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Trump#TRUMP planning to extend TikTok deadline again: WSJ

President Trump#TRUMP is poised to extend the TikTok ban deadline for the third time as the White House and China prepare to hold trade talks. According to a government official, the president is willing to announce another extension if necessary. The previous extension to the law, which forces TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the popular video-sharing app in the U.S., expires on June 19. However, the two nations are expected to begin discussing their feud over tariffs this week.

The Chinese government has been using the TikTok ban as leverage in the ongoing trade negotiations. A Wall Street banker involved in the deal to sell the app to U.S. investors said that Trump could be persuaded to let TikTok "go dark" and disappear from app stores on June 19 if he believes it will give him a strategic advantage in the complex trade deal negotiations with the Chinese.

TikTok has been criticized for allegedly siphoning U.S. data as part of a Chinese government effort to spy on U.S. citizens. The company has denied these allegations. The Biden administration signed the divest-or-ban law, which was slated to go into effect on Jan. 19 – the day before Trump’s#Trump's inauguration. Trump#TRUMP promptly signed an executive order pushing back the ban by 90 days and announced a second extension in early April. If the deal to sell TikTok to U.S. investors is completed, it will be led by tech giant Oracle, which is founded by Trump friend and supporter Larry Ellison.

The ongoing trade negotiations between the U.S. and China are expected to be contentious, with both sides seeking to gain an advantage. The TikTok ban has been a significant point of contention, with the Chinese government using it as leverage in the negotiations. The U.S. government, on the other hand, has been pushing for a sale of TikTok to a U.S. company, with Oracle being the most likely candidate.

The extension of the TikTok ban deadline is just one of the many issues that the U.S. and China are currently negotiating. The two nations have been engaged in a long-standing trade dispute, with both sides imposing tariffs on each other’s goods. The negotiations are expected to continue for some time, with both sides seeking to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.

References:
[1] https://www.tronweekly.com/trump-media-files-with-sec-for-its-bitcoin-etf/
[2] https://cryptoslate.com/nearly-1-billion-liquidated-as-bitcoin-recovers-from-100k-dip-during-elon-musk-donald-trump-breakup/
[3] https://nypost.com/2025/06/03/business/trump-poised-to-extend-tiktok-ban-deadline-for-third-time-as-us-china-meet-for-trade-talks-source/

Binance's#Binance irapid user growth—adding 80 million users in the past five months to reach a total of 275 million—has sparked concerns about the actual collateralization of Bitcoin#bitcoin held by custodians. This surge in users has led to questions about whether exchanges like Binance possess sufficient Bitcoin#bitcoin reserves to back customer holdings, raising fears of "paper Bitcoin"—IOUs not backed by actual BTC.#BTC

Industry experts are advocating for enhanced transparency through Proof-of-Reserves (PoR) audits. These audits would require custodians to provide on-chain, publicly verifiable evidence of their asset holdings. While Binance has conducted a PoR audit using a Merkle tree approach, critics argue that the audit lacked comprehensiveness, as it did not account for loaned-out BTC and was conducted by an auditor not among the Big Four accounting firms.#ETH

Regulatory bodies, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are also focusing on digital asset custody. The SEC's proposed "Safeguarding Rule" would mandate custodians to implement robust controls and transparent reporting to ensure asset protection.
As the cryptocurrency market continues to grow, the call for greater transparency and verifiable asset backing becomes increasingly critical to maintain investor trust and market stability.#BTC