Texas Bags $5M in BTC!

Here's what we've got for you today:

• Texas Buys the Bitcoin Dip, Acquiring $5M of BlackRock’s IBIT

• CFTC Opens Nominations for CEO Council on Digital Assets

• Trump Eyes Kevin Hassett For Fed Chair, A Candidate With Notable Links to Crypto

• Coinbase Reveals 9 Crypto Ideas it Wants to Bankroll in 2026

💵 Texas Buys the Bitcoin Dip, Acquiring $5M of BlackRock’s IBIT

Texas initiated its $10 million Bitcoin strategy with a $5 million purchase of BlackRock’s IBIT ETF.

• Texas purchased $5 million in BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF, with another $5 million planned for a direct, self-custodied Bitcoin buy once the state finalizes its custody framework.

• Texas Blockchain Council president Lee Bratcher confirmed the state has a $10 million general-revenue allocation for Bitcoin, though only half has been deployed so far.

• Bitcoin Bond Company CEO Pierre Rochard said the move forms part of the major shift in government attitudes toward Bitcoin, moving from fears of bans to active accumulation.

🖋️ CFTC Opens Nominations for CEO Council on Digital Assets

Acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham launched nominations for a new CEO Innovation Council.

• Acting CFTC chair Caroline Pham opened nominations for CEOs to join a new “CEO Innovation Council” that will guide policy discussions on digital assets and prediction markets.

• The council builds on the agency’s previous crypto-focused initiatives, including the Crypto Sprint, an industry forum, and work on a congressional market structure bill.

• Pham said the council will help the CFTC prepare for an expanded mandate by bringing industry expertise directly into the policymaking process.

👀 Trump Eyes Kevin Hassett For Fed Chair, A Candidate With Notable Links to Crypto

Kevin Hassett has become the frontrunner for Federal Reserve chair in Donald Trump’s search.

• Kevin Hassett stepped up as the leading contender for Federal Reserve chair in Donald Trump’s search.

• Hassett is reportedly trusted by Trump on interest-rate policy and is expected to lean more aggressively toward rate cuts compared to current chair Jerome Powell.

• Sources say Trump wants a Fed chair who aligns with his push for lower borrowing costs to support economic growth and markets, including digital assets.

🗓️ Coinbase Reveals 9 Crypto Ideas it Wants to Bankroll in 2026

Coinbase Ventures plans to concentrate its 2026 investments on real-world asset tokenization, advanced DeFi infrastructure and AI innovation.

• Coinbase Ventures says it will focus its 2026 investments on real-world asset tokenization, next-generation DeFi infrastructure and emerging AI applications, targeting the areas it believes will produce the next major breakout projects.

• The firm in especially interested in specialized exchanges, trading terminals, DeFi compliance tools and synthetic exposure products like perpetual futures that mirror off-chain assets.

• Coinbase Ventures recently backed firms like 0xbow, Zynk, ZAR and the prediction-market platform Kalshi.

👀 QUICK NEWS

• DeFi is Already 30% of the Way to Mass Adoption: Chainlink Founder

• Robinhood to Launch New Derivatives Exchange for Prediction Markets Push

• Spanish Parliamentary Group Proposes New Crypto Tax Bill Increasing Taxes on BTC, ETH

• Anchorage Digital Aims to Pay 'Rewards' on Ethena's Tokens Under GENIUS Act

• South Africa Flags Crypto and Stablecoin Gaps as Emerging Threat to Financial Stability

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