Coin Market

California introduces ’Bitcoin rights’ in amended digital assets bill

Published

3 days ago

March 31, 2025

A Californian lawmaker has just added Bitcoin and crypto investor protections to a February-introduced money transmission bill aimed at securing crypto self-custody rights for the US state’s nearly 40 million residents.

California’s Assembly Bill 1052 was introduced as the Money Transmission Act on Feb. 20, 2025, but was amended by Democrat and Banking and Finance Committee chair Avelino Valencia on March 28 to include several Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto-related investor protections.

The amendments cross out “Money Transmission Act,” with the legislation now called “Digital assets.”

“California often sets the national blueprint for policy, and if Bitcoin Rights passes here, it can pass anywhere,” Satoshi Action Fund CEO Dennis Porter said in a March 30 statement.

“Once passed, this legislation will guarantee nearly 40 million Californians the right to self-custody their digital assets without fear of discrimination.”

Source: Satoshi Action Fund

The bill would also deem the use of a digital financial asset as a valid and legal form of payment in private transactions and would prohibit public entities from restricting or taxing digital assets solely based on their use as payment.

The bill would also expand the scope of California’s Political Reform Act of 1974 to prohibit a public official from issuing, sponsoring or promoting a digital asset, security or commodity.

“A public official shall not engage in any transaction or conduct related to a digital asset that creates a conflict of interest with their public duties,” one section of the AB 1052 states.

AB 1052 is now in the “desk process” — meaning the bill has been formally introduced and is awaiting its first reading.

A total of 99 merchants currently accept Bitcoin payments in California, BTC Maps data shows.

Ripple Labs, Solana Labs and Kraken are among the largest crypto firms based in California.

A stablecoin-related bill was also introduced in California on Feb. 2, 2025, which aims to provide more clarity over stablecoin collateral requirements, liquidation processes, redemption and settlement mechanisms requirements and security audits.

Bitcoin-related bills and measures near 100 at the US state level

According to Bitcoin Law, 95 Bitcoin-related bills or measures have been introduced at the state level in 35 states, including 36 Bitcoin reserve bills that are still live.

The Texas Senate passed a Bitcoin strategic reserve bill in a 25-5 vote on March 6, while Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signed a Bitcoin Rights bill into law on March 24.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, both of which will initially use cryptocurrency forfeited in government criminal cases.

Magazine: Bitcoin payments are being undermined by centralized stablecoins

Coin Market

HBAR Foundation joins OnlyFans founder startup to bid on TikTok

Published

15 minutes ago

April 2, 2025

Zoop, the social app created by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely, and the HBAR Foundation have reportedly submitted a bid to purchase the video-sharing app TikTok in the United States.

According to an April 2 Reuters report, the HBAR Foundation and Zoop filed an intent to bid on TikTok with the Trump administration the previous week. The bid will follow others from major technology companies, including Amazon, Oracle, Microsoft, and Rumble, in an attempt to keep the video-sharing app’s services alive for US users.

“Our bid for TikTok isn’t just about changing ownership, it’s about creating a new paradigm where both creators and their communities benefit directly from the value they generate,” Zoop co-founder RJ Phillips reportedly said.

In 2024, the US Congress passed, and former President Joe Biden signed a bill into law that could potentially ban TikTok if the firm’s operations weren’t separated from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. The initial deadline for the sale of the company under the law was Jan. 19. After assuming office, President Donald Trump signed a 75-day extension for enforcement, pushing the potential TikTok sale until April 5.

Cointelegraph reached out to the HBAR Foundation and Zoop but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Coin Market

Bitcoin price on verge of breaking 10-week downtrend — Is $90K BTC next?

Published

15 minutes ago

April 2, 2025

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price is off to a swift start in Q2, rallying by 5.53% to an intraday high of $87,333 on April 2. Currently, Bitcoin is emerging from a ten-week downtrend that began on Jan. 20 when the price peaked at $110,000.

A decisive close above the trendline might lead to continued bullish momentum for Bitcoin in the coming days.

