Category: Business

Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) is working with Bybit, one of the largest crypto trading platforms, to explore ways to tokenize, custody and distribute assets such as U.S. public and pre-IPO stocks, a person familiar with the plans told CoinDesk.

The talks, which are ongoing, do not involve any sort of stake acquisition or similar deal for Bybit to enter the U.S., said the person, who asked to remain anonymous because they are directly involved in the discussions, dismissing a report of an investment publicized last month.

It makes sense for Bybit to partner with an American company, the person said, because the U.S. is home to certain assets that global users want. Bybit is international, while Coinbase is U.S.-focused.

Working together, the two can bring U.S. assets to a wider market in, for example, Asia, according to the person. Within five years, tokenization will bring any asset to users globally through a single app.

“Even if Coinbase becomes a super app in the U.S., they are still only in the U.S,” the person said.

The two companies’ explorations into tokenized stocks come as other market participants explore similar link-ups. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, in March announced it was taking a stake in crypto exchange OKX. Just last week, Deutsche Boerse, made a $200 million strategic investment into Kraken.

Bybit’s plan to enter the U.S. market does involve a local partner, but it’s not Coinbase, the person said.

The new U.S.-focused joint venture, said to be spearheaded by former Bybit co-CEO Helen Liu, will involve an unidentified “local partner who is going to provide license and compliance.” Bybit will to provide tech, product and liquidity.

Bybit and Coinbase both declined to comment.

Continuing its weekly purchases, Strategy completed its weekly Bitcoin ($BTC) purchase and announced that it bought 34,164 $BTC last week.

Accordingly, Strategy purchased 34,164 $BTC, worth $2.54 billion, at an average price of $74,395.

Strategy founder Michael Saylor announced the news via a post on his X account.

“Strategy purchased 34,164 $BTC for approximately $2.54 billion, at approximately $74,395 per Bitcoin, and achieved a 9.5% $BTC return by YTD 2026.”

As of April 19, 2026, we hold 815,061 $BTC, purchased for approximately $61.56 billion at approximately $75,527 per Bitcoin.

This purchase is one of the largest the company has made recently, and with this latest acquisition, the amount of Bitcoin held by the company has exceeded 800,000 $BTC.

Based on Bitcoin’s fixed supply, the amount held by the company represents more than 3.8% of the final total of 21 million, and at current prices, this translates to a loss of approximately $400 million.

It was also stated that the recent purchases were made using proceeds from sales of Class A common shares (MSTR) and perpetual Stretch preferred shares (STRC) at market price.

Michael Saylor once again hinted at the company’s latest purchase. This time, Saylor gave his usual Sunday hint, updating Strategy’s Bitcoin purchase announcement by saying, “Think bigger.” This announcement suggested a larger purchase than the previous week’s 13,927 $BTC.

*This is not investment advice.

Digital asset investment products pulled in $1.4 billion last week, their strongest weekly haul since January and the third consecutive week of positive flows, according to CoinShares’ new report.

The result was driven by recovering risk sentiment tied to US-Iran ceasefire extension talks and Bitcoin’s mid-week move above $76,000, its highest level since February, the report notes.

Total assets under management reached $155 billion, with weekly flows representing 0.91% of AUM, the highest weekly intensity recorded year-to-date.

March CPI data, which came in at 3.3% year-on-year with a benign core reading of 2.6%, appeared to have little dampening effect on investor appetite.

Bitcoin and Ethereum led inflows, as altcoins diverged

Bitcoin drew $1.116 billion in inflows, lifting year-to-date totals to $3.1 billion, as its break above $76,000 marked a meaningful technical development following two months of range-bound trading.

Short-Bitcoin products saw just $1.4 million in inflows, indicating limited but residual hedging demand.

Ethereum attracted $328 million, its best weekly performance since January, bringing year-to-date flows to $197 million.

XRP and Solana recorded outflows of $56 million and $2.3 million, respectively, even as Bitcoin and Ethereum surged.

Regional flows show mixed signals

The regional breakdown is uneven. The US dominated with $1.5 billion in inflows and Germany chipped in $28 million, but Switzerland saw $138 million in outflows, the largest Swiss exit since November.

Market updates

Bitcoin traded at $75,249 at press time, up about 6% over the past seven days, while Ethereum gained more than 5% over the same period to top $2,300, per CoinGecko. Total crypto market capitalization stood at $2.6 trillion.

BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), the largest Ethereum-focused digital asset treasury firm, sped up its crypto purchase pace as chairman Tom Lee sees growing signs of the crypto “mini-winter” ending.

