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Stripe’s Tempo blockchain raises $500M at $5B valuation

2025-10-20T13:25:10.174-07:00

Stripe’s blockchain project, Tempo, raised $500 million in a Series A round led by Greenoaks and Thrive Capital, valuing the payments-focused network at $5 billion, according to Fortune.

Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital and Ron Conway’s SV Angel also joined the round, while Stripe and Paradigm did not contribute additional capital, a person familiar with the deal said.

The news comes less than two months after Stripe, a global payments and fintech giant, unveiled plans for its new layer-1 blockchain in partnership with Paradigm, a venture capital firm that invests in crypto and Web3 startups.

On Sept. 4, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison wrote on X, “as the use of stablecoins (and crypto more broadly) grows across Stripe, Bridge, and Privy, we found that existing blockchains are not optimized for them.”

“We think of Tempo as the payments-oriented L1, optimized for high-scale, real-world financial applications,” he said.

Source: Patrick Collison

Though no launch date has been given for Tempo, Paradigm Chief Technology Officer Georgios Konstantopoulos said on Friday that the core team behind its open-source projects at Ithaca is joining Tempo to help build the blockchain’s payments infrastructure and scale its engineering efforts.

Source: Georgios Konstantopoulos

Related: VC Roundup: Twenty One investors inject $100M into BTC treasury, Jump Crypto backs Securitize

A competitive stablecoin market

While Stripe hasn’t disclosed plans for a native Tempo token, the blockchain’s focus on payments infrastructure puts it in competition with several stablecoin issuers already embedded in global payment systems.

One competitor will be Circle, the issuer of USDC (USDC), a stablecoin backed 1:1 to the US dollar that is integrated with Mastercard and Visa. USDC launched in 2018 and currently has a market cap of $75.6 billion, trailing only Tether’sUSDt (USDT).

In August, Circle announced it will launch a layer-1 blockchain later this year to offer “enterprise-gradefoundation” for stablecoin payments, capital market applications, and foreign exchange.

PYUSD market cap. Source: Defillama

Much of the recent momentum in the stablecoin space follows the passage of the GENIUS Act in the US. The legislation was enacted in July to establish federal rules for stablecoin issuers.

Stablecoins pegged to the euro are also becoming more popular, as the European Union aims to compete with US dollar-denominated tokens.

Ondo challenges Nasdaq’s tokenization plan

2025-10-20T13:24:36.029-07:00

2 days ago

0 0 2 minutes read

Today in crypto, Ondo Finance is urging the US SEC to delay or reject Nasdaq’s tokenized securities proposal. Meanwhile, Japan’s top banks are reportedly planning a joint yen-based stablecoin, and more than five new crypto ETFs were filed this week despite the ongoing US government shutdown.

Ondo Finance to SEC: Hold off on Nasdaq’s tokenized securities plan

Ondo Finance urged the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to delay or reject Nasdaq’s proposal to trade tokenized securities, saying it lacks transparency and could give established market players an unfair edge.

In a Wednesday letter to the regulator, Ondo — a blockchain company that issues tokenized versions of traditional assets — said regulators and investors can’t fairly evaluate Nasdaq’s proposal without public details on how the Depository Trust Company (DTC) will handle blockchain settlements. DTC serves as the main depository for US securities and facilitates their post-trade settlement.

While acknowledging support of Nasdaq’s move toward tokenization, Ondo warned that “Nasdaq’s reference to non-public information implies differential access that deprives other firms of a fair opportunity to comment.”

The company also noted that Nasdaq’s rule cannot take effect until DTC finalizes its system, saying there’s no harm in delaying approval until more features are released. It called on the SEC to prioritize “open collaboration and transparent standards” before making a final decision.

Ondo’s letter responds to Nasdaq’s Sept. 8 filing with the SEC, in which the world’s second-largest stock exchange sought to amend its rules to allow trading in tokenized securities.

Tokenized shares are digital versions of traditional stocks recorded on a blockchain.

If approved, the proposal would let tokenized shares trade alongside traditional ones, with settlements processed through the DTC’s forthcoming system for tokenized securities.

Nasdaq’s proposal was published in the Federal Register on Sept. 22, starting the SEC’s 45-day review period, which runs until early November or late December if extended.

Japanese mega banks to jointly issue yen-pegged stablecoin: Report

Three of Japan’s largest banks reportedly plan to jointly issue a yen-pegged stablecoin, contributing to the region’s growing adoption of crypto technology within its financial infrastructure.

Nikkei reported on Friday that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC) and Mizuho Bank plan to modernize corporate settlements and reduce transaction costs through a yen-based stablecoin project built on MUFG’s stablecoin issuance platform Progmat.

The banks, which collectively serve more than 300,000 corporate clients, aim to standardize the token to make it interoperable for payments within and between companies. The consortium expects to roll out the stablecoin by the end of the year.

Mitsubishi Corp. will be the first entity to implement the stablecoin for internal settlements. With over 240 subsidiaries globally, the company aims to streamline international transfers on dividends, acquisitions and customer transactions, saving on fees and administrative burdens.

If successful, the project could establish Japan’s first bank-backed stablecoin network under a unified framework

“ETFtober” gets bigger, with over five new crypto ETFs filed this week

There has been a flurry of activity within crypto exchange-traded funds, with at least five new product applications filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission this week despite the ongoing government shutdown.

The most recent development came from VanEck, which filed an S-1 form with the SEC on Thursday for the VanEck Lido Staked Ethereum ETF, which will track the performance of stETH, Lido’s liquid staking token.

Lido has the lion’s share of staked Ether. Source: Dune Analytics

As a result of the protocol-based liquid staking activities underlying stETH, “the trust expects to accrue certain staking rewards through its ownership of stETH,” it stated.

21Shares filed for a leveraged crypto ETF with 2x exposure to the Hyperliquid native token, HYPE, on Thursday. The leverage applies only to the single-day performance of the token, instead of extended periods.

Huobi Founder Raises $1B to Buy Ether: Report

2025-10-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

Li Lin, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange Huobi and chair of investment company Avenir Capital, has reportedly raised about $1 billion as part of a strategy to invest in Ether.

According to a Bloomberg report on Friday, Li has partnered with Fenbushi Capital co-founder Shen Bo, HashKey Group CEO Xiao Feng, and Meitu founder Cai Wensheng to launch an Ether accumulation strategy through a Nasdaq-listed shell company. The project raised $1 billion, which included $500 million from HongShan Capital Group and $200 million from Avenir.

With the support of the Ether (ETH) backers, the group plans to announce the launch of the trust in two to three weeks.

Li founded the Huobi exchange in 2013, later selling the company to crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun. Tensions between the two individuals included lawsuits over the use of the term Huobi Global and accusations of fraud.

Related: 95% of corporate ETH buys happened in Q3 — start of Ether supercycle?

According to data from Nansen, the price of ETH was $3,857 at the time of publication, having surged by more than 9% in the previous seven days.

Avenir is still a top Bitcoin holder

The investment company reported holding about 16.5 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund, or IBIT, in August. Accelerating its purchase of other tokens like Ether and Solana (SOL) — the company participated in launching a $500-million Solana treasury in September — could significantly impact investment strategies in the crypto industry.

BitMEX Co-founder’s Family Office Seeking $250M for Private Equity Fund

2025-10-20T13:23:09.803-07:00

Maelstrom, the family office connected to BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes, is reportedly looking to raise $250 million for a private equity fund aimed at acquiring crypto companies.

According to a Bloomberg report on Friday, the fund plans to use $40 million to $75 million for each acquisition of as many as six crypto companies, with funding expected to be completed by September 2026. Maelstrom will reportedly focus on companies offering trading infrastructure and analytics platforms.

Maelstrom co-founder and managing partner Akshat Vaidya reportedly said investors in the fund “want exposure to the high-cash flow, high-growth crypto sector but lack the capabilities in-house to do this themselves.” Vaidya will reportedly run the fund with Hayes and Adam Schlegel, a new partner at Maelstrom.

Hayes was one of four BitMEX executives who received a pardon from US President Donald Trump in March. The group had been facing criminal charges related to violations of the US Bank Secrecy Act.

