Biotech entrepreneur and prominent crypto supporter Vivek Ramaswamy has reportedly stepped down from his role as co-lead of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

His decision is said to stem from a desire to run for governor of Ohio next year, with the current occupant of the seat, Mike DeWine, ineligible for reelection in 2026 since he is serving his second four-year term in office.

A Political Pivot for Ramaswamy

It is not the first time Ramaswamy has shown interest in high-profile political roles, having sought the Republican nomination for president in 2024. He had also shown interest in succeeding Vice President JD Vance as the senator for Ohio before Governor DeWine selected his deputy, Jon Husted, to fill the vacancy.

His departure from D.O.G.E, first reported by The Associated Press, is in line with the department’s new structural guidelines, which require members to step back from active roles if pursuing elected office.

The Cincinnati native has been a vocal advocate for crypto, criticizing the regulatory approach to the assets in the U.S. and even accusing the Biden administration and Wall Street of trying to “suppress” the industry.

He praised Grayscale’s victory against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) when it wanted to convert its Bitcoin Trust into a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF), saying the win made it possible to keep BTC and blockchain innovations in the U.S. instead of pushing them overseas.

Towards the end of last year, his company, Strive Asset Management, filed for a BTC bond ETF with the SEC that would provide institutional investors and everyday Americans easy access to financial instruments based on the number one cryptocurrency.

Musk Left as Sole Leader

President Donald Trump appointed the 38-year-old to lead DOGE alongside Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk soon after winning the elections in late 2024.

Launched under his “Save America” agenda, Trump formally established the task force via an executive order on the day of his inauguration. It aims to modernize the federal government’s operations by slashing inefficiencies, reducing regulatory red tape, and streamlining government spending.

Alongside its bold goals, the initiative drew attention due to its playful acronym, which is similar to the ticker of the largest meme coin by market capitalization, Dogecoin. Incidentally, Musk, who is now its sole leader, is a long-term supporter of Dogecoin, even earning the nickname “Dogefather” for his endorsement of the token.

The billionaire businessman recently proposed a public “leaderboard” that would highlight the most egregious examples of government inefficiency, an idea he described as “tragic” and “entertaining.”

Bitstamp, the longest running cryptocurrency exchange, plans to roll out regulated crypto derivatives trading in Europe, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

With its long-standing focus on compliance, Bitstamp is one of a select group of crypto trading platforms to hold a Markets in Financial Instruments (MiFID) license, a pan-European regulatory framework for trading securities and derivatives, which was amended in 2022 to encompass crypto assets.

“With its MiFID license in Europe, Bitstamp plans to launch a fully regulated perpetual swap offering,” one of the people said.

The arrival of regulatory clarity in Europe, when it comes to crypto and tokens, has prompted the planned introduction of crypto derivatives trading from firms holding MiFID II licenses, such as Point72 Ventures-backed D2X, and Backpack Exchange, which is in the process of acquiring the remains of FTX EU and its licenses.

The vast majority of crypto derivatives volume is offshore and the aim of these new entrants is to shift market dominance away from the likes of Panama-based centralized exchange Deribit.

In June of last year, it was announced that fintech giant Robinhood would be acquiring Bitstamp, whose future looks bright, not only in Europe but also in the U.S. where it holds multiple state licenses, including a coveted New York State BitLicense.

Bitstamp declined to comment because the plans are not yet public.

With its impressive performance and value proposition, market watchers suggest Rollblock could mimic the success XRP and Solana.

Rollblock (RBLK) has become one of the hottest presales and could be shaping up to follow the Ripple (XRP) and Solana (SOL) playbook with a phenomenal run in 2025. Here’s why experts are bullish on this up-and-coming GambleFi protocol that recently recorded a 600% surge in new signups amid 50x price predictions for the coming months.

Rollblock brings on-chain transparency to iGaming sector

Rollblock has defied the ups and downs of the market to consistently hit new highs over the past few months. Tens of thousands of investors have stepped up to allocate to this promising presale.

Rollblock is an entirely new way of operating a casino business, as it brings full transparency to this famously opaque industry. The online gambling industry is currently valued at above $500 billion, and Rollblock aims to take a sizable chunk with its blockchain-backed betting platform. It allows gamers to quickly verify on-chain that their transactions stand as intended and that nothing has been manipulated.

More than 7,000 games are available for Rollblock players, including poker and Monopoly as well as many slot machines and a sports betting feature. In December alone, over $1.75 million in bets were placed on the platform, making it a record-breaking month for Rollblock.

Winnings are paid using the RBLK token, which has a cap of a billion tokens and a deflationary supply. 

Each week, the casino buys up potentially millions of RBLK tokens using the casino’s profits. Sixty percent are burned, while the remaining 40% are used to fund staking rewards. This is intended to reduce selling pressure as supply squeeze takes effect.

XRP ProShares funds look more likely

XRP gained 1% over the past 24 hours to hit $3.18 as ProShares revealed its plan for Ripple-based ETFs under the more crypto-friendly Trump administration.

