Belarus wants to ban P2P cryptocurrency transactions

A fake Eric Trump-themed memecoin launched on Solana’s memecoin launchpad Pump.fun, rose more than 6,200% in the past 24 hours, raising red flags among blockchain analysts who warned of a potential rug pull.A newly-created Eric Trump (ERICTRUMP) memecoin with the token address “jv7d” surpassed $140 million in market capitalization within a day since its launch on May 16, CoinMarketCap data shows.ERICTRUMP/USD, all-time chart. Source: CoinMarketCap The memecoin’s distribution raises significant red flags that point to a rug pull “in the making,” warned blockchain data platform Bubblemaps in a May 16 X post.Source: BubblemapsA rug pull typically refers to the sudden removal of liquidity or mass sell-off by token insiders, often resulting in a steep price collapse that leaves retail holders with worthless tokens. Looking at Bubblemaps’ token clusters for the 250 largest holders, the majority of these tokens are held across 10 token clusters, founded by 10 main crypto addresses.Related: Coinbase faces $400M bill after insider phishing attackThe token’s ownership pattern is reminiscent of recent memecoin collapses, including the Wolf of Wall Street-inspired WOLF token, created by Hayden Davis, the co-creator of the Official Melania Meme (MELANIA) and the Libra token.Source: BubblemapsOver 82% of the WOLF token’s supply was held by the same entity, which led to a 99% price crash after the token peaked at a $42 million market capitalization.Related: Ukraine strategic Bitcoin reserve bill reportedly in final stagesEric Trump token deployer created four scam tokensThe deployer behind the fake Eric Trump token also created three other Eric Trump tokens that failed on Pump.fun,” a Bubblemaps investigator told Cointelegraph.Fake Eric Trump tokens created by the same deployer: Source: Solscan, BubblemapsBlockchain data shared by the firm shows that these tokens were all created around the same time by the Solana blockchain address “BjTm.”Industry watchers have been increasingly vigilant about rug pulls since the meltdown of the Libra (LIBRA) token, endorsed by Argentine President Javier Milei, which saw eight insider wallets cash out $107 million in liquidity, leading to a $4 billion market cap wipeout within hours.Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

Central banks are experimenting with smart contracts to implement monetary policy in tokenized environments, signaling a growing interest in integrating blockchain technology into traditional finance (TradFi).According to a joint research study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Innovation Center and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub Swiss Centre, smart contracts could offer central banks flexible, rapid-response tools in a tokenized financial system.The study, dubbed Project Pine, tested a prototype “generic customizable monetary policy tokenized toolkit” for further research by central banks, according to a BIS report published May 15.“The smart contract toolkit was fast and flexible,” the BIS wrote. “In hypothetical scenarios, the central bank was able to add and change tools instantly.”The report emphasized that if tokenization becomes widely adopted for money and securities, smart contracts could play a central role in how monetary policy is executed.Project Pine system overview. Source: BISRelated: Bitcoin more of a ‘diversifier’ than safe-haven asset: ReportThis marks a “first step” in highlighting the potential benefits of tokenization for central banks, according to the BIS.The framework “speed and consistency” was “validated” within a 10-minute hypothetical scenario where central banks quickly changed collateral criteria and exchanged liquid collateral for illiquid amid falling collateral values.The smart-contract framework also allowed central banks to deploy a new facility offering reserves and changing the interest rates on the reserves in an “immediate” implementation.Project Pine, smart contract operations. Source: BISRelated: Coinbase faces $400M bill after insider phishing attackSmart contracts, tokenization may help central banksSmart contracts and tokenization technology may help central banks’ rapid response to “extraordinary events,” the BIS report said:“This speed, coupled with the ability to adjust any of the parameters at any time, gives central banks flexibility in responding to unforeseen events and fast-moving crises.”While promising, the report also acknowledged that central banks will likely face infrastructure challenges, as most existing systems are not designed for these advanced use cases.Smart contract testing scenario. Source: BISProject Pine employed Ethereum’s ERC-20 token standard combined with another standard for “access control.”Financial institutions have increasingly embraced tokenization in recent years.At the Consensus 2025 conference, Joseph Spiro, product director at DTCC Digital Assets, called stablecoins the “perfect” financial instrument for real-time collateral management for financial transactions such as loans or derivatives.Magazine: Altcoin season to hit in Q2? Mantra’s plan to win trust: Hodler’s Digest, April 13 – 19

