In this week’s edition of the weekly recap, Tennessee officials issued cease-and-desist orders to major prediction market platforms alleging unlicensed sports wagering, while BNY advances the tokenized deposit platform launch.
Summary
Tennessee ordered Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com to halt sports prediction markets.
BNY Mellon launched blockchain-based deposit settlement as banks expand into crypto rails.
Truebit lost $26.6M in ETH as security risks and regulatory pressure hit the market.
Tennessee targets prediction market platforms
The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council issued January 9 cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi, Polymarket, and Crypto.com, ordering them to stop offering sports event contracts to state residents.
Regulators accused all three firms of illegally operating sports wagering products without required licenses under the guise of event contracts.
BNY introduces blockchain deposit settlement
The world’s largest custodial bank, managing nearly $58 trillion in assets, launched a platform enabling institutional clients to settle bank deposits on blockchain infrastructure.
OKX implements institutional business restructuring
The cryptocurrency exchange recently reorganized its global institutional operations, resulting in job eliminations across the division.
While exact numbers remain undisclosed, one source indicated half the team was terminated. However, another person reported 8-10 layoffs with 3-4 voluntary departures when restructuring was announced.
Buterin supports convicted Tornado Cash developer
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin publicly backed Roman Storm, convicted last August on money transmitting charges.
He argued that privacy-preserving software constitutes a fundamental human right.
Buterin stated Friday on X that he has “supported Roman Storm’s work from the beginning both as a strong believer in the importance of privacy, and as an active user of privacy tools, including those developed by Roman.”
Ripple obtains UK regulatory authorization
Ripple secured approval from the Financial Conduct Authority for its Electronic Money Institution license and crypto asset registration.
This regulatory clearance allows Ripple to expand platform operations within the United Kingdom under comprehensive financial services oversight.
Truebit suffers $26.6 million security breach
The Ethereum-based verification and computation protocol lost approximately 8,535 ETH ($26.6 million) in a Thursday security incident involving malicious actors.
On-chain analytics platform Lookonchain identified the approximately 8,535 ETH loss through blockchain transaction analysis.
Trump rejects Bankman-Fried pardon possibility
President Donald Trump ruled out Thursday a pardon for FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
The statement came while responding to New York Times reporter questioning about pardon requests for several high-profile figures including Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Florida proposes state Bitcoin reserve legislation
Florida lawmakers filed a new proposal authorizing creation of a state-managed Bitcoin reserve.
The legislative initiative arrives ahead of the 2026 session beginning January 13.
Optimism Foundation proposes token buyback program
The governance organization suggested instituting a buyback program to “align the OP token” with the Superchain.
If approved, the governance project would allocate 50% of Superchain revenue to monthly over-the-counter token acquisitions.
Indian tax authorities challenge crypto enforcement
Income tax officials joined the Reserve Bank of India in raising concerns about virtual digital assets.
They cited enforcement challenges threatening the government’s ability to track and tax cryptocurrency transactions.
Tax authorities presented Wednesday their concerns about cryptocurrency and other virtual digital assets to the parliamentary standing committee of finance as the Union Budget approaches.
Rumble integrates non-custodial crypto wallet
The video streaming platform and USDT launched a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet embedded directly into Rumble.
This allows audiences to tip creators using digital assets without traditional payment intermediaries.
Rumble Wallet supports Bitcoin, USDT, and Tether Gold at launch according to Wednesday’s announcement.
Ledger partner suffers data breach
The cryptocurrency wallet manufacturer confirmed that e-commerce partner Global-e experienced a data breach.
They also cautioned users that their own hardware and software wallets remain secure.
