Crypto Weekly Roundup: Trump Mulls CZ Pardon, Ripple To Buy 1B XRP Tokens, & More

This week in crypto saw considerable activity around digital asset treasuries. Ripple Labs announced plans to purchase $1 billion worth of XRP tokens for a digital asset treasury. Meanwhile, a Financial Times investigation revealed that the Trump family has made a profit of over $1 billion thanks to their crypto bet. Additionally, President Trump is also considering a presidential pardon for Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.

Business

Ripple Labs announced plans to launch a fundraising effort to purchase $1 billion worth of its XRP token to create a new digital asset treasury. Ripple lab already holds 4.5 billion XRP tokens, and holds another 37 billion tokens in escrow.

A Financial Times investigation has revealed that US President Donald Trump and his family have made a profit of over $1 billion through their cryptocurrency empire. When asked about the figures, Eric Trump stated that the figures were probably higher.

a16z Crypto, the blockchain investment arm of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, has announced a $50 million investment in Jito, a liquid staking protocol underpinning the Solana network. The investment values Jito at $800 million, with a16z receiving JTO tokens at a discounted rate.

Citigroup plans to launch a crypto custody service in 2026, marking the latest major bank to enter the digital asset services market. According to sources, the bank had been working on its crypto custody service for nearly three years.

Ethena Labs founder Guy Young has stated that the depegging event on Binance, which saw the value of the USDe token drop to $0.65, was an isolated event due to an internal issue on Binance, not because of the underlying collateral.

Web3

Brevis, an infrastructure provider powering smart, verifiable applications with zk proofs (ZKPs), has announced that its Pico Prism zkVM has achieved record proving coverage of 99.6% (below 12 seconds) and real-time proving coverage of 96.8% (below 10) for Ethereum blocks with a 45M gas limit.

Ecoyield is a startup that enables anyone to invest in clean energy and earn rewards through tokenized yield. It has built a real-world asset platform that allows investors to fund renewable energy projects in several locations, including Dubai and the UK.

An independent trade group has cited Naoris Protocol in its submission to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The document is termed Post-Quantum Financial Infrastructure Framework (PQFIF) and was addressed to the U.S. Crypto Assets Task Force. By doing so, the trade group’s submission to the SEC acknowledges Naoris' role in safeguarding digital assets against the coming wave of quantum computing threats.

SACHI, an immersive Web3 competitive gaming universe, has introduced the “Risk-Free Rush”, giving players a new way to enjoy casino-style thrills without the pitfalls of real-money withdrawals.

Security

The United States Department of Justice has seized $15 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from an individual leading a massive “pig butchering” operation based in Cambodia. The seizure is the largest forfeiture action in the DOJ’s history.

Regulation

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) are preparing a regulatory overhaul to ban insider trading in cryptocurrencies. The government plans to authorize the SESC to investigate suspicious trades and recommend penalties and charges.

President Trump is reportedly considering pardoning Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. A presidential pardon could restore Zhao’s standing in the cryptocurrency industry. The former Binance CEO has served time and paid $4.3 billion in fines after a 2023 money-laundering conviction.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice