Bitcoin Price Forecasts Say $50,000 Is on the Way

Bitcoin (BTC) starts the second week of February still on the defensive after last week’s sharp drawdown, with traders increasingly eyeing a deeper retracement toward $60,000 — and even $50,000 — before a durable macro bottom forms. Market forecasts agree that Bitcoin price action has not yet put in a reliable long-term bottom. CPI week…

Tether’s gold stash tops $23 billion as buying outpaces nation states, Jefferies says

Tether, the crypto firm behind the world’s most popular stablecoin USDT$0.9995, continued its gold hoarding over the past month, ranking within the top 30 global owners of the metal and surpassing several sovereign nations, according to a Sunday report from Wall Street investment bank Jefferies. The stablecoin issuer’s gold reserves rose to an estimated 148…

ENS Abandons Its planned Namechain L2, Citing Drastically Lower Gas Costs

Ethereum domain name service provider ENS has canceled plans to launch a layer-2 as part of its ENSv2 upgrade, opting instead to launch a revamped protocol directly on Ethereum.  In a blog post on Friday, ENS lead developer nick.eth explained that the decision was partly due to a “99% reduction in ENS registration gas costs…

ENS Abandons Its planned Namechain L2, Citing Drastically Lower Gas Costs

Ethereum domain name service provider ENS has canceled plans to launch a layer-2 as part of its ENSv2 upgrade, opting instead to launch a revamped protocol directly on Ethereum.  In a blog post on Friday, ENS lead developer nick.eth explained that the decision was partly due to a “99% reduction in ENS registration gas costs…

US Treasury Secretary Pushes For Start On Fed Chair Confirmation Hearings

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is calling on the Senate Banking Committee to proceed with confirmation hearings for Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh, despite a standoff over an ongoing probe into current Fed chair Jerome Powell.  Speaking with Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Bessent referenced recent pushback from Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who said…

Only 10K Bitcoin is Quantum-Vulnerable and Worth Attacking

Digital asset manager CoinShares has brushed aside concerns that quantum computers could soon shake up the Bitcoin market, arguing that only a fraction of coins are held in wallets worth attacking. In a post on Friday, CoinShares Bitcoin research lead Christopher Bendiksen argued that just 10,230 Bitcoin (BTC) of 1.63 million Bitcoin sit in wallet…

Hong Kong Targets March for First Stablecoin Licenses

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong’s financial regulator, is preparing to grant its first stablecoin issuer licenses in March, according to a Reuters report.  During a Legislative Council meeting on Monday, HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue reportedly said the regulator’s review of stablecoin license applications was nearing completion. Yue added that the initial…

Previewing policy at Consensus Hong Kong 2026: State of Crypto

CoinDesk is hosting its second annual Consensus Hong Kong conference, and as always, we’ll have a number of policy-focused sessions. Are you in town? Find me on stage or around the show floor and say hi! You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. Click here to…

Bithumb Recovers Overpaid Bitcoin, Covers 1,788 BTC Shortfall

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb says it has resolved an incident in which a promotional reward error credited certain user accounts with excess Bitcoin. In a Sunday statement, the exchange confirmed it recovered 99.7% of the overpaid Bitcoin (BTC) on the same day the incident occurred. The remaining 0.3%, totaling 1,788 Bitcoin that had already…

CIRO Formalizes Interim Crypto Custody Framework in Canada

The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) has formalized its interim framework governing the custody of crypto and tokenized assets. The move outlined how dealer members are expected to safeguard client holdings while permanent crypto-specific rules remain under development. In a Tuesday notice, CIRO said the framework sets out its supervisory expectations for investment dealers operating…