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  • Bitcoin’s bounce fails to convince options traders

    By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)

    Bitcoin’s $BTC$67,871.86 price bounce sparked optimism on social media, with X users declaring the bottom is in and a new rally is underway. Options market activity, however, reveals savvy traders remain skeptical, hedging against the risk of a potential slide below $60,000.

    “While the bounce triggered some call buying in the $85,000 to $90,000 strikes, downside skew remains more elevated than upside, suggesting caution,” Sidrah Fariq, head of retail at Deribit, told CoinDesk in a Telegram chat.

    The demand for call options, or bullish bets, indicates that bitcoin’s Wednesday bounce to $70,000 has some traders chasing upside. However, skew, which measures prices for calls relative to puts, remains negative across all time frames. It shows that traders remain worried about price drops and are still seeking puts for downside protection.

    Underlying that theme, on Deribit, the $60,000 put remains the most popular position, with notional open interest (OI) of $1.48 billion. In contrast, the most popular call option, the $90,000 strike, has OI of $1.12 billion. Clearly, the overall positioning remains bearish.

    That said, there could be some consolidation, as dealer positioning — net exposure of those who make markets by providing liquidity — has flipped positive between $60,000 and $70,000. This means dealers could buy low and sell high to maintain a net-neutral exposure, capping swings as they do so.

    “Dealer positioning has shifted to neutral to slightly positive gamma, suggesting compressed volatility and range-bound price action,” Fariq said.

    Other analysts are looking at the $74,000-$75,000 range as the level to beat for confirming a renewed uptrend.

    Bitcoin was recently trading near $68,500, up 4.6% on the day, while the broader market posted bigger gains, as evidenced by the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index’s 5.8% advance. Ether ($ETH) has risen over 8%, and $XRP ($XRP) and solana (SOL) both rose more than 6%.

    In traditional markets, futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were little changed despite the AI giant Nvidia (NVDA) posting a blowout fourth-quarter earnings report. Gold and the Dollar Index ticked higher as investors awaited details on the U.S.-Iran talks scheduled for later in the day. Stay alert!

    Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today

    What to Watch

    For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead”.

    • Crypto
    • Macro
      • Feb. 26, 8:30 a.m.: U.S. initial jobless claims for week ending Feb. 21 (Prev. 206K)
      • Feb. 26, 10:00 a.m.: U.S. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman to testify before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
    • Earnings (Estimates based on FactSet data)

      • Feb. 26: American Bitcoin (ABTC), pre-market, $0.01
      • Feb. 26: MARA Holdings (MARA), post-market, -$0.11
      • Feb 26: TeraWulf (WULF), post-market, -$0.15
      • Feb. 26: Figure Technologies (FIGR), post-market,$0.20
      • Feb. 26: Sui Group (SUIG), post-market, $0.01
      • Feb. 26: Block (XYZ), post-market, $0.49

    Token Events

    For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead”.

    • Governance votes & calls
      • Feb. 26: Lido DAO to host a tokenholder update call.
      • Feb. 26: Maple Finance to host an investor call.
      • Unlock DAO is voting to delegate 2,000,000 UP from the treasury to seven active community members to reliably secure quorum on future proposals. Voting ends Feb. 26.
    • Unlocks
    • Token Launches
      • Feb. 26: FET$0.1633 and Injective INJ$3.2237 to be listed on OKX.

    Conferences

    For a more comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead”.

    • Day 4 of 4: Strategy World 2026 (Las Vegas)
    • Day 3 of 4: GFTN Forum Japan (Tokyo)

    Market Movements

    • $BTC is down 0.52% from 4 p.m. ET Wednesday at $68,590.57 (24hrs: +4.67%)
    • $ETH is down 1.16% at $2,075.97 (24hrs: +8.36%)
    • CoinDesk 20 is down 1.27% at 2,011.66 (24hrs: +5.83%)
    • Ether CESR Composite Staking Rate is up 2 bps at 2.85%
    • $BTC funding rate is at 0.0005% (0.5595% annualized) on Binance
    • DXY is unchanged at 97.75
    • Gold futures are down 0.41% at $5,204.60
    • Silver futures are down 3.98% at $87.99
    • Nikkei 225 closed up 0.29% at 58,753.39
    • Hang Seng closed down 1.44% at 26,381.02
    • FTSE is up 0.17% at 10,824.61
    • Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.25% at 6,188.91
    • DJIA closed on Wednesday up 0.63% at 49,482.15
    • S&P 500 closed up 0.81% at 6,946.13
    • Nasdaq Composite closed up 1.26% at 23,152.08
    • S&P/TSX Composite closed up 0.46% at 34,127.33
    • S&P 40 Latin America closed up 0.68% at 3,826.41
    • U.S. 10-Year Treasury rate is up 0.4 bps at 4.052%
    • E-mini S&P 500 futures are unchanged at 6,958.75
    • E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are unchanged at 25,380.75
    • E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index futures are down 0.13% at 49,471.00

