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Interblockchain settlements protocol THORChain paused bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) withdrawals on its lending and savers programs to prevent a potential insolvency risk.Network node operators proposed and implemented a 90-day pause in early Asian hours on Friday, to formulate a plan to resolve debts, messages from THORChain's Telegram channels show.THORChain's lending program only has BTC and ETH, but its saver vaults support more assets.A potential insolvency situation could be created if all loans and savers positions were closed and repaid at exactly the same time, and if market sentiment also caused a steep decline in RUNE.THORChain meets its lending obligations by minting RUNE and selling it into liquidity pools. As such, deposits had been turned off a year ago as...

Bitcoin (BTC) held steady during Friday's Asian hours after Bank of Japan (BOJ) lifted the benchmark borrowing cost to the highest in 17 years while raising inflation forecasts. "If the outlook presented in the January Outlook Report will be realized, the Bank will accordingly continue to raise the policy interest rate and adjust the degree of monetary accommodation," the policy statement said, citing positive outlook on wages and maintaining guidance to keep raising rates, according to ForexLive. The anti-risk Japanese yen rose over 0.6% to 155.12 against the U.S. dollar following the rate decision. Still, risk assets remained resilient. Bitcoin showed no signs of stress, trading little changed on the day above $104,000. The futures tied to the S&P 500...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission published a new Staff Accounting Bulletin Thursday withdrawing its controversial SAB 121.SAB 121 directed banks and other public companies that they had to mark any customers' crypto assets on their own balance sheets. SAB 122 "rescinds the interpretive guidance" and instead directs firms to use Financial Accounting Standards Board rules or International Accounting Standard provisions.Source link

Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I'm Ben Schiller, CoinDesk’s Opinion and Features editor.In this issue:DAO governance tool mergerEthereum Foundation dramaStablecoin USDh comes to Bitcoin$25 million grant program for DePINNetwork NewsDAO GOVERNANCE PLATFORM ACQUIRES RIVAL: Agora, a blockchain governance startup, is set to acquire its competitor Boardroom. The company framed the acquisition as a strategic move to enhance governance within the broader Ethereum ecosystem, citing expectations of renewed growth in decentralized governance due to President Trump's promise of regulatory clarity for the blockchain industry. "2025 is the year we make good governance the standard for all protocols in Ethereum," Agora co-founder Yitong Zhang told CoinDesk. Agora was founded in 2022...

U.S. President Donald Trump has come through with an eagerly awaited executive order on crypto that directs his administration to establish friendly policies to put the industry on solid U.S. footing and looking into establishing a "digital asset stockpile." After years of courtroom combat with federal authorities, Trump's order issued on Thursday could allow the digital assets sector to move forward in the U.S. with a more welcoming framework set by the White House. Such orders are more of a beginning than an end in federal policy, but the pro-crypto president has taken that first step. Bitcoin surged briefly above $106,000 from around $103,000 in the minutes following the news before retracing most of the gains. Recently, BTC changed hands...