significance of the proposal in a post on X, writing:
“Just to put this into perspective: These BTC purchases alone would be equivalent to around 5.3 months of newly mined Bitcoin supply.”
If approved, the investment may amount to over $7.3 billion in Bitcoin purchases, given the CNB’s total reserves of more than $146 billion, according to André Dragosch, head of research at Bitwise.
Cboe refiles Solana ETFs, Bitwise launches DOGE ETF bid
Cboe BZX Exchange on Jan. 28 refiled bids to launch a spot Solana (SOL) exchange-traded fund (ETF) on behalf of Bitwise, VanEck, 21Shares and Canary Capital after the Securities and Exchange Commission rejected the applications last year.
The refreshed 19b-4 filings effectively restart the SEC’s review process under the regulator’s new, more crypto-friendly acting chair, Mark Uyeda, who made a crypto task force to make a framework for digital assets.
JPMorgan estimates a spot Solana ETF could attract between $3 billion to $6 billion in net assets in its first year of trading, which Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas called a fairly “reasonable guess.”
Source: James Seyffart
Balchunas has said, however, that he believes a Litecoin (LTC) product may be next in line to win SEC approval.
It comes on the same day as Bitwise filed a From S-1 statement with the SEC for a spot Dogecoin (DOGE) ETF after it registered a trust for the proposed fund in Delaware on Jan. 22.
Bitwise follows other firms vying to launch memecoin-based ETFS, which Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said is issuers “testing the limits of what this SEC is going to allow.”