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Standard Chartered and Coinbase announced an expanded collaboration on December 12, 2025, to develop a suite of services aimed at institutional investors.

Based on reports from both firms, the work will look at trading, prime services, custody, staking and lending for banks, funds and other large players.

Building On Existing Work

The firms said the push grows out of an existing arrangement in Singapore where Standard Chartered provides banking links that let customers move Singapore dollars in real time to and from Coinbase. That setup helped power Coinbase’s move into the island city’s business market on November 12, 2025.

What They Plan To Explore

Coinbase and Standard Chartered described five areas they will explore together: trading, prime services, custody, staking and lending. These cover order execution, financing and custody options that big clients typically demand.

Both sides framed the effort as trying to give institutional users safer, regulated ways to hold and move digital assets.

Why The Move Matters

Institutional investors have been asking for services that resemble what they get in traditional markets — custody with strong controls, credit and financing options, and execution tools tied to regulated banking rails.

Standard Chartered already rolled out spot trading for Bitcoin and Ether for its institutional clients earlier in the year, an effort that showed the bank is building its own crypto capabilities as demand grows.

Middle Ground For Banks And Crypto Firms

Coinbase brings its institutional trading platform and market access; Standard Chartered brings global payment rails, FX handling and a bank’s compliance framework.

The result, the partners say, should be a way for large investors to trade and custody digital assets while sticking to familiar banking rules and procedures.

Other banks and prime brokers are also striking ties with crypto firms or building in-house services, so this announcement is part of a broader push to give big clients regulated choices.

For institutional traders, having multiple, regulated routes to trade and settle crypto helps reduce single-point dependency and may lower operational risk.

Public Launch Date Or Pricing

Neither company provided a timetable or fee details when they announced the expansion. For now, the plan is to develop and test product ideas for institutional clients across regions where each firm operates.

The announcement underlines how more traditional finance players and crypto firms are working together to meet demand from large customers.

Featured image from Standard Chartered, chart from TradingView

Crypto promoter Rodney Burton, popularly known as “Bitcoin Rodney,” is facing new charges for his alleged role in the $1.8 billion HyperFund pyramid scheme. This development comes almost two years after the US Department of Justice brought criminal charges against two of the co-founders of the crypto Ponzi scheme.

In January 2024, the US DOJ charged Xue Lee (Sam Lee) and Brenda Chunga (Bitcoin Beautee) for their roles in HyperFund. According to the prosecutors, the founders falsely claimed that the scheme’s investors would receive substantial returns paid from non-existent crypto mining operations.

The fraudulent scheme, which also drew the attention of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), collapsed in 2022, leaving investors unable to withdraw their money. The SEC filed a civil action against the founders, stating that HyperFund lacked any real revenue source apart from investors’ funds.

US DOJ Adds Wire Fraud Charge To HyperFund’s Promoter

On Friday, December 12, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced new indictment charges against 56-year-old Burton for actively promoting the fraudulent HyperFund scheme. The new charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, seven counts of money laundering, and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

The 56-year-old crypto promoter, who was initially facing two counts related to unlicensed money transmission, is now staring down at a protracted prison sentence if found guilty on all counts; a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for the wire fraud conspiracy and each wire fraud count, 10 years for each money laundering count, and five years for the unlicensed money transmission enterprise.

The superseding indictment also accused Burton of misappropriating investors’ funds in the purchase of luxury condo homes, sports cars, and a yacht. The crypto influencer managed to build a crypto community following while hosting various celebrities, including Akon, Jamie Fox, and Rick Ross.

According to court filings, Burton claimed that he was made to believe that he was operating a legitimate enterprise, causing him to mislead investors. The crypto influencer’s trial is expected to start by March 2026.

Crypto Market At A Glance

As of this writing, the total cryptocurrency market is valued at around $3.05 trillion, reflecting a 0.2% jump in the past 24 hours.

Ухудшение экономических условий в Венесуэле и обесценивание национальной валюты, боливара, вынуждает население страны все чаще переходить на обеспеченные американским долларом стейблкоины, заявили аналитики платформы TRM Labs.  

Крупнейшая по объему торгов криптобиржа Binance способна создавать значительные юридические и структурные угрозы для всего крипторынка, заявили аналитики платформы Kaiko.  

