21Shares' Bitcoin and Gold Exchange-Traded Product Debuts on London Stock Exchange
The 21Shares Bitcoin and Gold ETP, branded BOLD, launched on the London Stock Exchange on Jan 13, 2026, offering physically backed exposure to both bitcoin and gold in a single vehicle. It is the first UK‑listed product to combine these two liquid alternative assets and trades intraday with a 0.65% total expense ratio. Since its debut in Europe, BOLD has delivered a 122.5% return in sterling terms through 2025, outperforming both underlying assets. The fund rebalances monthly to maintain equal risk weighting rather than capital weighting.
Bitcoin and Ether Traders Bet on Calmer Times
Bitcoin and ether traders are shifting toward a low‑volatility outlook as the 30‑day implied volatility (IV) for Bitcoin fell to 40%, its lowest level since October, while ether's IV slipped below 60%, the lowest since September 2024. The decline in...
CFTC to Tap Tyler Winklevoss, Other Crypto CEOs as First Members of Innovation Panel
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Mike Selig has reconstituted the agency’s Innovation Advisory Committee, appointing crypto CEOs—including Gemini’s Tyler Winklevoss and Kraken’s Arjun Sethi—as its charter members. The panel also draws executives from prediction‑market platforms and legacy exchanges such as Nasdaq,...
Crypto Infrastructure Firm Bakkt Jumps 17% on Deeper Stablecoin Payments Push with New Deal
Bakkt announced it will acquire Distributed Technologies Research (DTR) for roughly $168 million, issuing about 9.1 million Class A shares that represent 31.5% of its current equity. The deal, pending shareholder and regulator sign‑off, places DTR’s CEO Akshay Naheta at Bakkt’s helm. Shares...
NEAR Rises 5.7% to $1.73 Before Giving Back Gains
NEAR Protocol’s native token surged 5.7% to $1.73 after the U.S. market opened, only to slip back to $1.68 amid a wave of sell‑side pressure. The rally was driven by a sharp, short‑lived volume spike that remained well below institutional...
Wall Street Broker Benchmark Says This Could Be a Pivotal Week for Digital Assets
Wall Street broker Benchmark says the Senate’s upcoming market‑structure vote could finally codify how digital assets are regulated in the United States. By moving from political debate to legislative execution, the bill aims to end years of regulatory uncertainty that...
BitMine Adds 24,000 Ether, but Warns Accumulation May Slow without Shareholder Approval
BitMine Immersion Technologies increased its Ethereum holdings by 24,266 ETH, bringing total assets to 4,167,768 ETH – roughly 3.45% of the circulating supply. The firm aims for a 5% stake but faces a funding ceiling after its $500 million equity authorization is exhausted....
CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: Solana (SOL) Gains 3.1% as Index Trades Flat
The CoinDesk 20 index closed flat at 2,882.46 points on Tuesday, while Solana (SOL) surged 3.1% to become the day’s top performer. Ethereum (ETH) added a modest 0.9% gain, joining SOL among the leaders. Litecoin (LTC) and Hedera (HBAR) lagged, falling...
Vitalik Buterin Lays Out 'Walkaway Test' For a Quantum Safe Ethereum
Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin introduced a "walkaway test" requiring the blockchain to remain secure and functional even if core developers cease major upgrades. He placed quantum resistance at the top of the agenda, urging cryptographic safeguards that last decades. Scalability targets...
VelaFi Raises $20 Million in Series B to Expand Stablecoin Payments Infrastructure
VelaFi announced a $20 million Series B round led by XVC and Ikuyo, bringing its total capital raised above $40 million. The funding will accelerate the company’s expansion from Latin America into the United States and Asia, targeting enterprise customers seeking faster, lower‑cost...
Dubai Bans Privacy Tokens, Tightens Stablecoin Rules in Crypto Reset
Dubai’s Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has banned privacy‑focused crypto tokens, including Zcash and Monero, across the Dubai International Financial Centre effective Jan 12, 2026. The regulator also prohibited the use of mixers, tumblers and other obfuscation tools, citing AML and FATF...
Bitcoin Treasury Firms Linked to Adam Back Sign Preliminary Agreement to Combine
Two Adam Back‑backed firms, Sweden’s H100 Group and Zurich’s Future Holdings AG, have signed a letter of intent to merge. H100, which already holds 1,046 BTC, aims to acquire Future, which recently raised $35 million to develop an institutional Bitcoin treasury platform....