    Bitcoin Stats

    • $BTC Dominance: 58.55% (+0.12%)
    • Ether-bitcoin ratio: 0.03023 (-0.12%)
    • Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 1,058 EH/s
    • Hashprice (spot): $29.79
    • Total fees: 2.91 $BTC / $194,801
    • CME Futures Open Interest: 112,135 $BTC
    • $BTC priced in gold: 13.2 oz.
    • $BTC vs gold market cap: 4.57%

    Technical Analysis

    $BTC‘s weekly price chart. (TradingView)

    • The chart shows bitcoin’s weekly price swings in candlestick format since mid-2024.
    • While prices have bounced strongly this week, they remain well below the $73,000-$74,000 zone that is a former support-turned-resistance.
    • The broader outlook, therefore, remains bearish. Prices need to overcome that resistance to confirm a trend reversal higher.

    Crypto Equities

    • Coinbase Global (COIN): closed on Wednesday at $183.94 (+13.52%), +0.95% at $185.69 in pre-market
    • Circle Internet (CRCL): closed at $83.14 (+35.47%), +0.71% at $83.73
    • Galaxy Digital (GLXY): closed at $22.83 (+5.99%), +1.40% at $23.15
    • Bullish (BLSH): closed at $32.89 (+6.92%), -1.03% at $32.55
    • MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $8.57 (+6.46%), unchanged in pre-market
    • Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $17.08 (+3.52%), -0.12% at $17.06
    • Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $18.08 (+1.18%), -0.22% at $18.04
    • CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $10.45 (+0.97%), +0.29% at $10.48
    • CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $42.34 (-0.87%)
    • Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed at $10.63 (+8.91%)

    Crypto Treasury Companies

    • Strategy (MSTR): closed at $135.65 (+8.86%), -0.18% at $135.41
    • Strive (ASST): closed at $8.54 (+19.19%), -1.41% at $8.42
    • SharpLink Gaming (SBET): closed at $7.44 (+13.59%), +0.27% at $7.46
    • Upexi (UPXI): closed at $0.83 (+35.86%), +4.53% at $0.86
    • Lite Strategy (LITS): closed at $1.18 (+6.31%)

    ETF Flows

    Spot $BTC ETFs

    • Daily net flows: $506.6 million
    • Cumulative net flows: $54.56 billion
    • Total $BTC holdings ~1.26 million

    Spot $ETH ETFs

    • Daily net flows: $157.2 million
    • Cumulative net flows: $11.67 billion
    • Total $ETH holdings ~5.64 million

    Source: Farside Investors

    While You Were Sleeping

    • The $1.6 trillion meltdown that swept through software stocks (The Wall Street Journal): Investors question whether software firms that sell to businesses can withstand competition from AI-powered rivals. Lately, the selloff has intensified with each new announcement from AI developers.
    • A Deal or War? Crucial Talks Begin Between U.S. and Iran (The New York Times): The U.S. and Iran are in a high-stakes round of nuclear talks in Geneva. The outcome may determine whether they go to war or strike a deal.
    • Three companies add Strategy’s STRC to treasury as shares return to par (CoinDesk): Strategy said Prevalon Energy and Anchorage Digital added its perpetual preferred equity, Stretch (STRC), to their portfolios as the security returns to its $100 par value.
  • Kraken, CMT Digital, and Fidelity’s arm invest in crypto options platform STS Digital

    Kraken, CMT Digital, and Fidelity’s arm invest in crypto options platform STS Digital

    STS Digital, a Bermuda-regulated digital asset trading firm serving institutional clients, has secured $30 million in a round led by CMT Digital, according to a Thursday announcement.

    Payward, the parent company of exchange operator Kraken, also participated alongside Arrington Capital, BitRock Capital, Strobe Ventures, and Fidelity’s affiliated investment arm, F-Prime.

    Established in 2022, STS Digital offers trading in spot markets, options, and structured products across more than 400 digital assets through multiple access channels.

    The fresh capital will be used to grow the firm’s spot and options infrastructure, enhance its ability to provide liquidity under volatile market conditions, and strengthen its financial position.

    “This investment enables us to meet the explosive demand from institutional investors for our spot, options, and structured product pricing,” said Gideon Hyams, chairman and co-founder of the firm.

