Category: Peer to Peer

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has warned that decentralised stablecoins, long promoted as a trust-minimised alternative to fiat-backed tokens, continue to suffer from deep structural weaknesses that have yet to be resolved. His assessment underscores persistent concerns around price benchmarks, oracle security and incentive design, at a time when stablecoins are becoming more central to crypto markets and policy debates.Buterin’s comments centre on the challenge of maintaining reliable price stability without relying on centralised custodians or off-chain reserves. While decentralised designs

Senate Republicans are accelerating plans to bring a sweeping cryptocurrency bill to a vote, betting that momentum and industry pressure can overcome lingering Democratic reservations even as bipartisan talks remain unsettled. The move was confirmed late on Friday by the chair of the Senate Banking Committee, who said the panel would press ahead with scheduling despite parallel efforts by the Senate Agriculture Committee to refine a cross-party compromise.The push sets up a high-stakes test for digital-asset regulation on Capitol Hill,

Robinhood Markets has set out plans to build an Ethereum layer-2 network as part of a broader push to deepen its role in crypto trading, tokenised equities and on-chain yield products, arguing that anchoring the project to Ethereum’s security is central to winning user trust and regulatory confidence.The brokerage, best known for commission-free equity trading, says the layer-2 is designed to handle higher transaction volumes at lower cost while settling back to Ethereum for finality. Executives involved in the project

 Changpeng Zhao, the former chief executive of Binance, has drawn attention to what he describes as a widening divide in the Bitcoin market, with large United States banks and institutional players accumulating the cryptocurrency while many retail investors sell amid price volatility and regulatory uncertainty. His remarks, circulated widely across market circles, have intensified debate about whether another structural shift is under way in the digital asset ecosystem.Zhao’s comments come at a time when Bitcoin has shown sharp swings following

 Bitcoin’s derivatives market has thinned to levels last seen in 2022, with aggregate open interest sliding sharply as leveraged traders cut exposure amid quieter price action and tighter funding conditions.Data compiled from major crypto derivatives venues show total open interest across futures and perpetual contracts falling to the lowest point in more than two years. The drawdown reflects a sustained retreat by speculative traders who once amplified price swings through aggressive leverage, particularly during last year’s strong rally that followed

Binance has moved deeper into the intersection of digital assets and traditional finance by introducing perpetual contracts linked to gold and silver, offering round-the-clock trading and USDT settlement as the exchange broadens its derivatives portfolio beyond cryptocurrencies. The launch positions the platform to tap demand from traders seeking continuous exposure to precious metals without the constraints of conventional market hours.The new products, described by the exchange as TradFi Perpetual Contracts, allow users to speculate on the price movements of gold

Decentralised derivatives trading on public blockchains has crossed a defining threshold, with on-chain perpetual futures volumes touching about $12 trillion over the past year as traders migrated from centralised venues to faster, cheaper and more transparent rails. Data compiled across major protocols show that activity more than tripled through the year, with monthly volumes cresting near $1.8 trillion in October, underscoring how on-chain markets have matured from a niche experiment into a core part of global crypto trading.Perpetual futures, contracts

RAKBANK has secured in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE to issue a dirham-backed stablecoin, marking a significant step in the country’s effort to anchor digital finance within a regulated banking framework. The approval places the Ras Al Khaimah-based lender among a widening circle of UAE financial institutions seeking to deploy tokenised money for payments, settlements and treasury use as demand accelerates across regional and global markets.The move comes as stablecoins gain traction as a bridge between traditional

Bank of New York Mellon has outlined plans to offer tokenised deposit accounts to institutional clients, marking a significant step by the world’s largest custodial bank into blockchain-based settlement infrastructure. The initiative is designed to mirror traditional deposit balances on a private blockchain, allowing large investors to move cash and securities with greater speed while remaining within the perimeter of regulated banking.BNY said the proposed structure will represent deposits held at the bank as digital tokens recorded on a permissioned

Crypto exchange OKX has cut a significant portion of staff from its institutional business as part of a wider global restructuring, people familiar with the matter said, marking one of the most substantial internal overhauls at the company since it began expanding beyond retail trading.According to one source with knowledge of the changes, roughly one-third of the institutional sales team has exited, either through redundancies or non-renewal of contracts. The reductions form part of a broader effort to refocus resources,

Donald Trump has said he will not grant a presidential pardon to Sam Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, making clear that the disgraced entrepreneur will continue to serve his prison sentence if Trump returns to the White House.Speaking in an interview, Trump dismissed speculation that he might intervene on behalf of Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after being convicted of fraud, conspiracy and related offences tied to the dramatic

Binance has revised how it presents proof of reserves data, changing the display to show a clearer one-to-one backing of customer balances after incorporating platform-held assets and liabilities into its calculations. The update addresses long-running questions from users, analysts and regulators about how reserve ratios are derived and whether headline figures accurately reflect the exchange’s ability to meet withdrawals under stress.The crypto exchange said the revised presentation aligns assets held on-chain with corresponding customer liabilities, presenting a more comprehensive snapshot

