(Bloomberg) — World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture co-founded by President Donald Trump, is seeking a national trust bank charter for one of its entities that would allow it to expand its USD1 stablecoin operations.Processing ContentWLTC Holdings LLC has filed a de novo application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish World Liberty Trust, a proposed national trust bank purpose-built for stablecoin services, World Liberty said in a statement Wednesday in New York. The news w ...

Bloomberg World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture co-founded by President Donald Trump, is seeking a US bank charter for one of its entities that would allow it to expand its USD1 stablecoin operations. WLTC Holdings LLC has filed a de novo application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish World Liberty Trust, a proposed national trust bank purpose-built for stablecoin services, World Liberty said in a statement Wednesday in New York. The news was first reported by the Wall ...

Company Overview - 21shares is one of the world's largest issuers of cryptocurrency exchange traded products (ETPs) and offers a significant range of crypto ETPs in the market [3] - The company aims to make cryptocurrency more accessible to investors and bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance [3] - Founded in 2018, 21shares has established a seven-year track record of creating crypto ETPs listed on major securities exchanges globally [3] Recent Announcement - 21shares announced a distribution for the 21shares Ethereum ETF (TETH) amounting to $0.010378 per share for staking rewards earned from its ETH holdings [1][2] - The ex/record date for this distribution is January 8, 2026, and the payable date is January 9, 2026 [2] Parent Company - 21shares is a subsidiary of FalconX, a leading institutional digital asset prime brokerage [4]

Group 1 - World Liberty Financial, backed by the Trump family, is seeking to establish a national trust bank focused on stablecoin operations [1] - The subsidiary WLTC Holdings has filed a "de novo" application for a bank charter to issue and custody USD1, a dollar-backed stablecoin that has over $3.3 billion in circulation [2][3] - The proposed trust bank will offer stablecoin issuance, redemption, and custody services, and plans to allow fee-free conversion between U.S. dollars and USD1 at launch [3] Group 2 - The establishment of national trust banks by cryptocurrency firms marks a significant step in integrating digital assets into the regulated banking system [1] - The OCC currently supervises about 60 national trust banks, with Anchorage Digital being the only digital asset company that holds a national trust bank charter [2] - The trust bank will comply with the recently passed GENIUS Act, which provides a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins [3]

Group 1: Macro Context - The U.S. government debt has surpassed $37 trillion, with analysts predicting a $40 trillion stress test for the financial system [1][3] - Bitcoin (BTC) has remained near recent highs, with ETF inflows exceeding $1.5 billion this month, indicating continued interest from large buyers despite rising public debt concerns [1][6] Group 2: Demand for U.S. Debt - Governments require buyers for their debt, and the crypto markets are closely monitoring who is providing the necessary capital [2] - Stablecoin issuers have emerged as significant buyers of short-term U.S. Treasuries, integrating parts of the crypto ecosystem into the traditional financial system [4][5] Group 3: Impact on Bitcoin - Spot Bitcoin ETFs are drawing investments from pension funds and wealth managers, which helps absorb supply without the complexities of on-chain trading [6] - Bitcoin's price movements are increasingly influenced by macroeconomic factors such as interest rates and ETF flows, rather than solely by developments within the crypto sector [6][7]

Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. American Bitcoin Corp. (NASDAQ:ABTC)  co-founder Eric Trump celebrated the company’s growing Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) reserve Monday, signaling that “the best is yet to come.” Trump Sets Ambitious Target For ABTC Trump said in an X post that within a span of four months, the company has grown to become the 19th largest Bitcoin treasury, holding 5,427 BTC, worth $509 million, as of this writing. “In just 4 mo ...

Core Insights - The approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in early 2024 led to a significant influx of capital, with billions of dollars invested, marking a pivotal moment for traditional investors in the cryptocurrency space [1] - However, the tradeoffs associated with ETFs have become apparent, particularly regarding tax implications, as they have removed certain tax advantages that direct ownership of bitcoin retains [2][3] Tax Implications - The "wash sale rule loophole" remains a critical differentiator between spot ETFs and direct bitcoin ownership, as cryptocurrencies are classified as property, allowing for more favorable tax treatment [4][5] - Direct ownership allows investors to harvest losses during market volatility without the restrictions imposed by ETFs, enabling immediate repurchase of the asset to maintain exposure [5][6] Investment Strategy - Advisors face a nuanced decision-making process regarding the suitability of spot ETFs versus direct ownership, focusing on tax management and risk mitigation rather than a simple choice between ease and difficulty [3][7] - Clients who invested in spot ETFs may find themselves lacking the flexibility to manage tax losses effectively, as ETFs are subject to the 30-day wash sale rule, which limits their ability to capitalize on market fluctuations [6][7] Advisor Perspectives - Some advisors, like Jirayr Kembikian from Citrine Capital, advocate for direct bitcoin ownership as the superior method, acknowledging that while spot ETFs provide an easy entry point, they sacrifice control and tax-loss harvesting opportunities [8]

The bitcoin staking platform Babylon has announced that a16z crypto is investing $15 million. The funding will support the development and scaling of Babylon Trustless Bitcoin Vaults (BTCVaults), a system intended to enable native Bitcoin to serve as collateral across decentralized finance (DeFi) applications—DeFi refers to blockchain-based financial services without intermediaries. In addition to investing capital, a16z crypto will provide Babylon with strategic guidance and share its experience in fund ...

Key Takeaways Strategy shareholders haven't caught many breaks lately. They did this week. Index provider MSCI late Tuesday said it would not boot publicly traded companies with big holdings of digital assets such as bitcoin from its indexes—for now. Fans of Strategy (MSTR), the company made famous for stockpiling cryptocurrency, applauded the decision: Its stock was recently up about 4%, a bit off earlier highs. The news removed, or at least delayed, an overhang from Strategy's shares. MSCI last fall propo ...

Cryptocurrency infrastructure and digital assets security firm Fireblocks has acquired onchain accounting firm Tres Finance in a deal reportedly worth $130 million in cash and equity. The deal brings Tres Finance’s deep suite of accounting, auditing, and reporting services and tools into the Fireblocks ecosystem. According to a report from Fortune, Fireblocks CEO Michael Shaulov says the firm will focus on integrating Tres Finance within its platform and providing “a much broader treasury management sol ...