ChainCatcher news, according to Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, a group of House Republicans, including Tom Emmer and Bryan Steil, held a "Cryptocurrency Power Lunch" this afternoon to discuss digital asset policy initiatives and related legislation. Attendees included representatives from cryptocurrency trade organizations The Digital Chamber and Blockchain Association, as well as representatives from companies such as Paradigm, a16z, CoinFlip, Coinbase, Anchorage, and DCG.

ChainCatcher news, according to FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, Caroline Pham, acting chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stated that CFTC staff are engaging in communication and collaboration with SEC staff on digital assets and other related issues.Caroline Pham said: "We have restarted the dialogue at the staff level between CFTC and SEC. We hope to collaborate. In the past, we had a good working relationship, and I look forward to restoring that normal mode of cooperation."SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce also agreed with this. She stated: "The crypto working group has begun to identify what falls under the SEC's jurisdiction and what does not, which is very important. It is crucial to involve the public in the rule-making discussion; those affected by the rules should have the right to participate in the rule-making process."

ChainCatcher news, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson responded on the X platform to the community's statement "ADA is now live in the US," suggesting that this might mean ADA could be renamed as "America's digital asset."ChainCatcher previously reported that Trump stated on social media, "After years of suppression by the Biden administration, America's cryptocurrency reserves will elevate the status of this key industry, which is why my digital asset executive order directs the presidential working group to advance a cryptocurrency strategic reserve that includes XRP, SOL, and ADA. I will ensure that America becomes the world's cryptocurrency capital. We are making America great again."

ChainCatcher news, CoinShares' latest weekly report shows that digital asset investment products have experienced outflows for the third consecutive week, with last week's outflow reaching a record $2.9 billion, bringing the total outflow over three weeks to $3.8 billion. CoinShares analysis suggests that this round of outflows is influenced by multiple factors, including the recent Bybit hacking incident, the Federal Reserve's more hawkish stance, and profit-taking after a cumulative inflow of $29 billion over the previous 19 weeks.The report indicates that Bitcoin bore the brunt of the impact, with an outflow of $2.59 billion last week, while short Bitcoin products saw a slight inflow of $2.3 million. Ethereum also did not escape, with a record single-week outflow of $300 million. Solana and TON saw outflows of $7.4 million and $22.6 million, respectively. The best performer was Sui, with an inflow of $15.5 million, followed by XRP, which saw an inflow of $5 million.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bitcoin.com, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has instructed the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam to draft regulations for digital assets and digital currencies, with the proposal expected to be submitted in March. This directive is part of Directive No. 05, aimed at driving economic growth to at least 8% by 2025.Despite the lack of a legal framework, Vietnam ranks among the top countries in global cryptocurrency holdings according to the 2024 Triple-A report, prompting the government to call for strengthened regulation.In addition, the State Bank of Vietnam is also responsible for managing interest rates, exchange rates, and credit growth, while ensuring transparency in banking operations. The government will intensify enforcement against unfair competition among financial institutions.

ChainCatcher news, according to reports from the Hong Kong Economic Journal, the Hong Kong Association of Banks welcomes the measures proposed in the new "Financial Budget," stating that these measures will help promote market diversification and explore new growth points, injecting new momentum into the local economy.The Hong Kong Association of Banks stated that as the Hong Kong government is about to publish the second development policy declaration for virtual assets and submit a bill for the regulatory framework for the introduction of fiat-backed stablecoin issuers, the industry will explore the potential value brought by digital asset technology for industry development while balancing risk management and business growth, contributing to Hong Kong's development as a global digital asset hub.

ChainCatcher news, CoinShares Research Director James Butterfill posted on the X platform: "Although the total net outflow of Bitcoin and digital asset ETP/ETF has reached $2.6 billion this week (a record high), it seems that most basis trades have been closed, and the selling frenzy is subsiding."

ChainCatcher news, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) founder Michael Saylor posted on social media, "On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to meet with members of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee and its chairman French Hill to discuss digital assets and how to make the U.S. a global leader in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, and I presented a digital asset framework at the meeting."

Bitcoin ETFs have seen outflows of approximately $2.1 billion for six consecutive days, marking the longest period of fund outflows since June of last year. Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, believes that the record outflows may stem from hedge funds unwinding a popular strategy known as "basis trading," which profits from the price differences between the spot and futures markets. Some funds use ETFs to profit from the volatility of cryptocurrencies or to hedge short positions in derivatives. He explained, "This strategy involves buying Bitcoin spot (usually through ETFs) while shorting Bitcoin futures to lock in low-risk returns. However, the profits from this trading have recently collapsed, significantly reducing its attractiveness. As a result, hedge funds using ETFs for this trading may have closed their positions, leading to large redemptions."

