Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
Donald Trump said he would not seek to remove Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell before his term expires in May 2026, but promised to push ahead with sweeping tariffs, mass deportations and tax cuts in his first days in the White House.
In an interview with NBC News’s Meet the Press, Trump spoke about his priorities for the world’s largest economy when his second administration begins in January, including curtailing aid to Ukraine and reducing bloat across the government.
Advertisement
When asked if he had plans to replace Powell, who was tapped by Trump in 2017 and later renominated by President Joe Biden for a second term as head of the US central bank, the president-elect said he did not.
“I think if I told him to, he would. But if I asked him to, he probably wouldn’t,” Trump added.
Since winning the US presidential election last month, concern has grown across Wall Street and Washington that Trump would threaten the independence of the Fed, which is seen as crucial to the stability both of the global economy and financial markets.
On the campaign trail, Trump seemed to suggest that he would continue the attacks of his first term, in which he called Powell an “enemy” for resisting his calls for lower interest rates.
Advertisement
Trump has questioned whether he should have a more direct say in monetary policy decisions. Scott Bessent, his pick for Treasury secretary, has also floated the idea of announcing an heir apparent who would act as a “shadow” Fed chair, undermining the institution’s communications by issuing contradictory guidance on the policy outlook.
Just after the election, Powell was adamant that he would not step down early from his post even if the president-elect asked him to. He also told reporters that there were no legal grounds for him to be removed early.
Last week, he added that he was “not concerned” about the Fed’s independence during a second Trump administration, saying it was protected by “the law of the land”.
Economists are bracing for tension however, given their expectation that Trump’s plans to enact tariffs on trading partners, deport immigrants in large numbers and boost growth via lower taxes and regulations will stoke price pressures, thereby limiting how much the Fed will be able to lower interest rates overall.
Advertisement
The Fed has already cut its benchmark policy rate twice since September and is poised to do so again later this month, but officials have begun to hint that the pace will slow in 2025.
Trump conceded that he “can’t guarantee anything” in terms of higher costs for Americans if his tariff proposals are enacted, although he denied that they would weaken the economy. He also again touted such levies as a negotiating tool, saying he had “stopped wars with tariffs”.
The president-elect said he also had “no choice” but to deport all illegal immigrants in the US. But he said he would work with Democrats on a plan for undocumented people who entered the country as children. He also vowed to end birthright citizenship via executive action.
On his efforts to reduce government spending, Trump said his administration would raise ages for entitlement programmes like Social Security or Medicare. “People are going to get what they’re getting,” he said.
Advertisement
Those plans would probably be accompanied by a pullback in the US’s involvement oversees, including in its provision of aid to Ukraine as well as its involvement in Nato, the president-elect said.
A surprising twist within the crypto market has seen TRUMP token trading volume surpass XRP, with a massive price correction. This behavior of the market in a very unpredictable manner points to the fact that the crypto space is quite unpredictable and that speculative tokens often see tremendous trading activity swings, even as their prices plummet. The trading volume surge by the TRUMP token is more interesting in this scenario of high volatility and uncertainty.
Related Reading
Speculation Fuels TRUMP Token’s Rally
Despite its sharp decline in price (down 16% in the last 24 hours), the TRUMP token managed to outdo XRP in trading volume. The rally in trading activity in TRUMP’s token has piqued the interest of the entire cryptocurrency community, with speculation pointing towards a very strong reaction of traders to the token, probably fueled by its political branding or hype around its speculative nature.
Donald Trump, the 47th president of the United States, launched the meme coin Official Trump (TRUMP), which is based in Solana, over the weekend. Its price immediately reached highs close to $80, indicating that it was a huge success at launch.
Advertisement
At the time of writing, TRUMP was trading at $35.69, with a 24-hour trading volume surpassing XRP’s. In particular, according to CoinMarketCap data, the meme coin has experienced $8.7 billion in trade activity, compared to XRP’s $8.3 billion.
