Trading Bots Gain Traction as Crypto Markets Move Sideways: HTX 2025 Recap
In 2025 HTX reported a surge in grid‑based trading bots, with overall grid volume up 97% year‑over‑year and capital allocated to such strategies doubling. The growth was most pronounced in stablecoin pairs, where grid volume jumped 352% compared with 122% for major cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, Coinbase expanded its AI‑driven trading suite, unveiling Payments MCP that lets large language models interact directly with on‑chain wallets, swaps and stablecoin payments. A CoinGecko survey shows 36% of traders would entrust AI agents with most of their holdings, highlighting rising automation interest amid market range‑bound conditions.
Bitcoin’s Next Super Rally Could Depend on This Key Data Point
Long‑term Bitcoin holders (LTHs) dumped roughly $300 billion in 2025, marking the sharpest on‑chain supply reset in five years. The 30‑day peak distribution reached 1.14 million BTC in November, followed by a rapid decline of LTH supply to 13.5 million BTC by year‑end....
BNY Launches Tokenized Deposits Amid TradFi Rush Into Blockchain and Crypto
BNY Mellon has introduced tokenized bank deposits on its own permissioned blockchain, offering institutional clients on‑chain cash balances that can be used for collateral and margin. The on‑chain tokens promise faster settlement, greater transparency and reduced friction compared with legacy...
Ethereum Co-Founder Reiterates Support for Roman Storm, Citing Privacy
Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin reaffirmed his support for Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, emphasizing the importance of privacy in crypto transactions. Buterin disclosed that he personally uses Storm’s software to conceal his identity when purchasing tools and donating to human‑rights charities. Storm, convicted...
Visa-Linked Stablecoin Platform Rain Raises $250M at $1.95B Valuation
Rain, a Visa‑linked stablecoin infrastructure provider, closed a $250 million Series C round that values the company at $1.95 billion, bringing total funding to $338 million. The company reported a 30‑fold increase in its active card base and a 38‑times rise in annualized payment...
The Hidden Risk of Public WiFi: How a Single Approval Wiped a Crypto Wallet
Crypto user "The Smart Ape" lost $5,000 from a hot wallet after connecting to an open hotel Wi‑Fi and approving a malicious transaction. Attackers used ARP spoofing and injected JavaScript into a DeFi front‑end, turning a routine approval into a...
Grayscale Forms Trusts Tied to Potential BNB and HYPE ETFs
Asset manager Grayscale has registered two Delaware statutory trusts linked to prospective exchange‑traded funds focused on Binance Coin (BNB) and Hyperliquid’s HYPE token. The filings, recorded Thursday, are preparatory steps that allow the firm to streamline future SEC applications but...
Vulnerability Found in Babylon Staking Code Could Slow Block Production
Developers discovered a critical bug in Babylon's Bitcoin staking protocol affecting the BLS vote extension. The flaw lets malicious validators omit the block‑hash field, causing nil‑pointer dereferences and runtime panics at epoch boundaries, which can crash validators and slow block...
FCA Sets September 2026 Start for UK Crypto Licensing Applications
The UK Financial Conduct Authority announced that applications for its new crypto‑licensing regime will open in September 2026, with the framework expected to take effect on 25 October 2027. All crypto‑asset service providers must obtain authorisation under the Financial Services and Markets Act,...
South Korea’s Top Court Says Exchange‑held Bitcoin Can Be Seized
South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled that Bitcoin stored in centralized exchange wallets can be seized as property under the Criminal Procedure Act. The decision upheld the confiscation of 55.6 BTC linked to a money‑laundering case, establishing a legal precedent for...
Iran Is Cut Off From the Internet: Here’s How Crypto Could Still Work
Iran’s government cut internet access amid nationwide protests, leaving a population grappling with severe economic strain and a record‑low rial. Despite the blackout, an estimated seven million Iranians—about 8% of the population—remain active crypto users, with $3.7 billion in crypto flows...
Global Sanctions Linked to Record Flows Into Illicit Crypto Addresses
Chainalysis’ 2026 crypto crime report shows illicit cryptocurrency addresses received a record $154 billion in 2025, a 162 % jump from the prior year. The surge is driven largely by sanctioned nation‑state actors, with Russia’s ruble‑backed A7A5 token alone accounting for $93.3 billion...
