Coinpedia - Fintech & Cryptocurreny News Media| Crypto Guide

Economist Peter Schiff criticized former President Trump’s push for U.S. dominance in Bitcoin and digital assets, calling it misguided as China focuses on building factories and buying gold. While the U.S. holds around 198,000 BTC, China’s holdings from seizures are close to 190,000-194,000 BTC. Meanwhile, China continues expanding its gold reserves, reaching 2,306 tonnes valued at over $319 billion by December 2025, signaling a preference for traditional assets over crypto.

Swiss banking giant UBS Group AG, which manages around $6.9 trillion in assets, is planning to offer cryptocurrency access to individual clients and tokenized deposit solutions for corporate customers as part of its digital asset strategy. CEO Sergio Ermotti described a cautious “fast follower” approach, focusing on building the right infrastructure and rolling out selective services while expanding pilot projects, highlighting the growing interest in blockchain among traditional banks amid evolving global demand and regulations.

Binance’s Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) has made another big move in its ongoing plan to shift its $1 billion emergency reserve from stablecoins into Bitcoin. The fund added 1,315 BTC worth about $100 million in its latest buy, boosting total two‑day accumulation to 2,630 Bitcoin valued at roughly $201 million. This purchase is part of a 30‑day conversion strategy announced by Binance, reflecting confidence in Bitcoin as a core reserve asset and strengthening user protection in volatile markets.

Elon Musk has pulled far ahead as the world’s richest person after SpaceX acquired his AI startup xAI. Forbes’ real-time tracker now estimates Musk’s net worth at $852.5 billion. The deal merged SpaceX, xAI, and X, valuing the combined company at $1.25 trillion. Musk owns 42% of SpaceX, which now accounts for more than half of his total wealth. His fortune is now larger than the combined wealth of Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin. Tesla still makes up about 12% of his holdings, while SpaceX’s Starship and Starlink continue to drive growth.

Bitmine (BMNR) has faced criticism after reports showed an unrealized loss of about $6.6 billion on its Ethereum holdings amid a market downturn. Some traders warned that this could create future selling pressure and limit ETH’s price. Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee pushed back, saying these views misunderstand the purpose of an Ethereum treasury; it’s meant to mirror ETH’s price over the full cycle, so paper losses during a slump are expected. Lee called the losses “a feature, not a bug,” comparing them to index ETFs that also show losses in down markets, and emphasized Bitmine’s long‑term strategy and ongoing ETH accumulation.

Tether has pulled back its fundraising plans after investors raised concerns about a reported $500 billion valuation, the Financial Times reported. The company had earlier considered raising $15–20 billion, but advisers are now discussing a much smaller amount of about $5 billion. CEO Paolo Ardoino said the higher figure was only the maximum Tether was willing to raise. He added that the company, which made around $10 billion last year from USDT reserves, is comfortable not raising any new funds.

Arbitrum DAO has confirmed that its official X account has been compromised. The team warned users not to click on or interact with any posts or links from the hacked account. They are actively working to regain control. Importantly, the Arbitrum protocol and user funds remain completely safe, as the breach only affects the social media account. Users are advised to stay cautious and ignore any suspicious messages until the account is fully recovered.

Aster CEO Leonard has denied recent rumors that insiders engaged in token dumping or that Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” controls the project, calling such claims baseless. He emphasized that Aster operates independently with YZi Labs’ investment locked long-term and follows published tokenomics. The DeFi perpetual exchange has completed 254 million token buybacks and burned 78 million, with automated daily buybacks planned. Future plans include deeper liquidity, a privacy‑focused Layer 1 chain, staking, and slowing token emissions to support long‑term growth.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov has acquired a five-story Victorian mansion in London’s Notting Hill for £22 million (about $30 million), one of the few high-value property deals in the city’s luxury market over the past year. The purchase, completed in November, was roughly £2 million below earlier price guidance amid a slowdown in London’s high-end housing sector caused by higher taxes and reduced incentives for foreign buyers. The mansion offers extensive panoramic views and underscores continued global interest in prime real estate.

French authorities, including the Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit, CyberGEND, and Europol, raided Elon Musk’s X offices in Paris over alleged cybercrimes. The probe targets offenses such as distributing child sexual abuse material, pedophilic deepfakes, grooming minors, and data mishandling. The raid follows a 2025 investigation into Grok-generated non-consensual content. Elon Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino were summoned for questioning in April. The action underscores growing EU pressure on X regarding AI safeguards and content moderation.