Coindesk

The maturation of DeFi technology has created a paradox: while battle-tested codebases and rising technical proficiency have lowered the barrier to entry for launching new protocols, securing sustainable liquidity has never been harder. As thousands of projects built on increasingly standardized infrastructure compete for a finite pool of capital, the ecosystem faces a systemic challenge that threatens genuine innovation and growth.You're reading Crypto Long & Short, our weekly newsletter featuring insights, news and analysis for the professional investor. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday.The multi-dimensional fragmentation problemLiquidity in DeFi is fragmented across protocols, chains and token pairs. For new protocols, securing adequate liquidity is existential — without it, user adoption stalls, costs rise, yields fall...

Bitcoin (BTC) miner Riot Platforms (RIOT) has struck a $100 million credit agreement with Coinbase’s credit arm, using bitcoin as collateral to secure short-term funding for its ongoing expansion.The publicly traded mining firm said in a press release it would draw on the facility over the next two months. The deal offers Riot, which currently holds 19,223 BTC worth over $1.8 billion, a line of credit that avoids issuing new shares.“This credit facility is a key part of our efforts to diversify sources of financing to support our operations and strategic growth initiatives, with a view towards long-term stockholder value creation,” said CEO Jason Les in a statement.The loan, issued by Coinbase Credit, comes with a variable interest rate: borrowers...

The team behind the Symbiotic network, the restaking protocol meant to rival EigenLayer, shared Wednesday that it had raised $29 million in a Series A round.The funding will expand the current team and develop the protocol’s Universal Staking framework, broadening its efforts from just restaking to including providing support for other staking activities. “Rather than focusing solely on shared security, Symbiotic enables any combination of assets to secure any class of network—modular or monolithic, L1 or L2—while supporting use cases that extend well beyond traditional staking, including insurance and other financial products,” the team shared in a press release.Pantera Capital led the funding round, which also saw participation from Coinbase Ventures and over 100 angel investors.Restaking is a way to...

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)For bitcoin bulls, it's a case of "heads I win, tails you lose."It's risk-on-time and boding well for BTC, which rose above $94,000 to mark a more than 50% retracement of the sell-off from record highs above $109,000 to $74,000.The cryptocurrency has experienced a sharp rally in the past 24 hours, coinciding with President Donald Trump saying he does not intend to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell and making conciliatory remarks on trade tensions with China. But BTC rose on Monday too. That was supposedly on haven demand as traders sold the dollar, U.S. stocks and bonds on the perceived threat to the Fed's independence. No wonder some analysts say the largest...

As bitcoin (BTC) and ether's (ETH) recovery rally gathered momentum Tuesday, the perpetual futures market saw an even more pronounced increase in open interest, pointing to growing investor confidence as the Trump administration dialed back on its trade-tariff, anti-Fed rhetoric.BTC, the leading cryptocurrency by market value, rose 6.79% nearly topping $94,000 for the first time since March, CoinDesk data show. That's the most significant single-day percentage gain since April 9. The Ethereum blockchain's ether token jumped 11% to $1,1175, it's best performance since April 2.The rally came as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed de-escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions, followed by President Donald Trump saying tariffs on Chinese goods will drop substantially from the present 245%. Trump further said...