Category: Business

South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb is preparing to list yet another digital asset. According to the official announcement, Venice Token ($VVV) will begin trading on the Korean won (KRW) market.

According to information shared by the exchange, deposit and withdrawal operations for the $VVV token will be activated within one hour of the announcement. Trading in the $VVV/KRW pair will begin on April 1, 2026, at 3:00 PM.

The initial reference price for the token has been set at 9,840 KRW, and deposits will require 200 block confirmations. It was also emphasized that only transfers made through the Base network will be supported, and transactions from other networks will not be accepted.

The Venice Token project stands out as a privacy-focused artificial intelligence platform. The platform aims to provide AI services without storing user data on servers, and was developed as an alternative to the data collection, censorship, and fee issues inherent in centralized systems. The $VVV token functions as a utility token within the platform for staking and the use of various services.

On the other hand, Bithumb announced that the standard trading restrictions applied to new listings will also apply to $VVV. Accordingly, buy orders will be restricted for the first 5 minutes after trading begins.

Additionally, sell orders below or above the designated reference price (10% or 100%) will not be allowed during the first 5 minutes. Only limit orders will be permitted during the first two hours.

*This is not investment advice.

A new analysis of Bitcoin price movements in the cryptocurrency market suggests that the bottom of the current cycle could occur in the last quarter of the year.

According to an assessment shared by Joao Wedson, CEO of data analytics company Alphractal, Bitcoin’s latest peak occurred 534 days after the halving.

Wedson emphasized that this period is the shortest peak formation period to date, falling below the 546-day period recorded in the previous cycle. According to the analyst, the increasing shortening of peak formation periods in Bitcoin cycles is noteworthy, and this provides important clues about the timing of bottom formation.

Analysis based on historical data predicts that the bottom in the current cycle could occur between 912 and 922 days after the halving. This timeframe corresponds to late September and early October in calendar terms. Wedson stated that this prediction is consistent with price behavior and market dynamics observed in past cycles.

Experts point out that such projections are not definitive and that macroeconomic developments, regulations, and investor behavior continue to be decisive factors influencing prices. Nevertheless, analyses based on halving cycles remain an important reference point for long-term investors.

Market participants continue to closely monitor Bitcoin’s performance in the coming months.

*This is not investment advice.

Bitcoin at $67,500 is being sold as a buying opportunity. The on-chain data says it’s not one yet — but it’s getting closer to becoming one.

CryptoQuant data shows bitcoin’s realized price, the average cost basis of all coins on the network weighted by their last transaction, sitting at $54,286. Spot trades at $68,774 on the same chart. That puts the gap at roughly $14,500, or about 21% above realized.

In the 2022 bear market, the signal that marked the actual bottom was spot falling below realized price. Bitcoin traded under its aggregate cost basis from June through October 2022, and the deepest point of that dip, when spot was roughly 15% below realized, coincided almost exactly with the cycle low near $15,500.

The early 2020 COVID crash produced a similar breach. Both were genuine accumulation zones because the entire network was underwater on average. Buying when the market is collectively at a loss has historically been one of the most reliable entry signals in bitcoin’s history.

The current setup is not that. A 21% premium to realized price means the average holder is still sitting on a profit. That is a meaningful buffer. For spot to reach realized price from here, bitcoin would need to fall to approximately $54,000, another 20% decline from current levels.

What is notable is how fast the gap has been closing. In late 2024, when bitcoin was trading above $119,000, the premium to realized price was roughly 120%. That has compressed to 21% in about 15 months, one of the fastest approaches to the realized price line outside of outright crashes.

CryptoQuant analyst Oinonen flagged Monday that bitcoin has entered what they describe as an “accumulation zone,” drawing a comparison to the 2022 bottom. But the framing is premature.

The 2022 accumulation zone, as visible on CryptoQuant’s own chart, was defined by spot trading at or below realized price. The box they draw around current price action captures a range where spot remains well above the metric that’s supposed to define the zone.

Other on-chain signals reinforce the incomplete-reset read. The Coinbase Premium Index has returned to negative territory, indicating weakening institutional demand on the venue most associated with U.S. buyer flows.

None of this means bitcoin can’t rally from here. The $65,000-$70,000 range has held through five weeks of war escalations, and ETF inflows of over $1 billion in March suggest a buyer base that isn’t waiting for on-chain models to give the all-clear.

But that test hasn’t happened, and the on-chain evidence suggests the market hasn’t yet experienced the kind of pain that historically marks the bottom.

