The University of Austin is making history as the first US university to establish a dedicated Bitcoin investment fund. With a $5 million allocation from its $200 million endowment, the university sees Bitcoin as a long-term asset alongside traditional investments like stocks and real estate.
Chad Thevenot, senior vice president for advancement, confirmed the university’s commitment to holding Bitcoin for at least five years. The initiative, first announced in May, is being managed in partnership with Bitcoin financial services firm Unchained, which is responsible for securing the fund’s holdings.
While Austin is the first to launch a dedicated Bitcoin fund, other universities have already shown interest in crypto. Emory University recently disclosed a $15.1 million Bitcoin investment, while Stanford’s Blyth Fund allocated 7% of its portfolio to Bitcoin and later invested in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF. As institutional adoption grows, Bitcoin’s role in university endowments appears to be expanding.
Potential candidates for Donald Trump’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets have emerged, with leading crypto executives vying for spots on the advisory council. Figures such as Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, and Circle’s Jeremy Allaire are reportedly in the running, though the final list remains uncertain.
Trump’s executive order establishing the council was seen as a major shift in the US government’s stance on digital assets. The order also calls for research into a strategic digital asset reserve—potentially including Bitcoin—while explicitly banning the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The advisory group will include officials from key government agencies, such as the Treasury and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, but will exclude personnel from the Federal Reserve and the FDIC. The decision was welcomed by crypto advocates, who have accused these institutions of stifling the industry. Meanwhile, the FDIC recently released hundreds of pages of documents revealing its scrutiny of crypto firms, further fuelling debate over regulatory policies.
Czech President Petr Pavel recently signed a bill that exempts cryptocurrency users from paying taxes on long-term gains. Under the new legislation, crypto assets held for over three years will not be taxed when sold, and transactions up to CZK 100,000 (around $4,136) annually won’t require reporting on tax declarations, similar to securities.
The reform is part of the Czech Republic’s Digitalization of the Financial Markets Act, which is nearing its final stages. The bill will be officially published within the next week or two. As a member of the European Union, this move is seen as a significant step for the country’s crypto sector.
In a related development, the Czech National Bank recently approved a proposal by its governor to consider adding assets like Bitcoin to its reserves. However, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde expressed her opposition, stating that she doesn’t foresee Bitcoin entering the reserves of EU central banks.
Parties vying for power in Germany’s February 23 election have outlined diverging financial policies that could affect banking, taxation and cryptocurrency regulation. The conservative CDU/CSU alliance, leading in the polls, aims to strengthen Germany’s position as a financial hub, favouring tax incentives for start-ups and venture capital. Plans also include preserving the three-pillar banking system and increasing tax-free allowances while opposing a wealth tax.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), running second, proposes the most radical changes, calling for Germany to exit the euro and return to the Deutsche mark backed by gold. Advocating deregulation of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading, the party also opposes a digital euro and supports abolishing both the inheritance tax and wealth tax. Mainstream parties refuse to work with AfD, making its proposals unlikely to become policy.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), currently trailing, pledge to tax the super rich and introduce a financial transaction tax. Plans also include reinstating the wealth tax and adjusting inheritance tax to increase contributions from multi-million and billion-euro estates. The Greens align with SPD on higher taxation for the wealthy and propose stricter cryptocurrency oversight, enhanced financial transparency and stronger sustainability regulations.
Polls indicate a potential shift in Germany’s financial landscape, with taxation, cryptocurrency policy and the country’s role in European finance among key issues shaping the election.
El Salvador has reversed its historic decision to make Bitcoin legal tender, following pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The law, enacted in 2021, required all businesses to accept Bitcoin alongside the US dollar, but many merchants struggled to adopt it. Widespread scepticism, technical issues, and Bitcoin’s volatility made it unpopular among the majority of Salvadorans.
While the policy brought some benefits, such as increased tourism and global attention, it failed to boost financial inclusion or significantly improve the economy. Reports show that by 2024, 92% of Salvadorans did not use Bitcoin for transactions, and only a small percentage of businesses accepted it. The Chivo wallet, launched to facilitate transactions, faced hacking incidents and technical difficulties, further eroding public trust.
The shift away from Bitcoin came after the IMF made it a condition for a $1.4 billion loan. El Salvador’s Congress agreed to remove Bitcoin’s legal tender status, ensuring that the government and businesses would no longer be required to accept it. However, Bitcoin remains legal for private trade, and the government has continued purchasing it, signalling an ongoing interest in cryptocurrency despite the policy change.
El Salvador has made another significant addition to its Bitcoin reserve, purchasing 12 BTC in just one day, as the cryptocurrency market saw a dip. The Central American country bought 11 Bitcoin for just over $1.1 million, with an average price of $101,816 per Bitcoin on 4 February. It later added one more BTC at $99,114, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 6,068 BTC, valued at over $554 million.
