Google integrated Gemini 3 into Gmail, transforming the inbox into an assistant with summaries, drafting tools, and new privacy controls.
Comments by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao about embracing meme culture have sparked fresh debate online, with supporters of Pi Network questioning why their project remains unlisted on Binance despite its large user base. CZ recently said he likes meme culture and finds certain meme-driven ideas “sticky.” While the remarks were not directly linked to Pi …
The Ethereum staking ecosystem is showing clear signs of tightening as demand for validators continues to rise. Participants now face a multi-week wait to enter the network. This growing staking queue reflects a structural shift in how ETH is being held and deployed less as a liquid supply and more as long-term productive capital. As more ETH becomes locked in validation, the dynamics of supply, yield, and network security are quietly being reshaped. Why Validator Delays Add Friction To Supply Re-Entry The current state of Ethereum staking highlights a growing problem with predictability. Crypto expert Dave has pointed out on X that the ETH staking entry queue is now showing an estimated wait of 25 days and 4 hours to enter. Previously, the wait time was around 7.55 days, which is a more than threefold increase in wait time over a relatively short period. Related Reading: Ethereum Staking Deposits Just Surpassed Withdrawals, Why This Could Send ETH Price Above $4,000 At the same time, the exit queue is reporting a wait time of 14 minutes, which previously sat for 44.25 days, representing a reduction of well over 4,000 times, from weeks to minutes. According to Dave, staking on a blockchain with this level of variance between entry and exit requirements is uncertain. Waiting weeks to enter while exit clears almost instantly makes staking behavior highly state-dependent and unpredictable. This contract is exactly why the expert prefers staking on Cardano, because there is no entry queue. Also, delegation is reflected on-chain immediately, and stake changes are transparent and deterministic. The only delay is a fixed active stake period of two epochs, which is 10 days before delegation changes take effect. This consistency is the difference because there are no dynamic queues, no sudden shifts, and no surprises driven by changing network states. If demand to stake on Cardano increases rapidly, it will make absolutely no difference, because predictability matters especially with monetary investments. Why Throughput Without Context Is Meaningless The headline claim of $8 trillion in stablecoin transfers on Ethereum sounds impressive, but it’s a completely meaningless metric. Crypto analyst DBCrypto noted that a single entity can move $1 billion back and forth between two wallets ten times, creating a sudden $10 billion in volume, but generating zero economic activity. Related Reading: Big Bet On Ethereum: CEO Sees 10X TVL Growth In 2026 This is why banks don’t advertise transfer volume as a growth metric, as volume without context tells nothing about utility or growth. However, crypto continues to elevate these numbers as milestones because big figures pump bags. What’s being measured here is motion and activity, not progress or value. DBCrypto concluded that until the industry stops celebrating vanity metrics, it will continue to confuse noise for signal. Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com
In the latest Cointelegraph video, we break down the 2026 Bitcoin forecasts from top crypto companies and the trends shaping the market ahead.
The organization reported more than 2.6 million advocates in the US ahead of the midterm elections that could change the political party in control of Congress.
The crypto market is on a bearish trend over the last 24 hours and Bitcoin led the rally by declining toward $90K. As a result, several altcoins and meme coins lost their early-January gains and are now retesting weekly support lines. Shiba Inu, a notable meme coin, lost buyers’ support as long liquidation surged in …
Binance’s U.S. expansion could be a threat, the bank warned while upgrading Coinbase to a "Buy" rating.
Optimism plans OP token buybacks funded by 50 percent of Superchain revenue as adoption and transaction share continue to grow.
The post Optimism proposes OP token buybacks using 50% of Superchain revenue appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao aka CZ, said he is considering naming the Chinese version of his memoir “币安人生” (Binance Life), while stressing that the title has no connection to any meme tokens or listing decisions. CZ said the English title has not been decided and is likely to be completely different. He expects to self-publish …
The outflow was primarily due to a $47.25 million redemption from 21Shares’ TOXR, while other funds remained stable or positive.
On Jan. 7, Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial (WLFI) formally applied for a national banking charter to establish the “World Liberty Trust Company.” This is a proposed national trust bank specifically designed to handle USD1 stablecoin issuance, custody, redemption, and reserve management. USD1 is WLFI's flagship product, with more than $3.3 billion in supply across […]
The post Why is Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is applying for a banking license right now? appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Bitcoin, gold and silver are now viewed through new lenses of scarcity shaped by market structure, liquidity, access and price expectations.
Europe’s new crypto tax reporting regime has taken effect, igniting a fierce debate over privacy as exchanges begin sharing user data.
XRP ETFs recorded their first day of $40 million outflows since launch as the token pulled back from recent highs.
The post XRP ETFs post first day of outflows since November launch appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
While Electric Coin Company’s development team departed to form a new company, it will still be working on Zcash.
Morgan Stanley's digital wallet launch could accelerate mainstream adoption of tokenized assets, reshaping investment landscapes and strategies.
The post Morgan Stanley to launch digital wallet for tokenized assets appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
The early rally to start the year failed to break past $95,000, setting the stage for the current pullback, according to one trading firm.
The Optimism Foundation is looking to redirect 50% of the revenue earned by Superchain for monthly over-the-counter token buybacks.
Bitcoin dropped below $90,000 this week, continuing its slide from last year’s record high, as markets reacted to weak price action and an upcoming U.S. vote that could reshape how cryptocurrencies are regulated. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is now down more than 28% from its October 2025 peak of around $126,000. Each rebound in recent …
Recent governance turmoil at Zcash has resurfaced questions about development continuity, tempering confidence after the token’s strong Q4.