Bitcoin Rises 1%, Nasdaq Futures and Dollar Drop as Trump-Powell Feud Escalates
Bitcoin rose 1% to roughly $92,000 on Monday, breaking its usual correlation with U.S. equity futures as Nasdaq contracts slipped 0.8% and the dollar index fell to 99.00. The price move occurred amid an intensifying public feud between President Donald...
Privacy Tokens Rally as XMR Breaks All-Time High
Monero (XMR) surged to a fresh all‑time high of $579, up more than 20% in a single day, leading a rally among privacy‑focused tokens such as Zcash. The move came as Bitcoin remained flat around $90,600, highlighting a rotation into...
JPMorgan Downplays Stablecoin Threat as Local Bankers Warn of $6.6 Trillion Risk
Community bankers, led by the ABA, warned that up to $6.6 trillion of deposits could shift to stablecoins if yield incentives remain unchecked, urging tighter enforcement of the GENIUS Act. JPMorgan, however, downplayed the systemic risk, framing stablecoins as a complementary...
Elon Musks's X Teases Crypto-Aware ‘Smart Cashtags’ Just Day After Community Backlash
Elon Musk’s platform X is testing “Smart Cashtags,” a crypto‑aware tagging system that lets users attach specific digital assets or smart contracts to their posts and view real‑time price data and related conversations. The feature, highlighted by Solana Labs, will...
Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Warns Decentralized Stablecoins Still Have Deep Flaws
Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin warned that decentralized stablecoins remain fundamentally flawed, citing reliance on a US‑dollar peg, vulnerable oracle designs, and hidden costs from staking yields. He argued that tying stablecoins to a single fiat currency limits resilience to macro‑economic...
Ethereum’s Future Hinges on Zero-Knowledge Proofs, EF Director Says
Ethereum Foundation co‑executive director Hsiao‑Wei Wang announced that zero‑knowledge cryptography is moving from rollup layer‑2 solutions to a native protocol feature in Ethereum’s mid‑term roadmap. Recent breakthroughs in zk‑proof efficiency make a native zkEVM feasible, promising lower verification costs and...
Tennessee Orders Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com to Cease Sports Betting Contracts
Tennessee regulators have issued cease‑and‑desist orders to Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com, demanding they stop offering sports event contracts to state residents. The firms, which operate as CFTC‑registered contract markets, lack the state gambling license required by Tennessee’s Sports Gaming Act....
Institutions Know a “Good” Exchange Is Built for Failure
Chris Soriano argues that an exchange’s true quality is measured by its performance during market stress, not by superficial polish or compliance scores. CoinDesk’s November 2025 Exchange Benchmark shows improved governance, yet many crypto venues still run retail‑centric matching engines, lack...
Hundreds of Wealthy Investors Are Using Crypto to Buy Real Estate in Europe
Brighty, a Lithuania‑licensed crypto payments platform, has brokered more than 100 apartment purchases for high‑net‑worth individuals across Europe. Transactions range from $500,000 to $2.5 million, with customers spending roughly $50,000 per month on crypto‑funded real estate. The firm relies on blockchain‑analytics...
Bitcoin Pulls Back to $90,000 as Early Friday Rally Attempt Fails
Bitcoin slipped back to roughly $90,000 after a brief surge to $92,000, posting a 1% decline over the past 24 hours. The pullback occurred as U.S. equities rallied, with the Nasdaq up 1% and the S&P 500 gaining 0.8%. Mixed labor...
World's Largest Custodial Bank BNY to Offer Tokenized Deposits for Institutional Investors
BNY Mellon, the world’s largest custodial bank, has rolled out a tokenized deposit service for institutional investors, mirroring client balances on a permissioned blockchain. The new Digital Assets platform allows on‑chain representation of deposits, delivering near‑instant, 24/7 settlement and streamlined...
Crypto Exchange OKX Cuts Institutional Staff Amid Global Restructuring
OKX announced a global restructuring of its institutional business, resulting in roughly one‑third of its institutional salesforce exiting the firm. The cuts, which include both layoffs and voluntary departures, are part of a shift toward a more traditional coverage model...
Tether Said to Have Invested up to $50 Million in Crypto Lender Ledn at $500 Million Valuation
Tether has invested between $40 million and $50 million in crypto lender Ledn, valuing the company at $500 million. The deal, disclosed by a source, marks Tether’s latest strategic move beyond its core stablecoin business. Ledn, which recently shifted to a bitcoin‑only lending...
