CoinDesk

Polymarket Bettors Appear to Have Insider-Traded on a Market Designed to Catch Insider Traders

A group of at least 12 wallets on Polymarket collectively pocketed more than $1 million by betting on Axiom being the target of ZachXBT’s insider‑trading investigation before the report was public. The largest holder, dubbed predictorxyz, bought 477,415 shares at an...

World Liberty Financial Ties Voting Power to Staking as USD1 Supply Tops $4.7 Billion

World Liberty Financial has submitted a governance proposal that obliges WLFI token holders to stake their tokens for at least 180 days before they can vote. The framework creates two tiered statuses—Node at 10 million WLFI and Super Node at 50 million WLFI—offering...

Bitcoin Miner MARA Jumps 17% After Striking a Deal with Starwood to Build AI Data Centers

Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) announced a partnership with Starwood Capital to transform select U.S. bitcoin mining sites into AI‑focused data centers. The joint venture aims to deliver about 1 GW of compute capacity initially, with plans to exceed 2.5 GW over time,...

Crypto Social Isn’t Dead, It’s Just Changing Hands

In late January, Farcaster handed its protocol, client and Base launchpad to infrastructure provider Neynar, while Lens Protocol moved stewardship from Avara to Mask Network. The rapid leadership swaps reignited debate over whether crypto‑social is a dead experiment. Analysts argue...

What Early Bitcoin Architect Adam Back Thinks of This Cycle

Early Bitcoin pioneer Adam Back said volatility is normal given Bitcoin’s adoption cycle, even as regulatory clarity and institutional ETFs improve market access. He noted Bitcoin has fallen about 26% over the past year despite a more crypto‑friendly policy environment,...

Blockfills Co-Founder and CEO Nicholas Hammer Has Stepped Down

Blockfills co‑founder and CEO Nicholas Hammer stepped down, with Joseph Perry named interim chief executive. The crypto lender disclosed $75 million in losses and halted client deposits and withdrawals on Feb 11, 2026. The firm, which processed $60 billion in 2025 trading volume,...

Billionaire Alan Howard’s Crypto Incubator WebN Closes Down

WebN Group, the blockchain incubator backed by billionaire Alan Howard, is shutting down after seeding a portfolio that includes KAIO, Twinstake, TruFin and Geometry. The venture studio also received backing from Nomura’s Laser Digital and has moved several staff members...

Bitcoin Climbs Above $68,500, Circle Leads Crypto Stocks Higher, as Bounce Strengthens

Bitcoin surged past $68,500 on Wednesday, posting a 6% gain in 24 hours and wiping out the early‑week dip below $63,000. The rally lifted major altcoins, with Ethereum reclaiming the $2,000 level and several midsized tokens climbing over 10%. Derivative...

Bitcoin Treasury Firm GD Culture Set to Sell BTC Holdings to Fund Share Buybacks

GD Culture Group’s board approved the sale of a portion of its 7,500‑bitcoin reserve to finance a $100 million share‑repurchase program. The Bitcoin stash, now worth roughly $497 million, reflects a $344 million unrealized loss from its $841.5 million acquisition cost. Management retains discretion...

Coinbase Adds Stock, ETF Trading as It Expands Beyond Crypto

Coinbase announced that U.S. customers can now trade stocks and ETFs on its platform alongside crypto. The service operates 24/5, offers commission‑free trades, and allows fractional shares starting at $1 using USD or USDC. The rollout follows the company’s “everything...

Your AI Is Getting a Bank Account: MoonPay Just Gave Bots the Power to Spend Money

MoonPay introduced MoonPay Agents, a non‑custodial, permissionless financial layer that lets AI agents control funded crypto wallets. Users complete a one‑time KYC and link a payment method, after which the AI can autonomously trade, swap and move funds. The service...

Cipher Digital Rebrands as It Pivots From Bitcoin Mining to HPC, Shares Slide

Cipher Digital, formerly Cipher Mining, reported Q4 revenue of $60 million and an adjusted loss of $0.14 per share, both missing analyst forecasts of $84.4 million and a $0.06 loss. The company announced a strategic pivot from bitcoin mining to high‑performance computing...

