Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has revealed that the exchange could be forced to delist USDT to comply with potential new regulations.

Armstrong was discussing the possible impact of new rules that could require stablecoin issuers to back their tokens entirely with U.S. Treasury bonds and undergo periodic audits to ensure transparency and financial integrity.

Shifting Regulatory Landscape

The executive was speaking to the Wall Street Journal on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he stressed that it would be essential for his company to comply with the anticipated regulations even if it meant removing Tether from its platform.

Armstrong was also keen to point out that Coinbase would continue providing USDT services to customers to facilitate their off-ramping to other compliant assets. “We want to help them transition to a system that we think is more secure,” he said.

The exchange has already delisted several crypto assets from its European operations to comply with the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations. However, it has left the door open for possible relistings if the tokens meet the requirements at a “later date.”

One of the biggest criticisms leveled against Tether is that its quarterly attestations, published through BDO Italia, fall short of full audits. Additionally, observers argue that the reports may not meet the rigorous standards likely to be set by new U.S. legislation.

USDT currently dominates the stablecoin market, making up about 65% of the sector’s nearly $213 billion valuation. Its issuer holds about 80% of its reserves in Treasury bills, supplemented by assets such as gold and Bitcoin.

Towards the end of 2024, it added an extra $700 million worth of BTC to its reserves, bringing its total holdings of the cryptocurrency to $7.8 billion. This came even as its closest competitor, Circle, announced a partnership with Binance to help push the global adoption of USDC and whittle down USDT’s oversized market share.

Tether Finds a New Home

In April last year, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, together with her New York counterpart Kirsten Gillibrand, introduced the Payment Stablecoin Act, a bipartisan bill meant to create a framework for fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies.

If such legislation were to pass, it could force Tether to change its reserve policies and reporting methods to remain in the United States.

Interestingly, the crypto firm has already started shifting its focus away from the U.S. and European markets, positioning itself more in emerging economies. It recently announced plans to move operations to Bitcoin-friendly El Salvador, in what some see as a strategy to stay outside major regulatory zones.

While the Bitcoin price is hovering just below the old all-time high of December 17, US Senator Cynthia Lummis and Eric Trump reportedly convened at the Capitol yesterday to discuss the notion of creating an American Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). Bloomberg’s Steven Dennis broke the news, while Swan, a crypto-focused platform, spotlighted Eric Trump’s now-deleted retweet about the meeting.

Almost as soon as Eric Trump retweeted Swan’s post referencing talks with Senator Lummis on the SBR, he pulled it down without explanation. “What’s brewing behind the scenes?” Swan queried in a subsequent tweet, suggesting the swift deletion could indicate high-level caution, possibly to avoid front-running an official announcement.

DEVELOPING: Eric Trump RT’d @Swan’s post about his meeting with Senator Lummis on the American Strategic #Bitcoin Reserve—then quickly deleted it.

What’s brewing behind the scenes? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/E7nqbieNIQ

— Swan (@Swan) January 22, 2025

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This latest buzz follows Senator Lummis’ unveiling of The Bitcoin Act of 2024 last year, a legislative proposal to formally establish a US strategic Bitcoin reserve. Known officially as the Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide (BITCOIN) Act, the bill outlines a plan for the U.S. Treasury to acquire 1 million BTC over five years, funded by reallocating existing resources within the Federal Reserve System and the Treasury Department.

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While details remain scarce regarding the progress of the legislation, sources indicate Lummis’ office is working diligently to navigate the political and logistical complexities involved. Notably, Senator Lummis also met with former President Donald Trump over the weekend. Senator John Barrasso revealed via X: “Senator Lummis and I had a great time talking with President Donald Trump this morning. Wyoming is ready for Inauguration Day tomorrow!”

Bitcoin Reserve Rumors Intensify With Ulbricht Pardon

The notion of an SBR has gained renewed momentum following yesterday’s pardon of Ross Ulbricht by President Trump. Analysts note that during the 2024 conference, Trump had floated the idea of transferring BTC seized by law enforcement into a national stockpile. Now, with the pardon promise fulfilled, many in the community are wondering if the SBR plan could be next on the administration’s agenda.

