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After losing the key $100,000 price mark due to a sharp pullback last week, the price of Bitcoin is now changing hands between $95,000 and $95,100. Despite the magnitude of the current drawdown in price, it is still below the level of the preceding major corrections.

Ongoing Bitcoin Pullback Still Behind Previous Drawdown

Bitcoin has been in a downward trend since it reached its all-time high of around $126,000. While investors and traders closely monitoring the charts may perceive the most recent decline in Bitcoin’s price as severe and significant, on-chain data reveals a completely different picture regarding the development. 

In a post on the X platform, Darkfost, a market expert and author, revealed that the drawdown of the ongoing correction reached about 23% as of Sunday. However, the current pullback still sits slightly below the magnitude of the previous major downturn despite increased volatility and growing panic throughout the market.

Since such a level of corrections is often seen in each market cycle, Darkfost stated that there is nothing unusual about this large pullback so far. As indicated on the Bitcoin Drawdown metric, the previous corrections, particularly the last two, reached 26% and 28%, respectively. These corrections occurred in September 2024 and May 2025.

Darkfost has also examined the supply of BTC in profit to determine the impact of the current correction on the market. After analyzing the Bitcoin Percent Supply in Profit metric, the expert found that this ongoing pullback is having the biggest effect on the market, even though it is not the largest. Meanwhile, this pressure is mostly felt by short-term BTC holders. 

Data shows that the percentage of supply in profit has recently fallen to 68% following a sharp pullback to $93,000, marking its lowest level observed within the recent drawdown. It is worth noting that the last time the market felt this much impact from a pullback was in October 2023, just after the bear market. As on-chain data and BTC’s price draw closer to critical levels, Darkfost has urged investors to monitor the trend in the coming few weeks in order to determine the next market direction.

Short-Term BTC Holders Are Panicking Again

Presently, a strong feeling of fear and uncertainty has been observed among BTC short-term holders. Darkfost highlighted that the market is experiencing the biggest panic move from these key investors since the last all-time high of $126,000.

This negative action is indicative of the recent movement of thousands of BTC by these investors into centralized exchanges, probably to sell them off. During the weekend, short-term holders sent more than 65,000 BTC to crypto exchanges at a loss.

The massive portion of BTC that has moved to centralized exchanges is a clear indication of capitulation among the cohort, who appear to be losing confidence and are choosing to exit the market to minimize their losses. Should this amount of coins be sold, this will lead to billions of dollars leaving the market, which would ultimately trigger more decline in Bitcoin’s price.

Stay Ahead with Our Timely Insights of Today’s Next Crypto to Explode

Check out our Live Next Crypto to Explode Updates for November 17, 2025!

Crypto is so unthinkably huge at the moment, a nearly $4 trillion industry that’s aiming for world domination.

Recent headlines talk of Circle and Mastercard planning to add USDC to global payment systems, Ethereum and Bitcoin treasuries in the billions of dollars, and Google building its own blockchain.

Bitcoin has an all-time growth of over 180,000,000%, Dogecoin over 43,000%, and some of the newest presale coins often pump 10x, 100x, or even 1,000x on rare occasions.

Explosive potential is probably the single best description for what we’re seeing today in crypto.

Quick Picks for Coins with Explosive Potential

Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) - Real-Time Layer-2 Solution for Scaling Bitcoin Launch: May, 2025 Join Presale Maxi Doge ($MAXI) - High-Impact Meme Coin Built On Strength, Staking & Conviction Launch: July, 2025 Join Presale PepeNode ($PEPENODE) - A New, Gamified Way to Mine to Earn Meme Coin Rewards Launch: February, 2025 Join Presale Snorter Token ($SNORT) - Lowest-Fee Telegram Trading Bot for Solana and Ethereum Launch: May, 2025 Join Presale Best Wallet Token ($BEST) - Get Easy, Early Access to New Curated Presale Projects Launch: November, 2024 Join Presale

If you’re looking for the most recent insights on the next crypto to explode, stay tuned. We update this page frequently throughout the day, as we get the latest and greatest insider insights for chart sniffers and traders looking for the next coin to explode.

Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk investment, and you may lose your capital. Our content is informational only, and it does not constitute financial advice. We may earn affiliate commissions at no extra cost to you. The Next Crypto to Explode? Ethereum is Embarking on a Supercycle, But Bitcoin Hyper is Hotter

November 17, 2025 • 14:00 UTC

Tom Lee of Fundstrat argues that both Bitcoin and Ethereum are entering long-term “supercycles,” with Ethereum showing signs of following Bitcoin’s earlier explosive path.

He points out that Bitcoin, which Fundstrat first suggested when it was around $1,000, has delivered roughly 100× returns despite multiple major corrections.

Lee believes Ethereum could now repeat a similar trajectory, while many retail traders are looking further down the market cap ladder for the best cryptos to buy now. 

A good example is Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER), which is about to smash through the $28M milestone in its viral presale. The project’s upcoming Layer-2 solution is behind the growing presale traffic. It could potentially make the primary Bitcoin blockchain faster and cheaper, turning it into the next Web3 hub.

Read on to find out more about the project and where it’s headed. 

Saylor’s Bitcoin Tease Pushes Investors Toward Bitcoin Hyper – The Next Crypto to Explode?

November 17, 2025 • 13:00 UTC

Strategy’s Michael Saylor has once again ignited speculation in the market after hinting at a “₿ig Week,” suggesting that another sizeable Bitcoin purchase may be on the horizon.

The company already holds more than 684,000 $BTC, yet its stock has slipped over 50 percent from its summer peak, raising questions about whether another buy will meaningfully influence Bitcoin’s current downtrend. 

This uncertainty is exactly why many investors are beginning to look beyond Bitcoin for the next crypto to explode. Bitcoin infrastructure projects like Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER), in particular, are gaining traction.

The Layer 2 solution brings more speed and programmability to the Bitcoin network, without compromising security. So it makes sense why the viral presale has raised over $27M already. 

Find out why Bitcoin Hyper could outshine Bitcoin by year-end. 

As Ethereum Shrugs Off Volatility, Is Best Wallet Token’s Presale the Next Crypto to Explode?

November 17, 2025 • 12:00 UTC

Ethereum has just reminded everyone why it still sits at the center of the altcoin market. After briefly breaking below $3,100 on heavy selling and forced liquidations, $ETH has already reclaimed that level.

This happens as a decade-old whale wallet moved funds and Arthur Hayes reportedly unloaded around $4M worth of tokens.

The rebound underlines how deep liquidity and strong long-term conviction can absorb short term shocks, but it also shows how exposed traders are when everything runs through a single chain and a handful of centralized venues.

That’s why more people are paying attention to infrastructure plays that sit one layer above the chaos. Especially wallet ecosystems that capture activity regardless of which token is in the lead.

Best Wallet Token ($BEST) is built around that idea, tying its token to a self-custody wallet stack and future product upgrades instead of pure speculation on Ethereum’s next move. For anyone rotating profits from $ETH volatility, $BEST is a candidate for the next crypto to explode.

Remember that the presale ends in 11 days!

Read our Best Wallet Token review for up-to-date information.

As Franklin Templeton’s XRP ETF Debuts, Is PEPENODE’s Presale the Next Crypto to Explode?

November 17, 2025 • 10:50 UTC

Franklin Templeton’s upcoming XRP ETF launch on November 18, trading under ticker $EZRP on the CBOE, is the latest sign that big TradFi money is finally circling XRP in size.

With Canary Capital’s $XRPC smashing ETF debut records and Bitwise lining up its own XRP product for November 20, the narrative around XRP is shifting from courtroom drama to deep liquidity, institutional flows, and long-term on-chain adoption.

As ETFs pull fresh capital toward established networks, speculative attention usually rotates down the risk curve into higher-upside plays building around core crypto themes like mining, staking, and gamified yield. That’s exactly where PEPENODE ($PEPENODE) fits in.

It’s a mine-to-earn meme coin where users buy and upgrade virtual Miner Nodes and Facilities to simulate hashrate, boost rewards, and earn incentives in a fully gamified dashboard, without hardware or technical barriers.

For anyone eyeing the XRP ETF wave but hunting earlier-stage upside, PEPENODE’s presale is worth a serious look.

Here’s what our PEPENODE price prediction has to say.

Harvard Triples Stake in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETFs as Bitcoin Hyper Becomes the Next Crypto to Explode

November 17, 2025 • 10:00 UTC

Harvard Management Company just tripled its stake in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETFs as the company pumped its share holdings to 6.8M IBIT, worth over $442.8M.

This comes several months after Harvard announced it was holding $116M-worth of IBIT in 1.9M shares.

Bloomberg analyst, Eric Balchunas, stated that Harvard’s involvement validates BlackRock’s IBIT:

It’s super rare/difficult to get an endowment to bite on an ETF- esp a Harvard or Yale, it’s as good a validation as an ETF can get.

—Eric Balchunas, X Post

The announcement could cause some of the hype to spill into Bitcoin, which is currently trading at little over $95K.

Bitcoin Hyper’s ($HYPER) $27.8M presale will likely leech some of the hyper, as the $HYPER is on track to become the next crypto to explode.

Hyper is the Layer 2 that promises faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions, relying on Solana’s SVM and a canonical bridge to reduce confirmation times and improve performance and scalability.

Read our price prediction for $HYPER right here.

Bitcoin Drops Below $92K – Investors Look at Bitcoin Hyper as the Next Crypto to Explode

November 17, 2025 • 10:00 UTC

Bitcoin continues its free fall, after crashing below the $93K mark for the first time in a long time. CoinMarketCap lists its lowest point at $92,985, recorded today.

The market responded in kind, with the Fear and Greed Index crashing to a worrying 22 on the Fear scale, while Coinglass saw $510M in liquidations across the board.

Analyst KillaXBT pushes pessimism even farther, suggesting a 36% chance that Monday could see Bitcoin set an even lower low.

As the fear increases, investors are already looking for alternatives.

Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is one of the most valid options, considering that the presale has already raised over $27.8M so far.

Based on Hyper’s utility – boost Bitcoin’s performance, lower confirmation times, lower transaction costs, and increase scalability – $HYPER shows outstanding long-term potential.

Read our price prediction for $HYPER right here.

Authored by Bogdan Patru, Bitcoinist — https://bitcoinist.com/next-crypto-to-explode-live-news-today-november-17-2025

Quick Facts:

• Harvard’s endowment has made a spot Bitcoin ETF its largest reported US equity holding, signaling growing institutional conviction in Bitcoin.
• Expanding ETF ownership strengthens the case for Bitcoin-aligned infrastructure that can support faster transactions, DeFi, and more complex on-chain activity.
• Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) aims to solve Bitcoin’s speed and fee limits with a Bitcoin-anchored Layer 2 powered by Solana Virtual Machine technology.
• The $HYPER presale, nearing $28M raised, offers early exposure to a utility-driven Bitcoin Layer 2 narrative.

Harvard University’s endowment has sent a market signal so loud that you could hear it across Wall Street.

Fresh filings just dropped, and they show the Ivy League giant is seriously bullish on crypto. They absolutely massive-ed their stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), boosting it by a whopping 257% from the last quarter when they held 1.9M shares!

That means they now own around 6.8M shares, valued at roughly $442.8M making the ETF its biggest reported US stock holding ahead of names like Microsoft and Amazon.

So why is this such a big deal? Well, endowments traditionally only invest in assets such as private equity, real estate, and strategies designed to last 50 years. They hate volatility.

When a massive $57B fund lets a Bitcoin product become its flagship asset, it’s not a gamble; it’s a strategic declaration. It means Bitcoin is officially graduating from some nerdy tech toy to a bona fide, long-term portfolio anchor. The gatekeepers are letting it in.

The timing is telling. Bitcoin has cooled dramatically to below $95K since its peak above $126K, and ETF flows have been volatile. But what are the smartest, biggest money managers, from Harvard to even some sovereign wealth funds, doing? They’re quietly buying the dip through these easy ETF rails.

So, if institutions are buying, what’s the next bottleneck? The ETFs solve the easy parts: access and custody. But they don’t fix the underlying plumbing of Bitcoin: it’s slow, fees can be high, and it can’t run complex smart contracts.

That gap is exactly what projects are jumping on. Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER), a Bitcoin Layer 2, is trying to fill that need. And it’s already successfully raised nearly $28M in presale funding, signaling strong confidence. $HYPER Cures Bitcoin’s Ailments, Allowing the OG Digital Asset to Start Swinging Big

Bitcoin Hyper ($HYPER) is built around a simple idea: keep Bitcoin’s security, fix its user experience. The project aims to handle everyday transactions, DeFi, and smart contracts on a dedicated Layer 2 while periodically anchoring state back to Bitcoin for final settlement.

To do that, the network plans to use a Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) execution layer on top of Bitcoin. Execution moves off the base chain, so you get near-instant confirmations and very low fees, while Bitcoin remains the ultimate settlement and security layer.

The core pitch is straightforward: send, receive, and interact with Bitcoin in real time, at roughly cent-level fees, without abandoning Bitcoin’s trust model.

That design specifically addresses Bitcoin’s most notable pain points. On the base layer, throughput sits around seven transactions per second, and block times average ten minutes. That is fine for a long-term store of value. It is painful for payments, gaming, on-chain trading, or NFTs.

By shifting these activities to a high-throughput Layer 2 and anchoring them to Bitcoin every few hours, Bitcoin Hyper aims to transform ‘digital gold’ into usable collateral for an entire application stack. If you want a further project breakdown of the ‘how’, we’ve got you covered in our ‘What is Bitcoin Hyper’ guide.

This is where Harvard’s move and similar ETF flows come back into play. As more capital treats Bitcoin as pristine collateral and macro hedge, demand grows for infrastructure that lets $BTC actually do something useful: earn yield, back stablecoins, move cross-border instantly, or sit inside $BTC-denominated DeFi rails.