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has kept its place in the Nasdaq 100 during this year’s reshuffling—its first since joining the index in a similar event last December. This comes as a piece of good news as the Bitcoin corporate buyer contends with the risk of possible exclusion from Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI)’s indexes.

MSTR Survives First Nasdaq 100 Reshuffling 

On Friday, December 12, Reuters revealed that Strategy (with the ticker MSTR), the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, survived its first Nasdaq 100 rebalancing since joining the index. As its name suggests, the Nasdaq 100 tracks the performance of 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

According to the report, this reshuffling saw Biogen, CDW, GlobalFoundries, Lululemon, On Semiconductor, and Trade Desk lose their places in the index. At the same time, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Ferrovial, Insmed, Monolithic Power Systems, Seagate, and Western Digital made it into the Nasdaq 100. 

These changes to the Nasdaq 100 index are expected to come into effect on Monday, December 22.

Despite the positive nature of this development, the MSTR price closed the day on a nearly 4% decline, which has been the theme for the stock as of late. According to the latest market data, the Strategy stock is down by almost 25% in the past month.

Strategy Urges MSCI To Reconsider Index Criteria 

Furthermore, this positive event comes at a time when other index providers are reevaluating their inclusion criteria. As Bitcoinist earlier reported, global index provider MSCI stated that it is considering the exclusion of companies with business models that focus heavily on holding crypto assets.

However, Strategy’s cofounder and chairman, Michael Saylor, stated that his firm is not merely a passive Bitcoin holding entity but rather a software firm with a proactive financial strategy. According to Saylor, the firm is in discussions with MSCI regarding its plans to exclude companies whose crypto holdings exceed 50% of total assets from its indices. 

In a recent letter endorsed by Saylor and CEO Phong Le, Strategy voiced its support for MSCI’s intentions to establish consistent eligibility criteria across its indices. Nevertheless, the firm urged MSCI to reconsider its plan to delist companies with over 50% digital asset holdings from its Global Investable Market Indexes. 

While Saylor has countered their evaluation, saying an exclusion “won’t make any difference,” JP Morgan analysts estimate that Strategy alone might face outflows of up to $2.8 billion as a direct consequence of MSCI’s decision. 

Старший руководитель крупной инвестиционной компании Vanguard Джон Амэрикс (John Ameriks) раскритиковал первую криптовалюту, назвав ее цифровым аналогом игрушки Лабубу, выпускаемой китайским брендом Pop Mart.

Общая капитализация крипторынка сократилась за 30 дней на 15%, что указывает на его переход в фазу глубокой коррекции, заявили специалисты аналитического подразделения криптобиржи Binance, Binance Research.

Крупные компании, правительства, централизованные биржи и инвестиционные фонды сконцентрировали 29,8% общего объема первой криптовалюты, находящейся в свободном обращении, подсчитали эксперты ончейн-платформы Glassnode.

Bitcoin has been the undisputed dominant force in the financial world. In a swift change of financial gravity, the spotlight has shifted from the decentralized digital asset to the US government treasury. As liquidity becomes the defining force behind every major market move, the Treasury General Account (TGA) has emerged as the true engine capable of driving risk assets.

Why Bitcoin’s Cycles Matter Less When Federal Cash Levels Shift

The most important chart for 2026 isn’t Bitcoin, it’s the US Treasury’s checking account. Crypto analyst Kyle Chassé has noted that the reason crypto has stalled is because of the government’s liquidity plumbing. Meanwhile, the TGA has just surged to $1 trillion, creating a massive liquidity vacuum in the cycle. When the treasury replenishes its funds, it drains dollars from the broader financial system.

However, to avoid a recession heading into 2026, the government must drain the account back down. Draining the TGA means pushing $150 billion to $200 billion back into the banking system. In addition, the Quantitative Tightening (QT) has officially ceased, meaning the government is done draining liquidity, and asset prices track liquidity.

Analyst Theunipcs revealed that the third rate cut of 2025 has been released, bringing the target range to its lowest level in nearly three years. The Fed also announced a new liquidity injection of roughly $40 billion per month in Treasury bill purchases. This policy pivot is happening immediately after BTC bounced from a 35% correction, which is the deepest pullback BTC has seen so far in this cycle.

At the same time, the most conservative trillion-dollar asset managers like Vanguard and Charles Schwab are pushing crypto products to their tens of millions of users for the first time. This isn’t the time to be bearish, but to be buying the dips aggressively.

