Virtual Currency

• U.A.E. Firm Quietly Took Stake in the Trump Family’s Crypto Company - The $500 million agreement raises new concerns about the propriety of the president negotiating foreign policy with his own business partners.
• The Richest 2026 Players: A.I., Crypto, Pro-Israel Groups and Trump - All have amassed enormous war chests, new filings show, making them the financial wild cards of this year’s midterm elections and feared political spenders.
• An Unlikely Source of Crypto Innovation: Afghanistan - The repressive Taliban government is suspicious of the internet. But a start-up in the country is building blockchain-based tools to transform humanitarian aid.
• Coinbase, the Biggest U.S. Crypto Company, Asserts Its Power in Washington - The top executive of the crypto exchange Coinbase scuttled a planned Senate committee vote on a major cryptocurrency bill after voicing his concerns, a sign of the company’s clout.
• Pitching Crypto and Needling Mamdani: Adams’s Post-Mayoralty Takes Shape - Two weeks ago, Eric Adams was in Times Square to lead the New Year’s Eve ball drop as his last act as mayor. He returned on Monday to promote a new business interest.
• How the Winklevoss Twins Won Big in Trump’s Pro-Crypto Washington - Few industry players seem closer to Trump than the 44-year-old billionaire brothers. And they have gotten more than just invitations to the White House this year.
• How Stablecoins Can Help Criminals Launder Money and Evade Sanctions - Through layers of intermediaries, stablecoins can be moved, swapped and mixed into pools of other funds in ways that are difficult to trace, experts say.
• Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends - David Sacks, the Trump administration’s A.I. and crypto czar, has helped formulate policies that aid his Silicon Valley friends and many of his own tech investments.