A Hacker’s $23 Million ‘Flex’ Backfires After Sleuth Traces Funds to a Massive U.S. Government Seizure
A self‑styled hacker known as “John” publicly displayed control over roughly $23 million in cryptocurrency during a live “band for band” showdown on X. Blockchain analyst ZachXBT later traced the wallet to a chain of addresses that include funds seized by the U.S. government following the 2022 Bitfinex hack, as well as inflows from other suspected victims. The investigation revealed more than $63 million in additional deposits into the same wallet and a recent $12.4 million transfer from a centralized exchange. The episode underscores how on‑chain analysis can link illicit bragging to real‑world seizure actions.
Buying Ether and Bitmine Immersion Ahead of Weekend a Good Bet: Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered’s Geoff Kendrick remains bullish on ether despite a 12% weekly decline, citing a surge in network activity after the December Fusaka upgrade. Transaction volumes have reached new all‑time highs, suggesting the upgrade is effectively easing previous bottlenecks. Corporate...
Revolut Drops U.S. Bank Merger Plan to Seek Standalone License: FT
Fintech giant Revolut has scrapped its plan to acquire a U.S. bank, opting instead to seek a de novo banking license from the OCC. The move follows internal assessments that an acquisition would be slower, more complex, and would force the...
U.S. Bitcoin ETF Weekly Outflows Largest Since November May Signal BTC Price Bottom
U.S. bitcoin exchange‑traded funds recorded a net outflow of $1.22 billion over the four‑day week ending Thursday, the largest since November 2025. The withdrawals, driven by $479.7 million on Tuesday and $708.7 million on Wednesday, coincided with a 5 % slide in Bitcoin, which...
ETH, SOL and ADA Slip as Bitcoin Fails to Build Momentum Near $90,000
Bitcoin hovered just below the $90,000 threshold on Friday, despite Asian equities reaching record highs and a softer U.S. dollar. The broader market rally failed to translate into meaningful upside for crypto, leaving the leading coin flat around $89,800. Ether,...
Bitcoin and Yen Hold Steady as Japan's Inflation Eases and BOJ Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged
Japan’s December consumer price index slowed to 2.1% YoY, the first dip in four months, while core‑core inflation stayed near 2.9%. The Bank of Japan kept its benchmark rate at 0.75% and raised its 2025‑26 growth and inflation forecasts. Bitcoin...
Coinbase Lets Users Borrow up to $1 Million Against Staked Ether without Selling
Coinbase has introduced a borrowing product that lets eligible U.S. users take out up to $1 million in USDC by pledging cbETH, its tokenized staked ether, as collateral. The loan is over‑collateralized, with a required loan‑to‑value ratio below 86 % and variable...
South Korea Probes Loss of Seized Bitcoin in Phishing Attack
South Korean prosecutors in Gwangju are investigating the disappearance of a large bitcoin cache seized in a criminal case, which an internal audit attributes to a phishing breach during official custody. The incident underscores the vulnerability of government-held digital assets...
Gold Nears $5,000, Silver Closes on $100 While Bitcoin Remains Listless
Gold surged to about $4,950 an ounce, edging toward the $5,000 psychological barrier, while silver jumped past $99, marking a 30% monthly gain. Bitcoin stayed flat near $90,000, showing little momentum. Prediction‑market contracts on Polymarket assign a 97% probability that...
Crypto’s 2025 ‘Whipsaw’ Year Drove Capitulation as Markets Look Toward a 2026 Rebound, Pantera Says
Pantera Capital warns that 2025 was a brutal bear market for non‑bitcoin tokens, with the broader crypto market losing roughly 44% of its value since the late‑2024 peak. The median token plunged about 79%, while a massive $20 billion liquidation event...
Coinbase VP Says ‘Fatal Flaws’ in Senate Crypto Bill Forced Sudden Withdrawal of Support
Coinbase’s VP of U.S. Policy Kara Calvert announced that the exchange withdrew its backing for the Senate’s market‑structure crypto bill just hours before a scheduled markup. The decision stemmed from “fatal flaws” in the draft, chiefly a provision that would...
Optimism Community Begins Vote on OP Token Buybacks
The Optimism community opened a governance vote to allocate half of the Superchain sequencer revenue to monthly OP token buybacks, directly tying the token’s value to network usage. Over the past year the Superchain generated 5,868 ETH in revenue, which would...
