Coindesk

With payment firm Stripe's recent $1.1 billion acquisition of stablecoin platform Bridge.xyz sending shockwaves through the crypto payments sphere, attention is turning to the next generation of stablecoin payment infrastructure providers.Among them is BlindPay, a 2024 Consensus hackathon winner and Y Combinator 2025 (W25) batch company that's taking a distinct approach to the challenge of global payments (if you’d like to apply for the EasyA Hackathon at Consensus Hong Kong 2025, please go here).While Bridge.xyz captured the U.S. and European markets with its enterprise-focused strategy, BlindPay is betting on emerging markets — particularly those in Latin America — as the key to widespread stablecoin adoption. This focus comes at a time when a16z crypto predicts increasing enterprise acceptance of stablecoins...

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 3809.52, down 4.3% (-172.06) since 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. One of 20 assets are trading higher.Leaders: ETC (+2.1%) and ETH (-1.4%).Laggards: SOL (-8.8%) and AVAX (-5.7%).The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.Source link

Payments-focused cryptocurrency XRP's short-term outlook appears grim as traditional financial giants do not seem interested in looking beyond BTC and ETH, while price action indicates signs of rally fatigue.On Wednesday, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) denied its plans to list futures tied to XRP and Solana's SOL token. This swift denial likely indicates that institutions are not ready yet to dabble with tokens other than bitcoin and ether or potential regulatory hurdles. The CME is the preferred venue for institutions to trade futures and options tied to BTC and ETH.The CME's denial — at least for now — may be particularly concerning for XRP as it undermines the optimism surrounding XRP's prospects under Donald Trump's presidency. XRP surged to $3.4...

The outlook for bitcoin (BTC), the world's largest cryptocurrency, is positive, and its price is expected to remain elevated in 2025, German lender Deutsche Bank (DB) said in a report Wednesday.A more favorable regulatory and political backdrop in the U.S., growing institutional adoption, and looser Federal Reserve monetary policy, are all expected to support the cryptocurrency's price, the report said.The Trump administration's support for crypto means the market's current bull run should continue, and ongoing presidential backing is key for the "continuation of crypto's golden era," analyst Marion Laboure wrote.While President Trump didn't sign any crypto-related executive orders on his first day in office, the announcement that the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) will develop a regulatory framework for digital...

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)Bitcoin and most major cryptocurrencies are weaker after Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a proxy for institutional activity, denied reports of listing futures tied to XRP and SOL. Traditional markets are also holding their breath for the expected Bank of Japan interest-rate increase on Friday.Despite BTC's continued range play above $100,000, retail demand remains robust. Glassnode's shrimp-Crab cohort, which includes addresses holding up to 10 BTC, have absorbed 1.9 times the newly mined supply last month, totaling over 25,600 BTC. Meanwhile, long-term holders have slowed their spending and profit-taking activities, indicating a cautious, but firm, commitment to their investments.Still, dropping below $100,000 might prove costly. According to Wintermute's OTC trader Jake Ostrovskis, that would...