Coindesk

GFO-X has debuted its Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-regulated crypto derivatives platform, the U.K's first such trading venue for digital assets. The new platform executed its first trade on Tuesday between financial institutions Virtu Financial and IMC, and was cleared by DigitalAssetClear, GFO-X announced on Tuesday.DigitalAssetClear, created by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) subsidiary LCH, is a service for cash-settled bitcoin index futures and options contracts.GFO-X is also supported by major banks ABN AMRO, Nomura and Standard Chartered, who are providing clearing for transactions on the platform.The U.K.'s FCA lifted its ban from 2020 on crypto derivatives instruments for institutional investors in March 2024. This was followed by the London Stock Exchange saying it would accept application for cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes...

Dubai agreed to allow cryptocurrency payments for government services in a deal with crypto exchange Crypto.com, taking a step toward implementing its plan for a cashless society.Once technical details are complete, the agreement will allow individuals and businesses to pay fees using digital wallets from Crypto.com, which is licensed by the emirate's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The platform will then convert the amounts into dirhams for payment, according to a Monday press release.The agreement allows the government "to harness financial technology in launching a new digital payment channel on the government’s digital portals," it said in the release. The cashless strategy is expected to add at least 8 billion dirhams ($2.2 billion) annually to the economy.Dubai has been building...

Brave Wallet, the crypto wallet integrated into the privacy-focused Brave web browser, will soon support the Cardano blockchain, allowing users to send, receive and swap ADA ADA and Cardano-native assets directly.The move comes as Brave deepens its multichain functionality beyond existing support for networks like Ethereum and Solana, according to a release from Input Output (IO), which develops applications for and supports the Cardano network. Once the integration is complete, users will be able to access Cardano governance features, sign transactions and manage assets without relying on third-party browser extensions.Charles Hoskinson, CEO of IO, described the rollout as part of a broader effort to support secure and private on-chain participation. He emphasized its relevance as Cardano enters the Voltaire era,...

Animoca Brands, a Web3 investment company, is planning a public listing in New York, seeking to capture the "unique moment" offered by the Trump administration's approach to digital asset regulation, executive chairman Yat Siu told the Financial Times.An announcement on plans to list could be made soon, Yat Siu said in an interview, according to the Financial Times. Under former President Joe Biden, the U.S. crypto regulatory landscape was littered with lawsuits and enforcement actions against prominent crypto companies such as crypto exchanges Coinbase and Kraken. These have been dropped this year in a signal of the more friendly approach to the digital asset industry by the Trump administration.“If the U.S. didn’t do what they did with the regulators ,...

Donald Trump Jr. has denied viral rumors by crypto influencers that Truth Social — the conservative social media platform tied to former President Donald Trump — is launching a memecoin.Infamous influencer Ran Neuner pushed claims and a viral post on an upcoming Truth Social token, saying it was from the same team as the TRUMP memecoin.“There’s no truth whatsoever about Truth Social launching a memecoin,” Trump Jr. wrote on X late Monday. “Don’t be fooled by false information people are circulating.”The clarification amid a wave of unaffiliated “Truth”-themed tokens appearing across Ethereum and Solana-based trading platforms, data from DEXTools shows.World Liberty Financial (WLFI) — a DeFi project tied to the Trump family — reaffirmed Trump Jr.’s statement.“Don’t be fooled. There...