Coindesk

When inauguration day rolls around in the U.S., the first policy domino to topple could be the industry's banking roadblocks, though the White House may be the wrong place to watch for the most consequential action.The crypto industry will surely cheer loudly over some of the executive-order fireworks when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in, which could reportedly include directives on crypto, but such orders can be more smoke than fire. (President Joe Biden, after all, issued a crypto order in 2022 instructing the federal government to get a better handle on crypto.)While the White House touts its vision for the direction of crypto policy, the concrete steps will be taken at the regulatory agencies, such as the Securities and...

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)The market is about to be hit with the first big U.S. economic event of 2025: December CPI data.With hawkish Fed fears in the air and bitcoin strengthening its correlation with tech stocks, Wednesday's report becomes even more significant for the digital assets market. The stalled liquidity inflows through stablecoins have also raised question marks on the sustainability of price recovery from under $90K, and traders are preparing for potential downside volatility by adding short-dated puts.Here’s what experts are saying about the upcoming event:QCP Capital"In crypto, cautious sentiment is evident in BTC options flows, with puts rolled below the key $90k support. Front-end vols and flies remain elevated, while the VIX...

Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets have dropped as part of a wider macro-driven sell-off in the market and there is a risk that forced selling could lead to further weakness, investment bank Standard Chartered said in a report on Monday.The market downturn was triggered by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's hawkish press conference in mid-December.The bank noted that investors who took on bitcoin exposure after the U.S. election in November, are now "only breaking even," and there is a risk that forced or panic selling could add to the sell-off. This includes exchange-traded fund (ETF) buyers and BTC acquirer MicroStrategy (MSTR)."The risk of mark-to-market pain is building," wrote Geoff Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered.If the...

Bitcoin (BTC) adoption by U.S.-listed public companies continues in full steam.The latest purchase comes from NYSE-listed Genius Group (GNS). On Jan. 10, GNS reported increasing its bitcoin holding to $35 million, which was ahead of its scheduled target of $120 million. In the process, it acquired 372 BTC at an average price of $94,047 per bitcoin. The first announcement came on Nov. 12, when it announced its "Bitcoin-first" strategy.On Tuesday, GNS also reported a rights offering, allowing shareholders to purchase additional shares at discounted prices. If fully subscribed, the rights offering could generate $33 million. GNS founder and CEO Roger Hamilton intends to buy join in the rights offering and buy 500,000 shares.The firm is also pursuing loan finances to...

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...