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A dispute over the Federal budget between the Democrats and Republicans over health care subsidies has culminated in hundreds of thousands of government employees furloughed.
Bureaucracy can have a reputation for being…well…bureacratic. It takes time, effort and compromise among a group of people who don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye.
Usually, governments can resolve certain conflicts after a period of toing and froing. But occasionally, especially in matters pertaining to the annual budget, such compromises take a little bit more push and shove.
That is currently the case in the United States, who officially announced the Government is shutting down, with no exact date of a return to operation in sight.
Some zoos are closed, hundreds of thousands of government employees are furloughed, and many believe that significant job losses will ripple across the public service sector.
Such a dramatic closure can usually only come during a dispute over the Federal budget. This is because if the budget can’t make its way through the Senate and the House of Reps, then, the Government basically becomes unfunded until it’s resolved.
The current spat is largely over healthcare subsidies, with both Democrats and Republicans holding strong on their positions.
According to Polymarket users, the most likely resolution date for the shutdown is more than two weeks away.
So, what does this mean for crypto?
Well, in a deviation from the norm, the market has more or less brushed off the political turmoil. After a year that’s been marred by economic uncertainy from the US – starting with tariff wars, inflation concerns and the Feds holding firm on hawkish policy until September – one might expect the market to be spooked by the events unfolding.
But…for the time being, that is not the case.
Bitcoin, after dropping below $110k USD less than a week ago, has surged past $118k USD, while Ethereum and Solana have also posted solid seven-day gains.
With potentially weeks of the deadlock remaining, we don’t want to go the early crow and proclaim the market will be entirely unperturbed by the Government shutdown.
But signs are positive.
Payment giants Swift announce blockchain launch
The financial institution has deepened its ties with the Web3 industry, intending to facilitate cross-border payments with digital assets.
Swift, one of the world’s largest international currency gateways, has unveiled its newest feature – a blockchain-based ledger.
One of many cryptocurrency project’s key use cases – and overarching philosophies – is to provide cross-border payments at a fraction of the Forex cost and settlement times. So, it is a logical move for Swift, who facilitate over 50 million financial messages every day.
The financial goliaths are partnering with more than 30 institutions to support transferring tokenised assets across various ecosystems. The infrastructure will be assisted by Consensys, the development team behind popular DeFi wallet MetaMask.
Interoperability will be key to Swift’s move, with the business building rails for new CBDCs and stablecoins currently in pilot projects from China, the European Banking Union and other international assets.
Meanwhile, another gigantic payments provider – Visa – has also stepped up its involvement in the crypto game. The network has unveiled a test program that will allow cross-border payments using stablecoins rather than fiat currency.
Tokenised assets, in particular, those pegged to a central currency, have become increasingly important in the financial sphere, and the continued entrants of major players like Swift and Visa is further legitimising the role of crypto in the global economy.
Ripple leadership shake-up as CTO stands down
The popular community figure and developer, David Schwartz, will move to a position on the Ripple board to spend more time with his family.
Ripple, the company behind Ripple Pay, the XRP Ledger and RLUSD, has announced a major change to its executive structure.
David Schwartz served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for several years, worked at Ripple for over a decade, and was a vital cog in the development of the XRP Ledger. He will finish up his role at the end of 2025, with the goal to spend more time with friends and family.
However, Schwartz won’t remove himself from the ecosystem entirely. In fact, he will be moving to the Ripple Board of Directors, retaining some influence over the operations of the popular crypto project.
The change may have a significant impact on the XRP community, with the ex-CTO a much-revered personality boasting hundreds of thousands of social media followers across platforms.
Renowned for his humour, Schwartz summed up his departure in a simple, true-to-form tweet.
XRP’s price didn’t take a hit from the announcement, with the broader market upturn perhaps masking any potential disappointment from investors.
Ben Knight