A Bitcoin-anchored L2 that can support those flows sits right in that narrative.

Find out how to buy Bitcoin Hyper. $HYPER: What the Whales Gather For

The market seems to be noticing. The $HYPER presale is nearing the $28M mark and offers staking rewards of approximately 41% for early participants. For a presale, that is deep liquidity and a clear vote of confidence from early backers.

Whale buys have been consistently high, with one topping $500K. Big tickets like that do not prove the thesis, but they do show that high-net-worth investors are willing to treat $HYPER as a leveraged bet on the same macro drivers pulling institutions into spot Bitcoin ETFs.

From a numbers standpoint, the upside case is easy to understand, even if it remains speculative. Our experts see a potential 2026 high of $0.20 for $HYPER, which would give you a whopping 1405% ROI if you invested at today’s price.

If you’re looking beyond pure meme plays, $HYPER offers a mix of narrative, utility, and early-stage entry pricing.

Buy $HYPER today for $0.013285, but hurry, a price increase is coming soon.

Remember, this is not intended as financial advice, and you should always do your own research before making any investments.

Authored by Ben Wallis, Bitcoinist – https://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-hyper-presale-harvard-triples-bitcoin-etf-holdings/

According to reports, Japan’s Financial Services Agency is preparing a major rewrite of how crypto are treated under the law, moving to classify certain digital assets as “financial products” and placing them under stricter rules and tax treatment.

The change would affect 105 cryptoassets, and it could reshape trading, reporting and who is allowed to hold these assets.

Rules For Assets

The move would force domestic exchanges to publish far more detail about each listed token — for example, whether an asset has a clear issuer, the technology that runs it, and its volatility profile.

Bitcoin and Ether are among the listed names covered. The proposed shift would fold these tokens into the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, bringing them under the same insider-trading framework that governs stocks and other securities. The regulator is said to plan to present a draft of the law in 2026.

A Flat Tax Proposal That Lowers The Top Rate

Reports have disclosed that the FSA wants gains on the approved tokens taxed at a flat 20%. Today, many crypto profits are treated as “miscellaneous income,” where high earners can face rates as high as 55%.

Moving to a 20% regime would align the treatment of those assets more closely with how stock gains are taxed, and could change the incentives for active traders and investors.

Banks May Enter The Market

Based on reports, the regulator is also thinking about letting banks hold crypto for investment, which under current practice is effectively blocked because of volatility concerns.

Bank groups could be allowed to register and operate as licensed exchanges through their securities arms, enabling them to offer trading and custody services directly to customers. That would mark a big shift in where custody and trading services could be offered in Japan.

Market Players Face New Compliance Burden

Stricter disclosure demands and insider-trading rules would probably raise costs for exchanges and token issuers. Smaller platforms might drop tokens that are expensive to support under the new rules.

At the same time, the changes would aim to reduce market abuse tied to non-public information, such as upcoming listings or delistings. Enforcement, however, will be tricky; tracing off-exchange trades and private wallets across borders remains difficult.

If the plan moves forward, record keeping will become more important for everyone involved. Traders should keep clean proof of cost basis and timestamps.

Exchanges need to improve token documentation and governance records. Institutions that eye custody services must prepare risk controls, compliance checks and investor disclosures now, because banks that want to enter will face tight scrutiny.

Featured image from PlanetofHotels.com, chart from TradingView

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has responded to the latest market downturn with one of his most forceful defenses of crypto to date, urging investors not to panic-sell and portraying exits to fiat as a vote for a dystopian future. Speaking from Colorado in a video dated November 15, he noted that “since October, you know, we lost about a trillion dollars of value,” but stressed he has “lived through” multiple boom-and-bust cycles.

Reviewing long-term Bitcoin charts, the Cardano founder mocked the recurring emotional swings of the market. “It goes up, it goes down and everybody freaks the f*** out. Paper hands. So papery,” he said, comparing himself to a calm rider on a violent amusement-park drop, reading a book while others scream.

Cardano Founder Predicts 1 Billion Users By 2030

Hoskinson argued that the sell-off has not been driven by deteriorating fundamentals for crypto, but by leverage, manipulation and trader behavior. “Have any of the fundamentals changed between now and a month ago or 12 months ago about crypto? Have any of the fundamentals changed? Any?” he asked. Instead, he pointed to rising US debt, declining trust in the dollar and worsening geopolitical tensions, describing governments as “morally bankrupt, fiscally bankrupt, and […] destined for Armageddon.”

He ridiculed those selling into dollars amid such a macro backdrop. “You paper hand sons of […] want to go exit into a currency that has nearly $40 trillion of debt,” he said, questioning whether that exit is just to “go buy a car,” “buy some real estate,” or pay down “a little credit card debt.” He called this behavior “collective Stockholm syndrome,” arguing that people are returning to institutions that systematically exploit them.

“Crypto is the opt out. Crypto is the exit. Crypto is the solution,” Hoskinson said. In his view, blockchain systems provide “honest money,” verifiable votes and auditable institutions where “no one can ever change the record to their own convenience.” He claimed there are “550 million people in the cryptocurrency ecosystem” and predicted “there’s going to be a billion by 2030,” adding that “the majority of the world’s stocks and bonds and equities will be in the cryptocurrency space by 2030.”

On markets, he repeated that volatility is secondary to long-term direction. “Goes down, goes up, goes down, goes up […] But it goes up because there’s people,” he said, arguing that adoption and migration of financial markets into crypto will push the asset class toward 10 trillion in value. “Trillion doesn’t even mean anything anymore. The dollar doesn’t mean anything anymore. Everything ought to be priced in crypto because it’s the only place left where there’s a semblance of objectivity and honesty.”

Hoskinson extended his critique to fiat money creation, calling the existing system “a Ponzi scheme.” “The money is worthless because when they print it, they use it themselves, extract all the value, get hard assets with it, and then dump the worthless […] on you, and your wages don’t go up,” he said. In contrast, he argued, “No one can turn off your ADA. No one can turn off your Bitcoin. No one can turn off your Ether.”

He framed on-chain governance and transparency as prerequisites for legitimate institutions, claiming that “no voting in the United States will ever be legitimate again until it’s on a blockchain” and “no company in the United States will ever be fully legitimate, trustworthy, and honest until it’s a DAO.”

He also highlighted privacy-focused technologies such as Zcash, Monero and Cardano’s Midnight sidechain, which he described as “real privacy” and said is being designed to be “fully programmable and soon to be postquantum.”

Despite describing himself as “so thoroughly done” with market panic, Hoskinson said he continues to work in crypto because he believes it is the only realistic path to preserving individual autonomy. “There’s a reason I’m still around and I haven’t retired,” he said. “I honestly still believe we can win.”

For traders unnerved by red candles, his message was uncompromising: “Hold the line. Bring people in. Get crypto going. Get the markets going again.” Selling, he warned, is not a neutral act but “voting to permanently live in that world” of surveillance and control. “Don’t sign up for it. Sign up for crypto. That’s all I’m going to say.”