Weekly Support Holds As Bitcoin Searches For A Relative Trend Reversal

A full-time crypto trader and investor, Daan Crypto Trades, highlighted that Bitcoin is currently trading only about 18% above its 2021 highs compared to the NASDAQ. Currently, the BTC/NASDAQ ratio is testing the Weekly Exponential Moving Average (EMA), a level that is providing support. Initially, BTC saw a clear breakout in this ratio during 2024 and early 2025,  but since then, momentum has stalled as stocks continued to grind higher, fueled by the AI tech rally.

According to the expert, the tech stock momentum is starting to cool, at least temporarily, and will watch if this ratio moves back in favor of BTC again for a while. Due to the rotation signal, BTC is already showing signs that the index, like the Russell 2000 (Small Caps), is starting to outperform, as the tech stocks are cooling off a bit.

Amid a steady price rebound in the Bitcoin (BTC) market, popular market analyst with the X username KillaXBT is predicting another significant correction in the forthcoming days.

Bitcoin Historical Data Reveals Recurring Monthly 8% Price Decline

In an X post on December 12, KillaXBT outlines a cautious market insight that suggests Bitcoin is headed for a price pullback. According to the renowned analyst, the premier cryptocurrency has consistently recorded an 8% price decline after the 14th day of the last five months. KillaXBT describes this observation as the 14th Pivot, which now holds important implications for Bitcoin in the short term. Since hitting a price bottom of $80,000 in late November, BTC has formed an ascending channel, recording a steady series of higher lows and higher highs.

However, KillaXBT’s projection is expected to break this channel, potentially halting the nascent uptrend. Going by the recurring price pattern, the analyst states Bitcoin investors should anticipate a minimum 5% price decline after the 14th of December, hinting at a potential retest of the 85,000-$86,000 price zone.

Given the asset’s broader bullish market structure, such a move may represent nothing more than a short-term pullback. However, the prolonged correction seen earlier in Q4 has already set a precedent, leaving room for another phase of deeper downside should momentum weaken.

BTC To Bottom Below $50,000? 

In another X post, KillaXBT shares more bearish projections of the Bitcoin market. This time, the seasoned analyst predicts the crypto market leader will hit a price bottom of $48,905 despite recent price gains. KillaXBT’s bottom target represents Bitcoin’s price as of the approval of the BlackRock IBIT ETF, alongside 11 other Bitcoin Spot ETFs in January 2024. This projection is likely due to the common rationale that the present bullish run has been heavily supported by institutional inflows.

 

Notably, the Bitcoin Spot ETFs have been central to these institutional inflows, boasting total net assets of $119.18 billion. The BlackRock IBIT holds over half of this traction as the undisputed market leader with $71.03 billion in net assets and $62.68 billion in cumulative net inflows. 

If Bitcoin were to return to its pre-ETF approval price levels, it would imply an estimated 46% decline from current market prices. Such a move would likely signal a sharp reversal in institutional positioning, suggesting that sustained ETF outflows, rather than retail capitulation, could emerge as the primary catalyst for a renewed crypto winter.

At press time, Bitcoin continues to trade at $90,348, reflecting a 2.18% decline.

Featured image from Pexels, chart from Tradingview

Bitcoin’s 2025 price action has been anything but smooth, but one group of investors has quietly dominated the year’s profit statistics. Short-term holders, which are classified as addresses holding BTC for only one to three months, spent most of the year in the green amidst the push to multiple all-time highs and ensuing drawdowns throughout the year. 

On-chain data from 2025 now provides a clearer answer to whether short-term exposure to Bitcoin actually paid off for holders, even though conditions look far less comfortable at the time of writing.

Short-Term Holders Spent Most Of 2025 In Profit

According to data from on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, Bitcoin short-term holders were in a profitable position for roughly two-thirds of 2025. On-chain profit and loss data shows that this cohort was in profit for about 66% of trading days, which translates to about 230 trading days. 

During the first half of 2025, Bitcoin’s price frequently traded above the average realized price of short-term holders, allowing recent buyers to lock in gains even as volatility remained elevated. This pattern became especially visible during mid-year rallies, when Bitcoin pushed above the $100,000 region and short-term profit margins expanded sharply. 

Each time the price reclaimed levels above the short-term realized price, realized gains dominated the distribution. Back in January, Bitcoin maintained a position above the short-term cost basis for nearly two consecutive months, creating the first extended window of sustained profitability for this cohort in 2025. 

