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Trump urges Congress to enact 10% credit card interest rate cap

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President Trump: I'm asking Congress to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year
President Trump: I'm asking Congress to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year

President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged U.S. lawmakers to pass legislation to limit credit card rates to 10%, following his social media post this month ordering banks to voluntarily lower their rates.

“I’m asking Congress to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year, and this will help millions of Americans save for a home,” Trump said from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“They charge Americans interest rates of 28%, 30%, 31%, 32%,” Trump said. “Whatever happened to usury?”

Shares of banks climbed after the comments. The KBW Bank Index rose 2.2% in morning trading. Capital One, which relies on cards for most of its revenue, advanced 1.9%.

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Among the options that the Trump administration had for applying pressure to American banks over card rates, the legislative path may be the least threatening to the industry. Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced a bill last year that would limit card APRs at 10% for five years, but that proposal has stalled in Congress.

Analysts including Sanjay Sakhrani of KBW have said it is unlikely that a card bill will have enough bipartisan support to become law. Lawmakers from Trump’s own Republican Party, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have expressed caution when it comes to card price controls.

“If this is the path, the odds of implementation are low,” Sakhrani said in an interview. “There is a lot of Republican leadership that opposes the idea” and other industries, including airlines and retailers, would be hurt by the policy.

It’s unclear whether pressure from Trump — who holds massive sway among GOP lawmakers — will improve the plan’s chances of passing.

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Breaking ‘the law?’

The episode may show the limits of Trump’s ability to cajole the financial industry into voluntarily giving up billions of dollars in revenue to support his election year affordability push.

After Trump’s Jan. 9 Truth Social post on the rate cap, banks said on earnings conference calls that such a limit would have unintended consequences, including that lenders would simply cancel accounts for many card customers, especially those with lower credit scores.

The president told reporters that lenders who didn’t comply on rates will be “in violation of the law,” but behind closed doors, bankers countered that they were already compliant with the law.

Privately, bankers and their lobbyists told CNBC they hoped to fend off the president’s request, given the difficulty of passing legislation.

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Several large credit card lenders contacted by CNBC on Tuesday said they had made no changes to their interest rates, but they all declined to be identified. KBW’s Sakhrani said he wasn’t aware of any major card player that cut its rates.

On Wednesday, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told a Davos audience that the U.S. government should test out the rate cap in just two states, Vermont and Massachusetts. Those are the home states of Sanders and Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who have both championed interest rate caps.

Doing so would teach “a real lesson” to those in favor of price controls, Dimon said.

“It would be an economic disaster,” Dimon said. “In the worst case, you’d have a drastic reduction of the credit card business” for 80% of Americans, he said.

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What a one-year, 10% credit card interest rate cap could mean for consumers

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Crypto World

MSTR tops list of most heavily shorted stocks, but don’t assume pure bearishness

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Highest short interest outstanding as a percentage of market cap (Goldman Sachs)

The market for Bitcoin-holder Strategy (MSTR) shares is among the most “heavily shorted,” a market slang term for dominance of bearish plays, according to FactSet and Goldman Sachs data. Yet the positioning may not reflect investor bias toward a continued price crash, per some observers.

According to the report released last week, bearish short bets on Strategy (MSTR) equaled 14% of its market capitalization of $34 billion at the time, making it the most shorted stock by that measure. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) ranked fourth at 11% of its market cap. The report tracked positioning in stocks with market capitalization of over $25 billion.

This comes as Strategy is sitting on roughly a $7 billion unrealized loss on its bitcoin holdings. That figure, however, has no impact on the stock in the near term. Strategy began adding BTC to its balance sheet in 2020 and has since gobbled up 717,722 BTC, worth $47 billion. As of writing, its market cap stood closer at $42 billion, despite the stock falling 20% year-to-date.

One explanation for the elevated short interest offered by analysts is the basis trade – a strategy that seeks to profit from the price difference between two related markets. In this context, traders may bought bitcoin spot ETFs, like BlackRock’s IBIT, while simultaneously shorting the MSTR stock. to profit from a narrowing of MSTR’s premium to its BTC holdings narrows, plus any funding from paired futures if layered on, while staying market neutral.

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“I suspect a lot of this short interest is still MSTR / BTC basis trade. Jane Street, in particular, has recently acquired a conspicuously large IBIT position,” Brian Brookshire, specialist in bitcoin treasury companies, said.

According to recent 13F filings, Jane Street purchased more than 7 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. It also held a large position in MSTR.

If Brookshire’s instincts hold, Jane Street’s purchases of IBIT could be a part of the carry/basis trade, paired with short positions in MSTR.

So far this year, that trade would have not worked. The MSTR-to-IBIT ratio is up about 12%, meaning MSTR has outperformed IBIT on the downside. MSTR is down 20% year to date, while IBIT has fallen 27%.

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Highest short interest outstanding as a percentage of market cap (Goldman Sachs)

Highest short interest outstanding as a percentage of market cap (Goldman Sachs)

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Institutional ETF Flows Tilt Toward This Altcoin in February

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Solana ETF flows in February

Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are diverging from broader crypto ETF trends this month. While demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum products has shown signs of cooling, Solana-linked funds have maintained steady inflows.

The shift comes amid heightened volatility in digital asset markets. With macro uncertainty weighing on investor sentiment, ETF flows may be offering a signal of where institutional capital is positioning in the short term.

