Balancer suffered one of the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) exploits on Monday, with more than $116 million in staked Ether and liquidity pool tokens drained from Balancer v2 contracts and several forks. The decentralized exchange (DEX) and automated market maker (AMM) investigated what appeared to be faulty access control in its smart contracts, which allowed … Read more
Key takeaways: Bitcoin dropped below $100,000 and could retest its yearly open at $93,500 as its momentum weakens. The Coinbase Premium hit a seven-month low, reflecting strong US spot Bitcoin selling pressure. Short-term holders are accumulating BTC, while long-term holders continue taking profits. Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent weakness extended into Friday’s trading session, with BTC once … Read more
The rapid growth of the prediction market Polymarket may not be entirely organic but instead inflated by artificial trading activity, according to research published by Columbia University. In an 80-page paper titled “Network-Based Detection of Wash-Trading,” which has not yet undergone peer review, Columbia researchers identified extensive wash-trading activity on Polymarket beginning in July 2024. … Read more
Crypto infrastructure startup Commonware has raised $25 million in a funding round led by Tempo, a payments-focused blockchain network, underscoring a renewed effort to scale blockchain-based payment systems. The deal, first reported by Fortune on Friday, is notable because Tempo was launched in September by fintech giant Stripe and crypto venture firm Paradigm. Commonware said … Read more
What is the looming power shift between ETH and XRP? Since Ethereum’s Merge update in 2022, the network’s transition to a deflationary model has steadily reduced the supply of Ether (ETH), increasing its scarcity and reinforcing long-term investor confidence. The reduced supply has elevated ETH beyond a simple utility token, positioning it as a potential … Read more
The shutdown of the US government entered its 38th day on Friday, with the Senate set to vote on a funding bill that could temporarily restore operations. According to the US Senate’s calendar of business on Friday, the chamber will consider a House of Representatives continuing resolution to fund the government. It’s unclear whether the … Read more
AI-powered trading bots are rapidly gaining attention across crypto markets, sparking both excitement and unease among traders hoping to automate their strategies. But industry experts say most people still misunderstand what these bots can and cannot do and why specialized trading AIs behave very differently from general-purpose tools like ChatGPT. This week’s episode of Byte-Sized … Read more
Key points: Bitcoin liquidity games continue as pressure mounts on $100,000 support. Signs of price forming a higher low combine with RSI strength slowly increasing. A Bitcoin “bottoming phase” is now in progress, says new research. Bitcoin (BTC) threatened $100,000 support again Friday as bulls hoped for a higher low. BTC/USD four-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView … Read more
Ripple, the US blockchain company behind the XRP cryptocurrency, will not pursue an initial public offering following the conclusion of its years-long legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ripple president Monica Long said the company has no plans or timeline for an IPO, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday. “We’re in a … Read more
Traditional finance institutions across the US, Europe and Asia are moving into stablecoins now that regulatory uncertainties are easing. Payment companies like PayPal, Mastercard and Visa are either launching stablecoins, integrating stablecoin settlement into payment systems or building the infrastructure to support them. The race is not limited to corporations but is also developing at … Read more