The Pacific US territory of the Northern Mariana Islands has passed a bill allowing its small constituent island of Tinian to launch a stablecoin, overriding an earlier veto by the territory’s governor.The 20-member Northern Mariana Islands House voted 14-2 to undo Governor Arnold Palacios’ April 11 veto of the bill, which allows the Tinian local government to issue licenses to internet casinos and includes a provision for the Tinian treasurer to issue, manage and redeem a “Tinian Stable Token.” The territory’s nine-member Senate had revived the bill on May 9, voting 7-1 in a two-thirds majority to override the veto, which then needed a two-thirds majority in the House to pass.Representative Marissa Flores (top left) had urged for “thoughtful deliberation” on the internet gaming and stablecoin bill. Source: YouTubeOriginally, a four-member Tinian delegation to the Marianas legislature had unanimously passed the bill to Governor Palacios on March 12.It may put the Tinian government in the lead to be the first US public entity to issue a stablecoin, which it must do before July if it’s to beat the state of Wyoming government, which is aiming to issue a stablecoin by then.Tinian has just over 2,000 residents and a largely tourism-based economy. Its local government, the Municipality of Tinian and Aguiguan, is one of four municipalities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean north of Guam.Governor Palacios said in a letter that he vetoed the bill as it “presents several legal issues and may be unconstitutional,” would regulate an activity that could not “be clearly restricted” to Tinian and that it lacked needed enforcement measures to counter illegal gambling.The stablecoin is called the Marianas US Dollar (MUSD) and will be backed by cash and US Treasury bills held in reserve by the Tinian Municipal Treasury, according to statements shared with Cointelegraph in March.The Tinian government chose local tech services firm Marianas Rai Corporation as the exclusive infrastructure provider for MUSD, which will be launched on the eCash blockchain, a network that rebranded from Bitcoin Cash ABC in 2021 and is a fork of Bitcoin Cash, a blockchain forked from Bitcoin.A Marianas Rai Corp. spokesperson did not comment beyond telling Cointelegraph the company would announce more on MUSD on May 19.“Bitter pill to swallow”Before the vote, House lawmakers heard from the public and discussed overturning Governor Palacios’ veto before they voted it through, with independent House floor leader Marissa Flores airing concerns over the bill.Marianas Rai Corp. co-founder and technology chief Vin Armani had urged lawmakers to undo the veto, saying the bill would “attract billions of dollars of investment and tax revenue” from the crypto industry without the government having to pitch in.Clyde Norita, a Marianas Rai Corp. director and local legal cannabis mogul, told the House that the local economy was “dying out” and the bill would allow business in the region “without affecting our culture, without affecting our environment, without affecting our immigration status.”Representative Flores, who voted against the override, said, “Every time we talk about casinos, there’s always some kind of bitter pill to swallow.”Related: Stablecoin regulation ‘next catalyst’ for crypto industry — Aptos head “It is true, we are in dire need of money, but what I don’t like is when we are desperate, and we are now forced to make a decision because we are desperate once again,” she added. “Every time we’re desperate, it always seems that we come back to casinos.”“I don’t like to be pushed to a corner to make a decision based on fear,” Flores said.Others were more supportive of the measure, with Republican Representative Patrick San Nicolas, a Tinian delegation member who initially voted on the bill, saying it would help pull the region out of “a deep economic crisis.”“We need this legislation to unlock our potential,” he added. “This bill does not depend on tourists or federal subsidies — it builds a digital industry generating revenue from a licensed jurisdiction.”Legal Panel: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight