Freedom Index
The News Roundup
View More NewsIn brief SEC Chair Paul Atkins indicated Thursday that sweeping crypto innovation exemptions are unlikely to come this month. He said the SEC is still working through the details and approaching the matter cautiously. Earlier this week, Wall Street heavyweights met with the agency to express concern about exemptions for tokenized securities. SEC Chair Paul Atkins appeared to walk back a timeline for issuing sweeping crypto-related exemptions on Thursday, just days after Wall Street leaders met with agency officials to express concerns about the plan.The exemptions would hand crypto companies a guarantee that activity in certain areas, such as tokenized…
Amid broad traditional market declines, crypto once again was the standout underperformer on Thursday.Modest overnight declines in crypto turned into a major rout in the U.S. morning as the Nasdaq shed more than 2% and gold tumbled nearly 10% from an overnight record. But while both of those markets managed sizable afternoon bounces — the Nasdaq closing with a decline of just 0.7% and gold reclaiming the $5,400 per ounce level — bitcoin and the rest of crypto held not far from session lows. Bitcoin was trading just above $84,000 at press time. Losing almost 6% over the past 24…
AI & Crypto
Read MorePolitics
Don't Miss!
Opinions & Debates
It has now been a month since Australia’s under‑16 social media ban—officially known as the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024—came into effect.I originally wrote this piece before the ban commenced on 10 December 2025, setting out my predictions for how it would play out. But after three weeks in Europe, I’m now back in Australia witnessing it firsthand. While I was broadly correct about the trade-offs that a blanket ban would involve, what I didn’t anticipate is how those trade-offs would manifest in the first month.The law puts the onus on social media companies to ensure…
Latest News
In brief Bitcoin plunged Thursday, with the 50-day EMA crossing below the 200-day EMA—a classic death cross pattern that typically signals sustained downward pressure.…
The Electronic Frontier Foundation stands with the people of Minneapolis and with all of the communities impacted by the ongoing campaign of ICE and…
from the good-deals-on-cool-stuff dept The Adobe Graphic Design Bundle has 3 courses designed to help you learn the essentials of graphic design and how…
For decades, Costa Rica was held up as Central America’s democratic exception: a country without an army, with strong democratic institutions, and a press…
In brief Representative Logan Manhart submitted a bill to introduce Bitcoin holdings into the state’s investment funds this week. Manhart’s move comes nearly a…
In Apperson v. Kaminsky, decided Friday by the Missouri Supreme Court (opinion by Justice Paul Wilson, Apperson sued his ex-romantic partners Kaminsky and Norman…
XRP’s XRP$1.8865 price has fallen about 4% this month, starting the new year on a negative note. Yet on-chain data shows a positive trend…
Abu Dhabi–based Universal Digital has launched USDU, the first US dollar‑backed stablecoin to be registered by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates…
In brief A federal court found BPS Financial promoted and operated the Qoin Wallet for nearly three years without an Australian financial services licence.…
UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 29TH JANUARY, 10 AM GSTThe Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has approved the country’s first USD-backed stablecoin under…
Ether held on crypto exchanges has declined over the last six months as the price of Ether has held steady, while holders are continuing…
In brief Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev says tokenization could have prevented the 2021 GameStop trading halt, blaming outdated settlement infrastructure. Experts say traditional brokerages…