Today in crypto, Strive is urging Inuit to buy Bitcoin after it successfully convinced GameStop to do so, Ethena Labs exited Germany after regulators flagged “deficiencies” in its USDe stablecoin, and El Salvador central bank data shows just 11% of registered Bitcoin service providers are active. Strive urges Intuit to buy Bitcoin after converting GameStopStrive Asset Management CEO Matt Cole has urged fintech firm Intuit to add Bitcoin (BTC) to its balance sheet in an April 14 open letter after successfully convincing game retailer GameStop to buy the cryptocurrency for its books.Cole told Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarz in the letter that Bitcoin is the best way to ensure the company’s long-term success and hedge against any potential disruption caused by artificial intelligence.He said the firm needs an additional hedge as its flagship tax preparation app, TurboTax, is at risk of being automated away by AI. Intuit is also known for its small business accounting software, Quickbooks.An excerpt from Matt Cole’s letter urging Intuit to consider adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet, among other suggestions. Source: Strive Asset Management “We believe an additional hedge is warranted,” Cole wrote, pitching a Bitcoin “war chest” as “the best option available” as it would ensure Intuit has “enough strategic capital to weather the AI storm and act from a position of strength through the turbulence of the AI revolution.”Cole sent a similar letter to GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen in February to advise it to use its $4.6 billion in cash to buy Bitcoin. GameStop said in early April that it raised $1.5 billion, some of which would be used for Bitcoin.Ethena Labs exits German market following agreement with BaFinSynthetic stablecoin developer Ethena Labs is winding down its German operations less than a month after regulators identified “deficiencies” in its dollar-pegged USDe (USDE) stablecoin, signaling heightened scrutiny around crypto assets in Europe’s largest economy.Ethena Labs reached an agreement with Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, also known as BaFin, to cease all operations of its local subsidiary, Ethena GmbH, according to an April 15 announcement.As such, Ethena Labs “will no longer be pursuing MiCAR authorization in Germany,” the company said, referring to the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation.The company reiterated that Ethena’s German subsidiary has not conducted any mint or redeem activity for USDe since March 21, the day BaFin halted the stablecoin’s activities.As Cointelegraph reported at the time, the German regulator identified compliance failures and potential securities law violations tied to USDe.Source: Ethena LabsOnly 11% of El Salvador’s registered Bitcoin firms operational Only 20 of the 181 Bitcoin service providers registered with El Salvador’s central bank are operational, with the rest failing to meet the country’s requirements under its Bitcoin Law. Local media outlet El Mundo cited data from the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador, showing that 11% of the service providers are operational. According to the central bank’s database, the rest of the providers are classified as non-operational. The data showed that at least 22 non-operational providers have failed to meet most of the country’s Bitcoin Law requirements, which mandate that providers implement stringent supervision of their financial systems. El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law requires providers to maintain an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program, keep records that accurately reflect the company’s assets, liabilities and equity and have a tailored cybersecurity program depending on the nature of its services. The data showed that 89% of the registered providers have failed to meet some of these obligations to be classified as operational. Still, a few firms have satisfied the legal criteria, including the state-backed Chivo Wallet and companies including Crypto Trading & Investment and Fintech Américas.
