60% of Top US Banks Are Geared up for Bitcoin: River
River reports that 60% of the top 25 U.S. banks are either offering or planning Bitcoin‑related services such as trading, custody, or loans. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup are among the three Big Four banks moving toward crypto offerings, while UBS is exploring Bitcoin and Ether trading for its wealth clients. Bank of America, Capital One and Truist have not disclosed any crypto initiatives. The trend follows comments from banking CEOs at Davos who described crypto as a strategic priority.
Hyperliquid HIP-3 Open-Interest Hits $793M on Commodities Surge
Hyperliquid’s permissionless market‑creation framework HIP‑3 has pushed open interest to an all‑time high of roughly $790 million, up from $260 million a month earlier. The surge is driven by a commodities rally, especially gold breaking the $5,000 barrier and silver reaching new...
Bitwise to Launch Onchain Vaults via Moprho
Digital asset manager Bitwise has partnered with DeFi lending protocol Morpho to roll out non‑custodial on‑chain vaults, starting with a strategy that aims for a 6% annual percentage yield by allocating capital to over‑collateralized lending pools. The vaults are curated...
Bitcoin Job Listings Rise 6% in 2025, Led by Non-Technical Roles
Bitcoin‑focused job listings rose 6% in 2025, reaching 1,801 positions. Non‑technical roles now account for 74% of openings, up from 69% last year, with product managers leading demand. The United States remains the largest market, while Singapore’s postings surged 158%...
Stablecoin Market Fall Shows Flight to Gold, Not Bitcoin: Santiment
Santiment reported a $2.24 billion drop in the combined market cap of the top 12 stablecoins over the past ten days, indicating a notable outflow of capital from the crypto ecosystem. The analysis links this flight to heightened demand for traditional...
Bitmine’s Staked Ether Holdings Point to $164M in Annual Staking Revenue
Bitmine Immersion Technologies, the world’s largest publicly traded Ether treasury, now holds 4.24 million ETH, with 2.01 million ETH actively staked. At a 2.81% Composite Ethereum Staking Rate, the staked position generates an estimated $164 million in annual revenue. Chairman Tom Lee notes...
Bitcoin Investor Sentiment Cools Amid US Shutdown Fears, Fed Policy Jitters
Bitcoin edged up 1.5% after retesting $86,000, but professional traders remain wary amid a looming U.S. government shutdown and Federal Reserve policy uncertainty. Derivatives data show a modest 5% futures basis and a 12% options delta skew, indicating higher premiums...
Valour Wins FCA Approval to Offer Bitcoin, Ether ETPs to UK Retail Investors
Valour, the UK arm of DeFi Technologies, received FCA approval to list Bitcoin and Ether staking exchange‑traded products (ETPs) on the London Stock Exchange for retail investors. The products, 1Valour Bitcoin Physical Staking and 1Valour Ethereum Physical Staking, began trading...
VanEck Expands Crypto ETF Lineup with Spot Avalanche Product
VanEck has launched VAVX, the first US‑listed spot Avalanche ETF, giving investors direct exposure to AVAX and potential staking yields. The fund trades under the ticker VAVX and waives sponsor fees on the initial $500 million of assets through Feb. 28, after...
Ripple Partners with Saudi Bank Unit on Blockchain Payments, Custody
Ripple announced a memorandum of understanding with Jeel, the innovation arm of Riyad Bank, to explore blockchain applications in Saudi Arabia. The partnership will focus on cross‑border payments, digital‑asset custody and tokenisation, aligning with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 agenda to modernise...
What the CLARITY Act Is Actually Trying to Clarify in Crypto Markets
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 proposes a two‑pronged framework that classifies digital assets and assigns oversight to the CFTC for spot trading of digital commodities while keeping the SEC in charge of primary offerings and investor disclosures....
What Happens as Europe Enforces MiCA and the US Delays Crypto Rules
Europe has moved from drafting to enforcing the Markets in Crypto‑Assets Regulation (MiCA), establishing clear timelines, licensing pathways, and compliance milestones for crypto‑asset service providers across all EU member states. The EU’s single‑license model lets firms obtain authorization in one...