Related: Tom Lee, Arthur Hayes double down on $10K Ether this year

Hayes stepped down as CEO of BitMEX in 2020 after US authorities charged him and his associates Benjamin Delo, Gregory Dwyer and Samuel Reed with charges related to violations of the US Bank Secrecy Act. Since his pardon, he has become a more visible presence in the crypto industry, offering price predictions and analyses.

Acquisitions across the crypto industry

Maelstrom’s intentions signaled interest from private equity to return to crypto companies, investments that reportedly waned after the collapse of the FTX exchange in 2022.

ETH Sell-off Fails To Shake Ether Options Traders

2025-10-20T13:22:37.040-07:00

Key takeaways:

ETH futures premium shows traders are staying cautious and avoiding heavy leverage even as banking stocks rebound from recent credit concerns.
Ether whale activity near $3,700 suggests limited bearish conviction, though confidence in a swift recovery toward $4,500 remains subdued.

Ether (ETH) dropped 9.5% on Friday, retesting the $3,700 level and triggering $232 million in leveraged long liquidations within 48 hours. The unexpected correction came amid a broader risk-off move fueled by credit concerns after two US regional banks announced write-offs on bad loans.

Ether derivatives data shows moderate unease among bullish traders, but whale positioning suggests most are not expecting a deeper decline. The key question now is whether the $3,700 support will hold as macroeconomic risks intensify.

ETH 30-day options delta skew (put-call) at Deribit. Source: laevitas.ch

Ether options’ 25-delta skew surged to 14% on Thursday, a level rarely sustained and often linked to periods of heightened fear. Traders are paying a premium for put (sell) options, signaling that market makers remain uneasy about downside risks. Under normal market conditions, the skew typically fluctuates between -6% and +6%.

The S&P Regional Banks Select Industry Index recovered part of Thursday’s losses, trading 1.5% higher on Friday. However, credit concerns have left marks on larger financial institutions such as JP Morgan (JPM) and Jefferies Financial Group (JEF), both of which reported losses tied to the automotive sector. According to Yahoo Finance, auto lending has shown the fastest growth among US banking segments.

Joachim Nagel, president of Germany’s Bundesbank and a member of the ECB’s governing council, warned of possible “spillovers” from the private credit market, calling it a “regulatory risk.” Nagel shared his concerns with CNBC as the global private credit market surpassed $1 trillion, adding that “we as regulators, we have to take a close look at it.”

ETH 30-day futures annualized premium. Source: laevitas.ch

The ETH monthly futures premium compared to spot markets slipped to 4%, below the 5% neutral threshold. Traders’ sentiment had already been shaken by the flash crash on Oct. 10, and the last notable bullish phase was in early February. Ether traders appear increasingly doubtful about the strength of any lasting bullish momentum.

US-China trade tensions deepen, but ETH whales are not bearish

Part of traders’ unease comes from the deteriorating relationship between the US and China, as the ongoing trade war enters a new phase involving export controls on rare earths and sanctions against a South Korean shipping company. US President Donald Trump said on Oct. 10 that the US could respond with an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods starting Nov. 1.

To determine whether Ether whales are truly betting on further downside or simply hedging amid worsening macroeconomic conditions, it is useful to examine top traders’ positioning on derivatives exchanges. This metric combines data from futures, margin, and spot markets, offering a clearer view of short-term sentiment.

Top traders long-to-short at derivatives exchanges. Source: CoinGlass

Top traders at Binance reduced their bullish bets (longs) Tuesday to Thursday but later reversed course, increasing their exposure to ETH despite ongoing price weakness. In contrast, top traders at OKX attempted to time the market by adding exposure near the $3,900 level but eventually exited as prices fell to $3,700 on Friday.

Related: How to catch market manipulation in altcoins before they crash

ETH derivatives markets show no alarming signs — quite the opposite. Bulls’ hesitation to take on leveraged positions appears healthy, particularly after the Oct. 10 extreme volatility. However, Ether’s path toward $4,500 will likely depend on clearer signals from credit conditions and US labor market data, meaning any recovery could take time.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Ondo Urges SEC to Delay Nasdaq’s Tokenized Stock Plan

2025-10-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

Excerpt of Ondo’s letter to the SEC. Source: Ondo Finance

Ondo’s letter responds to Nasdaq’s Sept. 8 filing with the SEC, in which the world’s second-largest stock exchange sought to amend its rules to allow trading in tokenized securities.

Tokenized shares are digital versions of traditional stocks recorded on a blockchain.

If approved, the proposal would let tokenized shares trade alongside traditional ones, with settlements processed through the DTC’s forthcoming system for tokenized securities.

Nasdaq’s proposal was published in the Federal Register on Sept. 22, starting the SEC’s 45-day review period, which runs until early November or late December if extended.

Related: $250M Ondo Catalyst fund signals ‘arms race’ for RWA tokenization

The push for tokenized stocks

The ongoing debate about the tokenization of Nasdaq stocks is happening while several platforms have already listed or are planning to list tokenized versions of US equities.

On June 30, Robinhood launched a layer-2 blockchain to support trading tokenized US stocks and ETFs for European users. The platform said it would list over 200 US equities and funds as onchain tokens.

Trading platform eToro also announced plans to launch tokenized stocks as ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum. The company said the rollout will include 100 popular US-listed stocks and ETFs, available to trade 24/5.

Total onchain RWA value. Source: RWA.xyz

Kraken is also following the trend. The crypto exchange launched a tokenized securities platform in September, making tokenized shares available to eligible customers in Europe.

Galaxy Digital warned that the ongoing tokenization push could threaten the New York Stock Exchange’s dominance, saying in July that it challenges the liquidity of traditional markets.

North Korea Hackers Embed Sophisticated Code Exploit in Smart Contracts

2025-10-20T13:21:29.758-07:00

North Korean hackers have adopted a method of deploying malware designed to steal crypto and sensitive information by embedding malicious code into smart contracts on public blockchain networks, according to Google’s Threat Intelligence Group.

The technique, called “EtherHiding,” emerged in 2023 and is typically used in conjunction with social engineering techniques, such as reaching out to victims with fake employment offers and high-profile interviews, directing users to malicious websites or links, according to Google.

Hackers will take control of a legitimate website address through a Loader Script and embed JavaScript code into the website, triggering a separate malicious code package in a smart contract designed to steal funds and data once the user interacts with the compromised site.

Simplified illustration of how the “EtherHiding” hack works. Source: Google Cloud

The compromised website will communicate with the blockchain network using a “read-only” function that does not actually create a transaction on the ledger, allowing the threat actors to avoid detection and minimize transaction fees, Google researchers said.

The report highlights the need for vigilance in the crypto community to keep users safe from scams and hacks commonly employed by threat actors attempting to steal funds and valuable information from individuals and organizations alike.

Related: CZ’s Google account targeted by ‘government-backed’ hackers

Know the signs: North Korea social engineering campaign decoded

The threat actors will set up fake companies, recruitment agencies and profiles to target software and cryptocurrency developers with fake employment offers, according to Google.

After the initial pitch, the attackers move the communication to messaging platforms like Discord or Telegram and direct the victim to take an employment test or complete a coding task.

“The core of the attack occurs during a technical assessment phase,” Google Threat Intelligence said. During this phase, the victim is typically told to download malicious files from online code repositories like GitHub, where the malicious payload is stored.

Bitcoin Dips Below $105K But US Banking Stress Eases

2025-10-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

Key takeaways:

Bitcoin price stabilized after US regional banks posted stronger-than-expected earnings, easing credit fears.
One analyst predicted Bitcoin’s bull run could end in 10 days.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell more than 5% to trade below $105,000 on Friday, extending a two-day decline as renewed US banking stress rattled risk markets and revived concerns over broader financial stability. On Friday, US banking stocks showed signs of resilience, and global market sentiment steadied pre-market.

Bitcoin one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

However, BTC continued to struggle near $105,000, not benefiting from improved risk appetite after regional lenders delivered stronger-than-expected earnings, easing fears of a wider credit contagion.

