So much happened in crypto yesterday, from regulatory roadblocks in the US to real-world innovation down in Argentina.
Senate Banking cancels crypto bill markup
First up, the US Senate Banking Committee cancelled its planned Thursday markup on a major crypto market structure bill.
Chairman Tim Scott explained that more bipartisan talks are needed to build broader support.
“I’ve spoken with leaders across the crypto industry, the financial sector, and my Democratic and Republican colleagues, and everyone remains at the table working in good faith,” Scott said.
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This delay follows a similar pushback from the Senate Agriculture Committee, which shifted its own markup to January 27. No new date has been set yet for the banking side.
Argentina’s Lemon unveils BTC-backed Visa credit card
Shifting gears to something way more exciting, Argentina’s top crypto player Lemon, unveiled the first Bitcoin-backed Visa credit card.
This innovative card lets people spend in Argentine pesos without ever touching or selling their Bitcoin holdings. In other words, turning BTC into practical spending power while keeping your stack safe as collateral.
To unlock the max credit limit (up to 1 million pesos), users deposit just 0.01 Bitcoin, roughly $960 at current market prices, as a security deposit. That BTC stays locked away untouched, never liquidated or converted.
Lemon plans to roll out more features soon, like flexible collateral adjustments, higher limits, and even direct settlements using dollar-pegged stablecoins instead of converting everything to pesos first.
In another thing that happened in crypto yesterday, X Locks Down Grok’s Image Generator
And finally, after waves of backlash over misuse, X has locked down Grok’s image generator to prevent the creation of sexualized or revealing edits of real people.
The platform rolled out technical blocks, restricted the tool to paid subscribers only, and banned it outright in places where local laws forbid such content.
This move highlighted the ongoing challenges of balancing AI creativity with responsibility, especially when deepfakes and non-consensual edits go viral.
Overall, crypto yesterday delivered a perfect mix of regulatory hurdles, groundbreaking adoption in emerging markets, and quick fixes to emerging tech risks.
