New reports reveal that XRP’s Open Interest (OI) Z-Score has declined to extremely low levels, indicating reduced speculation and a possible leverage reset. According to analysts, the last time XRP’s OI Z-Score reached this level, it triggered an explosive 600% rally to new highs in 2024, ending the cryptocurrency’s years-long decline and consolidation. XRP Open Interest Z-Score Declines To Near Zero Market analyst Xaif Crypto has taken to X to highlight a major shift in XRP’s leverage conditions across the futures market. According to the analyst, derivatives activity has cooled down sharply as Open Interest has returned to a neutral baseline. Related Reading: Japan Is Going In On XRP, But Can This Drive The Price To $10? Sharing a chart, Xaif Crypto noted that XRP’s Open Interest Z-Score has now flattened near zero, signaling that current positioning among traders is no longer stretched or extreme compared to historical levels. The analyst revealed that this decline suggests that speculation has faded from the market, with leverage also significantly reduced. The shift also points to a reset in XRP’s market structure, where activity is now more balanced and less driven by crowd positioning or heavy bets in different directions. Interestingly, Xaif Crypto has compared the move to a historical setup, noting that the last time XRP’s OI Z-Score compressed to similar levels, the market entered a strong expansion phase, triggering a massive price rally. During that period in 2024, XRP climbed from $0.50 to $3.40, rallying by more than 600% before momentum cooled. Notably, the price surge followed years of decline and consolidation in XRP around the $0.50 area. The cryptocurrency spent most of 2024 trading between $0.40 and $0.70 while the U.S. SEC lawsuit dragged on. The lawsuit was filed in December 2020, keeping XRP suppressed for nearly five years before final settlement in 2025. Once sentiment shifted, XRP surged over 400% in November 2024 alone, jumping from $0.50 to above $2.5. It then pushed past $3.40 by January 2025 before climbing toward $3.6 in July, just shy of its $3.84 all-time high. OI And Leverage Drop Signals Potential Price Surge In a connected post, Xaif Crypto noted that XRP’s Open Interest has been steadily declining since a previous blow-off phase in November 2025. As a result, OI is now almost flat across major crypto exchanges, including Binance, ByBit, and OKX, suggesting that fewer traders are currently using borrowed money to bet on XRP’s price direction. Related Reading: XRP And Bitcoin Investors Are ‘Trapped’, But Is There A Way Out? Xaif Crypto also pointed out that leverage levels are now at an extreme low, with Binance’s estimated leverage ratio dropping to around 0.15. This indicates that traders are avoiding taking large, risky bets at the moment. He noted that the market is currently in a calm phase, with most aggressive trading already cleared out. According to the analyst, this kind of low activity often appears before major market moves. With less leverage in the system, there is reduced selling pressure but also less momentum in the market. However, this also means that when new traders return, the XRP price could move up quickly. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com
Bybit previously declined to list the mobile crypto mining platform, with CEO Ben Zhou citing warnings from Chinese police that the project is a scam.
Bybit blocked more than $300 million in unauthorized withdrawals during the final quarter of last year — a figure that puts February’s total crypto theft losses in sharp relief. Related Reading: Bitcoin Crosses 20 Million Coins Mined — And Only 1 In 20 Remains According to security firm Nominis, close to $50 million was stolen across the entire crypto industry last month, a fraction of what Bybit alone says it turned away in just three months. Attackers Home In On Human Error The drop from January’s $385 million in losses might look like progress, but security researchers say the more significant story is where the attacks are coming from. Social engineering — scams that trick people into handing over access — caused more cumulative damage in February than traditional software exploits did. Phishing campaigns climbed sharply during the month, with criminals sending fraudulent messages designed to get users to click malicious links or sign transactions they shouldn’t. The most common method was authorization abuse. Victims were manipulated into granting wallet permissions without realizing what they’d approved. Once those permissions were in place, attackers could move funds out freely. Private individuals bore the brunt of these attacks, not exchanges or large protocols. One Breach Drove Most Of The Damage A single incident accounted for most of February’s losses. Step Finance, a portfolio analytics platform built on Solana, was drained of approximately $30 million. Strip that one event out, and February would have been remarkably quiet by recent standards. The broader numbers back that up. Blockchain security company PeckShield put February losses at $26.5 million — the lowest monthly figure since March 2025. PeckShield credited stronger risk controls