Saudi non-oil private sector growth slows as costs rise

PANews reported on February 8 that, according to Arkham data, Trend Research, a subsidiary of Yilihua, has liquidated its ETH holdings, with only 0.165 ETH remaining

The post FCA, crackdown on crypto appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. The regulation of cryptocurrencies in the United Kingdom enters a decisive phase. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has initiated a consultation to set minimum standards on transparency, consumer protection, and digital custody, in order to strengthen market confidence and ensure safer operations for exchanges, wallets, and crypto service providers. The consultation was published on May 2, 2025, and opened a public discussion on operational responsibilities and safeguarding requirements for digital assets (CoinDesk). The goal is to make the rules clearer without hindering the sector’s evolution. According to the data collected by our regulatory monitoring team, in the first weeks following the publication, the feedback received from professionals and operators focused mainly on custody, incident reporting, and insurance requirements. Industry analysts note that many responses require technical clarifications on multi-sig, asset segregation, and recovery protocols, as well as proposals to scale obligations based on the size of the operator. FCA Consultation: What’s on the Table The consultation document clarifies how to apply rules inspired by traditional finance to the crypto perimeter, balancing innovation, market integrity, and user protection. In this context, the goal is to introduce minimum standards for all firms under the supervision of the FCA, an essential step for a more transparent and secure sector, with measurable benefits for users. The proposed pillars Obligations towards consumers: assessment on the extension of the Consumer Duty – a requirement that mandates companies to provide “good outcomes” – to crypto services, with outcomes for users that are traceable and verifiable. Operational resilience: introduction of continuity requirements, incident response plans, and periodic testing to ensure the operational stability of platforms even in adverse scenarios. Financial Crime Prevention: strengthening AML/CFT measures through more stringent transaction monitoring and structured counterpart checks. Custody and safeguarding: definition of operational methods for the segregation of client assets, secure…

The post Bitcoin Steady as Fed Cuts Interest Rates for First Time Since December appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. In brief The Federal Reserve had kept interest rates unchanged since last December. U.S. President Donald Trump has been hammering the Fed to cut rates. Crypto and other assets typically benefit from rate cuts that increase financial liquidity. The U.S. central bank, as widely expected, cut the federal funds rate by 0.25% Wednesday, amid recent signs that the economy was faltering and needed a boost—and under relentless pressure from President Donald Trump. Bitcoin and other major digital assets traded largely flat  in the immediate aftermath. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was recently changing hands just above $116,000, up 0.2% over the past hour hours, according to crypto markets data provider CoinGecko. BTC rallied in recent days with investors possibly pricing in the anticipated decision. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, was trading at $4,501, flat over the same period. The Fed slashed the interest rate to a range between 4% and 4.25% after a downward revision in a Department of Labor report showing that the U.S had created 911,000 fewer jobs than initially reported for a year-long period ending in March, and other concerning economic signs. “Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated,” the Fed noted in a statement. Those concerns outweighed the threat of inflation, which has risen to 2.9% on an annual basis, stubbornly above the bank’s longstanding 2% goal. Newly sworn-in governor Stephen Miran, a White House appointee, dissented from the decision, voting for a .50% rate cut. The Fed has a dual mission to keep inflation low and ensure full employment. In Telegram message to Decrypt, Noelle Acheson, the author of the Crypto Is Macro Now newsletter, wrote that the big deal wasn’t the expected rate cut but updated economic forecasts from Fed officials, showing that central bankers are “getting more nervous about the…