The firm reported Monday it acquired 101,627 ether ($ETH) last week, its largest weekly haul since December 15. The purchase, worth roughly over $230 million at current $ETH prices, lifted BitMine’s total holdings to 4.97 million $ETH.

The move comes as most digital asset treasuries — except Michael Saylor’s bitcoin-focused Strategy (MSTR) — have slowed or halted buying in recent months. BitMine remains among the last large-scale buyers of ether-focused treasuries, continuing to provide a steady source of demand for $ETH.

BitMine’s total crypto and cash holdings stand at $12.9 billion. In addition to its $ETH treasury, the firm holds 199 bitcoin, $1.12 billion in cash and equity stakes including investments in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings.

Chairman Thomas Lee said the firm sees signs that the recent downturn is nearing an end, pointing to $ETH’s rebound and broader market dynamics.

“Bitmine has maintained the increased pace of $ETH buys in each of the past four weeks, as our base case $ETH is in the final stages of the ‘mini-crypto winter,’” Lee said.

He added that ether has risen sharply from its early February lows and has outperformed equities since the start of the Iran conflict, supported by demand tied to tokenization and AI-related use cases.

BitMine has also continued expanding its staking operations. The firm has staked more than 3.3 million $ETH, or about two-third of its holdings, generating roughly $221 million in annualized revenue.

South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone, have announced that they have added the KernelDAO (KERNEL) token to their delisting watchlist. This decision follows a joint review process aimed at enhancing investor protection.

Upbit stated in its announcement that this decision was based on two main reasons. The first is a security incident or potential attack risk that occurred in the wallets or distributed ledger infrastructure managed by the project and has not yet been fully resolved.

The second reason was that a comprehensive review of the project’s overall business model, sustainability, and development process revealed potential risks for users.

Exchanges emphasized that assets placed on the watchlist will be subject to stricter scrutiny for a specified period. During this process, criteria such as the project’s level of transparency, technical advancements, and community communication will be closely monitored. It was stated that if the necessary improvements are not made as a result of the review, the KERNEL token could be completely delisted.

Experts say that these coordinated steps by major stock exchanges in South Korea increase market discipline and aim to protect investors against risky projects. In particular, recent increases in security concerns and discussions about project sustainability have led stock exchanges to tighten their listing policies.

*This is not investment advice.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR) added 34,164 bitcoin to its treasury over the past week at an average price of about $74,395 per coin, for a total cost of roughly $2.54 billion, according to a Monday filing.

The purchase brings the company’s total holdings to 815,061 $BTC, acquired for approximately $61.56 billion at an average cost basis of $75,527. With $BTC currently trading at around $75,000, Strategy’s stash is currently break even. Strategy is the world’s largest publicly-listed bitcoin holder. It began acquiring $BTC as a balance sheet asset in 2020.

Last week’s acquisitions were funded by $2.2 million raised through sales of the company’s preferred stock, Stretch (STRC), and $366 million from common stock offerings.

MSTR shares are down more than 2.5% in pre-market trading.

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, continues to expand its presence in the UK.

At this point, Coinbase recently announced the launch of its cryptocurrency-backed lending service in the UK.

Coinbase stated in a press release that users in the UK can borrow in $USDC using Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), and cbETH as collateral.

Users can borrow $USDC by offering $BTC, $ETH, or cbETH as collateral. Accordingly, Coinbase allows users to borrow up to $5 million in $USDC in exchange for other crypto assets through Morpho on Base.

The service is offered through Morpho, an open-source lending protocol built on the Base network.

According to the announcement, users can access the borrowing feature in the Coinbase app’s “Borrow” section by selecting an asset as collateral and specifying the amount of $USDC they wish to borrow. Morpho then transfers the loan to the user’s Coinbase account within seconds, where it can be converted to British pounds or transferred.

According to the statement, there is no fixed repayment schedule, and borrowers can repay their loans at any time.

“…There is no fixed repayment schedule, and users will always have the flexibility to choose when they repay their loans.”

Coinbase’s UK lending product service launched a year after it introduced crypto-backed loans in the US in January 2025. The initial US offering allowed customers to borrow up to $100,000 (currently $5 million) in $USDC using Bitcoin as collateral. This service is available across the US, excluding New York. Starting with Bitcoin, the lending service has now expanded to include Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), and Litecoin (LTC).

Coinbase also added that it plans to expand access to cryptocurrency-backed loans to more countries in the near future.

*This is not investment advice.