and better security practices across the industry for part of the decline. Big Losses Still Loom Over The Industry Even with a quieter month on the books, the industry’s annual toll remains staggering. Data from Chainalysis shows crypto hacks cost the industry $3.4 billion last year. That figure underscores how much ground still needs to be covered before theft can be called a contained problem. Related Reading: Bitcoin ETFs Break 5-Month Streak With 2nd Consecutive Week Of Inflows Bybit’s own numbers offer a window into how much active work that requires. The exchange said its fraud systems flagged roughly 350 high-risk addresses and stopped around 8,000 users from falling into potential scams — all in a single quarter. Reports indicate that while large-scale protocol attacks appear to be easing, the rise in scams targeting everyday users signals that criminals are simply redirecting their efforts. Better smart contract audits and stronger on-chain monitoring may be closing one door. But as long as people can be deceived into approving the wrong transaction, another door stays open. Featured image from Trillium Mutual Insurance, chart from TradingView
February was unusually quiet for crypto thieves. After months of eye-watering losses, the industry recorded just $26.5 million in total hack and scam-related damages last month — the smallest monthly figure in 11 months, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield. Related Reading: Bitcoin In The Line Of Fire: Price Dips To $63k As US, Israel Launch Strikes On Iran It’s a number that stands in sharp contrast to the carnage seen in early 2025, when a single breach wiped out $1.5 billion from crypto exchange Bybit. 2 Attacks Did Most Of The Damage Out of 15 recorded incidents in February, two attacks were behind much of the losses. The bigger of the two hit YieldBlox, a DAO-managed lending pool, on Feb. 21. Attackers manipulated token prices to drain $10 million from the protocol. That same day, decentralized identity platform IoTeX was also struck — clos to $9 million was taken through a private key exploit. Together, those two incidents alone made up over 70% of the month’s total losses. Compared to January, the drop is hard to ignore. Reports from PeckShield show that February’s $26.5 million total represents a 69% decline from the $86 million recorded just a month earlier. #PeckShieldAlert In Feb. 2026, the crypto space saw 15 main hacks totaling $26.5M, representing a 98.2% YoY decrease compared to Feb. 2025 ($1.5B, including the $1.4B #Bybit drain) and a notable 69.2% MoM decrease from Jan. 2026 ($86.01M in losses).#Top5 Hacks :… pic.twitter.com/Svp7SZWp5w — PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) March 1, 2026 Part of the explanation, according to a PeckShield spokesperson, is simply the absence of a headline-grabbing, billion-dollar breach. When no single attack dominates the numbers, the totals look far more manageable. Market conditions also played a role. Bitcoin dipped below $70,000 in early February, triggering a broad market correction that appeared to shift the focus away from protocol attacks. During turbulent stretches, traders and institutions are preoccupied with managing losses and moving liquidity. That kind of environment, reports suggest, tends to suppress exploit activity rather than encourage it. Crypto Security Standards Are Getting Stricter The improvement may not be entirely down to luck or timing. Analysts say that tighter risk controls, stronger vetting of counterparties, and better real-time monitoring across major platforms have all contributed to a more secure environment. Artificial intelligence is being credited as a rising force in the fight against vulnerabilities. Automated code checks, anomaly detection tools, and pre-deployment attack simulations are catching problems earlier — before they can be exploited. Experts say that if security standards keep pace with the rate of innovation, losses could continue to shrink through the rest of the year. Phishing Stays A Stubborn Threat Not everything is trending in the right direction. Phishing attacks — where criminals pose as trusted contacts or platforms to steal login credentials and private keys — remain a serious and ongoing problem. Related Reading: Say What You Want — XRP’s Chart Is Screaming $50 — Analyst Losses tied to wallet-draining phishing schemes fell sharply in 2025, dropping from $494 million down to $83 million. But the threat has not disappeared. According to PeckShield, bad actors are increasingly shifting their attention away from targeting code and toward targeting people. Tricking a user into handing over access is often easier than cracking a well-audited smart contract. The firm urged both institutions and large holders to rely on multi-signature cold storage solutions and to treat private key security as non-negotiable. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
The exchange is also exploring a potential U.S. expansion alongside institutional custody services for tokenized real-world assets.
The exchange is working with local banks like Pave Bank to enable fiat-to-crypto conversions and encourage digital asset adoption.
