Trump disclaims UAE World Liberty stake knowledge, Gemini exits, China bans yuan stablecoins | Weekly Recap

In this week’s edition of the weekly recap, President Donald Trump denied awareness of reported UAE investment in World Liberty Financial, and China’s central bank joined nine agencies in banning unapproved yuan-linked stablecoins.

Trump distances himself from World Liberty investment

• President Donald Trump denied knowledge of reports that a company linked to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan acquired a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial during a recent media appearance.
• Trump stated “I don’t know about it. I know that crypto is a big thing,” adding that “my sons are handling that, my family is handling it. I guess they get investments from different people.”

Sberbank pursues cryptocurrency-backed lending

• Russia’s largest bank announced it is moving toward offering loans secured by cryptocurrency and prepared to coordinate with the country’s central bank on necessary regulatory frameworks.
• The lender successfully tested the model in January by issuing the country’s first Bitcoin-backed loan to major mining operation IntelionData.

China implements comprehensive crypto restrictions

• The central bank joined nine other regulators in issuing Friday a joint notice banning unapproved yuan-linked stablecoin issuance while classifying most real-world asset tokenization as illegal activity.
• This crackdown locks in China’s restrictive approach to cryptocurrency-related activities.

Bithumb flash crash caused by accounting error

• Bitcoin (BTC) suffered a flash crash to $55,000 on South Korean exchange Bithumb this week following what appears to have been a major internal accounting mistake.
• The exchange mistakenly credited users with 2,000 BTC each instead of a small reward worth 2,000 Korean won (approximately $1.50) according to Friday’s blog post explanation.

Polymarket advances token launch preparations

• The prediction market platform filed trademark applications for “POLY” and “$POLY” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• These trademark filings occur as Polymarket faces regulatory challenges regarding its prediction market operations.

Lummis urges banking industry stablecoin embrace

• Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) encouraged Thursday traditional banks to view stablecoins as business opportunities rather than threats.
• Lummis told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo she would “like to see the banks embrace this rather than resist it.”

Gemini withdraws from multiple markets

• The publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange announced Thursday it is closing operations in the United Kingdom, European Union, and Australia while removing 25% of its workforce.
• The withdrawal aims to reduce operating expenses and improve profitability pathways while allowing Gemini to “focus” on clearer opportunities including prediction markets.

Brazil moves toward algorithmic stablecoin prohibition

• The congressional Science, Technology, and Innovation Committee approved a bill redefining how the country handles cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat currencies.
• The committee passed a report on Bill 4.308/2024 prohibiting issuance or trading of algorithmic stablecoins like Ethena’s USDe and Frax.

USDT achieves record market capitalization

• The world’s largest stablecoin experienced notable fourth quarter 2025 growth despite October’s market crash, with Tether’s Wednesday market report revealing fresh highs.
• USDT market capitalization reached $187.3 billion, increasing by $12.4 billion during the quarter while adding 35.2 million new estimated users to reach 534.5 million worldwide.

Ripple integrates Hyperliquid exchange

• The crypto payments firm announced Wednesday it has added support for Hyperliquid via its institutional prime brokerage platform.
• This integration may welcome new users to Hyperliquid through Ripple’s institutional client network.

Epstein-Coinbase investment connection revealed

• Convicted offender Jeffrey Epstein made a $3 million investment in Coinbase during December 2014, with newly surfaced emails indicating company leadership awareness of Epstein’s involvement.
• The investment opportunity was initially presented to Epstein by Tether co-founder Brock Pierce and his venture firm Blockchain Capital according to Justice Department-released emails Friday.

Ripple secures Luxembourg EMI license

• The financial technology firm received Monday final approval from Luxembourg’s financial regulator for a full Electronic Money Institution license, converting preliminary authorization granted January 14.
• The San Francisco-based company stated the authorization allows scaling of payments and digital asset services across the European Union.