Coindesk

Bitcoin's (BTC) rapid recovery from below $90,000 since Monday hints at bullish prospects. However, one factor casts doubt on the sustainability of these gains, indicating scope for significant downside volatility if the impending U.S. inflation data comes in hotter-than-expected on Wednesday.That factor is the supply of major stablecoins, which has stalled, indicating the absence of fresh capital inflows into the market. Data tracked by Glassnode shows that the supply of the top four stablecoins by market value – USDT, USDC, BUSD and DAI – has stabilized around $189 billion, representing a 30-day net change of just 0.37%.Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies with values pegged to an external reference like the U.S. dollar. These tokens are widely used to fund cryptocurrency purchases and...

Crypto derivatives platform Deribit, has received potential acquisition interest, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing sources.The report added that the firm is working with Financial Technology Partners to review the opportunities. Deribit CEO Luuk Strijers told CoinDesk that the options platform had appointed FT Partners as an advisor for general advisory services and potential secondaries, back in 2023."The interest in Deribit is due in part to the fact that we have continued to be the overwhelming market-leading exchange for digital asset options trading," Strijers said."In short, Deribit has not been put up for sale. Over time, we have received interest in strategic investments from a variety of parties, which we will not disclose," Strijers added.The firm may valued at $4 billion-...

Crypto prices bounced from Monday's wipeout with bitcoin (BTC) rising as high as $97,300 on Tuesday as traders eyed the latest batch of U.S. inflation data with more to come tomorrow.The largest crypto's dip below $90,000 yesterday was quickly bought up on reports that Donald Trump is preparing first-day executive orders benefitting the crypto industry. The advance continued today, supported by softer than expected U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) readings for December.BTC recently changed hands at $96,500, up 3% over the past 24 hours, while the broad-market benchmark CoinDesk 20 Index outperformed with a 5% gain. Ripple's XRP and dogecoin (DOGE) led altcoin majors with 6%-7% advances.In traditional markets, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed roughly flat.Zooming out,...

To say that the spot bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs) exceeded expectations in their first year on the market is an understatement at best. Instead, it might be more accurate to say that they’ve shocked the industry to its core.“Just how big was the first year for Bitcoin ETFs?” Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart wrote on X. “MASSIVE.”BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) had the most successful launch in the history of U.S. ETFs, accumulating more than $52.3 billion worth of assets in its first year (a combination of large inflows and the sharp rise in the price of bitcoin), according to Seyffart.Three of the other spot bitcoin ETFs, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin...

Hashed's Simon Kim believes the future of artificial intelligence hinges on a radical shift: breaking open the black box of centralized models like OpenAI and building a decentralized, transparent ecosystem powered by blockchain.For Kim, CEO of South Korea’s leading crypto VC fund, the urgency is clear. AI's unchecked centralization threatens to create a "god" we don’t understand, while blockchain offers the tools to reward creators, protect intellectual property, and provide transparency into generative AI – which has been widely criticized for its bias and selective reasoning."AI is being centralized. OpenAI is not open, and it is controlled by very few people, so it's quite dangerous. Making this type of foundational model is similar to making a 'god', but we...