Bitcoin to Hit $2.9M by 2050 as It Muscles Into Global Trade: VanEck
VanEck predicts Bitcoin could reach $2.9 million by 2050, based on a 15% compound annual growth rate and the cryptocurrency capturing 5‑10% of global international trade and 5% of domestic trade. The firm’s base case assumes central banks will hold 2.5%...
Revived NY Bill Targets Sports, Politics and Death Prediction Markets
New York Assemblyman Clyde Vanel has re‑introduced the ORACLE Act, targeting event‑contract prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket. The bill bans contracts tied to specific sports matches, political elections, deaths, and other catastrophic events while still permitting broader league‑outcome...
Nexo to Offer Zero-Interest Crypto Lending for BTC and ETH Holders
Nexo has launched Zero‑interest Credit, a fixed‑term crypto loan product for Bitcoin and Ether holders that charges no interest. Borrowers select loan size and duration upfront, with repayment at maturity via stablecoins or collateral, eliminating liquidation risk. The offering builds...
Trump Rules Out Sam Bankman-Fried Pardon in NYT Interview
President Donald Trump told The New York Times he will not pardon Sam Bankman‑Fried, the former FTX CEO serving a 25‑year sentence for fraud. In the same interview Trump referenced his own crypto‑related business ties and dismissed pardons for other...
Truebit Token Price Falls 99% After Reports of $26M Exploit
Truebit protocol disclosed a $26 million exploit that siphoned 8,535 ETH from a smart‑contract, prompting immediate engagement with law enforcement. The incident sent the native TRU token crashing more than 99%, sinking to a record low of $0.0000000029. The hack follows a...
Coincheck to Acquire Digital Asset Manager 3iQ in $112M Stock Deal
Coincheck Group announced a $111.84 million stock deal to acquire a 97 % stake in Canadian digital‑asset manager 3iQ, using its $4‑per‑share stock. The transaction, which could give Coincheck full ownership after extending the same terms to minority shareholders, is slated to...
Why South Korea Is Struggling to Decide Who Can Issue Stablecoins
South Korea’s Digital Asset Basic Act is stalled as regulators argue over who may issue a won‑backed stablecoin. The Bank of Korea advocates a “banks‑first” model, requiring at least 51% bank ownership in any issuing consortium, citing financial‑stability risks. The...
Bitcoin Vs. Gold Vs. Silver in 2026: How Investors Are Repricing Scarcity
In 2026 investors are redefining scarcity for Bitcoin, gold and silver, moving beyond simple supply limits to narrative‑driven pricing, market access, and financial structures. Bitcoin’s fixed supply is now filtered through ETFs and derivatives, altering how its scarcity is priced....
Ethereum Is the Linux of Blockchain, Says Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin
Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin likened the blockchain to Linux, emphasizing its open‑source nature and role as a foundational operating system for decentralized applications. He highlighted the proliferation of 127 layer‑2 networks that extend Ethereum’s scalability while preserving core security. Critics argue...
Zcash Backer Bootstrap Says Split Due to Clash over Nonprofit Rules, Zashi Future
Bootstrap, the nonprofit that backs Zcash, announced a split with the Electric Coin Company (ECC) after a governance clash over nonprofit restrictions on external investment. Board members had pushed to attract outside capital and privatize the Zashi wallet, prompting legal...
Banks Must Upgrade Their Blockchain Infrastructure
Banks are urged to replace legacy private distributed ledger systems with public, permissioned layer‑2 networks that use zero‑knowledge proofs. The article argues that private blockchains, once favored for privacy, now hinder access to growing tokenized‑asset liquidity and real‑time settlement. Public...
India Tax Authorities Flag Crypto Risks Amid Regulatory Uncertainty
India’s Income Tax Department warned that cryptocurrency’s anonymity, borderless nature and use of offshore exchanges and DeFi tools make tax enforcement increasingly difficult. The department highlighted that tracking transactions across multiple jurisdictions is "virtually impossible," complicating income assessment. India currently...
3 ‘Checkpoints’ Stand Between a Crypto All-Time High in 2026: Bitwise
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says crypto can reach new all‑time highs in 2026 only if three checkpoints are cleared: the Senate’s passage of the CLARITY Act, a stable broader equity market, and a supportive macro environment. The market has already...
