Iran’s reported Bitcoin tolls at Hormuz point to a new use case for crypto, sanctions-resistant trade infrastructure Iran is reportedly planning to charge oil tankers a Bitcoin-denominated toll for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The move would be significant as it extends beyond price action, ideology, or adoption rhetoric. The development places Bitcoin inside […]
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Coinbase stock price teased a bullish spike but then hesitated at the worst possible moment. The recent move up toward $189 looked promising, especially coming off that February support zone around $140–$160. That area isn’t random either as it lines up with a two-year-old demand zone. So naturally, buyers showed up. But let’s not get …
Bittensor (TAO) price posted a strong move over the past few hours, climbing nearly 8% to test a key resistance near $350. However, sellers quickly stepped in, capping the rally and pulling the price back toward $335. While the structure remains clean and momentum appears strong, this is not a confirmed breakout—TAO is still testing …
Leveraged bullish bitcoin positions remain near multi-year highs as bitcoin rebounds, hinting at underlying market uncertainty.
XRP is trading around a critical price level. The market is showing signs of life — driven by reports of potential US-Iran negotiations that have lifted risk sentiment across financial markets. But the derivatives data on Binance is telling a more cautious story about what those signs are actually worth. Related Reading: A Key Bitcoin Signal Is Quietly Building While The Price Stays Flat: Here Is What to Watch Next A CryptoQuant report tracking XRP’s leverage structure has identified an asymmetry that cuts directly against the bullish surface reading. Over the past 30 days, long position liquidations on Binance reached approximately $39.8 million — more than double the $19.7 million in short position liquidations recorded over the same period. The market has been punishing buyers at twice the rate it has been punishing sellers. That ratio matters because it describes the current market’s relationship with optimism. Every time XRP traders have positioned for upside, the market has extracted a disproportionate cost from those positions. The geopolitical catalyst may be shifting sentiment. The leverage structure is not yet reflecting a market that has earned the right to move higher — it is reflecting one that has been repeatedly burned for trying. The bullish signs are real. The foundation beneath them is still being tested. Caution Is Winning. It Has Not Won Yet The report adds a behavioral layer that confirms what the liquidation asymmetry implies. The 30-day cumulative funding rate has registered a slightly negative value of approximately -0.000007, a modest reading, but one that has held in negative territory consistently. In derivatives markets, persistent negative funding means traders are paying to maintain short positions rather than long ones. That is not neutral positioning. It is a market that is leaning against recovery, not toward it. The combined picture — long liquidations at double the rate of short liquidations, funding tilted negative, leverage usage declining from previous periods — describes a derivatives market that has been systematically reducing its bullish exposure. That process of overextension removal is, paradoxically, the most constructive development visible in the data. When leveraged longs are cleared from a market and positioning becomes lighter and more two-sided, the mechanical risk of cascading liquidations in either direction diminishes. What remains is a market that has shed its excess but not yet found its conviction. The simultaneous decline in both long and short liquidations confirms the overextension is being resolved. The continued dominance of long liquidations confirms the resolution is not yet complete. The leverage reset is underway. It is not finished. When it is — and when liquidity returns alongside it — the conditions for a larger move will exist in a way they currently do not. The direction of that move will depend on which catalyst arrives first Related Reading: XRP Spot Buying Hits $520M While Futures Stay Negative. Here Is the Signal To Watch For A Real Move XRP Consolidates Below Resistance as Downtrend Structure Persists XRP continues to trade in a compressed range near $1.38 after a prolonged downtrend that began following its late-2025 peak. The chart shows a clear sequence of lower highs and lower lows, with price consistently rejected below the 50-day (blue) and 100-day (green) moving averages. Both indicators are sloping downward, reinforcing the broader bearish structure. The 200-day moving average (red), now positioned well above the current price, confirms that XRP remains in a macro corrective phase. The February capitulation event stands out as a structural reset, marked by a sharp spike in volume and a rapid move below $1.20 before reclaiming higher levels. Since then, XRP has stabilized, but the recovery lacks momentum. Volume has declined steadily, suggesting reduced participation rather than strong accumulation. Related Reading: Ethereum Trading on Binance Has Gone Quiet, Discover What Happens When That Changes Price is now compressing just below short-term resistance, with repeated failures to break above the descending 50-day moving average. This type of consolidation often precedes expansion, but the direction remains unclear. A reclaim of the $1.50–$1.60 zone would be required to challenge the current downtrend. Until then, XRP remains structurally weak, with consolidation reflecting equilibrium—not strength. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
Polygon Labs' stablecoin unit could significantly enhance blockchain-based financial services, driving institutional adoption and transaction growth.
