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Trump has reinforced his pro-crypto stance, saying crypto assets have remained resilient during market downturns and are now widely embraced. The president has stated that the US must lead in digital asset innovation or risk falling behind countries like China.

“I want crypto,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press this week. The president was asked how he responds to people who express concern about the possibility of him profiting from the presidency.

“I think crypto is important because if we don’t do it, China is going to,” he said. “It’s new. It’s very popular. It’s very hot.” He added that during market downturns, crypto “stayed much stronger than other aspects of the market.”

Trump noted that crypto is too important to ignore, pointing to the sheer scale of adoption as a driving force behind his pro-crypto stance. He also accused the Biden administration of initially cracking down on crypto but later softening its stance for political gain.

Pressed on whether he stands to profit from the Official Trump token (TRUMP), the president said he is “not profiting from anything” and stressed that his backing of crypto began well before the presidential campaign.

“I haven’t even looked,” Trump said, adding that “if I own stock in something, and I do a good job, and the stock market goes up, I guess I’m profiting.”

Trump said he had contributed his entire presidential salary to the government. When asked whether he would contribute any crypto-related earnings, he responded that he had never considered it.

“Should I contribute all of my real estate that I’ve owned for many years if it goes up a little bit because I’m president and doing a good job? I don’t think so,” he said.

The president added that he plans to continue contributing his salary during his current term.

The TRUMP token, which once reached a market capitalization of nearly $15 billion, has experienced a steep decline following President Trump’s inauguration. At press time, its market cap stood at approximately $2 billion, per CoinMarketCap.

Last week, the token surged more than 70% after news broke that President Trump would host an exclusive dinner for the top TRUMP token holders. Scheduled for May 22 at Trump National Golf Club, the event will be limited to the top 220 wallet holders.

The announcement has sparked bipartisan concern.

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Adam Schiff have called for an ethics investigation, citing potential “pay to play” practices and the risk of personal enrichment through the sale of presidential access.

Even some of Trump’s allies have expressed unease. Senator Cynthia Lummis, a vocal supporter of Trump and a prominent Bitcoin advocate, voiced her discomfort.

“This is my president that we’re talking about, but I am willing to say that this gives me pause,” Lummis said, according to CNBC.

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President Trump on Friday renewed pressure on the Fed to cut interest rates, but the robust April employment data that followed has lowered the odds of a June rate cut, according to Nick Timiraos, often referred to as the “Fed’s mouthpiece” at the Wall Street Journal.

The next Fed policy meeting is scheduled for May 6–7, 2025. Economists broadly expect the central bank to keep the federal funds rate unchanged in its current range of 4.25% to 4.5% during this meeting.

This means that attention is shifting to the following meeting on June 18. According to Timiraos, only one more jobs report will be released before that meeting, leaving limited time for economic conditions to deteriorate enough to warrant a rate cut.

The Fed relies heavily on monthly labor data to gauge whether the economy is weakening. Since April’s report was stronger than expected, it reduces the urgency of any immediate monetary policy easing.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, non-farm payrolls rose by 177,000 in April, beating market expectations. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, continuing a narrow range that’s been in place since May 2024.

Job gains were most notable in sectors such as health care, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, and social assistance, while federal government employment declined.

Fed officials have emphasized that a decision to lower interest rates would likely require clear evidence of rising unemployment or weakening labor demand.

So far, the new data show few signs of declining hiring activity, giving the central bank justification to maintain its wait-and-see stance, despite uncertainties, including the potential economic effects of recently reimposed tariffs.

Following the release of the April jobs report, market expectations for a June rate cut fell from roughly 58% to 40%, according to day-to-day shifts tracked by the CME FedWatch tool. Investors now see about a 60% chance that the Fed will hold rates steady in June.

In his statement urging the Fed to act, Trump claimed there is “no inflation,” arguing that consumers are finally experiencing long-awaited price relief.

He pointed to declining gasoline prices, lower grocery and energy costs, falling mortgage rates, and strong employment figures as signs that the economy is stabilizing.

With inflation no longer a threat, Trump insisted, the Fed should act swiftly to cut interest rates to support continued economic growth.

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Coinbase announced Thursday that it will disable trading of Movement’s MOVE token on May 15, as controversy deepens around the high-profile layer 2 blockchain project.

The exchange said in a statement on X that it has already shifted MOVE order books to limit-only mode.

Coinbase did not explicitly cite a reason for the suspension. However, the company noted that the decision followed a routine listing standards review, which found that MOVE no longer met Coinbase’s requirements.

