Bitcoin tops $100,000 for first time since February
"Now that the United States appears more reasonable and concludes agreements with other countries, cryptocurrencies are on the rise again," said Stephane Ifrah, analyst at crypto platform Coinhouse.
Bitcoin broke through the symbolic $100,000 threshold for the first time in December, reaching $109,241.11 on January 20 just a few hours before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.
The Republican leader vowed to support cryptocurrencies during his campaign for a second White House term.
But a wave of US tariffs unleashed on countries around the world dampened financial markets, causing a wave of uncertainty.
Even though they were not directly concerned by the Trump tariffs, cryptocurrencies have a reputation for volatility and investors swiftly fled for safer havens such as gold.
The sector has also been dealt several blows amid scandals such as the collapse of the cryptocurrency $LIBRA, once backed by Argentine President Javier Milei.
The price collapsed after a handful of early investors decided to sell at a huge profit, causing colossal losses for the majority of those who purchased $LIBRA.
It also dragged down prices of other cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin.
Argentine prosecutors are reportedly examining whether Milei engaged in fraud or criminal association, or was in breach of his duties, when he praised the $LIBRA cryptocurrency on social media in February.
Also in February, Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit reported that hackers stole $1.5 billion worth of digital assets in what marked the largest crypto theft in industry history.
In early April, bitcoin dropped to $75,000.
"Bitcoin is strong in line with the stock market," said Charlie Morris, analyst with ByteTree.
"The UK trade deal is one good reason to be bullish because many more trade deals are likely to follow."
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IOL News
17 hours ago
- IOL News
The Donald's long list of foreign policy failures
President Donald J Trump is an unusual artist. The author of Art of the Deal has become notorious for a string of failures in his foreign policy deals. He sold himself as transactional, and everything was up for negotiation. Image: Supplied UNITED States President Donald J Trump is an unusual artist. The author of Art of the Deal has become notorious for a string of failures in his foreign policy deals. He sold himself as transactional, and everything was up for negotiation. Yet, the clumsiness of his bashfulness has pushed the world onto a precipice of dangerous peril. From the margins of a heated electioneering campaign, panting from running and bothered, no doubt by a profusion of criminal and civil cases, the Donald enlivened the imagination of a fatigued world about the possibility of ending the US/Nato proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. The embattled Republican Presidential candidate was kind enough to remind even the unconverted, that Ukraine is a proxy. And he was determined to end it once and for all on day one in office, if he was elected. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ When pressed on how he intended to do so, he became more philosophical than discreet. He was not the one in office, he remonstrated. And he did not want to supplant or pretend to awaken a President Joe Biden who only worked a measly four hours a day and slept the rest of the other twenty. This probably triggered DJT, Elon Musk's endearment for Trump to coin the nickname 'Sleepy Joe'. So many observers were enamoured to champion his stance as anti-war, or DJT's most favourite, the peace candidate. For this attribution, the preponderance of analysts were prepared to forget history just so he could get a pass. Or to be fair, to temporarily ignore it. History, for its intransigence, however, insists that it can neither be ignored nor forgotten. And its memory cannot be erased either, especially not by the silliness of political importunity, or by the passage of time. For, history, is true manifestation of time's infinite trademark itself. In surreptitious ways therefore, it reminded those who cared to listen that Trump is a war candidate or an Israeli agent — whichever moniker fits. Almost seven months later, the Donald continues to approbate and reprobate, oscillating between a buffoon messing around with a nuclear button and a war monger that would destroy Russia. And the right-wing podcasters are endlessly worried. Where is the Section 25 impeachment procedure when you need one! On January 20, 2025 on the Donald's swearing-in ceremony, the 56 000 people of Greenland and their Danish colonisers, awoke to the shocking announcement that the United States of America has overweening designs over their sovereignty. From being a colony of the Danish, they would segue seamlessly into the colony of the Yankees. Besides, the Putuffik Space Base is a Danish-American project, the former, the current coloniser and the latter, a lustful aspirant. Poor Greenlanders or the Kalaallit as they prefer to be known! So soon thereafter, they had to play indignant hosts to Vice President JD Vance's visit, at great cost. USSF Colonel Susannah Meyers, the commander of the Base, was fired at the end of that visit. Mette Frederiksen, the Prime Minister of Denmark demurred at both the visit and Trump's vague insinuations of colonisation. As for the Greenlanders, they said nothing, looking funny at the hypocritical Danish first and disbelieving at the belligerent Americans second. Exactly in that order. All they are committed to do, as incredulous at it may sound, is to first liberate themselves from a leeching Denmark and with conviction, sit out the impatience of a peripatetic Trump. To date, Trump has failed on this policy adventure abysmally. Predictably! It must be said that Trump has achieved the improbable. This is that he has failed on foreign policy, a government's charitable vision that nominally unfurls over an interminably long period of time. And more often than not, history is the judge over such matters. Trump's normative foreign policy prescripts have already failed even before history has roused from its slumber awaiting him to vacate office. History is a soft spoken and impartial observer long after the fact. The signs that Trump was bound to fail, or that he would sabotage his own architecture of being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, became apparent when the Donald was confronted with questions on how he intended to resolve Israel's genocide in Gaza. He had fanciful plans, which were blood-curling ominous in their absurdity. Trump supported an unseemly strategy. Starve the Palestinians and then pretend to provide them with food. Massacre them when they gather in desperation. And when Israel Defence Forces incur a lot of casualties, declare a temporary ceasefire. After so much ethnic cleansing and a proposal for World War II-like Warsaw Ghettoes fit for a holocaust, Trump will build a French Riveria in the splendid beaches of the Gaza shoreline drenched in innocent Palestinian blood. The incredulity of these designs is not even in the fact that that they are real, but that their authors and their followership, believe in them zealously. But Trump is in a bind. It is as if the Nobel Peace Prize Committee has dutifully assigned the task of awarding the coveted laurel to the languishing Palestinians. The more the slaughtering of the Palestinians endures, to the chagrin of civilised mankind, the further the prize eludes the expectant Trump. But if the US policy machinery does not curtail the genocidal instincts of the irascible Netanyahu, they would have failed to ride the rising tide of human goodness. Somebody help the devastated POTUS 47 caught between a war-rampaging Bibi and a morally repugnant Jeffery Epstein. A policy bought and paid for, is an embarrassing failure of vision occurring in slow motion. The ebullience and optimism that characterised Trump's first 100 days in office, attended by the novelty of return to the White House and other history making factoids, have waned into a lacklustre twilight, typified by a rancorous disquiet of a MAGA base cannibalising itself from the inside. Trump's first instinct was not to care, for he is no more up for re-election. But then again, he can't afford to lose the midterms in 2026 to the Democrats and be rendered lame duck. He may face the unedifying prospect of being possibly impeached. But every time he says something inelegant about how quickly they must forget about a dead paedophile, the more he feeds into the red embers of an implacable MAGA lot, avowed to torpedo his tenure over a many-layered three-decade-long scandal. What to do? Start a war, or make peace with Russia. Better still, turn Canada into the 51st State of America. It is not because if the US invaded Canada militarily, the polite Northern neighbours would put up some resistance. Hardly. But it is more of the fact that the justification to so invade would be hard to contrive in a quick turnaround and without a plausible false flag operation. Was this a humourless quip whipped to mortify the Canadians? Sometimes it is hard to tell. In the stead of pulling out of Nato, Trump lobbied for the increase of Nato members' defence spending to 5%. Instead of negotiating with Iran, he authorised Israel to decapitate their nuclear scientists, their negotiators and obliterate all their nuclear sites. Instead of peace between Rwanda and the DRC, Nato is still arming Rwanda and the M-23 rebels continue to capture more territory. India is upset and therefore insistent that the sudden military flare-up between them and Pakistan was attenuated by a consideration other than Trump's claim, short of saying he is a liar. It is a mixed masala of foreign policy ersatz, seasoned in threats, deception and a stand-up comedy gone horribly awry. What would be easier to do is to vilify President Jimmy Carter for returning the Panama Canal to Panama in 1981. To reclaim it, the Donald issued threats of its military re-annexation. In fact, the talking heads in the Oval Office and their loquacious Commander-in-Chief simply backed the purchase of the canal by Blackrock from Li Ka-shing and claim it as a foreign policy victory. Completely without precedent, President Xi Jinping held tight, resisting the purchase with tactic and stealth, resulting in the inability of the counterparties to fulfil the conditions precedent for the purchase. As a consequence, the deadline effluxed. Just one pitiful domino after another. But fall they must. The most prominent attribute of Trump's second term is the imposition of tariffs, especially to China. And as fate would have it, it is the only tariff imposition he cannot get right for reasons that have been fairly broadcast. Unlike the failure of foreign policy in other instances, none projects incompetence as the one in China. Trump may still win some, including the Azerbaijan and Armenian corridor for 99 years. Severally or cumulatively, however, they will not erase the fact that Trump is a phenomenal policy disaster for the United States of America and the world at large. * Ambassador Bheki Gila is a Barrister-at-Law. ** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, Independent Media, or IOL. Get the real story on the go: Follow the Sunday Independent on WhatsApp.
