WuBlockchain Weekly:Trump’s Company Enters the Decentralized Finance, US States Submit the “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act”, and Governor of the Czech Central Bank Proposes Investing in Bitcoin, etc

1. The Trump Media and Technology Group Embarks on the Decentralized Finance Domain link

The Trump Media & Technology Group has announced the introduction of TruthFi, a brand in the realm of financial services and fintech, marking its foray into the decentralized finance domain. The board of directors has given the green light for investments amounting to as much as $250 million, which can be earmarked for separately managed accounts (SMAs), exchange — traded funds (ETFs), along with Bitcoin and analogous cryptocurrencies or crypto — related securities.

2. Former US SEC Chairman Gary Gensler Resumes Teaching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology link

Gary Gensler, the former Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has returned to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to serve as a Practice Professor in the Global Economics and Management Group and the Finance Group. As per the university, he will engage in teaching and research on artificial intelligence, finance, fintech, and public policy.

3. The Arizona Senate Finance Committee in the US Approves the “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act” link

The “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act” in Arizona, USA, permits the investment of up to 10% of public funds in virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. Co — sponsored by Wendy Rogers and Jeff Weninger, the act stipulates that the state government’s digital assets will be stored in secure segregated accounts. After passing through the Finance Committee, Arizona’s Bitcoin reserve bill will now be submitted to the Senate Rules Committee, which will set the parameters for parliamentary debate and amendment. If approved by the full Senate, the bill will be presented to the House of Representatives for consideration. If the bill is ultimately passed, Arizona will become the first state in the US to invest public funds in Bitcoin.

On Thursday, Representative John Cabello from Illinois, the fifth — most populous state in the US, introduced the “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act” (HB1844), proposing the establishment of a state — level Bitcoin reserve fund and requiring that it be held for at least five years before being sold or converted. The bill was submitted to the Rules Committee for review on January 29th to develop the final regulatory details and awaits approval from the legislature. If passed, Illinois will become another state, following Arizona, to advance Bitcoin reserves.

4. KuCoin Reaches a Settlement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) link

KuCoin has reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ). Meanwhile, KuCoin’s founders, Chun Gan (Michael Gan) and Ke Tang (Eric Tang), have also individually reached settlement agreements with the DOJ. According to the agreements, the DOJ has agreed to drop all charges against the two founders upon their fulfillment of specific conditions. As part of the settlement, Michael has announced his withdrawal from all positions related to KuCoin and its affiliated companies. The judge has imposed a fine of approximately $113 million and ordered the forfeiture of $184.5 million. KuCoin will withdraw from the US market for at least the next two years.

5. Governor of the Czech National Bank: If Approved, the Central Bank May Allocate up to 5% of Its 140 — billion — euro Reserves to Bitcoin Investments link

Aleš Michl, the governor of the Czech National Bank, plans to propose investing 5% of its 140 billion euro reserves in Bitcoin to achieve asset diversification. If the proposal is approved, the Czech National Bank will become the first known Western central bank to hold crypto assets. Michl pointed out that although Bitcoin is extremely volatile, its market has attracted more institutional investment due to the launch of Bitcoin ETFs and the crypto — friendly policies of the Trump administration.

6. The Ethereum Community Initiates an Informal On — chain Vote in Favor of Danny Ryan Assuming the New Leadership of the Foundation link

In an informal on — chain vote, Ethereum community members, with a 99% approval rate, elected Danny Ryan, a former researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, as the next leader of the Ethereum Foundation (EF). The vote was initiated by “votedannyryancom”, with 296 wallets participating, collectively holding over 50,000 ETH, valued at approximately $160 million. The vote was conducted through on — chain signatures. Although the result is not legally binding, it reflects the community’s recognition of Ryan’s leadership. Previously, Joseph Lubin, a co — founder of Ethereum, had also proposed that Danny Ryan and Jerome de Tychey, the president of ETH France, jointly lead the EF to strengthen the technological direction. Currently, Vitalik still retains the final decision — making power regarding changes to the foundation’s leadership.

7. MicroStrategy Acquires 10,107 BTC at a Cost of $1.1 Billion link

MicroStrategy has acquired 10,107 BTC at a price of approximately $1.1 billion, with an average acquisition price of $105,596, achieving a BTC yield of 2.90% year — to — date in 2025. As of January 26, 2025, MicroStrategy holds 471,107 BTC, with an average acquisition price of $64,511 and a total cost of approximately $30.4 billion.

8. Roger Ver Appeals to Trump for Help, Alarming That He Faces up to 109 Years of Imprisonment link

Roger Ver, known as the “Bitcoin Jesus”, appealed to Trump for help on Twitter. He claimed to be the first person in the world to invest in the Bitcoin ecosystem, yet he might be taken back to the United States and face a 109 — year imprisonment. Previously, he was accused of failing to report capital gains when selling Bitcoins in 2017 and understating the value of his Bitcoin holdings when renouncing his U.S. citizenship in 2014. Earlier, he was arrested in Spain due to U.S. criminal charges and is awaiting extradition back to the United States. Elon Musk stated that Roger Ver had relinquished his U.S. citizenship and thus was ineligible for any pardon.

9. A Co — founder of Ledger Has a Finger Severed After Being Kidnapped; Part of the Crypto Ransom Is Paid Before Rescue link

On January 21st, David Balland, the co — founder of Ledger, was kidnapped along with his wife at their home in central France, and more details have come to light. The kidnappers held the two at separate locations and demanded a ransom of approximately 10 million euros in cryptocurrency. To exert pressure, the kidnappers severed one of Balland’s fingers and sent the video to another co — founder of Ledger. After an investigation, the French police rescued Balland in Châteauroux on January 22nd and found his wife the next day. During the operation, a total of 10 suspects were arrested. Balland received treatment for his hand injury, while his wife, though unharmed, was severely traumatized. Part of the cryptocurrency ransom paid has been traced and frozen.

10. Forbes Publishes the 2025 Global Ranking of the Most Trusted Cryptocurrency Exchanges link

Forbes has released its 2025 ranking of the world’s most trusted crypto exchanges, which includes a detailed analysis of over 200 exchanges. CME Group, Coinbase, Bitstamp, Binance and Robinhood rank among the top five, with compliance and asset security at their core. It is estimated that the total assets held in custody by global crypto exchanges currently amount to $1.2 trillion. According to Forbes’ estimate, by the end of 2024, there were no fewer than 500 million crypto users globally.

Fundraising

• The crypto accounting platform Cryptio has completed a $15 — million Series A expansion financing. link
• The domain — name registration startup D3 has announced the completion of a $25 — million financing. link
• Pod, a Layer 1 network developer, has completed a $10 — million seed — round financing. link
• Humanity Protocol has announced the completion of a new $20 — million financing round. link
• Radius, a shared sequencer solution, has completed a $7 — million seed — round financing led by Pantera Capital. link
• The crypto derivatives exchange Ranger Protocol has announced the completion of a $1.9 — million financing. link
• Breez, a Bitcoin — payment startup, has announced the completion of a $5 — million financing.link
• SignalPlus has completed an $11 — million Series B financing. link
• Printr, a chain — abstracted Meme — coin launch platform, has completed a $2.5 — million financing. link
• Fogo has completed an $8 — million financing, and its mainnet is expected to go live in the second quarter. link
• Radius has completed a $7 — million seed — round financing led by Pantera Capital. link
• Analog, a blockchain interoperability protocol, has completed a $5 — million financing round. link
• Pixion Games has announced the completion of its latest strategic financing round, with a total of $12.4 million raised. link
• Mevvy has announced the completion of a $2.8 — million seed — round financing led by Multicoin Capital. link
• The DeFi platform Inception has announced the completion of a $3.5 — million seed — round financing. link
• Alliance DAO has announced an investment in the AI application FreedomGPT. link
• YZi Labs has announced a $16 — million investment in Sign, an on — chain credential verification and token — distribution platform. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.

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