Solana ETF Streak Stands Out in Volatile Crypto Market

According to data from SoSoValue, Solana ETFs have recorded consecutive inflows since February 10. As of February 24, the products have logged only three red days this month. Overall, the ETFs have pulled in $30.33 million. 

The streak stands out against the more uneven performance seen in larger crypto ETFs during the same period.

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Solana ETF flows in February
Solana ETF flows in February. Source: SoSoValue

Bitcoin ETFs have posted mixed results in February. Inflows were recorded on seven trading days this month. Ethereum ETFs have followed a similar pattern, reflecting inconsistent demand rather than sustained accumulation. 

Despite those positive sessions, cumulative flows remain deeply negative. So far this month, Bitcoin ETFs’ net outflows stand at $939.94 million. In addition, Ethereum ETFs recorded outflows of $490.58 million.

When compared to other altcoin products, Solana’s performance also appears relatively stronger. XRP-linked ETFs have experienced outflows on three trading sessions this month while recording zero flows on four days. 

Although the number of positive sessions is comparable, the consistency of Solana’s streak since mid-February remains notable.

Nonetheless, it is important to contextualize the data. In absolute dollar terms, inflows into Solana ETFs remain smaller than those seen in Bitcoin products. 

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Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs continue to command the majority of institutional crypto exposure and overall capital allocation. However, consistency in flows can indicate relative resilience in demand during periods of broader uncertainty.

The steady inflows into Solana products suggest that some investors are maintaining or selectively increasing exposure to higher-beta assets, even as flagship crypto ETFs experience uneven demand. Still, the divergence may reflect short-term capital rotation rather than a structural shift in institutional positioning.

SOL Price Remains Under Pressure 

Despite the ETF inflows, Solana’s price performance has continued to reflect broader market weakness. Like most major digital assets, SOL has trended downward over the past month, declining 32.8%.

The altcoin saw a modest recovery today, rising more than 7% as total crypto market capitalization expanded by approximately $32 billion. At press time, SOL was trading at $82.15.

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Solana (SOL) Price Performance.
Solana (SOL) Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto Markets

However, technical analysts remain cautious on the asset’s near-term outlook. Market commentator Alejandro suggested that Solana’s next downside target could be $45.

Whale Factor described the token as entering a high-probability “make or break” zone on the 4-hour chart. According to the analysis, SOL’s wedge formation is “reaching maximum exhaustion,” signaling a potential volatility squeeze at a critical inflection point.

The analyst outlined two possible scenarios:

“Bull Case: Clean break and retest of $82 targets the $97-100 macro resistance. Bear Case: Failure to hold the $78 support level opens the door for a retest of $68.”

Whether Solana will extend its recovery or face renewed downside pressure remains to be seen.

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Bitcoin Rebounds as Traders Debate Jane Street “10am Price Slam”

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Bitcoin Rebounds as Traders Debate Jane Street "10am Price Slam"

Bitcoin (BTC) sought to reclaim $65,000 as support into Wednesday’s Wall Street open as rumors swirled around US institutional pressure.

Key points:

  • Bitcoin bounces 2.5% as talk turns to alleged selling pressure from Wall Street trading company Jane Street.

  • Jane Street rebuts claims of crypto market manipulation during the 2022 bear market.

  • “Razor thin” order books boost BTC price volatility.

Bitcoiners debate Jane Street “10am price slam”

Data from TradingView tracked a BTC price rebound, taking BTC/USD to $66,300 on Bitstamp before the pair consolidated.

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Daily price gains remained at more than 2% at the time of writing, while crypto market participants became increasingly interested in potential deliberate BTC price suppression.

A theory circulating on social media revolved around secretive quantitative investment firm Jane Street, now subject to legal action by defunct crypto company Terraform Labs.

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Coordinated algorithmic selling of Bitcoin at 10am Eastern time daily, it alleged, provided the main impetus for months of BTC price downside beginning in October 2025.

Amid the ongoing legal proceedings, Jane Street may have been forced to suspend its trading strategy, leaving the market to adjust higher.

The Terraform Labs complaint makes specific reference to “market manipulation” that impacted crypto throughout 2022, the year in which Bitcoin put in its last bear market bottom of $15,600 in Q4.

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Jane Street told Cointelegraph that the accusations were “baseless, opportunistic claims.”

The 10am argument, meanwhile, failed to convince many. Crypto YouTuber Wise Advice was among them, suggesting that the theory was too simplistic to be valid.

BTC price versus “razor thin” liquidity

Commenting on the latest BTC price move, traders remained cautious.

Related: Bitcoin ETF sell-off is ‘purification’ of bull case, investor says

“$BTC is facing major resistance at $66k – from both the local range lows and the 4h trend,” trader Jelle wrote in his latest analysis on X. 

“Flipping that could spark short-term relief, but until that happens, the trend is clear. Don’t fight it.”

BTC/USD four-hour chart. Source: Jelle/X

Keith Alan, cofounder of trading resource Material Indicators, said that a “razor thin order book” on exchanges had contributed to the price rebound.

Overhead sell liquidity, he told X followers, had been pulled in advance of US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

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The 24-hour crypto liquidations totaled $333 million at the time of writing, per data from CoinGlass, with shorts accounting for $213 million of that figure.

Crypto liquidation history (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass