CoinDesk

The much-anticipated “Uptober” has arrived, and the momentum is already building on the very first day of the month. Bitcoin has broken through the $116,000 mark, climbing 2% in the past 24 hours and briefly reaching as high as $116,600. The rally is unfolding against a backdrop of a U.S. government shutdown and record-setting strength … Read more

CoinShares, the European digital asset manager with roughly $10 billion under management, said Wednesday it will acquire Financial Conduct Authority-regulated Bastion Asset Management. The financial details of the deal, which is subject to UK regulatory approval, were not disclosed in press materials. The move is intended to deepen CoinShares’ capabilities in actively managed crypto strategies … Read more

SINGAPORE – Institutional investors are quickly embracing CME’s futures for XRP (XRP) and solana (SOL), both launched earlier this year, alongside steady growth in bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) derivatives, according to Tim McCourt, the exchange’s Global Head of Equity & FX Products. Speaking at the ongoing Token2049 conference attended by CoinDesk, McCourt stated that … Read more

Metaplanet (3350) is now the fourth largest Bitcoin treasury company, having acquired 5,288 BTC for $615.67 million at an average price of $116,870 per bitcoin. This acquisition brings its Bitcoin yield for 2025 to 497.1%, according to CEO Simon Gerovich. In total, Metaplanet holds 30,823 BTC, accumulated for $3.33 billion at an average price of … Read more

Crypto markets remained unchanged Monday and Tuesday after last week’s $1.5 billion liquidation flush, but traders remain cautious ahead of a critical run of U.S. economic data that could set the tone for October. Bitcoin bulls defended the $110,000 support level several times over the past week, while Ether clawed back from a sharp dip … Read more

XRP traded inside a compressed $0.09 corridor after an early push to $2.91 was met with sharp profit-taking. Buyers defended the $2.82–$2.84 zone, leaving the token consolidating at $2.85 into the close as volumes tapered. Analysts flagged bearish divergences while reserves rose on Binance, raising caution ahead of the $3.00 test. News Background XRP has … Read more

Ripple’s longtime chief technology officer David Schwartz said Tuesday he will step back from daily responsibilities after more than a decade at the company, moving into a board role as “CTO emeritus.” Schwartz, one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, announced the transition in a X post. He said the decision will allow … Read more

Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum has launched a new investment vehicle designed to generate yield on Bitcoin without reducing investors’ exposure to its price movements. The BTC Alpha Fund, developed in partnership with Athens-based Starboard Digital, uses arbitrage strategies to target net annual returns of 8%-10%, which are paid directly in Bitcoin. The fund is … Read more

MEXC Ventures has doubled down on its investment in the Ethena ecosystem, bringing its total exposure to $66 million, according to a press release shared with CoinDesk. The latest move includes a $14 million investment in ENA, the governance token of the Ethena protocol, building on a $16 million ENA purchase and $20 million acquisition … Read more

The White House withdrew former Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Brian Quintenz’s nomination to run the agency late Tuesday, capping off a month-long fight over U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick for agency chair. Trump tapped Quintenz shortly after retaking office. Quintenz joined venture firm Andresseen Horowitz’s global head of policy, and has been an adviser to … Read more

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has cracked the door to welcome crypto custody at a wide range of firms who’ve earned state charters as trust companies — a list that would include the trust affiliates of Coinbase, Kraken and other high-profile names in crypto. The SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued a so-called no-action … Read more

Even before the arrival of President Donald Trump and his crypto-friendly regulators, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had a crypto advocate, Commissioner Hester Peirce, who contends that a decision this week to grant DoubleZero a so-called no-action letter represents the kind of space she’s long been wanting to offer blockchain pursuits. The SEC staff … Read more

The bounce in crypto markets mostly stalled on Tuesday with the U.S. government on track to shut down at midnight Eastern time. Bitcoin (BTC) — after earlier having slid about 2% from overnight highs near $115,000 – managed a late afternoon rally to $114,300, up marginally from 24 hours ago. Ether (ETH) traded just above … Read more

Coinbase (COIN) said its bitcoin-backed loan program has surpassed $1 billion in originations since launching in January, underscoring growing demand for crypto as collateral. The exchange currently offers retail customers in the U.S. the ability to borrow cash against bitcoin (BTC) holdings through the on-chain Morpho platform. A spokesperson said the average loan size sits … Read more

Investment platform Republic revealed plans on Tuesday to tokenize shares of crypto venture firm Animoca Brands on the Solana (SOL) blockchain, a move aimed at opening investor access through blockchain rails. Animoca Brands, known for backing over 600 blockchain startups and projects, remains privately held with shares only traded in limited over-the-counter deals. Republic said … Read more

