This week saw multiple significant developments across the crypto ecosystem. The XRP Ledger activated the “Permissioned DEX” amendment, enabling regulated institutions to trade on XRPL without opening markets to unrestricted participants. The upgrade, based on the XLS-81 standard, creates permissioned decentralized exchanges that function similarly to XRPL’s built-in DEX but with controlled access restrictions.
Strategy Completes Fourth-Largest Bitcoin Purchase of 2025
Treasury company Strategy reported on Tuesday that it purchased 2,500 Bitcoin for $168 million last week, using proceeds from a preferred share offering. This marks the company’s fourth-largest Bitcoin acquisition of 2025. Total holdings now stand at approximately 717,100 Bitcoin.
Animoca Brands Secures Dubai VASP License
Digital asset venture capital firm Animoca Brands obtained a Virtual Asset Service Provider license from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) on Monday. The license allows Animoca to operate cryptocurrency-related services within the emirate’s regulatory framework, marking a key step in its Middle East compliance strategy.
SEC Slashes Stablecoin Capital Haircut to 2%
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission quietly reduced the capital “haircut” on qualifying payment stablecoins for broker-dealers from 100% to 2%. Under the new rule, $100 of approved stablecoins can now count as $98 toward a firm’s net capital, significantly lowering the cost of holding stablecoins in regulatory capital calculations.
Tether Winds Down Offshore Yuan Stablecoin CNH₮
Stablecoin issuer Tether announced it will cease support for its offshore yuan stablecoin, CNH₮, citing low demand and limited community adoption. All new token issuances end immediately, while redemption support will terminate one year from the announcement date, following prior reminder notices.
UAE Government Allegedly Holds 6,300 BTC
Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence stated that the United Arab Emirates government has accumulated approximately 6,300 Bitcoin (worth about $700 million) through state-linked mining operations, based on on-chain research identifying wallets controlled by the UAE government.
Polymarket Acquires Prediction Market Infrastructure Firm Dome
Decentralized prediction market Polymarket purchased Dome, a Y Combinator-backed startup building unified API solutions for developers to access and build across multiple prediction market platforms. The acquisition provides Polymarket with infrastructure for broader developer ecosystem participation and cross-platform integration.
Other Headlines
Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini disclosed restructuring plans on Tuesday, with COO Marshall Beard, CFO Dan Chen, and CLO Tyler Meade set to depart on February 17. Nevada’s Gaming Control Board filed a civil enforcement action against KalshiEX, accusing its sports-linked event contracts of constituting unlicensed gambling. Hyperliquid launched the Hyperliquid Policy Center, a new advocacy group dedicated to advancing clear, regulated paths for DeFi in the U.S. BitMine purchased 45,759 ETH (approximately $91 million) at ~$2,000, bringing total holdings to 4.37 million ETH, with 3.04 million staked. YouTuber Logan Paul sold a PSA-10 Pikachu Illustrator trading card for $16.492 million, setting a Guinness World Record for the most expensive Pokémon card ever sold.