Elon Musk’s X To Enable Crypto And Stocks Trading In Coming Weeks — Details

  vor 8 Monaten

According to X’s Head of Product, Nikita Bier, the upcoming Smart Cashtags feature will enable users to trade cryptocurrencies and stocks directly via the social media platform. X Users To Trade Crypto And Stocks Directly Through Their Timeline In a February 14 post on the X platform, Bier confirmed that the social media platform will be rolling out a number of features in a couple of weeks. Most notably, Bier mentioned the Smart Cashtags feature, highlighting that it will allow users trade crypto and stocks directly from their timeline. Related Reading: Binance Confirms 3 Arrested In France Executive’s Home Invasion — Details Prior to this confirmation, Bier had teased the launch of the Smart Cashtags feature earlier in January, hinting at the possibility of in-app trading. The X platform had initially introduced a basic Cashtag functionality in 2022, which tracked the prices of major stocks and cryptocurrencies and offered visual financial data for supported assets before it was discontinued. It is expected that this upcoming Smart Cashtags will be an improvement on the existing $TICKER system, which allows users to prefix token tickers with a dollar sign in order to create a clickable link. The tags will show live price charts, related posts on X, and direct trading options. In his Saturday post, which was in response to a thread about third-party crypto apps, Bier also addressed the issue of spamming, raiding, and harassment on the X platform. Bier said: I genuinely want crypto to proliferate on X, but applications that create incentives to spam, raid, and harass random users is not the way. It meaningfully degrades the experience for millions of people — only to enrich a few people. Meanwhile, Christopher Park, director of X’s developer platform, said that all automation and spam through scraping and API will be flagged and eventually going forward. “No more bots/programs that do or incentivize large-scale platform manipulation, engagement farming, spam, & scraping,” Park said. X Begins Beta Testing For Payments Feature In another response, Bier clarified that X is not handling trade execution or acting as a brokerage platform, but rather just developing the financial data tools and links. Ultimately, this Smart Cashtags feature aligns with X’s financial services push and Elon Musk’s broader goal of making the platform an “everything app.” The social media platform looks set to launch X Money, a digital feature that enables peer-to-peer payment. Musk revealed earlier this month at an xAI presentation that X Money has completed internal employee testing and is in a limited beta testing phase over the next two months before a worldwide rollout.

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LATAM crypto news: Argentina fintech faces setback; Brazil weighs Bitcoin reserve

