Trump admin pulls Brian Quintenz as CFTC nominee: Report

The post Let insiders trade – Blockworks appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. This is a segment from The Breakdown newsletter. To read more editions, subscribe ​​“The most valuable commodity I know of is information.” — Gordon Gekko, Wall Street Ten months ago, FBI agents raided Shayne Coplan’s Manhattan apartment, ostensibly in search of evidence that the prediction market he founded, Polymarket, had illegally allowed US residents to place bets on the US election. Two weeks ago, the CFTC gave Polymarket the green light to allow those very same US residents to place bets on whatever they like. This is quite the turn of events — and it’s not just about elections or politics. With its US government seal of approval in hand, Polymarket is reportedly raising capital at a valuation of $9 billion — a reflection of the growing belief that prediction markets will be used for much more than betting on elections once every four years. Instead, proponents say prediction markets can provide a real service to the world by providing it with better information about nearly everything. I think they might, too — but only if insiders are free to participate. Yesterday, for example, Polymarket announced new betting markets on company earnings reports, with a promise that it would improve the information that investors have to work with.  Instead of waiting three months to find out how a company is faring, investors could simply watch the odds on Polymarket.  If the probability of an earnings beat is rising, for example, investors would know at a glance that things are going well. But that will only happen if enough of the people betting actually know how things are going. Relying on the wisdom of crowds to magically discern how a business is doing won’t add much incremental knowledge to the world; everyone’s guesses are unlikely to average out to the truth. If…

The post MoneyGram launches stablecoin-powered app in Colombia appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. MoneyGram has launched a new mobile application in Colombia that uses USD-pegged stablecoins to modernize cross-border remittances. According to an announcement on Wednesday, the app allows customers to receive money instantly into a US dollar balance backed by Circle’s USDC stablecoin, which can be stored, spent, or cashed out through MoneyGram’s global retail network. The rollout is designed to address the volatility of local currencies, particularly the Colombian peso. Built on the Stellar blockchain and supported by wallet infrastructure provider Crossmint, the app marks MoneyGram’s most significant move yet to integrate stablecoins into consumer-facing services. Colombia was selected as the first market due to its heavy reliance on inbound remittances—families in the country receive more than 22 times the amount they send abroad, according to Statista. The announcement said future expansions will target other remittance-heavy markets. MoneyGram, which has nearly 500,000 retail locations globally, has experimented with blockchain rails since partnering with the Stellar Development Foundation in 2021. It has since built cash on and off ramps for stablecoins, developed APIs for crypto integration, and incorporated stablecoins into its internal settlement processes. “This launch is the first step toward a world where every person, everywhere, has access to dollar stablecoins,” CEO Anthony Soohoo stated. The company emphasized compliance, citing decades of regulatory experience, though stablecoin oversight remains fluid. The US Congress passed the GENIUS Act earlier this year, establishing a framework for stablecoin regulation, which MoneyGram has pointed to as providing clearer guardrails. This is a developing story. This article was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by editor Jeffrey Albus before publication. Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters: Source: https://blockworks.co/news/moneygram-stablecoin-app-colombia

Bitcoin's Taker buy volume has declined hitting early 2024 lows as sellers dominate.