UK Banks Block or Delay 40% of Crypto Exchange Transfers: Survey
A UK Cryptoasset Business Council survey finds that roughly 40 % of transfers to crypto exchanges are blocked or delayed, with eight out of ten exchanges reporting a rise in such incidents over the past year. The study, based on data...
Michael Saylor’s Strategy Buys 2,932 Bitcoin Amid Market Sell-Off
MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin arm, Strategy, bought 2,932 BTC for $264.1 million at an average $90,061 per coin during a market pullback. The purchase lifts its total holdings to 712,647 BTC, representing roughly $54.19 billion invested at a $76,037 average cost. January’s buying activity...
In the Battle of Chains, Distribution Is King
The article argues that blockchain supremacy will be decided by distribution rather than pure technical metrics. Companies such as Coinbase, Circle and Stripe can launch proprietary chains by routing their massive existing user bases directly onto new networks, instantly generating...
Metaplanet Raises 2026 Outlook as Bitcoin Write-Down Tops $680M
Tokyo‑listed Metaplanet lifted its 2025 revenue outlook to ¥8.905 bn ($58 m) and raised operating income to $40 m, but still expects a $632 m ordinary loss due to a $680‑$700 m non‑cash Bitcoin impairment. The impairment reflects year‑end price drops in its Bitcoin holdings,...
Matcha Meta Breach Tied to SwapNet Exploit Drains up to $16.8M
Decentralized exchange aggregator Matcha Meta disclosed a security breach originating from its primary liquidity provider, SwapNet, which allowed an attacker to siphon between $13.3 million and $16.8 million on the Base network. The exploit leveraged an arbitrary call flaw in SwapNet’s router...
South Korea’s Coinone Weighs Stake Sale Amid Coinbase Speculation
Coinone, South Korea's third‑largest crypto exchange, is preparing to sell the 53.4% stake held by Chairman Cha Myung‑hoon, while game‑developer Com2uS may offload its 38.4% holding at a loss. The exchange confirmed talks with both domestic financial institutions and overseas...
Japan Plans Framework that Could Permit Crypto ETFs by 2028: Nikkei
Japan’s Financial Services Agency is drafting rule changes that could allow cryptocurrency exchange‑traded funds as early as 2028. The proposed framework would let crypto assets count as eligible ETF holdings and include stronger investor‑protection measures. Major financial groups such as...
Majority of Institutional Investors Say Bitcoin Is Undervalued: Coinbase
Coinbase’s Q1 2026 report reveals that 71% of surveyed institutional investors view Bitcoin as undervalued, citing a price range of $85,000‑$95,000. Bitcoin is trading near $87,600, more than 30% below its October all‑time high of $126,080. Eighty percent of institutions said...
A16z-Backed Crypto Startup Entropy to Shut Down, Refund Investors
Entropy, an a16z‑backed crypto automation startup, announced it will wind up operations and return capital to investors after four years of multiple pivots and two rounds of layoffs. The company began in 2021 as a decentralized self‑custody solution before shifting...
Tezos Tallinn Upgrade Now Live, Slashes Block Times to 6 Seconds
Tezos launched its twentieth protocol upgrade, Tallinn, on Saturday, slashing base‑layer block times from the previous interval to six seconds. The upgrade introduces BLS aggregate signatures, enabling every validator—known as bakers—to attest each block, and adds an address‑indexing scheme that...
Colombia’s Second-Largest Pension Fund to Offer Bitcoin Exposure
Colombia’s second‑largest private pension manager, AFP Protección, announced a new fund that offers limited exposure to Bitcoin, available only to investors who pass a personalized risk‑assessment process. The product is positioned as a diversification tool rather than a core shift away...
Polymarket Sees January US Gov't Shutdown Odds Surge to 77%
Polymarket’s prediction market shows a 77% probability that the U.S. government will shut down before Jan. 31, a 67% jump in the last 24 hours. The surge follows Senate Democrats’ refusal to fund the Department of Homeland Security in the upcoming...
Bitcoin Payments Held Back by Tax Policy, Not Scaling Tech: Crypto Exec
Bitcoin’s primary barrier to mainstream payments is tax policy, not scaling limitations, according to Strive board member Pierre Rochard. The absence of a de‑minimis tax exemption means every small BTC transfer incurs tax liability, discouraging its use as a medium...
Bitcoin Nodes Running BIP-110 Crosses 2% as Spam Wars Heat Up
Bitcoin nodes signaling support for BIP‑110 rose to 2.38%, with 583 of 24,481 nodes running the proposal via Bitcoin Knots. BIP‑110 is a temporary one‑year soft fork that limits transaction output size to 34 bytes and caps OP_RETURN data at 83 bytes....
Netherlands Risks Capital Flight with Unrealized Gains Tax on Stocks, Crypto
The Dutch parliament is set to overhaul the Box 3 wealth‑tax, imposing an annual levy on both realized and unrealized gains from equities, bonds and cryptocurrencies. Court rulings that rejected the deemed‑return model prompted the shift, with the government estimating €2.3 billion...
GameStop Moves Entire Bitcoin Stash, Signaling Potential Sale: CryptoQuant
GameStop transferred its entire Bitcoin treasury—4,710 BTC worth over $422 million—to Coinbase Prime, prompting speculation of an imminent sale. The Bitcoin was acquired in May at an average price of $107,900, meaning a sale at current $90,800 levels would lock in...
Democrats File Ethics-Focused Amendments to Crypto Market Structure Bill
U.S. Democratic senators introduced a series of amendments to the pending crypto market‑structure bill, emphasizing ethics and conflict‑of‑interest safeguards. Senator Michael Bennet’s amendment would embed a Digital Asset Ethics Act to bar federal officials from profiting from digital‑asset investments, while...
CertiK Keeps IPO on the Table as Valuation Hits $2B, CEO Says
CertiK co‑founder and CEO Ronghui Gu told reporters at Davos that the blockchain security firm is still weighing a public listing, with a current valuation of roughly $2 billion. While no concrete IPO timeline exists, Gu said the company would need additional...
Remittances ‘More Important than Aid’ as Africa Turns to Stablecoins
Stablecoins are rapidly becoming the preferred vehicle for remittances across Africa, offering fees far lower than traditional money‑transfer services and settlement times measured in minutes. Former UN under‑secretary‑general Vera Songwe highlighted that 650 million unbanked Africans can now use smartphones to...
US Crypto Policy Pause Fuels Fresh Debate over DeFi and Governance: Finance Redefined
U.S. lawmakers postponed the markup of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, extending uncertainty around how cryptocurrencies and DeFi platforms will be regulated. The delay follows vocal opposition from industry leaders, including Coinbase’s CEO and venture firms warning that the...
French Authorities Investigate Data Breach of Crypto Tax Platform
French prosecutors and the National Cyber Unit have opened a preliminary investigation into a data breach at Waltio, a cryptocurrency tax platform that exposed personal information of roughly 50,000 users, most of them in France. The hacker group Shiny Hunters...
UBS Weighing Crypto Trading for Private Banking Clients: Report
UBS is evaluating a crypto trading service for its ultra‑high‑net‑worth private‑banking clients, initially offering Bitcoin and Ether in Switzerland. The bank is vetting technology partners while already running tokenized fund pilots on Ethereum and a permissioned ledger settlement trial. A...
Restaking Promises Yield but Delivers only Stacked Risk and No Real Value
Restaking allows validators to pledge already‑staked ETH a second time, promising higher yields by reusing the same collateral across multiple protocols. In practice, each additional layer multiplies slashing risk and concentrates power among a handful of large operators, with $21 billion...
Binance Applies for MiCA License in Greece as EU Deadlines Loom
Binance has filed a Markets in Crypto‑Assets Regulation (MiCA) licence application with Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission as EU compliance deadlines approach. The exchange, the world’s largest crypto‑trading platform, seeks early authorisation to operate across the bloc before the June 30, 2025...
Buterin Calls 2026 the Year to Reclaim Self-Sovereign Computing
Vitalik Buterin announced 2026 as the year to reclaim self‑sovereign computing, swapping his daily tools for open‑source, privacy‑preserving alternatives. He moved from Google Docs to Fileverse, Telegram to Signal, Google Maps to OrganicMaps/OpenStreetMap, and Gmail to ProtonMail, while also experimenting with...
Bitcoin Miners Brace for Massive Ice Storm Barreling Towards Southern US
A massive winter storm spanning 1,800 miles from West Texas to the Mid‑Atlantic is set to bring ice, snow, and power outages to over a dozen states. Bitcoin miners, which control roughly 38% of global hashrate in the U.S., are...
US Prosecutors Abandon OpenSea Insider Trading Case
U.S. prosecutors have agreed to dismiss the insider‑trading case against Nathaniel Chastain, a former OpenSea manager, after a federal appeals court overturned his wire‑fraud and money‑laundering convictions. The Department of Justice entered a deferred‑prosecution agreement requiring Chastain to forfeit 15.98 Ether...
Ethereum Mainnet Daily Active Addresses Surpass All Layer-2s
Ethereum’s mainnet daily active addresses have surged to roughly 945,000, briefly peaking at 1.3 million, surpassing all major layer‑2 networks. The recent Fusaka upgrade, which slashed gas fees, is credited for the activity boost, though security analysts warn that address‑poisoning attacks...
Nasdaq Moves to Remove Position Limits on Bitcoin, Ether ETF Options
Nasdaq filed a rule change that removes the 25,000‑contract limit on options tied to spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, aligning them with other commodity‑based funds. The SEC waived the usual 30‑day waiting period, allowing the change to take effect immediately...
Tennessee City Clears Path for Crypto Mining, Data Centers with New Zoning Rules
Kingsport, Tennessee’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen unanimously approved a first‑reading ordinance to amend city zoning, explicitly permitting cryptocurrency‑mining operations and data centers. The new rules require miners to operate in fully enclosed buildings located at least 500 feet from any...
Bitwise Launches Actively Managed ETF Pairing Bitcoin with Gold
Bitwise Asset Management launched the Bitwise Proficio Currency Debasement ETF (BPRO) on the NYSE, offering an actively managed mix of Bitcoin, precious metals and mining equities. The fund mandates a minimum 25% allocation to gold and carries a 0.96% expense...
Solana-Based Natix Brings DePIN Data Into Self-Driving AI with Valeo
Valeo and Solana‑based Natix Network have teamed up to create an open‑source, multi‑camera World Foundation Model (WFM) for autonomous driving. The model aims to predict real‑world motion and adapt to traffic scenarios, with the first release slated for the next...
Superstate Raises $82.5M to Build Blockchain-Based IPO Issuance Platform
Superstate announced an $82.5 million Series B round led by Bain Capital Crypto to accelerate its on‑chain capital‑markets platform. The fintech now oversees $1.23 billion in assets across a Treasury‑backed fund and a crypto carry fund. It will use the capital to launch...
Maple Brings syrupUSDC to Base, Targets Aave V3 Listing
Maple is extending its yield‑bearing token syrupUSDC to Coinbase’s Base layer‑2, providing institutional credit to a fast‑growing Ethereum ecosystem. The launch creates a direct conduit to Coinbase’s broader user base while moving yield opportunities off the mainnet. Concurrently, an Aave...
Pantera Capital Sees ‘Brutal Pruning’ for Crypto Treasuries in 2026
Pantera Capital warns that digital asset treasury (DAT) firms will undergo "brutal pruning" in 2026 as the sector consolidates around a handful of well‑capitalized players. Large Bitcoin and Ether holders such as Strategy and BitMine continue to amass significant portions...
Russia-Linked A7A5 Stablecoin Processed $100B Before Sanctions Hit: Elliptic
Elliptic’s latest report reveals that the Russia‑linked ruble‑backed stablecoin A7A5 processed more than $100 billion in on‑chain transactions between March 2025 and January 2026. The token was engineered as a bridge between the Russian ruble and Tether’s USDT, allowing sanctioned entities to move...
Bitcoin Diamond Hand BTC Selling Not ‘Repeat of 2017, 2021,’ Research Warns
CryptoQuant reports that Bitcoin long‑term holders—coins dormant for two years or more—sold record volumes in 2024 and 2025. The revived supply rivals the peaks at the end of the 2017 bull market but occurs amid lower market volatility. Analysts say...
‘Totally Absurd’: Circle CEO Rejects Bank-Run Fears over Stablecoin Yields
Circle chief executive Jeremy Allaire told Davos attendees that stablecoin interest payments are too modest to spark bank runs, calling the alarmist narrative "totally absurd." He likened current concerns to historic worries about money‑market funds, which now total about $11 trillion...