Coindesk

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)As the crypto market reels under U.S. stagflation concerns, traders on the decentralized platform Polymarket are seeing a more than 50% chance of bitcoin (BTC) prices dropping into five figures before year-end.Shares in the Yes side of Polymarket's "Will bitcoin dip below $100K before 2026" contract traded at 55 cents, implying a 55% probability. That pricing looks justified against the backdrop of recent economic data."With both manufacturing and services ISMs now weaker than the most bearish forecasts, the market is coming to terms with something darker: Job growth could be rolling over hard," Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, wrote in a post on FXStreet. "If you weigh these surveys...

Laser Digital, the cryptocurrency trading and servicing subsidiary of Japanese bank Nomura, secured a limited license to offer regulated, over-the-counter (OTC) crypto derivatives from Dubai under the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority’s (VARA) pilot framework.Under this regime, Laser Digital says it is the first regulated entity under VARA to offer direct client-facing crypto OTC option services.As crypto derivatives ramp up around the globe, places like Dubai with its crypto-friendly regulatory framework, have become hot destinations for firms. For example, Deribit, the crypto derivatives platform recently acquired by Coinbase, also has Dubai plans in the works.“Crypto has become very Dubai-centered and there is this kind of hype around people moving into Dubai and the VARA regulatory environment,” said Johannes Woolard, head of...

Investors withdrew money from U.S.-listed spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the fourth consecutive trading day as U.S. service sector data raised the stagflation bogey.The 11 ETFs registered a cumulative net outflow of $196 million on Tuesday, with Fidelity's FBTC and BlackRock's IBIT accounting for the giant share of the tally, according to data source SoSoValue. The four-day outflow streak, the longest since April, began on Thursday when the ETFs bled $114.83 million, followed by $812.25 million on Friday and $333.19 million on Monday.The U.S. ISM Non-Manufacturing or services PMI released on Tuesday showed tariff-driven inflation, employment weakness and trade disruptions, all pointing to stagflation, the worst outcome for risk assets, including technology stocks and cryptocurrencies.The U.S. stocks dropped,...

Meme coin DOGE extended its slide on Monday, falling through support levels and triggering fresh selling interest as broader market risk appetite collapsed.What to KnowDogecoin fell 5% over the 24-hour session from August 4 at 21:00 to August 5 at 20:00, declining from $0.21 to $0.20. The token traded within a $0.013 range, with lows of $0.198 and highs of $0.211. A key liquidation event occurred during the 14:00 hour on August 5, with volumes reaching 877.9 million — nearly 4x the 24-hour average of 268.85 million — triggering a breakdown below $0.205.DOGE ended the session at $0.1985 after failing to reclaim higher resistance zones, signaling continued institutional selling and confirming new downside momentum. The move comes amid broader crypto...

Good Morning, Asia. Here's what's making news in the markets:Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook Americas.The maturing digital assets market that has sophisticated market making, capital markets, and decentralized finance, is still lacking one key market infrastructure to compete with traditional finance: an institutional-grade credit agency.Architect aims to change this by launching crypto's first institutional-grade credit ratings service, similar to traditional finance's Moody's – because most TradFi ratings agencies just won't touch crypto.Sure, Moody's has dipped its toes into digital assets, but a full-blown credit agency that operates only in crypto is still...