Canton Advances Cross-Border Repo to Free up $300 Trillion Assets via Tokenization

A consortium of leading financial institutions executed the first cross‑border, intraday repurchase agreement using tokenized U.K. government bonds on the Canton Network. The trade featured the inaugural cross‑currency swap of tokenized gilts for tokenized deposits, with smart contracts encoding interest...

Over 400,000 BTC Bought Between $60k and $70k During Bitcoin’s Latest Downturn

Glassnode data shows more than 400,000 BTC were bought between $60,000 and $70,000 as Bitcoin’s price slumped 50% from its October all‑time high. The supply in the $60K‑$70K band rose 43% since the start of the year, reaching roughly 1.43 million...

The Ghost of the iPhone: Why Michael Saylor Thinks Bitcoin Is Mirroring Apple’s Legendary ‘Valley of Despair’

Michael Saylor likens Bitcoin’s 45% decline to Apple’s 2013 slump, arguing that deep corrections are typical for breakthrough tech investments. Bitcoin fell from $125,000 to about $63,000, echoing Apple’s valuation drop, while Saylor notes that regulated derivatives markets are tempering...

Step Finance Shuts Operations After $27 Million January Hack

DeFi portfolio tracker Step Finance announced it will cease operations immediately after a January hack that stole approximately 261,854 SOL, valued at $27 million. The breach caused the native STEP token to tumble nearly 96% and it fell an additional 36%...

ProShares' Stablecoin-Ready ETF Sees $17 Billion Debut, Sparking Speculation About Circle

ProShares launched the GENIUS‑compliant Money Market ETF (IQMM) with a record $17 billion in first‑day trading volume. Analysts initially linked the surge to Circle’s USDC reserves, but data show Circle’s BlackRock‑managed fund held steady around $64 billion. Morningstar identified an internal transfer...

SportFi’s Next Act: Onchain Markets Built Around Match-Day Results

SportFi is moving beyond fan‑token collectibles toward on‑chain markets that react to match‑day results. Chiliz’s roadmap proposes mint‑and‑burn mechanics that tie token supply directly to wins, losses, and other outcomes, turning tokens into programmable assets. This outcome‑linked model creates real‑time...

Mentioning 'Bitcoin' Or Crypto on AI Agent OpenClaw's Discord Will Get You Banned

OpenClaw, an open‑source AI agent framework that quickly gathered over 200,000 GitHub stars, imposed a blanket ban on any crypto mention in its Discord after a scammer‑driven fake token, $CLAWD, reached a $16 million market cap and triggered harassment of its...

Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin Proposes AI 'Stewards' To Help Reinvent DAO Governance

Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin unveiled a proposal to overhaul DAO governance by deploying personal AI agents that automatically cast votes on behalf of users. The design relies on zero‑knowledge proofs to keep voter identities hidden and on secure computation environments such...

Japan's SBI to Issue 10 Billion Yen Onchain Bond with XRP Rewards for Retail Investors

SBI Holdings is issuing a 10 billion‑yen on‑chain bond, the SBI START Bond, aimed at retail investors. The three‑year security offers a fixed interest rate of 1.85%‑2.45% paid semiannually and settles on the BOOSTRY blockchain. Eligible investors receive XRP rewards equivalent...

Iran’s Rial Collapse Mirrors Lebanon’s Crisis, Driving Citizens to Bitcoin

The Iranian rial has collapsed in 2026, spurring hyperinflation and prompting middle‑class savers to flee the banking system. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have attracted billions of dollars, echoing Lebanon’s 2019‑2021 crisis where crypto became a financial lifeline. On‑chain data shows...

Bitcoin Echoes 'Late 2022' Bear Market Bottom, K33 Says

Bitcoin has settled into a $65,000‑$70,000 range that K33 Research says mirrors the late‑2022 bear‑market bottom. Spot trading volume fell 59% week‑over‑week and perpetual futures open interest hit a four‑month low, indicating a quiet consolidation phase. U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETFs have...

Inside France’s Strict Rules for Selling Majority Stake of Its State Energy Cloud to U.S. Bitcoin Miner

MARA Holdings is buying a 64% stake in Exaion, EDF's high‑performance computing subsidiary, for $168 million. The French government approved the sale only after imposing conditions, notably a 10% stake for NJJ Capital to satisfy national‑interest concerns. EDF will retain a...

