Author: admin

Barclays expects a more tepid year for crypto in 2026, with trading volumes trending down and investor enthusiasm waning. In a wide-ranging year-end report published Friday, the bank flagged a difficult backdrop for digital asset exchanges like Coinbase (COIN), citing unclear catalysts for renewed activity and a slow start to token adoption efforts.Retail-facing exchanges, which benefited from surging trading interest during the crypto bull runs of prior years, are now facing a more subdued environment. Barclays analysts noted that trading volume in spot markets — key revenue drivers for companies like Coinbase and Robinhood (HOOD) — has cooled sharply. Without…

In response to the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent investor bulletin on crypto custody, BitGo CEO Mike Belshe has positioned his firm as the only provider offering all the custody options described by the SEC.It comes only days after BitGo secured regulatory approval to operate as a bank, effectively expanding its institutional services.Sponsored BitGo Claims It Can Do What No Other Crypto Custodian CanIn a post on X (Twitter), Belshe emphasized that the BitGo exchange enables institutions to combine self-custody and third-party custody into a single hybrid strategy, creating custom risk profiles that no other provider can replicate. “BitGo…

After three years of development, Firedancer went live on Solana mainnet in December 2024, having already produced 50,000 blocks across 100 days of testing on a handful of validators.The milestone, announced Dec. 12 by Solana’s official account, marks more than a performance upgrade. It represents the network’s first real attempt to eliminate the architectural bottleneck that has underpinned its most damaging outages: near-total reliance on a single validator client.Solana has spent years marketing sub-second finality and four-figure transaction-per-second throughput, but speed means little when 70% to 90% of the network’s consensus power runs the same software.A critical bug in that…

In brief Transhumanism was labeled a “death cult” by critics who argued it misunderstood what it means to be human. Advocate Zoltan Istvan defended the movement as a humanitarian effort to end suffering, aging, and death through technology. Philosophers and AI researchers warned that promises of digital immortality were flawed and raised unresolved ethical risks. Transhumanism, a movement that seeks to defeat aging and death through technology, was sharply criticized during a recent debate between philosophers, scientists, and transhumanist advocates, who rejected the accusation as misguided and reactionary.The exchange took place Dec. 4 at the UK-based Institute of Art and…

Walk into a gas station, grocery store, or convenience store today, and you might see a small orange kiosk glowing in the corner. What started as a curiosity has quietly become one of the most familiar in-person touchpoints in the digital economy: the crypto ATM.With close to 40,000 crypto ATMs operating worldwide, this technology has become a staple for the crypto-curious and enthusiasts alike, helping spark mainstream interest in a digital asset once considered esoteric and unapproachable. As a physical bridge between traditional fiat currency and the digital asset world, these kiosks have made crypto more accessible, tangible, and user-friendly…

Bitcoin BTC$90,239.37 has so far bounced above $90,000, 15% higher from its Nov. 21 low of around $80,000, with price finding confluence support across three important cost basis metrics: the 2024 yearly volume weighted cost basis, the True Market Mean, and the average U.S. spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) cost basis. These metrics help to identify where investors are most likely to defend positions during drawdowns. The area of support proved vital, as it aligned closely with the average acquisition prices of multiple investor cohorts.First, the True Market Mean, represents the average onchain purchase price of bitcoin held by active market…

On Dec. 9, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency put out a press release with a very direct message for US banks: you are allowed to sit in the middle of crypto trades.In the memorably titled News Release 2025-121, the OCC published the somehow even worse-titled Interpretive Letter 1188 and confirmed that national banks may run “riskless principal” crypto-asset transactions as part of the business of banking, acting as the buyer to one customer and seller to another, while keeping no meaningful inventory of tokens themselves.A day earlier, Comptroller Jonathan Gould stood before a room of industry participants…

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure Stablecoin operator Tether has submitted a market bid to acquire a controlling stake in Italian football club Juventus FC. This development follows initial minor investments, as the USDT issuing company looks to deepen its involvement with the footballing institution. Tether Promises 1 Billion Euros For Sport Development If Bid Succeeds In Feb 2025, Tether announced a minority stake purchase of 8.2% in Juventus FC. The stablecoin issuer described this acquisition as a strategic move to integrate stablecoins and digital assets into everyday life. Two months later, Tether…

In brief A Vanguard executive compared Bitcoin to a collectible toy, despite the firm recently opening trading for crypto ETFs. Vanguard recently allowed clients to trade funds holding Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana. The firm said it would not provide investment advice related to crypto assets. A senior Vanguard executive this week likened Bitcoin to a speculative toy, even as the asset manager moved to allow clients to trade crypto-linked exchange-traded funds—underscoring continued skepticism toward digital assets despite recent national policy shifts.According to a report by Bloomberg, John Ameriks, Vanguard’s global head of quantitative equity, said Bitcoin lacked the cash…

Coinbase is reportedly preparing to launch its own prediction markets, powered by U.S.-based operator Kalshi, in a move that could expand the types of assets available on the exchange amid cooling investor interest in cryptocurrencies, according to reporting from Bloomberg and CNBC. The announcement is expected to come next week, coinciding with Coinbase’s “Coinbase System Update” showcase on Dec. 17. While the exchange declined to confirm specifics, it encouraged users to tune into the livestream for updates. Rumors of the new prediction markets have been circulating for nearly a month. In mid-November, tech researcher Jane Manchun Wong shared a screenshot…