A crypto cult hoping to flip the entire U.S. stock market just moved closer to its bizarre goal, although with trillions of dollars more to go. SPX6900 (SPX) crossed a $1.1 billion capitalization earlier Friday to set a new record above $1.25, breaking a November high of 90 cents, amid renewed interest in memecoin cults … Read more
The bitcoin (BTC) price may have more than doubled last year, but investors who bought the largest cryptocurrency during 2024 saw, on average, only a fraction of that according to a measure known as the realized price. The realized price is the average value of all bitcoin calculated at the price at which the tokens … Read more
While bitcoin (BTC) grabs all the eyeballs from institutional narratives, Ethereum’s ether (ETH) stands out as the go-to major token for traders looking to maximize returns through leverage. Ether’s estimated leverage ratio, which measures the degree of leverage employed by traders, climbed to a new high of 0.57 on Wednesday, marking a significant increase from … Read more
Do Kwon, founder of the failed Terra Luna crypto ecosystem, pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud following his Dec. 31 extradition to the U.S., Reuters reported on Thursday. Kwon’s Terraform Labs developed the luna cryptocurrency and algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD, which collapsed in 2022 with the loss of an estimated $40 billion. Kwon faces charges … Read more
Bitcoin’s (BTC) hashrate, the computational energy needed to mine a block in a proof-of-work blockchain, is on track to reach 1 zettahash per second before the next halving event in about 3.5 years, putting miners under pressure to secure cheap power deals and more efficient equipment. The average hashrate could reach that level, equivalent to … Read more
Programmable blockchain Cardano’s ADA token jumped 12% in the past 24 hours to lead gains among crypto majors, with rangebound trading in bitcoin (BTC) influencing the broader market. ADA crossed $1, a three-week high, as BTC, ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL and dogecoin (DOGE) added under 2%. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid index tracking … Read more
Bitcoin (BTC) started the new year on a high note after tapping into the six-figure mark in 2024. Most observers expect 2025 to be just as remarkable, with projections placing BTC at $185,000 and higher. The road, however, may be as straightforwardly bullish as expected, as the recent price action suggests sellers are looking to … Read more
The largest public fund tracking bitcoin (BTC) recorded its highest outflows on Thursday, nearly one year after going live. BlackRock’s Nasdaq-listed IBIT, which holds over $53 billion in net assets, saw over $332 million leave the fund on Thursday, according to data source SoSoValue. These exceed a short-held previous record of $188 million in late … Read more
CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index. The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 3536.7, up 3.8% (+130.21) since 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. 18 of 20 assets are trading higher. Leaders: RENDER (+7.8%) and SOL (+7.5%). Laggards: HBAR (-0.5%) and XLM (-0.3%). … Read more
On Nov. 6, I wrote a memo to EY’s blockchain leadership team. The headline was simple: “Every single private blockchain just died.” Since November 2022, the crypto and blockchain markets have been defined by caution and gradual recovery. The direction has been consistent and positive, but slow, especially in 2023. In 2024, we saw a … Read more
Infrastructure providers, such as Northern Data (NB2), are well positioned to benefit from the growing demand from artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) firms, broker Canaccord Genuity said in a report Thursday initiating coverage of the stock. Canaccord assumed coverage of the shares with a buy rating and a 60 euro ($62) price target. … Read more
The T3 Financial Crime Unit, a collaboration between the Tron blockchain, stablecoin issuer Tether and blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs, said it has frozen a total of 100 million of Tether’s USDT used by illicit actors since the unit was formed in September. The venture analyzed millions of transactions spanning five continents, monitoring a total … Read more
Since U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s convincing election victory two months ago, the dollar has strengthened more than 3% against its peers, matching its trajectory after his previous win in 2016. Last time round the DXY Index, which measures the currency’s value against a basket of the U.S.’ major trading partners, peaked in December before trailing … Read more
Tether’s USDT, the world’s leading dollar-pegged stablecoin, has experienced the sharpest weekly decline in market value in two years, spurring market volatility concerns. USDT’s market cap slid more than 1% to $137.24 billion this week, the most significant decline since the crash of the FTX exchange in the second week of November 2022, data from … Read more
KuCoin has introduced a feature for merchants to allow customers to pay for purchases directly from their account on the crypto exchange. Merchants can integrate the tool, called KuCoin Pay, into their payment systems. Customers pay by scanning a QR code or using the KuCoin app, the exchange said in a press release. The exchange … Read more
