Tether deepens AI bet, backs Italian firm’s humanoid robots

Tether's USDT stablecoin has received regulatory recognition as an accepted fiat-referenced token across various major blockchains within Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), advancing the company's push to expand its footprint in the region.

In a Monday statement, Tether said that authorities permit authorized persons licensed within the financial free zone to offer regulated activities involving USDT across networks, including Aptos, Celo, Cosmos, Kaia, Near, Polkadot, Tezos, TON, and TRON. 

The move is expected to widen USDT's reach within the UAE's international financial center and builds on earlier approvals for USDT on Ethereum, Solana and Avalanche.

"Introducing USDT within ADGM's regulated digital asset framework reinforces the role of stablecoins as essential components of today's financial landscape," said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, in the statement. "By extending recognition to USDT on several major blockchains, ADGM further strengthens Abu Dhabi's position as a global hub for compliant digital finance."

ADGM functions as a special economic zone and international financial center in the UAE capital, operating under its own legal and regulatory system. Its Financial Services Regulatory Authority acts as the primary regulator and licensing body for firms operating within the zone.

Specifically, Tether said the recognition allows ADGM-licensed institutions to support regulated activities involving USDT across nearly all blockchains where the token circulates, forming a multi-chain foundation that enhances liquidity and interoperability for trading, settlement and decentralized applications. 

Binance's ADGM license

Tether's announcement comes as Abu Dhabi deepens its push to become a global crypto — momentum highlighted by Binance's Monday disclosure that it has secured full authorization to operate its global platform, Binance.com, under the ADGM framework.

Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, said it would operate through three separately licensed entities — an exchange, a clearing house and a broker-dealer — mirroring traditional financial-market architecture and enabling regulated trading, custody, settlement and off-exchange services. 

"ADGM is one of the most respected financial regulators globally, and holding an FSRA license under their gold standard framework shows that Binance meets the highest international standards for compliance, governance, risk management, and consumer protection," said Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng.

Pending final operational steps, Binance.com is set to begin regulated operations under the ADGM framework on Jan. 5, 2026.

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XRP Spot ETFs have crossed $1 Billion in assets under management, making XRP the fastest crypto Spot ETF to reach the milestone in the United States since Ethereum. Canary, Grayscale, Bitwise, and Franklin are driving most of the activity, with steady demand coming from institutional desks.

ETF inflows show strong interest from long term buyers who are adding XRP to regulated portfolios. This new pool of capital is expanding even as spot market sentiment remains mixed.

Garlinghouse Says Demand Is Only Getting Started

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the pace of growth points to a larger shift. He said that more than forty crypto ETFs have launched in the United States this year, showing how much pent up demand exists for regulated crypto exposure. 

He added that Vanguard’s decision to open its retirement and trading accounts to crypto ETFs means millions of Americans can now access digital assets without needing deep technical knowledge.

Garlinghouse said longevity, stability, and community are becoming key themes for this new wave of “offchain” crypto holders who prefer simple investment products instead of direct token management. XRP’s track record is helping it stand out among recent ETF launches.

“There’s pent up demand for regulated crypto products, and with Vanguard opening up access in traditional retirement / trading accounts for Americans..crypto is now accessible to millions more people who don’t need to be experts in the technology,” he wrote on social media.

Supply Tightens as Investors Accumulate

Institutional interest is also affecting supply. As ETF issuers continue to buy XRP to meet inflow demand, circulating supply on exchanges is slowly tightening. The token has held close to the $2 level for several sessions, which analysts say could set the stage for a supply shock if buying pressure continues.

XRP price started a recovery wave above $2.080. The price is now consolidating and might struggle to clear the $2.10 resistance.

• XRP price started a recovery wave above the $2.060 zone.
• The price is now trading above $2.050 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.
• There is a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2.0850 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
• The pair could continue to move up if it settles above $2.10.

XRP Price Faces Rejection

XRP price remained supported above $2.020 and started a recovery wave, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The price was able to climb above $2.050 and $2.060 to enter a positive zone.

There was also a spike above the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2.2130 swing high to the $1.990 low. The bears defended a close above the $2.10 level and the price reacted to the downside. There is also a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2.0850 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair.

The price is now trading above $2.050 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. If there is a fresh upward move, the price might face resistance near the $2.10 level and the trend line. The first major resistance is near the $2.120 level.

A close above $2.120 could send the price to $2.160 and the 76.4% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2.2130 swing high to the $1.990 low. The next hurdle sits at $2.20. A clear move above the $2.20 resistance might send the price toward the $2.2650 resistance. Any more gains might send the price toward the $2.280 resistance. The next major hurdle for the bulls might be near $2.350.

Another Drop?

If XRP fails to clear the $2.10 resistance zone, it could start a fresh decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $2.050 level. The next major support is near the $2.0150 level.

