Cointelegraph

Thailand’s government on Tuesday approved the Finance Ministry’s proposal allowing digital assets to be used as underlying assets in the country’s derivatives and capital markets.

The move aims to modernize Thailand’s derivatives markets in line with international standards, strengthen regulatory oversight and investor protection, and position itself as a regional hub for institutional crypto trading, the Bangkok Post reported.

The country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will amend the Derivatives Act to enable these new asset classes, which include Bitcoin (BTC) and carbon credits. 

“The decision to formally recognize digital assets, including cryptocurrencies and digital tokens [...] reflects a growing understanding that digital assets are no longer merely speculative instruments, but an emerging asset class with the potential to reshape the foundations of capital markets,” said Nirun Fuwattananukul, chief executive of Binance Thailand.

He added that it was a “watershed moment” for the country’s capital markets, sending a “strong signal” that Thailand is positioning itself as a “forward-looking leader” in Southeast Asia’s digital economy.

Strengthening crypto recognition for investors

Thailand is targeting wealthy institutional investors as it expands its crypto ambitions. The move also aligns with the Stock Exchange of Thailand’s 2026 plans to introduce Bitcoin futures and exchange-traded products. 

Related: Thailand plans crypto ETF rules as institutional interest increases

SEC secretary-general Pornanong Budsaratragoon said the move will “strengthen the recognition of crypto as an asset class, promote market inclusiveness, enhance portfolio diversification, and improve risk management for investors.”

Still no crypto payments in Thailand

Retail trading remains popular in Thailand, with the Kingdom’s largest exchange, Bitkub, seeing daily volumes of $65 million, according to CoinMarketCap.

However, using crypto for payments remains outlawed by the central bank, and consumer stablecoin use remains restricted. 

The government launched an app in August for short-term tourists to convert crypto to local currency, but users must undergo stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) and customer due diligence checks, and usage remains restricted to government-approved outlets. 

Thailand launched a campaign in January against so-called “gray money,” targeting crypto as part of an effort to combat money laundering. 

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Ethereum Foundation AI lead Davide Crapis and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin have proposed a way to use zero-knowledge proofs and other methods to ensure that a user’s interactions with large language models are private, while preventing spam and abuse.  

API calls occur every time a user sends a message to a software application, such as an AI chatbot. Crapis and Buterin said in a blog post on Wednesday that a core challenge for both users and providers is privacy, security, and efficiency.

“We need a system where a user can deposit funds once and make thousands of API calls anonymously, securely, and efficiently,” they said. 

“The provider must be guaranteed payment and protection against spam, while the user must be guaranteed that their requests cannot be linked to their identity or to each other,” they added. 

Source: Davide Crapis

With the use of AI chatbots rising, data leaks from LLMs have become a growing concern. Chatbots often handle highly sensitive data, and linking usage to identities can create significant privacy, legal, and security risks. Usage logs can even be used in court proceedings.

Crapis and Buterin’s solution for users and providers

Crapis and Buterin said providers currently are forced to choose between two “suboptimal paths,” identity-based access with users forced to hand over sensitive information like an email or credit card, which creates privacy risks, or per-request on-chain payments, which are slow, costly, and traceable.

The duo proposes a system where users deposit funds into a smart contract and then make API calls without revealing their identity or linking requests, leveraging zero-knowledge proofs and rate-limit nullifiers for payments and anti-spam enforcement.

“A user deposits 100 USDC into a smart contract and makes 500 queries to a hosted LLM. The provider receives 500 valid, paid requests but cannot link them to the same depositor, or to each other, while the user’s prompts remain unlinkable to the user identity,” Crapis and Buterin said.  

“The model enforces solvency by requiring the user to prove that their cumulative spending—represented by their current ticket index—remains strictly within the bounds of their initial deposit and their verified refund history.” 

Cheating the system could slash your deposit

To deter scammers, illegal content generation, jailbreaking attempts, and other terms-of-service violations, Crapis and Buterin propose a dual-staking system.

Related: Vitalik draws line between ‘real DeFi’ and centralized yield stablecoins

If a user is caught trying to double-spend, their deposit can be claimed by anyone, including the server. However, users violating the terms of service will have their deposit sent to a burn address and the slashing event is recorded on-chain.

“For example, a user might submit a prompt asking the model to generate instructions for building a weapon or to help them bypass security controls – requests that would violate many providers’ usage policies,” Crapis and Buterin said.

“While the user’s identity remains hidden, the community can audit the rate at which the Server burns stakes and the posted evidence for these burns.”

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Institution-focused crypto lending platform BlockFills announced it halted customer deposits and withdrawals last week as Bitcoin and the broader crypto market continued to tumble. 

The suspension, which remains in effect, was intended to protect clients and restore liquidity on the platform, BlockFills said in an X post on Wednesday.

Last week’s market tumble saw Bitcoin fall another 24% from $78,995 to $60,000.

Blockfills said the withdrawal and deposit halt came “in light of recent market and financial conditions.”

“Management has been working hand in hand with investors and clients to bring this issue to a swift resolution and to restore liquidity to the platform,” BlockFills said.

“Clients have been able to continue trading with BlockFills for the purpose of opening and closing positions in spot and derivatives* trading and select other circumstances,” BlockFills added.

Source: BlockFills

The halt potentially impacts about 2,000 institutional clients, including asset managers and hedge funds, which contributed to more than $60 billion in trading volume on the platform in 2025.

The crypto liquidity and lending platform serves only investors with crypto holdings of $10 million or more.

BlockFills was founded by CEO Nick Hammer and President Gordon Wallace in 2017 and is backed by the likes of Susquehanna Private Equity Investments and CME Group.

Bitcoin is down 46% from its October high

Bitcoin’s price began to fall on Oct. 10 after a social media post on tariffs by US President Donald Trump sent shockwaves through the crypto markets, contributing to nearly $20 billion worth of positions being liquidated.

It fell further in the months following, hitting a year-to-date low of $60,008 on Feb. 5.

Related: Crypto super PAC to spend $5M on Barry Moore’s Senate bid: Report 

Bitcoin has since rebounded to $67,575, but is still 46.6% off its all-time high of $126,080 set on Oct. 6.

BlockFills’ withdrawal halt marks the first suspension among major crypto platforms as a result of market conditions. 

Magazine: Big questions: Should you sell your Bitcoin for nickels for a 43% profit? 

Peer-to-peer crypto exchange Paxful has been ordered to pay $4 million after admitting it knowingly profited from criminals who used the crypto platform due to its lack of anti-money laundering checks.

The Justice Department said on Wednesday that Paxful was sentenced to pay the fine after pleading guilty in December to conspiring to promote illegal prostitution, knowingly transmitting funds derived from crime, and violating anti-money laundering requirements.

