Athletes Embrace Crypto, Scams Spike, and States Make Bold Bets

Bitcoin price drops below $99K after Federal Reserve implemented an interest rate cut of 25 basis points, and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell revised the inflation outlook for 2025 upwards to 2.5%.

This hawkish stance, influenced by expected policy changes from the incoming Trump administration, led to a broader selloff in the cryptocurrency market.

Strike has entered into partnership with future USC linebacker Matai Tagoa’i to create a groundbreaking NIL deal where a portion of his earnings are paid in bitcoin. This makes him the first college athlete to accept cryptocurrency for endorsements.

“This is a game-changer for me,” Tagoa’i said. “By taking a portion of my NIL earnings in bitcoin, I’m setting myself up for long-term financial growth. I’m grateful to Strike, House of Victory and 3Point0 Labs for helping me take this step. I’m proud to be a part of this innovative collaboration that is redefining the future of college athletics and finance and hopes to set an example for other young athletes to think about their financial futures.”

This collaboration aims to provide athletes with innovative financial tools and protection against inflation. The initiative marks a significant advance in collegiate athletics.

Scammers are imitate Ledger by sending fake emails about a data breach to steal users’ seed phrases.

Ledger warns that it will never request 24-word recovery phrases and urges users to protect their digital assets.

This scam is part of a surge in holiday phishing attacks as online transactions increase.

Ohio Representative Derek Merrin has introduced House Bill 703, the Ohio Bitcoin Reserve Act, which seeks to create a state-run bitcoin fund and give the state treasurer authority to invest public funds in the cryptocurrency.

Merrin stated that the initiative aims to protect Ohio’s finances from the declining value of the US dollar and improve the state’s financial portfolio by leveraging Bitcoin’s potential.

This legislation brings Ohio in line with other states such as Pennsylvania and Texaswith lawmakers also proposing strategic Bitcoin reserves.

Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com, met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago this week.

ONE spokesperson for the company said they were discussing potential appointments and establishing a Bitcoin reserve. This reflects the crypto industry’s ongoing efforts to influence the incoming administration.

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This meeting follows similar engagements by other crypto leaders, such as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, as the new administration includes several crypto advocates in key positions.

In addition, Crypto.com withdrew its lawsuit against the SEC in October, hoping to collaborate on developing a regulatory framework. This signaled a collaborative approach with the Trump administration to promote the digital assets sector.