At press time, Cardano traded at $0.49.

After breaking below the $100,000 level for the second time this month, the bears look to have taken full control of the Bitcoin price. The last week has been categorized by slow market movement, with Bitcoin chopping more sideways and then moving further down with each decision. At this point, it seems that there is a major hunt for liquidity in the market that could trigger further decline, something highlighted by crypto analyst TehThomas in a recent post.

Bitcoin Price Needs To Reclaim $97,000

Thomas’ analysis focuses on the recent Bitcoin price breakouts that have ultimately ended with the cryptocurrency giving the gains back to the market in a dramatic way. This comes after the Bitcoin price completed its foray into new all-time high levels, clearing $126,000 in the process. However, since then, it has been a tale of a slow decline.

Most of this decline has been a result of direct selling, especially with billion-dollar whales dumping their considerable BTC holdings on the market. This push-down has driven the Bitcoin price down to a critical level, and its capacity for recovery now depends on whether it’s able to reclaim the $97,000 level.

The reason for this, as the crypto analyst explains, is that it would mean that the buyers are beginning to return to the market. Thus, if the Bitcoin price reclaims the $97,000 level with momentum, then it would see a short-term bounce to put it back above $100,000.

The Bears Still Have Their Positions

For the bearish scenario, the crypto analyst explains that the bitcoin price would need to fail to close above $95,000. As seen over the weekend, this support level has already been weakened after the Bitcoin price breakdown and could see more decline as a result.

If it fails to hold up, then the current downtrend should be expected to deepen. This is because the Bitcoin price would be falling to the next levels, where there is much deeper liquidity, and these levels happen to lie below $90,000. This support level would pull the price in until the buyers step in again.

“In that situation, the next major support zone below becomes the logical draw, and the path shown on the chart, a small bounce followed by another leg down, fits well with the current momentum,” the analyst explains. Given this, the buyers would have to step in this new week to ensure another push, or the Bitcoin price risks a further crash.

The sluggish price action of Bitcoin has been the common feature through the first two weeks of November. Having lost its $100,000 support, all eyes are on the flagship cryptocurrency as it hovers around yet another of its key price levels — that is, $95,000. As the Bitcoin price, however, struggles to regain bullish momentum, recent on-chain data points to an occurrence with near-term bullish implications. 

Could BTC Price Recovery Start In December?

In the latest Quicktake post on the CryptoQuant platform, XWIN Research Japan reported that Bitcoin could soon see a definite recovery of its former highs. To lend credence to this insight, the analytics firm revealed that the stablecoin exchange reserves are continuously witnessing episodes of rapid increase. 

Historically, periods of stablecoin accumulation have preceded major price expansions. As an example, the DeFi firm highlighted the July 2025 occurrence. As BTC moved sideways around $100,000 at the time, there was simultaneously an exponential growth in stablecoin liquidity. Weeks after, Bitcoin went ahead to break above the resistance it was facing, putting in price around the $110,000 range. 

The same pattern was seen in mid-August to late September. After exchange reserves recorded a growth of more than $8 billion (in 30 days), Bitcoin showed very little directional momentum. However, by late September, the premier cryptocurrency went on a run to set an all-time-high of $126,000.

Within the final days of September and early October, there was also a voluminous accumulation of stablecoins — an event which also preceded Bitcoin’s upswing to its all-time-high price before its mid-October crash.

Although a pattern is ostensibly in play with stablecoin accumulation being the key factor, XWIN Research explained that predicting price reactions to this change is not so easy. This is due to the inconsistencies of the Bitcoin reaction in the past. “Sometimes the reaction comes within days; other times, it takes several weeks,” the institution explained. 

XWIN Research nonetheless pointed out that a macro event such as the upcoming December FOMC meeting could serve as a trigger to activate dormant liquidity. Stablecoin reserves stand at their highest levels yet in 2025 — this significant amount of liquidity could sponsor the next significant price recovery.

BTC Trades Beneath 365-Day MA — More Pain Ahead?

In another post on X, CryptoQuant’s head of research Julio Moreno shared a less optimistic prognosis for the market leader. The crypto pundit reiterated that the Bitcoin price has slipped beneath its yearly moving average of $102,000.

Citing historical trends, Moreno reasoned that the Bitcoin market may be at the beginning of a bearish phase, as it is “pretty difficult to recover” from a failure of its 365-day MA. 

As it stands, BTC may be targeting the $92,000 and $72,000 support levels. However, if significant demand enters into the market, reflecting a sentiment turnaround, the flagship cryptocurrency could see a miraculous reversal of its precarious situation. 

As of this writing, Bitcoin is worth about $96,050, reflecting no signifcant movement in the past 24 hours. 

Bitcoin has enjoyed attention as one of the most rewarding stores of value in recent years, with institutional adoption reaching new highs this year. One such landmark Bitcoin acquisition was made by Harvard University, arguably the world’s most prestigious academic institution.

Earlier in August, Harvard disclosed an investment portfolio containing $117 million worth of shares in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) as of the end of Q2. According to its latest disclosure, the university’s BTC exposure nearly tripled over the last quarter.

BlackRock’s IBIT Becomes Harvard’s Largest Investment

In its latest 13F filing, Harvard University revealed that it held 6,813,612 shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) valued at approximately $443 million as of September 30. 

This additional acquisition highlights the institution’s expansive capital allocation strategy, which also saw its SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) holdings grow to 661,391 shares (worth approximately $235 million) in 2025 Q3.

Notably, Harvard’s current holding of the leading spot BTC ETF represents a 257% increase from the disclosed 1,906,000 shares declared as of June. As of now, BlackRock’s exchange-traded fund is the single largest investment of the university’s reported holdings.

While the current IBIT position makes only a small portion of Harvard’s endowment of $57 billion, it is significant enough to make the university the 16th-largest IBIT holder. As inferred earlier, stories of institutional adoption such as this further add credence to Bitcoin’s status as a strategic reserve asset and the growing demand for exchange-traded funds.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas wrote on X:

It’s super rare/difficult to get an endowment to bite on an ETF- esp a Harvard or Yale, it’s as good a validation as an ETF can get. That said, half a billion is a mere 1% of total endowment. Big enough to rank 16th among IBIT holders tho.

BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Records Its Largest Outflow Day

The US-based Bitcoin ETFs have suffered waning investor demand in recent weeks, with the past week particularly disappointing. According to the latest market data, the exchange-traded funds registered a total net outflow of $1.1 billion in the past week.

Leading these withdrawals was BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, which is currently on a three-day outflow streak. Data from SoSoValue shows that $463.1 million flowed out of the BTC ETF on Friday, November 14.

As of this writing, BlackRock’s IBIT still ranks as the largest spot Bitcoin ETF, with net assets worth roughly $74.98 billion.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has directed government agencies to expand cryptocurrency mining, saying the move could help the country cut reliance on the US dollar.