“Paxful profited from moving money for criminals that it attracted by touting its lack of anti-money laundering controls and failure to comply with applicable money-laundering laws, all while knowing that these criminals were engaged in fraud, extortion, prostitution and commercial sex trafficking,” said Andrew Tysen Duva, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Prosecutors said that from January 2017 to September 2019, Paxful facilitated over 26 million trades worth nearly $3 billion in value and collected more than $29.7 million in revenue.

Source: Criminal Division

The Justice Department said Paxful had agreed that the appropriate criminal penalty was $112.5 million, but prosecutors determined the company didn’t have the ability to pay more than $4 million.

Paxful made millions from illegal prostitution ads

The Justice Department said Paxful marketed itself as a platform that didn’t require customer information and presented fake anti-money laundering policies that it knew “were not implemented or enforced.”

According to prosecutors, one of Paxful’s customers was the classified advertising site Backpage, which authorities shut down due to hosting ads for illegal prostitution.

“Paxful’s founders boasted about the ‘Backpage Effect,’ which enabled the business to grow,” the Justice Department said, adding that Paxful’s collaboration with Backpage and a similar site between 2015 and 2022 saw the crypto platform earn $2.7 million in profits.

Related: Crypto scam mastermind gets 20 years for $73M pig butchering scheme

Paxful shut down its operations in November and, in a now-deleted blog post in October, said the decision was due to “the lasting impact of historic misconduct by former co-founders Ray Youssef and Artur Schaback prior to 2023, combined with unsustainable operational costs from extensive compliance remediation efforts.”

Youssef said in response to Paxful’s post that the company “should have closed down when I left the company two years ago.”

Schaback, who is also Paxful’s former chief technology officer, pleaded guilty in July 2024 to conspiring to fail to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.

Schaback is awaiting sentencing, with a California judge agreeing in December to move a meeting on his sentencing from January to May as prosecutors said he is continuing to provide information for the government’s investigation into Paxful, “which may bear on the government’s sentencing recommendation.”

US authorities have not publicly named or charged Youssef in connection with Paxful.

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X Money, an upcoming payments system that forms part of Elon Musk’s “everything app” plans, is scheduled to come out as a “limited beta” in the next two months before launching to X users worldwide. 

Musk gave the new timeline at his AI company’s “All Hands” presentation on Wednesday, during which he said that X Money was already live “in closed beta within the company.” 

“This is intended to be the place where all money is. The central source of all monetary transactions,” he said, calling it a “game changer.”

Elon Musk says X Money is coming soon. Source: xAI

Payments part of X’s “everything app”

The move is framed as a key upcoming feature to make X more essential, tied with its “everything app” vision, with payments as a core driver of daily engagement. 

Musk noted the platform has 1 billion installed users, but said the monthly users were around 600 million on average.

X Money, rumored to be launched last year, is expected to integrate directly into the X platform, which aims to become a single place for social networking, messaging, content, and financial services, similar to WeChat in China.

“As we give people more reasons to use the X app, whether it's for communications, or for Grok, or for X Money [...] we want it to be such that if you wanted to, you could live your life on the X app,” said Musk.

Elon Musk has been pushing for payments on X since shortly after acquiring Twitter in 2022. The idea ties back to his early career in 1999, when he co-founded X.com, an online bank that merged with Confinity to become PayPal, which was later acquired by eBay.

Crypto integration remains a mystery. Musk has previously shared enthusiasm for Dogecoin (DOGE), but the initial focus is likely to be fiat since the company has partnered with Visa. According to the Blockchain Council, it will support crypto in the future. 

Related: Musk’s xAI seeks crypto expert to train AI on market analysis

xAI expands Macrohard data center

Musk also highlighted the company’s AI growth, stating that xAI can “deploy more AI compute faster than anyone else.”

The tech billionaire showcased the firm’s “Macroharder” AI data center in Memphis, Tennessee — an expansion of the existing plant that adds a further 220,000 graphics processing units.

“All this will be training the [AI] models that you experience. It's absolutely fundamental to have large-scale training compute in order to get the best models,” he said. 

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Coinbase has launched crypto wallet infrastructure allowing AI agents — programs that can think and transact without human input — to spend, earn and trade crypto. 

In a post on Wednesday, Coinbase programmers Erik Reppel and Josh Nickerson said the new Agentic Wallets feature seeks to build on today’s agents, which can answer questions, summarize documents and assist with tasks, but can’t execute trades and orders on behalf of users:

“The next generation of agents won't just advise – they'll act,” the pair said, adding that AI agents will be able to do everything from monitoring decentralized finance positions and rebalancing portfolios to paying for compute and API access and participating in creator economies.

Source: Coinbase Developer Platform

Reppel and Nickerson said Agentic Wallets build on Coinbase’s AgentKit framework, introduced in November 2024, which enabled developers to embed wallets into agents.

The agents can transact via Coinbase’s x402, a purpose-built payments protocol for autonomous AI use cases that has already reportedly seen 50 million transactions.

Through x402, “Agents acquire API keys, purchase compute, access premium data streams, and pay for storage – all autonomously, creating truly self-sustaining machine economies,” the programmers said.

Reppel and Nickerson said agents would be able to operate on Ethereum layer-2 network Base, “Managing positions and executing strategies wherever the opportunities exist.”

“Build agents that monitor yields across protocols, execute trades on Base and manage liquidity positions 24/7. Your agent detects a better yield opportunity at 3am? It rebalances automatically, no approval needed because you’ve already set permissions and controls.”

AI agents now operable on the Bitcoin Lightning Network

Lightning Labs, the team behind the Bitcoin layer 2 Lightning Network, also released a new toolset on Wednesday that enables AI agents to transact on Lightning via the L402 protocol standard.

The AI agents can also run a Lightning node and manage a Lightning wallet containing native Bitcoin (BTC) without needing to have access to the private keys.

Source: Lightning Labs

Meanwhile, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek on Monday launched ai.com, a platform that lets users create personal AI agents to perform everyday tasks on their behalf.

Marszalek said the AI agents can perform anything from managing emails and scheduling meetings to canceling subscriptions, carrying out shopping tasks and planning trips. 

Crypto leaders are bullish on agentic AI

Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of stablecoin issuer Circle, predicted on Jan. 22 that billions of AI agents will be transacting with crypto and stablecoins for everyday payments on behalf of users in three to five years.

Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has shared a similar view, stating that “native currency for AI agents is going to be crypto” and will do everything from buying tickets to paying restaurant bills.

Related: Deel taps MoonPay to roll out stablecoin salary payouts in UK, EU 

Outside of crypto, tech giant Google introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol on Jan. 11 to power agentic commerce.

Google’s protocol uses its Agent Payment Protocol 2 to facilitate transfers on behalf of users, with Google Pay serving as the default payment handler for US dollar transactions.

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Ondo Finance said its Ondo Global Markets platform has integrated Chainlink as its official data oracle, enabling price feeds for tokenized US stocks including SPYon, QQQon and TSLAon to go live on Ethereum.

According to a post from Ondo on Wednesday, the feeds are now being used on Euler, where users can post the tokenized equities as collateral to borrow stablecoins.

The integration provides onchain pricing data for the tokenized assets, allowing decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to set collateral parameters and manage liquidations based on reference prices tied to the underlying equities. The feeds incorporate corporate actions such as dividends, enabling applications to reference updated equity values.

Initial support covers SPYon (which represents the SPDR S&P 500 ETF), QQQon (representing the Invesco QQQ ETF) and TSLAon (Tesla stock), with additional tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) expected to be added as oracle coverage and protocol integrations are expanded.

According to the announcement, risk parameters for the new lending markets, including collateral factors and liquidation thresholds, are being set and monitored by Sentora.

Ondo said the move addresses a prior limitation for tokenized equities, which had largely been held for price exposure but were not widely accepted as collateral in DeFi. By pairing exchange-linked liquidity with onchain price feeds, the companies aim to enable broader use of tokenized stocks in lending and other structured products.

The announcement follows an October 2025 partnership between Ondo Finance and Chainlink, a blockchain oracle network launched in 2017, that designated Chainlink as the primary data provider for Ondo’s tokenized stocks and ETFs. 

Race to tokenize US equities

As US regulators continue to refine the legal framework for tokenized securities, legacy financial institutions and crypto platforms are accelerating efforts to put equities on blockchain infrastructure.

In September, Nasdaq filed for a rule change with US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that would enable it to list and trade tokenized versions of publicly traded stocks, potentially allowing blockchain-based representations of listed shares to trade within its regulated exchange framework.

On Dec. 11, the same day it clarifyied how broker-dealers may custody tokenized securities under existing rules, the SEC issued a no-action letter allowing a Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation subsidiary to launch a tokenization service for securities already held in DTC custody.

On Jan. 19, the New York Stock Exchange and its parent company, Intercontinental Exchange, said they are developing a blockchain-based platform for trading tokenized stocks and ETFs with 24/7 trading and near-instant settlement, pending regulatory approval.

On the crypto side, more than 60 tokenized US stocks launched in June across exchanges Kraken and Bybit. The product, developed by Backed Finance under its xStocks brand, provides blockchain-based exposure to blue-chip companies, though it is not yet available to US customers.

Meanwhile, fintech Robinhood, which introduced tokenized versions of nearly 500 US stocks for EU users in October, has launched a public testnet for Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum layer-2 network built on Arbitrum.

On Wednesday, the company said the network is designed to support tokenized real-world and digital assets, including 24/7 trading, self-custody and onchain lending and derivatives applications.

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US lawmakers questioned Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins at a hearing on Wednesday about the agency's enforcement actions against the crypto industry and why several cases were dismissed since the leadership change.

Enforcement actions since US President Donald Trump assumed office, and appointed Atkins as SEC chair, are down by 60%, Representative Stephen Lynch said.

The Massachusetts Democrat cited the dismissal of several SEC lawsuits against the crypto industry, including the SEC's motion to dismiss the Binance case in May 2025, as examples of the dropped enforcement cases.

Representative Stephen Lynch questions SEC Chair Paul Atkins. Source: US House Committee on Financial Services

Lynch also said that foreign investments in World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a decentralized finance platform linked to the Trump family, and memecoins launched by the family, were also causes for concern.

Recent reports indicate that Aryam Investment 1, an Abu Dhabi investment vehicle backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the national security adviser of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), purchased 49% of the startup company behind WLFI. Lynch said:

“This is hurting the crypto industry, all these scams. Look at crypto today. I think it's down 25% in the last month. People are losing trust, and it’s not good for crypto. It's certainly not good for consumers, and it's awful the reputational damage that the SEC is suffering.” 

“We have a very robust enforcement effort, and we are bringing cases,” Atkins responded. The comments rehashed previous concerns voiced by Democratic lawmakers about the Trump family’s involvement in crypto and how it could effect US national security.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins responds to Representative Lynch’s questioning. Source: US House Committee on Financial Services

The comments come during a US midterm election year and could signal resistance toward crypto from Democrats, which could stall market structure legislation if the Democratic Party takes back control of at least one chamber of Congress.

Related: Trump-linked WLFI faces probe over $500M UAE crypto deal

Rep. Maxine Waters claims crypto industry pardons, dropped lawsuits are politically motivated

“These cases were dismissed, despite the fact that the SEC was winning in court, proving that the SEC's crypto enforcement program was well-grounded in the law,” California Representative Maxine Waters said.

California Representative Maxine Waters presses Atkins about dropped SEC lawsuits at Wednesday’s House hearing. Source: US House Committee on Financial services

The crypto industry executives who benefited from the pardons and the dropped regulatory lawsuits gave “millions of dollars” to Trump and his family, Waters continued. 

Waters, who is a vocal critic of both Trump and the crypto industry, has repeatedly called for probes into the president’s family's crypto activities, characterizing the projects as a potential backdoor for foreign entities to influence Executive Branch policy through bribery.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

Bitcoin (BTC) price fell to $65,800 on Wednesday, slipping back below key intraday trend lines and raising concerns that last week’s drop to $60,000 may not have been the final bottom. Now, analysts say that the possibility of another drop to the yearly low ($59,800) is increasing due to a growing liquidity gap between $66,000 and $60,000. 

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin has formed a series of lower highs after repeated rejections near the $70,000–$72,000 resistance zone.

The relative strength index (RSI) is trending toward oversold levels as the price trades below key moving averages.

The liquidation heatmap indicated an absence of liquidity up to $60,500, keeping the risk of a downside price move open.

Failure to hold $70,000 weakens Bitcoin’s short-term prospects

Bitcoin’s one-hour chart shows multiple failed attempts to hold above $70,000. Each rejection has led to lower price highs and steady selling pressure.

BTC’s price briefly pushed into intraday highs of $69,800 before reversing sharply during the New York session on Wednesday, forming a classic swing failure pattern. The move trapped breakout longs and accelerated downside momentum.

Bitcoin one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

BTC also traded below both the 50-period and 100-period exponential moving averages, confirming short-term bearish control. The relative strength index (RSI) remained below 50, indicating limited buying pressure.

A 15-minute order block sits near the $60,800–$61,000 region, an area where strong buying pressure previously stepped in after BTC printed a yearly bottom at $59,800. This region remains a liquidity target if $64,000 fails to hold.

Related: When will Bitcoin start a new bull cycle toward $150K? Look for these signs

Heatmap data shows $60,000 is a liquidity magnet

Bitcoin’s liquidity heatmaps reveal stacked orders above $72,000, but it also highlights a “liquidity void” between $66,000 and $60,500. This “liquidity void” may act as a magnet, as price tends to move quickly through low-liquidity areas to tap concentrated stop clusters below.

