Today in crypto: NFT winter claims another exchange

Eric Trump launches American Bitcoin miner

The Trump family is doubling down on crypto, this time through a mining venture backed by Eric Trump.

Eric has partnered with Miami-based mining firm Hut 8 to form American Bitcoin Corp, which aims to go public and become one of the largest miners in the U.S., according to Bloomberg. The company combines Trump-linked capital with Hut 8’s infrastructure and mining hardware.

“It’s exciting to build this in America,” Eric told Bloomberg. “Combine that with an asset that’s appreciated 60% year-over-year for the past decade, and a company that can mine Bitcoin at nearly half its current trading price – it’s a dynamite combination.”

Hut 8 is contributing most of its ASIC miners to the new company in exchange for an 80% stake. The remaining 20% will be held by investors including Eric and Donald Trump Jr.

CEO Asher Genoot said the new setup lets investors gain exposure to Bitcoin mining while keeping Hut 8 focused on infrastructure and AI. “For Hut 8, this made sense because we have investors in the energy, infrastructure, and Bitcoin sides of the business.”

The move follows Eric’s appointment last month to the advisory board of Metaplanet, a Japanese Bitcoin treasury company. He’s also been outspoken about being debanked, telling Fox Business that the traditional banking system “canceled” his family – pushing him into crypto.

“When every bank started canceling us for no reason other than my father being in politics, that’s when I realized how important crypto is,” Eric said. “Cheaper, faster, more transparent, uncancelable.”

He added: “Everybody wants a U.S. stablecoin. Crypto is here to stay.”

Crypto-backed Republicans win big in Florida elections

Two pro-crypto Republican candidates have won special congressional elections in Florida, backed by powerful crypto industry PACs.

Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine secured seats in Florida’s first and sixth districts, respectively, each receiving major support from Defend American Jobs – a GOP-aligned super PAC tied to the $100M+ Fairshake network.

“Their election is a win for jobs, innovation, and American leadership,” the group said in a statement.

The victories help cement a slim House majority needed to advance stablecoin and market structure legislation, which Republican leaders say they plan to move forward this spring.

Bybit becomes latest exchange to shut down NFT platform

NFT trading continues to shrink – and now Bybit is bowing out.

The exchange announced it will shut down its NFT Marketplace, Inscription Marketplace, and IDO pages on April 8. The move follows a $1.4B hack in February, attributed to North Korea, which marked the largest crypto theft to date.

Bybit joins a growing list of firms exiting the NFT space. This week, X2Y2 also shut down, citing a 90% collapse in NFT volume since 2021. Kraken, RTFKT, and LG’s Art Lab have also closed operations in recent months.

CryptoPunks and Bored Apes – once valued in the millions – have seen floor prices drop by 60% to 90%.

SEC and Gemini pause lawsuit to explore resolution

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Gemini Trust have asked a federal judge to pause their lawsuit for 60 days while they explore a potential resolution.

The case, filed in early 2023, accused crypto exchange Gemini of offering unregistered securities via its Earn program. But under the Trump administration’s more crypto-friendly approach, enforcement efforts have been scaled back.

The SEC, now led by acting Chair Mark Uyeda, has recently dropped cases against Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, and others. This motion signals a further shift in regulatory tone.

Sony Store Singapore now accepts USDC via Crypto.com

Sony has started accepting USDC as payment on its online store in Singapore, using Crypto.com’s Pay feature.

This marks Sony’s first direct crypto integration for retail, and the company says more coins could be added in the future.

Sony’s Singapore blockchain division also quietly launched a custom Ethereum layer-2 called Soneium, designed for NFTs, creator tools, and gaming.

Crypto.com, meanwhile, continues its global expansion – including a recent partnership with Trump Media to launch crypto ETFs tied to Bitcoin and Cronos (CRO).