  vor 8 Monaten

The most noteworthy cryptocurrency developments in the region this week came from Argentina, Brazil, and El Salvador. El Salvador is planning a $100 million tokenised investment program for local SMEs, Brazil is considering a bill to eliminate crypto taxes and establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, and Argentina’s fintech industry suffered a blow when lawmakers revoked a proposal that would have permitted salaries to be paid into digital wallets. Together, these tales demonstrate how governments and businesses in Latin America are experimenting with new models for reserves, investments, and daily financial access, making the region a crucial arena for crypto policy and innovation. Fintech setback in Argentina’s salary deposit reform A proposed labour reform that would have enabled employees to receive their salaries directly in digital wallets for the first time was initially embraced by Argentina’s fintech industry. But ultimately, lawmakers eliminated the clause, which was generally interpreted as supporting traditional banks. Even if surveys indicate that a significant majority of Argentines prefer the right to choose where their paychecks are deposited, the party of President Javier Milei agreed to remove the clause during discussions to gain wider support for the law. Employees are required by law to receive their pay through conventional bank accounts. Nevertheless, the use of digital wallets has increased recently, in part because financial services are more difficult to use. Only 47% of Argentines have a bank account, according to a 2022 central bank survey. This indicates a long-standing mistrust of the institution following incidents like the 2001 “corralito,” ongoing inflation, and frequent limitations on accessing funds. Fintech platforms have thereby made financial access more widely available, with many users turning to apps like Mercado Pago, Modo, Ualá, and Lemon as their main gateway to official digital finance. Brazil considers a strategic Bitcoin reserve and crypto tax exemption A report presented to the Chamber of Deputies Economic Development Committee in Brazil has the potential to drastically alter the nation’s stance on Bitcoin. The plan calls for removing taxes on cryptocurrency gains and establishing a Sovereign Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (RESBit). The new language proposed by Congressman Luiz Gastão, rapporteur of Bill 4,501/2024, will modify the regulation of the cryptocurrency industry, including modifications to oversight and reporting guidelines. The plan would permit the federal government to buy Bitcoin over time, up to a maximum of 5% of the country’s foreign exchange holdings. The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank would work together to handle the assets, which would be kept in cold wallets for further security. Additionally, the law repeals an existing rule requiring brokers and investors to register all cryptocurrency transactions and permits the payment of federal taxes in Bitcoin. Bitcoin is positioned as a strategic reserve that might underpin Brazil’s digital currency, the Drex, and it also offers a complete income-tax exemption on gains from Bitcoin and other digital assets. Strategic alliance aims to tokenize $100 million for Salvadoran SMEs In order to direct $100 million in foreign direct investment into small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in El Salvador by 2026, Corporación Infinito (COIN) and Stakiny formed a strategic alliance. Through an integrated infrastructure that blends financial structuring, regulatory compliance, and blockchain technology, the effort intends to employ regulated tokenised equity instruments to link local businesses with global finance. The project aims to draw in institutional investors and foreign money seeking to use digital investment methods to contribute to the expansion of Salvadoran firms, according to Antonio Arrué, vice president of COIN. Stakiny, a platform requesting permission from the National Commission of Digital Assets to tokenise equity in private enterprises, will supply the technological backbone. In order to provide real-time cap table management, dividend distribution, governance events, and secondary trading, the model will connect conventional shareholder agreements with digital tokens registered on-chain. To enable tokenised investing for both crypto-native and conventional investors, the platform is made to run on an EVM-compatible network and be accessed via a mobile wallet with biometric authentication. The post LATAM crypto news: Argentina fintech faces setback; Brazil weighs Bitcoin reserve appeared first on Invezz

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ING Expands Crypto Offerings Through Key Partnerships in Germany

  vor 8 Monaten

ING Germany partners with Bitwise and VanEck to expand crypto investment offerings. Market volatility hasn't stopped clients or banks from pursuing new digital asset opportunities. Continue Reading: ING Expands Crypto Offerings Through Key Partnerships in Germany The post ING Expands Crypto Offerings Through Key Partnerships in Germany appeared first on COINTURK NEWS .

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Lightning Labs Open‑Sources L402 Agent Tools to Power AI Payments

  vor 8 Monaten

Lightning Labs releases open‑source L402 tools enabling artificial intelligence (AI) agents to transact natively on the Lightning Network. Lightning Labs launched an open‑source agent tools repository and lnget CLI that let AI agents run Lightning nodes, pay L402‑gated APIs, host paid endpoints, and manage wallets via remote signers, with skills for macaroons and the Model

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Six arrested as Indian police wrap up week-long enforcement drive