The latest shift in sentiment came after several key regional lenders, including Truist Financial, Regions Financial and Fifth Third Bancorp, reported lower provisions for credit losses than anticipated. The results offered relief to markets following Thursday’s rout, when the S&P Regional Banks Select Industry Index fell 6.3%, led by Zions Bancorporation and Western Alliance Bancorp after both disclosed loan losses stemming from fraud in distressed commercial mortgage funds.

The upbeat earnings helped the S&P Regional Banks Index claw back losses, with Zions Bancorp rebounding over 6%, Truist Financial rising 2%, and Western Alliance up 1.6% in early trading.

European financials, including Barclays and Deutsche Bank, pared earlier losses, while Asian lenders like Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui also steadied after heavy selling.

RBC Capital Markets said that regional banks “remain well reserved for potential losses” and have bolstered capital since 2023, suggesting the recent sell-off may have been overdone.

Related: How low will Bitcoin go? Regional US ‘bank stress’ pushes BTC toward $100K

Trump’s tariff comments boost optimism

Adding to the improved tone, US President Donald Trump confirmed that steep tariffs on Chinese goods “will not persist” and announced plans for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in two weeks. The statement, following Beijing’s willingness to collaborate on trade disputes, sparked a rebound in global markets, with US stock futures up 1.2%.

BREAKING: S&P 500 futures erase losses as President Trump says high tariffs on China will NOT remain.
Futures are now +75 points from their overnight low. pic.twitter.com/4cfnVAzCNX
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) October 17, 2025

Market observers said the tone of risk sentiment had turned notably calmer. Cointelegraph reported earlier this week that the latest crypto and equity pullbacks “do not have long-term fundamental implications,” suggesting that the market is moving through short-term volatility rather than systemic distress.

However, some analysts caution that Bitcoin’s current bull cycle may be nearing its end. Analyst CryptoBird said in an X post that the Bitcoin “bull run ends in 10 days,” basing the forecast on historical cycle patterns.

Related: Bitcoin ‘bull run is over’, traders say, with 50% BTC price crash warning

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Babylon Enables Native Bitcoin Collateral in DeFi: Finance Redefined

2025-10-20T13:20:23.786-07:00

Bitcoin infrastructure company Babylon Labs claimed to have developed a system that enables native Bitcoin to be used as collateral for borrowing assets on Ethereum.

Babylon Labs co-founder and Stanford University professor David Tse said on Wednesday that the company built a proof-of-concept that allows native Bitcoin to be used “trustlessly” as collateral for loans on Ethereum.

The comments follow a white paper release from the company, revealing a Bitcoin trustless vault system that leverages Bitcoin smart contract verification BitVM3 to lock BTC in per-user vaults. Here, withdrawals are gated by proofs of external smart contract state verified on Bitcoin.

This system allows users to lock Bitcoin and bring it to Ethereum without relying on a custodian or bridge.

A schematic of the Bitcoin vault-based lending system. Source: Babylon Labs

BNB Chain sees record user activity, transactions up 151% in 30 days

Daily active addresses on BNB Chain hit an all-time high on Monday, as the network’s native crypto token reached a new price record.

According to Nansen, sender-only active addresses on the blockchain reached a record 3.46 million on Monday, surpassing its previous high of 3.44 million in December 2023.

The data analytics platform also showed that in the last 30 days, BNB Chain’s successful transactions reached 500 million, a 151% surge from the previous 30-day period. This puts the network second to Solana, which holds the top spot for transactions.

In terms of active wallet addresses, BNB Chain ranked third with nearly 200 million addresses active during the time frame. This record put it close to surpassing layer-2 network Base.

Addresses that sent a transaction on BNB Chain. Source: Nansen

Hyperliquid now allows anyone to deploy perpetual futures, for a price

Decentralized exchange Hyperliquid introduced a new update that allows third parties to launch their own perpetual swap contracts on its platform.

On Monday, Hyperliquid Improvement Proposal 3 (HIP-3) came into force, allowing permissionless, builder-deployed perpetual futures contract listings.

This update allows anyone who staked 500,000 HYPE tokens, about $20 million, to deploy their own perp swap contract with independent margining, orderbooks and parameters.

Deployers can set a fee share of up to 50% on top of the base fee rate and will be defining the markets, including oracle and contract specifications. They will also be setting the oracle prices, leverage limits and settling if necessary.

Discord message announcing the upgrade. Source: Hyperliquid

Uniswap adds Solana support on web app in $140 billion opportunity

Uniswap added support for the Solana network to its web app, allowing Solana users to link their wallet and trade Solana-based tokens alongside those from other networks.

In a blog post, the DEX said it was exploring bridging, crosschain swaps and full Uniswap Wallet support for the network. Transactions made through the web app will be routed through the DEX aggregator Jupiter.

A Uniswap engineer said the team did not specifically build the integration for Solana, but rather designed “architect layers” that were platform-agnostic.

Uniswap’s trading engineering lead, Danny Daniil, said that Solana’s launch will help Unichain, a layer-2 network made by Uniswap Labs, become the “best chain” for trading.

Source: Uniswap Labs

DeFi market overview

According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, most of the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization ended the week in the red.

A token called BNB Attestation Service (BAS) had a 456% gain, becoming the week’s largest gainer after reaching a new all-time high on Thursday. The token was followed by Nockchain (NOCK), which recorded 379% in gains last week.

Total value locked in DeFi. Source: DefiLlama

Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us next Friday for more stories, insights and education regarding this dynamically advancing space.

Bitcoin, Altcoins Continue Sell-off: Is Uptober Over?

2025-10-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

Key points:

Bitcoin is finding buying support below the $107,000 level, but the relief rally is likely to be sold into.
Several altcoins have reached strong support levels, but the lack of a solid rebound suggests the downward pressure may continue for a while.

Bitcoin (BTC) remains under pressure as bears attempt to maintain the price below the strong $107,000 support level. The fall indicates a negative sentiment, with dip buyers staying away due to credit concerns in US regional banks.

However, Bitwise analysts said in their weekly crypto market compass report that the massive liquidations on Oct. 10 indicate selling exhaustion, limiting further downside. The analysts added that the fall in their in-house intraday Cryptoasset Sentiment Index to early August 2024 levels signals a “contrarian buying opportunity.”

Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360

In contrast, Glassnode took a cautious view. It said in a recent report that the markets were in a reset phase and required fresh demand to confirm recovery. The report highlighted that the Long-Term Holder supply dropped by about 0.3 million BTC since July 2025, indicating profit booking by mature investors. Glassnode anticipates the market to “enter a consolidation phase.”

What are the critical support levels to watch out for in BTC and the major altcoins? Let’s analyze the charts of the top 10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

Bitcoin price prediction

BTC continued its downward move and plummeted below the $107,000 support on Friday, but the long tail on the candlestick shows buying at lower levels.

BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

A close below $107,000 will complete a double-top pattern. The BTC/USDT pair could then skid to the psychological support at $100,000. Buyers are expected to defend the $100,000 level with all their might because a break below it opens the doors for a collapse to the pattern target of $89,526.

This negative view will be invalidated in the near term if the Bitcoin price turns up and breaks above the moving averages. That suggests the break below the $107,000 level may have been a bear trap.

Ether price prediction

Ether (ETH) is witnessing a tough battle between the bulls and the bears at the support line of the descending channel pattern.

ETH/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Any recovery attempt is expected to face selling at the 20-day exponential moving average (EMA) ($4,159). If the price turns down sharply from the 20-day EMA, it increases the possibility of a break below the support line. If that happens, the ETH/USDT pair could plunge to $3,350.

Buyers will have to push the Ether price above the moving averages to signal that the pair may remain inside the descending channel for a while longer. A new uptrend could begin after buyers thrust the price above the resistance line.

BNB price prediction

BNB (BNB) closed below the 20-day EMA ($1,144) on Thursday and extended its decline to the 50-day SMA ($1,017) on Friday.

BNB/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Buyers will try to defend the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) with all their might as the failure to do so could accelerate selling. The BNB/USDT pair may then retest the Oct. 10 panic low of $860. Such a move suggests that the BNB price may have topped out in the near term.