On prediction platform Polymarket, the odds of an imminent SBR soared from 28% to 44% after news of the pardon broke. Those odds had once reached as high as 59% around Inauguration Day. As of late, they had dipped back to around 28%—only to bounce upward again following Ulbricht’s release.

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Crypto analyst known as Byzantine General voiced optimism, posting on X: “The fact that he kept his promise with Ross is a good sign IMO that he’s going to follow through with supporting crypto.”

David Bailey, CEO of BTC Inc who was instrumental in turning Trump pro-BTC, added to the speculation, remarking: “Tonight is about Ross but I’ll share this since I’m getting a ton of questions: I’m still expecting dedicated bitcoin+crypto EOs in coming days. I don’t know what they say or exactly when they drop. I also fully expect the President to deliver on the SBR in his first 100 days.”

Anthony Pompliano, Founder & CEO of Professional Capital Management, posted a similarly confident take: “If Ross Ulbricht got the pardon, we are definitely getting the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Trump will create history with the stroke of his pen.”

In a separate discussion at the World Economic Forum, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was asked about President Trump’s stance on establishing a US Bitcoin reserve. Armstrong said:

“Well, I didn’t talk to him about that specifically, but I think he is excited about it. I mean, he really wants to be the first Bitcoin president. Cynthia Lummis in the Senate is actually, I think, the one driving this legislation around a strategic Bitcoin reserve. And I think it’s a good idea. The US actually has reserves in lots of things, gold, oil, I think like 27 different rare minerals like palladium and all these things. And so, you know, I think the world is moving to a Bitcoin standard for money. They absolutely should hold. Any government who holds gold should also hold Bitcoin as a reserve.”

At press time, BTC traded at $105,382.

Featured image from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com

The crypto industry is waiting for President Donald Trump to issue an executive order that will steer the federal government toward a new, more welcoming era for digital assets oversight. That’ll be good for Trump’s own business, and that’s one of the reasons Democrats in the House of Representatives are already shouting about ethical lapses in the administration.

A Trump executive order on crypto stands to increase the value of at least two components of Trump’s family business: crypto venture World Liberty Financial and the eponymous token (TRUMP) launched right before he returned to the White House. Gerry Connolly, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, requested an investigation of the president’s business relationships in a letter sent to the committee’s Republican chairman one day into Trump’s new term.

“This committee must take immediate action to investigate the grave conflicts of interest

Donald Trump carries with him to the Office of the President,” he wrote in the request, which is unlikely to lead to formal scrutiny on the leader of the Republican Party, who demands loyalty from senior GOP officials. “The expanding scope of President Trump — and by extension The Trump Organization’s — financial entanglements and quid pro quo promises are troubling.”

Earlier, as Trump’s oath still echoed through the Capitol Rotunda, Representative Maxine Waters, the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, expressed alarm about Trump’s coin.

“Through his meme coin, Trump has created a way to circumvent national security and anti-corruption laws, allowing interested parties to anonymously transfer money to him and his inner circle,” Waters said in a January 20 statement. “Buyers could include large corporations, allied nations who are pressed to show their ‘respect’ for the president, and our adversaries, like Russia and China, which have much to gain from influencing a Trump presidency.”

Waters argued that the token doesn’t just compromise Trump, but she said it taints the wider industry, “which has long fought for legitimacy and a level playing field with other financial institutions.”

The California Democrat worked for months with former committee Chairman Patrick McHenry on a stablecoin regulation bill, but they failed to reach a bipartisan compromise. Waters will still be in a position to weigh in on crypto bills during this session.

Though Trump had promised fast action on cryptocurrency when he returned to the White House, the crypto industry isn’t yet among those benefiting from the extensive array of executive orders the president has already signed. So far, the most significant action from the overhauled U.S. government is the establishment of a crypto task force by the acting chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mark Uyeda.