  vor 8 Monaten

The Indian police have announced the arrest of six individuals in a week-long crackdown across the country. According to local reports, the crackdown, which ran from February 7 to 13, targeted individuals carrying out different kinds of fraudulent activities, including investment fraud, loan app fraud, and part-time jobs scams. According to the statement released by the Indian police, the crackdown was carried out with the help of investigators after they made trails of several illegal funds across different states, including Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The force also said it secured refunds worth about Rs. 16.9 lakh ($18,673) to victims through court orders. According to the police, the arrested individuals have been processed in court for bail hearings, while others are still being held in police custody pending the conclusion of investigations. Indian police apprehend six individuals in latest crackdown In the statement released by the Indian police, officers attached to the force travelled to Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and arrested Gummadi Rambabu for acting as a mule account holder and facilitating the movement of illicit funds. The victim in this case said he was approached by one of the members of the network on Facebook. He claimed the person presented the crypto investment scheme and explained how it worked in detail. After days of discussion, he agreed to invest. The victim was added to a Facebook group titled AZ70 Market Radar Station, where he said administrators offered stock tips and investment training. Members of the group also plastered screenshots showing their profits from the crypto investments made in the group, another move to entice the new members added to the group. The victim claimed he was provided a bank account to transfer Rs. 5.20 lakh into, which was coincidentally an account owned by the accused. In another case, the Indian police said it arrested Santosh Chandra Kant Gaikaward in Mumbai for his role in a large-scale investment fraud that targeted victims locally. The victim claimed he was added to a WhatsApp group after the group initiated contact and was persuaded to invest through a trading application, which they falsely claimed had been duly registered with the appropriate federal agency. He was also shown a fabricated profit from crypto investments, a move that enticed him. Police urge residents to be cautious online In another separate investment fraud case linked to a WhatsApp group named Dream Chasers Together 371, three accused from Bhiwandi in Maharashtra were arrested for acting as mule accounts to transfer funds gotten from crypto investment scams. The individuals were identified as Momin Arham Rais Ahmed, Mohd Qais Mustaque Shaikh, and Momin Hina Imran Ahmed. The complainant was initially allowed to withdraw at first to build trust before being defrauded of over Rs. 65 lakh. Police also arrested Katravath Nithin from Mahabubnagar in connection with a loan fraud application. The victim was lured through Instagram by fraudsters posing as representatives of loan companies. He was asked to share personal and banking details before being asked to pay about Rs. 2 lakh under the pretext of security deposits and processing charges. Investigators discovered that the funds were moved through several accounts owned by the criminals before being transferred into crypto and sent out of the country. Meanwhile, officials of the Indian police have warned the public to exercise caution while trying to make money online. They urged residents to refrain from responding to unknown profiles or phone numbers, especially those acting overly friendly. In addition, the officials also warned residents to avoid sharing personal information and accessing crypto investment platforms through their official websites and to report suspected fraud immediately to the nearest police station. Get 8% CASHBACK when you spend crypto with COCA Visa card. Order your FREE card.

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Ripple Backed SBI Holdings CEO Breaks Silence on $10 Billion XRP Holdings Report

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SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao has clarified recent reports that suggested the Japanese financial giant holds $10 billion worth of XRP tokens. In a direct response to the inaccurate claims, Kitao confirmed that SBI's position is not in XRP tokens but in Ripple Labs, the company behind the XRP ledger. SBI owns a significant 9% equity stake in Ripple Labs, which allows the firm to benefit from the company’s growth, rather than directly holding XRP itself. SBI Holdings Investment in Ripple Labs SBI CEO Kitao took to X to correct the financial misunderstanding after a user, @strivex_, claimed that SBI was a major XRP holder. The user had referred to SBI’s recent expansion into Singapore and suggested that SBI held $10 billion worth of XRP tokens. In a quoted response, Kitao emphasized that holding $10 billion in XRP would expose SBI to significant volatility, whereas owning equity in Ripple Labs gives the company a solid stake in Ripple's overall ecosystem without the risks associated with holding the token. SBI's stake in Ripple Labs means that the firm has a significant portion of the company’s equity, as Ripple continues to develop its blockchain technology and grow its network of institutional partnerships. This is a notable distinction, as it aligns SBI with Ripple's long-term business prospects rather than the daily price fluctuations of XRP itself. Ripple’s Ecosystem and Valuation Ripple’s ecosystem is seen as a key enabler of cross-border payments and decentralized finance (DeFi). Recent private market reports have suggested that Ripple’s valuation could exceed $50 billion, given the company’s growth potential and the increasing institutional adoption of XRP and its ledger. According to these valuations, SBI's 9% stake in Ripple Labs would be worth approximately $4.5 billion today. SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao also referred to Ripple’s overall ecosystem as a ”hidden asset” that is not fully reflected in the current book value of SBI. He suggested that the full value of Ripple's ecosystem, which includes its extensive partnerships and technology, would significantly boost Ripple's valuation in the future. The growth of Ripple as a fintech powerhouse positions SBI to benefit from any appreciation in Ripple's overall value. SBI's Strategic Role in Ripple’s Success SBI has been a staunch ally of Ripple since 2016, and this partnership continues to evolve as both companies push forward in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors. Beyond holding an equity stake, SBI has been actively involved in advancing Ripple’s objectives globally. Recently, SBI announced its acquisition of a majority stake in Coinhako, a regulated cryptocurrency exchange based in Singapore. This acquisition is part of SBI’s broader strategy to create a digital asset corridor between Japan and Southeast Asia. SBI's deepening commitment to Ripple Labs is seen as part of the company's strategy to foster institutional adoption of XRP. The ongoing partnership with Ripple provides SBI with a front-row seat to the development of new use cases for XRP, including cross-border payments and real-time settlement solutions. Moreover, as the Coinpaper earlier reported, as part of its continued support for XRP, SBI has also participated in Ripple’s $1 billion treasury initiative through a partnership with Evernorth Holdings, a company that is focused on driving XRP's institutional adoption. Amid these clarifications, the Ripple token has seen a brief recovery after the recent crypto market crash. At press time, the XRP price was trading at $1.56, a 6.12% surge from the 24-hour low.

