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- Trump is easing up on Bitcoin.
- FTX can sell stake in AI startup.
- England looks to classify digital assets.
Trump warming to Bitcoin, suggests regulation
Former US President Donald Trump, who two years ago said Bitcoin seemed like a “scam,” now says he can “live with” the biggest cryptocurrency.
The Republican front-runner for the presidential nomination, 77, was speaking with Fox News anchor Laura Inghram in a South Carolina town hall event before the primary election this weekend, when she asked if the US ought to embrace Bitcoin.
“You probably have to do some regulation. Many people are embracing it. More and more I’m seeing people wanting to pay Bitcoin,” Trump replied.
“I can live with it one way or the other,” he said.
Not so much with CBDCs (central bank digital currencies), which the Republican Party opposes and Trump promised to ban while campaigning in January, CoinDesk reported.
Still, the former president’s relationship with digital assets is complicated. He has sold batches of NFTs, some featuring his likeness as a superhero, a rock star or George Washington crossing the Delaware, though how much he has earned from these ventures is uncertain, according to Forbes.
FTX to sell stake in AI startup Anthropic
A US judge ruled that collapsed crypto exchange FTX can sell its shares of artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, Reuters reported.
FTX invested $500 million in Anthropic in 2021 and holds an almost 8 percent stake, which bankruptcy managers want to sell as part of an effort to repay customers who lost money when the crypto exchange went under in 2022.
“We are selling the Anthropic shares, as we are selling everything, and putting the money in the bank,” FTX attorney Andy Dietderich told the court. FTX managers expect to sell the shares at a profit.
England seeks to classify digital assets as property
The Law Commission of England and Wales is asking for public feedback on legislation that would classify digital assets as property.
“Because digital assets differ significantly from physical assets, and from rights-based assets like debts and financial securities, they do not fit within traditional categories of personal property. We recommended that legislation should confirm the existence of a ‘third’ category of personal property,” the commission said.
The proposed legislation would “confirm the existence of a third category of personal property into which crypto-tokens and other assets could fall.”
The deadline for public responses is March 22.
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin is up 0.59% today at $51,046.80.
- Ethereum is up 1.16% today at $2,955.87.