CoinDesk

QumulusAI, a company building GPU-powered cloud infrastructure for artificial intelligence, has locked in a $500 million credit facility to fund its growing fleet of graphics processing units (GPUs). The financing was arranged by Permian Labs and will be distributed via USD.AI, a blockchain-based credit protocol that connects crypto liquidity to real-world infrastructure, according to an … Read more

Bitcoin (BTC) dipped below a key support level Thursday, pulling the broader crypto market down as the US dollar gained strength ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech. The leading cryptocurrency fell over 1% $121,500, reversing Wednesday’s spike and penetrating the 200-hour simple moving average, CoinDesk data show. Other major tokens such as BNB … Read more

Activity on NEAR’s intent-based system has picked up sharply in recent weeks, with transaction volumes nearly doubling month-on-month and user counts climbing past 120,000, according to Dune data. Nearly $800 million in swaps and payments have flowed through NEAR Intents in the past 30 days, lifting cumulative totals to about $1.8 billion since the product … Read more

A Luxembourg sovereign wealth fund has invested a 1% sliver of its holdings into Bitcoin ETFs, making it the first state level fund in the Eurozone to do so, according to a representative for the Agency for the Development of Luxembourg’s Financial Centre. European nations Finland, Georgia and the U.K. also hold bitcoin, although most … Read more

The U.K. officially lifted its multi-year retail ban on crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs), saying the digital asset market has matured enough for individuals to invest through regulated products, even if investors will have to wait a little longer to add them to their portfolios. In a policy update Wednesday, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed … Read more

SoftBank Group company PayPay, one of Japan’s largest digital payment apps, has acquired a 40% equity stake in Binance Japan as part of a new strategic partnership aimed at blending cashless payments with access to cryptocurrencies. The move brings together PayPay’s 70 million users and its widespread merchant network with Binance’s blockchain infrastructure, integrating PayPay … Read more

A new crypto infrastructure startup called Block Street has raised $11.5 million to build what it calls an “execution layer for on-chain stocks.” The funding round was led by Hack VC, with backing from Generative Venture, DWF Labs and others including executives from firms like Jane Street and Point72. Block Street’s pitch is that trading … Read more

London-based crypto firm Neverless, founded by former Revolut executives Phuc To, Arthur Johanet and Mikael Peydayesh, has introduced a “Boosted Bitcoin Plan,” designed to help retail users grow their bitcoin (BTC) holdings faster through automated, recurring purchases enhanced by leverage. The new investment product builds on the dollar-cost averaging approach – a strategy where investors … Read more

Swiss-regulated crypto bank AMINA has become the first bank worldwide to offer institutional clients regulated staking access to POL, the native token that powers the Polygon blockchain. The launch allows qualified participants, including asset managers and corporate treasuries, to earn staking rewards while supporting network security in compliance with financial regulations. As part of this … Read more

The Ethereum Foundation is making privacy a formal pillar of its roadmap, expanding research efforts into a dedicated cluster that now covers private payments, proofs, identity, and enterprise use cases. Ethereum has supported privacy research through its Privacy and Scaling Explorations (PSE) team since 2018, with experiments like Semaphore for anonymous signaling, MACI for private … Read more

Bitcoin (BTC) is unlikely to enter a bear market in the coming months as supportive monetary conditions are expected to prevail, effectively rendering the traditional four-year halving cycle obsolete, according to Arthur Hayes, chief investment officer and co-founder of Maelstrom. In an essay titled “Long Live the King!” published Thursday, Arthur Hayes argued that the … Read more

XRP spiked above $2.90 on double-average volume before profit-taking reversed gains, leaving price back at $2.85. A fresh supply zone formed at $2.92–$2.93, while the $2.85 floor is now under scrutiny as macro headwinds weigh on flows. News Background XRP rallied 2% intraday on Oct. 8, jumping from $2.88 to $2.93 at 17:00 on 86.6M … Read more

Dogecoin failed to sustain above $0.26, triggering heavy institutional profit-taking that dragged price back toward $0.25. Despite the short-term retreat, on-chain flows show large holders adding 30M tokens (approximately $8M), suggesting accumulation remains intact even as resistance caps upside momentum. News Background DOGE traded a 6% range between $0.24 and $0.26 in the 24 hours … Read more

Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, announced on Thursday the expansion of its operations in Australia, having secured formal registration with the country’s anti-money laundering regulator, AUSTRAC. The exchange’s Australian arm, Gemini Intergalactic Australia Pty Ltd, is now officially registered with AUSTRAC, Australia’s financial intelligence and anti-money laundering regulator, as the … Read more

Good Morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets: Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas. Bitcoin is beginning the Thursday trading day in Asia trading above … Read more