Bitcoin liquidity heatmaps. Source: CoinGlass

Despite more visible liquidity being higher, the downside remains open as a final stack of leveraged longs worth over $350 million is still positioned near $60,500.

Bitcoin trader Husky said Bitcoin is slipping below the anchored volume-weighted average price (VWAP) drawn from last week’s lows at $59,800, a level that is acting as a short-term fair value. 

With the overall market structure starting to weaken, a lack of a swift recovery above $68,000 increases the risk of further downside toward lower support levels near $65,000. For now, Bitcoin is expected to trade within a broad $60,000 to $72,000 range, according to the trader.

Bitcoin analysis by Husky. Source: X

Likewise, market analyst EliZ noted that BTC is consolidating near $66,500 inside a descending channel. A break below this level may send the price toward the $63,400–$64,600 support zone, increasing the odds of a revisit to $60,000.

Related: Bitcoin reacts to major US jobs data beat as Fed rate pause odds near 95%

Key points:

Bitcoin spot selling keeps a $60,000 retest open as a short-term outcome.

Several major altcoins risk resuming the downtrend, indicating a negative investor outlook.

Bitcoin (BTC) has again come under pressure, dropping below the $66,000 level during the early hours of the US trading session. According to Kaiko Research, a 52% retracement from the all-time high was “unusually shallow,” and a drawdown of 60% to 68% was more in line with previous bear market cycles. That suggests BTC might bottom between $40,000 and $50,000.

BTC seems to have ditched its “digital gold” narrative and is behaving more like a high-risk growth asset, per a new research from Grayscale. Author Zach Pandl said that BTC is strongly correlated with software stocks, particularly since 2024, rather than gold. That shows a deeper integration into traditional financial markets, which is a part of BTC’s ongoing evolution, the report added.

Crypto market data daily view. Source: TradingView

A minor positive in favor of the bulls is that the BTC spot exchange-traded funds have witnessed inflows for the past three consecutive days, according to Farside Investors data. That suggests institutional investors are accumulating at lower levels.

Could BTC and the major altcoins resume their downtrend? Let’s analyze the charts of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

Bitcoin price prediction

BTC turned down from $72,271 on Sunday, indicating that the higher levels continue to attract selling by the bears.

BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

If the Bitcoin price stays below $67,300, the BTC/USDT pair may slide to $62,345 and subsequently to $60,000. Buyers are expected to defend the $60,000 level with all their might, as a close below it may sink the pair to $52,500.

Buyers are likely to have other plans. They will attempt to swiftly push the price above the $72,271 resistance. If they do that, the pair may rally to the 20-day exponential moving average ($76,275). Buyers will have to pierce the 20-day EMA to start a sustained recovery toward the 50-day simple moving average ($85,832). Such a move suggests that the pair may have bottomed out in the near term.

Ether price prediction

Ether (ETH) turned down from $2,111, indicating that the bears are fiercely defending the level.

ETH/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The ETH/USDT pair may slide to the crucial $1,750 support, where the buyers are expected to step in. A solid bounce off the $1,750 level might form a range in the near term. 

Instead, if sellers sink the Ether price below $1,750, the next stop might be $1,537. The first sign of strength will be a close above $2,111. The pair may then climb to the 20-day EMA ($2,364). This is a critical level for the bears to defend, as a close above it might propel the pair to the 50-day SMA ($2,838).

BNB price prediction

The failure of the bulls to push BNB (BNB) above the 50% retracement level of $676 has started a pullback toward $570.

BNB/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The bulls are expected to mount a strong defense at the $570 level, but if the bears prevail, the BNB/USDT pair may resume its downtrend and collapse toward the psychological support at $500.

Contrarily, if the BNB price turns up from the current level of $570, it suggests demand at lower levels. The bulls will then attempt to drive the pair above $669. If they manage to do that, the pair may rally to the 20-day EMA ($730). 

XRP price prediction

Buyers have held XRP (XRP) above the support line of the descending channel pattern but failed to start a strong rebound.

XRP/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

That increases the likelihood of a drop below the support line. If that happens, the XRP/USDT pair might retest the $1.11 level. If the $1.11 level gives way, the pair may plunge to $1 and then to $0.75.

Buyers will have to drive the XRP price above the $1.61 level to signal that the selling pressure is reducing. The pair may then march toward the 50-day SMA ($1.85) and later to the downtrend line.

Solana price prediction

Solana’s (SOL) relief rally stalled just below the breakdown level of $95, indicating that the bears are trying to flip the level into resistance.

SOL/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

There is minor support at $77, but if the level is taken out, the SOL/USDT pair may plummet to the $67 level. Buyers are expected to aggressively defend the $67 level, as a break below it may extend the decline to $50.

The first sign of strength will be a break and close above the 20-day EMA ($100). That suggests the markets have rejected the breakdown below the $95 level. The Solana price may then ascend to the 50-day SMA ($121).

Dogecoin price prediction

Dogecoin (DOGE) turned down from the psychological level of $0.10, indicating that the bears are attempting to flip the level into resistance.

DOGE/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The DOGE/USDT pair might drop to the $0.08 level, which is likely to attract buyers. If the Dogecoin price turns up and breaks above the 20-day EMA, it suggests that the bearish momentum is weakening. The pair may then jump toward the breakdown level of $0.12.

Alternatively, if the price continues lower and breaks below $0.08, it signals the resumption of the downtrend. The pair may then plummet to $0.06. 

Bitcoin Cash price prediction

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) continues to face stiff resistance at the 20-day EMA ($540), but a minor positive is that the bulls have not ceded much ground to the bears.

BCH/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

If the price turns up from the current level and breaks above the 20-day EMA, it suggests that the $443 level is acting as a solid floor. The BCH/USDT pair may then rally to the 50-day SMA ($583). 

On the contrary, if the Bitcoin Cash price continues lower and skids below $497, it signals that the bears are attempting to retain control. The pair may then descend to $467 and eventually to the vital support at $443.

Hyperliquid price prediction

Hyperliquid (HYPE) continued lower and fell below the 20-day EMA ($29.95) on Tuesday, indicating that the bulls have given up.

HYPE/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The 20-day EMA is flattening out, and the RSI is just below the midpoint, signaling a possible range-bound action in the near term. The HYPE/USDT pair may swing between $35.50 and $20.82 for a few days.

Buyers will have to push and maintain the Hyperliquid price above the $35.50 level to indicate the start of a new up move. On the downside, a close below the $20.82 support may deepen the fall to $17.

Cardano price prediction

Cardano (ADA) has been gradually sliding toward the support line of the descending channel pattern, indicating that the bears continue to exert pressure.

