Live Feed

Crypto market maker Wintermute has launched institutional over-the-counter (OTC) trading for the tokenized gold products Pax Gold (PAXG) and Tether Gold (XAUT). According to The Block, Wintermute will enable institutional investors to trade PAXG and XAUT against USDT, USDC, fiat currencies, and other major crypto assets. Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy explained that the price of gold has hit an all-time high amid macroeconomic uncertainty and de-dollarization discussions, leading to increased demand. He added that as institutional adoption accelerates, the tokenized gold market is expected to reach $15 billion by 2026.

U.S. asset manager WisdomTree has released a report arguing that the cryptocurrency market is transitioning from a phase dominated by retail speculation to one of strategic investment by institutions, Decrypt reported. According to the report, the "growth phase" of crypto is over, ending the era of boom-and-bust cycles driven by individual investors. WisdomTree stated that institutions are now taking the lead, shifting the market's focus from speculation to principles of portfolio management. This increased institutional focus has also led to reduced volatility. Additionally, the report noted that strengthened regulations now act as a filter rather than a barrier, and the debate has moved from whether to hold crypto to how it should be utilized.

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has approved a cryptocurrency license for Victory Fintech (VDX). According to CoinDesk, this marks the first such approval since June 17, 2023. Hong Kong regulators introduced a regulatory framework for crypto companies in 2023 and have since issued licenses to firms including OSL, HashKey, and HKVAX. A total of 12 platforms have been approved to date.

Prominent investor and Chairman of the Digital Assets Council, Ric Edelman, has predicted that Bitcoin could reach $500,000 by 2030 if 1% of global portfolios are allocated to the asset, The Crypto Basic reported. Edelman described the $500,000 target as a conservative figure, noting that other analysts have forecast prices of $1 million, $2 million, or $5 million. He called the $500,000 price point "prudent and realistic." He anticipates that as the cryptocurrency market matures, participation will increase from governments, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, hedge funds, insurance companies, banks, and brokerage firms. "A 1% allocation from global portfolios would result in an inflow of approximately $7.5 trillion," he explained. Edelman added that the path to $500,000 will not be a straight line, and he expects "sharp volatility and turmoil" similar to what the market has experienced in recent months.

Crypto investment firm Paradigm argued in a new report that policymakers are missing the point in their attempts to regulate Bitcoin mining over its energy use. According to CoinDesk, calls for such regulation are growing amid concerns about the impact of energy consumption by crypto, artificial intelligence (AI), and other data centers on consumer electricity bills. In response, Paradigm asserted that mining operations should be excluded from the scope of these regulations. The firm explained that mining is effective during off-peak hours when electricity prices are low, noting that miners must operate below their break-even cost per megawatt-hour to be profitable. Paradigm emphasized that Bitcoin mining can offset a significant portion of general consumer energy consumption, thereby bringing balance to the power grid rather than burdening it.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has fallen below $68,000. BTC is trading at $67,805.98 on the Binance USDT market.

Nexo, which left the U.S. market in late 2022 amid friction with regulators, has announced its return. According to CoinDesk, Nexo will offer a yield program, spot cryptocurrency trading services, and a loyalty program to U.S. users through a revamped platform, citing improved regulatory clarity for digital assets. The platform's trading infrastructure will be provided by Bakkt, a U.S.-based platform focused on institutional clients. Nexo previously announced a partial withdrawal from the U.S. market in 2022, restricting its interest-earning products for users in eight states and halting new user registrations.

Global investment bank Standard Chartered has lowered its price forecast for XRP by 65%, DL News reported. In a new investor report, the bank revised its target for the end of 2026 down to $2.80 from a previous prediction of $8. SC analyst Geoffrey Kendrick explained that the bank is lowering its forecasts across the cryptocurrency space due to expectations of further short-term declines.

