Coinbase has halted peso-based USDC on- and off-ramps in Argentina less than a year after launch, citing a review of local operations while keeping crypto trading fully active. Crypto exchange Coinbase has paused its local fiat operations in Argentina less than a year after formally entering the market, scaling back peso-based services while keeping its crypto functionality. According to a report by Forbes Argentina, Coinbase informed users that it is temporarily stepping back from maintaining local services following a review of its operations. The company described the move as a “deliberate pause” aimed at reassessing its approach and returning with a more sustainable product offering. The change primarily affects fiat rails. From Jan. 31, 2026, users will no longer be able to buy or sell USDC (USDC) using Argentine pesos (ARS) or withdraw funds to local bank accounts. Coinbase told users they have a 30-day window to complete peso-based USDC transactions and withdrawals before the cutoff date. Read more
The chances of Bitcoin’s price tumbling in the aftermath of the US military's attack on Venezuela are "relatively slim," according to a crypto analyst. Despite Bitcoin’s history of volatility during geopolitical tensions, its price is unlikely to fall in the coming days following the US strike on Venezuela, according to a crypto analyst. “I don't think we'll see a widespread correction based on the attack in Venezuela on Bitcoin,” MN Trading Capital founder Michael van de Poppe said in an X post on Saturday. The US strikes on Venezuela took place at around 6:00 a.m. UTC on Saturday and reportedly lasted for around 30 minutes. Van de Poppe anticipates the event will not directly affect Bitcoin’s (BTC) price because it was a “planned and coordinated attack” and one that has “already passed us.” Read more
A $400,000 Polymarket wager tied to Maduro’s capture has prompted Ritchie Torres to propose legislation restricting insider trading on political prediction markets. US Representative Ritchie Torres is preparing to introduce legislation aimed at curbing insider trading on prediction markets, following scrutiny around a highly profitable wager tied to the reported sudden capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In a Sunday post on X, Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman said Torres plans to introduce the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026. The bill would prohibit federal elected officials, political appointees and executive branch employees from trading prediction market contracts linked to government policy or political outcomes when they have nonpublic information through their official duties. “The restriction applies to buying, selling, or exchanging prediction market contracts tied to government policy, government action, or political outcomes on platforms engaged in interst...
On December 18, 2025, a 25-year-old Hindu garment worker was lynched by a mob of approximately 150 people in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district. Following accusations of blasphemy, the victim was beaten to death. Mob lynchings in Bangladesh, known locally as gono-pituni, have a long history. But this crisis is not unique to Bangladesh. According to the Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2025, South Asia has emerged as a global epicentre for collective vigilantism, with similar violence frequently reported in India and Pakistan as well. The recent surge in mob violence across India, Bangladesh and Pakistan is propelled by similar drivers: a decaying public confidence in the judiciary and the rapid spread of digital disinformation. This combination allows ‘street justice’ to effectively supersede state authority. As American political scientist Paul Staniland observed in a 2020 analysis for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, these patterns in South Asia are not recent developments. They are historical...