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Trump Treasury Pick Bessent Opposes Idea of U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency

U.S. senators questioning President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, didn’t spend much time on cryptocurrency issues in his nomination hearing on Thursday. But he had a chance to register strong opposition to a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC) and to note that he favors a modern outlook on crypto.
The billionaire hedge fund manager told the Senate Finance Committee, which is set to consider confirmation of his nomination, that the Federal Reserve shouldn’t issue a digital dollar — a controversial idea that’s widely seen by the crypto industry as a governmental incursion on its turf.
«I see no reason for the U.S. to have a central bank digital currency,» he said. «In my mind, a central bank digital currency is for countries who have no other investment alternatives.»
Dozens of countries around the world, notably China, have launched or piloted CBDCs. But Bessent they have generally pursued them out “out of necessity,» and that the U.S. has no need.
Read More: U.S. Fed Chair Powell Says ‘Nowhere Near’ Pursuing CBDC, Won’t Spy on Americans
At another point in Thursday’s hearing, he was asked about the department’s financial-crimes arm, and in the context of terrorist financing, he said, «I believe we have to have a 2025 approach to … digital currencies.»
The sentiment was immediately embraced by the crypto-backed Ceder Innovation Foundation in a social-media post, saying, «Too many politicians have been working with a 20th century outlook which not only hurts digital innovators, but also global security.»
Bessent, who made his fortune in hedge funds, shed hundreds of thousands of dollars in a bitcoin exchange-traded fund investment after accepting Trump’s nomination, demonstrating he’s had skin-in-the-game to back up his pro-crypto rhetoric.
«Crypto is about freedom and the crypto economy is here to stay,» he said in an interview with Fox Business in July.
Read More: Trump Picks Pro-Crypto Hedge Fund Manager Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary
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BNB Hovers Above $648 as Maxwell Hard Fork Upgrade Set to Double Block Production Speed

BNB BNB traded in a narrow range on Sunday, reflecting resilience amid low volatility as the BNB Chain community gears up for a significant infrastructure upgrade, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.
The Maxwell hard fork upgrade scheduled for June 30 is poised to enhance the performance of the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) mainnet by cutting block times from 1.5 seconds to 0.75 seconds—doubling the chain’s throughput potential.
This upgrade builds on earlier milestones like the Lorentz fork, which reduced block time from 3 seconds and introduced enhanced network stability. Maxwell moves BSC into sub-second block speeds, helping it compete more directly with faster chains such as Solana.
The hard fork will be powered by three protocol improvement proposals: BEP-524, BEP-563 and BEP-564. These measures overhaul key components of validator coordination and consensus mechanics. Notably, validators will now serve longer block proposal turns (16 blocks per turn), and the epoch length is being extended from 500 to 1,000 blocks — changes expected to stabilize performance even under accelerated conditions.
To avoid network congestion and excessive state growth, the per-block gas limit will be halved from 70 million to 35 million. Improvements on the networking side are also expected, with faster block propagation among validators — within 400 milliseconds —and improved range synchronization for lagging nodes.
Named after physicist James Clerk Maxwell, the upgrade is designed to balance speed with stability, aiming to elevate BNB Chain’s standing across DeFi, GameFi, and enterprise blockchain sectors. By delivering more responsive block finality and smoother validator participation, the Maxwell hard fork could help drive future adoption and developer growth across the ecosystem.
Technical Analysis Highlights
- Between June 28 15:00 UTC and June 29 14:00 UTC, BNB climbed from $646.29 to $650.25, a 0.61% gain with a $5.75 (0.89%) trading range.
- The price found key support at $647.11 during the 02:00 UTC hour on June 29, with above-average volume of 10,034 units.
- Resistance emerged at $651.30 during the 12:00 UTC hour, capping further gains.Notable volume spikes at 07:00 and 09:00 UTC (18,696 and 22,494 units, respectively) confirmed persistent buyer interest above $648.
- From 13:05 to 14:04 UTC on June 29, BNB dipped slightly from $650.85 to $650.25, posting a 0.09% intraday loss.
- Price briefly hit a session peak of $651.07 at 13:23 UTC before rejecting lower, with a volume spike of 957.81 units at 13:25 UTC.
- As of 21:24 UTC, BNB traded at $648.37, paring earlier gains and holding below resistance near the $651 level.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
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Ondo Finance: ‘2025 Will Be the Year of Tokenized Stocks’