The token dropped 20% to $0.18 following the announcement—its lowest point since launch—according to Binance data. At press time, MOVE saw a modest rebound to $0.20.

The Movement blockchain, which launched its mainnet beta and native token last December, has faced growing scrutiny since March when Binance identified and froze the profits of a market maker allegedly liquidating large quantities of MOVE tokens.

In response, the Movement Network Foundation cut ties with the market maker and announced a $38 million USDT buyback program to establish the Movement Strategic Reserve.

Movement Labs and the Movement Network later confirmed a third-party investigation into the matter, after Binance removed the market maker for misconduct, Blockworks reported last month.

A new report from CoinDesk this week sheds more light on the controversy. The release revealed that Movement Labs was allegedly misled into signing a market-making agreement that gave a middleman, Rentech, control over 66 million MOVE tokens.

The deal was said to have enabled a $38 million selloff, triggering sharp price drops and accusations of manipulation.

Internal documents showed that Rentech acted on both sides of the deal—as an agent of the Movement Foundation and a subsidiary of Web3Port—raising conflict-of-interest concerns.

The fallout also exposed internal divisions, as Movement’s legal counsel initially objected to the deal but was overruled, according to CoinDesk. Movement is investigating whether co-founder Rushi Manche or advisors like Sam Thapaliya played a deeper role than originally disclosed.

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The likelihood of a spot XRP ETF launching in 2025 has increased, according to the latest update from Bloomberg Intelligence. Analysts now estimate an 85% chance that a spot XRP product will gain approval from the SEC, up sharply from 65% in their February outlook.

ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart have also increased approval odds for other digital asset-backed funds, with products tracking Litecoin and Solana leading the pack.

Spot ETFs for Litecoin and Solana are given a 90% likelihood of approval by Bloomberg. Litecoin has especially benefited from the CFTC’s classification of LTC as a commodity.

Solana’s approval probability has jumped from 70% to 90%, with the asset attracting multiple ETF filings and institutional interest driven by its DeFi and NFT ecosystems.

Other assets are also gaining momentum. Dogecoin and Hedera ETFs are assigned an 80% likelihood of approval.

The Cardano ETF, filed only by Grayscale so far, carries an estimated 75% chance of approval.

Avalanche, one of the latest assets to be filed for, is likewise at 75%, with a final SEC decision expected around December 12. Polkadot ETFs are tracking at the same 75% odds.

The SEC recently delayed decisions on several applications, including Franklin Templeton’s spot XRP and Solana ETFs, Grayscale’s HBAR ETF, Bitwise’s Dogecoin ETF, and Ethereum staking ETFs from Franklin and Fidelity.

These funds join a growing list of proposed crypto products currently awaiting regulatory approval.

Most altcoin ETF decisions are expected between Q3 and Q4 of 2025. While the SEC could reject applications over market manipulation concerns or insufficient investor protections, ETF experts believe denial is less likely given futures market development, legal progress, and bipartisan interest in the crypto market structure.

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ProShares, the top issuer of leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds, may debut three futures ETFs tied to XRP, Ripple’s native crypto asset, as soon as April 30, according to a post-effective amended prospectus filed on April 15.

The proposed products include the Short XRP ETF, offering investors the opportunity to profit from declines in the price of XRP; the Ultra XRP ETF, delivering approximately twice the daily return of XRP’s price movements; and the UltraShort XRP ETF, aimed at providing approximately twice the inverse (-2x) of XRP’s daily performance.

ProShares, which initially filed for its XRP futures ETFs in January, stated in the April prospectus that its filing is expected to become effective on Wednesday, April 30.

The filing was made under a procedural mechanism that permits the products to launch without requiring further substantive review or explicit reapproval from the SEC, provided no objections are raised before the effective date.

However, while the amendment would allow the funds to become effective on that date, actual trading may not begin immediately, depending on exchange readiness and other operational factors.

Once the debut is confirmed, ProShares’ XRP futures ETFs will join Teucrium Investment Advisors, the first fund manager to launch a US-listed XRP ETF.

Teucrium’s fund, called the 2x Long Daily XRP ETF, aims to deliver returns that are double the daily return of XRP through swap agreements.

Teucrium’s launch came amid increasing investor demand for XRP following Donald Trump’s election victory, which directly contributed to a wave of regulatory developments favorable to the crypto industry, including the legal outcome between Ripple Labs and the SEC.

Pending spot XRP ETF decision

The SEC has delayed its decision on multiple spot XRP ETF applications, including those from major firms like Grayscale, Bitwise, and WisdomTree.

