House Democrats are pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over World Liberty Financial’s push for a national trust bank charter, citing systemic risk. Democrats in the US House of Representatives are pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over how regulators are handling World Liberty Financial’s bid for a national trust bank charter to issue a dollar-backed token. In a letter on Thursday, 41 House Financial Services Committee Democrats led by Representative Gregory Meeks cited systemic risk, foreign ownership and potential political pressure on the bank chartering process. They asked Bessent to explain what safeguards exist to prevent foreign government officials or politically connected investors from using the charter process to gain leverage over the US financial system. Read more
Tether’s USDT is nearing its largest monthly supply drop since the collapse of FTX, with whales and smart money traders continuing to reduce their USDT holdings. Tether’s USDT, the world’s largest US dollar-pegged stablecoin, is heading for its steepest monthly supply decline in years as big holders step up redemptions, according to blockchain data. The circulating supply of USDt (USDT) has fallen by about $1.5 billion so far in February, following a $1.2 billion decrease in January, according to Artemis Analytics data reported by Bloomberg. This puts USDT on track for its biggest monthly drop in three years, since the weeks following the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November 2022. The USDT supply logged a $2 billion decrease in December 2022 after the collapse of FTX and its 150 subsidiaries sent shockwaves through the crypto industry. Read more
Spot Bitcoin ETFs are approaching a five-week outflow streak, with $2.7 billion in net redemptions year-to-date, as BTC posts one of its weakest starts to a year. Selling pressure in US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs continued Thursday, with analysts noting the cryptocurrency is on track for one of its worst yearly starts. Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs saw $165.8 million in outflows Thursday, bringing weekly losses to $403.9 million, according to SoSoValue data. The redemptions moved the funds closer to a possible five-week outflow streak, with year-to-date (YTD) losses totaling $2.7 billion. Read more