Из жизни альткоинов

David Schwartz, Ripple’s former CTO and one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, poured cold water on the idea of returning to Bitcoin development this week, calling Bitcoin “largely a technological dead end” in a reply that quickly ricocheted through crypto’s never-ending decentralization debates.

The exchange started as a fight over history and governance. On Feb. 9, X user Bram Kanstein argued that XRP’s early “genesis reset” — often described as treating the 32,750th XRP block as a kind of starting point — illustrates crypto’s centralized tendencies. Kanstein wrote that the milestone “may be thought of as the genesis,” before adding: “Except it is not. The XRP Genesis reset is a prime example of the centralized nature of ‘CrYpTO’.”

Ex-Ripple CTO Schwartz Calls Bitcoin A ‘Tech Dead End’

Schwartz jumped in with a comparison that redirected the argument toward Bitcoin. “Bitcoin had at least two incidents that showed way more centralization than this incident did,” he wrote, “especially since the decision in this incident was not to make any coordinated changes and just live with it.”

That claim drew a follow-up from X user, who floated SegWit as a candidate for what Schwartz meant, an example of coordinated protocol change. The ex-Ripple CTO pushed back on that framing: “I wasn’t because I don’t really think of adding new features as showing centralization,” he replied. “But I think you could make a good argument that it does. The biggest one I was thinking of was the coordinated 2010 rollback.”

The thread’s tone shifted on Feb. 10 when X user Khaled Elawadi asked the question that put Schwartz’s own priorities in the spotlight: since co-creating the XRPL, had he worked on or even considered developing Bitcoin again?

“Not really,” Schwartz answered. Then he went further, sketching an argument that Bitcoin’s dominance owes less to the evolution of its base-layer tech than to social and monetary inertia. “I think bitcoin is largely a technological dead end for the same reason the dollar is,” he wrote. “The technology just doesn’t seem to matter all that much to its success, at least not at the blockchain layer.”

For XRP supporters, Schwartz’s comments served two purposes at once: a defense against charges that XRPL’s early history implies unique centralization, and a reminder that Bitcoin’s “hands-off” mythology also has had real-world exceptions in its early days.

What’s hard to miss is where the ex-Ripple CTO  draws the line. Bitcoin’s success can persist even if base-layer technical progress slows, because the network’s strength increasingly behaves like a monetary standard rather than an engineering project. Schwartz is pursuing a different strategy for the XRP Ledger. After stepping down as Ripple CTO, he announced that he would pursue his own projects on the XRP Ledger.

At press time, XRP traded at $1.38.

Совершенствование регулирования цифровых активов в США может стать основным фактором роста крипторынка до конца года, заявили аналитики финансового холдинга JPMorgan.

Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Stuart Alderoty, has signaled that a compromise may emerge soon from ongoing discussions among banks, the US Senate, and crypto leaders over stablecoin rewards. The comments followed a smaller White House meeting focused on stablecoin regulations, which highlighted which activities should be allowed under upcoming rules. Depending on the outcome, this could directly affect Ripple’s operations and the broader outlook for XRP. 

Compromise Puts Ripple In Regulatory Focus

Popular Journalist Eleanor Terrett reported on Wednesday, February 11, that both banking and crypto participants had described the Stablecoin yield meeting in the White House as productive, even though no final agreement was reached. The meeting explored deal specifics in more detail than previous sessions, with particular attention on how stablecoin rewards, highlighted in the Clarity Act, could be structured under future rules. 

During the meeting, Alderoty stated that “compromise is in the air,” signaling potential movement toward shared ground between banks and crypto representatives. For XRP, this matters because Ripple’s role in cross-border payments and the services of its stablecoin RLUSD depend heavily on how regulators define permissible reward-based and transaction-based activities. 

Notably, Terrett stated that banks and trade groups arrived at the White House meeting with a written set of prohibition principles that outlined what they would not accept regarding stablecoin rewards. These principles were designed to protect traditional banking structures while limiting the extent to which digital assets could compete with deposit products. 

Under the principles, banks stated that payment stablecoins should not offer yield or rewards to prevent deposit flight and preserve lending in local communities. They also called for strong enforcement measures to close loopholes, restrictions on marketing that could present stablecoins as insured or risk-free, and a regulatory review after two years to assess potential risks. 

According to Terrett, one source said banks made a key concession by accepting language that included possible exemptions, something that had previously been off the table. This change opens the possibility that transaction-based rewards could be permitted under tightly defined conditions, a development that may influence how Ripple structures its stablecoin services, with potential effects on XRP as well. 

What Negotiations Could Mean For XRP And Stablecoins 

A major point of debate during the meeting was the definition of permissible activities, which would determine what crypto firms like Ripple are allowed to do when offering stablecoin rewards. Crypto representatives pushed for broader definitions to provide more clarity for stablecoins, while banks argued for narrower boundaries to reduce risks to the financial system. 

The White House urged both parties to reach an agreement by March 1, 2026, with further discussions expected in the coming days. Although it’s unclear whether another meeting of the same scale will take place this month, Ripple’s participation puts RLUSD and XRP directly in the spotlight. The outcome of these negotiations could shape how the crypto company and the broader stablecoin market offer rewards and likely influence how they operate under future regulatory frameworks.

Ежедневный оборот цифровых активов у россиян достигает 50 млрд рублей — это свыше 10 трлн рублей в год, заявил первый заместитель председателя Банка России Владимир Чистюхин. О каких именно активах идет речь, чиновник не уточнил.

Thailand has quietly moved a big step closer to making crypto part of its money markets. The Cabinet has given the green light to let cryptocurrencies serve as the underlying assets for regulated products such as futures and options. This opens the door for mainstream trading that is tied to real legal rules and cleared through licensed systems.

Regulators Set Rules

Based on reports, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission will write the detailed rules next. Those rules will say how exchanges must operate, how trades are cleared, and what kinds of risk controls firms must put in place.

Exchanges and banks will need licenses. Custody standards will be tightened. Market makers and institutional investors are already talking to local firms about possible listings and clearing setups. Some work will be done by trading venues; other work will be done by third parties that handle settlement.

Tokenized Bonds And Tax Moves

Reports have disclosed earlier projects that helped pave the way. The government introduced tokenized government bonds, known as G-Tokens, which were offered through licensed digital trading platforms in 2025.

That experiment showed how public debt can sit on a blockchain while still being issued under normal law. At the same time, Reports say a temporary tax break was offered to encourage on-shore crypto trading — a five-year capital gains tax exemption running from 2025 to 2029 for trades on approved platforms.

Stablecoins such as USDT and USDC were added to the approved list to ease trading and settlement.

Market Reaction And Institutional Interest

According to market watchers, the move drew fast interest from regional fund managers and some global trading desks. There is talk of creating Bitcoin futures and possibly ETFs that link to regulated contracts.

Trading firms say the main pull is clearer rules and a legal route for hedging exposure. Liquidity providers see a chance to offer more tools to investors, and some exchanges have already started building product designs.

Volatility remains a concern, and many firms are cautious about running big positions until the clearing rules are final.

Concerns are being raised about custody, fraud, and links to money laundering. Regulators intend to require robust know-your-customer checks and strict audit trails.

Leverage levels will likely be limited at first. Margining rules are expected to be strict so that a sudden price move does not cascade through the system.

Many observers point out that bringing crypto into regulated markets can help manage these risks — if rules are enforced.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Хедж-фонд Alameda Research, дочерняя организация рухнувшей в 2022 году криптобиржи FTX, распределила среди пострадавших кредиторов материнской компании $15,6 млн в криптовалюте Solana (SOL). Транзакции отследили аналитики Arkham.

Резервиста израильской армии и израильтянина из числа гражданских обвинили в использовании секретной военной информации для ставок на блокчейн-платформе Polymarket.

Направление движения цен биткоина и крупных криптовалют все больше и больше зависит от состояния мировой экономики, считают аналитики инвестиционной компании QCP Capital.

Three Cardano ecosystem announcements landed onstage at Consensus Hong Kong yesterday, spanning cross-chain rails, a new stablecoin rollout timeline, and a privacy-focused network’s march to mainnet.

#1 Cardano Taps LayerZero

Intersect said via X its Critical Cardano Integrations workstream has approved bringing LayerZero into the Cardano ecosystem, positioning the move as the network’s largest interoperability expansion to date. In its post, Intersect framed the integration as a step-change in access to cross-chain assets and infrastructure:

“LayerZero is one of the most widely adopted omnichain messaging protocols in Web3, connecting 150+ blockchains and enabling access to 400+ tokens and $80B+ in omnichain assets. This integration unlocks the largest cross-chain connectivity expansion in Cardano’s history, opening pathways to stablecoin liquidity, Bitcoin-backed assets, tokenized real-world assets, and shared DeFi infrastructure across the broader crypto ecosystem.”

A companion write-up describes the effort in similar terms, saying the protocol “connects over 160 blockchains” and “has facilitated over $200 billion in cross-chain volume,” with Cardano gaining technical access to “over 400 tokens” and “$80 billion in omnichain assets” once the LayerZero endpoint is deployed.

The post argues that LayerZero’s messaging-layer approach is chain-agnostic “regardless of the underlying execution model,” explicitly flagging Cardano’s extended UTXO design as a historical friction point for tooling built around account-based chains.

Intersect said delivery work now moves into deployment, with “further milestones and timelines to be shared as progress continues.”

#2 USDCx Gets A Launch Date

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson used the event to put a calendar marker on USDCx, saying the product now has a target launch window at the end of February. “We’ve announced not long ago that we will have USDCx. Now we have a launch date for USDCx, end of February. We’ve done some amazing engineering to have a beautiful UX. You can go straight from any wallet to Coinbase, or Binance, and back, and there’s instant convertibility to USDC,” Hoskinson said.

He also claimed feature advantages versus standard USDC in circulation, saying USDCx has “privacy, and it’s also immutable and irreversible, so it’s actually better [than USDC].”

#3 Midnight Targets Mainnet Before End Of March

Midnight, the privacy-oriented network tied to the broader Cardano ecosystem, said its mainnet is now imminent. “On the ConsensusHK stage, we shared that Midnight mainnet will officially go live before the end of March,” the team posted via X, calling it “a major milestone and the beginning of a live, production network designed to support early applications built around selective disclosure and real-world privacy.”

Midnight added that mainnet is “foundational,” describing it as the stable base for teams to “launch, test, and iterate,” while setting expectations for “rapid protocol and tooling expansion ahead.”

At press time, Cardano traded at $0.261.

31% представителей «поколения зет» и 34% миллениалов были бы рады получить криптовалюту в качестве подарка, показал опрос американской компании Pollfish. Причем 13% зумеров уже хотя бы раз расплачивались криптовалютой на свиданиях.

Компания Strategy, крупнейший публичный корпоративный держатель биткоинов, объявила о смене подхода к финансированию закупок криптовалюты. Вместо продажи обыкновенных акций она намерена активнее использовать размещение привилегированных, сообщил генеральный директор компании Фонг Ле (Phong Le).

Основатель и гендиректор американского венчурного холдинга Digital Currency Group (DCG) Барри Силберт (Barry Silbert) заявил, что представление о биткоине как анонимном активе окончательно утратило актуальность.

Danske Bank has started offering Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs to customers for the first time, but the bank still doesn’t endorse crypto assets.

Danske Bank Now Offers Bitcoin & Ethereum ETPs

As announced in a press release, Danske Bank’s customers can now invest in some exchange-traded products (ETPs) tracking the two largest cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The bank said that the new option is a response to increasing user demand for digital assets and improved regulation related to the sector. Kerstin Lysholm, head of investment products & offering at Danske Bank, noted:

As cryptocurrencies have become a more common asset class, we are receiving an increasing number of enquiries from customers wanting the option of investing in cryptocurrencies as part of their investment portfolio.

Headquartered in Copenhagen, Danske Bank is the largest bank in Denmark with 3.75 trillion DKK (around $596 billion) in assets. Previously, the bank took a stalwart stance against offering cryptocurrency trading, but the latest move suggests it’s finally opening up to the market.

Though, Danske Bank still doesn’t offer advisory services for digital assets, labelling them as “opportunistic investments” rather than part of a long-term portfolio strategy. The addition of the new Bitcoin and Ethereum investment option is geared at investors who use the firm’s trading platform without receiving any investment advice, the bank said.

Investors using the option will gain exposure to the cryptocurrencies not by direct holding, but via ETPs, investment vehicles that allow for indirect exposure. This means that traders won’t have to engage with blockchain components like wallets and exchanges.

Lysholm emphasized that access to digital asset ETPs on the company’s trading platform shouldn’t be taken as a recommendation of cryptocurrencies from Danske Bank. The bank warned that the asset class involves “high risk” and may result in large losses.

The move to allow Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs isn’t the only one related to the cryptocurrency sector that Danske Bank has made recently. In September, the bank joined hands with eight other major European banks to develop a shared euro-pegged stablecoin.