However, the delay is viewed as a normal part of the agency’s review process for crypto spot ETFs — not limited to XRP-linked products. Other ETFs tied to altcoins such as Solana, Dogecoin, and Litecoin are also currently pending.

ETF experts remain optimistic that the SEC will greenlight spot crypto ETFs as soon as this year, with Litecoin ETFs possibly being the first to receive approval.

Analysts’ confidence in XRP ETF approval has also grown, particularly following Paul Atkins’ appointment as SEC Chairman.

Earlier this week, CME Group announced plans to launch XRP futures, signaling a move towards potential spot ETF approval after the legal battle between the SEC and Ripple Labs officially concludes.

XRP is trading around $2.27, up nearly 9% over the past week, per TradingView.

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The world’s first ETF that tracks the spot price of XRP, Ripple’s native crypto asset, officially debuted on Brazil’s main stock exchange B3 on April 25, according to a press release from Valor Econômico.

The fund, dubbed Hashdex Nasdaq XRP Fundo de Índice, or Hashdex Nasdaq XRP FI, is managed by Hashdex and administered by Genial Investments Securities Brokerage SA. Genial Bank SA is the ETF’s custodian.

The global asset manager secured greenlight from Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) to launch the XRP-tied fund in February. The approval came after the securities regulator approved Hashdex’s spot Solana ETF last August.

Following regulatory approval, the fund entered into a pre-operational phase. During this phase, it was not yet actively trading but was undergoing preparatory steps.

The ETF, now trading on B3 under the ticker XRPH11, replicates the XRP Reference Price Index (NQXRP), which tracks the spot price of XRP across major crypto exchanges, according to the fund’s documents.

The fund will invest at least 95% of its net assets in XRP and related digital assets, securities, or futures contracts linked to the index. As of the latest data, XRPH11’s net worth is nearly $40 million.

The ETF’s fee structure includes a maximum global fee of 0.7% annually for administration, management, and distribution, plus a maximum custody fee of 0.1% per year. No structuring fees apply to the fund.

With the launch of XRPH11, Hashdex has expanded its ETF lineup on B3 to nine products, said Samir Kerbage, CIO of Hashdex.

He added that the new fund is part of Hashdex’s mono-asset ETF group, which also includes BITH11, ETHE11, and SOLH11. These funds target sophisticated investors like institutions who want to develop crypto strategies on B3.

As Brazil debuts the world’s first XRP ETF, the US is expected to approve funds that track the world’s fourth-largest crypto asset soon.

If approved by the SEC, spot Solana and XRP ETFs could draw up to $14 billion in investments, as estimated by JPMorgan analysts.

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CME Group, the world’s top-tier operator of derivatives exchanges, is planning to roll out XRP futures on May 19, pending regulatory review, the company shared in a Thursday announcement.

CME will offer both micro-sized contracts of 2,500 XRP and large-sized contracts of 50,000 XRP. These contracts will be cash-settled based on the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, calculated daily at 4:00 p.m. London time.

The announcement appears to corroborate a prior leak from the exchange’s staging website, which mentioned a February 10 launch of XRP and Solana futures. CME later clarified that the information was incorrect and that no formal plans had been confirmed.

Giovanni Vicioso, who oversees CME’s crypto product strategies, pointed to the increasing interest in XRP and its technology as the key reason for the upcoming product launch. The company wants to give investors a more efficient way to gain exposure to XRP, now ranking as the fourth-largest crypto asset by market cap.

“Interest in XRP and its underlying ledger (XRPL) has steadily increased as institutional and retail adoption for the network grows, and we are pleased to launch these new futures contracts to provide a capital-efficient toolset to support clients’ investment and hedging strategies,” Vicioso said in a statement.

The addition of XRP futures expands CME’s crypto product suite, which includes Bitcoin and Ether futures and options, along with the recently launched SOL futures.

CME Group reported that in Q1, average daily volume in crypto futures and options reached 198,000 contracts—equivalent to $11.3 billion in notional value—representing a 141% increase year-over-year. Average open interest rose to 251,000 contracts, up 83% from the same quarter last year.

“Bringing CME Group XRP futures to Robinhood is a natural next step in our mission to expand retail access to futures trading,” said JB Mackenzie, VP and GM of Futures and International at Robinhood.

“XRP was purpose-built for real financial use cases and today facilitates global value transfers through the fast, low-cost XRP Ledger,” said Sal Gilbertie, CEO of Teucrium. The company’s 2x Daily Long XRP ETF reached $35 million in assets under management in its first 10 trading days.

This is a developing story.

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