Most Influential: David Bailey

Among other things, 2025 will surely be remembered for the mania and then stunning collapse of hastily formed bitcoin treasury companies attempting to mirror the success of Michael Saylor’s Strategy. Perhaps none were higher profile than that of KindlyMD (NAKA), led by David Bailey, formerly the very successful CEO of Bitcoin Magazine and Bitcoin-whisperer to…

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Backed, Chainlink Unveil xBridge to Move Tokenized Stocks Between Solana and Ethereum

Backed Finance is introducing xBridge, a new cross-chain bridge designed to move tokenized stocks across blockchains without losing track of stock splits, dividends or other corporate actions. Unveiled at Solana Breakpoint and built in partnership with Chainlink, xBridge enables users to transfer tokenized equities, called xStocks, between Ethereum and Solana, according to an emailed announcement…

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Most Influential: Tom Lee

Thomas “Tom” Lee has been a fixture on Wall Street for some time, and his recent pivot into crypto signals he’s not content to remain on the sidelines. This feature is a part of CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2025 list. Lee co-founded Fundstrat Global Advisors, an independent financial research firm, in 2014. He currently serves as head…

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Most Influential: Michael Saylor

Last year, Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy (MSTR), stood among the most influential figures in the bitcoin ecosystem. His company’s stock surged fivefold, even as U.S. bitcoin ETFs entered the market. This feature is a part of CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2025 list. The story in 2025, however, has been markedly different. MSTR has struggled to…

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Pakistan Moves Toward Tokenizing $2B in Government Assets With Binance

Binance is set to explore the tokenization of up to $2 billion in bonds, treasury bills and commodity reserves in Pakistan, Reuters reported on Friday. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the world’s largest crypto exchange by trade volume highlights Pakistan’s push to use blockchain technology to unlock liquidity and attract foreign investment as it…

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Ripple, Circle, BitGo Among Five Crypto Firms Set to Become Trust Banks

Five digital asset firms have received conditional approvals Friday to become federally chartered trust banks by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) in a major step to bring U.S. dollar stablecoin issuers under federal regulatory oversight. Blockchain firm Ripple and Circle’s (CRCL) First National Digital Currency Bank are on the list, which also…

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