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According to market news, the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange platform Bitbank has launched a cryptocurrency-linked credit card that allows users to pay bills directly using the assets in their exchange accounts, including settling with Bitcoin.This credit card also offers a 0.5% cryptocurrency cashback on monthly spending. The product is launched by Bitbank and aims to use the cryptocurrency assets held by the exchange for everyday payment scenarios.

According to FinanceFeeds, two Democratic senators have written to Treasury Secretary Scott Bancenet, requesting an assessment of whether the UAE government's affiliated entity's $500 million investment in the cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial should undergo a national security review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).The committee, led by the Treasury Department, is responsible for reviewing foreign investment transactions that may involve sensitive technologies or data. According to a previous report by The Wall Street Journal, G42, supported by Abu Dhabi royal family member Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, acquired a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial through an entity named Aryam Investment 1. The report indicated that some of the funds flowed to the Trump family and its affiliates. The Trump camp denied any knowledge of this. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Angus King questioned in their letter whether the deal could allow a foreign government access to user data and mentioned G42's past collaborations with Chinese companies. They requested the Treasury Department to clarify by March 5 whether a review process has been initiated or if a recommendation has been made to the president.World Liberty Financial is the issuer of the stablecoin USD1, which has circulated over $5 billion since its launch in March 2025. The company lists Trump and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff as honorary co-founders. A company spokesperson previously stated that the two were not involved in the UAE-related transactions.

Cyber Hornet has submitted an application for the S&P Crypto 10 ETF (CTX), which may become the first spot-based ETF linked to the S&P Crypto Index. The proposed holdings for the ETF include: Bitcoin 69%, Ethereum 14%, XRP 5%, BNB 4%, Solana 2%, TRON 1%, Cardano 0.5%, Bitcoin Cash 0.4%, Chainlink 0.3%, and Stellar 0.2%.

Uber and Lyft former executive Travis VanderZanden announced the launch of a Bitcoin-linked savings token called BUCK, which aims to provide users with an approximate target annual return of 7%.

According to Cryptonews citing the Financial Times, the cryptocurrency company ALT5 Sigma, linked to Trump, is facing scrutiny due to its unlicensed auditor. State government documents show that the company's license expired in August and has not been renewed as of the end of December, making it unable to conduct audit work under Texas regulations.The company stated that its auditor is undergoing a mandatory peer review supervised by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, which is expected to be completed by the end of January.The report also noted that since the beginning of 2025, the company's stock price has dropped over 77%, reflecting growing investor unease as the company struggles to meet disclosure requirements. The company is currently at risk of being delisted from Nasdaq due to its failure to timely submit its quarterly report for the period ending in September.

Goldman Sachs has agreed to acquire Innovator Capital Management for approximately $2 billion, incorporating this firm that issues "defined outcome" exchange-traded funds (ETFs) into its asset management portfolio, which includes a structured fund for Bitcoin. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026, at which point it will add approximately $28 billion in regulated assets to Goldman Sachs' asset management division.

According to CNBC, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jack Reed have written to the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury, requesting an investigation into the cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial, which is closely associated with President Trump's family. The reason for the investigation is that the company is suspected of selling its $WLFI tokens to entities linked to illegal actors such as North Korea and Russia, raising concerns about national security.The senators cited a report from the nonprofit organization Accountable.US, which stated that WLF sold $WLFI tokens to "highly suspicious entities." These entities have been found on the blockchain to have transactional links with the sanctioned North Korean hacking group Lazarus Group, Russia's "ruble-backed sanctions evasion tools," Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges, and Tornado Cash.WLF's website shows that Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Barron Trump are co-founders, and the entity DT Marks DEFI LLC (associated with the president and his family members) holds a majority stake in WLF and is entitled to 75% of the proceeds from $WLFI token sales.The senators believe that selling governance tokens to these entities not only directly profits the Trump family but may also allow illegal actors to gain influence over WLF's governance, indicating that WLF "lacks strong sanctions and anti-money laundering controls," and warns that this "poses a significant risk of facilitating illegal financial activities."

ChainCatcher news, Trump-associated investment firm Dominari Holdings has officially announced the establishment of a cryptocurrency advisory committee to guide the company's strategic expansion into the digital asset space. The committee is headquartered at Trump Tower in New York and will provide professional advice for Dominari's acquisitions and collaborations in the digital asset field, working in conjunction with the company's existing advisory board.It is reported that the founding members of the committee include former BitPay executive Sonny Singh and seasoned blockchain entrepreneur Tristan Chaudhry.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg ETF senior analyst Eric Balchunas's post on social media, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released the "listing standards" for cryptocurrency ETPs through new trading platform filing documents.The core conclusion is: any token listed on the Coinbase derivatives trading platform, with futures trading lasting more than 6 months, is expected to be approved. Currently, about a dozen mainstream cryptocurrencies meet the standards, similar to those previously predicted with an 85% probability or higher. The only unresolved issue is the timing; this batch of ETFs may be approved between September and October of this year.For altcoins or meme coins (such as BONK, TRUMP, etc.) that have not yet launched futures, ETF approval would need to rely on the path of the Investment Company Act of 1940, using a different product structure. Historically, regulators have shown a preference for the "pure spot" ETF model based on the Securities Act of 1933.Note: The SEC has published the listing standards for cryptocurrency ETPs, but most of the upcoming cryptocurrency products will adopt the ETF structure.

ChainCatcher news, according to local media reports cited by Cyptoslate, two major Russian insurance companies, Renaissance Life and BCS Life Insurance, have launched investment-linked life insurance policies (ILIP) tied to Bitcoin.These innovative policies allow investors to invest in the BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which is the largest Bitcoin ETF by assets under management. These ILIPs are designed for high-net-worth individuals who wish to profit from Bitcoin price fluctuations without directly holding Bitcoin.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the blockchain security company Elliptic stated that the attack on the Iranian cryptocurrency exchange Nobitex by the hacker group Gonjeshke Darande, linked to Israel, resulting in a loss of $90 million, was not motivated by financial gain, as the related funds were sent to a Vanity Address, essentially destroying the tokens.Previous news, the hacker group "Gonjeshke Darande" (Persian for "Fierce Sparrow") announced that it had launched a cyber attack on the Iranian cryptocurrency exchange Nobitex and warned that it would release the exchange's source code and internal network information within 24 hours.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Interchain Labs has confirmed that between 2022 and 2024, an individual later identified as being linked to North Korea contributed to the Cosmos codebase while employed by a former maintainer.The individual had limited access to the cosmos/IAVL and cosmos/cosmos-sdk codebases, and most of their contributed code has been deprecated or excluded from the roadmap, with independent audits finding no security vulnerabilities. To support transparency, ICL will offer a month of double bounties on the Cosmos HackerOne page for discovering vulnerabilities related to this participant's GitHub account.After ICL took over core stack development, new security protocols were implemented to prevent further contributions, and the individual was denied reapplication for a position. ICL has conducted security upgrades on all Cosmos core codebases and will deprecate the related codebases in the future. This incident highlights the need for stringent security protocols in the Web3 and broader technology sectors.

ChainCatcher news, according to Finance Feeds, Visa has partnered with the stablecoin platform Bridge to launch a stablecoin Visa card issuance product. Developers using Bridge can integrate through a single API to issue stablecoin Visa cards in multiple countries. Cardholders can use their stablecoin balances for everyday purchases at merchants worldwide that accept Visa. Bridge converts the stablecoins into fiat currency to pay merchants and supports adding the card to digital wallets, applicable to over 150 million Visa merchants.The first issuing countries include Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile, with plans to expand to Europe, Africa, and Asia in the future.Additionally, Bridge has partnered with Lead Bank to streamline the card issuance process for developers across multiple countries.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the National Bank of Bahrain has announced the launch of the first Bitcoin-linked structured investment product, designed specifically for institutional investors in the Gulf Cooperation Council, which consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

According to ChainCatcher news, as reported by CoinDesk, brokerage firm Bernstein stated that MicroStrategy is a pioneer in the Bitcoin capital market. The company has raised $4 billion in convertible debt to purchase Bitcoin. Analysts Gautam Chhugani and Mahika Sapra noted that MicroStrategy is the only company generating institutional demand for Bitcoin-linked convertible bonds.Bernstein pointed out that since it began purchasing cryptocurrencies in 2020, MicroStrategy has not sold any Bitcoin and is expected to continue raising funds to increase its Bitcoin reserves.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the crypto options trading platform Deribit will launch futures products linked to Deribit's Bitcoin Volatility Index (DVOL) at the end of March, aiming to provide digital asset investors with a simpler way to hedge against market volatility than options.It is reported that DVOL was launched in early 2021 and calculates Bitcoin's 30-day implied volatility using Deribit's options order book. Deribit initially offered futures with a 1-month expiration, with plans to expand to 5 months in the future. (source link)