Any rebound from the 50-day SMA is expected to face significant selling at the 20-day EMA. Buyers will have to overcome the barrier at the 20-day EMA to indicate that the corrective phase may be over.

XRP price prediction

Sellers pulled XRP (XRP) below the immediate support at $2.30, but the bulls are trying to reclaim the level.

XRP/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

If the price rises from the current level, the bears will strive to halt the recovery at the 20-day EMA ($2.63). If that happens, it signals a negative sentiment. That increases the likelihood of a drop below $2.30. The XRP price may then tumble to $2.

Contrarily, if buyers push the XRP/USDT pair above the 20-day EMA, the relief rally could extend to the downtrend line. This is a critical level for the bears to defend, as a break above it signals that the bulls are back in the game. The pair could then rally toward $3.38.

Solana price prediction

Solana (SOL) has been falling inside a descending channel pattern, signaling a series of lower highs and lower lows.

SOL/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The bears are attempting to pull the price to the support line, where buyers are expected to enter. A bounce off the support line is likely to face selling at the 20-day EMA ($205). If the price turns down sharply from the 20-day EMA, the bears will again attempt to sink the SOL/USDT pair below the support line. If they manage to do that, the Solana price could dive to $155.

Buyers will have to push the price above the 20-day EMA to suggest that the pair may remain inside the channel for a while longer. A new uptrend could begin after buyers drive the price above the resistance line.

Dogecoin price prediction

The failure of the bulls to sustain Dogecoin (DOGE) above $0.21 renewed selling, pulling the price near the strong support level at $0.18.

DOGE/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The downsloping 20-day EMA ($0.22) and the RSI in the negative territory suggest that the path of least resistance is to the downside. If the price closes below $0.18, the DOGE/USDT pair could slide to $0.16 and eventually to $0.14.

Buyers will have to swiftly push the price above the 20-day EMA to signal strength. The Dogecoin price could then climb to the 50-day SMA ($0.23) and later to the stiff overhead resistance at $0.29.

Cardano price prediction

Cardano (ADA) fell below the nearby support at $0.61, indicating that the bears have maintained their selling pressure.

ADA/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

If the price closes below the $0.61 level, the ADA/USDT pair could extend its decline to the solid support at $0.50. Buyers are expected to fiercely defend the $0.50 support, as a break below it increases the risk of a fall toward $0.30.

To prevent the downside, the bulls will have to push the Cardano price above the 20-day EMA ($0.74). The pair could then rally to the downtrend line, which is likely to attract sellers. Buyers will have to pierce the downtrend line to signal the start of a new up move toward $1.02.

Related: How low will Bitcoin go? Regional US ‘bank stress’ pushes BTC toward $100K

Hyperliquid price prediction

Hyperliquid (HYPE) broke below the $35.50 level on Friday, but the long tail on the candlestick shows buying at lower levels.

HYPE/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

If the price turns up from the current level, it is expected to encounter selling at the neckline and then at the 20-day EMA ($42.25). If the price turns down from the overhead resistance zone, the bears will again attempt to pull the HYPE/USDT pair below $35.50. If they can pull it off, the Hyperliquid price could descend to $30.50.

Conversely, a break and close above the 20-day EMA suggests that the selling pressure is reducing. The pair may then ascend to the 50-day SMA ($47.15) and later to $52.

Chainlink price prediction

Chainlink (LINK) fell below the support line of the descending channel pattern, indicating increased selling pressure.

LINK/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The bulls are trying to arrest the decline at the $15.43 support but are likely to face selling on any minor rise. If the Chainlink price turns down and breaks below $15.43, the LINK/USDT pair could fall to $12.

The bulls will have to quickly push the Chainlink price above the 20-day EMA ($19.93) to suggest that the bearish momentum has weakened. Buyers will be back in the driver’s seat after they propel the pair above the resistance line.

Stellar price prediction

Stellar (XLM) continued lower and slipped below the $0.31 support, signaling that the bears are in command.

XLM/USDT daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Sellers will try to strengthen their position by pulling the Stellar price to $0.25 and subsequently to $0.22.

Buyers have an uphill task ahead of them. They will have to push and maintain the price above the moving averages to suggest that the selling pressure is reducing. The XLM/USDT pair could then rise to the downtrend line. Sellers will try to halt the recovery at the downtrend line, but if the bulls prevail, the pair may jump toward $0.47.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Swiss Regulator GESPA Files Complaint Against FIFA NFT Platform

2025-10-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

Switzerland’s Gambling Supervisory Authority (GESPA), the country’s gambling regulator, has filed a complaint against FIFA’s non-fungible token (NFT) platform FIFA Collect, alleging that it is an unlicensed gambling provider.

On Friday, GESPA announced the complaint, alleging the platform’s “competitions,” which feature user rewards like airdrop campaigns and challenges, constitute gambling under current Swiss regulations due to the element of chance in claiming rewards. GESPA wrote:

“Participation in the competitions is only possible in exchange for a monetary stake, with monetary benefits to be won. Whether participants win a prize depends on random draws or similar procedures.

Source: GESPA

From a gambling law perspective, the offers in question are partly lotteries and partly sports betting,” GESPA said. Switzerland has only two nationwide regulated sports gambling providers, Sporttip and Jouez Sport, according to GESPA.

Cointelegraph reached out to FIFA and Modex, the Web3 service provider that powers the FIFA Collect platform, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The regulatory complaint highlights how nascent technologies like NFTs and Web3 platforms still struggle with legal gray zones as officials weigh how emerging developments in the digital economy fit within the legacy framework.

Related: NFT markets rebound after $1.2B wipeout in Friday’s crypto crash

GESPA launches probe into FIFA Collect

GESPA began probing FIFA Collect in October over its “Right to Buy” NFTs that give the holder ticket reservation rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The NFTs give holders the right, but not the obligation, to purchase a ticket at face market value, to avoid price gouging in secondary markets — a common issue at large sporting events.

World Cup finals reservation NFTs for some of the most popular football teams, including Argentina, Spain, France, England and Brazil, carried a price tag of $999 and have all sold out, data from FIFA Collect shows.

FIFA Collect was launched in 2022 on the Algorand layer-1 blockchain network and has launched several NFT collections since that time.

However, FIFA announced plans to migrate to its own blockchain, dubbed FIFA blockchain, a layer-1 subnet on the Avalanche network.

Prediction Markets Going Mainstream As DeFi’s Most Accessible Product?

2025-10-20T13:18:19.188-07:00

Mike Rychko, a researcher at prediction market infrastructure provider Azuro, thinks prediction markets are breaking into the mainstream — and the data appears to back him up.

In a Thursday X post, Rychko argued that prediction markets are entering the real world beyond crypto and that their accessibility is likely to result in their success as the first decentralized finance (DeFi) product that achieves mass adoption.

“Most people will never open a derivatives exchange,” Rychko wrote. “But ‘87% chance Mamdani wins’ — that’s a language anyone speaks.”

He added that “humans are lazy by design” and crave a “clean, digestible signal,” and said that prediction markets meet that demand by turning complex forecasts into simple data points.

“That simplicity is precisely why prediction markets will find mass adoption faster than most DeFi experiments ever did.”

Earlier this month, crypto-powered prediction market Polymarket received a $2 billion investment from NYSE parent company, Intercontinental Exchange, at a $9 billion valuation.

Reports in early September suggested that Polymarket aims for a US launch that could value the company as high as $10 billion, following the appointment of the US President’s son to the company’s board of directors.

Founded in 2020, Polymarket allows users to wager stablecoins on real-world events, from elections to sports outcomes. The platform surged in popularity during the 2024 US presidential election, when its activity and trading volume hit record highs.

Prediction markets enter the zeitgeist

Rychko noted that prediction markets have reached unprecedented levels of mainstream visibility in recent months. Prediction market and Polymarket competitor Kalshi’s New York City screen, which shows a live feed of the market dedicated to the city’s mayoral election, has attracted widespread attention, with the video drawing nearly 13 million views on X alone.

Source: Kalshi

Rychko described the display as “a public signal” and a “real-time reflection of collective belief.” “The same way stock tickers once defined the financial era of the 80s, prediction tickers are starting to define the informational economy of the 2020s,“ he wrote.