ADA/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Sellers will attempt to drag the price below the support line and Friday’s low of $0.22. If they can pull it off, the ADA/USDT pair may resume the downtrend. The next support on the downside is $0.20 and then $0.15.

The bulls will have to thrust the Cardano price above the 20-day EMA ($0.29) to retain the pair inside the channel for some more time. Buyers will be back in the driver’s seat on a close above the downtrend line.

Monero price prediction

Monero (XMR) reached the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level of $361, where the bears are posing a strong challenge.

XMR/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

If the Monero price turns down and breaks below $309, it suggests that the bears remain in charge. The XMR/USDT pair may then slump to the $291 to $276 support zone.

Conversely, if the price turns up from the current level or the support zone and breaks above $361, the next stop is likely to be the 20-day EMA ($394). Sellers will again attempt to halt the recovery at the 20-day EMA, but if the buyers pierce the resistance, the pair may run toward the 50-day SMA ($464). 

Bitcoin (BTC) has now retraced for three straight days, slipping below $66,000 during the New York session on Wednesday. The decline came after a failed push above $70,000, as weak buying interest allowed sellers to maintain control.

Onchain data suggest that the pullback is possibly driven by spot-led selling on Binance, while the lack of a Coinbase premium during the US market session signals muted participation from US investors.

Key takeaways:

The Coinbase premium index signals muted US investor participation at current price levels.

Cumulative volume delta (CVD) continues to trend lower, reflecting a persistent net selling pressure.

Data shows that the 30-day new money flow has flipped negative to roughly –$2.8 billion.

Coinbase premium and futures data show bears remain dominant

The Coinbase premium index measures the difference between BTC prices on Coinbase and other exchanges like Binance. A positive premium reflects strong US spot demand.

The indicator continued to exhibit a negative premium this week, suggesting limited engagement from US investors. 

Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Index. Source: CryptoQuant

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s cumulative volume delta (CVD) has extended to –$5.7 billion on Binance. The steady series of lower highs in CVD indicates continued market selling pressure rather than accumulation.

Given Binance’s dominant market volumes, the negative delta suggests that spot-driven sell orders may be leading the move lower.

The bid–ask ratio remained negative, showing that sell orders consistently outweighed bids during the recovery attempts. Although the ratio has turned slightly positive (around 0.14), it looks more like a short-term reaction than real spot buying support.

Bitcoin price, cumulative volume delta, open interest. Source: Hyblock Capital

Aggregated open interest has also trended downward, slipping to $17.6 billion from $20 billion on Monday. This suggests that leverage is gradually being unwound, with longs closing positions instead of building fresh exposure. 

Related: Spot Bitcoin ETFs add $167M, nearly erase last week’s outflows

CryptoQuant data further reinforces the lack of spot demand below $70,000. The 30-day cumulative new money flow has turned negative, near -$2.8 billion, while recent daily readings remain subdued around -$239 million. 

Unlike prior uptrends where price pullbacks attracted strong capital inflows, current price drops are failing to generate meaningful inflows.

Bitcoin's new investor flow. Source: CryptoQuant

The “young supply” share (0–1 month), which tracks recently moved coins, has also cooled toward the lower end of its recent range near 13%, reflecting reduced speculative participation from traders. 

Strong rallies are usually accompanied by rising young supply, increasing capital inflows, and rising open interest, all of which are currently absent.

Related: Rare Bitcoin signal flashes: Will a 220% BTC price rally follow?

Global payroll platform Deel will begin offering stablecoin salary payouts through a partnership with MoonPay, starting with workers in the UK and EU next month. The integration allows employees to receive wages directly in stablecoins to non-custodial crypto wallets, with a US rollout planned in a later phase.

Deel processes $22 billion in payroll annually worldwide, to more than 150 million workers, the company said in October. It will use MoonPay to handle stablecoin conversion and onchain wallet delivery, effectively adding crypto settlement rails to its existing payroll infrastructure, according to Tuesday’s announcement.

Under the arrangement, workers will be able to opt in to receive part or all of their salary in stablecoins, instead of local fiat currencies. MoonPay will manage the conversion and settlement process, while Deel continues to operate the payroll and compliance layer.

JP Richardson, co-founder and CEO of Exodus, said the partnership signals a broader shift toward everyday crypto use. “You don’t bring the world into crypto with whitepapers. You do it with paychecks,” Richardson wrote on X, arguing that stablecoin payroll will reduce cross-border payment delays and intermediary fees for workers globally.

Source: JP Richardson

The partnership expands Deel’s existing crypto payout options and adds another enterprise distribution channel for MoonPay, which holds a New York BitLicense and money transmitter licenses across the US, as well as authorization under the EU’s MiCA framework. 

The companies did not disclose which stablecoins will be supported or how many users are expected to opt in at launch. They also did not provide a specific time line for the US expansion or details on regulatory approvals tied to the second phase.

Stablecoin space is becoming increasingly crowded 

While MoonPay and Deel’s rollout targets workers in the UK and EU, the partnership comes amid rapid expansion in the US dollar–pegged token market. Since the US Congress established a federal framework for payment stablecoins in July 2025 with the GENIUS Act, a growing number of companies have moved to launch regulated stablecoins in the US.

In March, World Liberty Financial, a DeFi platform linked to the Trump family, launched its USD1 stablecoin, and in January, Wyoming became the first US state to issue its own stablecoin, the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT). 

The same month, Tether, issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDt (USDT), confirmed the launch of USAt, a US dollar–pegged token issued through Anchorage Digital Bank and positioned as a federally regulated payment stablecoin for use within the US.

Some traditional US banks are also preparing to enter the stablecoin market after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposed a framework outlining how subsidiaries of FDIC-supervised banks could apply to issue payment stablecoins in December. 

Despite the wave of new entrants, the market remains heavily concentrated. According to DefiLlama data, Tether’s USDt accounts for about 60% of total stablecoin market capitalization, while Circle’s USDC (USDC) represents about 24%.

Stablecoin market cap. Source: DefiLlama

Magazine: Is China hoarding gold so yuan becomes global reserve instead of USD?

Asset management giant BlackRock is making its first formal move into decentralized finance by bringing its tokenized US Treasury fund to Uniswap, marking a milestone moment for institutional adoption of DeFi.

According to a Wednesday announcement, BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) will be listed on the Uniswap decentralized exchange, allowing institutional investors to buy and sell the tokenized security. 

As part of the arrangement, BlackRock is also purchasing an undisclosed amount of Uniswap’s native governance token, UNI, the announcement said.

The collaboration is being facilitated by tokenization company Securitize, which partnered with the world’s biggest asset manager on the launch of BUIDL.

According to Fortune, trading will initially be limited to a select group of eligible institutional investors and market makers before expanding more broadly.

