Coindesk

U.S. spot bitcoin (BTC) ETFs have recorded approximately $2.8 billion in net inflows over the past five trading days, contributing to driving the price of bitcoin higher from around $85,000 to $94,000. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has accounted for $1.3 billion of these inflows alone.Michael Saylor, Chairman of the largest listed bitcoin holder Strategy (MSTR), stated that "IBIT will be the biggest ETF in the world in ten years." Saylor made the comments at the Bitcoin Standard Corporation’s Investor Day.To put this into perspective, IBIT currently has a market capitalization of $54 billion and on Thursday over $1.5 billion in volume. In comparison, the largest ETF by market cap, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), boasts a market capitalization...

ARK Invest raised its decade-end bitcoin (BTC) price target to as high as $2.4 million apiece after revising its assumptions on active supply, which excludes lost or long-held coins. The largest cryptocurrency by market value was recently trading around $94,000.The bull-projection figure, 60% more than its January 2024 estimate, reflects a 72% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from last December through the end of 2030. The base case estimates a BTC price of $1.2 million — a 53% CAGR — while the bear case projects $500,000, equating to a 32% CAGR. David Puell, an analyst at the Cathie Wood-led investment company, used a model based on total addressable market and projected market penetration across several sectors. These include institutional investment,...

STX, the native token of Bitcoin layer-2 protocol Stacks, has surged 56% in seven days to become the week's best-performing of the 100 biggest cryptocurrencies amid hopes for institutional adoption.The token hit a two-month high of 92 cents on Friday after gaining more than 21% in the past 24 hours to become the day's biggest advancer, according to CoinDesk data. Stacks is the world's leading layer 2 for running smart contracts and decentralized applications on the Bitcoin blockchain. On Tuesday, BitGo, the digital asset custody and infrastructure provider and a backer of the wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) token, opened the door for its customers explore yield-generating opportunities on Stacks by integrating sBTC, a synthetic derivative that represents bitcoin (BTC) in...

North Korean hackers posing as American tech entrepreneurs quietly registered companies in New York and New Mexico as part of a campaign to compromise developers in the crypto industry, security firm Silent Push said Thursday.Two businesses, Blocknovas and Softglide, were created using fictitious identities and addresses. The operation is tied to a subgroup within the Lazarus Group.The North Korean-backed hacking unit has stolen billions worth of crypto in the past years using sophisticated techniques and strategies that target unsuspecting individuals or companies.“This is a rare example of North Korean hackers actually managing to set up legal corporate entities in the US in order to create corporate fronts used to attack unsuspecting job applicants,” said Kasey Best, director of threat intelligence...

Arbitrum (ARB) was set to make a splash.The Layer 2 network, home to a growing number of decentralized AI platforms, was preparing to announce a milestone: it had been named Nvidia’s exclusive Ethereum partner for the chipmaker’s new Ignition AI Accelerator, an offshoot of its Inception program that supports promising AI startups with infrastructure credits and mentorship.Then came the pivot.“We received some last-minute comms from Nvidia requesting to pause the announcement, however, they didn’t provide any specific details as to why,” a spokesperson told CoinDesk in an email.It’s a telling moment, and a reminder that despite crypto’s continued efforts to align with the booming AI sector, Nvidia’s programs still explicitly exclude crypto-related projects. A quick look at the Inception Accelerator’s...