Live Feed

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) announced plans to build an on-chain settlement system for institutional investors. According to Cryptopolitan, the new system is designed to connect traditional financial markets with blockchain networks, enabling large institutions to trade and settle tokenized bonds and stocks while integrated with existing infrastructure. LSEG said it plans to launch the first service within the year but noted that regulatory approval is required.

The CEO of Praetorian Group International (PGI), Ramil Ventura Palafox, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for orchestrating a $200 million Bitcoin Ponzi scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Palafox defrauded investors by promising daily returns of 0.5% to 3% from Bitcoin trading. However, his actual investments resulted in a net loss of $62.69 million, and he used the misappropriated funds to purchase homes, supercars, and luxury goods.

The South Korean government has concluded that the risk of cryptocurrency price volatility spilling over directly into traditional financial markets is limited, The Asia Business Daily reported. However, authorities plan to strengthen market surveillance to prevent market instability from growing, citing incidents that have undermined trust, such as a recent mistaken Bitcoin payment at the South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb. The government also intends to inspect the internal controls of exchanges and push for institutional improvements. The assessment was made during a market situation review meeting attended by Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Gu Yun-cheol, Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong, Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon, and Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin.

Whale Alert reported that 122,365 ETH has been transferred from an unknown wallet to Coinbase. The transaction is valued at about $237 million.

CoinMarketCap's Altcoin Season Index has risen five points from the previous day to 33. The index is calculated by comparing the price performance of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins and wrapped coins, against that of Bitcoin. An altcoin season is declared when 75% of these top coins outperform Bitcoin over a 90-day period. A score closer to 100 indicates a stronger altcoin season.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, compiled by data provider Alternative, rose four points from yesterday to 9. The market sentiment remains in the "Extreme Fear" phase. The index measures sentiment on a scale from 0, indicating extreme fear, to 100, representing extreme optimism. It is calculated based on volatility (25%), trading volume (25%), social media mentions (15%), surveys (15%), Bitcoin's market cap dominance (10%), and Google search volume (10%).

According to crypto options exchange Deribit, Bitcoin options worth $2.5 billion are set to expire at 8:00 a.m. UTC today, Feb. 13. The put/call ratio is 0.72, and the max pain price—the level at which the most option holders would see their contracts expire worthless—is $74,000. At the same time, Ethereum options valued at $420 million will also expire, with a put/call ratio of 0.85 and a max pain price of $2,100.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has announced the temporary suspension of deposits and withdrawals for Rei (REI), citing issues on the Rei Network.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted a man on charges of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a cryptocurrency investment scheme, The Block reported. The man allegedly posed as a professional cryptocurrency investor to solicit funds, ultimately gambling away $1 million of the investors' money.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has appointed a number of crypto industry leaders to its Innovation Advisory Committee (IAC), CoinDesk reported. New members include Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, Solana founder Anatoly Yakovenko, Uniswap founder Hayden Adams, and Chainlink founder Sergey Nazarov. They join existing members such as Gemini founder Tyler Winklevoss, Kraken CEO Arjun Sethi, and Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan. The IAC is an expanded and reorganized version of the CEO Innovation Committee, which was established last December.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has proposed classifying cryptocurrencies as an independent asset class within the market for uncleared derivatives, which are trades conducted without a central clearinghouse like an exchange, Cointelegraph reported. In a working paper, the Fed stated that cryptocurrencies are significantly more volatile than traditional asset classes and do not align with the risk categories of the current asset classification model (SIMM). The central bank also suggested that traders should be required to post higher margin deposits to prevent liquidations. The paper further recommended applying separate risk weights for volatile cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH versus pegged assets such as stablecoins. The Fed noted that creating a benchmark index composed of a 50/50 mix of volatile cryptocurrencies and stablecoins could lead to more accurate calculations of market volatility and appropriate risk weights for crypto assets.

Nasdaq-listed sports betting company DraftKings has announced plans for a major expansion of its prediction market platform, DraftKings Predictions, this year. According to The Block, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said the company sees a huge opportunity in the platform and plans to invest capital to acquire millions of customers.

Whale Alert reported that 250 million USDC has been minted at the USDC Treasury.