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that have their price pegged to a fiat currency. Currently, the space is heavily dominated by the USD-based tokens, and the consortium of Danske Bank and other European banks plans to challenge this hegemony.

Since the initial announcement, the consortium has gradually added more members, now involving a total of twelve European financial institutions. The banks have set up a company called Qivalis in Amsterdam to handle the issuance of the stablecoin.

While the exact launch date of the token is unknown, the consortium has said it aims to make a commercial release in the second half of 2026.

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is floating around $66,700, down more than 8% in the last seven days.

Министерство финансов Великобритании объявило о выпуске цифровых гособлигаций (digital gilts) на блокчейне Orion, принадлежащем крупнейшему по объему активов европейскому банку HSBC.

Индикаторы технического анализа часто запаздывают относительно движения цены. Для волатильных инструментов, таких как криптовалюты, это может снижать эффективность сигналов. Center of Gravity (CG) позиционируется как осциллятор, способный минимизировать временной лаг. Рассмотрим принципы его работы и особенности применения.

BlockFills, a Chicago‑based cryptocurrency trading and lending firm that caters to institutional investors, has temporarily halted client deposits and withdrawals following the latest sharp downturn in digital asset markets. 

The decision came after Bitcoin (BTC) dropped to around $60,000 last week before recovering some of its losses. A company spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that the suspension remains in effect.

BlockFills Imposes Trading Limits

The firm, which is backed by Susquehanna Private Equity Investments and the venture capital arm of CME Group, said the pause was introduced as a precautionary step. 

According to reports, clients were notified last week that the measure was designed “to further the protection of our clients and the firm.” The notice stated that any funds sent to the platform during the suspension period would be rejected and returned. 

While deposits and withdrawals are frozen, BlockFills clients are still permitted to trade, though under certain limitations. Positions or loans requiring additional margin may be closed if necessary.

BlockFills operates across several areas of the crypto market, offering spot and derivatives execution, structured products, and crypto‑backed lending services. Its clientele includes Bitcoin miners, hedge funds, and other professional counterparties. 

The company emphasized that trading for both spot and derivatives markets remains available for opening and closing positions, subject to restrictions implemented in response to current conditions.

No End In Sight

In a public statement, BlockFills said that recent market and financial volatility prompted the temporary suspension. The firm added that it is working to restore liquidity to the platform as quickly as possible. 

The company has not indicated how long the suspension will last, nor has it disclosed specific details about the underlying issues beyond citing heightened market volatility. 

While such pauses are disruptive, they are not without precedent in the cryptocurrency industry. During the 2022 market downturn often referred to as the “crypto winter,” several major centralized lenders and exchanges froze customer withdrawals as liquidity strains intensified. 

Companies including Celsius, Voyager Digital, BlockFi and Genesis eventually filed for bankruptcy after suspending client funds. More recently, in 2025, some exchanges experienced temporary disruptions. Binance, for example, briefly halted futures trading for less than an hour, attributing the interruption to technical issues.

The situation for BlockFills and its users will likely persist until crypto prices recover. For example, Bitcoin renewed its downtrend on Wednesday, dropping toward $67,554. The cryptocurrency registered losses of 2% and 8% in the 24-hour and seven-day time frames, respectively, positioning it 46% below all-time high levels.

According to CoinGecko data, Ethereum (ETH), XRP, and Solana (SOL) followed Bitcoin’s lead, with respective declines of 3%, 2%, and 3.5% in the 24-hour time frame alone, adding to the growing fear of a full-fledged bear market taking place. 

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com 

Преступники все чаще используют биткоин, Monero и USDT для расчетов и отмывания средств. Об этом сообщили опрошенные Bloomberg эксперты, указав, что выбор актива зависит от ликвидности, уровня анонимности и стоимости транзакций.

Аналитики ончейн-платформы CryptoRank заявили, что биткоин подает один из самых заметных медвежьих сигналов с начала 2022 года. Речь идет о резком ухудшении динамики 200-дневной скользящей средней — ключевого индикатора долгосрочного тренда.

Федеральный суд Калифорнии снизил штраф для компании Paxful Holdings, оператора P2P-платформы Paxful, со $112 млн до $4 млн. Компания признала вину в нарушении требований по противодействию отмыванию средств (AML).

Центральный банк Малайзии (BNM) через Центр инноваций цифровых активов (DAIH) запустил нормативную песочницу для тестирования привязанных к ринггиту стейблкоинов в международных расчетах, а также токенизированных активов реального мира (RWA).