Hong Kong has missed its own March timeline for HKD stablecoin licensing, with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) yet to approve any issuers despite public signals that the rollout would begin last month.

At Consensus Hong Kong in February, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said licenses would begin to be issued in March as part of the city’s push to position itself as a regulated hub for stablecoins and tokenized finance. The lack of approvals so far pushes that timeline into April and raises questions about how quickly the framework will move from policy to implementation.

“In giving our licenses, we ensure that licensees have novel use cases, a credible and sustainable business model and strong regulatory compliance capabilities,” he said at CoinDesk’s Hong Kong conference.

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported in March that HSBC and a joint venture between Standard Chartered and Animoca were expected to be some of the first recipients of stablecoin licenses.

HSBC and Standard Chartered are two of the city’s note-issuing banks, a status that ties them directly to the Hong Kong dollar’s issuance framework and underscores how closely the stablecoin regime is being linked to existing monetary infrastructure.

This system that dates back to 1846, when private banks began issuing currency backed by silver deposits in the absence of a colonial central bank.

Today, each note-issuing bank deposits U.S. dollars with the government’s Exchange Fund at the fixed rate of HK$7.80 per dollar and receives Certificates of Indebtedness in return, against which it prints banknotes.

HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue drew the parallel in a December 2023 blog post.

Pre-1935 banknotes issued by commercial banks in exchange for deposited silver were a form of “private money,” Yue wrote, and stablecoins function as their blockchain-based equivalent — tokens with stable value that can serve as a medium of exchange on-chain.

An HKMA spokesperson would not give a reason for the delay.

“The HKMA is actively taking forward the licensing matter and will announce further details in due course,” a spokesperson told CoinDesk.

Quantum computers capable of breaking modern cryptography may require far fewer qubits than previously believed, according to new research from the California Institute of Technology.

In the study published Monday, Caltech worked with Pasadena-based Oratomic, a quantum computing startup founded by Caltech researchers, to develop a new neutral-atom system in which individual atoms are trapped and controlled with lasers to act as qubits. Doing so could allow a fault-tolerant quantum computer to run Shor’s algorithm, which could derive private keys from the public keys used in Bitcoin’s elliptic-curve cryptography, with as few as 10,000 reconfigurable atomic qubits.

Oratomic co-founder and CEO Dolev Bluvstein, a visiting associate in physics at Caltech, said advances in quantum computing are accelerating the timeline for practical machines and increasing pressure to migrate to quantum-resistant cryptography.

“People are used to quantum computers always being 10 years away,” Bluvstein told Decrypt. “But when you look at where we were a little over ten years ago, the best estimates of what would be required for Shor’s algorithm were one billion qubits at a time when the best systems we had in the lab were roughly five qubits.”

Today’s most common error-correction systems often require about 1,000 physical qubits to create a single reliable, logical qubit, the error-corrected unit used to perform calculations. That overhead has helped push estimates for practical fault-tolerant systems into the million-qubit range, slowing progress toward machines capable of running algorithms that could threaten RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography used by Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Bluvstein noted that current lab systems are already approaching—and in some cases exceeding—6,000 physical qubits. In other words, the cryptography risk may be much sooner than experts previously expected.

“You can really see the system size and controllability increasing over time as the required system size goes down,” he said.

In September, Caltech researchers revealed a neutral-atom quantum computer operating 6,100 qubits with 99.98% accuracy and 13-second coherence times. It was a milestone toward error-corrected quantum machines that also renewed concerns about future threats to Bitcoin from Shor’s algorithm.

The threat has prompted governments and technology firms to begin migrating to post-quantum cryptography, or encryption designed to withstand quantum attacks. Researchers, however, caution that major engineering challenges remain, including scaling quantum systems while maintaining extremely low error rates.

“Just having 10,000 physical qubits is something that could happen within a year,” Bluvstein said. “But that’s really not the goalpost people think it is. It’s not like when you design a computer, you just put the transistors on the chip, wash your hands, and say you’re done. It’s a highly non-trivial, extremely complicated task to actually go and build one of these.”

Despite this, Bluvstein said a practical quantum computer could emerge before the end of the decade.

The news comes as Google researchers reported new findings on Tuesday, suggesting future quantum computers could break elliptic curve cryptography with fewer resources than previously thought. That added urgency to calls for a transition to post-quantum cryptography before such machines become viable.

Although the cryptocurrency industry has increasingly begun to focus on quantum risk, Bluvstein said that risk extends far beyond blockchain networks and requires changes across much of the modern digital world.

“I think the whole world’s digital infrastructure. It’s not just blockchain. It’s internet of things devices, internet communication, routers, satellites,” he said. “It spans the entire global digital infrastructure, and it’s complicated.”

Alchemy Pay has added support for Reserve Protocol’s $RSR on its on-ramp, a move the company described as bringing “crypto portfolios” into a single token experience. In practical terms, the integration is meant to let users buy $RSR with local payment methods through Alchemy Pay’s ramp service, lowering the friction that usually comes with moving from traditional money into crypto. Alchemy Pay’s own infrastructure is built around on and off-ramp services and supports integration through page redirect, API, and SDK tools, while its ramp products are designed to connect users to broader fiat payment options.

The announcement fits neatly with Reserve Protocol’s broader pitch. Reserve describes its system as a decentralized platform for creating Decentralized Token Folios, or DTFs, which are essentially tokenized baskets of assets that can be redeemed onchain and accessed through a single token. The protocol has positioned DTFs as a DeFi version of an ETF, with the idea that users can buy exposure to a theme, strategy, or basket of assets without having to manually assemble every position themselves. Reserve also says $RSR is its governance and utility token, intended to align incentives around the long-term health of the protocol.

That framing helps explain why this partnership matters. If a user wants exposure to Reserve’s ecosystem, the hardest part is often not understanding the idea, but getting in through a payment method that feels familiar. Alchemy Pay’s support for local payment methods could make that process feel closer to a standard fintech checkout than a typical crypto exchange flow. That is an inference based on how Alchemy Pay presents its ramp products and how Reserve presents DTFs, but it is exactly the kind of bridge crypto projects are trying to build as they chase broader adoption.

Simplifying Access to Digital Assets

Reserve has been pushing the DTF narrative for some time. In its own explanation, the protocol says DTFs are meant to let users “just buy the haystack,” a reference to the idea of buying a diversified basket instead of searching for a single winner. Reserve says DTFs can track themes such as AI, DePIN, DeFi, GameFi, memecoins, and other sectors, while its ecosystem is built around permissionless creation and governance. The company also says its protocol has been deployed on Ethereum mainnet, Base, and Arbitrum One, showing that the project is not merely conceptual but already active across major chains.

For Alchemy Pay, the addition of $RSR also continues a pattern of expanding token coverage through its ramp rails. The company has repeatedly positioned itself as a fiat-to-crypto gateway designed to simplify access to digital assets by working with cards, mobile wallets, and local bank transfer options across multiple currencies. Adding Reserve’s token into that flow gives Alchemy Pay another way to present its service as more than a standard on-ramp. Instead, it is increasingly acting as an access layer for emerging token ecosystems that want mainstream users to get in with as little friction as possible.

The bigger picture is that this is less about a single token and more about how crypto products are being packaged for everyday users. Reserve is trying to make token baskets feel simple, while Alchemy Pay is trying to make the entry point feel familiar. Put together, the two projects are chasing the same outcome from different sides of the funnel: making decentralized finance easier to reach without forcing users to learn every technical step along the way. In a market where usability often matters as much as innovation, that kind of integration can be just as important as any headline-grabbing launch.

A top U.S. central banker sounded a stark warning about the risks posed by stablecoins on Tuesday, saying that even after the passage of landmark stablecoin legislation, gaps in oversight could leave the financial system vulnerable to stress and instability.

Federal Reserve Governor Michael S. Barr cautioned that although the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for United States Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act) established a first‑of‑its‑kind regulatory framework for dollar‑linked stablecoins, much work remains to fully mitigate systemic risks.

Although it is a step forward, the new rules have yet to eliminate a lot of the risks. When stablecoins fail to take root, they can become unstable without proper discipline and oversight, he said.

Congress introduced the GENIUS Act to put order and predictability in the rapidly growing stablecoin industry. It sets the parameters for how such digital assets must be issued and backed, thereby providing the industry with far greater protection.

Barr conceded that the law could facilitate innovation and make stablecoins more common. But he said that history has shown what can happen when private cash is created without adequate safeguards.

“Stablecoins will be stable only if they can be reliably and promptly redeemed at par in a wide range of conditions, including during stress in the market that can put pressure on the value of otherwise liquid government debt and during episodes of strain on the individual issuer or its related entities,” Barr said.

Why stablecoins could still be risky

Stablecoins are guaranteed to maintain a stable value, usually pegged to the U.S. dollar. But for that to work, the companies behind them need enough good assets—cash and government bonds, etc.—to back every coin they are issuing.