Despite a brief decline in Bitcoin’s price, which fell to around $96,000 before rebounding to approximately $98,000, El Salvador’s commitment to its Bitcoin strategy remains steadfast. The country’s Bitcoin Office proudly announced that El Salvador has accumulated 21 BTC in just one week and 60 BTC in the last 30 days, reinforcing the growth of its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
This latest round of Bitcoin purchases comes after President Nayib Bukele’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month, where his government made adjustments to its Bitcoin policies. These included making Bitcoin adoption in the private sector voluntary and scaling back government involvement in the Chivo crypto wallet. However, the country’s commitment to acquiring Bitcoin remains unchanged, with further purchases planned for 2025.
Despite the IMF agreement, the government has shown no signs of abandoning its Bitcoin ambitions, continuing to buy Bitcoin even after the deal was struck. The country’s Bitcoin plans are expected to intensify, with El Salvador positioning itself as a global leader in Bitcoin adoption.
Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, is diving deeper into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) with several new applications in development. Tether Data, the company’s AI division, is working on a range of tools including AI Translate, AI Voice Assistant, and AI Bitcoin Wallet Assistant. These apps will focus on maintaining the privacy and self-custodial control over both data and money, according to CEO Paolo Ardoino.
The AI Bitcoin Wallet Assistant will allow users to interact with a chatbot interface to manage their BTC wallet, such as checking their balance or making transactions. Meanwhile, the AI Translate tool provides simple chatbot-based translation, and the AI Voice Assistant will enable voice responses instead of text. Tether plans to launch an open-source AI SDK platform, compatible with various devices including mobile phones and laptops.
Tether’s commitment to AI growth has been evident since 2023, with the company acquiring a stake in Northern Data Group, a European crypto miner specialising in cloud computing and generative AI. The firm also began a global recruitment drive for AI talent in March 2023, intending to innovate and set new industry standards.
The firm has been making significant strides in both the AI and crypto industries, as it reported record profits of $13 billion for 2024, and its USDT stablecoin has seen an all-time high market capitalisation of $141 billion. Tether’s AI platform is expected to launch by the end of Q1 2025.
Trump’s crypto czar, David Sacks, has argued that stablecoins could help maintain US dollar dominance, just as lawmakers push for clearer regulations in the sector. His statement came after Senator Bill Hagerty introduced the GENIUS Act, a bill aimed at setting legal standards for stablecoins and ensuring their reserves are backed mainly by US Treasury Bills.
At a press conference alongside key Republican lawmakers, Sacks outlined Trump’s digital asset strategy, suggesting that stablecoin regulation could be a priority under the administration. He also addressed questions about Trump’s plan for a Bitcoin reserve, stating that assessing its feasibility is a key goal for the crypto council, though he declined to confirm whether the US government would actively accumulate BTC.
Meanwhile, Congress appears to be accelerating efforts to formalise crypto policy, with key committees forming dedicated groups to oversee digital asset regulations. Lawmakers, including Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott and House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill, have signalled a coordinated push to establish a comprehensive framework for stablecoins and broader crypto adoption.
President Donald Trump has temporarily halted a 25% tariff on Mexican imports following an agreement with President Claudia Sheinbaum. The deal, which grants a one-month pause, comes after Mexico pledged to deploy 10,000 National Guard troops to curb drug trafficking and illegal migration at the US border.
The agreement follows Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China as part of a broader strategy to pressure foreign governments on trade and security. While the pause provides temporary relief, negotiations will continue, led by senior US officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump remains optimistic that a long-term solution can be reached.
Financial markets responded positively to the news, with US stocks recovering from early losses and the Mexican peso stabilising. Bitcoin, which had slumped to $91,178, rebounded to nearly $98,000 as investors adjusted to the easing tensions. However, concerns remain over impending tariffs on Canada and China, which could still trigger economic uncertainty.
European central banks may start accumulating Bitcoin as early as 2025, according to blockchain expert Fiorenzo Manganiello. It follows the rollout of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which aims to stabilise the crypto market by introducing clear legal frameworks. Manganiello believes that MiCA’s clarity will encourage institutional investors and reduce Bitcoin’s volatility, positioning it as a legitimate financial asset.
He predicts that central banks could use Bitcoin as a hedge against traditional market instability, diversifying their reserves and strengthening their defences. Manganiello stated that Bitcoin is becoming “too dominant to ignore,” and even the most traditional financial institutions, including central banks, are expected to embrace it.
The MiCA framework, introduced at the end of 2024, will replace the fragmented national regulations that previously governed crypto across the EU. With MiCA offering a unified regulatory approach, Manganiello argues that it will breathe new life into the European crypto scene and potentially lead to Bitcoin becoming a standard asset for central banks.