The asset management firm has submitted multiple applications for XRP-based ETF funds, which include leveraged and futures trading options. These are a leveraged play on famously volatile XRP price action, and if approved, a stunning wall of capital is expected to enter the Ripple ecosystem. Analysts suggest XRP could even hit $10 this quarter if these funds are approved.

Solana sees pump with meme launches

Solana experienced a significant surge last week, gaining over 40% to reach a new all-time high of $294.33. The Solana price has since fallen back down to $253. 

The Solana surge came after both Donald and Melania Trump released their own coins on the Solana chain, seeing record volume and transaction throughput in the process.

Now that Solana has been chosen by the President of the United States to launch a coin, analysts suggest that SOL could potentially reach $1,000 this cycle as its dominance could only increase from here.

RBLK to follow XRP and SOL

Rollblock looks ready to follow in the footsteps of Ripple and Solana to scale to a multi-billion-dollar market cap.

The upshot is that RBLK’s supply will dwindle away on exchanges as Rollblock sees demand. A price rise from the current level of $0.046 could be inevitable as a supply squeeze hits in the coming weeks.

For more information on Rollblock, visit their website or socials.

Donald Trump has appointed Mark Uyeda as the acting chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), replacing outgoing Chair Gary Gensler.

The development follows Trump’s inauguration as the 47th U.S. President, during which he took office as the country’s first “crypto President.”

Uyeda and Pham’s Appointments

According to a January 20 White House notice, Uyeda will serve in an interim capacity until the U.S. Senate approves a permanent successor. The government official, whose name was suggested last year as a potential replacement for Gensler, has previously worked as securities counsel for former lawmaker Pat Toomey on the Senate Banking Committee.

He also served as counsel to former SEC Commissioners Michael Piwowar and Paul Atkins. However, pro-crypto Atkins was officially announced last December as Trump’s nominee for permanent chair of the agency.

The interim chair has been critical of the financial watchdog’s stance on crypto under Gensler. In a speech delivered with Commissioner Hester Peirce in March last year, Uyeda described the environment for crypto asset markets, particularly in secondary trading, as “untenable.” He has also previously spoken against enforcement actions targeting non-fraudulent crypto firms.

Trump’s administration is also making leadership adjustments at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). On January 20, Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terret confirmed that CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham had been chosen as acting chair.

The Republican commissioner was selected by a five-member panel to lead the agency after the resignation of outgoing Chair Rostin Behnam on the day of the President’s inauguration. The new appointee will also oversee the CFTC’s operations until the Senate confirms a permanent head.

Pham has consistently pushed for clearer regulations in the digital asset sector, frequently intervening in enforcement actions against blockchain platforms like Uniswap. She has also argued that crypto utility tokens should not be classified as securities, highlighting her pro-industry stance.

More Leadership Changes

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is also seeing a change. Travis Hill was named temporary chair following the resignation of Marty Gruenberg on January 19.

The FDIC has been linked to “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” with Senator Cynthia Lummis accusing the agency of destroying digital asset records in relation to the alleged initiative to cut off the crypto sector from banking services.

In a recent speech, House Financial Services Committee Vice Chair French Hill called for a more open-minded approach to technology and urged clearer regulatory guidance on bank-crypto relationships.

Meanwhile, despite reports suggesting Trump might sign an executive order related to digital assets, no official announcement had been made at the time of writing. Furthermore, the new President did not mention crypto or blockchain technology in his first official statements since taking office.

The return of Donald Trump to the presidency has caused a wave of enthusiasm in the digital asset market, with institutional investors making bold bets on cryptocurrencies like XRP and Solana. This trend is noted by the CoinShares’ Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly Report, which reveals a historic influx of funds into the crypto market with total assets under management (AuM) now at a new all-time high.

Trump Euphoria Sparks Record-Breaking Inflows

It has been only a few weeks into 2025, but investment funds tied to cryptocurrencies are already pulling in crazy numbers that are a tease of what’s to come throughout the year. According to data from CoinShares, crypto asset investment funds witnessed inflows of $2.2 billion last week, the largest inflow so far this year. Notably, this marks an increase of about 4,480% from the $48 million in net inflows that the funds received in the previous week.

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The vast increase in fund inflows was caused by a euphoria surrounding Donald Trump’s incoming administration, which many are expecting to be favorable towards the crypto industry. This euphoria drove the total AuM in crypto funds to $171 billion at the end of last week, which is also its highest value ever. 

Unsurprisingly, Bitcoin was the standout performer. In terms of flow, Bitcoin saw $1.9 billion in net inflows, bringing its YTD total to $2.7 billion in three weeks. Bitcoin also saw outflows of about $0.5 million from short positions, further relaying the bullish sentiment. 

The outflow from short-Bitcoin funds is very surprising, given they tend to receive inflows during price rallies, as shown by flows in previous weeks. Trading volumes on exchange-traded products (ETPs) also soared to $21 billion, accounting for 34% of Bitcoin’s trading volume on trusted exchanges.

Big Players Bet Big On XRP And Solana

XRP and Solana are two surprising standout performers amidst the general inflows. These are not surprising, as there were news headlines flying around during the week that the Trump administration is likely going to prioritize cryptocurrencies created in the US like XRP and Solana.