RWA Issuers Prioritize Capital Formation over Liquidity, According to Brickken Survey

A Brickken Q4 2025 survey shows most real‑world‑asset issuers use tokenization primarily to raise capital rather than to secure secondary‑market liquidity. 53.8% cite capital formation as the main driver, while only 15.4% prioritize liquidity, and 69.2% of respondents are already live...

Bitcoin Pops Then Drops as Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously struck down President Trump’s expansive tariff regime, a ruling that reverberated through financial markets. Bitcoin briefly surged 2% above $68,000 before retreating to the $67,000 range within minutes. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq posted a modest 0.6%...

Dual South Korean Listings Send Ethereum Layer-2 Token AZTEC Surging 82%

Ethereum layer‑2 token AZTEC surged roughly 82% to about $0.035 after South Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb added KRW trading pairs. The listings unlocked direct local‑currency buying for a highly active retail base, inflating demand in an otherwise thin market....

Bitcoin Difficulty Jumps 15% Largest Increase Since 2021, Despite Price Slump

Bitcoin mining difficulty jumped 15% to 144.4 trillion, the steepest rise since the 2021 China ban, as the network’s hashrate recovered to 1 zettahash per second. The rebound occurs despite Bitcoin’s price hovering around $67,000 and hashprice sinking to a multi‑year low...

American Crypto Holders Are Scared and Confused About This Year’s New IRS Tax Rules

A poll of 1,000 U.S. crypto investors shows more than half fear IRS penalties as the Treasury rolls out Form 1099‑DA, which forces exchanges to automatically report transaction proceeds. The new rule shifts tax compliance from self‑disclosure to broker‑driven reporting,...

From 2016 Hack to $150M Endowment: The DAO’s Second Act Focuses on Ethereum Security

A decade after the 2016 DAO hack, the DAO Security Fund will stake roughly 75,000 dormant ETH—now worth about $150 million—to generate yield for Ethereum security initiatives. The fund will keep claims open indefinitely for original token holders and shift from...

Milo Tops $100 Million in Crypto-Backed Mortgages, Closes Record $12 Million Deal

Milo, a U.S. crypto‑lending firm, has originated more than $100 million in crypto‑backed mortgages, highlighted by a record $12 million loan. The company operates in ten states and offers loans up to $25 million secured by Bitcoin or Ether, with interest starting at...

Bitcoin Holds Near $68,000 as Volatility Cools, WLFI Jumps Ahead of Mar-a-Lago Forum

Bitcoin hovered around $68,000 on Wednesday, trading within a $65,100‑$72,000 band since Feb 6 as volatility and funding rates cooled. Open interest held steady at $15.5 billion, while the options market showed a balanced call‑put split and eased skew. The Trump‑backed WLFI...

Bitcoin Losing $70,000 Is a Warning Sign for Further Downside

Bitcoin slipped below $68,000, breaking the short‑term support that held the market steady in early February. The breach opens the path to lower levels near $65,000 and potentially $60,000 if sellers remain aggressive. Major cryptocurrencies fell up to 3 % while...

Crypto Venture Capital Firm Dragonfly Raises $650 Million Despite 'Gloom of a Bear Market'

UK Crypto Rules Too Slow to Support Global Hub Ambitions, Says Agant CEO

Andrew MacKenzie, CEO of stablecoin developer Agant, warned that the United Kingdom’s crypto regulatory timetable is too slow to support its ambition of becoming a global digital‑asset hub. While the government plans to pass comprehensive stablecoin legislation later this year,...

BofA Survey Flags Dollar Bearish Bets at over a Decade High. Here's What It Means for Bitcoin

Bank of America’s February survey shows investor exposure to the U.S. dollar is at its most bearish since early 2012, marking a record underweight stance. Historically, a weaker dollar has acted as a bullish tailwind for bitcoin, but since early...

'We Do Not Do Illegal Things': Inside a U.S.-sanctioned Stablecoin Issuer's Race to Build a Crypto Giant

A7A5, a Kyrgyzstan‑incorporated ruble‑pegged stablecoin, added roughly $90 billion to its circulating supply last year, outpacing USDT and USDC. The issuer’s affiliates and reserve‑bank partner are listed on the U.S. sanctions list, yet the firm claims full KYC/AML compliance and positions...