SUI, the native token of the Sui network, fell 3.3% over the past 24 hours, slipping from $3.32 to $3.21 as traders hit the sell button. The token broke through its $3.26 support late in the session, a move that confirmed downward momentum and brought the asset closer to the $3.20 psychological threshold, CoinDesk Research’s … Read more

CoinRoutes, an institutional cryptocurrency trading platform, has acquired QIS Risk, a portfolio and risk management provider for digital asset managers, the company said in a press release Tuesday. The deal value was $5 million in cash and stock, and brings together CoinRoutes’ algorithmic execution technology with QIS Risk’s suite of portfolio monitoring and risk analytics. … Read more

Stellar’s XLM token faced pronounced bearish pressure over a 23-hour span between September 29 at 15:00 and September 30 at 14:00, falling 4% from $0.38 to $0.36. The decline came within a narrow $0.01 range, underscoring the token’s struggle to sustain momentum. Early resistance at $0.38, coupled with heavy trading volume of 38.6 million, signaled … Read more

Hedera Hashgraph’s HBAR token slipped nearly 3% in the 24 hours through September 30, falling from $0.22 to $0.21 as institutional investors pared back exposure to enterprise-focused cryptocurrencies. The decline came after HBAR met resistance at the $0.22 level during evening trading on September 29, with volumes climbing above 34 million tokens as corporate holders … Read more

SINGAPORE — Arf, a Swiss provider of short-term liquidity for cross-border payments, is set to join Circle Payments Network (CPN) in a move that will provide eligible users access to on-demand credit, effectively eliminating the need for prefunding, or tying up a large fiat balance before settlement occurs. The integration, powered by Huma Finance’s PayFi … Read more

Popular trading platform Robinhood (HOOD) is planning to expand its prediction markets product, which allows traders to buy and sell contracts based on future outcomes, beyond the U.S. and into global markets, the company told Bloomberg. Robinhood sees international demand growing, especially in Europe and the UK. JB Mackenzie, vice president and general manager of … Read more

The leader of a fraudulent bitcoin (BTC) operation pleaded guilty in the U.K. Crown Court for her role in the 5.1 billion pound ($6.9 billion) scam. Chinese national Zhimin Qian, 47, was convicted for acquiring and possession of criminal property, namely cryptocurrency, the Metropolitan Police announced on Monday. Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, defrauded … Read more

Payments giant Stripe unveiled a stablecoin issuance platform and AI commerce tools at its New York showcase on Tuesday, marking a push to tie its payments business to the growing role of digital dollars and artificial intelligence in online transactions. Open Issuance, underpinned by stablecoin infrastructure platform Bridge that Stripe acquired for $1.1 billion last … Read more

If the U.S. government shuts down this week, several long-awaited cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — including funds for solana (SOL) and litecoin (LTC) — could be thrown into limbo just as they near the finish line. Multiple asset managers have been in close communication with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the past few … Read more

Over the past two decades, there has been one prevalent method to distinguish humans from robots — the CAPTCHA test. These pesky, annoying picture-based tests have had us all staring at blurry pictures of mundane artifacts, from traffic lights to buses and bicycles, trying to determine which boxes made up the entire image. Successfully solving … Read more

Bit Digital (BTBT) shares slid 8% at the U.S. market open, dropping to $2.92 after the company announced an upsized $135 million convertible note offering. Bit Digital increased the size of the 4.00% convertible senior notes offering from $100 million. Underwriters hold a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $15 million. The notes … Read more

Meme-inspired cryptocurrency PEPE fell 2.6% over the past 24 hours to trade near $0.0000915, significantly underperforming the wider crypto market as the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index is down 1.4% in the same period. The token traded in a range between $0.0000913 and $0.0000951, with a brief attempt at a rally stalling near resistance before giving … Read more

U.S. bank Citizens began coverage of Circle Internet (CRCL) with a market perform rating, noting that while the company is poised to capitalize on stablecoin growth, its valuation already captures much of the upside. Circle, issuer of the second-largest stablecoin, the dollar-pegged USDC, and euro-pegged EURC, has built a broad infrastructure suite, including a payments … Read more

Crypto exchange Gate unveiled Gate Fun, an on-chain platform that allows users to issue and trade tokens without coding. The platform runs on Gate Layer, the company’s recently launched layer-2 network built on the OP Stack. Gate claims users can create tokens in under a minute by paying a small gas fee in GT, the … Read more

JPMorgan analysts said the stablecoin market has pulled ahead of the broader crypto ecosystem this year, fueled in part by the passage of the U.S. GENIUS Act. At nearly $300 billion, the market has grown 42% year-to-date, nearly double the 21% growth of crypto overall, according to a report published Tuesday. The report notes that … Read more