A similar, and even more pronounced, phase unfolded between May and October, when short-term holders sat on substantial unrealized gains. During this period, the profit-and-loss margin climbed as high as 20 percent in July, coinciding with Bitcoin’s first breakout above $115,000. During this period, Spot Bitcoin ETFs were witnessing huge institutional inflows that cancelled out any profit-taking from short-term holders.

BTC: STH Realized Profit and Loss. Source: CryptoQuant

Current Picture Shows Short-Term Holders Underwater

That favorable backdrop has changed into losses in recent weeks. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around the low-$90,000 range, while the short-term holder realized price is just above $100,000. This places the current profit/loss margin at a loss of about 10%. 

Interestingly, this margin recently fell to as low as negative 20% when the Bitcoin price broke below $85,000 in November, which is the deepest loss regime for short-term holders in 2025.

Nonetheless, the 2025 data shows that short-term holding was profitable for most of the year, but the outlook is not favorable right now. Structurally, these deep loss pockets usually show up closer to the late stages of a correction than the early ones.

Right now, the most important thing for short-term holders is for Bitcoin to reclaim the short-term realized price and push back above $100,000. Until then, short-term holders will stay under pressure, even with the yearly statistics leaning in their favor.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

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 would boost its holdings to 10%, as the company’s CEO and lifetime Juventus supporter, Paolo Ardoino, explained the move as a commitment to long-term innovation. 

Taking this step further, the USDT operator has submitted an audacious bid to acquire the entire 65.4% controlling stake of the football club from Exor, the listed holding company of the billionaire Italian Agnelli Family. For context, Juventus FC ranks as the third-largest Italian club with a market valuation of $1.87 billion. However, the Old Lady, as it is popularly called, is the most decorated in the land, boasting 71 major honors, which include 36 Serie A championships. 

While Juventus’ momentum has slowed down in recent years, with its last league-winning campaign coming in 2020, the Italian giant has remained relevant by securing three domestic cup trophies since then. Paolo Ardoino explains that Tether’s objective is to contribute to Juventus’ growth and drive exceptional performance.

The Tether CEO said: 

Tether is in a position of strong financial health and intends to support Juventus with stable capital and a long horizon. Our goal is to make a positive contribution to the club’s future, support its sporting performance at the highest level, and help Juventus continue to grow sustainably in a rapidly evolving global sports and media landscape.

To this end, Tether has promised to invest 1 billion Euros in the club if the transaction receives approval from relevant regulatory bodies. However, footballing media The Athletic has reported that sources close to Exor state the Agnelli Family has no intent to divest their stake in Juventus, with the message being “the club is not for sale.”

Notably, Juventus represents one of Tether’s investments, which also includes the Italian media company Be Water and the Canadian video platform Rumble.

USDT Market Overview

At the time of writing, USDT’s total market cap is valued at $186.24 billion, ranking as the largest stablecoin and third-largest cryptocurrency in the world.

Ethereum was one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies in the market over the past week, with its price jumping mid-week to as high as $3,400. Interestingly, the “king of altcoins” is now barely hanging on to the psychological $3,000 price level.

On Friday, December 12, the crypto market felt a wave of bearish pressure, with most large-cap assets witnessing significant price corrections on the day. According to the latest on-chain data, the Ethereum market appears to be experiencing heavy selling pressure.

Ethereum Taker Volume Sees Notable Spike

In a new post on the X platform, crypto analyst Maartunn revealed that the Ethereum price has been a victim of heavy selling pressure in the past day. This observation was based on the Taker Sell Volume metric, which saw a significant increase on Friday.

This on-chain metric estimates the total volume of sell orders filled by takers in perpetual swaps of a particular cryptocurrency (Ethereum, in this case). In crypto trading, a taker refers to a market participant who fills an existing order in an exchange’s order book.

Maartunn highlighted that the Taker Sell Volume across all centralized exchanges saw a notable uptick on Friday. Data from CryptoQuant shows that the metric rose to as high as 124.2 million ETH on the day.

According to Maartunn, this significant spike in the Ethereum Taker Sell Volume is a clear sign of aggressive selling in the market. This level of selling activity put bearish pressure on the Ethereum price, explaining the latest correction to $3,000.

