The UK government talks about becoming a “leading global crypto hub,” but slow policy development and fragmented regulation risk losing ground to competitors. Opinion by: Azariah Nukajam, head of regulation and compliance at Gemini The UK is at a critical juncture in its approach to the rapidly evolving digital assets space. Having solidified itself as a financial powerhouse in the modern global economy, the government has often spoken about making the UK a “leading global crypto hub.” Policy development has, however, been slow, fragmented and insufficiently ambitious. Read more
Retail and quants are fueling DEXs like Hyperliquid, while CEXs hold institutional ground. Aster’s rise adds new pressure to the onchain race. Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are rapidly gaining traction among retail traders and quants, while institutions continue to favor centralized platforms, according to Bitget Wallet’s chief marketing officer Jamie Elkaleh. Elkaleh told Cointelegraph that the strongest adoption of platforms like Hyperliquid is “coming from retail traders and semi-professional quants.” Retail users are drawn in by airdrop cultures and points systems, while quants favor “low fees, fast fills, and programmable strategies,” he said. However, institutional desks still rely on centralized exchanges (CEXs) due to their support for fiat rails, compliance services and prime brokerage offerings. Read more
Trump-backed WLFI has burned $1.43 million in tokens after a $1.06 million buyback funded by DeFi fees, with another 3.06 million tokens remain unburned. World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the President Donald Trump-affiliated decentralized finance project, has burned 7.89 million WLFI tokens, worth approximately $1.43 million, following a $1.06 million buyback across different chains. Onchain data gathered by Lookonchain shows the project collected 4.91 million WLFI ($1.01 million) and $1.06 million in fees and liquidity earnings from its DeFi activities, and spent $1.06 million to repurchase 6.04 million WLFI on the open market. The team later burned 7.89 million WLFI on BNB Smart Chain (BNB) and Ethereum (ETH), while 3.06 million WLFI ($638,000) remains unburned on Solana (SOL) pending further actions. Read more