Since its inception on January 17, TRUMP has experienced an incredible $38 billion in trade activity, according to CryptoQuant data released on Wednesday. Notably, big sell-offs as momentum cools are probably the cause of the recent price’s sustained high trading volume.
Meanwhile, XRP keeps growing steadily, while holding the number one spot of the top-ranked digital assets on the market. A short-term jump in trading volumes of the TRUMP token indicated a new shift in interest into tokens that bring more volatility and rewarding trading dynamics.
XRP is currently trading at $3.07. Chart: TradingView
XRP Standing Strong
Although the TRUMP token managed to take a trading volume lead over XRP temporarily, it’s not easily replaced in the long run because of its years-long presence in the market. XRP, being an old cryptocurrency, has attracted followers and institutional investment and, thus, is relatively stable in the market.
Related Reading
Advertisement
The TRUMP token is, on the other hand, a recently introduced and relatively speculative asset whose trading volume peak may prove transitory and reliant on the whim of speculative traders rather than being based on sustainable investment.
The contrast between the two tokens—one propelled by excitement and the other by solid fundamentals—illuminates the divergent forces at work in the cryptocurrency market. Although XRP may be more resilient, the TRUMP coin is presently experiencing a brief period of excitement and even controversy, which highlights the market’s unpredictable nature and the factors that influence trading activity.
Featured image from Gearbest, chart from TradingView
If Ryan Gregory turns up on your doorstep, chances are you’re about to inherit some money.
For more than two decades, Ryan has been working as an heir hunter, tracking down distant relatives from around the world and reuniting them with money they didn’t even know they were in line to inherit.
When someone dies without a will or an obvious next of kin, it is up to heir hunters to locate distant relatives or the money goes to the government and the King.
Now the international manager at Finders International, one of the bigger firms in the business, which was previously featured on the BBC’s Heir Hunters, Ryan began working for the company aged 18 when it was only a handful of people working out of a converted flat in South Kensington.
But business is booming in the world of unclaimed estates. The company now employs more than 150 people and the amount of money involved is getting bigger each year.
“When I started, it probably took five years to get a £1m estate. That was a big deal at the time, there would be a sense of gravitas to it,” he said.
“And now, as a company, we probably get million-pound-plus cases many times a week – I would imagine that is due to the vast increase in property prices.”
Advertisement
He is working on a case in New York that is processing through probate. After spending several years tracking down a missing nephew, one heir is now $5m richer.
Image: Ryan Gregory
‘I inherited a windfall from a stranger’
When Allan Reay, 74, died alone in Gateshead in 2022, there was no next of kin to inherit his estate, worth £28,000. Finders International quickly established that Allan was an only child who had never married or had children of his own.
When a retired North Yorkshire teacher, now living in France, got a call to say she was in line to receive part of the inheritance, she assumed it was a scam.
Joan, 82, a distant cousin of Allan’s (her father and Allan’s mother were siblings) was sceptical at first, she said. “It’s not the type of phone call that I would expect – I was definitely suspicious.”
Advertisement
But after her son confirmed Finders International was legitimate, she “inherited a windfall”.
“I wasn’t expecting it and I was utterly surprised. You just don’t expect something like that to happen to you. My husband and I plan to spend it on a holiday or maybe even a cruise,” she said.
Joan hadn’t seen Allan for many decades and was one of 10 beneficiaries who were tracked down. She remembered her distant cousin as chatty and amicable.
“I am quite startled at the entire process and how Finders tracked me down in France, along with several other relations of Allan’s from both sides of his family,” she said.
Advertisement
Image: Joan Williams. Pic: Finders International
Lost siblings reunited
In 2023, two siblings who didn’t know the other existed were both handed £12,000 from a complete stranger.
Raymond and Brenda Ward received unexpected letters telling them they would inherit the estate of 90-year-old George Potter, who had died alone in a nursing home three years before with no obvious next of kin – and no recipient for his estate.
Finders International discovered that although George had no children, he did have an “illegitimate” half-brother, born 11 years before him, named Dennis Ward.
Raymond and Brenda were Dennis’s children, but from two separate relationships, which meant neither realised they had a half-sibling.
Advertisement
The pair now write to each other regularly, enjoying the connection their uncle has brought them, as well as the inheritance.
How does an heir hunter track you down?
When a case comes across their desk, Ryan’s first step is to visit the deceased’s last known address.
“We speak to the neighbours, the person at the corner shop, the local pub. If they have a particular religion, is there a community centre near by?” he said.
Advertisement
They then look to see if there are any marriage records or birth certificates that may help them find any children. The UK, he explained, has pretty extensive records, but other countries may not.
“We have to cast our net pretty wide and try and find out as much as possible – especially now we are living in an age where people have children outside of marriage.”
The target for closing a case is up to three months – they have even managed to find heirs before the funeral took place – but some are more complicated, and Ryan recently clocked out a case that was 10 years old.
They use all public sources at their disposal – from public records to the British Library and open social media accounts.
Advertisement
When they do find someone, the reaction can be mixed.
“Sometimes there is a guilt from inheriting money from someone you didn’t know,” Ryan said.
How does the King get hold of your assets?
Half of Britons don’t have a will, according to research by Canada Life last year – and 41% of those who don’t have one aren’t worried about it.
Advertisement
But if you die without one, and if there’s no clear next of kin, all your assets could be given to either the King or the government.
There are more than 6,000 unclaimed estates in England and Wales.
Claims must be made within 30 years of the death of the individual.
Due to a rule that dates from the Middle Ages, if a person in Cornwall dies without having made a will (also known as dying intestate), and with no surviving relatives, then the estate automatically goes to the Prince of Wales.
Advertisement
A similar rule is in place in Lancaster for the Duchy of Lancaster – an estate owned by the King.
According to the most recent accounts, the duchy received £4.1m from intestate estates (before costs were taken out) in the year to September 2023.
But the duchy has previously denied that these unclaimed funds go into royal income, saying they are given to charities or used for environmental projects or to maintain properties on the estate.
For the rest of the country, if someone dies without a will and next of kin, it is passed over to the Treasury.
Advertisement
Image: Pic: PA
How do heir hunters make money?
Just under 50% of the work Finders International does is pro bono, and for the rest, they work on a commission basis.
Sometimes the lawyer handling the deceased person’s estate “can authorise a fee”.
“But we normally do the research to find people, track them down, link them to the estate and then we ask them to sign a fee agreement,” Ryan said.
There are hundreds of amateur sleuths, hoping to capitalise on the prominence of TV shows like Heir Hunters.
So before you sign any paperwork (which may ask you to give away a chunk of any inheritance) do your research on the firm – is it legitimate?
Ryan said the first thing to do is check and see if you recognise the name the heir hunter is giving you.
Advertisement
“If you’ve got a letter from overseas and someone is telling you that you’ve won an amount of money that is probably too good to be true and you don’t recognise the name, I say it is a real warning sign,” he said.
You can always consult the Bona Vacantia, the unclaimed estates list, to see if you know the person who died.
If it is a distant relative you haven’t met, you may be best employing the services of an heir hunter, but make sure you know exactly what you are signing up for.
“Pocketpair Publishing provides comprehensive support for game development through funding, development assistance, and publishing for indie game developers and small studios,” Pocketpair wrote in its press release.
We don’t even have to wait long for the company’s first game. Pocketpair Publishing has teamed up with Tales of Kenzera: Zaudeveloper Surgent Studios to produce its next title, a horror game slated for release later this year. Surgent Studios was founded by video game voice performer and on-screen actor Abubakar Salim. After launching Tales of Kenzera, an afro-futuristic metroidvania, the company was forced to furlough its games division due to lack of funding — a common occurrence that’s become endemic over the last two years.
