Prediction Markets Have a Gambling Problem

Prediction market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi spend a lot of time and money convincing regulators they’re not gambling. Outside of the U.S. authorities are viewing prediction markets as synonymous with gambling. Taiwan, France, and now Singapore have all made moves to block users from accessing Polymarket at the ISP level, calling the prediction market platform … Read more

Hashed’s Simon Kim Says AI Has a ‘Black Box’ Problem

Hashed’s Simon Kim believes the future of artificial intelligence hinges on a radical shift: breaking open the black box of centralized models like OpenAI and building a decentralized, transparent ecosystem powered by blockchain. For Kim, CEO of South Korea’s leading crypto VC fund, the urgency is clear. AI’s unchecked centralization threatens to create a “god” … Read more

BTC ETFs Expected to Do Even Better in 2025

To say that the spot bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs) exceeded expectations in their first year on the market is an understatement at best. Instead, it might be more accurate to say that they’ve shocked the industry to its core. “Just how big was the first year for Bitcoin ETFs?” Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James … Read more

APT and FIL Gain 6.8% as All Assets Trade Higher

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index. The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 3447.59, up 4.2% (+139.62) since 4 p.m. ET on Monday. All 20 assets are trading higher. Leaders: APT (+6.8%) and FIL (+6.8%). Laggards: XLM (+1.4%) and DOT (+2.7%). The … Read more

Intesa Sanpaolo, Largest Italian Bank by Total Assets, Buys 11 BTC for Over $1M

Bitcoin (BTC), continues to get further entrenched into the traditional finance system. Italy’s largest bank by assets, Intesa Sanpaolo, has bought 11 BTC for over $1 million, according to a Reuters report. Reuters saw an internal message that said, “As of today, Jan. 13, 2025, Intesa Sanpaolo owns 11 bitcoins”. Intesa Sanpaolo currently has a … Read more

Middle East-Based Sigma Capital Unveils $100M Fund to Accelerate Web3 Innovations

Sigma Capital, an early-stage venture firm, has unveiled a $100 million fund focused on Web3 startups. The Dubai-based company is attempting to capitalize on the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) reputation as a crypto hub, according to an emailed announcement on Tuesday. The fund will focus on decentralized finance (DeFi), tokenization and blockchain infrastructure by managing … Read more

Options Tied to BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Surge to Nearly 50% of Deribit’s BTC Open Interest in Two Months

The stateside demand for regulated crypto products is real. The U.S. SEC-approved options tied to BlackRock’s spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (IBIT), which debuted on Nov. 19, are already almost half the size of Deribit’s eight-year-old bitcoin options market. On Monday, there were 2.16 million open or active IBIT options contracts, representing a notional value … Read more