The Block
Quick Take Catizen’s TON blockchain-based CATI token has gone live for trading on several centralized exchanges. The Telegram clicker game airdropped 150 million tokens to eligible users as part of its Season 1 distribution.
Quick Take The U.S. dollar’s strength against the Japanese yen is creating favorable risk-on market conditions for bitcoin, an analyst said. Since the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 50 basis-point rate cut on Wednesday, bitcoin’s price has increased by more than 6%.
Quick Take Ethereum network activity could experience a significant uptick if the current crypto rally evolves into a sustained bull market, according to analysts. One added that the adoption of real-world asset tokenization may decelerate as market participant appetite switches to risk assets.
Quick Take Revolut has expanded to 30 countries in Europe with its stand-alone crypto exchange Revolut X, which launched in the UK earlier this year. The fintech firm claims to have over 45 million customers globally.
Quick Take U.S. prosecutors filed a lawsuit to recoup over $17.9 million worth of crypto tied to alleged bribes paid to Chinese officials prior to the FTX collapse. The account consists of Solana, Cardano, Ripple, Internet Computer and Avalanche tokens, according to the filing.
Quick Take The Italian government will likely take the softer tax rate hike to crypto of 28%, Bloomberg reported. Last month, Italy’s Vice Economy Minister stated that the country intends to accept a 42% rate hike on crypto taxes.
Quick Take South Korean police have arrested 215 people who took part in a crypto investment scheme that led to losses of over $232 million in damages from 15,304 victims. Investigators have specified twelve lead figures in the crypto scheme. It was primarily led by a YouTuber with over 620,000 subscribers. Victims were advised to “sell their apartments” and invest in fraud tokens with everything they had.
Quick Take Daren Li, a dual citizen of China and St. Kitts and Nevis, pleaded guilty to laundering $73 million through cryptocurrency in an investment scam.
Quick Take Bitcoin’s correlation with gold has dropped to an 11-month low. Gold prices are down over 5%, while bitcoin has posted substantial gains in the past week. Gold’s decline comes amid a stronger U.S. dollar and rising Treasury yields following Trump’s election. Markets appear to be anticipating inflationary policies that may prompt the Fed to slow rate cuts.
