Today's Crypto Pulse
Pepeto token tops $10M raise as Bitcoin stalls near $64,000
The new Pepeto token has raised over $10 million in its presale, eclipsing the usual Bitcoin headlines as BTC hovers around $64,000. The surge highlights a shift in market attention toward emerging altcoins beyond Bitcoin.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Standard Chartered acquires Zodia Custody
Backpack Exchange Launches Beta Testing of Prediction Market Platform
Backpack, the crypto exchange founded by former Alameda and FTX staff, has begun private beta testing of its Unified Prediction Portfolio, a native prediction‑market platform. The system tokenizes positions and integrates risk profiling, allowing traders to place bets and hedge with perpetual contracts from a single margin account. Unlike wrappers that rely on external services such as Kalshi or Polymarket, Backpack aims to keep balances unified across all prediction activities. The invite‑only beta will initially test the risk engine before expanding market offerings.
Animoca Buys Somo as NFT Market Rebounds Early in 2026
Animoca Brands announced the acquisition of Somo, a developer of playable and tradable digital collectibles, to broaden its blockchain gaming portfolio. The company plans to weave Somo’s assets into its existing ecosystem using shared infrastructure and partner networks, though financial...
North American Hours Become the Strongest Window for Bitcoin Returns, Reversing Late 2025 Trend
Bitcoin’s performance has shifted dramatically, with North American trading hours now delivering roughly an 8 % cumulative return in 2026, up from a 20 % decline in late‑2025. European sessions add modest gains, while Asian hours continue to weigh on the price....
Binance Wallet Unlocks In-App Leveraged Crypto Futures Trading with Aster Team-Up
Binance Wallet announced a partnership with decentralized perpetuals platform Aster, enabling users to trade leveraged crypto futures directly from the wallet while keeping full custody of their assets. The feature, currently available on the BNB Smart Chain web interface, supports...
Efforts to Bulletproof Ethereum Are Paying Off in User Metrics
Ethereum’s active address count rose to over 791,000, overtaking its leading L2 competitors such as Base, Arbitrum and Optimism. Daily transaction fees hit a historic low of $0.15, a dramatic drop from $11 a year earlier, while daily transactions topped...
Spanish Bank Bankinter Joins BBVA and Tether with Stake in Crypto Exchange Bit2Me
Spanish bank Bankinter has taken a minority stake in crypto exchange Bit2Me, joining a €30 million funding round that also includes Tether and BBVA. The investment bolsters Bit2Me’s capital structure and supports its ambition to comply with the EU’s MiCA regulation...
Pakistan Taps Trump-Linked Crypto Company for Stablecoin Payments Deal: Report
Pakistan has signed an agreement with SC Financial Technologies, a firm linked to Trump‑associated World Liberty Financial, to test the integration of its USD1 stablecoin into the country’s regulated payment system. The deal, expected to be announced during World Liberty...
Crypto Market Structure Rulemaking Could Take Years: Paradigm Exec
Paradigm’s regulatory affairs vice president Justin Slaughter warned that the U.S. crypto market structure bill could take years to become operational due to an extensive rulemaking process. The legislation has cleared the Senate committee stage and faces a markup in...
Bitcoin Prices Hit Two-Month High, but U.S. Demand Lags
Bitcoin surged past $95,000 on Tuesday, marking a two‑month high, but the Coinbase premium index turned negative, indicating U.S. prices are lower than offshore benchmarks like Binance. The gap suggests U.S. investors are selling or holding back while global demand...
Rattled Retail Retreats to Bitcoin, Ether After October Crash
Retail traders, who had been favoring altcoins since 2022, abruptly rotated back into Bitcoin and Ether following the October 10, 2025 liquidation shock. Wintermute’s 2025 OTC market report shows the crash acted as a clear inflection point, aligning retail positioning with...
Senators Pitch More than 75 Amendments for Crypto Bill, Including on Yield, DeFi Sections
U.S. senators have filed more than 130 amendments ahead of the Senate Banking Committee’s markup of the crypto market‑structure bill. The proposals span from banning stablecoin yields and restricting public officials from profiting on crypto to tightening definitions of mixers...
Banks Shun Stable‑coin Yields to Dodge Fiat Interest
Banks don’t want yield on stable coins because they don’t want to pay interest on fiat currency in your savings account. Follow the money. https://t.co/BaHkKmvAvU
Perfect Storm of Activity Sees Record Surge in New Ethereum Wallets
Ethereum wallet creation hit an all‑time high, averaging 327,000 new wallets per day over the past week and peaking at over 393,000 on Sunday. The surge follows the December Fusaka upgrade, which reduced transaction fees and streamlined data flow between...
These 7 Altcoins Could Make You RICH in 2026
The episode spotlights seven altcoins the host believes have the potential for massive gains by 2026, outlining each coin's unique value proposition, upcoming network upgrades, and market catalysts. He emphasizes the importance of timing, diversification, and rigorous personal research, warning...