Solana's Stablecoin Market Cap Surges by $900M in 24 Hours
Solana's stablecoin market capitalization jumped by roughly $900 million within a 24‑hour window, according to on‑chain data released Tuesday. The surge pushed total stablecoin value on the network past $2.5 billion, driven primarily by inflows of USDC and USDT. The rapid growth...
Gate Becomes Latest Crypto Exchange to Embed AI Market Intelligence
Gate.io has launched GateAI, an AI‑powered market intelligence feature embedded in its trading app for users of version 8.2.0 and later. The tool delivers automated summaries, factor breakdowns and basic risk indicators across token search, spot charts and community feeds, while...
Trust Wallet’s $7M Hack Shows Where Crypto-Friendly SMEs May Be Vulnerable
In December 2025, Trust Wallet suffered a $7 million theft after a malicious Chrome extension update compromised private keys for 2,596 verified addresses. The attack leveraged a stolen Web Store API key, turning a supply‑chain vulnerability into rapid fund exfiltration via...
Bitcoin Vs. Luxury Homes: How China’s Wealthy Are Rethinking Stores of Value
China’s ultra‑wealthy are re‑evaluating traditional wealth stores, weighing Shenzhen Bay luxury apartments against Bitcoin and other crypto assets. High‑end real estate, once prized for stability, is now viewed as illiquid and subject to regulatory scrutiny. Digital assets promise near‑instant liquidity,...
CoinFlip Launches Payroll-Based Crypto Investing Benefit for US Employees
CoinFlip introduced a payroll‑based crypto investing benefit that lets U.S. employees automatically purchase digital assets through payroll deductions. The program supports Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and select stablecoins, with a minimum contribution of $25 per pay period. It targets workers who...
IBM’s Crypto Partner Dfns Integrates Concordium for Web3 Compliance
Dfns, an IBM‑partner wallet‑as‑a‑service provider, has integrated Concordium’s identity‑verified layer into its platform, creating a compliance‑ready Web3 wallet solution. The integration lets financial institutions launch privacy‑preserving wallets without building identity infrastructure from scratch. Dfns already serves more than 130 banking...
Blockchain Innovation Must Rise Above Politics and Serve Real-World Needs
Blockchain, originally envisioned as a decentralized, transparent system, is increasingly being co‑opted by governments and political parties. The article highlights how the UK Reform Party, US crypto‑funded Super PACs, and Argentina’s memecoin illustrate the technology’s politicization. It argues that for...
Morgan Stanley Adds Ethereum Staking ETF Filing to Growing Crypto Lineup
Morgan Stanley has filed an S‑1 with the SEC to launch a spot Ether exchange‑traded fund, the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust, marking its third cryptocurrency ETF filing after Bitcoin and Solana proposals. The fund will buy, hold and track Ether’s...
Stablecoins Become Core Market Plumbing in Moody’s 2026 Outlook
Moody’s Digital Economy – Global 2026 Outlook reports stablecoins have become core institutional plumbing. In 2025, stablecoin settlement volume jumped 87% to roughly $9 trillion, driven by fiat‑backed coins and tokenized deposits. Banks, asset managers and market‑infrastructure providers are piloting blockchain...
Barclays Makes First Stablecoin Investment with Stake in Ubyx
Barclays has taken its first stake in a stablecoin‑related firm by investing in Ubyx, a U.S. clearing platform that connects regulated issuers with banks and fintechs. The bank did not disclose the investment amount, which follows Ubyx’s $10 million seed round...
UAE’s Dirham Stablecoin Race Widens as RAKBank Nets In-Principle Approval
RAKBank announced it has received in‑principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE to issue a dirham‑backed stablecoin. The token will be fully collateralised 1:1 with dirhams held in segregated, regulated accounts and governed by audited smart contracts with...
Wealth Transfer May Boost Crypto Adoption Among Younger Investors: Galaxy Exec
Galaxy Digital’s Zac Prince warned that the impending transfer of wealth from baby‑boomers—who control about $83.3 trillion of U.S. assets—could funnel significant capital into cryptocurrencies. Younger investors already hold crypto at three‑times the rate of older cohorts, according to Coinbase data....
Why XRP Is Outperforming Bitcoin and Ether at the Start of 2026
Ripple’s XRP surged 25% since Jan. 1, outpacing Bitcoin’s 6% gain and Ether’s 10% rise, prompting CNBC to label it the “new cryptocurrency darling.” The rally is fueled by strong spot XRP ETF inflows—$1.15 billion to date—and bullish social and smart‑money sentiment....
Ethereum Blob Limit Bumps up to 21, Boosting Network Scalability
Ethereum’s second Blob Parameter‑Only (BPO) hard fork went live Wednesday, raising the blob limit from 15 to 21. The upgrade also lifts the blob target to 14, allowing each block to carry up to 2.688 MB of data (128 KB per blob)....
Quantum Threat to Bitcoin Extends Past Wallet Hacks: Coinbase Analyst
Coinbase’s head of investment research, David Duong, warned that quantum computing could jeopardize Bitcoin on two fronts: breaking ECDSA signatures that secure wallets and accelerating SHA‑256 mining, potentially unsettling the network’s economic model. While today’s quantum machines are far too...
Flow Details December Exploit that Led to $3.9M in Losses Due to Counterfeit Tokens
The Flow Foundation disclosed a protocol‑level exploit on Dec. 27 that allowed an attacker to counterfeit tokens by exploiting a flaw in the Cadence runtime, causing roughly $3.9 million in losses before containment. Validators halted the network within six hours, switching to...
Bullish for Strategy? MSCI Keeps Digital Asset Treasury Companies in Indexes
MSCI announced it will not exclude digital‑asset‑treasury (DAT) companies from its market indexes, prompting a 5.7% after‑hours rise in Michael Saylor’s Strategy shares. The firm, which holds 673,783 Bitcoin valued at roughly $63 billion, benefits from continued eligibility for passive index...
Jupiter Launches JupUSD Stablecoin Backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund
Jupiter, the Solana‑based DeFi platform, has introduced JupUSD, a dollar‑pegged stablecoin issued as an SPL token. The coin’s reserves are 90% backed by USDtb, a licensed stablecoin collateralized by BlackRock’s BUIDL money‑market fund, with the remaining 10% held in USDC...
‘Like Sats for Bitcoin’: Tether Creates Tiny Gold Unit as Onchain Demand Grows
Tether unveiled Scudo, a new unit of account representing one‑thousandth of an ounce of gold and linked to its XAUT token. XAUT, backed by over 1,300 gold bars, holds a market cap around $2.3 billion, positioning it as a major tokenized...
MarketVector, Amplify Roll Out Stablecoin, Tokenization Benchmark, ETFs
MarketVector Indexes introduced two new benchmarks—the Stablecoin Technology Index and the Tokenization Technology Index—to give investors regulated exposure to firms and products involved in stablecoin issuance, payments, settlement, and real‑world‑asset tokenization. Amplify ETFs launched two exchange‑traded funds, TKNQ and STBQ,...
Iran’s Currency Collapse Shows Why Bitcoin Is Seen as an Exit Option
Iran’s rial plunged to record lows in 2025, erasing over 40% of its purchasing power and triggering bank failures that affected tens of millions. The collapse intensified public debate about financial alternatives, with Bitcoin emerging as a symbolic exit option...
Why Crypto-Treasury Stocks Fall Faster than the Assets They Hold
Crypto‑treasury stocks once marketed as simple Bitcoin exposure now underperform their holdings during market declines. In bull markets these equities trade at a premium to net asset value, but when sentiment turns the premium evaporates, leading to steeper share price...
Telegram Revenue Jumps to $870M in H1 2025; $2B Full-Year Target: FT
Telegram reported H1 2025 revenue of $870 million, a 65% increase year‑over‑year, while targeting $2 billion for the full year. About $300 million of the revenue came from exclusivity agreements tied to its Toncoin cryptocurrency, and the company sold more than $450 million of TON,...
Polymarket Quietly Introduces Taker Fees on 15-Minute Crypto Markets
Polymarket has quietly added taker‑only fees to its 15‑minute crypto up/down markets, ending the platform’s zero‑fee tradition for these short‑duration contracts. The fee schedule is odds‑dependent, peaking at roughly 3% when prices sit near the 50% probability mark and tapering...
BitMEX Pushes Into 24/7 Stock Perps as Tokenized Equities Heat Up
BitMEX has introduced Equity Perps, a suite of crypto‑collateralized perpetual swap contracts that give traders 24/7 exposure to major US equities such as Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The product mirrors crypto perpetual swaps, offering non‑expiring, funding‑rate‑based leverage...