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Ripple’s February Ledger Update: What It Means for XRP Investors and Prices

  vor 8 Monaten

XRP is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies worldwide. Its market cap is neck-and-neck with BNB to rank number four by this metric. Its main use case is fast, low-fee cross-border payments, but the XRP Ledger is opening up an entirely new use case for XRP tokens—decentralized finance (DeFi). The February update from the official team at Ripple Labs signals a significant shift in the ecosystem’s fortunes. But real quick, before diving into the update: Here’s how XRP’s price reacted after Ripple released the update on these exciting new developments: on Friday, Feb. 13, XRP traded for a daily average price of $1.35 before it surged to over $1.65 on Sunday. “Institutional DeFi on XRPL” The Ripple Labs update teased “Institutional DeFi on XRPL,” in a headline that promised the network will scale real-world finance with XRP at the core. The key selling point for Ripple investors and developers in this announcement is that these updates make the XRP Ledger well-suited for institutional-grade players. Serious financial firms with big clients in New York City and London can rely on this technology to better meet the needs of their business. Or at the very least, that’s what the XRP team states. The note opened with a quick TLDR; summary highlighting XRP’s utility in liquidity and credit markets as well as for payments. This referred to On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) powered by Ripple. This platform feature allows large institutions or individuals moving large funds to send them via RippleNet using XRP tokens. But the exciting updates included: MPT (fungible Multi-Purpose Tokens for RWA tokenization) Permissioned Domains for access management Lending Protocol for native on-ledger XRP credit markets Confidential Transfers for institutional-grade privacy Ripple support for foreign exchange (FX) markets Meanwhile, sophisticated new tools such as Credentials, Token Escrow, and Batch Transactions will help enterprise-grade clients stay compliant with financial regulators and automate on-chain workflows. “The foundation for the next generation of blockchain-based financial infrastructure is being built, with XRP as the backbone,” Ripple Labs said. Fine-Tuning XRP Utility to Purpose In addition to the feature set for institutions, which forms the backbone of the next-generation XRP ecosystem on the ledger, Ripple also announced that XRPL now comes equipped with new developer tools to keep open development humming along. Livenet Explorer is a developer tool that enables institutions and blockchain developers to visualize real-time on-chain activity, balances, and token flows. Meanwhile, XRPL Devnet Tools will help blockchain developers test features such as MPTs, escrow contracts, batch transactions, and lending protocols before deploying Dapps to the mainnet. On the payments and FX side, permissioned domains will help build walled-off environments on the open blockchain with controlled credentials. Moreover, this can support KYC and AML tools for regulatory compliance. XRPL is also getting ready to unlock balance sheets by optimizing collateral and capital velocity. This will be possible through token escrow for conditional settlement programmed right into XRP smart contracts. One of Ripple’s big points in the February update is MPTs, or Multi-Purpose Tokens. Ripple says MPTs are the future of tokenization on XRPL. They can support sophisticated financial instruments such as bonds and funds while also handling metadata and parameters without requiring custom contracts. What It Means for XRP Prices For institutional and independent blockchain developers, here are some considerable developments. They may draw more participants and large financial firms into the XRP ecosystem. But what does it mean for cryptocurrency investors? During the week following the update announcement, XRP’s price outperformed the rest of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap, indicating the market perceived the news positively. However, as CryptoPotato reported , the state of the industry is currently predominantly negative in terms of price action. As a matter of fact, the popular Fear and Greed Index tapped Extreme Fear territory with a score of just 5 a few days ago – the lowest in the last eight years. During times like these, good news does not move markets as much as it does in bull markets. While the update is undoubtedly sound and important, it is unlikely to cause any significant price change, at least in the short term. The post Ripple’s February Ledger Update: What It Means for XRP Investors and Prices appeared first on CryptoPotato .