Trump-Linked World Liberty Financial Partners with Spacecoin on Satellite-Powered DeFi
World Liberty Financial, the Trump‑family‑linked crypto firm, announced a strategic partnership with Spacecoin that includes a token swap linking their ecosystems. Spacecoin has launched three low‑Earth‑orbit satellites to deliver permissionless internet to remote, underserved communities. The collaboration aims to enable...
Crypto for Advisors: Will 2026 Be the Year of Crypto Regulation?
U.S. policymakers have reached bipartisan agreement on core crypto market‑structure reforms, shifting focus from intent to implementation in 2026. The proposed framework treats non‑security tokens as commodities for secondary trading while retaining SEC oversight of fundraising activities. Regulators aim to...
Bitcoin in a Deep Bear Market Against Gold, History Suggests Downside May Persist
Bitcoin has fallen 55% against gold since its December 2024 peak, dragging the BTC‑to‑gold ratio down to 18.46. Gold is near record highs, up roughly 12% year‑to‑date, while Bitcoin is barely positive and remains under $89,000. The ratio sits about 17%...
AI Infrastructure Firm Secures up to $500 Million Onchain Loan After Bypassing Banks
Australian AI infrastructure firm Sharon AI has secured a non‑recourse credit facility of up to $500 million from blockchain lender USD.AI, using its GPU hardware as tokenized collateral. The loan will fund a $65 million initial rollout of high‑performance compute systems across...
Crypto Regulation to Become Global Reality This Year, PwC Says
PwC’s 2026 Global Crypto Regulation Report predicts that 2026 will see crypto rules solidify worldwide as draft legislation becomes law. Jurisdictions with transparent frameworks, such as the EU under MiCA, the UK’s FSMA‑based regime, and emerging hubs in the UAE...
Tokenization Firm Superstate Raises $82.5 Million to Bring Wall Street Onchain
Superstate, a tokenization startup founded by DeFi veteran Robert Leshner, closed a $82.5 million Series B round led by Bain Capital Crypto. The capital will fund its Opening Bell platform, which lets SEC‑registered firms issue digital shares and run shareholder processes on public...
The Base Token Should Give Holders Voting Power over Coinbase Itself
Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum‑based layer‑2, is reportedly planning a native token that could grant holders direct voting power over Coinbase itself. The proposal envisions a Base Foundation acquiring up to 50% of COIN shares, turning the token into an on‑chain proxy...
Ethereum Upgrade Sparks Activity Spike, but JPMorgan Doubts It Will Last
Ethereum’s December Fusaka upgrade expanded block data capacity, prompting a noticeable drop in transaction fees and a surge in both transaction volume and active addresses. The upgrade builds on the earlier Pectra upgrade and aims to ease congestion for layer‑2...
BlackRock-Linked Wallets Move over $430 Million in Bitcoin, Ether to Coinbase Prime
On‑chain data shows wallets linked to BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs transferred more than $430 million of crypto to Coinbase Prime. The transfers comprised roughly 3,070 BTC (≈ $276 million) and 52,800 ETH (≈ $157 million) and occurred amid the day’s heavy outflows from U.S. spot crypto...
Strategy's Credit Risk Falls as Preferred Equity Value Surpasses Convertible Debt
Strategy (MSTR) reduced its credit risk as perpetual preferred equity, valued at $8.36 billion, overtook its $8.2 billion convertible debt portfolio. The shift eliminates senior convertible bonds, cutting refinancing risk and smoothing credit‑spread volatility. Preferred instruments pay fixed dividends and have no...
Binance Co-Founder Zhao in Talks with ‘Probably a Dozen’ Governments on Asset Tokenization
Binance co‑founder Changpeng Zhao told Davos attendees he is negotiating with roughly a dozen governments on tokenizing state‑owned assets. Tokenization would let nations sell fractional ownership of infrastructure, real estate or commodities via blockchain tokens, unlocking immediate capital. Zhao cited...
Nomura-Backed Laser Digital Introduces Tokenized Bitcoin Yield-Bearing Fund
Laser Digital, backed by Nomura, launched the Laser Digital Bitcoin Diversified Yield Fund SP, the first natively tokenized Bitcoin yield fund. The fund, built with tokenization specialist KAIO and custodied by Komainu, aims to deliver more than 5% excess net...
New Research Projects U.S. Inflation Resurgence, Challenging Bitcoin Bulls' Disinflation Bets
A new research note by Adam Posen of the Peterson Institute and Peter R. Orszag of Lazard projects U.S. consumer inflation could rise above 4% in 2026, driven by lingering tariff effects, tighter labor markets and a growing fiscal deficit....