TransCrypts, a blockchain startup building tools for people to own and share verified credentials, has raised a $15 million seed round led by Pantera Capital. The round included Lightspeed Faction, Alpha Edison, Motley Fool Ventures, and a mix of returning investors such as Mark Cuban and Protocol Labs. The funding follows a strong summer for … Read more

Bitcoin (BTC) regained ground on Wednesday, climbing back to nearly $124,000 after a flush to $120,000 the day before. It was recently trading at $123,500, up 1.5% over the past 24 hours. Altcoins followed the move higher but didn’t reclaim the levels seen earlier in the week. Ethereum (ETH), Ripple’s XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), dogecoin … Read more

In answer to Wall Street bank lobbying, crypto group Stand With Crypto said it enlisted its online members to send a message more than 250,000 times to the U.S. senators in their states, pushing back on the bankers’ attempt to stymie the avenue for stablecoin rewards in the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. … Read more

Shayne Coplan, founder and CEO of the blockchain-based prediction market Polymarket, has become the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The milestone follows Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announcing Tuesday that it would invest as much as $2 billion in the company at an $8 billion pre-money valuation. ICE owns the New York … Read more

Square, the payment services arm of Block (XYZ), has launched a new set of tools aimed at making bitcoin (BTC) easier to use for small businesses, letting sellers accept crypto payments and manage their digital assets alongside traditional finances, the company announced Wednesday. The offering, called Square Bitcoin, includes three main features: bitcoin payments, automatic … Read more

Hyperliquid, the decentralized perpetuals exchange, announced Wednesday that it has listed MON-USD hyperps, allowing traders to go long or short the token in a pre-market phase. MON is the native token of Monad, a Layer 1 blockchain designed to be fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) — a feature that makes it easier … Read more

Every day, billions of dollars move across blockchains through stablecoins. The market is dominated by USDT ($175B market cap) and USDC ($75B), but a growing ecosystem of new entrants is expanding the landscape. Stablecoins are no longer a crypto sideshow — they’re becoming one of the largest financial innovations since the rise of electronic payments. … Read more

The U.S. state of North Dakota is joining the stablecoin trend, with state-owned Bank of North Dakota teaming up with payments infrastructure giant Fiserv (FI) to launch a U.S. dollar-backed token aimed at financial institutions across the state. The token, dubbed “Roughrider Coin,” is expected to roll out next year and will run on Fiserv’s … Read more

The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector has undergone a remarkable security transformation, achieving a 90% reduction in exploit losses since 2020 and positioning itself as mature financial infrastructure capable of institutional adoption. Our analysis reveals that DeFi protocols have not only survived the “experimental era” but have systematically evolved into some of the most secure financial … Read more

Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly wrap of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, a reporter at CoinDesk. In this issue: BTCFi’s Big Problem: 77% of Bitcoin Holders Haven’t Even Tried It, Says Survey Ethereum’s Fusaka Upgrade Passes Holesky Test, Moves Closer To Mainnet DoubleZero Mainnet Goes Live With 22% … Read more

Stellar’s native token XLM experienced heightened volatility over the past 24 hours, fluctuating between $0.38 and $0.39 — a 3% range — before closing near session highs. After dipping to $0.38 early on Oct. 8, the asset mounted a swift recovery, regaining ground above $0.39 by the end of the period, suggesting robust buying activity … Read more

Solana-based decentralized exchange Jupiter is rolling out its own stablecoin, JupUSD, by the end of the year. The coin will be native to Solana and tightly integrated across Jupiter’s ecosystem, including its perpetuals platform, lending markets, and trading interfaces, the DEX shared on X on Wednesday. JupUSD is being developed in partnership with Ethana Labs, … Read more

Bitcoin’s latest breakout is being fueled by institutions and steady on-chain demand rather than speculation, according to new data from Glassnode. In the Oct. 8 edition of its “The Week On-chain” newsletter, the analytics firm said bitcoin’s surge to a new all-time high near $126,000 earlier this week was powered by strong ETF inflows and … Read more

Short-term holders (STHs) have added roughly 450,000 BTC to their supply since July, now holding around 2.6 million BTC according to Glassnode data. STHs are defined as investors who purchased bitcoin within the past 155 days.This increase marks the third distinct cycle of rising STH activity since the start of 2024 and has typically marks … Read more

Ethereum developers are preparing for the network’s second major upgrade this year, known as Fusaka, set to go live at the end of November or beginning of December, pending final testnet results. Fusaka — a blend of the names Fulu and Osaka — consists of two simultaneous upgrades to Ethereum’s consensus and execution layers, respectively. … Read more