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ETH Price Stalls at $2,050 as Staking Hits Record and ETH/BTC Stays Heavy

  vor 8 Monaten

ETH price prediction faces mixed signals as Ethereum trades near $2,050 while staking reaches a record share of total supply. At the same time, ETH/BTC remains capped by a long-term downtrend, which keeps relative momentum weak. Staked ETH climbs past 30% while price stays near recent lows Ethereum's staking rate rose to a new high above 30.5% of total ETH supply, even as ether traded around $2,050, according to a CryptoQuant chart shared by analyst Leon Waidmann on X. The chart labeled “Ethereum: ETH 2.0 Staking Rate (%)” shows the staking share climbing in a steady uptrend since early 2023, while the price line moved through multiple rallies and selloffs over the same period. ETH 2.0 Staking Rate (%). Source: CryptoQuant / X The CryptoQuant data suggests the staking rate roughly doubled from about 15% in early 2023 to more than 30% by early 2026. Meanwhile, the price axis on the same chart shows ether near $1.9K at the latest point, well below prior peaks marked above $4,000 and near $4,500 during 2024 and 2025. Waidmann described the move as a divergence, arguing that staking continued to rise regardless of market direction. He also pointed to earlier periods when staking increased while price stayed flat or fell, and he said ether later climbed in subsequent months. Those references reflect his interpretation of past market behavior rather than a guaranteed outcome. Staking locks ETH into validator operations to help secure the network, and it can reduce the amount of ether immediately available to trade. At the same time, liquidity conditions also depend on where ETH sits across exchanges, custodians, and staking providers, as well as how easily holders can exit positions. ETH/BTC stays pinned under long-term downtrend as ratio hovers near multi-year lows The ETH/BTC trading pair remained below a descending trendline that has capped rallies for nearly eight years, according to a biweekly chart from Binance shared by X user TedPillows. The chart labeled “Ethereum / Bitcoin – 2W (Binance)” shows a long series of lower highs from 2017 through early 2026, with each rebound failing near the same falling resistance line. Ethereum / Bitcoin – 2W (Binance). Source: TradingView / X At the latest reading, the ratio traded near 0.0293 BTC per ETH, based on the chart’s right-side price marker. Over recent years, the pair posted repeated lower peaks during recovery attempts in 2018, 2021, and 2022. However, each move stalled under the same descending trendline, which continues to define the broader structure. As a result, the market has not confirmed a sustained shift in relative strength toward ether versus bitcoin. Price action since 2024 shows another bounce from the lower end of the range, followed by renewed pressure as the pair approached the long-term resistance. Therefore, the structure still reflects a broader downtrend on higher time frames. In turn, this signals that ether has continued to lag bitcoin in relative performance across multiple cycles. TedPillows said a decisive break above the trendline could mark a regime change for ETH/BTC and reshape relative momentum between the two assets. That view reflects the analyst’s interpretation of technical structure rather than a confirmed outcome. For now, the chart shows resistance holding, while the pair trades below the multi-year ceiling that has defined relative performance since 2017.

