Blum Co-Founder Arrested Amid Fraud Allegations; U.S. Stablecoin Legislation Advances

Russian authorities have detained Vladimir Smerkis, co-founder of the Blum tap-to-earn app and former Binance executive, on fraud charges. The Zamoskvoretsky District Court approved his arrest, though specifics of the allegations remain undisclosed. The MOVE follows Smerkis’ recent resignation as Blum’s CMO, announced via social media.

Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers are progressing with the GENIUS Act, a pivotal stablecoin regulation framework. The legislation aims to establish clear guidelines for dollar-pegged digital assets, potentially accelerating institutional adoption.

In a separate development, World Liberty Financial (WLFI) – associated with former President Donald TRUMP – has integrated Chainlink’s oracle technology. The partnership enhances WLFI’s blockchain infrastructure for real-world asset tokenization.