Weekly Crypto Recap: Bitcoin Declines, KuCoin Pleads Guilty, and Meme Coin Market Downturn

Bitcoin’s price has dropped below $99,000, with observers attributing the decline to risk-off sentiment following President Donald Trump’s imposed tariffs on goods from China, Canada, and Mexico. This decline coincided with the debut of DeepSeek, an AI platform that has been framed as a “positive” development by Trump, despite concerns of IP theft. As a result, AI-related cryptocurrencies such as Near Protocol, Internet Computer, and Render have experienced significant declines of 8-10%.

MicroStrategy Increases Bitcoin Holdings

MicroStrategy, led by Michael Saylor, has acquired 10,107 BTC for approximately $1.1 billion between January 21-26, at an average price of $105,596 per BTC. The company’s total holdings now reach 471,107 BTC, valued at over $46 billion.

Ripple Secures New State Licenses

Ripple has secured Money Transmitter Licenses in New York and Texas, expanding its domestic footprint under the Trump administration’s pro-crypto stance. The license allows Ripple Payments customers to access licensed cross-border payment solutions, with transactions managed end-to-end by Ripple.

KuCoin Pleads Guilty in US Criminal Case

KuCoin, a cryptocurrency exchange, has entered a guilty plea for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in New York court, agreeing to pay nearly $300 million in penalties. Judge Andrew Carter imposed a $113 million fine and $184.5 million in forfeitures, while company executives Gan and Tang will be removed from management and operations roles.

Tuttle Capital Files for Diverse Crypto ETF Offerings

Tuttle Capital has submitted applications for the first-ever ETFs tied to Chainlink, Cardano, and Polkadot, expanding beyond traditional cryptocurrency offerings. The proposal includes 10 leveraged ETF products, featuring the first ETF connected to the Melania (MELANIA) and other notable cryptocurrencies.

Trump and Dump: Scaramucci Calls Out the President

SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci has accused President Trump of a pump-and-dump scheme, stating that Trump’s promotion of his $TRUMP memecoin has led to an acceleration of the “dump,” with the coin now down 70% from its peak. New York-based hedge fund Elliott Management suggests that Trump’s warm embrace of digital coins is fueling a speculative frenzy that could “wreak havoc.”

Metaplanet Announces Record Bitcoin Purchase

Metaplanet has issued 21 million shares through 0% discount moving strike warrants, raising 116 billion yen ($745 million) in the largest capital raise in Asian equity market history. The company has also announced a record Bitcoin purchase.

Arizona Advances State BTC Reserve Initiative

The Arizona Senate Finance Committee has approved the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act (SB 1025) with a 5 to 2 vote. The bill proposes investing public funds in BTC and other cryptocurrencies.

CZ Leads YZi Labs into First Major Investment

Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao’s venture capital firm, YZi Labs, has led a $16 million funding round for Sign, a platform focused on token distribution and on-chain credential verification.

Crypto.com Prepares for MiCA Compliance Suspension

Crypto.com and Bitstamp have announced the suspension of certain token services to align with the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets legislation (MiCA), effective January 31. The changes affect several stablecoins, including Tether’s USDT and PayPal’s PYUSD.

Czech Central Bank Governor Proposes BTC Reserves

Czech National Bank Governor AleΕ‘ Michl plans to present a proposal that could allocate up to $7 billion of national reserves to bitcoin. If approved, the Czech Republic would become the first Western central bank to hold digital assets as part of its reserves.

El Salvador Meets IMF Requirements

El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly has approved a bill to revise its BTC adoption approach, aligning with conditions of a $1.4 billion IMF deal. The legislation passed with 55 votes in favor and 2 against, changing private sector cryptocurrency acceptance from mandatory to voluntary.

Will Trump Pardon Bankman-Fried’s Parents?

Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, are seeking a presidential pardon from Trump, according to Bloomberg sources. The effort follows successful pardons of other crypto figures, notably Ross Ulbricht, who was freed after 11 years following his January 21 pardon.

Pump.fun Faces New Class Action Over Securities Violations

A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed in the Southern District of New York, accusing Pump.fun of collecting nearly $500 million in fees while violating U.S. securities laws.

Uniswap v4 Launches

Uniswap (UNI) Labs has released version 4 of its protocol, now operational on multiple blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, OP Mainnet, and Base.

LayerZero Labs Settles with FTX Bankruptcy Estate

LayerZero Labs has concluded its two-year legal dispute with FTX, as announced by CEO Bryan Pellegrino. The decision to settle was driven by consideration for creditors rather than direct conflict with FTX, with LayerZero Labs itself being among the creditors.

For more news and updates on the cryptocurrency market, visit Global Crypto News.

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