Paxos’ Asset Base Grew 450% in 2025
Paxos reported a 450% surge in its total asset market cap during 2025, climbing from $1.2 billion in January to $6.8 billion by year‑end. The expansion was powered primarily by its PayPal‑backed stablecoin PYUSD, which jumped from $500 million to $3.6 billion, accounting for...
Crypto-Friendly Old Glory Bank Plans Nasdaq Listing Through SPAC
Old Glory Bank, a digital‑first lender founded in 2022, announced a merger with the SPAC Digital Asset Acquisition Corporation to list on Nasdaq under the ticker OGB. The combined entity, OGB Financial Company, is slated to close the transaction by...
Strive Shares Fall 12% After Semler Deal to Expand Bitcoin Treasury
Strive Asset Management announced an all‑stock acquisition of Semler Scientific, adding 5,048.1 BTC to its treasury. The deal would lift Strive’s total Bitcoin holdings to roughly 12,797.9 BTC, making it the 11th largest publicly traded Bitcoin holder. Shares fell about...
Senate's Warren: WLFI-Tied Bank Application Should Be Halted Until Trump Divests
Senator Elizabeth Warren urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to pause World Liberty Trust Co.'s application for a federal trust charter, which would enable the issuance of a USD‑1 stablecoin, until former President Donald Trump divests his...
Yield Suffers $3.7M Loss Due to ‘Unintended’ Stablecoin Swap
Yield Protocol (YO) incurred a $3.73 million loss on Jan 13 when a vault swap unintentionally converted roughly $3.84 million worth of stkGHO into just $122 000 USDC. The trade suffered extreme slippage, likely routed through a Uniswap v4 pool with complex hooks, but security...
‘Inflation Is Aging’: Bryan Johnson’s War Against Systemic Decay
Bryan Johnson, the Braintree founder who sold to PayPal for $800 million, is now championing Project Blueprint, a data‑driven longevity protocol he frames as a fight against systemic decay. He equates inflation’s erosion of purchasing power with biological aging, arguing both...
Bitcoin Breakout Likely Imminent, Says Analyst Wendy
Wendy spoke to @forbes to weigh in on crypto’s start to 2026, BTC price action, and recent market developments. https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/01/12/bitcoin-price-breakout-likely-imminent-says-technical-analyst/ #forbes #crypto #bitcoin #cryptonews #cryptowendyo
SOL Chart Shows ‘Masterpiece’ Setup to $190 After Key Trend Turns Bullish
Solana (SOL) has formed a high‑time‑frame cup‑and‑handle pattern that points to a breakout target of $180‑$190, a roughly 25% upside from current levels. The cryptocurrency reclaimed its 50‑day moving average, staying above it for the first time since September 2025,...
Bitcoin Targets $90.5K Support, Eyes $93.5K Breakout
#BTC The main goal for Bitcoin going forward is to turn the late November/early December 2025 highs into new support (i.e. $90500) to springboard above $93500 to perform a post-breakout retest like in previous green circles $BTC #Crypto #Bitcoin 🚀Follow @rektcapital for more level-headed...
Explore Multiple High Yield Strategies on Drift Protocol
Drift Protocol on Solana merges perpetual futures, spot markets, lending and staking, creating a unified DeFi hub. The platform now holds $614 million in deposits and has processed over $140 billion in trading volume, underscoring its scale. Version 3, released last month, adds...
Coinbase Battles Banks Over Stablecoin Yields and Self‑Custody
Update on crypto legislation. The banks are trying to stop yield on stable coins like you would get in your savings account and Coinbase is fighting back They are also trying to remove the ability to self custody your coins ,...
Stablecoins Vs. Bitcoin Salaries: Why Regulation Pushes One Ahead of the Other
Crypto payroll lets employers pay wages in digital assets, but payroll’s heavy regulation demands clear rules. Recent U.S. legislation like the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts, along with Europe’s MiCA framework, provide specific guidance for stablecoins, reducing legal uncertainty. Stablecoins’ fiat...
Bitcoin-Gold Correlation Signals at Least 50% BTC Price Gains by March
Bitcoin’s 52‑week correlation with gold fell to zero, the first such occurrence since mid‑2022, and analysts expect it could turn negative by January’s end. Historical data shows a negative BTC‑gold correlation typically precedes a 56% Bitcoin rally within two months....
CZ’s YZi Labs Invests in Trading Terminal as DeFi Execution Takes Priority
YZi Labs, the family office of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, has made an eight‑figure investment in on‑chain trading terminal Genius Trading and appointed Zhao as an advisor. The move underscores a growing focus on cross‑chain execution infrastructure rather than just...
Bitcoin Options Open Interest Extends Dominance over Futures, Damping BTC Volatility
Bitcoin options open interest has risen to $65 billion, overtaking futures at $60 billion for the first time since July 2025, signaling a shift toward volatility‑management strategies. Institutional players, led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), now control roughly $33 billion—about 52% of the...
From Doubt to Weekly Podcast with Industry Titans
𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁. As a young trader and entrepreneur, I always dreamed of learning from people I looked up to. Getting their insights, understanding their mindset. When we launched New Era Finance in 2024, that...
