The funds will support the EF's core operations, including protocol R&D and ecosystem grants, as part of a treasury strategy to balance ETH and fiat-like assets.
The cryptocurrency community pushed back, with Michael Saylor saying Bitcoin has no issuer, promoter, or guaranteed return, and is instead driven by code and market demand.
Exchanges are racing toward blockchain-based equities and 24/7 trading. Institutions, however, fear liquidity and funding risks.
They argue the tax would be illegal, violating Brazil's Constitution and Virtual Assets Law, as stablecoins are not considered fiat currency.
The brave new world of autonomous, micro-transacting AI agents is where programmable cryptocurrencies will shine, according to stablecoin experts.
More than $246 million in crypto futures positions were wiped out in a single day as Bitcoin reversed sharply on Thursday, punishing traders who had bet against the market. The leading cryptocurrency climbed back to around $73,300 — a gain of roughly 4.5% over 24 hours — after a stretch of selling had dragged prices into the high $60,000 range. Related Reading: Cardano’s DeFi Boom: TVL Spikes 23% In Less Than 2 Weeks The move carried the hallmarks of a short squeeze. Funding rates had gone deeply negative in the days before the reversal, a sign that bearish bets had piled up on exchanges. When prices turned higher, those positions were forced to close. Volume surged, and the rally fed on itself. Buyers Step In Ahead Of Major Resistance Bitcoin had been trading near $71,500 before buyers moved in. Reports from trading data firm TradingView placed the price at approximately $72,900 at publication time. The recovery came against a backdrop of broader risk appetite returning to financial markets, with the S&P 500 posting gains and the US dollar softening — conditions that have historically drawn money into alternative assets like Bitcoin. Institutional demand played a role too. Inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds helped put a floor under prices during earlier sell-offs this year, keeping losses shallower than they might otherwise have been. That dynamic marks a notable shift from past cycles, when Bitcoin often fell in lockstep with equities during periods of stress. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East added a layer of uncertainty throughout the week, but Bitcoin held its ground, a fact traders pointed to as evidence of broader market acceptance of the asset. Open Interest Stays Elevated At $48B The derivatives market remains stretched. Open interest across major exchanges sat near $48 billion, according to data aggregated by Coinglass, with CME Bitcoin futures alone accounting for roughly $7.9 billion — or around 110,000 BTC. Positioning had shifted toward call options heading into the move, suggesting some traders had already anticipated a push higher. That level of open interest cuts both ways. It reflects strong participation and genuine conviction from both retail and institutional traders. Related Reading: Ghana’s Crypto Push Begins As 11 Companies Enter SEC Sandbox But it also means the market stays vulnerable to sharp swings if headlines change fast. A single piece of macro news — a Federal Reserve signal, an escalation overseas, a policy shift — could flip the mood quickly. Bitcoin has shed its old reputation as a pure risk-on trade, at least partly. Advocates increasingly frame it as a store of value in environments where governments spend freely and currencies weaken. Whether that framing holds under pressure remains an open question, but Thursday’s recovery did little to discourage those who believe it. Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
The billionaire investor said stablecoins could become the whole payment system in 10-15 years, and reiterated that crypto might replace the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency.
The Treasury Department said North Korea infiltrated IT workers into U.S. businesses and channeled their wages back to the country to fund weapons of mass destruction programs.
The firm plays a central role in the development of Optimism, an Ethereum layer-2 scaling network designed to make transactions faster and cheaper by processing activity off the Ethereum main chain.
The proposed class action suit said Chase provided “the essential banking infrastructure” for Goliath Ventures’ alleged fraud, despite red flags it claims made the scheme “obvious.”
Eightco holds a digital asset treasury that includes some 277 million WLD tokens and 11,000 ether.
The issuer behind the USDT stablecoin joined a $5.2 million funding round for Ark Labs, backing software that could let stablecoins move and settle on Bitcoin rails.
The company's platform tracks digital assets, storage locations and crypto loans, enabling financial institutions and corporations to produce accounting records and financial reports.
Despite the bear market, today's report suggests a higher valuation than the $40 billion at which the firm raised funds in November.
The move mirrors JPMorgan's similar trademark filing that foreshadowed the bank's introduction of tokenized deposits on Ethereum layer-2 network Base.
The Appia roadmap for a euro-based tokenized financial system is part of the European Union’s push to reduce reliance on foreign financial infrastructure.
The appointment of Stephen Gregory comes as U.S. crypto exchanges intensify competition and broaden offerings beyond digital assets.
Shredpay targets U.S. retail and institutional users looking for ease of use and a comprehensive risk rating.
The pool is designed for institutional and public company miners, focusing on compliance and regulated infrastructure.
The situation adds pressure to Binance, which is already operating under a compliance monitor following its $4.3 billion anti-money laundering and sanctions settlement in 2023.
More than 85 partners will work with Mastercard to connect on-chain payments with banks, merchants and global commerce as part of the payment giant's recent crypto program.
The blockchain data flagged shows a spike in liquidations over the past 24 hours. Some observers believe the event may have been linked to a price update in an oracle system that Aave uses to determine the value of collateral.
Digital dollar use in payments and crypto markets may slowly pull deposits from banks, forcing lenders to seek pricier funding, a new report by Jeffries finds.
According to the firm, the next wave of users that will onboard into crypto will be thanks to networks where users earn crypto by contributing work rather than buying tokens outright.
The acquisition follows SolanaFloor's shutdown last month due to a $27 million exploit linked to its parent company, Step Finance.
The initiative will reward trading and DeFi use of tokenized stocks as the sector tops $1 billion and gains traction with major exchanges.
As regulation advances and institutions adopt blockchain settlement, stablecoins are expanding beyond crypto trading into payments infrastructure.
Roman Storm, a Tornado Cash co-founder and developer, has criticized proceedings against him as an attempt “to make writing code a crime.”
The capital will be used to expand development of the Zcash (ZEC) protocol and its privacy-focused self-custodial mobile wallet, Zodl.
The firm used USDC on Ethereum and PayPal USD on Solana for insurance premium payments, testing how stablecoins could reshape settlements.