The post Polygon Labs explores raising up to $100 million to launch stablecoin payment unit appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
While the British financial institution refused to comment on potential takeover plans, sources close to the matter revealed that plans are in place and could be announced as soon as this month.
Polygon Labs is in early talks to raise up to $100 million to scale a regulated stablecoin payments business, shifting its focus from generic blockchain support to real‑world money movement that boosts on‑chain transaction volume. The push builds on its recent acquisitions of licensed U.S. payment and wallet firms Coinme and Sequence, aiming to integrate fiat …
The company is building an "asset-native" network designed to handle regulated financial activity at scale, targeting a market it values at $50 trillion.
Iran is proposing a plan to charge about $1 per barrel in cryptocurrency or other digital assets like stablecoins and yuan for oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz during a two‑week ceasefire deal with the United States, according to reports. Fully loaded tankers must submit cargo and vessel details before payment, while …
MEXC appointed Vugar Usi as CEO and outlined plans to expand zero-fee trading and pursue MiCA licensing amid growing industry competition.
Iran is reportedly open transit tolls paid in bitcoin and crypto for ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz amid volatile ceasefire.
Similarities reflect shared early research, not proof, said Back. Others have questions too.
Commercial players, including Strategy, BlackRock, and Fidelity, are expected to play a "constructive role" in security, the analysts said.
ZEC's latest rebound resembled bounces witnessed during the 2021 bear market, raising the odds of a 40% correction in the coming weeks.
The Drift exploit and Stabble’s precautionary warning point to a difficult crypto security problem: the next major breach may begin long before funds move on-chain. That is what makes these incidents more than isolated alarms. They suggest that some protocols may still be looking for smart contract flaws, while the real exposure lies in hiring, […]
The post After the $285M Drift hack, new Solana scare shows crypto’s next security risk may already be inside appeared first on CryptoSlate.
White House economists said banning rewards wouldn't significantly boost banks' financial health, amplifying the crypto industry view in the Clarity Act debate.
Crypto markets are entering a pivotal phase as macro signals begin to diverge, with Bitcoin flashing breakout. Bitcoin is showing early signs of a technical breakout, pushing above important levels after a period of heavy bearish sentiment. According to Gareth Soloway, the next immediate test sits around the $75,000–$76,000 range. A successful move beyond that …
Expanding regulated crypto derivatives access in a growing financial hub WhiteBIT, the largest European cryptocurrency exchange by traffic, has obtained a broker license from the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) through its local entity, WhiteBIT Broker. With this authorization, the company will introduce crypto derivatives trading, including perpetual futures, in the Georgian market. WhiteBIT already …
Standard Chartered is reportedly exploring a shake-up of Zodia Custody that would bring parts of the crypto custodian inside its own investment bank.
CZ’s new memoir reignited his long-running feud with OKX founder Star Xu, who called the Binance founder a liar in posts on X.
The broker said advances in quantum computing are accelerating the timeline for crypto risk, but argued Bitcoin faces a multi-year upgrade cycle, not an existential crisis.
Digital asset inflows totaled $11 billion in Q1, as institutional demand and ETF outflows left corporate buyers and venture capital as the primary sources of funding.
Crypto trades settle instantly, but at the cost of capital efficiency. This forces firms to overcollateralize and limits how far markets can scale, says Cosmos co-founder Ethan Buchman.
The bank boasts "the largest network of financial advisors [with] 16,000 advisors managing $6.2 trillion" according to an analyst.