Bitcoin Swings Trigger Rare Split Liquidation as Longs and Shorts Both Get Hit
Crypto markets liquidated over $625 million in leveraged positions within 24 hours as Bitcoin’s price swung sharply between $88,000 and $90,000. The losses were almost evenly split, with $306 million wiped from longs and $319 million from shorts, highlighting a rare two‑way liquidation event....
Shark Tank's Kevin O’Leary on Betting Big on Data Centers and Why Most Crypto Tokens Will Never Come Back
Kevin O'Leary is amassing 26,000 acres of shovel‑ready land across North America to lease to bitcoin miners, AI firms, and hyperscale data centers, positioning infrastructure as the primary value driver in crypto and AI. He likens mining to a real‑estate...
Private Credit May Be the Breakout Use Case for Tokenization: Maple's Sidney Powell
Maple Finance CEO Sidney Powell argues that tokenized private credit will become the breakout use case for blockchain tokenization, outpacing hype around treasuries and money‑market funds. The private‑credit market is expanding as banks retreat and non‑bank lenders fill the gap,...
Farcaster Founders Step Back as Neynar Acquires Struggling Crypto Social App
Farcaster, the decentralized social protocol, has been acquired by Neynar, a long‑time infrastructure provider for the network. The deal follows a 2024 $150 million funding round led by Paradigm and a16z that failed to deliver sustainable user growth. Co‑founders Dan Romero...
The Protocol: Staked ETH Exit Queue Moves Down to Zero
Ethereum’s validator exit queue fell to zero, allowing instant ETH withdrawals while entry queues stay congested. The network processed a record 2,885,524 transactions in a single week, the highest daily total in its history, yet average fees remain near recent...
BlackRock Names Crypto and Tokenization as ‘Themes Driving Markets’ in 2026
BlackRock’s 2026 Thematic Outlook places cryptocurrency and tokenization alongside AI and energy infrastructure as key market‑driving themes. The firm highlights its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as the fastest‑growing ETF ever, now exceeding $70 billion in assets. Tokenization of real‑world assets—especially on...
Want TradFi to Embrace Tokenization? Crypto's Distribution Strategy Must Mature
Dean Khan Dhillon argues that tokenization’s slow institutional uptake isn’t caused by regulation or technology but by a mismatched distribution approach. Crypto projects rely on viral, short‑term hype while traditional investors need repeated, credible exposure to evaluate new assets. The author proposes...
Trump Vows to Make U.S. the Crypto Capital of the World to Beat China
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he signed the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin‑focused bill, to cement America’s status as the world’s crypto capital and counter China’s ambitions. He highlighted ongoing Senate work on broader market‑structure legislation, promising near‑term signatures. Trump...
Ondo Finance Brings 200+ Tokenized U.S. Stocks and ETFs to Solana
Ondo Finance announced the launch of its tokenized equities platform on Solana, adding more than 200 U.S. stocks and ETFs to the high‑speed blockchain. The rollout expands Ondo Global Markets beyond Ethereum and BNB Chain, making the protocol the largest...
Bitcoin Utility Blockchain VerifiedX Debuts ‘Venmo-For Crypto’ Payment App Butterfly
VerifiedX, the Bitcoin sidechain provider, launched Butterfly, a Venmo‑style crypto payment app. The service, built on VerifiedX’s layer‑1 blockchain, promises penny‑level transaction fees and an “undo” button to correct mistakes. Butterfly goes live through partnerships with Crypto.com, Moonpay and Blockdaemon,...
Chainlink Is One of Crypto’s Most Undervalued Infrastructure Bets: Bitwise
Bitlink’s chief investment officer Matt Hougan argues Chainlink (LINK) is a vastly underrated crypto infrastructure asset. The decentralized oracle network, valued at roughly $10 billion, supplies real‑world data to stablecoins, tokenized securities, DeFi protocols and major financial institutions. Bitwise’s high conviction...
Zcash Foundation Adds New Rust DNS Seeder to Improve Network Reliability
The Zcash Foundation released a new DNS seeder written in Rust, replacing older implementations used to bootstrap Zcash nodes. By leveraging the same networking code as the Zebra full‑node client, the seeder offers faster, safer peer discovery and aligns protocol...
Rolex, Patek Lead High-End Watch Market Rebound Even as Bitcoin Struggles
Luxury watch resale values have risen about 4% over the past six months, contrasting sharply with a 25% decline in Bitcoin and a 30% drop in the CoinDesk 20 index. Morgan Stanley attributes the modest rebound to cleared excess inventory,...