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XRP continues to garner significant attention, recording $31 million in inflows last week alone. Since mid-November 2024, XRP has accumulated an impressive $484 million in total inflows. This run of inflows shows that XRP is having a growing appeal among institutional investors, which is relayed through its price action over the past few months. XRP now finds itself trading close to its all-time high of $3.40, having recently reached an intraday high of $3.34 in the past 24 hours. 

Solana’s funds also witnessed $2.5 million in inflows last week. This number is projected to increase substantially by the next report, given the success of the Official Trump meme coin, which was launched on the Solana network.

Regionally, the United States dominated inflows with $2 billion, followed by Switzerland at $89 million and Canada at $13 million. Also, Ethereum saw inflows of $246 million last week to reverse earlier outflows. However, Ethereum is still the poorest performer among major assets in terms of fund flows this year with $28 million in outflow.

Featured image from Medium, chart from Tradingview.com

The European Securities and Markets Authority has urged national authorities in the European Union (EU) to ensure that exchanges are no longer making non-compliant stablecoins available for trading within the next two months.

The regulator has requested that the 27 member states in the EU ensure crypto asset service providers (CASPs) are compliant when it comes to its stablecoin rules “no later than the end of Q1 2025,” ESMA said in a statement on Friday.

“In practice, this means that CASPs operating a trading platform for crypto-assets are expected to stop making all crypto-assets that would qualify as ARTs and EMTs but for which the issuer is not authorised in the EU (“non-MiCA compliant ARTs and EMTs” ) available for trading,” ESMA said. ARTs are asset referenced tokens and EMTs are electronic money tokens.

The move would affect stablecoins which are not compliant with EU laws like Tether’s USDT if it were offered to EU clients. Large issuers have already taken steps to try and comply with MiCA. Tether announced in November it was discontinuing its euro stablecoin, EURT. The company has not managed to obtain an e-money license to operate in the EU. Circle obtained an e-money license in July.

Exchanges like Gemini and Coinbase, who are registered in the EU, would have to delist un-authorized stablecoins, according to ESMA’s statement. Coinbase previously announced it would delist any such tokens by last December.

“Given our commitment to compliance, we restricted the provision of services to Retail, Exchange, and Prime Vault customers of Coinbase Europe Limited, Coinbase Germany GmbH, and Coinbase Custody International Limited in connection with stablecoins that do not meet the MiCA requirements beginning on December 13, 2024,“ a spokesperson from Coinbase told CoinDesk on Tuesday.

The exchange “will assess re-enabling services for stablecoins that achieve MiCA compliance on a later date,” the spokesperson said.

CoinDesk reached out to Gemini for a comment.

Read more: EU’s Restrictive Stablecoin Rules Take Effect Soon and Issuers Are Running Out of Time

With the Solana price facing rejection near $300, holders are flocking to the new viral crypto Remittix.

The crypto space is rife with big dreams and life changing opportunities. To get the most of these opportunities, investors are always on the lookout for new viral cryptocurrency assets. Following Solana’s inability to hit the $300 target, investors are considering a new viral token, Remittix.

Experts projections on Solana

Solana keeps developing and improving its crypto market posture in spite of the declines. Plans for quantum resistance to improve security have lately emerged from Solana development. The intended “Accounts Lattice Hash” improvement seeks to raise blockchain efficiency and scalability. These developments have inspired hope for a possible Solana ETF. 

Solana is apparently approaching the last phase of a five wave upward rise according to market observers. Price goals fall between $270 and $300, with a possible surge driving it to $418. Strong technical performance and active development underscore Solana’s potential as a top altcoin. However, with the recent rejection of the altcoin price near the $300 price level, investors are moving to Remittix for potentially higher gains. 

Remittix poised for huge rally 

Remittix aims to reinvent global payments by providing quick and reasonably priced cross-border solutions. From their 2017 worth of roughly $150 trillion to $250 trillion, cross-border payments are expected to have increased. Remittix looks to acquire a share in this huge sector and create an efficient solution for worldwide transactions by combining the strength of blockchain technology with traditional banking infrastructure. 

The platform will let users quickly swap more than forty top crypto coins for fiat money. These then might be transferred immediately to any bank account anywhere. Remittix is unique in simplicity. Unaware that it started as a cryptocurrency payment, recipients get a regular bank transfer.

Remittix could be a better alternative to conventional payment providers like Stripe and Wise. The platform guarantees accessibility and inclusivity for companies and people by supporting over 50 crypto pairs and more than 30 fiat currencies. Thanks to its Pay API, companies can accept client bitcoin payments and handle fiat transactions to a designated bank account. 

Another notable feature is the platform’s open flat-fee approach, which offers savings and clarity over high costs and inadequate exchange rates of conventional banks. 

Remittix could be a game changer in the payments sector, where dubious methods sadly are all too widespread. 

At $0.0228 in its presale, the RTX token has a low-entry point. Forecasts suggest that the demand for creative cross-border payment solutions could drive a 25x multiplier in the presale phase and over 1,500% gains following launch.

For more information on Remittix, visit their website or socials.