Coindesk

El Salvador shook the world in 2021 when President Nayib Bukele made bitcoin (BTC) legal tender, giving the cryptocurrency the same status as the U.S. dollar, the Central American nation’s official currency.Since then, El Salvador has constituted a bitcoin reserve worth roughly $630 million, established one of the most advanced crypto regulatory frameworks in the world, promised to issue $1 billion in bitcoin-backed government bonds and even convinced stablecoin giant Tether to relocate its headquarters to the country.But one of the country’s most rewarding successes has been its extensive Bitcoin-centric education program, according to Stacy Herbert, director of El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office.“Bitcoin country needs Bitcoin engineers, right? We're producing them, and it’s a long manufacturing process, but it’s creating a...

Top-performing xrp (XRP) and Ethereum’s ETH saw profit taking early Saturday as a Donald Trump-themed “official” memecoin attracted $3 billion in its first few hours after being issued on the Solana network, driving demand for SOL tokens.Price-action in bitcoin (BTC) and most majors, such as dogecoin (DOGE) and BNB Chain’s BNB, remained muted as the TRUMP token shifted sentiment for XRP and ETH. Traders perceived the Trump memecoin’s choice of issuing the token on Solana as bearish for Ethereum.An “official” memecoin linked to Trump was issued in early Asian hours Saturday from his verified X and Truth Social accounts. Prices ran from a few cents to $14 in less than six hours amid widespread confusion on whether the token was...

Is the coin real?That was the question plaguing crypto traders from U.S. to Asia alike as an “official” memecoin linked to Republican Donald Trump was issued in early Asian hours Saturday from his verified X and Truth Social accounts.Prices ran from few cents to $14 in less than six hours amid widespread confusion on whether the token was actually backed by Trump or was a possible hack of Trump’s account with a fake token issued by the attacker to fleece unsuspecting buyers.CoinDesk could not independently confirm if the token was legit or not as of early European hours Saturday.The token — which is viewed with scepticism among some traders — has attracted $3 billion in trading volumes hours after going...

In tuxedos and finery, one of the most famously dressed-down industries celebrated Friday night with a "Crypto Ball" in Washington to welcome the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, which the crowd of digital-assets insiders trusts will lift their sector into U.S. legitimacy.Big names in crypto, such as Michael Saylor, Brian Armstrong, the Winklevoss brothers and Jesse Powell, and future officials in the incoming administration, most notably Trump's crypto czar pick, David Sacks mixed in the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. As they drank cocktails and downed truffle tuna tartare, they took in a performance from rapper Snoop Dogg and — maybe more significant for their Washington prospects — a visit from Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.The event marks the...

World Liberty Financial, the crypto project backed by the family of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, plans to acquire tron (TRX) tokens for its treasury, according to a person familiar with the matter.The prospective move would deepen World Liberty Financial's close ties to the Tron empire. Its founder Justin Sun already advises Trump's crypto project. He's also single-largest holder of its WLFI token, having bought $30 million in November. It's not clear how much TRX World Liberty plans to add to its reserve of cryptocurrencies. World Liberty's raised $90 million from sales of WLFI. Its previously parked seven-figure sums in AAVE and LINK, tokens issued by projects World Liberty's partnered with. Trump is officially the "chief crypto advocate" of World Liberty...