Crypto Mining Can Help Energy Volatility, Paradigm Responds to Policy Onslaught

U.S. lawmakers are proposing limits on data centers and crypto‑mining operations because of rising energy costs, but investment firm Paradigm argues Bitcoin mining can actually stabilize the grid. Paradigm’s report shows mining consumes only about 0.23% of global electricity and...

Harvard Cuts Bitcoin Exposure by 20%, Adds New Ether Position

Harvard Management Company trimmed its Bitcoin exposure by roughly 21%, selling about 1.5 million shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust and reducing the holding to $265.8 million. At the same time, the endowment made its first Ether investment, buying nearly 3.9 million shares...

Nexo Re-Enters the U.S. Market Three Years After Its ‘Dead End’ Exit

Digital‑asset platform Nexo has re‑entered the U.S. market, launching a suite of regulated services powered by Bakkt. The company returns with $11 billion in assets under management, offering fixed and flexible yield accounts, a crypto exchange, and crypto‑backed credit lines with...

Hive, Riot Earnings Reports, Fed Rate-Decision Minutes: Crypto Week Ahead

This week’s crypto calendar is anchored by earnings from Hive Digital Technologies and Riot Platforms, both of which are expanding into high‑performance AI computing alongside their bitcoin‑mining operations. The Federal Reserve will release the FOMC minutes on Wednesday, accompanied by...

Metaplanet Operating Profit to Rise 81% in 2026 After Soaring 17-Fold Last Year on Options Writing

Metaplanet, Japan’s largest bitcoin treasury firm, posted a 17‑fold jump in operating profit to ¥6.28 bn in 2025, propelled by a surge in options‑writing premiums that lifted revenue 738% to ¥8.9 bn. Despite the earnings boom, a steep bitcoin price decline generated...

OKX Snags European Payments License for Stablecoin and Crypto Card Expansion

OKX has obtained a Payments Institution (PI) licence in Malta, bringing the exchange into compliance with the EU’s upcoming Markets in Crypto‑Assets (MiCA) regulation and the revised Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2). The licence authorises OKX to offer stablecoin‑linked payment...

Spark Looks to Build Building a Safe Bridge Between Onchain Capital and TradFi

Spark introduced Spark Prime and Spark Institutional Lending, extending more than $9 billion of stablecoin liquidity to hedge funds, trading firms and fintechs operating under traditional custody rules. The offerings combine over‑collateralized loan structures with a unified risk framework that spans...

Hong Kong Working to Allow Perpetual Contracts, Chief Regulator Says

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced it will release a high‑level regulatory framework permitting trading platforms to offer perpetual contracts. The framework targets institutional investors and mandates robust risk‑management and conflict‑of‑interest safeguards. Brokers will also be allowed to...

Institutions Fuel Tokenized RWA Boom as Retail Looks Set to Follow Suit

Tokenized real‑world assets (RWAs) are now dominated by institutions, with U.S. Treasuries, money‑market funds and stablecoin‑backed collateral products leading the market. Panelists at Consensus Hong Kong 2026 highlighted the next frontier: tokenized equities, private credit, real estate and other illiquid assets aimed...

SkyBridge's Scaramucci Is Buying the Bitcoin Dip, Calls Trump a Crypto President

Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, confirmed the firm is actively buying Bitcoin during the recent market dip, purchasing at price points around $84,000, $63,000 and the current lower range near $68,000. The purchases come after Bitcoin fell from a...

Crypto PAC Fairshake Leaps Into First Midterm Senate Race with $5 Million in Alabama

The Fairshake political action committee, the crypto industry’s $193 million campaign‑finance powerhouse, has poured a $5 million independent‑expenditure boost into Rep. Barry Moore’s Republican Senate primary in Alabama. The funding, routed through the Defend American Jobs affiliate, will finance ads featuring Moore’s...

Ex-SafeMoon CEO Gets 8-Year Prison Sentence for Defrauding Investors

Former SafeMoon chief Braden John Karony received a 100‑month (eight‑year) prison sentence after a federal trial in New York. The Department of Justice ordered him to forfeit $7.5 million and two residences. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud,...