Reports say he made the remarks during a high-level energy meeting in Minsk on November 14, where he framed mining as a priority use for surplus electricity.

Lukashenko Orders Mining Push

According to state reports, Lukashenko asked officials to present concrete measures to increase electricity consumption and to lay out how mining could be scaled across the country.

He suggested that, rather than simply inviting foreign miners, Belarus might consider holding state crypto reserves if mining proves profitable.

Those comments were made alongside calls to study how energy capacity can be better used to support industry.

Nuclear Power Capacity Driving Plans

Belarus already has a significant new power source to lean on. The Ostrovets (Astravyets) nuclear plant now has two units with combined generation capacity of roughly 2,400 MW, and officials say the site supplies about 40% of the nation’s electricity needs.

Government and industry backers argue that surplus baseload power from the plant makes large-scale mining financially viable.

A Broader Currency Strategy

Based on reports, Minsk sees mining not only as an industrial project but also as part of a broader tilt away from dollar dependence.

Lukashenko reportedly said cryptocurrencies could be one option for reducing reliance on a single global currency.

That geopolitical framing links mining ambitions to plans for new payment tools: the National Bank is pushing a digital ruble project and targets a phased rollout by late 2026, starting with businesses before wider public access.

Beyond mining, Belarus is also preparing to roll out its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) by late 2026. Businesses will be onboarded first, followed by government institutions and citizens in 2027.

The project is closely coordinated with Russia’s own CBDC development —…

— Media One (@encMediaOne) November 15, 2025

Past Signals And Practical Steps

Observers note the direction is not brand new. Lukashenko first raised the idea of using excess electricity for crypto mining earlier in the year, and since then authorities have studied the fiscal and technical setup needed to attract miners or to run state-backed operations.

At the same time, a recent state audit prompted the president to demand clearer rules for crypto platforms after finding problems in how some operators handled client funds. That tension — invite mining but tighten oversight — is shaping the policy mix.

Regulation And A National Reserve Idea

Officials are drawing up regulatory steps and talking about tax and tariff adjustments to make mining work on a larger scale, while also trying to limit fraud and capital flight.

Reports say the National Bank will sequence the CBDC rollout, coordinate with regional partners, and use tighter reporting requirements for crypto firms so that investor money does not leak out of the system.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

OKX CEO Star Xu has offered a bounty of 10 BTC for users to provide evidence on an alleged backdoor in the exchange’s DeFi wallet. This development comes after the Seychelles-based exchange recently launched DEX trading for users. 

Prove Backdoor Existence, Xu Tells Crypto Community 

On November 15, an X account with the username OKxiaohai claimed that the OKX wallet featured a backdoor that allowed bad actors to steal users’ private keys. OKxiaohai, an employee at hardware wallet firm OneKey, with previous experience in customer service, hinged this audacious allegation on a survey of former heist victims with OKX wallets. 

The tweet read: 

Find 100 victims whose private keys have been leaked and stolen, ask them what wallet they used, and you will come to a conclusion: all wallets have backdoors.

OKxiaohai’s statement drew several reactions from certain X users, such as im23pds, who disagreed with linking the loss of private keys to users’ personal mistakes, a view the claimant also agreed with. Meanwhile, another X account with the username xinchne_eth accused the OneKey employee of driving engagement using OKX’s popularity.

In reaction to the online buzz, OKX’s CEO and prominent crypto figure Star Xu challenged the claimant and the general crypto community to provide proof of the supposed backdoor in exchange for 10 BTC, worth $954,320. 

Xu said: 

Anyone who can provide solid evidence proving the existence of a backdoor in OKX Wallet, our @wallet team will reward 10 BTC. We invite OKX Wallet’s tens of millions of global users to jointly monitor this.

The exchange’s CEO also reiterated the company’s commitment to security and transparency and a willingness to embrace community scrutiny. Xu’s statement has sparked a plethora of reactions but ultimately indicates confidence in the quality of the offered wallet service.

OKX Commences DEX Trading 

In other news, OKX has recently introduced a decentralized trading service for users via the CeDeFi program, marking an integration of the benefits of centralized and decentralized finance experience.  Notably, the crypto exchange launches a decentralized trading feature on its exchange mobile app that allows users to swap several DEX tokens on Solana, Base, and the X Layer network. 

Through the CeDeFi program, OKX aims to reinvent the DEX trading experience by offering zero gas fees, no bridging requirements, and a centralized management interface that gives users access to centralized order books while trading decentralized assets.

At press time, OKX ranks as the fifth-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, processing roughly $1.5 billion in daily trades. The Seychelles-based platform reports 60 million users, with more than 5 million using its DeFi wallet service.

Bitcoin is testing the $95,000 price support, after $100,000 failed to cushion the market-wide bearish momentum. Although the world’s leading cryptocurrency seems to be losing the fight to re-attain its six-figure valuation, on-chain data reveals that there is a growing amount of bets being placed on Bitcoin.

Divergence In Funding Vs Price Indicative Of Aggressive Positioning 

In a QuickTake post on November 15, analyst KriptoCenneti shares insights concerning the market balance amid the ongoing price fall. Per the analyst, Bitcoin’s Funding Rate has consistently stayed within positive values over the past month. As BTC crashed from prices above $110,000 to around $96,000, funding rates have maintained values within the 0.003–0.008% range.

KriptoCenneti explains that this specific type of divergence in investor behavior against price action reflects the continued maintenance of long positions, notwithstanding price direction. According to historical data, extended periods of positive funding rates, such as we are witnessing, typically mirror aggressive long positioning. This is because, as price falls, leveraged traders might want to take opportunities to buy close to perceived market bottoms, so as to maximize returns.

A downside to this behavior, however, is the high amount of risk attached to the expectations of a good return. When funding rates remain high in a clear bear market, an increasingly fragile market environment is created. In this scenario, any event that invites high volatility into the market could cause forceful closures of a significant amount of these leveraged positions. In turn, these liquidation cascades could trigger a long squeeze i.e. a rapid downward movement due to liquidations and fearful market exits. 

In a comment worth noting, the crypto analyst compared the present surge in funding rates to the spikes seen late 2024 and early 2025. According to KriptoCenneti, funding rates as of late have almost paled in comparison to the spikes seen in the aforementioned periods. What this suggests is that the market is not yet overheated, even if imbued with a fair amount of leverage. 

Notably, if the Bitcoin funding rates continue to increase as the cryptocurrency trades beneath major resistance levels, the market could see a resurgence of volatility, which could in turn drive a series of liquidation events as explained earlier. Nonetheless, the persistent growth of funding rates may also be a sign of unshaken confidence in the cryptocurrency’s long-term growth. As more players continue to bet on Bitcoin,  we could imagine the prevailing sentiment within this investor class to be an optimistic one, with expectations of a major recovery commonly shared.

Bitcoin Price At A Glance

As of press time, Bitcoin’s valuation stands approximately at $95,371, with CoinMarketCap data revealing an insignificant 0.19% increment over the past day. 