After a tumultuous conclusion to 2025, characterized by heightened volatility and the impactful October 10 crypto crash, Hyperliquid (HYPE), one of the market’s largest decentralized exchanges (DEXs), faced significant challenges as it entered 2026. With less than two weeks remaining in January, market research firm GLC released an interesting report assessing Hyperliquid’s current standing and evaluating its recovery metrics. Post-October 10 Downturn The report highlights that Hyperliquid’s trading volume and open interest suffered a considerable decline following the liquidation event on October 10, marking the onset of a downtrend for the platform. Since that date, trading volume has decreased by 44.3%, dropping from $10.17 billion to $5.66 billion. Open interest has also experienced a decline of 35.7%, falling from $14.75 billion to $9.48 billion. However, there are signs of recovery. Notably, since December 1, 2025, trading volume on the platform has seen a slight decrease of 3.2%, while open interest has surged by 45.6%. Related Reading: Is A New XRP Price Record Imminent? Analyst Forecast Colossal Short Squeeze Ahead Year-to-date metrics reveal a more optimistic picture: trading volume has increased by 59.2%, rising from $3.56 billion to $5.66 billion, and open interest has grown by 24.7%, going from $7.60 billion to $9.48 billion. While open interest has started to recover since the October event, trading volume has not rebounded at the same rate. This disparity has caused the volume-to-open interest (OI) ratio to decline from 0.90 on December 1 to 0.60 as of mid-January, likely due to decreased market volatility, which has dampened trading activity. Despite these challenges, there is a positive trend indicating that traders are beginning to open larger positions on Hyperliquid, and the recovery in volume on a year-to-date basis is promising. The report suggests that open interest is a more reliable indicator of trader confidence and long-term positioning, while trading volume tends to be influenced by broader market conditions. Although current metrics remain below pre-October 10 levels, the trend indicates that recovery is underway. Will 2026 Mark A Surprising Resurgence For Hyperliquid? The recent volume and open interest data are said to be bullish, with the 7-day average volume increasing by over 130% year-to-date, primarily driven by one active deployer, XYZ, which accounts for roughly 80% of that volume. The 7-day average open interest has also risen by more than 60%. Moreover, Hyperliquid is regaining market share from centralized exchanges (CEXs) as seen in the chart below, with its open interest currently representing about 14.6% of Binance’s, gaining momentum against platforms like Bybit and OKX. Related Reading: Ethereum Poised For $4,000 Breakout? Expert Pinpoints On-Chain Triggers For Potential Rally Another key factor that could further contribute to the platform’s recovery this year is the rollout of portfolio margin. Currently live on testnet, this feature will enable traders to borrow and lend against their collateral, unlocking numerous new use cases. Historical evidence from other exchanges, such as Bybit, suggests that introducing portfolio margin can be a significant growth catalyst, potentially translating to a substantial increase in trading volume for Hyperliquid. Overall, core metrics are gradually improving, and several catalysts lie ahead, such as the growing adoption of equity perpetuals and the introduction of portfolio margin. GLC’s report asserts: …If improving market conditions are combined with the catalysts outlined above, and potentially another S3 season bringing in new traders, Hyperliquid will surprise the market once again. At the time of writing, the platform’s HYPE token is trading at around $21.84. This represents a significant 9% retracement within the last 24 hours alone, placing the altcoin 63% below its all-time high of $59.30. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
Users can spend stablecoins and major cryptocurrencies which are automatically converted into Peruvian soles at the point of sale.
This year’s defining security event was not a sophisticated DeFi exploit or a novel protocol failure, but the $1.46 billion theft from Bybit, a top-tier centralized exchange. That single event, attributed to sophisticated state-sponsored actors, rewrote the narrative of the year. It proved that while the frequency of attacks has dropped, the severity of the […]
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The announcement comes just days after Bybit said it had returned to the U.K.