Kalshi is a regulated prediction market platform in the US that operates under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), making it the first federally regulated exchange for event contracts. The platform was recently featured on the long-running animated show South Park, a cornerstone of pop culture, in an episode focused on US President Donald Trump.

Source: Kalshi

Related: NYSE parent invests $2B in Polymarket at $9B valuation

Prediction markets see major growth

Kalshi is not a crypto-driven platform, but it has joined a market segment largely spurred to life by a crypto project.

Polymarket grew in notoriety in late 2024, as its market during the United States presidential elections attracted significant attention and capital. The service reached its highest-ever number of daily active wallets at the beginning of 2025 — over 72,600 on Jan. 19, Dune data shows.

Polymarket daily active wallets. Source: Dune

The highest number of transactions on the platform took place on Dec. 27, 2024: nearly 590,000 in a day. Although the platform has not returned to those peaks, it maintains strong usage. This month, it processed more than $1 billion in trading volume, bringing cumulative volume to over $15.7 billion, according to Dune.

Polymarket daily transactions. Source: Dune

Related: Nobel Peace Prize bets on Polymarket under scrutiny: Report

This trend is clearly visible when examining the total value locked on Polmarket. According to DefiLlama, the protocol now controls over $194 million — 62% lower than the nearly $512 million reported at the height of US Presidential election betting, but also 2,325% higher than the $8 million it held exactly one year ago.

Polymarket’s total value locked. Source: DeFiLlama

Rychko said this steady activity underscores the appeal of prediction markets as DeFi’s most relatable product — one that blends cultural relevance with real-world financial participation.

Bitcoin Price Shows Signs That $126K Was The Peak

2025-10-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

Key takeaways:

Market analysts say the Bitcoin bull run could soon come to an end.
BTC price risks a 50% correction to $52,200 if key support levels fail, according to technical analysis.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell to $103,500 on Friday, resulting in over $916 million in liquidations of leveraged long positions and dampening sentiment in BTC markets.

Investors appear to be losing confidence after two straight weeks of failing to hold prices above $110,000. But does this mean the bull run is over?

Bitcoin bull run “ends in 10 days”

Bitcoin may only have a few days of price expansion left in the cycle, especially if it follows historical patterns from past bull runs, according to analyst CryptoBird.

The Bitcoin “bull run ends in 10 days,” the analyst said in an X thread on Tuesday, basing the forecast on previous cycles.

Related: Bitcoiners push to bring BTC payments to Signal as privacy meets crypto

Cycle Peak Countdown shows that the Bitcoin bull run is 99.3% done, as weak hands are shaken out “in a classic pre-peak pattern,” the analyst said.

“1,058 days since cycle low = 99.3% complete, with only 0.7% remains of this historic bull cycle. Our October 24 target is exactly 10 days away.”

According to the analyst, the ongoing pullback is right on schedule, adding that it appears to be a classic pre-peak behavior that occurs in every major cycle, as “final weak hands getting flushed before the euphoric top.”

BTC/USD chart Source: CryptoBird

It has been 543 days since the 2024 Bitcoin halving, which put the BTC market “+25 days inside the historical 518-580 day peak window,” the analyst said, adding:

“We’re not just in the zone – we’re deep in the statistical heart where every major Bitcoin top has occurred.”

Bitcoin price history. Source: Coinmetrics

As Cointelegraph reported, the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index has hit yearly lows of 22, signifying “extreme fear” among investors.

CryptoBird said that this represents a complete reset in market sentiment before BTC embarks on its final leg.

“This emotional washout creates the perfect launchpad for final leg euphoria.”

Bitcoin price could drop to $50,000: Analysts

Bitcoin’s drop below key support levels today, including the 200-day simple moving average (SMA), has led to structural weaknesses, which could potentially lead to a deeper correction, according to analysts.

The price is “now testing the 0.786 fibonacci retracement level around $104,000,” analyst Daan Crypto Trades said in an X post on Friday, adding that losing this level would bring June lows at $98,000 into the picture.

“Touching grass if bulls can’t manage to hold this level this week.”

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades

Fellow analyst Captain Faibik highlighted that Bitcoin appears to be following a rising wedge pattern on the weekly chart, with a measured target of $52,200.

“The Bitcoin bull run is over,” the analyst said in a Friday post, adding:

“A 50% bearish correction is likely incoming in the midterm.”

BTC/USD weekly chart. Source: Captain Faibik

As Cointelegraph reported, retail interest in Bitcoin is already at bear market levels, reflecting caution and anticipation of deeper BTC price drawdowns.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Russia Leads Europe In Crypto Adoption With $376B Tracked

2025-10-20T13:17:20.110-07:00

Crypto adoption in European countries like the United Kingdom and Germany is lagging behind Russia, according to the latest report from US blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

Russia emerged as the leading crypto market in Chainalysis’ latest European Crypto Adoption report, receiving $376.3 billion in crypto between July 2024 and June 2025.

Published Thursday, the report combines analyses of regions previously examined separately, covering Central, Northern, and Western Europe, as well as Eastern Europe as a whole.

“For this year’s analysis, we’ve reorganized our regional classifications to better reflect both current crypto activity and geopolitical realities,” Chainalysis said.

Russia’s volumes up almost 50% since last year

Russia’s received crypto volumes have increased 48% from last year’s $256.5 billion, widening its lead over major economies such as the UK, which recorded $273.2 billion in the past year, about 30% less.

Chainalysis attributed Russia’s surge in crypto adoption to two primary factors: a spike in large institutional transfers and the growing use of decentralized finance (DeFi).

Source: Chainalysis

“The scale of institutional activity is particularly notable,” Chainalysis said, referring to large transfers — those exceeding $10 million — surging 86% year-over-year (YoY). The surge pace is nearly double the 44% growth observed in the rest of Europe, it added.

DeFi and retail among contributors

Beyond institutional activity, Russia also leads in both large and small retail segments, with YoY growth outpacing the rest of Europe by about 10%.

“DeFi adoption patterns reveal an even more dramatic shift,” Chainalysis said, referring to Russia’s DeFi activity surging eight times its previous levels in early 2025.

Source: Chainalysis

Russia’s rapid DeFi expansion and the increase in large-value transfers indicate growing adoption of crypto for financial services, Chainalysis concluded.

It also mentioned that A7A5 — a sanctioned ruble-pegged stablecoin issued in Kyrgyzstan — is a major example of this trend as it facilitates cross-border payments for both institutional and business users.

Launched in early 2025, A7A5 has emerged as the world’s largest non-US dollar stablecoin by market capitalization, despite facing multiple sanctions.

The stablecoin has been criticized by the European Union for being used as a tool for sanction evasion by Russia. The US government has also linked A7A5 to Grinex, the successor of Garantex, which was allegedly involved in money laundering and ransomware attacks with $100 million in transactions related to illicit activities.

Related: US rises to 2nd in crypto adoption as APAC sees most growth: Chainalysis

The ruble-pegged stablecoin reached $500 million in market cap in late September, overtaking major non–US dollar rivals such as Europe’s euro-pegged EURC, issued by Circle.

Chainalysis’s findings on Russia’s crypto market growth over the past year come amid mounting sanctions and an intensifying regulatory focus in the region. Notably, Russia was excluded from the Financial Stability Board’s peer review on cross-border regulation, also published Thursday.

The Ghost of MT. Gox Will Stop Haunting Bitcoin This Halloween

2025-10-20T13:17:00.000-07:00

Mt. Gox, the defunct Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange, still holds around 34,689 Bitcoin (BTC) ahead of its Oct. 31 repayment deadline.

The exchange lost around 650,000 BTC in thefts that went undetected from 2011 until its 2014 collapse, while about 200,000 BTC was later found in an old-format wallet. Those coins became the foundation for creditor repayments overseen by court-appointed trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi.

In 2017 and 2018, Kobayashi earned the nickname “Tokyo Whale” for selling Mt. Gox Bitcoin to fund fiat repayments. In mid-2024, wallet activity surged again as roughly 100,000 BTC was moved between Mt. Gox addresses for distribution, though not all represented actual sales.