If there is a downside break and a close below the $2.0150 level, the price might continue to decline toward $1.950. The next major support sits near the $1.920 zone, below which the price could continue lower toward $1.850.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD for XRP/USD is now gaining pace in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for XRP/USD is now below the 50 level.

Major Support Levels – $2.050 and $2.0150.

Major Resistance Levels – $2.10 and $2.160.

Some of the reported trading activity and volume of prediction market platform Polymarket may be significantly higher than actual reality due to a “data bug,” according to a researcher at Paradigm.

“It turns out almost every major dashboard has been double-counting Polymarket volume not related to wash trading,” said Storm, a researcher at the venture capital firm.

Storm explained that this was because “Polymarket’s onchain data contains redundant representations of each trade.”

When trades occur on Polymarket, the system emits multiple “OrderFilled” events: one set for makers, who have existing orders, and another for takers, who execute the trade. 

These events describe the same trade from different perspectives, not separate trades. However, many major dashboards have been combining them, counting the same volume twice.

Polymarket has been seen as a rare crypto success recently, as spot and derivatives markets have been in turmoil. The discovery that its headline metric may be incorrect across many dashboards could dent some of its perceived success. 

Polymarket’s complex blockchain data 

The researcher went on to explain that the accounting bug “inflates both types of volume metrics commonly used for prediction markets, notional volume and cashflow volume.” 

Related: Polymarket plans to use in-house market maker to trade against users: Report 

This complexity arises because Polymarket trades can be simple swaps or they can be “splits” and “merges” where both parties exchange cash for opposing positions. 

The smart contracts emit redundant events for tracking purposes, and standard blockchain explorers don’t make this distinction clear, the researcher stated. 

Cointelegraph contacted Polymarket for comment, but did not receive an immediate response. 

Based on reports, France’s second-largest banking group has started letting customers trade crypto in its mobile apps. BPCE opened the service on Monday for selected users of Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne.

Around 2 million people in four regional banks can now buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and USDC through the apps.

Measured Limited Rollout

The launch covers the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur branch of Caisse d’Épargne and the Île-de-France division of Banque Populaire, among others.

BPCE has said it will watch early use closely. That controlled approach is meant to catch technical issues and fix the user flow before wider availability. If all goes to plan, the bank intends to extend the feature across its 25 remaining regional entities by 2026, reaching a retail base of roughly 12 million clients.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has taken one of its biggest steps yet toward bringing crypto into regulated finance, launching a pilot that lets Bitcoin, Ether and USDC serve as collateral in derivatives markets.

Acting Chairman Caroline Pham the program in Washington, along with new guidance on tokenized collateral and the withdrawal of older rules that no longer align with the GENIUS Act.

The pilot marks a shift toward integrating digital assets into futures and swaps markets while giving regulators real time visibility into how tokenized collateral performs.

. Announces Launch of Digital Assets Pilot Program for Tokenized Collateral in Derivatives Markets: — CFTC (@CFTC) US Derivatives Regulator Opens Path For Tokenized Assets To Back Trades

Pham said the initiative aims to give US traders safer, CFTC-supervised venues after heavy losses on offshore platforms. She added that the agency is “launching a US digital assets pilot program for tokenized collateral, including Bitcoin and Ether,” with guardrails for customer protection and tighter monitoring.

The CFTC’s three divisions also issued guidance confirming that tokenized assets can be evaluated under the existing framework. The guidance covers tokenized real-world assets such as US Treasuries and money market funds and addresses custody, segregation, valuation haircuts and operational risks.

The agency also granted no-action relief for futures commission merchants that want to accept certain non-securities digital assets as customer margin.Pilot Starts With Bitcoin, Ether And USDC As CFTC Gains Fresh Market Visibility

For the first three months, FCMs can only accept BTC, ETH and USDC. They must file weekly reports on the amounts held and notify the agency of any major issues, giving the CFTC early insight into market behaviour without blocking adoption.

In a parallel move, the CFTC withdrew a 2020 advisory that restricted the use of virtual currencies as collateral, saying it no longer reflects current market conditions after years of development and the passage of the GENIUS Act.Crypto Execs Call CFTC Guidance A Milestone For US Market Innovation

Crypto firms welcomed the shift. Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal said the decision confirms that digital assets can make payments faster and cheaper. Circle president Heath Tarbert said supervised stablecoins will reduce settlement frictions and support round-the-clock trading.

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek called the guidance “an important milestone,” linking it to President Trump’s goal of making the US “the crypto capital of the world.”

Ripple’s Jack McDonald added that recognizing tokenized assets as eligible margin improves capital efficiency and strengthens US leadership in financial innovation.

The CFTC said the pilot and guidance reflect recommendations from the Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee and feedback from industry forums. Bitcoin, Ether and USDC are set to take on a more formal role in US derivatives markets as regulators monitor how tokenized collateral performs in practice.