The indie game space has not been insulated from the effects of the layoff crisis that’s plagued the game industry. The big publishers, from which smaller indie outfits typically receive funding, are tightening their belts, choosing to either keep their cash or only dole it out to projects they believe are sure to make money. And even the publishers known for supporting quality indie games, like Annapurna Games, are having a hard time staying in operation.
However, Pocketpair Publishing joins a group of new companies that have entered the indie games space via non-traditional means. In 2022, YouTube video game critic and content creator videogamedunkey, created his own publishing company Bigmode which published its first game, Animal Well, to critical acclaim last year. Also last year, Innersloth, developers of the wildly-popular murder mystery multiplayer game Among Us, established Outersloth, which is an indie game fund rather than a traditional publisher. Like Outersloth and Bigmode, Pocketpair Publishing is seeking to parlay its commercial success into an avenue for more indie games like Palworld to get made.
Advertisement
“Game development comes with many challenges,” said Pocketpair Publishing head John Buckley. “But we want to ease that process as much as possible and provide an environment where creators can pursue their dreams.”
The crypto industry is desperate to see crypto action from U.S. President Donald Trump, now a few days into his new presidency, but there hasn’t yet been a confirmation from the White House that an executive order is pending.
It’s not entirely off of Trump’s radar, though, because he did mention the crypto industry in his address on Thursday to the World Economic Forum, saying that an increase in domestic oil and gas production will secure U.S. manufacturing dominance and make it “the world capital of artificial intelligence and crypto.”
Still, he spent much more of the speech talking about U.S. AI commitments and didn’t mention digital assets again.
Advertisement
The sector will likely be watching closely at 2:30 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, when Trump is again scheduled to sign executive orders. The White House has already issued an extensive array of such orders. While they don’t carry the weight of law, such directives can steer the federal government’s priorities.
Trump is also scheduled to speak with crypto-friendly El Salvador President Nayib Bukele at 3:30 p.m., news which sparked another rally in Bitcoin’s price.
In other corners of the federal government, the Senate Banking Committee established its first digital assets subcommittee on Thursday, with Wyoming Republican Cynthia Lummis running it alongside other crypto-friendly lawmakers. And the Securities and Exchange Commission, newly led by Republican Mark Uyeda, announced a crypto task force this week.
Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
Donald Trump has called on Opec to push down global oil prices and insisted that central banks around the world lower interest rates “immediately” afterwards.
In a speech to executives in Davos on Thursday, the US president urged Saudi Arabia and other producers to lower the cost of crude oil, expressing dismay that they had not done so already.
Advertisement
“I’m going to ask Saudi Arabia and Opec to bring down the cost of oil. You gotta bring it down. Which frankly I’m surprised they didn’t do before the election,” he said.
“Right now the price is high enough that that war will continue,” he said, referring to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“You gotta bring down the oil price, that will end that war. You could end that war,” he added.
The US president also used the speech to insist that companies around the world manufacture their products in the US — or face sweeping tariffs on imported goods entering the American market.
Advertisement
He touted his economic agenda of radical deregulation and the “largest tax cut in American history” to business chiefs and global leaders, calling it “nothing less than a revolution of common sense”.
Voyager Technologies has filed its confidential paperwork to go public, according to multiple media reports. The defense and space company has raised over $215 million from investors like Afterburner Capital and Balerion Space Ventures, according to PitchBook. The Denver-based company will likely be valued between $2 billion and $3 billion, and Morgan Stanley and Latham & Watkins are expected to lead the IPO, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The company, founded in 2019, has a wide set of offerings, from propulsion technologies for defense purposes to building in-space infrastructure. Voyager has also forged powerful partnerships in the industry, linking up with Palantir to integrate Palantir’s AI into Voyager’s offerings.
Technically, Donald Trump broke his campaign promise by not freeing Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht on day one of his presidency. (No, inauguration day is not “day zero.”) But as I explained in my previous Take, I wasn’t expecting a literal first day pardon anyways. Even day two exceeds my expectations. Trump delivered, and I’m very glad he did.