The repayment deadline was extended by a year to give creditors more time to complete claim procedures. With about $3.9 billion in Bitcoin still in Mt. Gox-linked wallets, this Halloween may again spark concerns about possible sell pressure.

Here’s how Mt. Gox’s Bitcoin movements have moved markets throughout its bankruptcy and civil rehabilitation proceedings.

Tokyo Whale’s first Mt. Gox Bitcoin sales dump

Kobayashi’s first major round of Bitcoin sales took place between September 2017 and March 2018, with blockchain data indicating that the largest offloading occurred on Feb. 6. By mid-March, Mt. Gox’s Bitcoin holdings had fallen to around 166,000, after Kobayashi disclosed the sale of 35,841 BTC for 38 billion Japanese yen (about $360 million at the time).

That may not seem like a significant supply shock in today’s Bitcoin economy. On Wednesday, Bitcoin had a $2.24-trillion market capitalization, but back in early February 2018, that number stood at roughly $140 billion, when Kobayashi’s sales represented about 0.26% of the asset’s total value.

Related: $19B crypto market crash: Was it leverage, China tariffs or both?

Kobayashi’s Feb. 6 sale also coincided with Bitcoin’s slide to around $6,000, which was the lowest point of that year’s first quarter. Bitcoin was already falling from its December 2017 peak of nearly $20,000 during the height of the initial coin offering (ICO) boom.

While Bitcoin was already struggling after the collapse of the ICO bubble, its sharp drop on Feb. 6 closely coincided with Kobayashi’s major sell-off. Kobayashi denied that his Mt. Gox liquidations deepened the decline, but his actions drew criticism from market observers.

Tokyo Whale stops selling at around 144,000 BTC

Following the ICO crash of early 2018, Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry entered what’s now known as the first crypto winter, as liquidity dried up and funding slowed down. Many crypto firms had to downsize or shut down.

Kobayashi didn’t help either by continuing to sell off Mt. Gox’s Bitcoin. About 24,658 BTC was sold from April 27 to May 11, decreasing the exchange’s holdings to 141,686. The first major sale on April 27 was for about 15,000 BTC. Bitcoin had a sharp drop on April 25 to 26 but rebounded on April 27 before having a small rally to Q2 2018’s top of nearly $10,000. The second major sale by Kobayashi on May 11 coincided again with its fall from the top.

This was the last time Kobayashi sold Mt. Gox’s Bitcoin. In June, after a creditor petition, the Tokyo District Court halted the bankruptcy and opened civil rehabilitation, appointing Kobayashi as rehabilitation trustee. In bankruptcy, non-monetary claims are converted to cash. In civil rehabilitation, Bitcoin claims are not liquidated, with repayment set by a court-approved plan that allows for distributions in BTC or Bitcoin Cash (BCH) rather than cash.

Related: Democrats counter US crypto framework; bill grinds to a halt

With Mt. Gox sales off the table, Bitcoin held above $6,000 for most of the year until November’s Bitcoin Cash hard fork rattled the market. Mt. Gox’s holdings remained steady at around 142,000 BTC during this period.

Mt. Gox Bitcoin repayments begin

In mid-2024, Bitcoin was in a far stronger position than during the Tokyo Whale era, still riding the momentum of the first batch of US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. It was the middle of a bull rally that would eventually send Bitcoin past $100,000 in December 2024.

In early July, Mt. Gox wallets began moving Bitcoin as the exchange prepared for creditor repayments under the civil rehabilitation plan. Markets initially feared that recipients would immediately sell. Bitcoin dipped again after Kraken, one of the exchanges handling distributions, announced on July 24 that it had completed its process.

Some analysts speculated that up to 99% of creditors might sell once they received their share. But when repayments actually began, there was “no significant spike” in trading volume, according to CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju.

By Aug. 1, Arkham data showed Mt. Gox’s holdings had fallen by nearly 100,000 BTC, leaving around 46,000 BTC still under the trustee’s control.

Mt. Gox’s extended Bitcoin repayment deadline nears

On Oct. 10, 2024, Kobayashi announced that most repayments to verified creditors had been completed, though many were still pending due to incomplete procedures or processing issues.

With court approval, the repayment deadline was extended from Oct. 31, 2024, to Oct. 31, 2025, and the trustee urged remaining creditors to finalize their submissions through the Mt. Gox claims portal.

At the time of writing, Mt. Gox wallets still hold about 34,689 BTC worth roughly $3.9 billion, awaiting distribution.

In March 2025, the exchange began moving assets between its wallets, a likely step in preparing for further repayments ahead of the Halloween deadline.

Decentralized Compute Networks Will Democratize Global AI Access

2025-10-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

Opinion by: Gaurav Sharma, CEO of io.net

Artificial intelligence may be in its early days, but it has already delivered significant scientific and technological breakthroughs across the developed world. Unfortunately, these developments have come at a cost: the dangerous centralization of AI.

On Forbes’ 2025 list of the top 50 private AI companies, all are based in the developed world, with 80% in the US.

AI remains skewed toward well-capitalized tech giants in the developed world.

For many in emerging economies, the price of entry to the AI revolution is unreachable. We need to ensure innovation and AI development are accessible to the broadest range of projects.

The imbalance in AI access

At the heart of the problem lies access to compute. Training and deploying large AI models requires vast GPU power. Supply has not kept pace, driving the price for Nvidia’s H100 chips up to more than $30,000.

An ambitious AI research company might spend 80% or more of its funding on compute — resources that could otherwise go to R&D or talent. Well-funded tech giants may raise billions to secure them. The rest of the world cannot.

The consequences are far-reaching. AI-driven innovation risks becoming a monopoly technology, controlled by a handful of corporations and nations. Promising applications of AI in agriculture, education or healthcare in the developing economies may never materialize — not because of a lack of talent, but because of limited access to compute.

Geopolitically, the undersupply of compute is beginning to mirror oil or silicon. Nations without sovereign access to compute will be forced to import it, creating dependencies on countries that may not align with their national objectives and exposing importers to foreign energy and real estate markets. These dependencies threaten economic competitiveness and national security.

The dangers of centralizing AI influence

If access to compute remains concentrated in developed countries, so too will influence.

Frontier AI technology, from LLMs to diffusion models, will be shaped by the same perspectives, narrowing diversity and embedding systemic risks. Developing nations risk being locked out from contributing to or benefiting from the technology defining the global economy.

Centralization ensures disproportionate returns flow to those with privileged access, leaving behind smaller players, often those building locally relevant tools. Over time, barriers to competing in the AI market could become a destabilising oligopoly, freezing the developing world out of a key industrial shift. Concentrated infrastructure control has always produced distortions, and AI will be no different.

Balancing the scales with decentralized compute

The solution to the challenges of accessibility and centralization is surprisingly simple: compute marketplaces powered by blockchain. Like Uber unlocked idle cars and Airbnb unlocked spare rooms, decentralized compute marketplaces unlock underutilized hardware. The result is lower prices and a more diverse and resilient ecosystem of suppliers and consumers.

Related: Bitcoin network used to secure local GOP convention election results

Across the globe, millions of GPUs sit idle in data centers, enterprises, universities and homes. By pooling these GPUs in on-demand clusters through a blockchain, underutilized hardware is made available at a fraction of centralized compute costs. Startups in lower-income countries can afford to scale AI workloads, no longer shut out by industry leaders’ capital advantage.

Blockchain’s critical role

Without blockchain, this model would not be possible. Tokens are the coordination and trust layer, aligning incentives across decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs). Leading DePINs require compute suppliers to stake tokens to incentivize reliability, with penalties for downtime. Developers pay in tokens, enabling seamless settlement across borders.

For hardware providers, tokenized rewards create fairer economics: compensating compute owners based on usage, providing previously unavailable revenue without sacrificing their core purpose. For developers, access to cheaper compute incentivizes participation and innovation in AI. This creates a virtuous feedback loop — as more participants join the market for decentralized compute, compute becomes more affordable and abundant.