Dogecoin has seen a significant surge in its futures trading volume, indicating renewed interest among investors. However, the DOGE price is still lagging, hovering just above the psychological $0.10 level, amid the broader crypto market downtrend. Dogecoin Sees 53,000% Surge In Futures Trading Volume CoinGlass data shows that Dogecoin’s futures trading volume surged as much as 53,000% on BitMEX, reaching just over $260 million in the process. The top meme coin has also seen its futures trading volume on other major exchanges such as Kraken, Binance, and Bybit surge over the last 24 hours, providing a bullish outlook for DOGE. This has led to a 10% surge in the trading volume across all exchanges, reaching $2.6 billion. Related Reading: Dogecoin Reclaiming $0.128 Support Could Signal The Perfect Chance For Long Positions Notably, the Dogecoin long/short ratio has increased to 0.9 in the last 24 hours, indicating that more traders are betting on a potential DOGE price increase. Meanwhile, the long/short ratio on Binance is at 2, suggesting that most Binance traders remain bullish on the foremost meme coin. This development comes as the crypto market anticipates a potential ‘Santa rally’ to end the year. This could provide some relief for Dogecoin, which has been on a massive downtrend since the October 10 crash. The meme coin is now down over 58% year-to-date (YTD). The DOGE price has also continued to lag despite the surge in futures trading volume. The meme coin continues to mirror Bitcoin’s price action, with the flagship crypto currently struggling to climb above $90,000. The DOGE price has also lagged due to the disappointing launch of the Dogecoin ETFs. SoSo Value data shows that the funds continue to fail to log net inflows, recording zero flows over the last eight trading days. The trading volume for these funds has also been low during this period. What’s Next For The DOGE Price? In an X post, crypto analyst Kevin Capital stated that a reclaim of $0.138 for the DOGE price on the 3-day to 1-week close would put it back above the macro .382 and the 200-week SMA. The analyst noted that this would be a major positive and likely align with the Bitcoin price reclaiming the $88,000 to $91,000 zone, which needs to happen. Kevin Capital further revealed that in the meantime, the DOGE price continues to trade around this “DCA” zone. Analyzing the 2-week chart, crypto analyst Trader Tardigrade stated that Dogecoin looks to be approaching the end of the pre-surge phase. His accompanying chart showed that the meme coin could still rally to $6 when the parabolic surge begins. Related Reading: Dogecoin Open Interest Crashes To April Levels, Here’s What Happened Last Time At the time of writing, the Dogecoin price is trading at around $0.13, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Pngtree, chart from Tradingview.com
Bybit exited the U.K. in 2023 following a tightening of rules around the promotion and marketing of crypto services.
Shiba Inu has recorded a notable surge in spot trading activity on several exchanges over the last seven days. This provides a bullish outlook for the second-largest meme coin by market cap, which has been one of the underperformers in this market cycle. Shiba Inu Sees Surge In Spot Trading Activity CoinGlass data show a 154% surge in Shiba Inu USD spot trading volume on Kraken over the last seven days. There has also been a significant surge on other major exchanges, such as Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Gemini, during the same period. This indicates that spot buyers may be stepping in to defend the SHIB price at a critical support amid the broader crypto market decline. Related Reading: Will A Shiba Inu ETF Follow After Dogecoin? The Lone SHIB Filing Standing Against The Crowd Notably, Shiba Inu is one of the altcoins that are in the green over the last week, suggesting that the bulls may be in control at the moment. CoinMarketCap data shows that the second-largest meme coin by market cap is up almost 7% during this period despite Bitcoin’s choppy price action. Meanwhile, further data from CoinGlass also shows that most leverage traders are currently betting on an increase in the Shiba Inu price, with the long/short ratio currently above 1. However, it is worth noting that derivatives volume is down by over 10% and open interest is down by almost 4%, which presents a bearish outlook for the meme coin. Another positive for Shiba Inu, besides the surge in spot trading volume, is that the Fed is likely to cut interest rates again at this week’s FOMC meeting. This could inject more liquidity into the crypto market, with altcoins like SHIB benefiting from it. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is currently looking to hold above the psychological $90,000 level, which could pave the way for higher prices for SHIB given their positive correlation. Community Gives Update On SHIB’s Progress In an X post, Shiba Inu community member Shibizens gave an update on SHIB’s progress over the last few days. The community member noted that over 45 billion SHIB have been moved off exchanges, indicating that holders are accumulating. Shibizens also alluded to a $35 million whale transfer into a private wallet, suggesting that SHIB whales are also bullish. Related Reading: Will The Shiba Inu Price Hit A New All-Time High In 2025? Machine Learning Algorithm Answers Furthermore, Coinbase is set to launch Shiba Inu futures on December 12 for institutional and retail investors, which could boost the meme coin’s adoption. Meanwhile, NYSE Arca has filed the 19b-4 for T. Rowe’s Shiba Inu ETF, bringing the ETF one step closer to launch. Shibuzens also highlighted upgrades on the Shibarium network, which could provide a major boost for SHIB. This includes the RPC upgrade, while a full privacy upgrade has been confirmed using encrypted tech. There are plans to roll this out by next year. At the time of writing, the Shiba Inu price is trading at around $0.000008498, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Peakpx, chart from Tradingview.com
The DeFi lender's native token broke above key resistance level, eyeing $190 as the next target level.