ChainCatcher news, Ripple announced a partnership with South Korean digital asset custody provider BDACS to support institutional custody of XRP and Ripple USD, expanding the availability of Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee held its first hearing on digital assets, focusing on stablecoin legislation and Congress's role in future crypto regulation.The hearing was chaired by crypto-friendly Senator Cynthia Lummis, who stated that Congress is close to introducing a bipartisan framework for stablecoin and market structure legislation, but stablecoin regulation will be prioritized. Former CFTC Chairman Timothy Massad suggested that Congress should postpone market structure legislation for several years until the current regulatory frameworks of the SEC and CFTC are implemented and adjusted.Additionally, Senator Mark Warner expressed concerns about stablecoin KYC issues, pointing out that while issuers perform KYC, stablecoins do not undergo identity verification when circulating between wallets, which could be used for illegal activities. Lightspark Chief Legal Officer Jai Massari responded that blockchain can provide immutable on-chain records and suggested further development of tracking tools to balance privacy and compliance.

ChainCatcher news, according to the latest legislative documents, the Ohio House of Representatives recently introduced Bill No. 116 (HB 116), known as the "Ohio Blockchain Basic Act." This bill was proposed by Representative Demetriou and aims to regulate digital asset mining, taxation, and the management of digital asset investments in the state retirement system.The core contents of the bill include: prohibiting any fees, taxes, or other charges on the use of digital assets for the payment of goods and services; protecting the rights to digital asset mining and custody; and studying the feasibility of state retirement funds investing in digital asset ETFs. The bill has entered the review stage of the regular session of the 136th General Assembly (2025-2026).

According to ChainCatcher news, data from CoinShares' latest weekly report shows that digital asset investment products experienced a total outflow of $508 million last week, bringing the total outflow over the past two weeks to $924 million.Regionally, the outflows were primarily concentrated in the United States, which saw an outflow of $560 million. However, this negative sentiment was not reflected in Europe, where healthy inflows continued, particularly in Germany and Switzerland, with inflows of $30.5 million and $15.8 million, respectively.

ChainCatcher News: The U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Digital Assets will hold its first hearing on February 26, local time, to discuss the topic of "Exploring a Bipartisan Legislative Framework for Digital Assets."

ChainCatcher news, according to the Financial Times, Bitwise Asset Management Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated that looking ahead to the next 10 years, there will definitely be larger digital asset ETPs launched, and this ETP could be an index-based product.Since November 2024, there has been a surge of cryptocurrency ETF applications in the United States, based on cryptocurrencies such as Solana, XRP, and Litecoin. Matt Hougan added that resolving the dispute over the definition of cryptocurrencies as securities or commodities may open the floodgates for market development: "Unless we get a clear definition, it will hinder market development. But once we have those definitions, I believe there will be explosive growth in U.S. products."

ChainCatcher news, The ETF Store President Nate Geraci stated on social media that the fund giant Charles Schwab has established a digital asset chief position, which is expected to provide cryptocurrency spot trading services. The company is currently one of the largest brokerage firms in the United States.

According to ChainCatcher news and CoinShares' latest weekly report, influenced by the Federal Reserve's hawkish remarks and CPI data, digital asset investment products experienced an outflow of $415 million, ending a 19-week streak of inflows totaling $29.4 billion.Among them, Bitcoin, which is sensitive to interest rate expectations, saw an outflow of $430 million in a single week. Solana received a net inflow of $8.9 million, ranking first, followed by XRP and Sui, with inflows of $8.5 million and $6 million, respectively. Blockchain stock products had a net inflow of $20.8 million this week, bringing the total inflow for the year to $220 million.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, currently 32 states in the United States have introduced bills on Bitcoin and digital assets.

ChainCatcher news, according to cryptonews, Hong Kong crypto custodian Hex Trust announced the acquisition of Byte Trading, with the specific amount undisclosed. This move aims to enhance its institutional service capabilities. By integrating Byte Trading's low-latency trading platform technology, Hex Trust plans to improve its existing custody and comprehensive financial services.Hex Trust CEO Alessio Quaglini stated that this acquisition is an important milestone for the company in its transformation from a custody service provider to a full-fledged financial institution, aiming to meet the growing demand for digital assets from institutional investors.

ChainCatcher news, Satoshi Action Fund (SAF) co-founder Dennis Porter posted on X platform stating: "In 2025, more than 30 states in the U.S. will implement policies supporting Bitcoin and digital assets."