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
HBAR exhibited notable resilience in the 24-hour period between Oct. 7 and Oct. 8, climbing roughly 2% from session lows near $0.22 to settle around the same level. The token traded within a tight range, repeatedly testing support and resistance at $0.22. Despite a steep decline in trading volume—from 138.43 million to 19.74 million tokens—HBAR … Read more
MetaMask, the popular crypto wallet developed by Consensys, is moving deeper into crypto trading and speculation, adding perpetual swaps trading and announcing plans to add Polymarket prediction markets to its platform. The firm said on Wednesday the Polymarket integration will come later this year as part of an exclusive partnership, allowing users in approved regions … Read more
CruTrade, a new marketplace built on the Avalanche blockchain, has launched with more than $60 million worth of tokenized fine wine, marking what it calls the world’s largest live pool of on-chain luxury assets. The platform brings over 200,000 bottles from 250 producers — most of whom are verified in Burgundy — to collectors who … Read more
Kerrisdale Capital has taken a short position in BitMine Immersion (BMNR), the ether-focused digital asset treasury firm led by Fundstrat’s Thomas Lee, calling its business model a relic of a bygone crypto era. In a detailed report published Wednesday, the well-known short-seller said BitMine’s strategy mirrors that of Strategy (MSTR) — issuing shares at a … Read more
Stablecoin payments startup Coinflow has raised $25 million in a Series A round led by Pantera Capital, as it moves to scale its global payout network and challenge legacy cross-border systems. The Chicago, Illinois-based firm has grown revenue 23-fold since 2024 and now supports stablecoin-powered payments in over 170 countries, it said in an announcement … Read more
Bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) prices dropped sharply on Tuesday, but that didn’t stop investors from pouring cash into crypto funds. Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) took in $876 million, according to data from Farside Investors. Combined with $1.2 billion in inflows on Monday as investors reacted to new record price over the weekend, the … Read more
Polkadot (DOT) encountered substantial volatility throughout the last twenty-four-hour period, with the cryptocurrency retreating 4%, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model. The model showed that the most noteworthy movement materialised when DOT plummeted to its lowest juncture of $4.07 on elevated volume of 3.16 million, considerably above the twenty-four-hour average of 2.31 million, establishing … Read more
Anthea, a Bermuda-based crypto life insurer, has raised $22 million in a Series A round led by Yunfeng Financial Group to launch what it calls the world’s first life insurance product denominated in Ethereum tokens (ETH). The company, whose goal is to merge life insurance with blockchain technology, said the capital will accelerate product development, … 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 4230.81, up 0.4% (+15.88) since 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Five of 20 assets are trading higher. Leaders: BTC (+1.0%) and AAVE (+1.0%). Laggards: APT (-3.0%) and ADA (-0.5%). … Read more
KAIO, the tokenization firm backed by Brevan Howard and Nomura Bank’s crypto-focused Laser Digital, is bringing its tokenized funds to the Sei network (SEI) as real-world asset demand is expanding. The firm, formerly known as Libre Capital, has issued over $200 million in assets, including token versions of feeder funds of Brevan Howard, Hamilton Lane, … Read more
Decentralized AI skill market Recall Network announced on Wednesday that it will debut its native token, RECALL, on Oct. 15, with select early supporters receiving airdrop access. The ERC-20 token will be generated on Coinbase’s Layer 2 network Base and can be bridged to other blockchain networks, Recall said in a press release shared exclusively … Read more
Plume Network, a blockchain focused on tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), is acquiring Dinero Protocol to bring institutional-grade yield products for ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL (SOL) and bitcoin (BTC) directly into its ecosystem. Dinero’s flagship staking product, the ipxETH yield-bearing token that has drawn $125 million in total value locked, will become a key anchor for … Read more
Popular meme-inspired cryptocurrency PEPE has seen a 7% drop in the last 24-hour period, while trading volumes topped 2.29 trillion tokens, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis data model. The token slid from $0.00000995 to $0.00000931 during the sell-off, testing key technical support near the $0.0000093 mark. This zone briefly attracted buyers, but the broader … Read more
Forward Industries (FORD) unveiled a validator node on the Solana blockchain, delegating its entire stash of 6.8 million SOL ($1.5 billion) to it. Built on DoubleZero, a global network designed to improve the performance of blockchain systems, the validator allows investors to delegate stake to Forward at zero cost, the company said. It uses Jump … Read more
The BNB Chain has become the new playground for memecoins and this week’s action shows just how fast capital is rotating between plays as the network’s BNB token keeps breaking records. Whenever the base asset rallies, liquidity tends to stay inside the ecosystem — just as Solana experienced with WIF and other dog-themed tokens last … Read more
The dollar index’s recovery rally gathered steam early Wednesday, but that did not deter gold from climbing to new highs above $4,000. Bitcoin, too, has recovered from Asian session lows near $121,000 to trade near $122,750 at press time. The cryptocurrency is still down 1.3% on a 24-hour basis. The CoinDesk 20 Index is down … Read more
The Bank of England (BoE) is planning exemptions to its proposed limits on stablecoins holdings, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The BoE will grant waivers to some firms that need to hold large amounts of tokens, like crypto exchanges, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter. The U.K.’s central bank will also allow … Read more
By Francisco Rodrigues (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) As gold pushed through the $4,000 per ounce mark for the first time, bitcoin (BTC) lost 1.25% of its value and the wider crypto market, as measured by the coinDesk 20 (CD20) index, dropped 3%. The drop came amid profit-taking after the crypto market rose more … Read more
President Donald Trump’s approval rating has languished, but his relentless cheerleading for the crypto industry has won him a segment of loyal friends among U.S. voters: crypto investors who step outside their personal politics to praise his work and see the president and his Republican allies as the best bet for progress in digital assets. … Read more
YZi Labs, formerly Binance Labs, introduced a $1 billion fund for projects building on the BNB Chain. The investment company, which was rebranded from the venture arm of crypto exchange Binance last year, is targeting BNB-based projects in areas such as trading, real-world assets (RWAs), artificial intelligence (AI), decentralized finance (DeFi) and wallets, according to … Read more
A lot can change in just a few days. Bitcoin recently reached new all-time highs of over in both U.S. dollar and Japanese yen terms, boosted by new Japanese prime minister, Takaichi Sanae‘s bias for ultra-easy Abenomics policy setting. However, the very same Abenomics bias now seems to be working against BTC through its impact … Read more
Global crypto product issuer 21Shares has partnered with UK wealth management app Stratiphy to let retail investors buy and hold crypto Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) lifts its four-year ban on these products. The change marks a shift in the UK’s stance on digital assets, allowing retail investors regulated access … Read more
Bitcoin is holding around $122,000 in Wednesday’s Asian hours after setting a record high at $126,200 earlier this week, with some market watchers still expecting a surge to a record $140,000 later this month. Economist Timothy Peterson said in an X post Tuesday that bitcoin has a 50% probability of rising to $140,000, citing simulations … Read more
This is an analysis post by CoinDesk analyst and Chartered Market Technician Omkar Godbole. Alternative cryptocurrencies typically move in tandem with bitcoin (BTC), but the magnitude of their price swings often differs. Take payments-focused XRP as an example. Since July, every upswing in Bitcoin has triggered rallies in XRP; however, XRP has consistently produced “lower … Read more