Analysts note that the XRP price is showing unusual resilience, as a key metric previously seen before short-term rebounds reappears on its chart. In a new technical analysis, crypto market expert Dom points out that the latest market setup mirrors conditions that have led to at least a 10% surge each time this pattern emerges. Recurring Metric Signals 10% XRP Price Surge In an X post released while XRP was still trading around $2.19, Dom highlighted a familiar technical signal, noting that past appearances of a bid-skew metric on the chart have consistently led to sharp price recoveries. As a reflection of its previous stability, the analyst stated the XRP had displayed incredible strength over the last several days, trading above the $2 level. Related Reading: Analyst Claims XRP Price Will Surge To $220 Due To ETFs, But Is This Possible? Even as the Bitcoin price plummeted by more than $15,000 in the past few days, the analyst pointed out that XRP had maintained its local low from November 5. The accompanying chart highlights this divergence between XRP and BTC, where the altcoin’s structure holds its range despite the widespread market downturn. Historically, when XRP has shown such strength during periods of Bitcoin weakness, Dom notes that it has signaled countless price reversals. The analyst further highlighted that over the past three months, every time the recurring bid-skew pattern appeared, XRP followed with an upswing of at least 10%. If the historical metric holds, Dom’s analysis suggests there could be a continuation of XRP’s recent resilience, potentially driving its price up by 10% to at least $2.09. At the time of the analyst’s post, this target may have been higher, since XRP was still trading above $2. However, the cryptocurrency has since fallen below that threshold, reaching $1.9 at the time of writing. XRP CVD Data Reveals Controlled Selling Pressure In a subsequent update, Dom shared a second chart, showing that XRP’s price had declined from its previous level of $2.19 to $2.01. He highlighted that this negative price action serves as a reminder that market dynamics don’t always follow textbook patterns. The recent decline in XRP also falls into roughly 15% of cases where typical orderbook signals fail to predict short-term moves. Related Reading: Here’s How High The XRP Price Needs To Be To Flip Bitcoin In the Binance spot market, Dom points out evidence of “controlled” selling rather than forced liquidations. Unlike earlier periods where strong bids consistently led to upward price momentum, XRP’s Spot Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) curves on Binance, Coinbase, Bybit, and other exchanges are sloping downwards. Moreover, among all the crypto exchanges, Binance has recorded the most decline. Dom notes that controlled selling can be seen clearly in the smoothed cumulative volume lines on the chart. He warns that these developments are tricky to time. Moreover, without a sudden climax or sharp liquidation, bottoming could form slowly, making entries based on traditional reversal signals more challenging. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
A Bybit spokesperson said the talks, reported by South Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper, are “not within our knowledge.”
Dogecoin (DOGE) is facing a steep market cooldown after weeks of heightened trading activity in early October. Data from CoinGlass shows that both Open Interest (OI) and trading volume for DOGE futures have crashed, indicating a sharp decline in the meme coin’s momentum. The latest figures reveal a significant pullback in derivatives activity and spot market participation, suggesting that traders may be retreating from speculative positions as volatility eases. Dogecoin Open Interest Crashes Over 60% Dogecoin’s Open Interest has plunged dramatically from its October highs, reflecting a rapid exodus of leveraged traders from the market. According to CoinGlass, total exchange DOGE futures Open Interest has fallen over 62% from a peak of $5.03 billion on October 7 to $1.88 billion on October 28. This represents a drop to approximately 9.41 billion DOGE, valued at $ 0.20 per token. Related Reading: Dogecoin Treasury Company Looking To Use Strategy’s Bitcoin Playbook For DOGE, Here’s How Despite the decline in Open Interest, Binance, BitMEX, and Bybit continue to lead as the top exchanges with the highest Dogecoin futures activity. Still, the downturn has been widespread across exchanges. Kucoin recorded the largest drop in recent hours at 3.1%, followed closely by Bitget, which saw a 2.27% decline. Over the last 24 hours, Bitunix recorded the steepest drop in Open Interest, down 15.86%, while Crypto.com saw a 7.36% reduction. Even Binance, which consistently leads Dogecoin futures trading, has seen a notable pullback. CoinGlass reports that the exchange’s Open Interest peaked at $964.7 million on October 7, marking a monthly high. Since then, it has fallen to $380.29 million (1.9 billion DOGE), representing a staggering 60.6% crash in just over three weeks. Dogecoin