Addressing the challenges

Some critics have argued that decentralized compute isn’t as performant as hyperscalers, citing latency and quality concerns. The reality is quite different. DePINs deliver competitive performance across latency, concurrency and throughput. Techniques like smart workload routing, mesh networking and tokenized incentives for high availability help maintain performance and optimize it dynamically based on workload needs.

Additionally, certain DePINs have built transparent network explorers, enabling developers and investors to verify performance claims in real time. These mechanisms help make DePINs even more reliable and cost-effective than traditional providers.

DePINs are also more diverse than hyperscaler offerings. Over 13 million devices are online today, allowing developers to tap a broad spectrum of hardware and find the right tool for their AI projects, from high-performance cloud-grade GPUs to specialized edge devices.

A level playing field for AI

We have a narrow window to define the technological landscape for future generations. Many US and Chinese corporations may have taken the lead, but decentralized compute marketplaces offer a promising alternative. By lowering costs and widening access, startups, scaleups, researchers and enterprises globally can compete more equally. Emerging economies can build models for their own languages, healthcare systems, cultural beliefs and financial needs.

The question is not whether decentralization is necessary, but how to get developers worldwide onboarded to this opportunity, while simultaneously increasing the number of companies that list their excess compute on DePINs. Only by decentralizing compute can AI become truly accessible and serve as many people as possible, rather than just the entrenched oligopolies.

Opinion by: Gaurav Sharma, CEO of io.net.

Japan’s Mega Banks to Jointly Issue Yen-Pegged Stablecoin

2025-10-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

Three of Japan’s largest banks reportedly plan to jointly issue a yen-pegged stablecoin, contributing to the region’s growing adoption of crypto technology within its financial infrastructure.

If successful, the project could establish Japan’s first bank-backed stablecoin network under a unified framework

Cointelegraph reached out to MUFG, SMBC and Mizuho for comments, but had not received a response by publication.

How to Detect Market Manipulation in Altcoins Before They Crash

2025-10-20T13:14:20.501-07:00

Key takeaways

Unlike Bitcoin, many altcoins have low liquidity and limited oversight, making them prone to price manipulation and insider exploitation.
Sudden spikes in trading volume, large whale transfers to exchanges, token unlocks or social media hype often precede sharp declines.
Platforms such as Nansen, DEXTools and LunarCrush help detect abnormal wallet activity, fake liquidity and sentiment manipulation.
Researching fundamentals, diversifying portfolios, setting stop-losses and avoiding hype-driven channels are key to protecting your funds.

The altcoin market offers immense opportunities for those looking to invest in cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin (BTC). However, it’s also a hunting ground for manipulators who leave unsuspecting retail investors waiting for profits that never come, while they make off with the funds. Recognizing these tactics is essential for self-preservation.

This article explains the tactics and objectives of market manipulators. It helps you recognize warning signs of potential altcoin crashes, identify manipulative activities and understand how to protect your funds.

Market manipulation: Tactics, goals and risks

Market manipulation in crypto trading involves coordinated efforts to artificially influence prices and mislead traders about a token’s true value or demand. These strategies exploit the high volatility and limited oversight of altcoin markets. The main objectives include securing profits for insiders or providing exit opportunities for early investors.

Common manipulation tactics used in altcoins include:

Pump-and-dump schemes: Insiders coordinate to artificially inflate a token’s price, often through social media hype. When the price peaks, they sell their holdings, triggering a sharp decline and leaving late entrants with heavy losses.
Wash trading: Traders repeatedly buy and sell the same token to generate artificial trading activity. This creates a false impression of robust market demand and liquidity, luring others to buy the token at elevated prices.
Spoofing and layering: Traders submit large buy or sell orders with no intention of executing them. These deceptive orders distort market perception, suggesting stronger demand or supply than actually exists and misleading others into making poor trades.
Insider trading: Individuals with access to confidential information, such as planned exchange listings or token releases, trade before these announcements become public. This allows them to profit unfairly from price movements that others cannot anticipate.
Whale manipulation: Major holders, known as “whales,” trade substantial amounts of a token to trigger market reactions. Large purchases can fuel fear of missing out (FOMO), while sudden sales often cause panic, allowing whales to buy back at lower prices.

Five warning signs of altcoin market manipulation

Identifying red flags of market manipulation can help altcoin investors avoid sudden losses. Onchain and market data often provide early signals before a downturn. Here are some warning signs to watch for:

Sudden increases in trading volume: A rapid surge in activity without a clear reason could indicate coordinated buying intended to attract additional investors.
Whales transferring funds to exchanges: Large transfers from crypto wallets to exchanges, typically by whales, often suggest that major sell-offs could be on the way. This may indicate that insiders are preparing to liquidate.
Sharp price fluctuations in low-liquidity markets: Large price swings in tokens with limited trading volume may indicate deliberate manipulation by small groups or individual actors.
Upcoming token unlocks or vesting schedules: Upcoming token distributions increase the available supply and may be used by early investors or project teams to sell their holdings.
Questionable surges in social media activity: Fake hype, repetitive hashtags or sudden endorsements from influencers could signal coordinated promotional campaigns.

Did you know? Many “trending” coins on X or Telegram gain traction through automated bot activity rather than genuine investor interest.

Tools and techniques to detect market manipulation in altcoins

Detecting market manipulation in altcoins requires attentiveness and the right mix of analytical tools. From blockchain forensics to market scanners and social sentiment trackers, these tools help traders identify unusual patterns and deceptive behavior before losses occur:

Onchain analytics: Platforms such as Nansen, Glassnode and Arkham Intelligence monitor wallet transactions. They track significant fund movements to identify coordinated manipulation or insider activity.
Market scanners: Tools like CoinMarketCap’s liquidity metrics, DEXTools and CoinGecko alerts track real-time trading activity. They flag unusual trading volumes, sudden liquidity changes or price discrepancies across exchanges — all potential signs of fake volume or coordinated manipulation.
Social sentiment tools: Services such as LunarCrush and Santiment analyze public sentiment, keyword frequency and influencer mentions to detect artificial hype, coordinated campaigns or FOMO-driven market behavior.
Chart indicators: Technical indicators such as Relative Strength Index (RSI) divergence, sudden volume spikes and rising whale ratios can highlight abnormal buying or selling pressure, often signaling potential manipulation or coordinated activity.

Did you know? Telegram “pump-and-dump” groups often run like secret clubs, with paid entry tiers and “early alerts” for insiders.

Behavioral clues on social media

Manipulators often use social media to push their agenda and generate hype. Monitoring activity patterns on platforms such as X, Telegram or Reddit can help traders spot suspicious trends before they affect altcoin prices. Here are some behavioral clues to identify altcoin manipulation on social media:

Hype without substance: Repeated empty claims like “to the moon” or “next 100x” with no real evidence of project progress.
Anonymous influencer accounts: Promoting low-cap or obscure tokens while concealing the identity of those behind them.
Coordinated posts: A sudden wave of identical social media posts, threads or Telegram messages appearing just before sharp price movements.
Promote and delete: Some social media accounts flood platforms with false claims, then delete the posts later to boost visibility and erase evidence.

Case studies: When ignoring signals led to crashes

Throughout altcoin history, several early warning signs have been ignored, leading to severe losses. These red flags often included excessive social hype, large wallet movements or opaque token mechanics. Here are a few examples of such cases:

Example 1: LIBRA failure — In February 2025, Argentine President Javier Milei promoted a new memecoin that surged in value minutes after his post. However, within hours, several wallets dumped their holdings, crashing the price and causing heavy losses for retail investors. The promotional post was later deleted.
Example 2: Terra — In May 2022, the project collapsed when its algorithmic stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), failed to maintain its dollar peg. The system depended on an arbitrage mechanism linking UST and LUNA. As confidence eroded, UST lost its peg (falling toward $0.30 and below). Mass redemptions, reduced liquidity and a cascading death spiral led to the collapse of both UST and LUNA.

These cases reinforce how hype and manipulated token mechanics eventually result in dumping.

Did you know? Some developers now fake audits or use AI-generated team photos to appear credible before vanishing.

