United States Senator Cynthia Lummis expressed support for President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal for a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve after Trump won the 2024 US presidential elections on Nov. 5.
Lummis, a Wyoming Republican and strong crypto advocate, highlighted her intention to pursue the legislation in the Senate, suggesting the US acquire 1 million BTC — about 5% of its supply — and hold it for at least 20 years.
This initiative builds on Trump’s idea that the government should hold, rather than liquidate, its seized Bitcoin assets. The proposal comes as Republicans prepare for Senate majority control.
California revokes BlockFi’s license amid bankruptcy proceedings
California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) permanently revoked the lending license of BlockFi, a cryptocurrency lender that declared bankruptcy two years ago.
This decision followed an investigation revealing violations of the California Financing Law, including inadequate assessment of borrowers’ repayment ability, misleading loan disclosures and early interest charges before loan disbursement.
BlockFi agreed to the revocation as well as to cease unsafe practices. Although fined $175,000, the payment was waived to prioritize consumer repayments amid BlockFi’s bankruptcy.
FTX’s Caroline Ellison receives prison sentence for role in Alameda Research
Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, is set to begin a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to multiple counts of fraud and money laundering tied to FTX’s collapse.
Her sentencing follows extensive testimony that implicated her ex-colleague, Sam Bankman-Fried, during his criminal trial. Despite facing intense media scrutiny and public criticism since 2022, Ellison’s case has highlighted the legal fallout of FTX’s downfall.
Other implicated executives, including Gary Wang, are awaiting sentencing as well. Wang recently asked the judge not to sentence him to any jail time.
Poland’s Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) issued a public warning regarding Crypto.com, stating that the platform is not registered as a virtual asset service provider under Polish law.
The regulator emphasized potential risks to users, urging them to exercise caution when using unregistered services. The action was part of increasing regulatory scrutiny as the European Union prepares for its comprehensive Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, aiming to bring more stringent oversight to the crypto sector.
The return on Donald Trump to the G7 was always going to be unpredictable. That it is happening against the backdrop of an escalating conflict in the Middle East makes it even more so.
Expectations had already been low, with the Canadian hosts cautioning against the normal joint communique at the end of the summit, mindful that this group of leaders would struggle to find consensus.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney carefully laid down an agenda that was uncontroversial in a bid to avoid any blow-ups between President Trump and allies, who of late have been divided like never before – be it over tariffs and trade, Russia and Ukraine, or, more recently Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
But discussions around critical minerals and global supply chains will undoubtedly drop down the agenda as leaders convene at a precarious moment. Keir Starmer, on his way over to Canada for a bi-lateral meeting in Ottawa with PM Carney before travelling onto the G7 summit in Kananaskis, underscored the gravity of the situation as he again spoke of de-escalation, while also confirmed that the UK was deploying more British fighter jets to the region amid threats from Tehran that it will attack UK bases if London helps defend Israel against airstrikes.
Image: Canadian PM Mark Carney is greeted by President Donald Trump at the White House in May. Pic: AP
Really this is a G7 agenda scrambled as world leaders scramble to de-escalate the worst fighting between Tel Aviv and Tehran in decades. President Trump has for months been urging Israel not to strike Iran as he worked towards a diplomatic deal to halt uranium enrichment. Further talks had been due on Sunday – but are now not expected to go ahead.
All eyes will be on Trump in the coming days, to see if the US – Israel’s closest ally – will call on Israel to rein in its assault. The US has so far not participated in any joint attacks with Tel Aviv, but is moving warships and other military assets to the Middle East.
Sir Keir, who has managed to strike the first trade deal with Trump, will want to leverage his “good relationship” with the US leader at the G7 to press for de-escalation in the Middle East, while he also hopes to use the summit to further discuss the further the interests of Ukraine with Trump and raise again the prospects of Russian sanctions.
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“We’ve got President Zelenskyy coming so that provides a good opportunity for us to discuss again as a group,” the PM told me on the flight over to Canada. “My long-standing view is, we need to get Russia to the table for an unconditional ceasefire. That’s not been really straightforward. But we do need to be clear about what we need to get to the table and that if that doesn’t happen, sanctions will undoubtedly be part of the discussion at the G7.”
Image: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (R) is greeted by Mark Carney as he arrives in Ottawa ahead of the G7
But that the leaders are not planning for a joint communique – a document outlining what the leaders have agreed – tells you a lot. When they last gathered with Trump in Canada for the G7 back in 2018, the US president rather spectacularly fell out with Justin Trudeau when the former Canadian president threatened to retaliate against US tariffs and refused to sign the G7 agreement.
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Since then, Trump has spoken of his desire to turn Canada into the 51st state of the US, a suggestion that helped catapult the Liberal Party beyond their Conservative rivals and back into power in the recent Canadian elections, as Mark Carney stood on a ticket of confronting Trump’s aggression.
With so much disagreement between the US and allies, it is hard to see where progress might be made over the next couple of days. But what these leaders will agree on is the need to take down the temperature in the Middle East and for all the unpredictability around these relationships, what is certain is a sense of urgency around Iran and Israel that could find these increasingly disparate allies on common ground.