60,000 ETH Flows Into Centralized Exchanges

Another on-chain signal that supports the theory of increased selling in the Ethereum market is the exchange inflow metric. According to data shared by Ali Martinez, significant amounts of ETH tokens have found their way onto centralized exchanges in the past day.

Santiment data shows that 60,000 ETH tokens, worth approximately $200 million, flowed onto exchanges on Friday. As expected, this inflow activity led to a spike in the Ethereum supply on exchanges and the open market.

With no adequate demand to mop up this increasing supply, this rising exchange inflow only puts downward pressure on the Ethereum price. As of this writing, ETH is valued at around $3,080, reflecting an over 4% decline in the past 24 hours.

The XRP ecosystem is taking a major step forward with the launch of Wrapped XRP (wXRP) on the Solana and Ethereum blockchains. A crypto expert has provided a thorough breakdown of what this new development could mean for XRP, noting that it not only strengthens the cryptocurrency’s credibility among other blockchains but also significantly boosts its utility.  

A Look Into XRP’s Launch On Solana And Ethereum

XRP is expanding its presence beyond its native blockchain with the introduction of Wrapped XRP on Ethereum and Solana. Hex Trust, a regulated institutional digital asset custodian, has issued wXRP, a 1:1 backed representation of the native XRP, on LayerZero’s OFT standard to enable DeFi functionality across multiple blockchains.

This new move marks a significant step in increasing XRP’s utility outside the XRP Ledger (XRPL). According to a press release published on Hex Trust’s official site on December 12, wXRP will launch first on Solana before expanding to other chains, including Optimism, Ethereum, and HyperEVM. The tokenized coin will be available for trade alongside the RLSUD stablecoin on Ethereum and supported chains, further broadening its use cases.

Crypto expert ‘Mr Cauliman’ explained on X that this new development should not be mistaken for a formal partnership between Ripple and Solana. He added that it also does not mean XRP is leaving the XRP Ledger, which continues to operate as intended, or that the wXRP is replacing the native token. He emphasized that wrapped assets are not IOUs but simply a way to access liquidity in other ecosystems. 

Cauliman highlighted that the introduction of wXRP reflects the growing acknowledgment of XRP’s liquidity by other blockchain ecosystems, including Solana. Similar to how Ethereum and Bitcoin have been wrapped for use across multiple networks, XRP is now being made accessible to users outside its native chain. This expansion not only reflects strong demand for XRP in DeFi markets but could also encourage wider adoption across different blockchain networks. 

While wXRP’s launch is a significant milestone, Cauliman has warned that wrapped assets carry considerable risks. These include counterparty, bridge, and custodial risks. He stated that native XRP is free from these risks, remaining a fast, permissionless settlement layer. Despite this, demand for the cryptocurrency in DeFi continues to grow. 

wXRP Unlocks DeFi Rewards With Reliable Pricing

wXRP is set to debut with full support for authorized merchants to mint and redeem the token in a secure and compliant environment. Users will gain access to cross-chain applications, including swaps, liquidity provisioning, and supported DeFi rewards. All of these will be made available while the asset remains redeemable 1:1 for native XRP held in Hex Trust’s custody. 

Hex Trust has revealed that wXRP will launch with over $100 million in Total Value Locked (TVL), providing strong liquidity from day one. This foundation supports smoother trading, reliable pricing, and a healthier market. The wrapped XRP is also designed to serve institutional liquidity providers, DeFi protocols, DAOs, funds, and retail and merchant users.

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Vanguard, the world’s second-largest asset manager, enabled the trading of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other crypto-related products on its platform at the start of December. However, it appears that the firm’s overall view of crypto and the digital asset industry has not changed very much over time.

Hence, the reversal of its longstanding position on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies seems to be a purely business decision rather than a change in belief. This revelation came from one of the trillion-dollar company’s top executives at a Bloomberg conference on Thursday, December 11.

No Evidence BTC’s Technology Offers Economic Value: Vanguard’s Quant Head

According to a Bloomberg report, John Ameriks, Vanguard’s global head of quantitative equity, revealed that the asset management firm’s view of crypto remains unchanged despite recently offering its investors access to Bitcoin ETFs. The senior investment executive likened BTC to a speculative “digital Labubu”—a popular plush toy collectible.

Ameriks posited that Bitcoin could be seen as a speculative collectible rather than as a productive asset, as it lacks the income, compounding, and cash-flow properties Vanguard typically checks for in long-term investments. The global head of quant said there is no clear evidence that Bitcoin’s underlying technology delivers durable economic value.