Sees Even Worse Decline In Volume Trading volume for Dogecoin has mirrored the collapse in Open Interest. CoinGlass data shows that Dogecoin’s futures volume heatmap across major crypto exchanges is in the red zone. Total trading volume had spiked to $20.45 billion on October 11, following the devastating crypto flash crash on October 10, but has since plummeted to $5.31 billion as of October 28. This represents a whopping 74% decline. Related Reading: Dogecoin Price Macro Target Remains Above $2, And The Market Crash Hasn’t Changed It On individual exchanges, Binance’s DOGE trading volume dropped by 9.35% in the past 24 hours, while OKX saw a 13.69% decline. CoinEx recorded the largest volume decrease at 26.1%, followed by Gate.io at 23.94%. Popular exchanges like Bitget, Kucoin, and Bitunix also reported varying declines of 4.96%, 20.37% and 13.16%, respectively, as overall market liquidity thinned. However, a few exchanges bucked the downward trend, recording slight gains. dYdX saw its DOGE volume surge by 167.61%, HTX increased by 49.93%, and Hyperliquid rose by 23.88%. Bybit and MEXC also recorded modest gains of 24.98% and 1.88%, respectively. Alongside its decline in trading volume, CoinGlass notes that Dogecoin’s price performance has slipped. The meme coin is currently trading at $0.20, down 13.19% over the past 30 days and 2.86% in the last 24 hours. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com
ByBit says it’s the first crypto exchange to get this nod from UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority.
Mantle's native token has been one of the best performing cryptocurrencies recently, gaining 73% over the past month amid ecosystem expansion and an integration with Bybit.
As Bitcoin (BTC) continues to remain range-bound between $110,000 – $115,000, data from crypto exchanges seems divided toward the leading cryptocurrency. While Binance traders are exhibiting a bullish stance, traders from other exchanges are still showing a degree of hesitation. Binance Traders Expecting Bitcoin Price Surge According to a CryptoQuant Quicktake post by contributor Crazzyblockk, fresh derivatives data from Binance is signaling shifting market dynamics – specifically, the recent BTC funding rate on Binance points toward traders taking a bullish stance. Related Reading: Bitcoin Breaks Above Mid-Term Holder Breakeven – Is A Fresh Rally Brewing? On the contrary, the BTC funding rate from other exchanges, such as OKX, Bybit, and Deribit, suggests that traders on these platforms are still uncertain about taking any directional bet. As of September 23, the BTC perpetual funding rate on Binance climbed to +0.0084%, suggesting that the long positions are dominant and traders are willing to pay a premium to maintain their bullish bets. It is worth highlighting that the increase in funding rate is not an isolated event, as it suggests a positive seven-day change, indicating strengthening conviction among Binance traders. For comparison, the BTC funding rate on OKX is currently hovering at -0.0001%, while on Bybit it sits at 0.0015%. Finally, Deribit shows a funding rate of 0.0019%. The analyst added: This isn’t just a difference in numbers; it’s a difference in narrative. While funding rates on OKX and Bybit have actually decreased over the last seven days, Binance’s rate has climbed. For the uninitiated, funding rates can be viewed as a real-time gauge of trader sentiment in the perpetual swaps market. A strong positive rate like that of Binance, which diverges from the rest of the market, points toward aggressive bullish speculation. Is BTC About To Make A Move? In a separate CryptoQuant post, contributor XWIN Research Japan noted that Bitcoin’s implied volatility has dropped to its lowest level since 2023. Back then, the lull in the market was followed by an explosive rally of 325%, which propelled BTC from $29,000 to $124,000. Related Reading: Bitcoin Faces Bearish Pressure As Exchange Inflows Stay Elevated – Will BTC Lose $112,000 Support? The analyst added that the total Bitcoin exchange reserves continue to deplete at a rapid pace, hitting new multi-year lows. Historically, such a fall in BTC exchange reserves has preceded supply squeezes, leading to a dramatic rise in demand. That said, the overall sentiment toward BTC appears to be cold at present. The Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index suggests that investors are fearful of entering the market, which may offer a good opportunity to accumulate BTC at current market prices. However, fresh data from BTC wallets confirms that new wallets – those that are less than a month old – are starting to buy the top digital asset. At press time, BTC trades at $113,796, up 1% in the past 24 hours. Featured image from Unsplash, charts from CryptoQuant and TradingView.com
