Coindesk

CME Group (CME) saw record activity in its cryptocurrency derivatives markets during the first quarter of the year, driven by increased interest in micro-sized contracts.The company reported average daily volume of 198,000 contracts for crypto products, representing $11.3 billion in notional value. It pointed to record highs across its micro ether futures, with 76,000 contracts being traded, as well as its BTC and ETH futures contracts with a volume of 18,000 and 13,000 contracts, respectively.Trading in micro bitcoin futures also stood out with a 113% year-over-year increase, hitting 77,000 average daily volume (ADV).The company’s cryptocurrency contracts were already at a record back in January.The exchange’s bitcoin and ether futures contracts have a notional value of 5 BTC and 50...

Japanese hotel company Metaplanet (3350) has acquired an additional 160 BTC at an average purchase price of 12.5 million yen, approximately ($83,600 per BTC), with a total investment of 1.998 billion yen ($13.4 million).This brings Metaplanet’s total bitcoin holdings to 4,206 BTC, acquired at an average purchase price of 12.9 million yen, approximately ($86,500 per BTC), amounting to a cumulative investment of 54.3 billion yen ($363.5 million).Metaplanet reported a 95.6% BTC yield in Q1 2025, while achieving a 3.9% BTC yield so far in Q2. BTC yield refers to the change in the ratio of total bitcoin holdings to the fully diluted shares outstanding over a given period.The company's Tokyo-listed shares closed down 1.22% at 404 yen on Tuesday.Disclaimer: Parts...

Wednesday could be a pivotal day for financial markets, including cryptocurrencies, as President Donald Trump is expected to announce sweeping reciprocal tariffs to "liberate" the U.S. from the supposed unfair practices of its trading partners.Ahead of the pivotal announcement, signs of downtrend exhaustion have emerged in the ether (ETH) market. Yes, you read that right: after having lagged BTC by a large margin through the two-year bull crypto bull run, ETH may take the lead if the looming tariffs are more measured than expected.Seller fatigue at March lows, potential double bottomEther fell along with bitcoin last week, but the bears failed to penetrate the 16-month low of $1,755 hit on March 11. That's the first sign of seller fatigue or...

Blockchain security firm CertiK has revealed that $1.67 billion worth of crypto was stolen by hackers in the first quarter of 2025, a 303% rise on the previous quarter.The figure is two thirds of the total amount stolen across 2024, although it's worth noting that the majority of Q1's losses can be attributed to the $1.45 billion Bybit hack.Aside from that, CertiK analyzed 197 hacking incidents in Q1, 98 of which occurred on Ethereum.The two largest hacks following Bybit were the $71 million Phemex heist in January and the $49.5 million exploit suffered by crypto neobank Infini.Phishing attacks, which involve stealing a victim's credentials to gain access to personal accounts, remains the highest attack vector accounting for 81 incidents. There...

A potential resolution could be coming soon in the long-running lawsuit between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Gemini over the crypto company's Earn product.The two submitted a joint request to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday to consider a 60-day pause in the case as they consider a potential resolution.Gemini was sued by the SEC in January 2023, alongside lender Genesis Global Capital, alleging their Gemini Earn product constituted an unregistered securities offering. In March 2024, Genesis finalized a $21 million settlement with its role in the program, resolving its side of the case.Since President Donald Trump returned to office and appointed Mark Uyeda as acting SEC chair, the regulator...