It is for this not-so-optimistic view of cryptocurrencies that Vanguard has refrained from issuing its own crypto-linked exchange-traded funds. However, the asset management firm welcomed select crypto funds to its platform earlier this month after seeing the successful record of the US-based Bitcoin ETFs since their launch.

Ameriks said in a separate interview at the Bloomberg conference:

We allow people to hold and buy these ETFs on our platform if they wish to do so, but they do so with discretion. We’re going to not give them advice as to whether to buy or sell or which crypto tokens they ought to hold. That’s just not something we’re going to do at this point.

Nevertheless, the Vanguard global head of quantitative equity did admit that he sees Bitcoin potentially offering non-speculative value in certain contexts. The top executive listed high-inflation environments and periods of political instability as some of such scenarios.

Ameriks concluded:

If you can see reliable movement in the price in those circumstances, we can talk more sensibly about what the investment thesis might be and what role it could play in a portfolio. But you just don’t have that yet – you’ve still got too short of a history.

Bitcoin Price At A Glance

The price of BTC has been in a sustained downtrend over the past few months, sitting nearly 30% away from its all-time high of $126,080. As of this writing, the premier cryptocurrency is valued at around $90,380, reflecting an over 2% decline in the past day.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has granted Ripple a conditional approval to become a national trust bank. Crypto pundit Stern Drew highlighted what this means for the crypto firm and also XRP, which it uses for its payment services. 

What The OCC Approval Means For Ripple And XRP

In an X post, Stern Drew stated that Ripple just broke the system following the OCC’s grant of a conditional approval to the crypto firm. He further noted that Ripple now has federal and regulatory oversight locked in with this approval. The pundit added that the RLUSD stablecoin has become the gold standard for compliant stablecoins, while XRP has stepped straight into the heart of the U.S. financial system.  

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also reacted to the OCC’s grant of a conditional approval, stating that it was huge news. He remarked that this was a massive step forward, mainly for the RLUSD stablecoin, which is setting the highest standard for stablecoin compliance with both federal and state oversight. 

In a press release, the firm also indicated how this development positions RLUSD and XRP by extension for greater adoption. The firm stated that as traditional finance firms continue to enter the crypto market, they will look to leverage stablecoins with the highest regulatory rigor and compliance, which offer the trust and reliability required for enterprise adoption. 

Meanwhile, the payment firm confirmed that its banking services will also extend the same regulatory rigor behind RLUSD into its broader payments and institutional service offerings, which utilize XRP. The firm further noted that utility is already driving adoption as its stablecoin has surpassed $1 billion in market cap in less than a year. The company added that the stablecoin is actively used in its payment solutions and as collateral by prime brokers, including its prime brokerage. 

An “XRP Wake Up Call”

Crypto pundit BarriC described the OCC’s grant of a conditional approval to Ripple as an XRP wake-up call for those who may still be skeptical of the altcoin. He stated that for those who said that banks would never use XRP or partner with Ripple, the crypto firm has now also been granted a banking license.

The pundit noted that this is significant as over half of Ripple’s transactions for its payment services go through XRP. The altcoin has also received a huge boost as Swiss bank AMINA bank has become the first European bank to integrate Ripple’s payment services. BarriC highlighted that the bank will ultimately use XRP through its integration with Ripple payments. Meanwhile, crypto analyst Dark Defender indicated that Ripple’s status as a Trust bank could be one of the catalysts that lead to higher prices for XRP. 

At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading $2.01, down in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Hyperliquid (HYPE), one of the largest decentralized exchanges (DEXs) in the industry, has announced the pre-alpha launch of a portfolio margin system on its testnet, marking a significant advance for traders by unifying spot and perpetual (perps) trading to enhance capital efficiency. 

This system supports various trading strategies, such as carry trades, wherein spot balances can collateralize short perps. Additionally, idle assets will automatically earn yield, creating a more dynamic trading environment.

Hyperliquid’s New Upgrade

In this initial rollout, users can only borrow Circle’s USDC stablecoin, with the exchange’s native token HYPE designated as the sole collateral asset. However, Hyperliquid plans to introduce Native Market’s USDH and Bitcoin (BTC) before transitioning to the alpha version. 

The portfolio margin framework is designed to be applicable across all HIP-3 decentralized exchanges and is expected to extend to future asset classes under the HyperCore umbrella. 