The Herald
a day ago
- The Herald
US weighs refugee cap of 40,000 with most spots for Afrikaners
US President Donald Trump's administration is discussing a refugee admissions cap of about 40,000 for the coming year with most allocated to white South Africans, according to two US officials briefed on the matter and an internal refugee programme email, reflecting a major shift in the US approach to refugees. Angie Salazar, the top refugee programme official at the US health and human services department (HHS), told state-level refugee workers she expected the cap to be 40,000, according to an email summary of an August 1 meeting reviewed by Reuters. The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said about 30,000 of the 40,000 spaces would be reserved for Afrikaners. The 40,000-person cap would be a sharp drop from the 100,000 refugees brought in by former president Joe Biden in 2024 fiscal year, but higher than the record-low 15,000 person ceiling Trump set for fiscal 2021 before ending his first term. A separate person familiar with the matter said that in addition to the 40,000 figure a cap as low as 12,000 had also been discussed. There are 37-million refugees worldwide, according to a UN estimate. Trump immediately froze refugee admissions after taking office in January, but weeks later launched a programme for Afrikaners, saying the white minority group suffered racial discrimination and violence in majority-black South Africa, claims rejected by South Africa's government. The Trump administration also expects to bring in some Afghans who aided the US government during the conflict in Afghanistan and is weighing whether to resettle Ukrainians, the email said. Some spaces would remain unallocated to potentially be filled by other nationalities, the email and officials said. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly stressed that no decisions were final until Trump issued his determination for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins on October 1. 'President Trump has a humanitarian heart, which is why he has welcomed these courageous individuals to the US,' Kelly said. 'Refugee admission caps will be determined next month and any numbers discussed now are pure speculation.' A senior state department official pointed to the department's recent human rights report, which raised concerns about 'inflammatory racial rhetoric against Afrikaners and other racial minorities' in South Africa. The HHS referred questions related to the refugee cap to the White House. Salazar did not respond to requests for comment. The first group of 59 South Africans arrived in May, but only 34 more had arrived by early August, a White House official said. The state department laid off many refugee programme staffers in major workforce reductions in July. To compensate for the fired staff, workers from the HHS who normally deal with domestic refugee assistance have been reassigned to the South Africa programme, one of the officials said. Thirteen HHS staffers were dispatched to Pretoria on Monday though most had no direct experience screening refugees, the official said. An HHS spokesperson said trained staff had been detailed to support refugee resettlement but that they were not conducting interviews to determine whether a refugee had experienced persecution. Some South Africans now in the US with refugee status have reached out to the HHS to raise concerns about a lack of benefits to support them, one of the US officials said. Trump slashed refugee benefits after taking office, including reducing cash assistance and healthcare benefits that normally last a year to four months. One of the initial group of 59 South Africans brought into the US in mid-May sent an email to the HHS' refugee office two weeks later pleading for help getting a social security number (SSN) and access to a work permit. The person, who went to Missoula, Montana, said their family had spent thousands of dollars to cover expenses. 'We have applied for jobs like crazy but to no avail because we found people here are not keen on hiring refugees without an SSN,' one of the family members wrote in a May 27 email to the HHS refugee programme reviewed by Reuters. 'We have spent about $4,000 [R70,307] on Uber, food, cellphone SIM cards which don't work.' The person was concerned the family would not be able to find housing after a government-funded hotel stay ended in early June. Reuters could not reach the family. The HHS spokesperson said the agency takes complaints seriously and refugees placed in temporary housing receive support for essential needs, including food. A person familiar with the matter said some South Africans arrived in the US expecting standard refugee benefits that had been paused or reduced by Trump. Reuters