XRP Exchange reserves have surged by 1.2 billion in just a day, presenting a bearish outlook for the XRP price. This development comes as the token looks to hold above the psychological $3 level. XRP Exchange Reserves Increase By 1.2 Billion In Just A Day A CryptoQuant analysis by CryptoOnchain revealed that XRP Exchange reserves jumped by 1.2 billion in a day across four crypto exchanges, with Binance leading the surge. Bithumb, Bybit, and OKX also experienced a major increase in their reserves, a development which CryptoOnchain noted shifted the volume of XRP’s reserves in an unprecedented manner. Related Reading: Crypto Expert Shares How To Get To $1 Million With XRP Binance saw its reserve holdings increase from around 2.928 billion XRP to 3.538 billion XRP, an increase of over 610 million XRP in a single day. Meanwhile, Bithumb saw its holdings increase from 1.647 billion to 2.519 billion, Bybit’s holdings increased from 188 million to 380 million XRP, and OKX’s XRP reserves jumped from 112,000 to 233 million. This development is typically bearish, as an increase in crypto exchanges’ reserves indicates that investors are offloading their coins. This would also explain why XRP has underperformed in recent times and has struggled to hold above the psychological $3 price level. During this period, other altcoins like Solana and BNB have outperformed XRP, reaching new local highs. Accumulation Rather Than Sell-offs CryptoOnchain revealed that the increase in XRP Exchange reserves is a case of accumulation rather than the typical sell-offs. The analyst noted that the price chart indicates that this heavy accumulation occurred precisely at the key support level of around $2.73, a level that has previously prevented the altcoin from experiencing massive declines. Related Reading: XRP Price Setting Up For Next Leg With Expected Targets Reaching $19.27 The analyst then pointed to the RSI and MACD indicators a day after the increase in the XRP Exchange reserves, which shows a decrease in selling pressure on the token.CryptoOnchain explained that this could mean that the heavy buying by exchanges was aimed at accumulation rather than immediate injection into the market. CryptoOnchain also noted that the pattern of these large accumulations across the crypto exchanges and at a critical support level could be a sign of institutional coordination or an upcoming event. Notably, the XRP ETFs could launch next month, which would represent a significant development for the XRP price. The analyst stated that if the current support holds and buying volumes continue, the XRP price could rally to higher resistances at $3.34 and $3.58. However, CryptoOnchain warned that if the support is broken, selling pressure could turn the increase in XRP Exchange reserves into an opportunity for massive supply. At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $3.06, up over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com
The exchange had suspended most services in January 2025 due to operating without proper registration under anti-money laundering rules.
The exchange’s card lets users spend digital assets via Mastercard, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, with a 20% cashback incentive scheme this month.
European users of Austria-based Bybit EU can now borrow funds against their existing crypto holdings, using them as collateral to buy or sell more assets.
The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has flagged ten prominent crypto exchanges, including OKX, Bybit, KuCoin, and Bitget, for operating in the country without the necessary approval. On Aug. 4, the SEC issued a public warning advising residents to avoid engaging with these unregistered platforms, which have not secured licenses to operate or solicit […]
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On-chain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence recently uncovered the biggest crypto hack ever. The hack involved stolen Bitcoin worth $3.5 billion at the time, now worth $14 billion, which is larger than the $1.5 billion Bybit hack this year. Arkham Intelligence Unveils $14 Billion Hack on Chinese Mining Pool LuBian In an X post, Arkham revealed that it had uncovered a $3.5 billion Bitcoin heist, the largest ever. This hack was on LuBian, which was a Chinese mining pool with facilities in China and Iran. The analytics platform stated that 127,426 BTC appears to have been stolen from LuBian in December 2020. These coins, which were worth $3.5 billion at the time, are now valued at $14.5 billion based on the current Bitcoin price. Related Reading: From Riches To Chains: Crypto King Arrested For Torturing Bitcoin Investor In Horror Scheme Furthermore, the platform noted that neither LuBian nor the hacker has publicly acknowledged the hack since it took place in 2020. At the time, the Chinese firm was one of the world’s largest mining pools, controlling almost 6% of the Bitcoin network’s total hash rate as of May 2020. Arkham revealed that the mining pool appears to have been first hacked on December 28, 2020, for over 90% of its BTC. The hacker subsequently stole around $6 million worth of BTC and USDT on December 29 from a LuBian address that was active on the Bitcoin Omni layer. On December 31, LuBian then rotated its remaining funds to recovery wallets. This