An upcoming upgrade will provide smart contract access via CoreWriter, allowing developers to create on-chain strategies using ERC-20-based wrappers, which will further broaden the platform’s functionality.

Market expert Austin King recently articulated the importance of this launch in a post on X (formerly Twitter), noting on the historical significance of portfolio margin, reflecting on its introduction in traditional finance (TradFi) that added an impressive $7.2 trillion to the derivatives market within a few years.

The Essential Role Of Portfolio Margin

The expert recalled that the government had introduced margin requirements in 1934 in response to excessive leverage during the 1929 crash. 

While well-intentioned, these regulations simplified the complex nature of liquidity and often exacerbated volatility in markets. The inability to run delta-neutral strategies efficiently meant that significant margin was required for each position, presenting a challenge for traders.

The introduction of portfolio margin by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in 1988 transformed this landscape by reducing margin requirements through a comprehensive analysis of overall risk across combined positions. 

Yet it wasn’t until 2006 that retail customers gained access to these benefits, as they had been historically limited to broker-dealers and market makers.

So, what does this mean for Hyperliquid? According to King’s thesis, the introduction of portfolio margin is poised to significantly enhance liquidity growth on the platform. 

Increased Open Interest and trading volume can be expected for every dollar of margin in the system. Effectively, this will create a substantial liquidity multiplier for every new dollar that enters Hyperliquid. Moreover, portfolio margining serves as an essential tool for large-scale liquidity providers in the traditional financial sector. 

The expert asserted that without this capability, it would be economically challenging for significant TradFi players to participate in providing liquidity on Hyperliquid, as the returns per dollar of margin would be considerably lower compared to traditional exchanges that offer portfolio margin. King concluded the following:

There is more work to be done, but with this rollout one of the biggest issues I repeatedly heard cited will no longer be a blocker.

At the time of writing, HYPE was trading at $28.83, having recorded significant losses of 18% and 25% over the fourteen- and thirty-day time frames, respectively. However, it is one of the few tokens that remains in the green zone on a year-to-date basis, with gains of 60% recorded in this period.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

As Tether (USDT), the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, USDT, prepares for a significant fundraising effort aimed at entering the US market, the company is actively seeking ways to bolster liquidity for its investors. 

This initiative comes in the wake of Tether’s intervention to prevent some existing shareholders from offloading their stakes at a substantial discount.

Tether In Talks With Major Firms

According to Bloomberg, Tether is contemplating various strategies, including share buybacks and the tokenization of the company’s shares on a blockchain once the fundraising deal is complete. 

These discussions have been prompted by concerns that the sale of shares by certain investors could jeopardize Tether’s ambitious fundraising goals. 

In response to inquiries from Bloomberg News, Tether confirmed that it has successfully halted plans from at least one shareholder seeking to divest their stock, emphasizing that it would be “imprudent” for any investor to attempt to bypass the established processes managed by top-tier global investment banks. 

Tether’s management is actively managing these situations to ensure that the forthcoming fundraising effort remains robust. Reports indicate that the company aims to attract “strategic” investors as part of its capital raise and has held discussions with firms such as SoftBank Group Corp. and Ark Investment Management LLC. 

However, Tether has not provided a timeline for a potential initial public offering (IPO), suggesting that both new and existing investors may face delays before any liquidity events occur.

Juventus Acquisition Proposal

Tether also announced on Friday a binding cash proposal to acquire Exor’s entire stake in the Italian Football giant, Juventus Football Club. This proposal aims to secure Exor’s shareholding, which represents 65.4 percent of Juventus’ total issued share capital. 

The completion of this acquisition is contingent upon Exor’s acceptance, the signing of final agreements, and the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals.

Tether intends to make a public tender offer for any remaining shares at the same price, fully backed by its own capital, reflecting a long-term commitment to Juventus. 

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, expressed a deep personal connection to the club, emphasizing that his experiences with Juventus have instilled values of commitment, resilience, and responsibility in him.

With plans to invest €1 billion in the club’s development and support, the firm’s proposal extends beyond mere ownership; it aims to forge a meaningful partnership that reinforces Juventus’ legacy and enhances its global brand, the firm disclosed.

Ardoino articulated his belief in the club’s importance, stating that Juventus is more than just a football team; it represents a cultural and sporting identity that has inspired loyalty among fans worldwide.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com 

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