Coindesk

It's raining options, CoinDesk said last week, pointing to growing demand for derivatives tied to bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies. Now, additional evidence has emerged in the form of record activity on decentralized finance (DeFi), which offers unique and programmable onchain options, perpetuals, and structured products.The total dollar value of crypto tokens locked (TVL) on Derive has risen past $100 million, alongside a record-setting trading volume and monthly active traders.“Derive.xyz's latest market insights reveal remarkable growth and heightened activity, with its total value locked surpassing $100 million for the first time, amid record-setting weeks for trading volume and active traders," Sean Dawson, head of research at Derive, told CoinDesk in an email.“Yield on all USDC deposits has reached 10% on...

Major tokens and midcaps registered one of their worst days in recent months with a sharp drop during early Asian hours on Tuesday, even as bitcoin (BTC) was relatively little changed.XRP, dogecoin (DOGE) and Cardano’s ADA fell as much as 15% in the past 24 hours, data shows, as selling pressure mounted in late U.S. hours and amplified in early Asian time. Bitcoin dropped 3%, while ether (ETH) and Solana’s SOL fell 7%, as tron's TRX nearly reversed all of last week’s gains with a 17% haircut.Overall market capitalization dropped by 6.5%, largest drop since October, while the broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index slumped 7%.No immediate reason spurred the selling pressure, but it came on the back of internet giant...

Ethereum's place near the top of the crypto market is unquestioned from the perspective of market cap. But beneath the surface – at the product, developer and decision-making levels – the original smart contracts platform continues to take a beating from Solana, one of its closest competitors.The threat may not yet be existential. Ethereum and its many closely-linked networks are still the most important, influential, and largest platforms for decentralized finance. That lead is beginning to erode, however, with many newcomers to crypto choosing Solana's speed and low fees.It's enough for some of Ethereum's most vocal backers to muse if the network needs to shift to a war footing."Ethereum has been at peacetime its entire life," ETH maximalist David Hoffman...

A slow bleed in crypto since late in the weekend accelerated into the early evening U.S. hours on Monday, leaving nearly the entirety of the sector sharply lower.With prices in quick retreat, bitcoin (BTC) at press time had fallen back to just above $95,000, down about 5% over the past 24 hours. Ether (ETH) was down 10% to $3,590.The broader CoinDesk 20 Index was lower by more than 8% over the same time frame, led by roughly 20% dives for Cardano (ADA), Avalanche (AVAX), and XRP (XRP).Over $750 million worth of leveraged derivatives positions were liquidated across all digital assets over the past day, CoinGlass data shows, the ovewhelming majority of which were bullish bets. That puts today's flush almost...

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission member Caroline Crenshaw is "even more extreme" than Chair Gary Gensler, according to a digital advertising campaign now being launched by Cedar Innovation Foundation — a dark-money group funded by unnamed crypto interests.Commissioner Crenshaw, who is set to be the lone Democrat atop the SEC when Republicans take over the agency and wider administration in late January, was nominated for another term earlier this year, but the confirmation hadn't come up for a vote before the November election. Now, the Senate Banking Committee has scheduled a hearing on Wednesday to consider that nomination.Several digital assets organizations have deployed in an effort to block her approval. Cedar Innovation Foundation underlined in a statement that Crenshaw had...