Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rallied after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady, with Bitcoin surging past $104k, driven by Fed Chair Powell's hints at potential rate cuts and comments that US banks were fully equipped to accommodate cryptocurrency clientele, while his remarks about rates being above neutral levels weakened the dollar and boosted crypto demand.
Donald Trump's media company (TMTG) announced Truth.Fi, a new fintech venture that will invest $250M in cryptocurrencies and investment accounts through Charles Schwab, driving its stock up 15% in pre-market trading.
Despite TMTG's limited success in competing with major social platforms like Meta and X, CEO Devin Nunes framed Truth.Fi as a strategic expansion of their "Truth Social movement", positioning the new investment products as protection against "cancellation" and "debanking" by "woke corporations".
This move sparked controversy as Trump recently launched a meme coin following his inauguration while promising to make the US a global crypto leader, as well as possible conflicts of interest as Trump's administration will control the agencies regulating Truth.Fi's financial activities, while Trump remains the sole beneficiary of a trust holding his TMTG stake.
US BTC Spot ETFs recorded net inflows of $92m on Jan 29, while ETH Spot ETFs recorded net outflows of $4.7m.
Over the past 24 hours, total liquidations came in at $273.04m with 58.7% of those short positions. ETH led the market with over $50m worth of short positions liquidated.
Elon Musk, as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is exploring blockchain technology to streamline federal operations and cut spending, with department representatives reportedly meeting blockchain leaders to discuss using digital ledgers for tracking federal spending and payments.
In parallel, World Liberty Financial, the Trump-backed DeFi platform, purchased approximately $2 million worth of MOVE tokens on Tuesday.
Movement co-founder Rushi Manche later posted on X that “nothing from the Movement Labs offices or growth team have crossed DOGE’s desks.”
Tesla supplier Worksport announced its first six-figure investment in Bitcoin and XRP as part of its treasury strategy, driving its stock up 4% to over $1.0, with the company planning to increase its crypto holdings as cash reserves grow, while signaling its long-term commitment.
El Salvador's Congress approved amendments on Jan 29 to its Bitcoin laws to align with a $1.4B IMF loan agreement, making Bitcoin acceptance optional for businesses rather than mandatory, while the country continues to accumulate BTC with plans to increase purchases in 2025, currently holding 6,049 BTC currently worth around $640 million.
Former Senator Menendez, who scrutinized El Salvador's Bitcoin adoption over US security concerns and introduced the «Cryptocurrency Accountability Act in El Salvador» to the United States Senate in 2022 requiring a State Department report on El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin and potential impacts on bilateral economic relations and law enforcement cooperation, faced his own sentencing Wednesday Jan 29 2025 on federal corruption charges.
Tesla's stock climbed in after hours trading on Jan 29 despite auto revenue dropping 8% year-over-year and missing analysts' expectations, boosted by a $600 million increase in net income from early adoption of new Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) accounting rules that required marking its Bitcoin holdings to market value. This raised reported crypto assets from $184 million to $1.08 billion.
Arizona's State Senate Finance Committee approved the "Arizona Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act", advancing legislation that would allow investment of up to 10% of state public funds in cryptocurrencies and potentially make Arizona the first US state to officially invest in Bitcoin - the bill now moves to the Senate Rules Committee as one of 11 similar state initiatives in the US.