Barr stressed that stability depends on one thing: customers can redeem their stablecoins for real dollars at any time during a financial crisis. And if that trust erodes, everyone can withdraw all their money at once in what is known as a “run.” And it gets even worse, because those issuing the coin try to boost financial profits by taking on the riskiest assets.

That may result in higher stock losses and a worse system if they are unstable and are hard to sell. Barr said reserve assets should be secure and liquid. Well, stablecoins can still go bad, and their value quickly disappears in the process, harming not only our wallets but the rest of society if you lose them.

At the same time, he also admitted, in a very different way, that the value of stablecoins could be misused, be harmful to businesses and legal businesses, and that there is a need to ensure people have a clear understanding and to protect U.S. currency.

Why regulation doesn’t always match reality

Barr’s warning highlights a bigger point: passing laws is only part of the solution. For stablecoins to be truly secure, regulators, banks, and state agencies must collaborate to implement and enforce them efficiently.

The CLARITY Act is based on the existing stablecoin laws. In July 2025, the GENIUS Act, signed into law by President Trump, included a regulation for dollar-backed payment stablecoins.

The GENIUS Act requires issuers to maintain fully backed liquid pools. The required reserve assets are physical currency and short-term government bills. To maintain investors’ trust in issuers, they are required to disclose all balances with their reserves every month.

Barr said, though, that there are still gaps that need to be filled. For instance, as stablecoin issuers are evaluated, there will need to be coordination among the various financial bodies to monitor and maintain compliance with government regulations; for that matter, all of these actors must coordinate with each other, and such coordination is critical. So without that, risks could slip through the cracks and get lost.

The same concerns also apply to those trying to regulate digital assets. Lawmakers are still struggling to come together to craft new proposals, such as the Clarity Act, which more broadly guides industry regulation of cryptocurrencies. Stablecoin risks could be one of the main reasons things are cooling down.

Previously, Barr had predicted that the GENIUS Act could reduce the risk of sudden market panic to the point of strict regulation. Still, he believes strong oversight is needed to achieve that.

Since its initial explosive debut, Midnight is about to undergo its first significant technical test. The context is crucial because the asset is now in stabilization rather than price discovery. The price has since cooled off considerably and retraced into the $0.04-$0.05 zone, following a strong launch-driven rally that propelled $NIGHT toward the $0.10-$0.11 range.

We are currently witnessing a shift from expansion driven by hype to a more structured market phase. Candles have tightened, volatility has decreased and the asset is starting to respect horizontal levels and moving averages.

$NIGHT is currently pushing into its first significant resistance cluster, which is located between $0.053 and $0.055. This zone is a technically significant barrier because it coincides with previous rejection levels and short-term moving averages.

Buyers are still there, as evidenced by the recent bounce, but it is unclear if they have enough strength to take back control, or whether this is just another lower high in an impending downtrend. Volume conveys conflicting information. As is common following a launch spike, the initial spike in participation has significantly decreased.

Midnight not suffocating Cardano

As of right now, its influence on the Cardano ecosystem is minimal. Although the narrative presents Midnight as a privacy-focused extension or complementary layer within the Cardano network, there is not any concrete proof that it is currently significantly altering Cardano’s larger market dynamics — at least not based on price or on-chain activity.

Early-stage tokens seldom have an instantaneous impact on the entire ecosystem, unless they are consistently adopted and useful. Instead of acting as a catalyst for Cardano, Midnight is currently acting more like a stand-alone speculative asset. Investors can easily understand this stage.

A recovery toward higher levels is possible if $NIGHT breaks and holds above the $0.055-$0.06 resistance — with increasing volume. A return to consolidation, or even a lower range, is likely if it fails here as the structure is still weak.

Shiba Inu’s volatility moving forward

Shiba Inu is subtly preparing for an increase in volatility, which could result in a short-term squeeze of about 16%. However, the context of the move is more important than the actual number.

For months, $SHIB has been in a distinct downtrend, characterized by steadily declining highs and ongoing pressure from declining moving averages. The price action has been structurally weak. The 50-day and 100-day averages, which continue to serve as dynamic resistance, are among the important trend indicators that the asset is still trading below. Despite recent stabilization, this maintains the overall bias: pessimism.

But the compression has altered. In recent weeks, $SHIB has developed a tightening structure with rising local support, as evidenced by higher lows, while upside attempts are frequently capped. This results in a traditional squeeze setup: a market that is essentially coiling, decreasing volatility and a narrowing price range.

