Happy Friday! Binance Bytes is an initiative by the Research team to provide a quick round-up of the week.
Highlights 🧵:
1/ VanEck confirms Russia and China are settling energy transactions using BTC and other digital assets, signaling a move away from U.S. dollar dominance in global trade. VanEck’s Matthew Sigel sees this as early evidence of BTC evolving into a functional trade tool, particularly for those seeking alternatives to the U.S. dollar. With Trump’s tariff policies intensifying global trade divide, more countries are reportedly exploring similar crypto-based strategies.
2/ Donald Trump has signed a resolution repealing an IRS rule that would have required DeFi platforms to report crypto transaction data to the tax agency starting in 2027. Critics warned the rule would have burdened DeFi protocols and stifled innovation, while supporters viewed it as a safeguard against tax evasion. This marks the first time a U.S. president has signed a standalone piece of crypto-focused legislation. Industry leaders and advocacy groups welcomed the move, calling it a key step in preserving space for U.S. crypto innovation.
3/ Ripple’s US$1.25B acquisition of Hidden Road, a prime broker serving 300+ institutional clients with US$3T in annual clearing across FX and digital assets, marks a major step toward institutional adoption of the XRP Ledger, with plans to move some of Hidden Road’s daily clearing volume onto XRPL. This could significantly boost tokenization on XRPL, which currently holds only US$50M in real-world assets. As tokenized RWAs gain momentum globally, Ripple’s move positions it to capture a share of a projected multi-trillion-dollar market.
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