South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), which manages 1,224 trillion won ($836 billion) in assets, plans to look at how a blockchain could be used in its fund transaction systems. The organization is weighing a shift to blockchain technology to boost transparency and security in managing its deposits, withdrawals and investments, according to Seoul Economic … Read more
President Donald Trump reiterated calls for Fed rate cuts, saying there is no inflation. “Oil prices are down, interest rates are down (the slow moving Fed should cut rates!), food prices are down, there is NO INFLATION, and the long time abused USA is bringing in Billions of Dollars a week from the abusing countries … Read more
By James Van Straten (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) Fear is gripping financial markets, triggered largely by President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements, with Hong Kong stocks plunging 14% on Monday, the most since the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, and Taiwan and Japanese stocks sliding 10%. European equities didn’t fare much better. The FTSE … Read more
For the first time ever, bitcoin’s (BTC) hashrate hit 1 zettahash (1 ZH/s) on Friday, according to data from Glassnode. The previous record was set on Jan. 31, when the network hit 975 exahashes per second (EH/s). Bitcoin first reached 1 EH/s in 2016 — a milestone that’s now been multiplied 1,000 times. CoinDesk research … Read more
Tether, issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, may offer a new token specifically for the U.S., according to a Financial Times report on Monday. Paolo Ardoino said the company had been involved in discussions about the U.S. rules on stablecoins and that it may create a token just for the U.S, depending on how … Read more
Analysis of on-chain data curated by DefiLlama shows that nearly $100 million in ether (ETH) positions are at risk if the price slides by 15%. Traders in Asia faced a sea of red during the Monday business day as the ripple effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policy were felt around the world. ETH … Read more
Financial markets are in a meltdown and every leg lower is strengthening expectations in the credit market that the Fed will soon offer support. Bitcoin (BTC), the leading cryptocurrency by market value, traded 8% lower at $75,800 and the U.S. stocks were on track for their worst three-day performance, with S&P 500 futures down roughly … Read more
Disclosure: The author of this story owns shares in Strategy (MSTR). As the crypto market’s correction kicks off, days after traditional financial markets started reacting to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, bitcoin (BTC) slumped to its lowest level in five months, dropping to as low as $74,500 and marking a full one-third drop from the record … Read more
A crypto market sell-off went from bad to brutal in European morning hours Monday as bitcoin pierced the $75,000 level — extending losses on major tokens to nearly 20%. Tokens XRP, solana (SOL), and dogecoin (DOGE) plunged over 5% in the hours ahead of the European open, erasing tens of billions in market capitalization, driven … Read more
Roughly 10 weeks ago, CoinDesk discussed a double top bearish reversal pattern in bitcoin (BTC), warning of a sell-off to $75,000 in a move typical of a bull-market pull back. On Monday, the price dropped below that level as escalating trade tensions cratered financial markets, sending Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lower by a whooping … Read more
Hong Kong’s securities regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), laid out new guidance that would allow licensed crypto exchanges and funds to offer staking services in the city. Staking offers crypto holders a way of putting their digital assets to work and earning passive income without selling them. Staking is integral to Proof of … Read more
Crypto majors are reeling from a wave of volatility, with XRP, Cardano (ADA), and Dogecoin (DOGE) plunging below key technical support levels early on Monday. Macroeconomic uncertainty stemming from a global tariff war — dubbed an “economic nuclear war” by hedge fund manager Bill Ackman — is reeling markets from crypto to global equities, with … Read more
Beijing is said to be discussing front-loading monetary stimulus to counter the destabilizing impact President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the Chinese economy, according to data source Trade The News. The reports come a day after Trump said he won’t make a trade deal with China unless the trade deficit is solved. Financial markets have crashed … Read more
CME’s bitcoin futures, considered a proxy for institutional activity, gapped lower Monday in a sign of bearish sentiment after President Donald Trump ruled out a trade deal with China. The futures contract due to expire on the last Friday of April began trading at $79,590, down 5.6% from Friday’s close of $84,250 and quickly descended … Read more
Futures tied to major tokens saw over $840 million in long liquidations in the past 24 hours as a bitcoin (BTC) plunge led to losses among major tokens, with some falling nearly 14%. CoinGlass data shows that bitcoin traders betting on higher prices lost over $322 million, while bets on ether (ETH) lost nearly $290 … Read more