Featured image from Pexels, chart from Tradingview

Bitcoin is stepping into a new era where its movements can no longer be explained by crypto-native events. Instead, BTC has become increasingly intertwined with the global business cycle, reacting to shifts in institutional positioning. As the market matures, BTC behaves less like a speculative outlier and more like a macro-sensitive asset that rises and falls with the broader economic pulse.

Liquidity Cycles Drive Bitcoin More Than Crypto Narratives

The correlation between the business cycle and Bitcoin has never been clearer, and the latest chart has made the connection harder to ignore. According to a well-known crypto news analysis on X, CryptosRus, this chart overlays BTC price action with the broader macro business cycle, and the alignment is almost striking.

Currently, BTC appears to be approaching a cycle bottom that mirrors previous macro business-cycle lows. What makes this setup compelling is the record-long pre-parabolic phase in BTC history. If this pattern continues, the next major expansion phase may be closer than expected.

The market is entering a meaningful turning point. The Co-founders of Glassnode, Swissblock, and censeAG, Negentropic, stated that the Treasury General Account (TGA) drain began on November 14th, and historically, its liquidity flow leads Bitcoin by roughly one week. During the 2019 government shutdown, BTC found its bottom and began recovering within 12 days as liquidity started normalizing.

This recent stretch has been the most challenging phase of the liquidity squeeze, and its peak effect has hit this week. The government’s reopening of an estimated $150 billion in excess TGA liquidity is providing a meaningful tailwind as it enters the markets. With the economic data on pause during the government shutdown, the near-term repricing has been influenced by uncertainty.

Meanwhile, the Nvidia earnings next week will offer the next clear signal for risk. “The worst of the squeeze is likely behind us, and the setup is improving. Patience is key,” Negentropic noted.

Government Liquidity Injection Could Neutralize Recession Fears

Brian Rose, the founder and host of LondonRealTV, has also offered an insight into the current market setup, stating that the Federal Reserve has officially announced the end of quantitative tightening (QT). At the same time, the US government is reopening and unleashing more than $100 billion of pent-up liquidity directly back into the system. According to Brian, BTC sentiment is the worst he has seen in years. 

In the short term, there’s fear around recessionary jobs data, while in the mid-term, there are real catalysts for liquidity. However, as long as nothing is breaking, the market can handle bad data. This is a strange mix of despair and fresh money. Historically, the extreme pessimism combined with liquidity injections has been the exact setup where rallies begin.

Matthew Sigel, the head of digital assets research at VanEck, has ignited a storm within the XRP community with a single sarcastic remark on X social media. While brief, his statement seemed to dismiss years of development and innovation behind the XRP Ledger (XRPL), leaving many community members and industry analysts both shocked and aggrieved. Sigel’s words have sparked passionate debates about the value, utility, and understanding of XRP as a blockchain and digital asset.

Sigel Draws Criticism For Subtly Mocking XRP

Sigel’s controversial post appeared to be a subtle jab toward XRP enthusiasts, suggesting that he would never understand the XRPL blockchain but respected the passion and effort required to “pretend it does something.” Sigel’s mocking tone appeared to diminish the accomplishments of XRP over the years, provoking instant backlash from the cryptocurrency’s dedicated community. 

The VanEck executive implied that, despite the visible enthusiasm and hustle of supporters, the work behind XRP might ultimately be meaningless. His veiled critique about the blockchain and the community backing it struck a nerve, likely because XRP has been under development for over a decade, with consistent progress in regulatory navigation, DeFi applications, and cross-border payment solutions. 

Members of the XRP community who felt the post belittled the financial and technological innovations embedded in the blockchain’s ecosystem have voiced strong opinions that sharply contrast with Sigel’s statement. Some have even criticized the VanEck executive for his perceived lack of understanding and appreciation of the technology, particularly given his current role as head of digital asset research at the asset management company. 

XRP Community Pushes Back Against Sigel’s Statement 

In response to Sigel’s post on X, many prominent figures in the crypto space immediately challenged his mocking remarks. Panos Mekras, co-founder of Anodos Finance, highlighted the groundbreaking nature of the XRP Ledger, noting its ability to naturally deepen liquidity and act as a decentralized settlement layer without the risks associated with smart contracts or wallet exploits. 

Digital asset researcher Anders also criticized Sigel for publicly admitting a lack of understanding. At the same time, Ripple developer Matt Hamilton emphasized the professional responsibility of those in digital asset research to grasp the fundamentals of blockchain. 

Popular market analyst CryptoSensei mocked the irony of VanEck’s research lead dismissing XRP’s technological innovations, suggesting the asset management company might need to hire new blockchain experts. Community members joined the chorus, highlighting that XRP, like Bitcoin, serves as a cornerstone of value and liquidity, and that the collective effort of investors, developers, and enthusiasts lends it unique utility. 

Other members appeared to be educating Sigel on XRP’s longstanding role in global payments and settlement, stressing that minimal transaction volume does not equate to lack of value, drawing parallels to BTC’s historical pattern. Despite Sigel acknowledging that he would never make sense of the XRP blockchain, supporters remain resolute, using the controversy to enlighten and amplify the network’s achievements and ongoing developments. 

Featured image from Getty Images, chart from TradingView

The sentiment around Bitcoin and the general crypto market appears to be worsening, with most large-cap assets on a decline in recent days. On Friday, September 14, the flagship cryptocurrency fell below the $95,000 mark for the first time in over six months.

Interestingly, the price of Bitcoin seems set for an even longer period of negative action, as a rare bearish signal has gone off for the first time in four years. Here’s how much the BTC price dropped the last time this happened.

BTC Price At Risk Of 70% Decline If Sell Signal Holds

In a recent post on the social media platform X, Chartered Market Technician Tony Severino shared an alarming outlook for the Bitcoin price in the long term. According to the crypto expert, the rare sell signal on the BTC weekly supertrend has gone off again.

The “weekly supertrend” is a technical indicator that uses the Average True Range (ATR) and a multiplier to pinpoint the direction of an asset’s price trend over a weekly timeframe. As observed in the chart below, the indicator turns green for an upward trend and red for a downward trend, offering potential buy and sell signals.

In his Friday post on X (formerly Twitter), Severino highlighted that Bitcoin just triggered a sell signal on the Supertrend indicator on the weekly timeframe. According to the prominent crypto pundit, this represents the first time this signal will be going off for the premier cryptocurrency since December 2021.

At the time, the sell signal marked the abrupt end of the previous Bitcoin bull cycle, preceding an extended period of downward price movement. The price of Bitcoin fell by more than 70% after this signal was triggered, coinciding with significant sell-offs following the Terra LUNA and FTX collapses in 2022.

If history is anything to go by, this sell signal foretells a story of a potential 60 – 70% decline for the Bitcoin price. A downturn of that magnitude could see the market leader return to around $30,000 from the current price point.

However, it is worth noting that the weekly supertrend sell signal is currently still unconfirmed. While the indicator has been in a buy signal since January 2023, a weekly price close below $96,300 could spell the start of a bear market for Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Price At A Glance

As of this writing, the price of BTC sits just above $94,400, representing an over 6% decline in the past 24 hours.

