crypto-friendly

Minnesota Republican Congressman Tom Emmer was elected House Republican Whip after the midterm elections, securing the second-highest leadership position in the party. According to Politico, he defeated Texas Congressman August Pfluger in a closed-door vote of 103 to 76. Emmer previously served as the House Republican Majority Whip and will continue to be the number two in the party under the incoming Minority Leader Jim Jordan. The Democrats will take control of Congress in January next year.As Whip, Emmer will be responsible for rallying Republican votes, coordinating the party's legislative strategy, and maintaining party unity on key bills. Emmer has been a leading voice for the Republican Party on congressional digital asset issues. In March 2025, he announced the formation of a bipartisan Congressional Crypto Caucus with Congressman Ritchie Torres, aimed at garnering support for legislation on digital assets such as stablecoins and market structure.He is also the original co-sponsor of the CLARITY Act and introduced the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which aims to clarify that blockchain developers and infrastructure providers who do not control customer funds are not considered money transmitters under federal law. Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis stated on X that Tom is one of the most steadfast advocates for digital assets in Congress, leading the fight against government-controlled CBDCs and speaking out for American innovators.

U.S. Republican Congressman French Hill won re-election in Arkansas's 2nd Congressional District, defeating Democratic challenger Chris Jones, a result confirmed by the Associated Press on Thursday. Hill currently serves as the Chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee and is an important ally for the cryptocurrency industry in Congress.Hill initiated the CLARITY Act and voted in favor of the GENIUS Act, receiving an A rating from the cryptocurrency advocacy organization Stand With Crypto, classified as a strong supporter of cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrency industry-supported super PAC Fairshake pledged $1 million in October to support his re-election campaign, aiming to keep crypto-friendly lawmakers in Congress.With the Democrats winning control of the House of Representatives in Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections, Hill is expected to lose his position as Chairman of the Financial Services Committee in January. According to Reuters, the current senior Democratic member of the committee, Maxine Waters, is the leading candidate to succeed him. The Democrats also gained control of both the House and Senate, creating uncertainty for U.S. cryptocurrency legislation, with the industry potentially facing stricter scrutiny. The cryptocurrency industry-supported super PAC spent over $176 million in this election cycle.

According to Cointelegraph, crypto-friendly bank-as-a-service provider Cross River will provide banking infrastructure for X Money, supporting peer-to-peer payments, FDIC-insured interest-bearing accounts, and Visa debit card services. Cross River's banking platform and payment channels will support X's "super app" strategy and are designed to scale with more financial products over time. X Money will enter limited testing in May 2025 and expand to external testing in March 2026. X has obtained money transfer licenses in over 40 states in the U.S. and is registered with FinCEN to support platform peer-to-peer payments. The announcement did not mention support for cryptocurrencies or stablecoins.

According to PRNewswire, the crypto-friendly investment app Public announced the acquisition of the AI investment service platform Treasury App, with the specific acquisition amount not yet disclosed.This transaction aims to strengthen the AI-driven brokerage business layout, focusing on promoting an upgrade of the investment experience centered around AI. Currently, Public supports trading in stocks, bonds, and cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, and SOL.

According to Decrypt, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins launched the first episode of the official podcast "Material Matters," collaborating with commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda to publicly express a pro-innovation regulatory stance.Atkins stated that the U.S. should become the global destination for innovation and characterized the current situation as "a significant turning point for the U.S. market." Uyeda criticized the Gensler era SEC for deviating from its core responsibilities, while Peirce emphasized that regulation should be open to innovators.

According to the latest documents disclosed by the UK Electoral Commission, Thames-based investor Christopher Harborne has provided further donation support to the Reform Party. Harborne is estimated to hold about 12% of the shares in Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer. The disclosed documents show that following a £9 million donation made public last year, Harborne donated an additional £3 million in November.Under the leadership of Nigel Farage, the Reform Party has made digital assets a core part of its economic agenda, promising to make the UK a "primary hub" for digital assets and proposing to reduce the capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies from the current rate of about 18% to 10%. The Reform Party became the first UK political party to accept donations in digital assets in 2025, allowing supporters to donate using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. This move has raised concerns among some MPs; in January, the chairs of seven parliamentary committees urged the government to ban political donations in cryptocurrencies, arguing that digital assets could obscure the source of funds and pose a risk of foreign interference in the electoral system.

Liquid Capital founder Yi Lihua posted on platform X that crypto-friendly policies are gradually being realized, especially with the high likelihood of the crypto structural bill passing. This means that the crypto industry has ended its previously obstructed state and entered a new phase of healthy development in a favorable macro environment, where a large number of excellent founders and high-quality projects will emerge. At the same time, it clears the obstacles for U.S. financial institutions to participate on a large scale in the construction of crypto finance, allowing the crypto industry to fully integrate into the mainstream financial system.

