Republicans won the Senate, but 2 crypto races are still up for grabs  

An appellate court has granted a joint request from Ripple Labs and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pause an appeal in a 2020 SEC case against Ripple amid settlement negotiations.In an April 16 filing in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the court approved a joint SEC-Ripple motion to hold the appeal in abeyance — temporarily pausing the case — for 60 days. As part of the order, the SEC is expected to file a status report by June 15.April 16 order approving a motion to hold an appeal in abeyance. Source: PACERThe SEC’s case against Ripple and its executives, filed in December 2020, was expected to begin winding down after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced on March 19 that the commission would be dropping its appeal against the blockchain firm. A federal court found Ripple liable for $125 million in an August ruling, resulting in both the SEC and blockchain firm filing an appeal and cross-appeal, respectively.However, once US President Donald Trump took office and leadership of the SEC moved from former chair Gary Gensler to acting chair Mark Uyeda, the commission began dropping multiple enforcement cases against crypto firms in a seeming political shift. Ripple pledged $5 million in XRP to Trump’s inauguration fund, and Garlinghouse and chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty attended events supporting the US president.Related: SEC dropping Ripple case is ‘final exclamation mark’ that XRP is not a security — John DeatonDespite support for the end of the case coming from both Ripple and the SEC, the August 2024 judgment and appellate cases leave some legal entanglements. Alderoty said in March that Ripple would drop its cross-appeal with the SEC and receive a roughly $75 million refund from the lower court judgment. It’s unclear what else may result from negotiations over a settlement in appellate court.New leadership at SEC incomingActing chair Uyeda is expected to step down following the US Senate confirming Paul Atkins as SEC chair on April 9. During his confirmation hearings, lawmakers questioned Atkins about his ties to crypto, which could create conflicts of interest in his role regulating the industry. In financial disclosures, Atkins stated he had millions of dollars in assets through stakes in crypto firms, including Securitize, Pontoro and Patomak. Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Crypto market maker DWF Labs announced a $25 million investment in World Liberty Financial, the decentralized finance (DeFi) project backed by US President Donald Trump and his sons, as the company expands into the United States with an office in New York City. On April 16, Dubai-based DWF Labs said it had purchased World Liberty Financial (WLFI) tokens through a private transaction.The firm said the transaction reflects its intent to participate in WLFI’s governance. As tokenholders, DWF Labs will be able to vote on decisions that impact the ecosystem.WLFI launched on Sept. 16, 2024, to promote DeFi and US dollar-pegged stablecoins. During the launch, Trump said the family was “embracing the future with crypto and leaving the slow and outdated big banks behind.”DWF Labs to provide liquidity for USD1 stablecoinAlongside the WLFI investment, DWF Labs said the collaboration includes providing liquidity for the project’s stablecoin, World Liberty Financial USD (USD1). On March 24, the DeFi project launched USD1 on BNB Chain and Ethereum. However, the project clarified that the stablecoin was not yet tradable. DWF Labs is a market maker that provides liquidity for over 60 exchanges around the globe. A market maker allows traders to execute their trades by providing liquidity. They make or take orders from traders, allowing smooth trading operations. The investment coincides with DWF’s expansion into the US. The market maker said it had established an office in New York City as part of its global expansion plans. The company expects the expansion to improve its institutional partnerships with banks, asset managers and fintech companies. It also aims to strengthen its engagement with US regulators. Related: DWF Labs launches $250M fund for mainstream crypto adoptionWLFI has raised over $600 million since its launchSince its launch in September, World Liberty Financial has already raised over $600 million for its DeFi protocol. The company raised $300 million during its first token sale by selling 20 billion WLFI tokens. The company sold another 5 billion tokens at $0.05 each, meeting its price target of an extra $250 million on March 14. This puts the overall WLFI public token sales earnings at $550 million. On Nov. 25, Tron Founder Justin Sun purchased 2 billion WLFI tokens for $30 million. Investment platform Web3Port also announced a $10 million WLFI investment, while venture capital firm Oddiyana Ventures announced a strategic investment without disclosing the amount. Magazine: What do crypto market makers actually do? Liquidity, or manipulation

Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced that it is reentering the US market.According to an April 16 blog post, OKX will return to the United States market along with the appointment of former Barclays director Roshan Robert as its US CEO. Robert said in the post:“Today, I’m thrilled to announce the launch of OKX’s centralized crypto exchange and OKX Wallet in the United States, alongside the establishment of our regional headquarters in San Jose, California.“All existing Okcoin users will be migrated to the new platform, which Robert said will lead to a better overall experience. The promised improvements include deeper liquidity, lower fees and advanced trading tools.Source: OKXRelated: Standard Chartered and OKX pilot crypto, tokenized fund collateralsStep by stepOKX will not roll out the upgrade in one shot. Instead, the new platform will take a phased approach to onboard new customers. The exchange plans to follow the cautious approach with a nationwide launch later in 2025.“We’re beginning with a phased rollout for new customers to ensure a smooth and secure onboarding process, with a broader nationwide launch planned later this year,“ Robert said.OKX also promised integrations with local banks and support for major assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), USDt (USDT) and USDC (USDC). Robert noted that the company maintains a global proof of reserves for all its assets, which is published monthly by cybersecurity firm Hacken.Hacken had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by publication time.In addition to its trading platform, the firm is also rolling out OKX Wallet to its US-based customers. The wallet supports 130 blockchains and features a decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator, allowing access to over 10 million tokens on platforms including Ethereum, Solana and Base.Related: Malta regulator fines OKX crypto exchange $1.2M for past AML breachesOKX gets out of US troublesThe report follows OKX hiring former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to advise it over a federal probe that resulted in the firm pleading guilty to several violations and agreeing to pay $505 million in fines and penalties.The exchange admitted on Feb. 24 to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in violation of US Anti-Money Laundering laws. As a consequence, OKX agreed to pay $84 million worth of penalties while forfeiting $421 million worth of fees earned from primarily institutional clients.After the investigation concluded, OKX said it would seek out a compliance consultant to remedy the problems revealed by the federal probe and improve its compliance efforts. OKX’s CEO Star Xu wrote in a Feb. 24 X post:“Our vision is to make OKX the gold standard of global compliance at scale across different markets and their respective regulatory bodies.”OKX had not responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment by publication timeMagazine: XRP win leaves Ripple and industry with no crypto legal precedent set