Bearish sentiments continue to dominate the Bitcoin market as the leading cryptocurrency registered a decisive price break below the $100,000 psychological support zone. Following this highly volatile display, blockchain analytics firm Glassnode has noted the reaction of the BTC options market.

Bitcoin Traders Expect More Correction Ahead

The BTC options market allows traders to gain the right to buy or sell Bitcoin at a specific price or on or before a certain date. Options let traders hedge against risk, and bet on volatility, among other features, and thus are a good gauge of traders’ sentiment.

Notably, Bitcoin’s retest and fall below the $100,000 price mark were anticipated by the options market, which had been accumulating put options (BTC sell bets) as protection against bearish risk. Following this event, Glassnode notes that traders have reacted by now adjusting their positions based on higher uncertainty and fear of more downside.

In assessing several metrics that guide the options market, Glassnode notes that the ATM implied volatility is rising as the short-term market uncertainty trickles in. The 1-week IV now stands at 51% while the 6-month IV is 48% indicating that traders expect the next few days/weeks to be unstable. 

Meanwhile, the 25-delta skew, which compares demand for puts vs calls (upside bets), is strongly bearish as the 1-week and 1-month skew range around 12.4% and 10% respectively. For context, a positive skew means puts are more expensive due to high demand as traders are scared of more price drops.

The traders’ fear of further downside is also reinforced by data from the taker flow, which shows that recent flows over the past 24 hours have been dominated by put buys (38.8%). However, it’s worth noting that when dealers sell these puts, they hedge their risk by also selling BTC futures. As the spot price drops, the hedging continues, eventually creating a feedback loop that increases volatility and speeds up price decline.

Market Turns Focus On $95,000 Puts 

According to Glassnode, the price break below  $100,000 shifted option traders’ focus on the $95,000 puts, which have been heavily bid. However, while BTC still trades above this strike, the persistent demand signals expectations of further downside, as traders continue to accumulate protection against deeper losses.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades at $96,311 on the daily chart, reflecting a 3.86% loss in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, trading volume is down by 12.46% and valued at $99.92 billion. 

Bitmine Immersion Technologies, the leading Ethereum treasury company, has appointed a new CEO and new board members. This move comes as the firm, which initially launched as a crypto mining company, looks to overhaul its leadership.

Chi Tsang As CEO And Board Member

In a press release on Friday, November 14, Bitmine announced Chi Tsang as the company’s new chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors, effective immediately. Tsang, founder of venture firm m1720, will be replacing Jonathan Bates, who has been CEO since 2022.

The Ethereum treasury firm also disclosed the appointment of three new independent board members, including Robert Sechan, Olivia Howe, and Jason Edgeworth. Tsang said that Bitmine is positioned to become a leading institution, thanks to its significant Ethereum holdings and strong bridge between traditional finance and cryptocurrency.

Tsang, the new Bitmine CEO, said in a statement:

The transformation and innovation now facing Wall Street through blockchain and Ethereum mirror the explosion of opportunity that mobile phones and the internet unleashed on telecoms and technology in the 1990s.

The appointment of vocal Ethereum investor Tom Lee as the chairman of Bitmine’s board of directors saw its strategic transition from a crypto mining firm to a digital asset treasury. Since then, BitMine has become the largest corporate Ether holder and the largest Ethereum company.

Tom Lee, Bitmine’s board chairman, said:

Our new CEO and Board members bring a unique blend of experience, insight, and leadership across technology, DeFi and financial services, enabling BitMine to further position itself as the bridge between traditional capital markets and the supercycle Ethereum ecosystem.

Bitmine has continued to expand its Ether treasury, reporting a holding of more than 3.5 million tokens (worth more than $11 billion at the current price) as of Monday, November 10. While the firm currently holds 3% of the total Ether supply, the firm plans to capture 5% of Ethereum’s free-floating tokens.

BitMine Share Price Drops 36% In Past Month

The price of BitMine’s stock (with the ticker BMNR) stood at around $34.4 by market close on Friday, reflecting an almost 6% decline in the past day.  Meanwhile, the BMNR stock has decreased in value by more than 36% in the past month.

This disappointing performance comes on the back of waning sentiment around digital asset treasuries in recent months. A report in October found that retail investors have lost up to $17 billion to the Bitcoin treasury hype.

The ex-CFO of a private software company has been declared guilty of wire fraud after using the company’s cash to fund a cryptocurrency side business.

Crypto Side Hustle Gone Wrong

In a recent press release, the US Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington, announced the conviction of Nevin Shetty, who misappropriated $35 million belonging to his former employer. The 41-year-old man from Mercer Island, Washington, resumed as the CFO of an unnamed private software company in March 2021, a time during which the firm was actively fundraising.

The company established an investment policy that stated that this newly raised cash should only be invested in money market accounts and other low-risk markets, while the company continued to focus on improving current business operations. 

Despite his heavy involvement in this policy decision, Nevin Shetty moved $35 million of the company’s cash into HighTower Treasury, a cryptocurrency investment platform founded by him and another partner in February 2022. The DOJ notes this embezzlement occurred after the company raised concerns about Shetty’s performance, hinting at possible severance.

The statement read:

In March 2022, he (Shetty) was told he could not continue as CFO at his employer due to concerns about his performance. Shortly after he got this news, Shetty secretly transferred the funds out of the company’s account. Between April 1 and 12, 2022, Shetty transferred $35,000,100 of his employer’s money to an account for HighTower Treasury. No other executives or board members at the company knew of these transfers.

The now-convicted criminal apparently placed these funds in a high-yield DeFi lending protocol that had promised 20% interest, with the intention of remitting 6% to the company and HighTower Treasury retained the other 14% profit. While the idea got off to a good start, generating $133,000 in the first month, the investments began hemorrhaging in the following month, eventually reaching $0 on May 13, 2022.

Shetty was subsequently fired after he informed colleagues of this escapade. The company also reported the situation to the FBI, prompting a full-scale investigation.

Shetty Awaits Sentencing

According to the DOJ, Shetty was convicted of four counts of wire fraud on November 7, 2025, following a 10-hour jury deliberation to close a nine-day jury trial. The US District Judge Tana Lin has now scheduled sentencing for the ex-CFO for February 11, 2026, to debate the consequences of such financial misappropriation.

While each wire fraud count carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, that does not necessarily mean he could face 80 years. Federal sentences are not always run consecutively, and the judge will follow the US Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account factors such as loss amount, role in the fraud, and his criminal history (if any).

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has brought to light a new digital asset fraud scheme, culminating in the sentencing of a crypto CEO to almost five years in prison. 

Travis Ford, the CEO, co-founder, and head trader of Wolf Capital Crypto Trading, was found guilty of orchestrating a crypto investment fraud conspiracy. Ford, hailing from Glenpool, Oklahoma, is said to have played a crucial role in raising $9.4 million from around 2,800 investors through false promises of high returns.