When I first heard about Silk Road in early 2013, I was immediately intrigued by the concept of buying and selling drugs anonymously online. To this day, I think darknet markets are the best intermediary step before the war on drugs is ended: It removes dealers from street corners while providing users some level of quality assurance through a public rating system.
Discovering Silk Road was also how I first learned about Bitcoin. I started writing about the digital currency a few months later, and am still at it today. In a way, I owe my career to Ulbricht.
That Ulbricht was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison was a miscarriage of justice in my view. Even if you believe he is guilty of everything he’s been convicted of (all non-violent crimes), over a decade behind bars should be long enough.
To be sure, I don’t believe Trump actually cares about Ulbricht; he could have freed him during his first term if that was the case. And Trump certainly has no intent of ending the war on drugs; if anything, he’s about to escalate it by designating cartels to be terrorist organizations and imposing the death penalty on drug dealers. Trump promised to pardon Ulbricht because that would benefit him politically — but to his credit, he kept his word.
Advertisement
Ross is finally free. Well done President Trump, and everyone else who helped make this happen.
This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
Lightchain AI is emerging as the secret weapon in the crypto world, poised to surpass popular tokens like Shiba Inu and Dogecoin in market dominance. Combining cutting-edge AI integration with blockchain technology, Lightchain AI offers unmatched utility and scalability.
Its Lightchain AI Presale has already raised $12 million at $0.00525 per token, showcasing strong investor confidence and a promising future. As Shiba Inu and Dogecoin thrive on community support, Lightchain AI’s revolutionary features position it as the next big player ready to redefine the crypto landscape in 2025.
Shiba Inu and Dogecoin- Popularity vs. Long-Term Potential
Lightchain AI is rising as a top choice for the 2025 market boost due to its focus on common rules, clear sight, and fresh thoughts. Its Common Rules gives token owners the strength to guide how the platform moves forward, making sure choices are fair and open. This clear sight ͏builds trust in group; an key part for lasting success.
The place’s good link makes it easy to join with other networks and setups, making it more adjustable in many places. This skill broadens its appeal and helps the work team.
Advertisement
Lightchain A͏I also cares about apps that work in a spread out way (dApps) by giving a comfy and handy base for their build and run. By making real-world apps with clear links, and open, Lightchain AI sees itself as a leader in blockchain change for the 2025 market boom.
Why Lightchain AI Is Poised to Dominate the Crypto Market
Lightchain AI is set to dominate the crypto market with its innovative vision and strategic roadmap. The journey begins with Prototype Development in November 2024, including rigorous testing of PoI and AIVM in a sandbox environment. The Testnet Rollout follows in January 2025, enabling real-world testing by developers and node operators.
By March 2025, the Mainnet Launch will activate full functionality, while May 2025 sees Ecosystem Growth, with grants and partnerships driving adoption. Global Adoption efforts in June focus on scalability and interoperability, with long-term sustainability initiatives completing the roadmap.
To address risks, Lightchain AI employs advanced mitigation strategies, such as sharding for scalability, differential privacy for data protection, and decentralized governance to prevent power centralization. These innovations ensure resilience and success.
Advertisement
Buy Now to Profit Tomorrow
Lightchain AI’s secret token, LCAI, is set to surpass SHIB and DOGE in market dominance, making it the must-have crypto investment for today. The project has already attracted significant attention from prominent investors and influencers worldwide, with its potential applications extending far beyond the meme-inspired coins of today.
So don’t wait- invest in Lightchain AI now to secure your future tomorrow. With its groundbreaking technology and strategic roadmap, it’s no surprise that LCAI is on track to become a leading force in the cryptocurrency market.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored article and is for informational purposes only. It does not reflect the views of Crypto Daily, nor is it intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, or financial advice.
Stifel CEO Ron Kruszewski discusses banks’ M&A space and market valuation ahead of the new US administration’s policy. Kruszewski speaks to Bloomberg’s Lisa Abramowicz on the sidelines of the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (Source: Bloomberg)
You must be logged in to post a comment Login