Bitcoin (BTC) traded above $79,000 Monday morning Asia time as markets around East Asia opened to chaos and carnage as the global sell-off continued. The CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a measure of the performance of the largest digital assets, is down 8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is down over 8% during mid-morning trading, while Shanghai’s … Read more
“Decoupling” and “safe haven” began to be used late last week as bitcoin (BTC) held its own despite the continuing tumble in stock markets in response to President Trump’s sweeping tariffs against U.S. trading partners. Bitcoin bulls, though, may have spoken too soon. With stock trading closed for the weekend, fearful investors are perhaps turning … Read more
Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management took advantage of the $5.4 trillion U.S. equities market sell-off and purchased over 83,000 shares of Coinbase (COIN), increasing exposure to the crypto exchange even as prices dipped sharply across the board. The total shares purchased were worth more than $13 million, taking Friday’s closing price for Coinbase. According to … Read more
Bitcoin just notched its worst first quarter in a decade, falling 11.7% as markets struggled to understand the new administration’s economic agenda. The performance ranked 12th out of the past 15 first quarters, according to NYDIG Research’s data. The drawdown invites a familiar question in crypto circles: is the cycle over? The last time bitcoin … Read more
Credit spreads are widening and have reached their highest levels since August 2024 — a period that coincided with bitcoin (BTC) dropping 33% during the yen carry trade unwind. One way to track this is through the ratio of the iShares 3–7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEI) to the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate … Read more
Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent stability amid Nasdaq turmoil driven by tariffs has generated excitement among market participants regarding the cryptocurrency’s potential as a haven asset. Still, the bulls might want to keep an eye on the bond market where dynamics that characterized the COVID crash of March 2020 may be emerging. Nasdaq, Wall Street’s tech-heavy index … Read more
Staff at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are reviewing past crypto-related guidance to determine whether it still reflects the agency’s current priorities, according to a statement from acting chairman Mark Uyeda, posted on social media platform X. Among several key documents, the SEC staff’s statement on funds registered under the Investment Company Act … Read more
Bitcoin could be headed for its most sweeping cryptographic overhaul yet if a new proposal gains traction. A draft Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) titled Quantum-Resistant Address Migration Protocol (QRAMP) has been introduced by developer Agustin Cruz. It outlines a plan to enforce a network-wide migration of BTC from legacy wallets to ones secured by post-quantum … Read more
PayPal has added chainlink (LINK) and solana (SOL) to its growing list of supported cryptocurrencies, giving users of both PayPal and Venmo the ability to buy, hold, sell and transfer the tokens directly from their accounts. The move reflects the payments giant’s continued push into the cryptocurrency space after first launching crypto support in 2020. … Read more
President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff unveiling had led to a $5.4 trillion U.S. equities market wipeout in just two days as the S&P 500 index dropped to its lowest level in 11 months and the Nasdaq 100 entered bear market territory. Yet, amidst the chaos, cryptocurrency prices are showing resiliency, with bitcoin (BTC) dropping roughly … Read more
Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control delisted Tornado Cash from its sanctions list, months after an appeals court ruled that the watchdog could not designate the mixer’s smart contracts. You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. Click here to sign up … Read more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has no business with certain stablecoins or their issuers, the regulator’s staff declared in the latest statement outlining the corners of the crypto sector for which it doesn’t have a legal interest. Since the agency was taken over by President Donald Trump-appointed leadership and formed a Crypto Task Force … Read more
After U.S. President Donald Trump’s reelection in November, optimism surged among crypto companies eyeing the public markets. Trump floated big promises: clearer rules for the industry and ambitions to make America the crypto capital of the world. For a moment, it looked like the floodgates might open. IPO pipelines buzzed with activity. Founders dreamed of … Read more
When Ethereum’s hottest startup of last year, EigenLayer, launched a year ago to massive expectations — many community members were quick to criticize that it was lacking a critical feature. An announcement from the project on Wednesday said that the feature — slashing — is finally set to arrive on April 17. The introduction of … Read more
After a frustrating few weeks in which bitcoin (BTC) prices seemed to move tick for tick with the Nasdaq, the world’s largest crypto is showing some signs of going its own way as stock prices go from struggling to plunging. With the Nasdaq following up its 6% tumble on Thursday with another 5% decline halfway … Read more