TimesLIVE
a day ago
- TimesLIVE
US weighs refugee cap of 40,000 with most spots for Afrikaners
US President Donald Trump's administration is discussing a refugee admissions cap of about 40,000 for the coming year with most allocated to white South Africans, according to two US officials briefed on the matter and an internal refugee programme email, reflecting a major shift in the US approach to refugees. Angie Salazar, the top refugee programme official at the US health and human services department (HHS), told state-level refugee workers she expected the cap to be 40,000, according to an email summary of an August 1 meeting reviewed by Reuters. The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said about 30,000 of the 40,000 spaces would be reserved for Afrikaners. The 40,000-person cap would be a sharp drop from the 100,000 refugees brought in by former president Joe Biden in 2024 fiscal year, but higher than the record-low 15,000 person ceiling Trump set for fiscal 2021 before ending his first term. A separate person familiar with the matter said that in addition to the 40,000 figure a cap as low as 12,000 had also been discussed. There are 37-million refugees worldwide, according to a UN estimate. Trump immediately froze refugee admissions after taking office in January, but weeks later launched a programme for Afrikaners, saying the white minority group suffered racial discrimination and violence in majority-black South Africa, claims rejected by South Africa's government. The Trump administration also expects to bring in some Afghans who aided the US government during the conflict in Afghanistan and is weighing whether to resettle Ukrainians, the email said. Some spaces would remain unallocated to potentially be filled by other nationalities, the email and officials said. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly stressed that no decisions were final until Trump issued his determination for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins on October 1. 'President Trump has a humanitarian heart, which is why he has welcomed these courageous individuals to the US,' Kelly said. 'Refugee admission caps will be determined next month and any numbers discussed now are pure speculation.' A senior state department official pointed to the department's recent human rights report, which raised concerns about 'inflammatory racial rhetoric against Afrikaners and other racial minorities' in South Africa. The HHS referred questions related to the refugee cap to the White House. Salazar did not respond to requests for comment. The first group of 59 South Africans arrived in May, but only 34 more had arrived by early August, a White House official said. The state department laid off many refugee programme staffers in major workforce reductions in July. To compensate for the fired staff, workers from the HHS who normally deal with domestic refugee assistance have been reassigned to the South Africa programme, one of the officials said. Thirteen HHS staffers were dispatched to Pretoria on Monday though most had no direct experience screening refugees, the official said. An HHS spokesperson said trained staff had been detailed to support refugee resettlement but that they were not conducting interviews to determine whether a refugee had experienced persecution. Some South Africans now in the US with refugee status have reached out to the HHS to raise concerns about a lack of benefits to support them, one of the US officials said. Trump slashed refugee benefits after taking office, including reducing cash assistance and healthcare benefits that normally last a year to four months. One of the initial group of 59 South Africans brought into the US in mid-May sent an email to the HHS' refugee office two weeks later pleading for help getting a social security number (SSN) and access to a work permit. The person, who went to Missoula, Montana, said their family had spent thousands of dollars to cover expenses. 'We have applied for jobs like crazy but to no avail because we found people here are not keen on hiring refugees without an SSN,' one of the family members wrote in a May 27 email to the HHS refugee programme reviewed by Reuters. 'We have spent about $4,000 [R70,307] on Uber, food, cellphone SIM cards which don't work.' The person was concerned the family would not be able to find housing after a government-funded hotel stay ended in early June. Reuters could not reach the family. The HHS spokesperson said the agency takes complaints seriously and refugees placed in temporary housing receive support for essential needs, including food. A person familiar with the matter said some South Africans arrived in the US expecting standard refugee benefits that had been paused or reduced by Trump.