Technically speaking, a move toward the $0.0000068-$0.0000070 region — which roughly corresponds with that 16% upside projection — is made possible by a breakout above the immediate resistance zone surrounding recent highs. Additionally, this region aligns with the subsequent resistance cluster created by earlier moving averages and consolidation zones.

Indicators of momentum show this shift. Selling pressure appears to be waning, but it is still present, as the RSI is gradually returning from oversold territory and heading toward neutral. The idea that the current structure is preparatory rather than impulsive is reinforced by the comparatively low volume.

Participation is necessary for a squeeze. This arrangement can just as easily resolve to the downside, maintaining the dominant trend in the absence of a significant increase in inflows or wider market support. Because of the fragility of the ascending support line, a breakdown below it would invalidate the compression thesis and probably cause $SHIB to return to its lower range.

Ethereum faces negative signs

Although it might not have the same significance as a full 50/200-day crossover, Ethereum is getting close to what could be called a mini-death cross, and the implications are still negative, given the state of the market.

The shorter-term averages (probably the 20 and 50 EMA) are rolling over and converging downward on the chart, while $ETH is still stuck below its important moving averages. Short-term momentum is being weakened by this compression and downward alignment.

The location of the crossover is just as problematic as the crossover itself. Ethereum continues to trade significantly below its declining 100 and 200-day moving averages. This increases the significance of any bearish crossover in the short-term structure since it takes place within a larger downtrend.

$ETH recently made an attempt at a comeback but was unable to maintain momentum above local resistance, creating a lower high. Though it is comparatively shallow and vulnerable, the current structure exhibits a rising support trendline from recent lows. The mini-death cross might serve as confirmation rather than merely a warning if that support breaks, paving the way for a retest of the $1,800-$1,900 range.

Strong accumulation is not indicated by volume either. The lack of conviction in the recovery effort suggests that buyers are still cautious and primarily reactive rather than proactive.

However, this is not a scenario where a breakdown is certain. The mini-death cross will turn into a failed signal if Ethereum is able to recover the short-term moving averages and turn them back into support. This setup has the potential to spur upside through short covering.

Solana is holding a key range while traders watch for the next clear move. At the same time, derivatives data shows fresh long interest building after the latest drop.

Solana Holds Between $80 and $95 as Higher Time Frame Levels Stay in Focus

Solana remained locked between about $80 and $95 on the three day chart, according to a chart shared by Daan Crypto Trades on X.

At the time of the post, $SOL traded near $82.71 against Tether on Binance. The chart showed price moving sideways after a sharp drop earlier this year, with repeated reactions at support near the low $80s and resistance near $95.

$SOL/$USDT 3D Chart: Source: TradingView,Daan Crypto Trades on X

The broader structure also highlighted a former support zone around $115 to $123 that has turned into resistance. Meanwhile, a lower horizontal level near $67.23 marked the next major support if $SOL loses the current range.

Daan Crypto Trades said Solana was “chopping around between $80-$95 for now” and noted that the asset was “respecting the horizontals pretty well on the higher timeframes.” That suggests the marked levels continue to guide price action.

For now, the chart shows a market without a confirmed directional break. A move above $95 could open the way for a stronger recovery, while a drop below the lower boundary could shift attention to deeper support near $67.23.

Solana Open Interest Rises as Traders Add Long Positions After Drop

Solana showed fresh signs of long positioning after a recent decline, according to a one hour chart shared by CW on X.

The chart showed $SOL trading near $80.68 on Binance perpetuals at the time of the post. Price had fallen sharply toward the $80 level before stabilizing. After that move, the lower panels pointed to a pickup in open interest and net long positions, suggesting traders started adding exposure even as price remained under short term pressure.

$SOL/$USDT Perpetual Contract 1H Chart: Source: TradingView, CW on X

Open interest climbed back above 10 million, while the net positions indicator also turned higher. That combination can signal that more market participants are opening new positions rather than only closing old ones. In this case, the post argued that the added activity has leaned to the long side.

CW wrote that “following the decline, long position buying and OI on $SOL are increasing” and added that “buying pressure is occurring again.” The chart supported that view by showing a rebound in positioning data after the selloff, even though price had not yet broken into a stronger recovery.

Still, the setup does not confirm a trend reversal on its own. Rising open interest with growing longs can support upside momentum, but it can also increase liquidation risk if price fails to hold. For now, the chart points to renewed bullish positioning around the $80 area as traders watch whether buying pressure can push Solana higher.