"For the first time, institutions and whitelisted investors can access technology from a leader in the decentralized finance space to trade tokenized real-world assets like BUIDL with self-custody," said Securitize CEO Carlos Dominigo.

Source: Securitize

BUIDL is the biggest tokenized money market fund, with more than $2.18 billion in total assets, according to data compiled by RWA.xyz. The fund is issued across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Aptos and Avalanche. 

BlackRock’s BUIDL metrics. Source: RWA.xyz

In December, BUIDL reached a key milestone, surpassing $100 million in cumulative distributions from its Treasury holdings.

Related: Avalanche tokenization hits Q4 high as BlackRock’s BUIDL expands onchain

Wall Street expands tokenized money market push amid stablecoin growth

Tokenized money market funds have gained traction on Wall Street, with several major financial institutions joining BlackRock in exploring the technology. Goldman Sachs and BNY, for example, have partnered to expand institutional access to tokenized money market products.

JPMorgan strategists have also highlighted the asset class as a potential counterweight to the rapid growth of stablecoins. While both rely on blockchain infrastructure, the GENIUS Act is widely expected to accelerate stablecoin adoption, potentially drawing liquidity away from traditional money market funds.

Tokenization could help offset that shift by allowing investors to post money market fund shares as collateral without sacrificing yield, JPMorgan strategist Teresa Ho said last year.

To be sure, the GENIUS Act could also accelerate the growth of tokenized real-world assets, according to Solomon Tesfaye, chief business officer at Aptos Labs, who previously told Cointelegraph that clearer stablecoin rules may spur broader onchain adoption.

Related: Crypto’s 2026 investment playbook: Bitcoin, stablecoin infrastructure, tokenized assets

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the country’s central bank, said on Wednesday that its Digital Asset Innovation Hub (DAIH) is piloting three regulatory sandbox programs to research and develop stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits.

BNM’s initiatives center around using ringgit stablecoins, the fiat currency of Malaysia, for cross-border settlement and developing tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), according to the announcement.

The pilot also aims to test tokenized bank deposits, with all research potentially applicable to the development of a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC), onchain fiat currency issued and managed directly by a central bank.

The benefits of asset tokenization. Source: BNM

Partners for the trials include banking institutions Standard Chartered Bank, CIMB Group Holding, Maybank, and investment holding company Capital A.

Malaysia’s central bank will also assess “Shariah-related considerations,” which refers to the Islamic code of law governing social, financial and political customs.

The pilot programs will “inform our policy direction in these specified areas,” according to the BNM statement, highlighting the global race among nation-states to tokenize assets, including fiat currencies, for use in the digital economy.

Roadmap to expand digital asset footprint

In November 2025, officials in Kuala Lumpur published a three-year roadmap to test asset tokenization across several real-world sectors.

Malaysia’s central bank outlines a three-year roadmap for digital assets. Source: BNM

These real-world use cases included supply chain management, Shariah-compliant financial products, access to credit, programmable finance and 24/7 cross-border settlement, according to a BNM discussion paper.

Ismail Ibrahim, the crown prince of Malaysia, launched a ringgit-pegged stablecoin in December under the ticker symbol RMJDT.

The stablecoin was issued by Bullish Aim, a telecom company owned by Ibrahim, but is still in the regulatory sandbox testing phase and not yet open to public trading.

That same month, Standard Chartered Bank and Capital A also announced plans to explore a ringgit-pegged stablecoin for wholesale settlement.

Wholesale stablecoins and CBDCs are meant for institutional settlement between authorized parties such as nation-states or central banks and are not intended for retail use.

Magazine: Bitcoin vs stablecoins showdown looms as GENIUS Act nears

Bitcoin (BTC) may recover from its ongoing slump and reach $150,000 by the year’s end, according to a recent Bernstein outlook.

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin must hold the 200-week SMA and see new-investor flows turn positive.

Sidelined capital must flow back into crypto, and the quantum threat needs to be addressed.

More rate cuts from the Fed in 2026 will bring risk-on investors back to BTC.

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: TradingView

Bitcoin must hold above this key trend line

One condition that has consistently defined Bitcoin’s transition from bear markets to new bull cycles is the price action around the 200-week simple moving average (200-week SMA, the blue wave).

Historically, this wave has acted as a magnet during deep drawdowns and a solid floor once selling pressure subsides.

BTC/USD weekly price chart. Source: TradingView

In both 2015 and 2018, Bitcoin bottomed near the 200-week SMA before entering multiyear uptrends. The 2022 bear market saw BTC price briefly breaking below it, but the failure proved short-lived.

Bitcoin holding above the 200-week SMA will reduce the odds of a prolonged, 2022-style capitulation, while keeping the path open for a new bull phase.

Bitcoin’s new investor flows must return

Another prerequisite for a sustained bull run is a reversal in new investor flows.

As of February, wallets tracking first-time and short-term holders show roughly $2.7 billion in cumulative outflows, the highest since 2022.

Bitcoin new money cumulative flows (30-day average). Source: CryptoQuant

In healthy bull markets, pullbacks attract fresh capital and accelerate participation. However, in the current market, the opposite is happening, according to IT Tech, a CryptoQuant-associated onchain analyst.

“Current readings resemble post-ATH transitions, in which marginal buyers exit and price is driven by internal rotation, not net inflows,” the analyst wrote in a Tuesday post.

In prior cycles, including 2020, 2021 and 2022, sustained bullish reversals only emerged once new-investor flows flipped decisively back into positive territory.

Bitcoin new investor cumulative flows (30-day average). Source: CryptoQuant

The same must happen in 2026 to make a strong bull case for Bitcoin. Bitcoin ETF net flows turned positive on Monday, which could be a first sign that these investor flows are starting to come back.

Sidelined Tether must flow back into crypto

Tether’s (USDT) share of the total crypto market has risen in recent weeks to test a familiar 8.5%–9.0% resistance zone.

Rising USDT dominance means investors are parking money in stablecoins and avoiding risk. Falling dominance usually signals the opposite: capital rotating back into Bitcoin and the broader crypto market.

Tether’s crypto market dominance vs. BTC/USD two-week performance chart. Source: TradingView

Since November 2022, clear pullbacks from this 8%–9% area have aligned with strong Bitcoin rebounds.

One rejection was followed by a 76% rally over 140 days, while another preceded 169% gains over 180 days. A similar setup occurred from 2020 to 2022, when the key ceiling sat near 4.5%–5.75%.

USDT dominance broke above that range in May 2022, and Bitcoin then fell by 45%, further reflecting the inverse correlation between the two.

As a result, Tether dominance must fall to start a new Bitcoin bull run.

Quantum fears must subside

Another headwind to overcome for Bitcoin is the potential quantum threat. These are theories that future quantum computers could break Bitcoin’s cryptography, putting BTC wallets at risk.

Some note that 25% of Bitcoin addresses are already at risk.