U.S. Added 50,000 Jobs in December as Unemployment Rate Fell to 4.4%
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that non‑farm payrolls grew by 50,000 jobs in December, falling short of the 60,000 forecast. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.4%, better than the projected 4.5% and down from November’s 4.6%. Revised data...
Bitcoin May Be Gearing up for a Rally that Sent Price to $126,000 Last Year
Bitcoin has been confined to an $80,000‑$95,000 range for about 50 days, echoing a similar 52‑day consolidation earlier this year that ended with a surge to $126,000 in October. Analysts label these prolonged, flat periods as time‑based capitulations, where impatient...
Toncoin Drops, Falls Through Key Support Levels in Technical Breakdown
TON fell over 4% in 24 hours, sliding to $1.76 and breaching key support levels at $1.79 and $1.78. A volume spike of 2.14 million TON, well above the seven‑day average, suggests large‑holder or institutional selling pressure. The move contrasts with...
Ripple Wins UK Regulatory Approval From Financial Conduct Authority
Ripple’s UK subsidiary, Ripple Markets UK Ltd., secured registration with the Financial Conduct Authority under the country’s anti‑money‑laundering regime, enabling it to conduct certain crypto‑related activities in Britain. The approval stops short of a full financial‑services licence but signals Ripple’s...
A Ruble Stablecoin Outpaced Market Leaders Last Year Despite International Sanctions
A7A5, a ruble‑linked stablecoin launched in January 2025, added roughly $90 billion to its circulating supply over the past year, outpacing market leaders USDT and USDC. Backed by A7 LLC, a firm tied to state‑owned Promsvyazbank and convicted Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor, the token...
Ethereum Treasury Firm SharpLink Stakes $170M ETH on Linea Network
SharpLink Gaming, the Ethereum treasury firm behind SBET, has allocated $170 million worth of ether to a yield‑generating strategy on ConsenSys’ Linea network. The approach layers native ETH staking, EigenCloud restaking rewards, and incentives from Linea and ether.fi, all under Anchorage...
XRP Slips to $2.12 After Liquidations Clear Both Sides of the Futures Book
XRP slipped to $2.12 on Jan 9 after a two‑step liquidation reset cleared roughly $10 million of both short and long positions on Binance Futures. The price is now trapped between a $2.07‑$2.08 demand pocket and $2.17 resistance, with volume spikes confirming...
Bitcoin Holds Near $91,000 as Market Awaits Trump Tariff Ruling: Asia Morning Briefing
Bitcoin hovered around $91,000 during Asian trading as markets await the U.S. Supreme Court decision on President Trump’s emergency‑powers tariffs slated for Jan 10. Prediction‑market odds on Polymarket show only a 24% chance the Court will fully uphold the tariffs. The...
Trump Says He Won't Rescue Sam Bankman-Fried with Pardon
President Donald Trump told the New York Times he will not grant a pardon to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman‑Fried, who is serving a 25‑year fraud sentence. In the same interview he ruled out clemency for rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs and Venezuelan...
Bitnomial Wins U.S. Regulator's Nod on Prediction Markets Push, Joins Growing Crowd
Bitnomial received a CFTC no‑action letter, allowing it to launch a U.S.‑focused prediction‑market service that trades contracts tied to cryptocurrency prices and macroeconomic indicators. The approval follows a recent wave of similar permissions granted to DraftKings, Gemini, Polymarket, PredictIt and...
Ethereum Scaling Network Polygon Close to Buying Bitcoin Kiosk Firm Coinme, Sources Say
Polygon, the Ethereum Layer‑2 scaling solution, is nearing a deal to acquire Bitcoin ATM operator Coinme for between $100 million and $125 million. The acquisition would give Polygon control of a nationwide network of kiosks operating in 49 U.S. states, many of...
XRP ETFs See $40M of Outflows After Eight-Week Run of Inflows
U.S. spot XRP ETFs recorded their first net outflow day since debut, with $40.8 million withdrawn on Jan 7. The outflow was driven primarily by 21Shares’ TOXR, which saw a $47.25 million redemption, while other issuers posted modest inflows or flat activity. Despite...
Zcash Governance Clash Tanked the Token. Here's Why It May Not Be as Big as It Seems.
