Coindesk

Elon Musk, picked by President Donald Trump to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, proposed using blockchain technology as part of the operation, Bloomberg reported.Musk suggested that using a digital ledger would be a cost-efficient way to track federal spending, secure data, make payments and manage buildings, according to people familiar with the matter. Several representatives of public blockchains have met with affiliates of DOGE, the people said.The department was created in response to the federal government’s spending of $6.7 trillion in fiscal 2024, which Musk in October called “wasted” money. He promised the department — whose acronym is a nod to Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin (DOGE) — would slash the figure to at most $2 trillion.Given the department’s name...

Crypto assets saw a panicky decline overnight alongside a Nvidia-led tech stock plunge on DeepSeek's more efficient artificial intelligence model.With bitcoin (BTC) at one point sliding from a Sunday high of $105,000 to below $98,000 before bouncing back to its current level just below $100,000, some analysts warned this could be the start of an even deeper pullback.Among those taking the other side of that trade is Geoffrey Kendrick, global head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered Bank."Buy the dip," he said in a Monday morning report.Kendrick one week ago warned of a potential 10%-20% correction thanks to markets having priced in overzealous expectations of Trump's crypto executive order and strategic reserve. The overnight selloff, he argued, likely took...

Travala.com, the holiday website that allows users to pay with cryptocurrency, is in talks with potential buyers after receiving an unsolicited takeover approach late last year, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.The Binance-backed company received an inquiry, triggering outreach by Travala's advisers to major online travel agencies such as Booking.com, one of the world's largest online travel companiesBooking.com "kicked the tires" before deciding to pass on a potential acquisition, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private. Talks, however, are in progress with other potential buyers, but there is no certainty a deal will be done and the company may choose to remain independent, the people said.Travala declined to comment. A...

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 3657.28, down 7.0% (-274.43) since 4 p.m. ET on Friday.None of the 20 assets are trading higher.Leaders: BTC (-4.1%) and BCH (-4.9%).Laggards: UNI (-14.4%) and RENDER (-12.5%).The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.Source link

As East Asia prepares to shut down for the Lunar New Year holiday and looks towards the Year of the Snake, it’s time to look back at bitcoin (BTC) and the CoinDesk 20 (CD20)’s performance during the Year of the Dragon.Hong Kong-based brokerage CLSA has an annual tradition of forecasting the market’s performance in the coming year based on the lunar cycle, and with a few minor tweaks, it’s as applicable to crypto as it is to traditional markets.Looking back at last year, the market sorcerers were right on the money. Bitcoin is up 137%, while the CoinDesk 20 (CD20), an index tracking the largest digital assets, is up 128% in the last year. This crypto rally is largely thanks...