Measure UOPS, Not TPS, for Accurate Starknet Activity
The magic of multicalls and why we should measure UOPS instead of TPS: Did you know: On Starknet, you can bundle multiple operations (buy, swap, mint, send to address A, send to address B, and so on) into 1 single tx. What requires...
Crypto Data Platform CoinGecko Weighs Sale for Around $500 Million, Sources Say
Crypto data platform CoinGecko is weighing a sale valued around $500 million, hiring Moelis as advisor. The process, which began late last year, comes as crypto‑sector M&A surged to $8.6 billion in 2025 across 133 deals. Recent high‑profile purchases, such as...
Prediction Markets Should Stay Clear of Sports Betting
Have prediction markets lost their way? @kaiynne says the platforms should not have any business with sports betting https://t.co/Yc7pJvFQd2
Advocate Urges DAO Control of Aave Brand After Lost Vote
Aave DAO lost the vote for the Aave brand on Christmas day, but @Marczeller is not giving up just yet. He says Aave brand assets should be in the control of the DAO to ensure the project is not co-opted 👇...
Euler’s Founding CEO Steps Down as Protocol Refocuses on Institutions
Euler Labs co‑founder Michael Bentley announced he will step down as CEO after nearly six years, shifting to an advisory and product‑focused role. Jonathan Han, formerly of The Tie, will assume the CEO position and steer the protocol toward institutional...
Minority Investors Trust Positive Forces Amid Market Turbulence
Public markets are sometimes even trickier than crypto markets, with questionable behaviors by some. As a minority investor, we stand with all investors. As always, we believe positive forces will win in the end.
First Patented Gold-Backed Stablecoin Offers Reserve and Rewards
"We have a patent as the first stablecoin that can have a reserve and rewards system." - Vinny Lingham announcing Xash, a gold-backed stablecoin company that rewards users https://t.co/sGmcQH5cvS
Bitcoin Spikes to $92,500 as U.S. December Consumer Prices Rise 0.3%
The U.S. Consumer Price Index for December rose 2.7% year‑over‑year, exactly matching expectations, while core CPI increased 2.6% YoY. The data kept the market’s focus on the Federal Reserve, with a 95% probability that rates will stay unchanged at the...
Vinny Lingham Flags Crypto Longevity, Margins, Liquidity Risks
"There are a couple of things I am concerned about, like longevity for crypto, margins you can make, and liquidity." - Vinny Lingham https://t.co/sGmcQH5cvS
Central Banks Choose Gold over Bitcoin, Driving Gold Surge
"When you are running a population of billions of people, and central banks that run these economies cannot buy Bitcoin in times of crisis, they buy gold. Guess what's gonna go up? It's gonna be gold, not bitcoin" - @VinnyLingham on...
Ingenico Taps WalletConnect to Support Stablecoin Payments at Checkout
Ingenico has teamed with WalletConnect Pay to embed stablecoin checkout functionality into its point‑of‑sale terminals, allowing shoppers to pay with USDC, EURC or USDT from wallets such as MetaMask and Trust Wallet. The integration works on Ingenico’s existing network of roughly 40 million...
Regulation Discourages Protocols From Adding Any Safety Measures
"It disincentivises protocols from implementing any kind of user or market safety measures, even if they are fully automated, that could trigger regulation." https://t.co/sGmcQH4EGk
Decentralization and Permissionlessness Are Distinct Concepts
"That idea conflates the idea of decentralization and permissionlessness, which are not the same thing." - Vy on the crypto market structure draft https://t.co/sGmcQH5cvS
Defining ‘Control’ Remains Elusive in Senate Crypto Draft
"This concept of 'control' is really hard to define." Vy Le discussing Senate’s latest crypto market structure draft https://t.co/sGmcQH5cvS
Most People Don’t Know Who Controls Their Money
"What I think is really concerning, and we should be talking about is that most people don't understand how, when, why and who gets to control your money" - Jessi Brooks on Tether's $182M Freeze https://t.co/sGmcQH4EGk
Fed Governance Shifts Toward Waller, Markets Lag Behind
Watch this space👇...Fed governance realities are shifting toward Waller (tho prediction markets aren't saying that, yet...)
BTC Holds 90.5K Support, Targets 93.5K
#BTC The retest of the confluent $90500 Mid-Range/Downtrend support was successful and has enabled another challenge of $93500 resistance $BTC #Crypto #Bitcoin https://t.co/UhoyXZLxAJ
SEC Chair Signals Imminent Crypto Regulation and Industry Maturity
SEC Chair Atkins says it’s a big week for crypto. We are very close to getting regulation and the industry “maturing” https://t.co/vA5sI0UIKa
Proactive Quantum Worries Safeguard Bitcoin’s Future
Terrific progress, need more of this. Best way to make sure Bitcoin averts the Quantum iceberg is to worry about the quantum iceberg. And do things, like this.
Satoshi Would Embrace Innovation, Not Stagnation, in Bitcoin
Satoshi was innovative. I have no doubt he would have supported OP_CAT, STARK, OP_Return and OP_whatever initiative that strengthens Bitcoin. The last thing Satoshi would have wanted is for Bitcoin to stop evolving when evolution is needed.