Ondo (ONDO) ONDO rose 1.5% to $0.7671 over the past 24 hours, holding near recent highs after a week of gains, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.
The move comes roughly two weeks after Ondo Finance disclosed a new industry collaboration focused on setting standards for tokenized securities.
In a June 17 blog post, the firm announced the creation of the Global Markets Alliance, a group of wallets, exchanges, and custodians working together to improve interoperability, investor protections, and access to tokenized real-world assets. Participants include the Solana Foundation, BitGo, Fireblocks, Jupiter, 1inch, Trust Wallet, Bitget Wallet, Rainbow Wallet, and Alpaca.
The announcement comes ahead of Ondo’s planned launch of Ondo Global Markets, a platform aimed at allowing crypto wallets and applications to offer tokenized exposure to U.S. publicly traded securities, such as stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds, for users based outside the U.S. According to the company, the initiative is intended to reduce frictions associated with traditional capital market infrastructure and broaden global access.
Each member of the alliance is contributing in a different capacity. Wallet providers like Trust Wallet and Rainbow Wallet are integrating Ondo’s tokenized asset standards, while exchanges such as Jupiter and aggregators like 1inch are expected to support programmatic access to tokenized assets. BitGo and Fireblocks are providing institutional custody and infrastructure, and Alpaca is handling brokerage and regulatory services tailored to tokenized securities.
The firm said the group will work to align technical and compliance standards for tokenized securities, improve cross-platform access and liquidity, and support use cases such as self-custody and onchain trading. While the alliance has not committed to a specific timeline, its members have framed the initiative as part of a longer-term shift toward integrating traditional financial products into blockchain-based systems.
In a post on X dated June 28, Ondo Finance wrote that “2025 will be the year of tokenized stocks,” indicating the team’s belief that adoption of tokenized financial instruments may accelerate in the coming quarters.
Technical Analysis Highlights
- Between June 28 15:00 UTC and June 29 14:00 UTC, ONDO rose from $0.749 to $0.769, a 2.67% gain within a 3.33% trading range.
- Strong support was confirmed at $0.755 with high volume during the 21:00 UTC hour on June 28.
- Key resistance at $0.765 was broken during the 00:00 UTC hour on June 29, when volume spiked to 8.9 million.
- From 13:05 to 14:04 UTC on June 29, ONDO fell slightly from $0.773 to $0.769, a 0.58% drop, with notable selling at 13:33 UTC.
- A temporary support level formed at $0.768 as multiple recovery attempts above $0.769 failed in the final minutes.
- Price action during the final hour formed a descending channel with lower highs, but the last candle hinted at potential reversal.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
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Coinbase Outpaces S&P 500 With 43% June Rise as Stablecoin Narrative Grows: CNBC

Shares of Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) rose 43% this month, making the firm the top performer in the S&P 500 since it joined the index at the end of last month.
June’s run is already the stock’s best since November and caps three straight monthly gains. Coinbase’s shares reached their highest level since their public debut.
COIN hit a $382 high this week before enduring a slight correction, ending the week at $353 and seeing a slight 0.7% drop in after-hours trading to $351.
The wider S&P 500 index rose roughly 5% in June as geopolitical tensions eased.
Washington’s progress on the GENIUS Act, Congress’s first rulebook for dollar-pegged stablecoins, helped shift investor focus from trading fees to stablecoin revenue.
The bill brightened the outlook for Circle, whose shares hit a record high and saw its market cap near that of Coinbase this week.
Coinbase keeps all yield on USDC balances held on its platform and nearly half of other USDC income, equal to about 99 percent of Circle’s revenue, giving shareholders indirect exposure at no added cost, CNBC reported Friday, citing analysts including Citizens’ head of financial technology research Devin Ryan.
Trading, however, remains subdued. Average daily volume on Coinbase has drifted lower since April.
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