Meme-themed cryptocurrencies have overtaken all other altcoins in attracting large holders, with blockchain analytics pointing to sustained whale concentration and trading momentum since the start of the year. Data compiled by Santiment shows that wallets holding significant balances have been more active in meme coins than in decentralised finance tokens, layer-two networks, or gaming-focused assets, underscoring a sharp shift in speculative behaviour across the digital asset market.The analytics firm says that whale transactions, typically defined as transfers above a high

SharpLink has moved $170 million worth of Ether into restaking arrangements on Linea, using Anchorage Digital as its custody and staking partner, signalling a calculated effort to extract yield from a growing corporate Ethereum treasury while leaning on regulated infrastructure to manage risk.The deployment represents a defined slice of SharpLink’s wider Ethereum holdings, which the company has disclosed at about $2.7 billion in value. By placing a portion of those assets into restaking, SharpLink is seeking to earn incremental rewards

Solana Mobile plans to distribute its long-awaited SKR token on January 21, marking a significant step in the company’s effort to build a self-contained mobile ecosystem around blockchain applications. The token will be airdropped to users of the Seeker smartphone and to developers participating in Solana Mobile’s app environment, according to an announcement made on Wednesday.The launch places Solana Mobile at the centre of a growing push by blockchain networks to integrate tokens directly into consumer hardware. By tying SKR

Ripple has no plans to pursue a public listing in the near term, its president Monica Long has said, pushing back against market speculation that the blockchain payments company could tap equity markets following a surge in private valuations and growing institutional interest.Long said the San Francisco-based firm is focused on building products and expanding its global payments footprint rather than preparing for an initial public offering, despite estimates that place Ripple’s valuation around $40 billion in secondary markets. Speaking

Bitcoin failed to sustain momentum above the $95,000 level as heavy selling pressure from exchange-traded funds weighed on prices, reinforcing concerns that institutional appetite has cooled after months of aggressive inflows. The world’s largest cryptocurrency slipped back after multiple attempts to break through the psychological resistance, with total spot bitcoin ETF outflows amounting to about $243 million over several trading sessions, according to market data compiled from fund disclosures.The pullback followed a period of strong gains that had lifted bitcoin

RAKBANK has secured in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE to issue an AED-backed payment token, marking one of the clearest signals yet that regulated stablecoins are moving from concept to execution within the federation’s banking system.The Ras Al Khaimah-based lender said the approval allows it to proceed with development and testing of a dirham-denominated digital token designed for payments and settlement, subject to meeting the central bank’s final regulatory and operational requirements. The move places RAKBANK among

MEXC has launched a month-long promotional campaign aimed at boosting user engagement and trading volumes, unveiling its “Galaxy Quest” trading event with rewards of up to 1,000 USDT for eligible participants. The initiative, which began on January 2 and runs until January 29, 2026, underscores intensifying competition among global digital asset exchanges seeking to retain active traders amid shifting market conditions.The campaign offers users the chance to earn Star Voyage rewards by meeting defined trading milestones across selected products on

MEXC has launched a month-long promotional campaign aimed at boosting user engagement and trading volumes, unveiling its “Galaxy Quest” trading event with rewards of up to 1,000 USDT for eligible participants. The initiative, which began on January 2 and runs until January 29, 2026, underscores intensifying competition among global digital asset exchanges seeking to retain active traders amid shifting market conditions.The campaign offers users the chance to earn Star Voyage rewards by meeting defined trading milestones across selected products on

U. S President Donald Trump intensified geopolitical tensions by openly warning of possible military action against Colombia following a dramatic U. S. operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro. Trump made the comments aboard Air Force One, accusing Colombian President Gustavo Petro of presiding over a “sick” government and suggesting Colombia could be targeted if illicit drug and security concerns were not addressed, remarks that have alarmed regional leaders and unsettled global financial markets.Trump’s declaration

Dogecoin advanced about 4% during early trading on Wednesday, outperforming several large-cap digital assets as speculative interest returned to the memecoin segment and a short-term “golden cross” signal emerged on technical charts. The move followed a broader rally across smaller tokens, driven by renewed retail participation and heavier trading volumes that analysts said could sustain gains if key price levels hold.The token, created as a parody cryptocurrency more than a decade ago, rose alongside peers such as Shiba Inu and

Bitcoin surged beyond the $91,000 mark as a broader rally lifted ether and dogecoin, with traders pointing to political developments tied to Venezuela and signals of possible United States involvement as catalysts for volatility across digital asset markets. The move underscored how geopolitical risk, alongside liquidity conditions and investor positioning, continues to shape price action in cryptocurrencies that are increasingly sensitive to macro and political cues.The advance placed bitcoin at a fresh high, extending a run that has drawn renewed

XRP has moved back into the top tier of digital assets by market value, overtaking Binance-linked BNB to reclaim fourth place among cryptocurrencies as trading momentum gathered pace and regulatory signals from Washington shifted. Data from major market trackers show the token’s market capitalisation pushing past that of BNB, leaving only Bitcoin and Ethereum ahead when stablecoins are excluded.The advance follows a sharp rally that lifted XRP prices through key technical levels, drawing renewed attention from institutional and retail traders.