Several security-focused sources frame this as a threat that is still far off in the future.

For example, in November 2025, cryptographer and Blockstream CEO Adam Back said Bitcoin faces no meaningful quantum threat for “20 to 40 years,” adding the network can be “quantum ready” well before it becomes a real problem.

Bitcoin Optech also noted that near-term quantum risk would be concentrated in edge cases, such as reused addresses, rather than the entire network at once.

For Bitcoin to build a bull case in 2026, this threat must be addressed for buyers to regain confidence.

Doing just that, Coinbase and Strategy have launched initiatives, bringing in experts and mapping out a roadmap for Bitcoin security upgrades.

Source: MSTR Earnings call (MSTR)

More rate cuts by the Fed

Bitcoin’s chances of re-entering a bull cycle in 2026 improve if the US Federal Reserve delivers at least two rate cuts next year, which is what CME futures pricing was currently implying as of February.

Target rate probabilities for the December 2026 Fed meeting. Source: CME

Lower rates generally reduce the appeal of yield-bearing assets like U.S. Treasurys, pushing investors to seek higher returns elsewhere. That shift tends to favor risk assets, including equities and cryptocurrencies.

Donald Trump may push the new Fed chair for three rate cuts in 2026, according to Lee Ferridge, strategist at State Street Corp.

Three rate cuts this year may further increase Bitcoin’s appeal among risk traders.

Bitcoin (BTC) saw flash volatility around Wednesday’s Wall Street open as US jobs data came in well above expectations.

Key points:

Bitcoin attempts to rescue the day’s losses on the back of stronger US nonfarm payrolls data.

Mixed signals result in risk assets diverging in their reactions to the numbers.

Bitcoin traders stay wary of a deeper BTC price dip to come.

Analysis: Fed interest-rate pause to “continue”

Data from TradingView tracked a BTC price spike to nearly $69,000 which quickly retraced, extending daily losses past 4% at the time of writing.

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

US nonfarm payrolls outperformed considerably on the day, with 130,000 jobs added in January versus the anticipated 55,000.

US civilian unemployment data. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Strong labor-market numbers tend to imply less need to lower interest rates — typically a headwind for crypto and risk assets. At the same time, the reduced likelihood of recession creates a nuanced picture for risk-asset performance.

As such, the S&P 500 initially gained 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.6% before both retraced their moves.

Precious metals also saw uncertain price action, with gold hitting new February highs before giving back gains to target $5,000 support.

XAU/USD four-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Reacting, trading resource The Kobeissi Letter additionally referenced cooling unemployment in predicting that the Federal Reserve would hold rates steady at its March meeting.

“The unemployment rate FELL to 4.3%, below expectations of 4.4%. This was a much stronger than expected jobs report, all around the board,” it wrote in a post on X. 

“The Fed pause will continue.”

Fed target rate probabilities for March FOMC meeting (screenshot). Source: CME Group

The latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool put the odds of a March rate pause at over 90%.

Attention now focused on Friday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) print for further cues as to the path of inflation.

Trader eyes BTC price “slow bleed” toward $50,000

Commenting on recent BTC price action, traders remained unimpressed and skewed toward fresh downside.

Daan Crypto Trades brought in Fibonacci retracement levels at $64,569, $62,474 and $59,805 while eyeing the potential for a deeper retracement.

“Pretty weak showing overall after the initial bounce. Bulls failed to push higher past that $72K+ mark and instead saw price break down again,” he summarized. 

“Unless ~$68k is retaken, the fib retracement levels are the ones to watch in the short term.”

BTC/USDT perpetual contract one-hour chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X

Earlier, Cointelegraph reported on $69,000 having key long-term significance, with the risk of an extended rangebound environment developing around that level now higher.

$50,000 BTC price bottom targets also persisted, with trader Jelle arguing that BTC/USD was copying 2022 bear market trajectory “closely.”

“Would see a relatively slow bleed towards the low $50ks from here - before bouncing back up; if it keeps playing out the same,” he told X followers.

“Lots of people talk about buying there. I wonder if they will if price gets there.”

BTC/USD 2022 chart fractal. Source: Jelle/X

The European Union is finalizing a new package of sanctions aimed at closing loopholes that officials say have allowed Russia to use cryptocurrency to circumvent existing restrictions.

The EU is seeking to “ban all cryptocurrency transactions with Russia” as part of the upcoming 20th sanctions package, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Unlike previous efforts targeting Russia-linked entities spun out of already sanctioned platforms, the newly proposed measures are broader and are designed to close Russia’s crypto loophole entirely.

“Any further listing of individual crypto asset service providers […] is therefore likely to result in the set-up of new ones to circumvent those listings,” according to an internal European Commission document on the proposed sanctions, cited by the FT.

Brussels seeks total shutdown of Russia-linked crypto channels

While the new sanctions package is still being finalized and is expected to be adopted on Feb. 24, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week that the measures would target 20 additional Russian regional banks, as well as several banks in third countries.

Among the foreign lenders, the EU has proposed sanctioning two Kyrgyz banks — Keremet and OJSC Capital Bank of Central Asia — along with banks in Laos and Tajikistan, Reuters reported on Monday. If approved, the listed institutions would be barred from transactions with EU individuals and companies.

“In order to ensure that sanctions achieve their intended effect [the EU] prohibits to engage with any crypto asset service provider, or to make use of any platform allowing the transfer and exchange of crypto assets that is established in Russia,” the Commission’s document reportedly states.

Sanctioned A7A5 emerged as one of the largest non-dollar stablecoins in 2025

The report suggests that the measures could target Russia-linked payments platform A7 and its ruble-pegged stablecoin, A7A5. The operator has denied facilitating sanctions evasion, calling such claims politicized and unsupported by evidence.

Despite facing multiple rounds of sanctions, A7A5 emerged as one of the fastest-growing non-dollar stablecoins by market value in 2025, according to data from CoinMarketCap and DefiLlama.

Top five largest non-USD stablecoins by market capitalization. Source: DefiLlama

Some analysts, however, questioned the reliability of the token’s reported activity.

Blockchain analytics firm Global Ledger said it identified patterns consistent with wash trading that may have inflated A7A5’s volumes and simulated demand. Global Ledger also expressed doubts about the EU’s ability to fully restrict crypto transactions involving Russia.

Analysts question whether EU can fully enforce crypto sanctions

“The EU’s recent move to impose a blanket ban on Russian crypto activity — specifically targeting the A7A5 stablecoin — highlights a fundamental misunderstanding of decentralized liquidity,” Global Ledger co-founder and CEO Lex Fisun told Cointelegraph.

Fisun said the holders of tokens such as A7A5 can swap them into globally traded stablecoins through autonomous on-chain liquidity pools, without relying on centralized intermediaries that conduct compliance checks.