The core development team of the Electric Coin Company (ECC) left Zcash to launch a new company after a governance clash with the nonprofit Bootstrap. The announcement triggered a sharp sell‑off, sending ZEC down roughly 19% despite a 880% rally...
Polygon Labs Unveils ‘Open Money Stack’ to Power Borderless Stablecoin Payments
Polygon Labs announced the Open Money Stack, a modular framework for stablecoin‑based, cross‑border payments. The stack, slated for launch later this year, works across multiple blockchains and bundles on‑chain settlement, fiat access, and compliance tools. By allowing firms to select...
Optimism Proposes OP Token Buybacks Using 50% of Superchain Revenue
The Optimism Foundation has proposed allocating half of Superchain revenue to repurchase OP tokens, with monthly buybacks slated to begin in February. The plan, which will be voted on Jan 22, draws on sequencer fees from chains like Base, Unichain, and...
JPMorgan Says the Crypto Selloff May Be Nearing a Bottom as ETF Outflows Ease
JPMorgan analysts say the recent crypto sell‑off may be approaching a bottom, citing easing outflows from Bitcoin and Ether ETFs and stabilising positions in CME futures. Flow data show that both retail and institutional investors have largely completed the de‑risking...
CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: Ripple (XRP) Drops 4.5% as Nearly All Assets Decline
CoinDesk 20 index slipped 2.1% to 2,872.95 on Tuesday, reflecting a broad crypto market pullback. Ripple (XRP) was among the worst performers, dropping 4.5%, while APT fell 5%, marking the laggard tier. Only one of the twenty constituents, Polkadot (POL), posted...
Stand With Crypto Advocacy Group Sees Nearly 700,000 New Members Ahead of 2026 Election
Stand With Crypto, the Coinbase‑founded advocacy group, added 675,000 new members last year, bringing its U.S. base to roughly 2.6 million across all 50 states. The organization has mobilized its members for political action, filing 925,000 letters in 2025 and over...
Tokenized Brazilian Credit Card Debt Offers 13% Yield Through BlackOpal's GemStone Platform
BlackOpal’s new GemStone platform will tokenize Brazilian credit‑card receivables, allowing merchants to receive cash instantly at 95 cents on the dollar. The tokens are sold to institutional investors who can earn a USD‑denominated, FX‑hedged 13% annual yield. The initiative uses the...
Florida Revives Push for Bitcoin Reserve with New 2026 Bill
Florida lawmakers reintroduced House Bill 1039 to create a Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve Fund managed by the state chief financial officer. The proposal permits discretionary allocation of up to 10% of certain state funds into Bitcoin, with independent audits and an...
October's Crypto Crash Left Market Makers Stuffed with Coins, Slowing Trading: BitMEX
BitMEX’s 2025 State of Crypto Perpetual Swaps report shows the October 10 market crash wiped out $20 billion in leveraged futures and triggered auto‑deleveraging that forced market makers to abandon their short‑hedge positions. The resulting unhedged long spot exposure caused market...
Bybit’s Private Wealth Management Delivered 20% Returns Amid a Challenging 2025
Bybit’s Private Wealth Management (PWM) generated a 20.3% APR in 2025, driven by its flagship high‑yield USDT‑based strategies. The top‑performing fund’s Delta Neutral Arbitrage approach proved resilient amid central‑bank tightening, regulatory uncertainty, and volatile crypto markets. High‑net‑worth clients increasingly seek...
Solana Accelerate to Open Consensus Hong Kong in February
Solana Accelerate will debut on February 11 as a one‑day program inside Consensus Hong Kong, the three‑day digital‑asset conference running Feb 10‑12. The event pairs Solana’s developer‑focused community with investors, regulators and policymakers gathering in Asia. By embedding Accelerate within Consensus, the Solana...
Crypto Credit Is Starting to Look Like Cash Savings Accounts: Asia Morning Briefing
Flowdesk’s 2025 crypto credit review finds yields across staking, stablecoin lending and Bitcoin‑backed loans have compressed as record demand was matched by deeper on‑chain liquidity and tighter arbitrage. ETH staking yields have settled near 2.5% while total value locked approaches...
Trump-Linked World Liberty Financial Applies for Federal Bank Charter
World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm closely tied to former President Donald Trump, has filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust charter to launch the World Liberty Trust Company. The new...
