Coindesk

Bitcoin (BTC) BTC continues to struggle for direction amid mounting macroeconomic pressures and a notable deterioration in retail investor sentiment. The asset is hovering near $103,700 following a volatile 24-hour stretch, in which it briefly dropped below $103,400 before staging a modest recovery, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis model. This price behavior reflects an uneasy market backdrop, shaped by both geopolitical tensions and uncertain monetary policy.According to an X post by crypto analytics firm Santiment on Thursday, sentiment among retail investors has turned sharply negative. The firm reported that the ratio of bullish to bearish commentary has fallen to just 1.03 to 1 — the lowest since early April, when the President Donald Trump unveiled his so-called Liberation Day...

Odds are stacked that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approves most of the filed crypto exchange-traded funds, including the various XRP ETFs, by their respective deadlines, according to Bloomberg Analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas.“We are raising our odds for the vast majority of the spot crypto ETF filings to 90% or higher,” Bloomberg Intelligence’s James Seyffart said in a post on X. “Engagement from the SEC is a very positive sign in our opinion.”According to the analysts, ETFs for assets like Litecoin, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, and Cardano all now sit at or above the 90% mark.These estimates reflect growing optimism from ETF specialists following a wave of 19b-4 acknowledgements and S-1 amendment requests from the Securities and Exchange...

What started as a positive day for crypto markets quickly reversed during the U.S. session with bitcoin BTC sliding below $103,000 from the $106,500 level just hours earlier.At press time, bitcoin had pared some of the losses, returning to $103,200, down 1.2% over the past 24 hours.Other large cryptocurrencies endured steeper declines. Ethereum's ether ETH saw a sharp 4.5% drop in just 90 minutes to as low as $2,372, with trading volume spiking to nearly 800,000 ETH, nearly eight times the average hourly volume, per CoinDesk data. Solana's SOL SOL, dogecoin DOGE and Cardano's ADA ADA were 3%-5% lower over the same period.The volatility burst caught many traders off-guard, liquidating about $450 million in derivatives trading positions on centralized exchanges...

Stablecoins are enjoying a moment in U.S. policy circles as the Senate just passed a regulation bill with major bipartisan numbers. As that moment approached, President Donald Trump and his family apparently offloaded about 20% of their stake in the parent company controlling World Liberty Financial, a crypto business that includes its own stablecoin. DT Marks DEFI LLC is a company that now owns about 40% of the holding company over WLFI, down from an earlier 60%, according to the legal disclosures at the bottom of the platform's website. DT Marks DEFI is "an entity affiliated with Donald J. Trump and certain of his family members," it says. Trump's crypto dealings are extensive and have reportedly directly gained him tens...

Semler Scientific (SMLR) has hired Joe Burnett to the newly created position of director of Bitcoin strategy.Alongside, the company — which currently holds 4,449 bitcoin worth about $462 million — announced a goal of owning at least 10,000 bitcoin by the end of this year, 42,000 by year-end 2026 and 105,000 by year-end 2027."We are excited to have Joe join our Bitcoin strategy team and help drive our three-year-plan to own 105,000 Bitcoins," said company Chairman Eric Semler in a press release. "Joe is an analytical thought leader on Bitcoin and Bitcoin treasury companies. His expertise will be instrumental as we pursue our Bitcoin treasury strategy and aim to deliver long-term value to our stockholders.""For over seven years, has...