The Ethereum co-founder made the case that Ethereum occupies a role similar to the Linux operating system, but for shifting value and risk on the internet.
Google shares hit a fresh intraday high near $330 as traders watch for a new record close while the companys market value tops Apple.
The post Google hits fresh intraday high after brief surge to $330 appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
2026 is here. The crypto year ahead: banks, stablecoins, tokenization. Discover why the biggest risk for advisors is now under-allocation.
The system will bring together various elements of the payment stack, including liquidity, orchestration, and regulatory controls.
Zcash's technical and fundamental catalysts raise the odds of ZEC price declining to as low as $200 in the coming weeks after core developers exited the project.
Saylor's meeting with Justice highlights growing political support for digital assets, potentially influencing future regulatory frameworks.
The post Michael Saylor meets with Senator Jim Justice to discuss digital assets appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
A senior Ripple executive said XRP already has clear regulatory status in the United States and does not need new legislation to function, even as broader crypto rules remain uncertain. The comments came after a question on X asked whether XRP needs the proposed Clarity Act to “fully succeed.” The question followed a series of …
A longtime XRP Ledger builder says XRPL has a narrow shot in 2026 to jump into the top tier of chains on liquidity and activity, but only if Ripple and the XRPL Foundation stop “playing it safe” and prioritize frictionless consumer onboarding, real-world payment rails, and a faster, more aggressive funding engine. Why 2026 Needs To Be The Year For XRP Panos Mekras, founder of Anodos Finance, wrote on X that the network’s current metrics are a warning sign: “only a few thousand active users,” daily DEX volume “frequently under $10m,” and AMM TVL “struggling below $50m” roughly two years after launch. The target, he argued, should be explicit: “move into the top 3 networks when it comes to volume, liquidity and overall activity.” Mekras said the liquidity gap is ultimately an infrastructure and distribution problem. XRPL remains “an isolated island,” he wrote, with limited bridges to other chains and “fragmented, high-fee gateways” instead of seamless on/offramps. His prescription is direct integration of mainstream rails: “native support for major rails like VISA and Mastercard directly within XRPL-based applications” so users can issue cards and spend XRPL assets in real time. Related Reading: Same XRP Setup That Led To Over 1,000% Increase In 2017 Is Playing Out Again He also framed stablecoin alignment as a competitive constraint: RLUSD reaching a $1 billion market cap in its first year is “positive,” he said, but “$1B is not good enough” against incumbents with $5 billion to $180 billion in circulation that have already become default onramps. He also argued XRPL lost its consumer narrative after Ripple’s 2014 pivot toward payments and B2B. That shift, in his telling, trained the market to associate XRP primarily with Ripple partnerships rather than the ledger itself, leaving many holders unaware of XRPL’s native DEX and token features. He pointed to a 2023 reply from Ripple CTO David “JoelKatz” Schwartz, who said the DEX ecosystem was strong at the time of the pivot, citing “over $8 million per day in swaps and payments” that Ripple “could 100% confirm” as real activity. For 2026, Mekras wants XRPL positioned less as “payments” and more as a protocol-layer finance stack where core features are built-in rather than stitched together through smart contracts, with “aggregated liquidity” and “one DEX to rule them all.” A key pillar is “XRPFi,” which he described as an effort to turn “the $100B+ of dormant XRP into productive, yield-generating capital” by pushing XRP liquidity into programmable environments. He cited Flare’s FXRP via FAssets as a route into smart contracts without “central custodians,” and highlighted Axelar & Midas’ mXRP as an “institutional-grade liquid staking token” he said could enable “5–10% APY,” creating liquid XRP variants that can be used as collateral and AMM liquidity. Related Reading: XRP Rally Reopens The $8–$12 Zone Debate, Says Will Taylor The consumer strategy, he argued, should be “invisible infrastructure”: utility apps where users never see crypto mechanics. “If a user is ever prompted to ‘Add a Trust Line’ or ‘Have enough XRP for the reserves’ we have already failed,” he wrote. “The interface must be indistinguishable from the modern mobile apps people already trust.” To enable that, he called Sponsored Fees and Reserves (XLS-68) the top technical priority so developers can sponsor account reserves and fees, paired with Batch Transactions to compress multi-step actions into “one single, atomic signature.” Mekras’ sharpest criticism was aimed at grants. He called Ripple’s 2022 commitment of 1 billion XRP to fund XRPL development a “Ghost Fund,” estimating less than $50 million, under 5% has reached active builders in four years. “A grant program that takes 3 months to approve $50,000 and can take another 3 months to receive the money is not a growth engine, it is a bureaucracy,” he wrote, arguing XRPL needs million-dollar checks for proven teams, direct liquidity incentives, and a unified developer experience. His conclusion was a call for a “war chest mentality” in 2026: fund distribution and liquidity, fix onboarding friction, and build consumer products where XRPL is simply the backend. Without that, he warned, the ecosystem risks remaining a technically capable network that still cannot attract sustained users, builders, or capital at scale. At press time, XRP traded at $2.10. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Bearish BTC price takes are back in full force as Bitcoin gave back the majority of its 2026 recovery, when bulls failed to overcome $95,000 resistance.
Under the proposal, which is set to move to a governance vote on January 22, Optimism would begin monthly buybacks starting in February.