How to protect yourself as an investor

In the crypto market, vigilance and due diligence are your best safeguards against manipulation and deceit. Sound financial habits can reduce your exposure to fraud. Here are some tips on how to protect yourself as an investor:

Verify project fundamentals: Always review the team, tokenomics and development roadmap before investing.
Avoid chasing parabolic price moves: Sudden surges often signal coordinated price inflation rather than organic growth based on the project’s fundamentals.
Diversify your portfolio: Spread your holdings across multiple assets to reduce the impact of any single token’s decline.
Set stop-loss and take-profit limits: Use these tools to lock in profits and minimize potential losses during market volatility.
Follow credible sources: Rely on trusted news outlets, data analytics platforms and verified discussion forums.
Ignore FOMO-driven chatter: Avoid Telegram or X groups promoting “next 100x gems” without credible evidence or transparency.

Regulatory and industry efforts to curb altcoins manipulation

Regulators and crypto exchanges are strengthening oversight worldwide to curb market manipulation. Leading exchanges have implemented advanced monitoring systems to detect wash trading, spoofing and coordinated order tampering. Coinbase, for example, uses AI- and machine learning-powered trade surveillance and real-time monitoring to identify front-running and similar activities.

On the regulatory front, frameworks such as the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) law and the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement actions have introduced greater order to the crypto market. The Financial Action Task Force has also established clearer standards for transparency and accountability.

These stricter regulations are pushing projects and exchanges to adopt robust Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures and internal transaction checks. Such measures by regulators and exchanges have strengthened investor protections and fostered greater confidence in the market.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Crypto Market Cap Falls by $230B as Fear Index Hits April Lows

2025-10-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

The crypto market’s Fear & Greed Index flipped sharply to “fear” this week, falling to levels last seen in April, as a market sell-off erased over $230 billion in a single day.

On Friday, CoinMarketCap’s Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which tracks volatility, market momentum, social media trends and dominance metrics, fell to a low of 28, which is within the “fear” category and is inching closer to “extreme fear.”

CoinMarketCap data showed that on Friday, the total crypto market capitalization dropped to about $3.54 trillion, a 6% drop from $3.78 trillion the previous day. This wiped out over $230 billion in value from the sector, marking one of the sharpest single-day declines in months.

The Fear & Greed Index for traditional assets also fell to 22, signaling extreme fear in the market, following US stocks closing lower on Thursday as the credit market turmoil, regional banks’ exposure to bad loans and US-China trade tensions spread jitters on Wall Street.

Crypto Fear & Greed Index chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Top crypto assets continue to bleed

Data shows that major crypto assets extended their declines in the last 24 hours as the broader market correction deepened.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell nearly 6% to about $105,000, while Ether (ETH) dropped almost 8% to about $3,700. Among large-cap altcoins, BNB (BNB) led losses with a nearly 12% decline, followed by Chainlink (LINK) with an 11% drop and Cardano (ADA), which dropped 9%.

Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP) also tumbled by over 7%, extending a week-long decline that erased double-digit gains accumulated earlier this month.

On average, the largest non-stablecoin crypto assets declined by about 8%–9% over the last 24 hours.

Crypto market cap and volume. Source: CoinMarketCap

While last week’s market crash led to nearly $20 billion in liquidations, this week’s downturn saw significantly lower activity.

On Friday, data from CoinGlass showed that about $556 million worth of leveraged positions were wiped out across exchanges, a tiny fraction of last week’s figure.

From this amount, about $451 million came from long positions, while $105 million came from short liquidations.

Total liquidation amounts per exchange. Source: CoinGlass

Related: Gold market cap soars to $30T, dwarfing Bitcoin and tech giants

NFTs, Memecoins and ETFs react to market sell-off

Apart from top cryptocurrencies, other assets like memecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were also affected by the recent crash.

Memecoins, which showed small signs of recovery this week, dropped 33% in 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. Top memecoin assets experienced declines of 9%–11% over the last 24 hours, while trading volumes remained relatively high, at nearly $10 billion.

The NFT sector, which also rebounded from a $1.2 billion wipeout last week, erased its gains and dropped below a $5 billion valuation, a level last seen in July. CoinGecko data showed that a majority of blue-chip collections dropped double-digit percentages in the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile, spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs reacted to the crash. On Thursday, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded outflows of over $536 million, while spot Ether ETFs showed daily net outflows of more than $56 million.

طلب الإعفاء من الخدمة العسكرية بالمغرب 2025: جميع الشروط، الوثائق، والخطوات بالتفصيل

2025-05-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

طلب الإعفاء من الخدمة العسكرية بالمغرب 2025: جميع الشروط، الوثائق، والخطوات بالتفصيل

مع انطلاق عملية الإحصاء الخاص بالخدمة العسكرية بالمغرب لسنة 2025، يتساءل العديد من الشباب والشابات عن كيفية طلب الإعفاء من التجنيد الإجباري لأسباب صحية، اجتماعية أو دراسية. إليك دليل شامل خطوة بخطوة لتقديم طلب الإعفاء بطريقة صحيحة وفعّالة.

ما هو الإعفاء من الخدمة العسكرية؟ ❌

الإعفاء هو إجراء قانوني يسمح لبعض المواطنين المغاربة بعدم أداء الخدمة العسكرية الإلزامية، إما بصفة مؤقتة أو نهائية، حسب الظروف الخاصة التي تثبتها اللجنة الإقليمية المختصة.

الفئات المستفيدة من الإعفاء 🧾

يمكن طلب الإعفاء في الحالات التالية:

العجز البدني أو الصحي (مثل الأمراض المزمنة أو الإعاقات).
إعالة الأسرة (إذا كنت العائل الوحيد).
متابعة الدراسة (داخل أو خارج المغرب).
وجود أخ/أخت في الخدمة العسكرية.
النساء المتزوجات أو الحاضنات لأطفال.
بعض المناصب العليا (النواب، أعضاء الحكومة...).

شروط تقديم طلب الإعفاء 2025 🗓️

تعبئة استمارة الإحصاء عبر الموقع الرسمي:
www.tajnid.ma
تقديم طلب الإعفاء خلال 20 يومًا من تاريخ تعبئة الاستمارة.

الوثائق المطلوبة حسب سبب الإعفاء 📑

الإعفاء الصحي: شهادة طبية مفصلة من طبيب مختص.
إعالة الأسرة: شهادة عائلية + تصريح بالشرف.
متابعة الدراسة: شهادة تسجيل أو متابعة الدراسة.
وجود أخ/أخت في الخدمة: شهادة الخدمة العسكرية للأخ/الأخت.
النساء المتزوجات: عقد الزواج + شهادة الحضانة إن وُجدت.

كيفية تقديم الطلب؟ ✍️

الدخول إلى موقع الإحصاء: www.tajnid.ma
تجهيز الوثائق حسب السبب.
تقديم الملف إلى السلطة المحلية شخصيًا.
انتظار قرار اللجنة المختصة.

ماذا يحدث إذا تم رفض الطلب؟ ❓

يحق لك تقديم طعن مرفق بوثائق جديدة خلال الآجال القانونية، وستقوم اللجنة بإعادة دراسة الملف.

أسئلة شائعة حول الإعفاء من التجنيد بالمغرب ℹ️

هل يمكن تقديم الطلب إلكترونيًا بالكامل؟
لا، فقط استمارة الإحصاء يتم ملؤها إلكترونيًا، أما ملف الإعفاء فيتم تقديمه حضورياً.

هل الطلبة بالخارج معفيون؟
ليس تلقائيًا، يجب تقديم شهادة متابعة الدراسة بالخارج عبر العائلة.

هل يمكن التطوع وطلب الإعفاء لاحقًا؟
نعم، في حال وجود طارئ صحي أو اجتماعي قبل الالتحاق.

خلاصة ✨

الخدمة العسكرية واجب وطني، لكن القانون المغربي يوفر آليات مرنة للإعفاء في حالات خاصة. إذا كنت ترى أنك تستحق الإعفاء، احرص على جمع الوثائق اللازمة واحترام الآجال لضمان قبول طلبك.

للمزيد من المعلومات الرسمية:
زوروا الموقع www.tajnid.ma