hack trumps the Bybit hack of $1.5 billion, which occurred on February 21 earlier this year. Unlike the LuBian hack, which involved Bitcoin, hackers stole over 400,000 ETH from Bybit’s cold wallets through social engineering. As a result, the hackers were able to authorize these transfers despite the wallets being multisig. Attempts To Recover The Stolen Bitcoin Arkham also revealed that LuBian had made attempts to recover the stolen Bitcoin by contacting the hacker. The Chinese mining pool had sent OP_RETURN messages, in which it asked the hacker to return their funds. The analytics platform stated that the firm spent 1.4 BTC across 1516 different transactions to send these messages. Related Reading: Coinbase’s $400 Million Breach: What Really Happened And How Did Customers Get Exposed? Arkham claimed that the messages suggest that this was not a spoof from another hacker who had brute-forced the private keys. This appears to have been how LuBian was hacked in the first place, as the mining pool is said to have been using an algorithm to generate private keys that were susceptible to brute-force attacks. Arkham revealed that LuBian still holds 11,886 BTC, currently worth around $1.35 billion. Meanwhile, the hacker still holds the stolen Bitcoin, which they are known to have last consolidated in another wallet in July 2024. Thanks to Bitcoin’s surge over the years, the LuBian hacker is now the 13th largest BTC holder based on Arkham data, ahead of the Mt. Gox hacker. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview.com
XRP Open Interest (OI) has surged to a new all-time high, surpassing $10 billion across major crypto exchanges. This jump in futures activity comes as the XRP price climbs toward $3.48, its highest level in years. Historically, rising Open Interest has often coincided with significant price rallies, suggesting the potential for further upside in XRP’s trajectory. XRP Open Interest Records New ATH Reports from Coinglass have revealed that the total Open Interest in XRP futures has climbed to a fresh ATH of $10.49 billion, reflecting a sharp increase in trading activity and capital inflows into the derivatives market. Notably, the Open Interest broke ATH targets after it exceeded the $9 billion mark, with trading activity continuing to accelerate, according to a recent X post by crypto analyst Captain Redbeard. Related Reading: XRP Open Interest Explodes To January ATH Levels, Will Price Follow Above $3? Coinglass chart data from July 18, 2025, shows that XRP is currently trading at approximately $3.5, marking a significant recovery from its prolonged consolidation period just above $2 in recent months. The spike in Open Interest is reportedly driven by some of the top crypto exchanges, with Bitget leading with $2.21 billion, followed by Binance at $1.83 billion, Gate at $1.69 billion, Bybit at $1.53 billion, and other platforms contributing to the overall increase. Binance, the dominant player in XRP futures, has seen its Open Interest vault from around $544.4 million on March 11, 2025, to nearly $2 billion in just four months. This reflects a broader trend where major exchanges, including Bitmex, Coinbase, OKX, and Hyperliquid, witness multiple hundred-million-dollar positions being opened by traders betting on XRP’s next move. The correlation between Open Interest and price action often serves as a crucial signal in the derivatives market. Usually, when OI climbs alongside price, it suggests strong bullish momentum backed by real capital. Conversely, a surge in OI without a corresponding price increase can raise concerns over potential leverage traps or looming liquidations. In the case of XRP, both Open Interest and price appear to be rising, indicating sustained market confidence and the possibility of an even stronger uptrend. XRP Eyes Three Bullish Targets In 2025 The XRP price is eyeing higher levels this bull cycle, as crypto analyst Armando Pantoja has forecasted three upside targets for the altcoin in 2025. Firstly, the analyst announced that XRP has officially entered price discovery territory after smashing through the long-standing resistance level of $2.98. Related Reading: Prepare For ATHs: ‘XRP Train Has Left The Station – Analyst This breakout now marks the possible start of another bull phase, with XRP expected to hit an immediate target of $4 soon. Pantoja’s Projections also extend to a bullish target of $6.37 and even $8.12 before the end of 2025. These targets are based on Fibonacci Extension levels and historical cycle patterns, indicating that XRP could still be in the early phases of a larger breakout. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
The Hellenic Anti-Money Laundering Authority issued a freezing order, locking the assets and preventing them from being transferred.
Assume any exchange that has some material amount of USDC has an agreement with Circle, said one person familiar with the situation.
Tokenization of equities is gaining steam, with several crypto exchanges moving towards offering on-chain stock trading on their platforms.