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Luke Belmar: XRP Made People Money, But Banks Won’t Use It. Here’s why

  vor 8 Monaten

A fresh debate over the future of blockchain-based banking infrastructure has emerged following comments circulated online from digital entrepreneur and crypto investor Luke Belmar. In a tweet, crypto analyst Brown Thunder highlighted Belmar’s remarks, asserting that while XRP has historically delivered profits for investors, its long-promoted vision of becoming the primary banking settlement chain may not materialize. Instead, Brown Thunder pointed to Keeta as a project building what he describes as a more complete institutional solution. In the attached video, Belmar reflected on his personal experience investing in XRP, stating that he began accumulating the asset at $0.13 and witnessed its rise to $3.50, followed by a sharp correction and subsequent recovery. He emphasized that XRP has generated returns for participants, making clear that profitability is not his concern. His focus, he explained, is on the long-term viability of XRP’s banking thesis. So this Luke Belmar clip has been going around this morning. Luke says XRP made people money, but banks probably won’t use older rails and points to newer tech like Keeta. Ty’s been saying the same thing. Keeta is building what XRP sold everyone on years ago… real settlement… pic.twitter.com/eCCcdZTHrd — Brown Thunder (@Brown_Thunder76) February 10, 2026 Competition to Replace Traditional Financial Rails Belmar directly challenged the narrative that XRP will ultimately become the dominant blockchain for banks. He argued that the financial sector is highly competitive and that multiple blockchains and businesses are pursuing the objective of replacing the traditional SWIFT network . According to him, newer technologies compliant, regulated, and traceable may have structural advantages over networks that have existed for more than a decade. When asked for an example of a blockchain positioned for institutional banking, Belmar named Keeta. He differentiated it from networks such as Ethereum , which he described as serving as a decentralized application layer rather than a banking-specific infrastructure. He also referenced the idea that different chains serve distinct purposes, citing examples, such as Bitcoin as a store of value and Solana as a capital markets-focused network. Keeta’s Full-Stack Infrastructure Claim Brown Thunder expanded on Belmar’s assertions by stating that Keeta is building what XRP previously marketed to investors years ago: settlement rails that institutions can actively deploy. He noted that development activity can be reviewed publicly on GitHub and encouraged independent research into the project. According to the tweet, Keeta is developing a full-stack system that includes built-in compliance, foreign exchange swaps, a native decentralized exchange, and an anchor system. Brown Thunder stated that the network is designed with speed, scalability, and low fees in mind, structured in a plug-and-play format that institutions can integrate without requiring extensive customization. We are on X, follow us to connect with us :- @TimesTabloid1 — TimesTabloid (@TimesTabloid1) June 15, 2025 A Narrow Settlement Role Versus Integrated Infrastructure In contrasting the two projects, Brown Thunder characterized XRP as primarily a bridge asset in settlement. He described this as a narrower scope compared to what he claims Keeta is constructing. Rather than focusing solely on facilitating transactions, Keeta is presented as assembling the entire operational infrastructure from inception. Belmar’s closing remarks in the video were direct. He stated that banking systems will not operate on the same networks predominantly used by retail traders. He concluded, “With banking, XRP is not gonna succeed. It’ll be KETA. Absolutely, I know it,” before advising viewers to conduct their own research. Disclaimer : This content is meant to inform and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author’s personal opinions and do not represent Times Tabloid’s opinion. Readers are advised to conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions. Any action taken by the reader is strictly at their own risk. Times Tabloid is not responsible for any financial losses. Follow us on X , Facebook , Telegram , and Google News The post Luke Belmar: XRP Made People Money, But Banks Won’t Use It. Here’s why appeared first on Times Tabloid .

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