Not All Crypto Is Equal: Schwab Maps Where the Money Actually Is in Digital Assets
Schwab’s Center for Financial Research released a three‑layer model for crypto, dividing the market into foundational networks, infrastructure, and products. The base layer—Bitcoin, Ethereum and similar blockchains—accounts for roughly 80% of the sector’s $3.2 trillion market cap. Infrastructure protocols such as...
Solayer Unveils $35 Million Fund for Real-Time DeFi, AI and Tokenization Apps on infiniSVM
Solayer announced a $35 million ecosystem fund to accelerate development on its infiniSVM layer‑1 blockchain. The fund, sourced from Solayer Labs and the Solayer Foundation, will back early‑stage and growth teams building real‑time DeFi, AI‑driven and tokenized asset applications. infiniSVM boasts...
Mastercard Said to Weigh Zerohash Investment After Ending Takeover Talks Worth Billions
Mastercard is weighing a strategic investment in blockchain infrastructure firm Zerohash after acquisition talks collapsed, despite earlier reports that the payment giant might have paid up to $2 billion for a full buyout. Zerohash, valued at $1 billion after a $104 million Series D‑2...
Trump's New CFTC Chief Selig Starts 'Future-Proof' Initiative to Champion Crypto
Mike Selig, newly appointed CFTC chairman under President Trump, announced a "future‑proof" crypto initiative aimed at codifying digital‑asset oversight into formal rules. He emphasized that the $3 trillion crypto market warrants tailored regulations rather than ad‑hoc enforcement. Selig also unveiled an...
Chainlink Expands Data Streams to Cover Multitrillion-Dollar U.S. Stock Market
Chainlink has upgraded its Data Streams product to deliver 24/5 coverage of U.S. stocks and ETFs, using a pull‑based model that provides sub‑second updates only when trades occur. The new feed includes market‑status flags and bid‑ask spreads, reducing gas costs...
Tom Lee's Bitmine Immersion Wins Investor Backing to Expand Share Limit
Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) secured 81% shareholder approval to raise its authorized share count, giving the firm greater leeway to issue equity in the future. The company now controls 4.203 million ETH—about 3.5% of the cryptocurrency’s circulating supply—alongside 193 BTC, a $22 million...
TenX Adds Tezos to Its Crypto Treasury, Targets Staking Revenue After Buying 5.5M XTZ
TenX Protocols announced the purchase of roughly 5.5 million Tezos (XTZ) tokens at an average price of $0.5868, funded by cash from its August 2025 financing round. The tokens will be staked through TenX‑operated validators, targeting an 8‑10% annual yield before costs....
CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: Internet Computer Drops 8.3% as All Assets Decline
The CoinDesk 20 index slipped 3.5% to 2,785.62 on Thursday, marking a broad‑based decline across its constituents. Internet Computer (ICP) led the losses, tumbling 8.3%, while Solana (SOL) added to the downside with a 4.5% drop. No asset in the index...
Japan Bond Market Panic Spills Into Crypto; 'Yields Will Keep Rising Until Something Breaks'
Japan’s 30‑year government bond yield surged 31 basis points to 3.91%, the highest in 27 years, ending a decades‑long era of falling yields. The spike triggered a broad risk‑off, pulling the Nikkei down 2.5%, US equity futures lower, and Bitcoin...
Former FTX EU Trading Specialists Unveil Perpetuals.com, an AI-Powered Derivatives Platform
Former FTX EU co‑founders Patrick Gruhn and Robin Matzke have launched Perpetuals.com, an AI‑powered derivatives exchange that will begin trading on Nasdaq this week. The platform leverages a proprietary AI model trained on more than 10 million retail cryptocurrency trading histories...
Bitcoin Is at Risk of Slide to $58,000 as 'Restrictive' Fed Policy and Trade Tensions Weigh on Crypto
Veteran futures trader Peter Brandt predicts Bitcoin could fall to $58,000‑$62,000 within two weeks, citing a bearish downtrend. Analysts Jason Fernandes and Mati Greenspan agree that macro‑economic pressures—particularly restrictive Federal Reserve policy and escalating U.S.–EU tariff disputes—are more decisive than...
Makina Loses $4.1 Million in Exploit Tied to Price-Feed Manipulation
Makina, a DeFi execution platform, suffered a $4.13 million exploit after an attacker used a flash loan to manipulate the price‑feed of its DUSD/USDC Curve pool. By inflating the MachineShareOracle’s reported prices, the hacker swapped roughly 110 million USDC against a pool holding...