According to Bloomberg, the crypto-friendly lending institution Old Glory Bank will go public through a merger with the blank-check company Digital Asset Acquisition Corp.Old Glory Bank has deep roots as a traditional lending institution in Oklahoma but rebranded as a digital bank in 2022, claiming plans to fully integrate cryptocurrency into its lending, deposit, and investment products.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, Lead Bank, a Missouri-based lending institution with a 97-year history that has been restructured to focus on serving fintech and cryptocurrency companies, has completed a $70 million financing round at a valuation of $1.47 billion—almost doubling its valuation from last year.The bank stated that the round was led by the well-known Silicon Valley investment firms Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Khosla Ventures, with existing investors Ribbit Capital, Coatue, and Zeev Ventures participating. New investors include Iconiq Capital and Greycroft. The funds will be used to strengthen the balance sheet to support its expansion in the fintech sector. Lead Bank's clients include "buy now, pay later" company Affirm Holdings Inc., corporate expense management platform Ramp Business Corporation, and the stablecoin business unit Bridge recently acquired by Stripe Inc.

ChainCatcher news, according to market news, the crypto-friendly President of El Salvador, Bukele, met with U.S. President Trump.On-chain data shows that El Salvador currently holds 6,146.18 bitcoins, worth approximately $519,469,267.

ChainCatcher News: A U.S. judge has completely dismissed the corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is a crypto-friendly individual. He previously announced that his first paycheck after taking office was converted into BTC and ETH through Coinbase.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by CoinDesk, the joint report released on April 1 by the three major EU regulatory bodies, including ESMA, pointed out that the increasingly crypto-friendly policy stance of the United States is deepening the correlation between crypto assets and traditional financial markets, which may increase systemic risk.The report mentioned that the U.S. deregulatory policy expectations are likely to raise the volatility of crypto valuations, and if there are no corresponding safeguards, it could trigger negative spillover effects on traditional finance. ECB officials also called for the development of a digital euro to address the high volatility of crypto assets and the global expansion of dollar-dominated stablecoins.

According to ChainCatcher news, reported by News.bitcoin, a study by Atmos ranks the UAE as the world's most crypto-friendly country, scoring 98.4, slightly ahead of Singapore in second place (97.5), while the United States scores 85.4, ranking third.The study shows that the United States, ranked third, has 29,834 ATMs, while the UAE has only one. Nevertheless, the UAE's 25.3% cryptocurrency ownership rate combined with a 210% adoption rate is enough to secure its top position. Canada, with the second highest number of Bitcoin ATMs (3,561), ranks fourth with a total score of 72. This score is attributed to its 10.1% cryptocurrency ownership rate and 225% adoption rate. In Turkey, due to currency devaluation causing economic uncertainty, the cryptocurrency ownership rate ranks third (19.3%). However, the country's lower adoption rate, coupled with a scarce number of Bitcoin ATMs (7), results in a score of 67.8, making it the fifth most crypto-friendly country.

According to ChainCatcher news, as reported by FOX Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, it has been confirmed that cryptocurrency-supporting House Republican Tom Emmer, Majority Whip and Chair of the Financial Services Committee's Digital Assets Subcommittee Bryan Steil will attend the roundtable meeting held today at the White House.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, WeFi's growth director Agne Linge stated: "Although Trump did not mention Bitcoin or cryptocurrency in his inauguration speech, some investors who quickly sold off cryptocurrencies may be reconsidering after the appointments of Mark Uyeda and Caroline Pham as chairs of the SEC and CFTC, respectively.If the SEC can issue new rules allowing Web3 innovators to create new markets with blockchain potential, it would be a huge benefit for all stakeholders involved."

ChainCatcher message, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong published a lengthy article on the X platform discussing how economic freedom leads to prosperity, emphasizing various shifts in global politics towards free markets.The article states that cryptocurrency is presented as a tool to increase economic freedom, offering benefits such as stable currencies, free trade, secure property rights, and permissionless access.Brian Armstrong suggests that policymakers in 2025 take actions to enhance economic freedom, including embracing cryptocurrency, establishing Bitcoin reserves, supporting economic special zones, and making government more efficient.

ChainCatcher news, as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to resign, prediction market Polymarket data shows that crypto-friendly Pierre Poilievre has a 91% chance of being elected as the next Prime Minister of Canada.It is reported that Poilievre has been a strong supporter of Bitcoin, having publicly stated, "I want to make Canada the world’s blockchain capital." He has also promised that during his tenure as Prime Minister, he will fire the central bank governor, audit the central bank's activities, and halt the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).