Decibel, an Aptos-based on-chain trading engine, is launching its protocol-native stablecoin, USDCBL, Cointelegraph reported. The stablecoin will be used as collateral for on-chain perpetual futures. Its reserves will consist of cash and short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, with any revenue generated from these assets going to the protocol. Meanwhile, Decibel plans to launch its mainnet this month.

The possibility of a BTC rebound driven by a short squeeze is growing as bearish bets become overheated, Cointelegraph reported. The average funding rate for BTC has entered strongly negative territory for the first time since March 2023 and November 2022. Cryptocurrency analyst Leo Ruga noted that this indicates overheated bearish sentiment, a phenomenon often seen during a market bottoming phase. Another analyst, Pelin Ay, suggested that if a sharp price drop accompanies the negative funding rate and the $58,000 level holds as support, it could set the stage for a short squeeze. However, the outlet added that such a move would require liquidity support, noting that the market capitalization of USDT recently decreased by $2.87 billion.

Coinbase announced in its earnings report that total revenue for the fourth quarter of last year was $1.78 billion, a 20% decrease year-over-year. This figure fell short of the market expectation of $1.83 billion. The company also posted a net loss of $670 million, swinging to a loss. Meanwhile, Coinbase purchased $39 million worth of BTC during the same period.

Payments firm Fiserv, a Fortune 500 company, is launching a real-time cash payment system called INDX for cryptocurrency companies, Cointelegraph reported. The system will allow businesses to instantly settle U.S. dollar payments through a single custodial account. INDX will operate 24/7 and offer insurance coverage of up to $25 million through the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

The three major U.S. stock indices closed lower today. - S&P 500: -1.57% - Nasdaq: -2.03% - Dow Jones: -1.34%

Cryptocurrency-focused Super PAC Fairshake plans to spend $1.5 million to unseat U.S. Congressman Al Green in his primary race, CoinDesk reported. Green is a prominent opponent of cryptocurrency who received an "F" grade, signifying strong opposition, from the advocacy group Stand With Crypto. His opponent, Christian Menefee, received an "A" grade from the same organization.

U.S. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins told the Senate Banking Committee that prediction markets are a significant issue on which regulators are focused. According to The Block, Atkins stated that both he and CFTC Chairman Michael Selig are concentrating on the matter. He added that while prediction markets are an area where jurisdiction can overlap, they fall mostly under the purview of the CFTC. Atkins also noted that the subtle distinctions between prediction markets and commodities often depend on the terminology used. He also mentioned that the SEC and CFTC meet once a week.

The decentralized prediction market Polymarket has launched a Bitcoin price prediction market that is generated in five-minute intervals, according to the Watcher.Guru X account.

Bitcoin could face a prolonged sideways trend similar to 2022 if it fails to overcome key resistance, according to an analysis by Glassnode. The on-chain analytics firm noted that Bitcoin is currently trading in a range between its True Market Mean of $79,200 and its Realized Price near $55,000. This pattern, Glassnode stated, is highly reminiscent of the first half of 2022, when Bitcoin was trapped in a similar range before entering a long-term bear market and bottoming out near $15,000 in November. To escape this sideways movement, the firm explained that Bitcoin must break through the $72,000 resistance level.

Aave Labs has announced a governance proposal titled "Aave Will Win" that would direct 100% of its product revenue to the Aave DAO. According to CoinDesk, if the proposal passes, V4 will serve as the foundation for Aave's future development, formally establishing a structure where all revenue from products developed by Aave Labs is allocated to the DAO rather than the company itself. According to CoinMarketCap, AAVE is currently trading at $110.87, up 2.81%.

Companies with digital asset treasuries (DATs) purchased a total of 43,230 BTC, worth approximately $3.5 billion, in January, with Strategy accounting for 93% of the total, Decrypt reported. During the period, Strategy acquired 40,150 BTC, while all other corporate buyers collectively purchased 3,080 BTC.

On-chain data platform CryptoQuant analyzed on its official X account that the recent Bitcoin decline will be recorded as one of the largest crashes in the cryptocurrency's history, comparable to the 2021 crash. The firm emphasized that the event ranks between the third and fifth largest of all time based on the scale of losses, adding that crashes of this magnitude are rare in Bitcoin's history.