Clearstream, the post-trade division of Deutsche Boerse, announced that it will start providing cryptocurrency settlement and custody services for institutional clients in April this year.

Citigroup's strategist has downgraded the rating of the U.S. stock market from overweight to neutral, while upgrading the rating of the Chinese stock market to overweight, citing that "the U.S. exceptionalism has at least been suspended."

Web3 data and AI company Validation Cloud announced the completion of a $15 million Series A financing round, led by True Global Ventures, with participation from Cadenza, Blockchain Founders Fund, Bloccelerate, Blockwall, Side Door Ventures, Metamatic, GS Futures, and AP Capital. It is reported that the company's collateral assets have exceeded $1.5 billion, with clients including Chainlink, Aptos, Consensys, Stellar, and Hedera. The new funds will support its expansion in the areas of blockchain intelligence, AI data, and more.

White House AI and cryptocurrency chief David Sacks posted on social media, "The early sale of Bitcoin by the US government has cost American taxpayers over $17 billion. Now, the federal government will develop a strategy to maximize the value of its Bitcoin holdings."

White House AI and cryptocurrency chief David Sacks posted on social media that President Trump's executive order also established the U.S. Digital Asset Reserve, which includes digital assets other than Bitcoin confiscated in criminal or civil litigation. In addition to assets obtained through confiscation procedures, the government will not acquire other assets for the reserve assets. The purpose of the reserve is to manage government digital assets under the leadership of the Treasury Department.

Forbes reporter Eleanor Terrett wrote on X platform that Trump's executive order will establish two different digital asset storage mechanisms: Bitcoin Strategic Reserve and Digital Asset Reserve. The Bitcoin Strategic Reserve will contain approximately 200,000 BTC obtained through criminal and civil forfeitures, with the government authorized to explore ways to acquire more bitcoin without increasing the taxpayer burden. The Digital Asset Reserve will include other digital assets such as XRP, ADA, ETH, and SOL, but the government will not actively seek to purchase these assets. The executive order also requires a comprehensive audit of all digital assets held by the government. According to David Sacks, the purpose of the reserves is "responsible management of government digital assets by the U.S. Treasury Department."

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled that the actions of cryptocurrency company Terraform Labs and its founder Do Kwon constitute fraud. The company's bankruptcy in 2022 resulted in a loss of $40 billion in investor funds.

Terraform Labs and its founder Do Kwon will face trial in Manhattan on Monday, accused by regulators of lying to investors about the collapse of the company's two cryptocurrencies, LUNA and UST, which disrupted the market in 2022. Regulators also accuse them of falsely claiming that Terraform's blockchain was used for a popular mobile payment app in Korea. Do Kwon will not attend the trial. He was arrested in Montenegro last March and is awaiting extradition back to his home country of South Korea, where he faces criminal charges. A court in Montenegro postponed his extradition on Friday, citing concerns from the country's prosecutor's office about the extradition process.

Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform, will be released from prison in Montenegro, but due to several criminal charges brought by national authorities, he will remain in the Balkans. The High Court of Montenegro ordered the confiscation of Kwon's passport on Friday to prevent him from leaving the country. According to the court's order, Kwon will leave Spuž prison on Saturday. The prosecutor opposes extraditing Kwon to South Korea and would prefer him to be sent to the United States, where he could face a longer sentence if convicted.

Market news: Terra co-founder Do Kwon has been released and is awaiting the extradition decision of the Supreme Court.