Coindesk

Global credit rating giant Moody's Ratings and tokenization startup Alphaledger have completed a test run showing that municipal bond credit ratings can be embedded into blockchain-based securities, the companies told CoinDesk.The trial, conducted on the Solana SOL blockchain, showcases how credit ratings—typically distributed through proprietary data terminals—could be integrated into tokenized assets on public blockchains.In the proof of concept, a simulated municipal bond was tokenized using Alphaledger’s platform. The bond’s credit rating, provided by Moody’s, was automatically submitted and attached to the token on-chain. The project used an API to move data from Moody’s off-chain systems to Solana’s public blockchain.For institutional investors navigating decentralized markets, the lack of standardized, trusted information remains a hurdle. By baking a known credit rating...

By Francisco Rodrigues (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)Bitcoin (BTC) briefly rose past $110,000 after headlines out of London pointed to progress in U.S.-China trade negotiations. It's now dropped back to remain little changed over 24 hours while the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index rose 2%, suggesting a rotation into altcoins.One factor keeping bitcoin at bay and the preference for altcoins might be that the agreement out of London remains tentative, still needing sign-off from both Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.In traditional markets, the reaction was also mixed. Asian equities rose, with the Hang Seng index adding 0.8%, European stock indexes gained less than 0.2% and U.S. index futures pointed down. “There’ve been several twists and turns already, and markets...

Shiba Inu (SHIB) whales appear to be in a risk-off mode ahead of the pivotal U.S. inflation data, which is likely to show a renewed uptick due to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.Major whale transactions exceeding $100,000 have crashed by 91.5% over the past four days, shifting market control from institutional to retail investors, according to CoinDesk's AI insights.Prices, however, have raised bulls' hopes, topping key resistance at 0.0000133 with a massive 975 billion volume spike. The cryptocurrency has also moved above the widely-watched 100-day simple moving average (SMA).Additionally, a record 1.5 million wallets now hold SHIB tokens, representing 0.011% of the global population, a sign of accelerated community growth.Key technical insightsSHIB-USD pair climbed from 0.0000129 to 0.0000134, representing a...

VivoPower International (VVPW), the Nasdaq-listed company transitioning into a digital asset treasury play, has plans to put $100 million worth of XRP XRP tokens to work.The firm announced Wednesday it has partnered with layer-1 blockchain Flare FLR to deploy $100 million XRP to generate yield on its treasury holdings. The initiative marks the first large-scale use of Flare’s FAssets system, which enables non-smart contract tokens like XRP to interact with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, the press release said.VivoPower plans to generate yield through Flare-native protocols such as Firelight and reinvest the income to expand its XRP holdings. The company said it will also adopt payment firm Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin as its cash-equivalent reserve."It’s no longer enough to simply hold XRP;...

Crypto exchange Bullish confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, the Financial Times reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the situation.The company aims to capitalize on renewed enthusiasm for digital assets driven by pro-crypto policy signals from the Trump administration and follows last week's IPO of stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL), whose shares soared 168% on the first day of trading.The FT did not distinguish between Bullish Exchange and its parent, Bullish Group, the Peter Thiel-backed company that is also the parent of CoinDesk.The confidential filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission allows Bullish to prepare for a public listing while keeping financial details private for now. Jefferies will serve as lead underwriter, according to the Financial Times. Bullish previously...