Once assets move through large global exchanges and liquidity hubs, transaction histories can become increasingly difficult to trace, he said, adding:

“At this stage, distinguishing these funds from legitimate market activity becomes a technical impossibility […] For European exchanges to enforce such a ban, they would essentially have to block all flows from major global trading hubs, a move that would paralyze the legitimate crypto market.”

While sanctions may succeed in cutting Russian entities off from regulated European platforms, Fisun said decentralized infrastructure remains resistant to direct censorship, making a complete technical blockade unlikely.

The developments come as Russia advances domestic legislation on digital assets. On Tuesday, Russian lawmakers passed a law in its third reading establishing the procedure for freezing and confiscating digital currency.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

Danske Bank, lielākā banka Dānijā un nozīmīga mazumtirdzniecības banka Ziemeļeiropā ar vairāk nekā pieciem miljoniem klientu, pirmo reizi ļauj klientiem iegādāties Bitcoin un Ether biržā tirgotos produktus (ETP) no BlackRock un WisdomTree, izmantojot savas eBanking un mobilās bankas platformas.

Jaunais piedāvājums, kas paziņots trešdien, ir pieejams tikai pašvirzītiem investoriem — klientiem, kuri tirgojas bankas platformā, nesaņemot investīciju padomus — un tas ir skaidri noformulēts kā atbilde uz “palielinātu klientu pieprasījumu” un “uzlabotu regulējumu” Eiropas Savienības Kriptovalūtu aktīvu (MiCA) režīma kontekstā.

Africa recorded the highest median stablecoin-to-fiat conversion spreads among tracked regions in January, according to data observed by payments infrastructure company Borderless.xyz, covering 66 currency corridors and nearly 94,000 rate observations.

The regional median spread was 299 basis points, or about 3%, compared with roughly 1.3% in Latin America and 0.07% in Asia. In Africa, conversion costs ranged from about 1.5% in South Africa to nearly 19.5% in Botswana. 

The data measures “spreads,” or the gap between a provider’s buy and sell rate for a stablecoin-to-fiat pair. Similar to a bid-ask spread in traditional markets, it reflects the execution cost paid when converting stablecoins into local fiat currency. 

The findings suggest that while stablecoins are promoted as a cheaper alternative to traditional remittance rails, actual costs vary widely across African markets and appear closely tied to local provider competition and liquidity. 

Regional median spreads for stablecoin conversions. Source: Borderless.xyz

Competition drives pricing gaps

Borderless.xyz found that markets with several competing providers generally had conversion costs between about 1.5% and 4%. In markets with only one provider, costs often exceeded 13%. 

Botswana recorded the highest median conversion cost in January at 19.4%, though pricing improved later in the month. Congo's costs were also above 13%. By contrast, South Africa, which has a more competitive foreign exchange market, showed costs of about 1.5%. 

The report suggested that these differences are driven primarily by local market conditions, such as liquidity and competition, rather than the underlying blockchain technology. In countries where multiple providers operate, conversion costs stayed closer to the regional average. 

Conversion costs in different competition levels. Source: Borderless.xyz

Related: Uganda opposition leader promotes Bitchat amid fears of internet blackout

Stablecoins versus traditional foreign exchange

The report also compares stablecoin mid-rates with traditional interbank foreign exchange rates, measuring what it calls the “TradFi premium.”

This metric reflects whether stablecoin exchange rates are cheaper or more expensive than traditional FX mid-market rates. 

Across 33 currencies globally, the median difference between stablecoin exchange rates and traditional mid-market foreign exchange rates was about 5 basis points, or 0.05%, indicating the two were largely in line.

In Africa, the median gap was wider at roughly 119 basis points, or about 1.2%, though the difference varied significantly depending on the country.

On Jan. 24, economist Vera Songwe said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that stablecoins are helping reduce remittance costs across Africa, where traditional transfer services can charge about $6 per $100 sent.

The new data adds context, suggesting that while stablecoins offer faster settlement and potential savings compared with legacy services, conversion costs within specific corridors remain elevated. 

Magazine: Hong Kong stablecoins in Q1, BitConnect kidnapping arrests: Asia Express

Lombard said it plans to launch Bitcoin Smart Accounts, designed to allow Bitcoin held in institutional custody to be used as onchain collateral without moving the asset or transferring control to a third party.

According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, following a launch this quarter, custodied Bitcoin will be recognized onchain through a receipt token, BTC.b, enabling institutions to access lending and liquidity venues while retaining legal ownership and existing custody arrangements.

Lombard said the framework targets asset managers, corporate treasuries and other institutional holders whose Bitcoin (BTC) remains idle in qualified custody. Pilots are underway with select institutional clients, though Lombard has not disclosed customer names or transaction volumes.

Bitcoin does not natively offer yield, a constraint that has kept vast amounts of the token idle compared to proof-of-stake networks. That dynamic is beginning to shift as a growing set of protocols seek to put custodied Bitcoin to work onchain.

Seeking to unstick Bitcoin

Lombard co-founder Jacob Phillips told Cointelegraph that decentralized exchanges now account for a meaningful share of crypto trading activity, with about half of lending and borrowing already taking place onchain. Phillips said:

But Bitcoin has been stuck. You’ve got roughly $1.4 trillion in BTC sitting idle, with only about $40 billion active in DeFi. Until now, if you wanted to put your Bitcoin to work onchain, you had to wrap it or move it into centralized services, which meant giving up the custody security institutional holders require. That's the problem we're solving.

Morpho will serve as the initial liquidity partner, with additional onchain protocols and custodian integrations expected over time.

Phillips said Morpho was selected for its institutional-focused lending infrastructure and experience supporting isolated Bitcoin-backed lending, adding that Bitcoin Smart Accounts are designed as open infrastructure rather than a closed integration, allowing Lombard to support additional DeFi protocols as demand emerges.

Founded in 2024, Lombard develops Bitcoin-focused onchain infrastructure and tokenized assets, including LBTC and BTC.b, designed to enable Bitcoin to be used in DeFi without leaving custody, according to the company.

New products aim to put idle Bitcoin to work

On May 1, US-based crypto exchange Coinbase launched the Coinbase Bitcoin Yield Fund, targeting non-US institutional investors with an expected annual net return of 4% to 8% on Bitcoin holdings.

A few months later, Solv Protocol launched a structured yield vault for institutional investors, designed to deploy idle Bitcoin across multiple yield strategies spanning decentralized finance, centralized finance and traditional markets. Solv’s BTC+ vault includes strategies such as protocol staking, basis arbitrage and exposure to tokenized real-world assets.

On Feb. 4, institutional crypto infrastructure provider Fireblocks said it would integrate Stacks to give institutional clients access to Bitcoin-based lending and yield.

Magazine: Bitcoin’s ‘biggest bull catalyst’ would be Saylor’s liquidation: Santiment founder