CFTC to Allow Americans Trade on Offshore Exchanges | News You May Have Missed | Aug. 24 – 30, 2025

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From CFTC to allow Americans trade on offshore exchanges to MetaMask adding a social login feature, here is a roundup of the top crypto stories you may have missed.

CFTC Opens Door for Offshore Crypto Firms to Reenter US Market

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released an advisory clarifying how foreign crypto exchanges can register as foreign boards of trade, allowing them to legally offer derivatives to U.S. traders if they are fully licensed in jurisdictions with comparable oversight. 

Acting CFTC Chairman Caroline Pham said the move gives American companies forced overseas a path back into US markets.

The advisory also comes as the administration of U.D. President Donald Trump’s pushes blockchain adoption in government operations, setting the stage for renewed competition with established players like Coinbase and Kraken, which is eyeing a 2026 public listing.

US Tests Blockchain for GDP Data Release

The U.S. Department of Commerce has begun publishing key economic data on blockchains, starting with the release of gross domestic product (GDP) figures on Thursday. 

Described as a “proof of concept,” the agency distributed the data through nine blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, TRON, and Polygon, while also leveraging Chainlink and Pyth oracles with support from Coinbase, Gemini, and Kraken.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick credited Trump’s leadership in pushing blockchain adoption, calling the effort a step toward making America’s economic data “immutable and globally accessible.” The agency said the move is part of a broader plan to expand blockchain use for other federal datasets, such as the consumer price index and jobs reports.

Google Unveils Plans for ‘Universal Ledger’ Blockchain

Google Cloud announced that it is developing a new Layer 1 blockchain called the Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL) and claimed that the network will be positioned as a neutral platform for financial institutions. 

Rich Widmann, the company’s web3 head, described it as the product of years of research, designed to support Python-based smart contracts and serve as open infrastructure at a global scale.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange is already testing GCUL for tokenization and payments, with wider trials set for 2026. The move places Google in direct competition with Circle and Stripe, which are building their own blockchains, as the tech giant aims to capture a central role in the future of institutional finance.

Crypto Firms, Authorities Freeze $47M Linked to ‘Pig Butchering’ Scam

Chainalysis, Tether, Binance, and OKX worked with Asia-Pacific law enforcement to freeze nearly $47 million in tether (USDT) tied to a large-scale “pig butchering” scam, the companies disclosed this week. 

Using Chainalysis’ investigation tools, authorities traced funds from dozens of victims across Southeast Asia to five wallets, leading to Tether blocking the assets in June 2024 to prevent conversion into fiat currency.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company will continue working with global law enforcement to freeze illicit funds and support restitution for victims.

Pig butchering scams, where fraudsters groom victims through trust or romance before luring them into fake investments, together with other online frauds, caused more than $5.8 billion in crypto-related investment losses in 2024, according to FBI data. 

MetaMask, the self-custodial wallet app from Consensys, introduced a new feature that allows users to create, back up, and restore wallets using their Google or Apple accounts.

The update is designed to simplify wallet setup, which typically requires managing a 12-word Secret Recovery Phrase.

According to MetaMask, the SRP is still generated in the background and tied to the user’s social login and password, preserving its self-custodial nature. The company stressed that lost passwords make wallet recovery impossible, noting that even MetaMask cannot access the pieces needed to retrieve an SRP.

This article is published on BitPinas: CFTC to Allow Americans Trade on Offshore Exchanges | News You May Have Missed | Aug. 24 – 30, 2025

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