Bitcoin 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Bitcoin spot traders drive the rally

Throughout March, spot traders on Binance and Coinbase held opposite stances in the market. Binance traders were aggressive BTC sellers, while Coinbase showed significant spot bids around the $80,000 price level. This dynamic contributed to the sideways price action during the majority of March.

Fast forward to April, and spot traders on major exchanges have collectively turned bullish over the past three days.

Binance, Coinbase spot buyers data. Source: Aggr.trade

Data from aggr.trade highlights that Coinbase and Binance spot bids are driving positive action for BTC. The buying pressure is particularly high on Coinbase, with spot bids increasing as high as $7.98 million over the past few hours.

Likewise, Dom, a crypto markets analyst, pointed out that Bitcoin’s current rally is possibly due to Binance sellers tapering off. The analyst said,

“BTC has been able to breathe ever since the Binance selling tapered off. We are even seeing some spot buying from them for the first time in over a week.”

Bitcoin flips key resistance at $84K to $85K

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin has flipped an important resistance range between $84,000 and $85,000 into support. Likewise, the cryptocurrency has attained a bullish position above the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day exponentially moving averages (EMAs).

Bitcoin 4-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

However, based on the external liquidity levels between $87,700 and $88,700, which formed the previous highs, BTC prices might struggle to break this range immediately. Consolidation between the green box (as illustrated in the chart) is likely a net positive, which might fuel BTC’s $90,000 retest for the first time since March 7.

On the flip side, an immediate correction to the current support at $84,000 and $85,000 could possibly discourage bulls, and short sellers might take control of price action.

Bullish invalidation could be on the cards if BTC price closes below $85,000 over the next few days.

With markets bracing for further market volatility ahead of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, Bitcoin price is expected to react further during today’s White House press conference at 4 pm Eastern Time.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Coin Market

Pump.fun launches lending platform to finance memecoin buys

Published

1 hour ago

April 2, 2025

Pump.fun is launching a lending platform to enable users to buy memecoins and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with borrowed cryptocurrency, the Solana-based memecoin launchpad said.

Dubbed Pump.Fi, the onchain lending protocol provides “immediate… financing for [any] digital asset,” Pump.fun said in an April 1 X post.

According to Pump.fun, borrowers pay one-third up front and the rest over 60 days. In addition, Pump.Fi will create a marketplace for lenders to buy debt. The protocol did not specify how Pump.Fi — which doesn’t do credit checks — plans to ensure repayment of undercollateralized onchain loans.

Pump.Fi will let users borrow to buy memecoins. Source: Pump.fun

Competitive market

Pump.fun has been grappling with a sharp drawdown in memecoin trading activity on Solana after several high-profile scandals — such as the LIBRA token’s disastrous launch — soured sentiment on memecoins among retail traders.

Adding onchain lending has the potential to draw more liquidity into the space, which has seen trading volumes stabilize in recent weeks, according to data from Dune Analytics.

Pump.fun has also been expanding its offerings to stay ahead of mounting competition from rival platforms.

Raydium, Solana’s largest decentralized exchange (DEX) by volume, plans to roll out its own memecoin launchpad, LaunchLab.

Other rival protocols — including Daos.fun, GoFundMeme, and Pumpkin — are also vying for a share of Solana’s memecoin market.

Number of tokens successfully “bonding” on Pump.fun each day. Source: Dune Analytics

On March 20, Pump.fun launched its own DEX — known as PumpSwap — to replace Raydium as the final home for tokens that successfully bootstrap liquidity on Pump.fun.

Switching to PumpSwap has streamlined PumpFun’s process for listing new tokens and cut costs for users, it said.

PumpSwap also plans to start distributing a portion of trading fees to coin creators, according to Pump.fun co-founder Alon.

The newly launched DEX has already captured a more than 10% share of Solana’s trading volumes and even overtaken Raydium — along with every other Solana app — in 24-hour fees, according to data from Dune Analytics and DefiLlama. On April 1, PumpSwap generated nearly $4 million in fees.

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