Crypto majors zoomed higher in the past 24 hours as the market entered a widely expected bullish year, with bitcoin (BTC) inching above $95,000 to shake off losses from last week. A CoinDesk analysis from Tuesday flagged unusually high trading volumes for XRP stemming from South Korean exchanges, which has historically acted as a harbinger … Read more
Traders are no longer chasing upside in Nasdaq-listed MicroStrategy (MSTR), a leveraged play on bitcoin (BTC), signaling a cautious shift in market sentiment. MSTR’s 250-day put-call skew, which shows the difference in implied volatility between puts (options to sell) and calls (options to buy), has bounced to zero from -20% in three weeks, according to … Read more
Spanish banking giant Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) is deepening its foray into the crypto ecosystem. Garanti BBVA Kripto, a crypto custody platform operated by Garanti BBVA — Turkey’s fifth largest bank, which as of December 2023 was almost 86% owned by BBVA — will soon be providing crypto trading services to the general public. … Read more
This special edition of the Protocol looks back at 2024’s groundbreaking developments and forward to what the coming year might bring for blockchain technology. Let’s dive into the milestones, trends, and predictions shaping the next era of crypto. This article is featured in the latest issue of The Protocol, our weekly newsletter exploring the tech … Read more
Happy New Year, advisors! We look forward to bringing you crypto news for advisors every Thursday this year! In today’s issue, our first newsletter of 2025, Roxanna Islam from TMX VettaFi provides a comprehensive guide to the world of crypto ETFs, looking at what happened in 2024 and what’s expected in 2025. Then, Griffin Kelly … Read more
Centralized data networks, ones that are owned and/or managed by a single entity, have been structurally broken for years. Why? Single points of failure. If one entity (or even a few) has access to a database, then there is only one “point” to compromise in order to gain full access. This is a serious problem … Read more
By answering three key questions on return expectations and target portfolio volatility, multi-asset investors can evaluate bitcoin’s suitability for their portfolios and determine its optimal allocation based on their unique goals. Contrary to popular belief, bitcoin’s price is primarily driven by demand, not its (mining) supply. Each of bitcoin’s five bull markets has been propelled … Read more
Finance is increasingly a weapon of war. United States policymakers and our allies focus too narrowly on macroeconomic tools like sanctions and promoting the dollar as a reserve currency when the modern front is evolving. Today, the real battles are being waged on smartphones and in the global currency markets. China is waging a multi-decade … Read more
Over the past year, the crypto industry has attracted users on an exponential scale, with monthly active addresses tripling from 70 million in 2023 to over 220 million in 2024. With over 300 chains listed, the ecosystem should be able to cater to the needs of all types of users sustainably. However, in this sprawling … Read more
Disclaimer: The analyst who wrote this piece owns shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR) It’s been a tough month for MicroStrategy (MSTR), the software developer turned bitcoin (BTC) accumulator. Its stock has tumbled almost 50% since November, when it joined the Nasdaq 100 index and peaked at a 600% gain since the start of the year. That … Read more
Ether (ETH), the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, is likely to outperform larger rival bitcoin (BTC) in 2025, Steno Research said in a report Sunday, citing historical trends and Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory. Bitcoin is predicted to reach a minimum of $150,000 next year, up from about $94,000, while ether will more than double … Read more
XRP trading volumes on South Korea’s biggest crypto exchanges have overtaken those of bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) in a sign of flurried interest that often precedes price volatility. Total trading volume against the won on UpBit, Bithumb and Korbit, the country’s largest exchanges by volumes and users, topped $800 million in dollar value in … Read more
Bearish trading in bitcoin (BTC) markets continued late Monday as the asset briefly fell under $92,000 on profit-taking despite another mammoth MicroStrategy purchase, recovering to just over $92,800 as of Asian morning hours Tuesday. Some traders expect the current price action to likely continue until February, weeks after president-elect Donald Trump takes office in the … Read more
Crypto prices are experiencing a rocky Monday due to poor U.S. macroeconomic data and rampant profit-taking. Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped 1.8% in the past 24 hours to $91,800, a price not seen since Dec. 5, the day it broke through $100,000 for the first time. The largest cryptocurrency has fallen more than 14% from its … Read more
In retrospect, it was inevitable. Down more than 8% and holding just above $300 on Monday, MicroStrategy (MSTR) shares are now lower by about 30% since just after the announcement of their inclusion into the Nasdaq-100 index and nearly 50% from their late November record high. The signs of at least a major short-term top … Read more