A viral footage from 2018 has resurfaced online, showing CEO Brad Garlinghouse boldly declaring that Ripple was taking over SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications). At the time, the crypto payments company was still in its early growth phase, aggressively positioning itself as a faster and more cost-effective alternative to SWIFT. Today, Ripple has evolved significantly in various aspects, including regulation, payments, global adoption, partnerships, banking, and more. Ripple CEO Makes Bold Claim To Surpass SWIFT During the 2018 Bloomberg interview, Garlinghouse was asked whether he believed Ripple could ever take over SWIFT. The CEO responded calmly, “I think what we’re doing and executing on a day-by-day basis is in fact taking over SWIFT.” He stated that the company had already signed with more than 100 banks, noting that some of the largest SWIFT-enabled financial institutions in the world are already using Ripple’s technology. Related Reading: Analyst Who Called Bitcoin Price Crash Above $100,000 Predicts Crash To $29,000 Garlinghouse’s statement reflected confidence in Ripple’s growth potential and its ability to transform global payment systems. He pointed to practical, real-world applications, explaining that a remittance company adopted Ripple’s technology in 2018 and lowered the price per transaction from $20 to just $2, leading to a staggering 800% surge in usage overnight. According to him, this type of growth and dynamic is what Ripple can address, while SWIFT has struggled to support. Despite his bold vision, many in the crypto community today remain skeptical. One possible reason for this doubt is that SWIFT has served as the backbone of international financial communications since 1973. Hence, it has built decades of strong credibility, trust, compliance, and security standards—areas where Ripple, by comparison, is still developing. However, despite these long-standing advantages, SWIFT falls short in many areas that Ripple aims to improve. The system relies on processes that take 1-5 days for transactions to settle, while Ripple executes transfers in seconds. In addition, SWIFT’s transfers also cost $25-$50 per transaction, while the average all-in costs for institutional payments on Ripple range from $0.001-$0.01 per transaction, a staggering contrast. One of SWIFT’s biggest flaws today is that it does not move money directly; instead, it sends messages about money while still relying on pre-funded Nostro accounts. This reliance is the key area where Ripple has a huge advantage. While SWIFT’s pre-funded accounts and use of intermediaries slow payments, Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) leverages XRP as a bridge currency to speed up transfers. The crypto company converts the sender’s currency into XRP, moves it across the ledger, and then converts it to the receiver’s currency—all of which is done in seconds. How Ripple Has Evolved Since 2018 Fast-forward to today, Ripple has overcome major hurdles since 2018, including resolving its almost seven-year legal battle with the US SEC and gaining clearer regulatory guidance and recognition. At the same time, the company has continued to expand globally while enhancing the XRP Ledger (XRPL) with new updates and stronger security features. Related Reading: XRP Analyst Reveals Why The Altcoin Is Set To Hit $27 So far, the company continues its efforts to either rival or work with SWIFT. It has established partnerships with hundreds of banks, payment providers, remittance firms, and other institutions. Ripple has also expanded its offerings through various strategic acquisitions, including Hidden Road, Metaco, GTreasury, and others. As a result, the crypto firm now extends its services beyond payments to include custody, settlement, treasury management, and more. Recently, one of Ripple’s biggest milestones was gaining conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for a national bank charter. A full license would officially designate Ripple as a federally recognized bank, bringing the company one step closer to its goals. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
Bitcoin miner Cango said it sold 2,000 BTC to pay off debt and cut its BTC production cost by 19% as part of its strategic pivot to energy and AI infrastructure.
Something’s brewing and no, it’s not retail hype this time. Whale transactions are suddenly exploding across multiple altcoins, and the timing? Suspiciously perfect. Over the past week, whale transactions those chunky $100K+ transfers have surged across several mid-to-large cap assets. Data shows triple-digit spikes almost everywhere you look. And while prices haven’t exactly gone vertical …
Standard Chartered reportedly plans to integrate Zodia Custody's crypto custody business into its corporate bank division
Iran's crypto demand for Hormuz passage could disrupt global shipping, impact oil prices, and increase geopolitical tensions in the region.
The post Iran demands Bitcoin, crypto payments for Strait of Hormuz passage: FT appeared first on Crypto Briefing.