In response to comments from U.S. hedge fund titan Ray Dalio regarding the collapse of the world order, Michael Saylor, founder of MicroStrategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, said on X that anyone who believes the world order is collapsing should own an asset that does not rely on a counterparty, such as a trading partner or issuer. He identified that asset as Bitcoin.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has fallen below $69,000. BTC is trading at $68,963.06 on the Binance USDT market.

Multichain interoperability protocol deBridge (DBR) has launched the Model Context Protocol (MCP), a server that enables AI agents and developer tools like Claude to execute on-chain activities such as swaps and bridging on EVM-compatible chains and Solana (SOL), The Block reported. deBridge explained that the MCP server supports on-chain execution through optimized, MEV-aware routing, allowing AI agents to act on user intent.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $70,000. BTC is trading at $70,008.4 on the Binance USDT market.

Multi-chain decentralized finance protocol Curvance announced via its official X account that a hacking attempt targeting the platform's front end was detected. The company stated that a security partner immediately notified it of the issue, allowing preventive measures to be completed before any funds were lost. Curvance added that the protocol itself is secure and recommended that users refrain from interacting with the front end while an additional investigation is underway.

Bitcoin price volatility could increase due to continued net outflows from spot ETFs and a concentration of short positions in the derivatives market, The Block reported. Timothy Misir, head of BRN Research, explained that sustained institutional outflows suggest an unstable market structure exposed to various pressures. He noted that as a result, BTC has fallen back below $70,000, and the market structure remains fragile. The Block added that on-chain data shows Bitcoin's Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio is hovering around 1.1, approaching undervalued territory. The current BTC price is well below the average purchase price for short-term holders ($94,000) and the overall market average ($80,100). In the derivatives market, an asymmetric structure is being observed, with funds concentrated in short positions. The outlet cautioned that a sudden shift in market sentiment could trigger a short squeeze, further increasing volatility.

Cointelegraph has outlined five key factors to watch in the Bitcoin market this week. - Whether BTC can defend its 200-week Exponential Moving Average (EMA); a recovery to $75,000 could signal a trend reversal. - An intense battle between buyers and sellers around the $70,000 level, with a focus on long-term positions. - Macroeconomic variables, including the release of U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data. - Concentrated on-chain buy demand for BTC around the mid-$50,000 range. - On-chain indicators suggest a market bottom has not yet been reached, with attention on whether the Adjusted Spent Output Profit Ratio (aSOPR) can recover to the 1.0 level.

Cryptocurrency investors are moving funds to altcoins as Bitcoin's recovery stalls, according to an analysis by Decrypt. The media outlet noted that while Bitcoin's price has seen reduced volatility and is moving sideways, some altcoins posted double-digit gains last week. Among the top 50 altcoins by market capitalization, tokens such as Zcash (ZEC), Pepe (PEPE), Bittensor (TAO), and Aster (ASTER) recorded gains of around 20%. The report also highlighted that the Bitcoin derivatives market has experienced five major liquidation events exceeding $1 billion this year. As a result, investors are now turning to the altcoin market for speculative opportunities. However, Decrypt explained that this trend is not indicative of a widespread altseason, as only tokens with specific narratives are sustaining upward momentum.

Eric Jackson, CEO of U.S. asset management firm EMJ Capital, has predicted that the price of Bitcoin could rise to $50 million per coin within 15 years, by 2041, The Crypto Basic reported. In a recent interview, Jackson explained that Bitcoin has the potential to far exceed its current role as a digital store of value. He suggested that it could ultimately establish itself as a core financial infrastructure supporting national fiscal health and global liquidity. In this case, he added, it could also serve as collateral for the U.S. dollar or bond markets. Given the enormous size of the global sovereign debt market, Jackson argued that Bitcoin's value could reach the $50 million mark in 15 years. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is currently trading at $68,756.97, down 2.38%, according to CoinMarketCap.

Speaking on the All-In Podcast, Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) recalled his initial encounter with Bitcoin. He said that when he first learned about the cryptocurrency, he witnessed its price surge from $70 to $1,000 and felt he had already missed his opportunity. CZ explained that after a friend introduced him to Bitcoin in 2013, he spent about six months studying its white paper and related materials before deciding to enter the market near the end of that year. "It's normal for anyone to feel like they've missed an opportunity whenever they enter the Bitcoin market," he added.