Promising Unrealistic Returns

According to the Department of Justice, Ford’s fraudulent activities spanned from January 2023 to August 2023, during which he misrepresented himself as a skilled trader capable of delivering exceptional daily returns ranging from 1% to 2% (equating to approximately 547% annually). 

Despite his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Ford confessed that achieving such consistent returns was implausible. 

Instead, the crypto executive and his accomplices utilized what the DOJ described as deceptive tactics to lure unsuspecting investors, misappropriating and diverting their funds for personal gain.

Simultaneously, there has been a surge in global efforts towards regulating digital assets, spearheaded by President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance. 

Governments worldwide, including the US and China, are intensifying crackdowns on cryptocurrency-related cross-border crimes as a result, particularly targeting scam networks operating in Southeast Asia.

Crypto Fraud Hotspots

Local media reports indicate that regions bordering Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia have transformed into hotspots for online fraud operations. 

Syndicates operating in these areas reportedly employ various tactics to coerce victims into investing in fraudulent schemes, often involving the transfer of funds through digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), or stablecoins, followed by intricate money-laundering processes.

Despite the increasing mainstream adoption of digital assets in financial sectors, the report indicated that cryptocurrencies continue to play a significant role in sophisticated criminal enterprises. 

However, recent actions, such as the seizure of $13.4 billion worth of Bitcoin from Chen Zhi, a Cambodian tycoon with Chinese origins, underscore the global efforts to combat crypto-related crimes.

Additionally, the US DOJ’s establishment of a Scam Center Strike Force signifies a pivotal initiative aimed at combating crypto investment fraud targeting Americans. 

This move marks a significant step in the US government’s vision to confront transnational criminal networks head-on, as highlighted in a report by blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs. 

The DOJ revealed that Southeast Asian scam syndicates defraud Americans of nearly $10 billion each year. This emphasizes the urgency of addressing such criminal activities, especially given the progressive US legislation promoting the growth and adoption of digital assets.

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

Crypto pundit Vincent Van Code has explained why companies shouldn’t custody their XRP holdings amid the rise in treasury companies. As part of his comments, he advocated that these companies gain the token exposure to ETFs and other regulated wrappers rather than holding the coins. 

Pundit Explains Why Companies Should Avoid XRP Custody

In an X post, Vincent Van Code stated that companies accidentally turn themselves into a bank, security firm, and a regulated financial institution overnight, the moment they decide to self-custody their XRP. He further remarked that the bill for this mistake is “massive,” as it has some repercussions. 

The crypto pundit noted that most companies think that holding their own crypto tokens is the same as holding cash in a bank account. However, he explained that they are not the same as custodying XRP is one of the “most complex, expensive, compliance-heavy things” an organization can do. Vincent Van Code then used the altcoin as a case study. 

He stated that to self-custody at a large scale, companies are not just storing a seed phrase but are now operating a regulated asset environment. The crypto pundit explained that this exposes these companies to annual audits, SOC2 controls, and cold storage infrastructure. They would also have to worry about key ceremony documentation, segregation of duties, insider threat mitigation, and round-the-clock monitoring. 

Other Implications Of Custody

Vincent Van Code further mentioned that companies looking to self-custody their XRP will need incident response teams, a compliance officer, a risk team, internal policies, board oversight, and a full suite of legal and operational safeguards that they must continually maintain. He further highlighted the cost implications of implementing such safeguards. 

The crypto pundit revealed that the annual cost for a proper crypto custody program could easily hit seven figures. He noted that external audits alone cost between $250,000 and $500,000 annually, once these companies factor in SOC2 Type II, penetration testing, cyber insurance, regulatory reporting, and chain-of-custody reviews. 

Vincent Van Code also factored in staff that these companies will need to run the self-custody of their XRP assets. Meanwhile, these companies have to bear the risk and liability when something breaks, or a regulator asks questions, or the auditor finds a gap in the accounts. 

The Best Way For Institutional Adoption

Vincent Van Code stated that the real path to large-scale, multi-billion-dollar XRP adoption is not through thousands of companies holding the token. Instead, he claimed that it is through regulated wrappers, such as spot XRP ETFs and institutional treasury firms such as Ripple-backed Evernorth. 

He explained that these vehicles absorb the compliance load, audit burden, operational risk, and infrastructure costs. Vincent Van Code further remarked that they allow companies to hold XRP exposure without becoming a bank. The crypto pundit added that if mainstream enterprises are going to adopt the token globally, it will be through these structures and not DIY custody operations that could collapse under their complexity.

Securitize and Binance have jointly announced on Friday that the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) will now be accepted as off-exchange collateral for trading on Binance. 

BlackRock’s BUIDL Gains Momentum

Fortune reported that the collaboration with Binance is expected to boost the popularity of BUIDL, a token launched by the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, last year. Since its inception, BUIDL has witnessed significant growth, with its market capitalization exceeding $2.5 billion. 

Functioning akin to a stablecoin, BUIDL is commonly utilized as collateral for trading cryptocurrency derivatives, catering primarily to large institutional investors like private equity firms and hedge funds that make a minimum investment of $5 million into the BlackRock BUIDL fund. 

What sets BUIDL apart from traditional stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) is its unique feature of distributing the yield collected from its reserves to investors. 

Currently offering a yield of around 4%, BlackRock imposes a management fee ranging from 0.2% to 0.5% on the token. To bring BUIDL into existence, BlackRock collaborates with Securitize, a company specializing in issuing digital assets. 

Securitize’s CEO, Carlos Domingo, highlighted the growing popularity of tokenized assets due to their ability to facilitate quick and efficient trade settlements. 

Domingo emphasized the “antiquated nature” of current capital market ledgers, often built on outdated software, contrasting this with the “agile and near-instant settlement capabilities” of blockchain technology. 

Binance Responds To Demand

Catherine Chen, Binance’s Head of VIP & Institutional, noted that the addition of BUIDL was driven partly by customer demand. She noted in the statement: 

Integrating BUIDL with our banking triparty partners and our crypto-native custody partner, Ceffu, meets their needs and enables our clients to confidently scale allocation while meeting compliance requirements.

Concurrently, BUIDL is set to introduce a new share class on the BNB Chain network, enhancing investor reach and interoperability with other blockchain financial applications.

Launched in March 2024, BUIDL marked BlackRock’s inaugural tokenized fund on a public blockchain, tokenized by Securitize, offering qualified investors access to U.S. dollar yields with flexible custody, daily dividend payouts, and seamless peer-to-peer transfers.

This integration builds upon BUIDL’s presence across networks like Arbitrum (ARB), Aptos (APT), Avalanche (AVAX), Ethereum (ETH), Optimism (OP), Polygon (POL), and Solana (SOL), further enhancing its accessibility and utility within the blockchain ecosystem.

When writing, Binance’s native token, BNB, trades at $931.60, recording losses exceeding 20% in the past 30 days. This positions Binance Coin 32% below all-time high levels of $1,369 reached back in October of this year. 

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