U.S. CFTC opens crypto ‘perp’ door with first approval at regulated firm

U.S. crypto firms can offer perpetual futures contracts, or “perps,” without running afoul of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to the agency’s first approval of an unnamed exchange to list and trade bitcoin perpetuals, the regulator said on Friday. The perp is a kind of derivative that allows the investor to speculate on…

Why is Stellar’s XLM up by Over 50% This Week?

Stellar’s native token, XLM, has rallied more than 50% this week, outperforming the broader crypto market, which has declined by nearly 5% in the same period. Key takeaways: US financial giant DTCC announced it would integrate its tokenized securities platform with the Stellar Network. XLM rallied by over 50% after the announcement, but risks a…

Bitcoin Loses Global Top 10 Asset Spot as Market Cap Falls to $1.48T

Bitcoin’s (BTC) latest drawdown to $72,000 has coincided with a sharp drop in its market capitalization, pushing it out of the global top 10 assets by market cap. Key takeaways: Bitcoin fell to 13th place among global assets after its market cap dropped below $1.5 trillion. Gold, silver and AI stocks outperformed Bitcoin after investors…

Ethereum Retail is in Mood to ‘Buy the Dip’ as ETH Price Slips Under $2K

Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH), slipped below $2,000 for the first time since March, but retail traders have not reacted with panic yet. Key takeaways: Ethereum retail data shows rising “buy the dip” sentiment, which may lead to more downside ahead. Macro data, such as ETF net flows and whale behavior, show institutions are selling…

Paxos Wins SEC Clearing Agency Registration

Blockchain infrastructure platform and stablecoin issuer Paxos said it has become the first “blockchain-native” firm that the US Securities and Exchange Commission has granted registration as a clearing agency. Paxos said on Thursday that its subsidiary, Paxos Securities Settlement Company, has become “the only blockchain-native firm” that the SEC approved to provide clearing and settlement…

Bitcoin Whales and Dolphins Signal Bear Market

An increasing number of Bitcoin holders are seeing their investments turn red as the holding structure continues to deteriorate across major cohorts, according to CryptoQuant.  Annual balance growth for whale accounts holding between 1,000 and 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) has turned negative in the fastest contraction this year, CryptoQuant said in a report on Thursday. Monthly…

Sui Network Restarts After 6 Hour Outage

Sui Network is back online after a nearly six-hour outage on Thursday, which it attributed to a bug introduced by an update, marking the layer-1 blockchain’s second period of downtime in 2026. Sui posted to X on Thursday that activity on its mainnet had resumed after “a halt due to a crash bug in the…

Standard Chartered: Ethereum Metrics Strong, Price Lags

Standard Chartered says Ethereum’s network activity remains close to record levels even as Ether (ETH) trades far below last year’s highs, arguing that the gap between usage and price could eventually narrow. Ethereum’s internal metrics, including transaction counts and total value locked in ETH terms, remain close to record levels, according to a Thursday report…

Bitcoin’s record holder supply hides a buyer drought, CryptoQuant says

Bitcoin traded around $73,500 Friday morning Hong Kong time, according to CoinDesk market data, roughly 10% below the low-$80,000 levels reached earlier this month, as new data from CryptoQuant suggests one of the market’s most widely cited bullish indicators may instead reflect a shortage of buyers. A record 15.8 million BTC is now classified as…

Kalshi Sues Minnesota, CFTC Files Against Rhode Island as Prediction Markets Legal Battles Continue

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and companies behind prediction market platforms are continuing legal fights against state-level authorities, with the latest battlegrounds centered in Rhode Island and Minnesota. Last week, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a bill into law amending statutes to prohibit advertising, creating, operating or otherwise facilitating prediction market platforms. The…