On-chain analyst Willy Woo has argued that the risk of quantum computing is beginning to exert downward pressure on the price of Bitcoin. He explained that the market is now pricing in the potential for a quantum computer powerful enough to break current public-key cryptography. According to Woo, such a development could allow for the recovery of private keys for an estimated four million "permanently lost" bitcoins, reintroducing them to the market. He added that even if this supply were to be revived, there is only about a 25% chance that the Bitcoin network would hard fork to freeze the assets.

Russians are trading an average of approximately $650 million in cryptocurrency daily, Solid Intel reported, citing data from Russian government agencies.

Crypto exchange with Chinese roots OKX announced today that it has obtained a Payment Institution (PI) license in Malta. The license, issued under the European Union's (EU) regulatory framework, allows OKX subsidiaries like OKX Pay and OKX Card to legally provide stablecoin services within the EU, Cointelegraph reported. Under current regulations, Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs) offering stablecoin-based payment services in the EU must obtain either a PI or an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license.

Harvard Management Company (HMC), the investment arm of Harvard University, reduced its spot Bitcoin ETF holdings by 21% in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the previous quarter, while newly acquiring $86.8 million in Ethereum (ETH) ETFs. HMC holds BlackRock's IBIT and ETHA ETFs. Its combined holdings in the two funds total $352.6 million, with IBIT accounting for the largest portion at approximately $265.8 million.

Mike McGlone, a senior macro strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, has warned that the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets are collapsing and that Bitcoin's price could return to the $10,000 level. He suggested that a Bitcoin collapse could signal the next recession. McGlone noted that the U.S. stock market capitalization to GDP ratio has reached its highest point in nearly 100 years, while the 180-day volatility for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices is at its lowest in eight years. He stated that the cryptocurrency bubble is bursting and this volatility could spread to the stock market. As a risk asset highly dependent on market sensitivity, Bitcoin is likely to experience a sharper decline if the stock market cannot hold its ground, McGlone explained. He concluded that if the U.S. stock market has indeed peaked, the price of Bitcoin could fall to around $10,000.

Japanese listed company MetaPlanet, which has been accumulating Bitcoin, announced it recorded a net loss of 95 billion yen (903 billion won, or about $654 million) in 2025 due to valuation losses on its BTC holdings, despite a seven-fold increase in revenue. The company's aggressive BTC purchases drove higher-than-expected revenue and operating profit in related business segments. However, a decline in BTC's price resulted in a non-cash asset valuation loss of approximately 104.6 billion yen (about $634 million), pushing its overall performance into a large-scale deficit. MetaPlanet emphasized that the loss is merely an on-paper adjustment with no direct impact on its cash flow or operations, adding that it will further accelerate its BTC-centric growth strategy this year. The company also plans to raise an additional 8.8 billion yen (about $53.3 million) through its 25th series of stock warrants, exercisable until February 2027, with a significant portion slated for further BTC acquisitions. MetaPlanet currently holds 35,102 BTC.

Digital asset investment products saw a total net outflow of $173 million last week, marking the fourth consecutive week of outflows, according to a weekly fund flow report from CoinShares. While the U.S. experienced outflows of $403 million, Europe and Canada saw combined inflows of $230 million, led by Germany ($115 million), Canada ($46.3 million), and Switzerland ($36.8 million). By asset, Bitcoin products recorded $133 million in outflows, and Ethereum products saw $85.1 million exit. However, CoinShares noted that short-BTC products also saw outflows totaling $15.4 million over the past two weeks, a pattern often observed near market bottoms. Meanwhile, products for XRP, SOL, and LINK registered net inflows. Total trading volume for these products plummeted to $27 billion from $63 billion the previous week, suggesting that market participants have adopted a wait-and-see approach.