Read More: SEC Forms New Crypto Task Force Spearheaded by Hester Peirce

Chancellor Reeves’ plan to tax farmers to plug the ‘black hole’ has been dealt a hammer blow by Britain’s independent financial watchdog today.

Reeves slapped previously exempt farmers with 20 per cent tax on assets over £1million in her October budget, sparking outcry from asset-rich but cash-poor farmers.

‘Nothing short of betrayal’: The farming community reacted with fury and despair to Reeves’ devastating budget

Olly Harrison / PA

Defra Secretary Steve Reed has been defending the government’s policy, repeatedly stating it will only affect 500 or so farms a year.

That number has been heavily contested with several experts dismantling the Treasury’s calculations.

While arguments about numbers played out in meeting rooms, two huge tractor protests gridlocked central London, farmers cancelled machinery orders and paused investment plans, harming rural economies.

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With the best tax advice for the last 30 years being to keep the farm until death, Reeves’ tax- which came with no prior warning- left many elderly farmers scrambling to transfer their farm to their children under the seven-year gifting rule, a deeply troubling and stressful time for older farmers who are worrying they may die and penalise their kids.

Defra Secretary Steve Reed has doubled down on the farm tax, refusing to apologise for any concern it may caused

Getty/HoC

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In a fresh blow to the Chancellor, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has branded the Treasury’s ‘costing’ of the policy as ‘highly uncertain’, casting sever doubt on whether it will raise any money at all.

“The main driver of uncertainty is the behavioural response to the measure, given the range of options potentially available,” said the report.

Since Reeves’ tax sparked such outrage, the government have been busy advising farmers on how not to pay their new tax, for which options include gifting it to their spouse/children over seven years.

Critics have pointed out this is not an option for many farmers who are widows, do not have children or do not have children interested in farming or are old enough to farm.

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Moreover, once the farm is gifted, the giver is no longer allowed to enjoy its benefits, meaning widowed farmers who have transferred their farm would not be allowed to live on it anymore.

This is just one element of a possible behavioural reaction to the tax. With so many moving parts, it is no doubt the OBR has found the Treasury’s costing to be highly uncertain.

When it came to voting on the farm tax, scores of rural Labour MPs abstained to save face with constituents

GB News/Flourish

This is a huge blow as the policy was (by the Treasury’s estimation) set to raise just £520million a year by 2030, enough to fund the NHS for one day.

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This number is fifty times less than the amount Reeves will rake in via her hike to Employers’ NI hike but has generated severe criticism and seen Labour’s polling in rural areas crash.

The watchdog also found ‘moderate uncertainty’ around the data used in the Treasury’s costing.

Critics have said this because the Treasury’s analysis was based on one year’s worth of farmers’ inheritance tax relief claims, too short a period to reveal the full effect, and failed to look at farms across Britain.

They have also pointed out the Treasury only analysed relief claims made under Agricultural Property Relief (APR) scheme.

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Farmers also use the Business Property Relief (BPR) to shield assets from inheritance tax like combine harvesters that can cost up to £750,000. Reeves plans to cap BPR relief at £1million.

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Farage attending the farm protestGetty

Reacting to the OBR’s report, Victoria Vyvyan, President of the Country Land and Business Association, said:“It is clear that neither the Treasury nor the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) has fully considered the impact on the economy of these tax reforms.

“Ministers have repeatedly said that the OBR had certified their claims, but the truth is that the OBR themselves say there is a high degree of uncertainty as to how much money will be raised, if any at all.

“But we do know that farmers and small business owners are pulling investment, cancelling machinery orders and considering whether their businesses are viable for the long-term.

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“This means fewer jobs, less food security, less growth and less money going into the Exchequer to pay for public services. Government must put these reforms out to a meaningful consultation, so that Treasury can truly understand the damage they are doing.”

Victoria Atkins, shadow Defra Secretary, said: “The OBR has demonstrated that the Chancellor’s reasoning is completely flawed; Labour must now axe the family farm tax.”

The Treasury and Defra have been approached for comment.