Coindesk

Bitcoin blockchain's hashrate is surging, revealing a growing dislocation between the network activity and prices for its native token bitcoin (BTC). On a 14-day moving average, the hashrate, representing the computational power required to mine a block on the proof-of-work Bitcoin blockchain, recently reached an all-time high of 838 exahashes per second (EH/s), and on a 24-hour time frame, it spiked to 974 EH/s, the second highest level ever, according to Glassnode data. Measuring over a 24-hour window can be misleading due to block time variability, so longer timeframes give more reliable insights. In two days, Bitcoin’s difficulty adjustment — which recalibrates every 2016 blocks to maintain a 10-minute block interval — is expected to increase by over 3%, reaching...

U.S. recession fears are in the air following President Donald Trump's tariff plan, with prediction platforms Polymarket and Kalshi indicating heightened concerns the economy will take a hit.On Polymarket, a decentralized prediction platform, the chance of the country slipping into recession this year topped 50% for the first time since the betting contract "US Recession in 2025" began trading early this year. The contract's Yes shares soared to over 50 cents from 39 cents in less than 24 hours. The contract will resolve to Yes if the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) confirms a recession at any point before Dec. 31. The other condition requires back-to-back quarterly contractions in gross domestic product.Kalshi, a U.S.-based regulated prediction market, also points...

Over $100 million in Ripple USD (RLUSD) has been issued since April 1, among the highest levels in recent months, as demand for the relatively new stablecoin heats up.A $50 million tranche of RLUSD was issued earlier this week on Tuesday, with another $50 million late Wednesday. That came as Ripple added the stablecoin to its official payments product, with payment providers BKK Forex and iSend already said to be using the stablecoin.Industry leaders expect RLUSD to further shift crypto market dynamics, where upstarts tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) could see competition from Ripple’s product.XRP Ledger-based decentralized financial (DeFi) applications could be a cohort to watch for as RLUSD gains traction on various platforms, boosting XRP token demand.RLUSD is...

Tariffs-led risk-off has payments-focused cryptocurrency XRP trading close to the support zone near $2, a crucial level for confirming a significant topping pattern and renewed downtrend.We are referring to the head-and-shoulders pattern, comprising three peaks, with the middle being the highest. A horizontal line drawn from the base of the three peaks, the neckline, marks the key demand zone.In XRP's case, the $1.90-$2 range has been that demand zone since January. So, a price move below the same would trigger the H&S breakdown, confirming a bullish-to-bearish trend change.A potential breakdown could see prices nearly halve to $1.07, according to veteran analyst and trader Peter Brandt. Chart analysts identify targets using the measure move method, which involves determining the distance from...

It's a risk-off day in Asia as traders look to Beijing's response to U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping reciprocal tariffs on China and other Asian nations.On Wednesday, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on imports from 180 nations, including higher taxes on trading partners identified as worst offenders, such as China and the European Union.Trump imposed a new 34% tariff on goods from China in addition to the existing 20% tax, bringing the total levy to 54%, the highest for any nation. Meanwhile, the latest action did not affect Canada and Mexico.Observers say the ball is now in China's court, and the nature of its retaliation could determine the market reaction."Everything now depends on China. If China devalues the Yuan in response...