    STS Digital supports OTC trading alongside advanced derivatives such as futures and bespoke structured solutions designed for sophisticated investors. The platform aims to deliver continuous market access with low-latency execution and institutional-grade risk management capabilities.

    Sam Hallene, partner at CMT Digital, highlighted the firm’s approach to risk controls and platform design as key factors in the investment decision.

    “They have already built a meaningful liquidity moat in crypto options, and our view is that liquidity is one of the most durable competitive advantages in financial markets,” Hallene said.

    Arjun Sethi, chief executive of Payward, noted that the investment aligns with Kraken’s efforts to broaden its derivatives offerings.

    “Derivatives are among the most powerful tools in crypto, giving market participants more ways to manage risk and navigate volatility,” Sethi said.

    The latest development comes as institutional participants increasingly turn to options for hedging, yield generation, and volatility management rather than purely speculative trades.

    Market observers have noted growing demand for counterparties with strong balance sheets and consistent execution capabilities, particularly following periods of heightened stress in digital asset markets.

  • Telegram Announces New Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and USDT Feature for Users!

    Telegram Announces New Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and USDT Feature for Users!

    Wallet in Telegram, a cryptocurrency solution integrated into the Telegram messaging application, has announced Bitcoin, Ethereum, and $USDT for its users.

    According to The Block, Wallet in Telegram has announced that it has begun offering users the opportunity to earn on-chain returns on Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), and $USDT assets.

    This feature will be available through the $TON Wallet solution, which is integrated into the Wallet application on Telegram and features self-storage capabilities.

    It was stated that DeFi-focused platforms such as Morpho, TAC, and Re7 also provided technical support during the integration process.

    Users can earn interest by depositing their crypto assets through the newly introduced “Vaults” system.

    Among the current $USDT strategies, the highest yield option is achieved with Re7’s DeFi strategy, which offers a compound annual yield (APY) of up to 18%.

    In addition, $ETH and $BTC vaults have been activated. This means that yield generation has been enabled for both of the market’s largest cryptocurrencies.

    Andrew Rogozov, founder and CEO of The Open Platform and Wallet in Telegram, stated: “With Vaults in $TON Wallet, we are bridging the gap between advanced DeFi protocols and hundreds of millions of users. Direct access to self-custodial vault strategies for $ETH, $BTC, and $USDT within the $TON ecosystem is a major step toward making decentralized finance truly universal.”

    *This is not investment advice.

  • Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Billed as First ‘Agentic AI Phone’—Here’s What That Means

    Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Billed as First ‘Agentic AI Phone’—Here’s What That Means

    In brief

    • Samsung brands the Galaxy S26 as the first “agentic AI phone.”
    • Samsung is layering Gemini, Perplexity, and a revamped Bixby into a multi-agent stack.
    • There is also a toggleable hardware privacy display that blocks shoulder-surfers at the pixel level.

    Samsung CEO TM Roh stepped onto a San Francisco stage Wednesday, introduced the Galaxy S26 line of phones, and said something no phone maker has said before.

    “Imagine a phone that anticipates your needs before you even realize them,” he said. “A phone that learns your habits and adapts in real time. A phone that takes actions on your behalf. This is the agentic AI phone.”

    That sounds interesting, but what does “agentic AI phone” actually mean—and why should anyone care?

    Up until now, AI in phones has been reactive. You ask, it answers. Agentic AI is different. It takes actions on your behalf, across apps, without you doing the tapping or talking. Think of the difference between a search engine and a personal assistant who actually books the restaurant after you mention that you’re hungry.

    That shift feels like the thing every tech company has been chasing since Siri launched on Apple’s iPhone 4S back in 2011—and yes, Siri was arguably the first real attempt at an agentic phone experience. You were supposed to just talk to your phone and have it do stuff. All these years later, we’re not quite there yet, but Samsung and Google are the ones trying to build it.

    This is also what a wave of AI hardware startups spent the last two years trying—and failing—to do. The Humane AI Pin launched in late 2023 for $699 plus a $24 monthly subscription, got destroyed in reviews, sold barely 10,000 units, and ended up acquired by HP for $116 million—a fraction of its $1 billion valuation.

    The Rabbit R1, a $199 pocket AI companion that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella called the most impressive tech demo since Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone, shipped to real users and underwhelmed almost everyone. Both devices shared the same core pitch: your phone can’t do agentic AI, so you need a dedicated device. Turns out, the phone just needed better software.

    Samsung now says it’s delivering exactly what those gadgets promised—not with a new piece of hardware you have to carry alongside your phone, but through a software layer baked directly into a device you already own.

    The engine behind the Galaxy S26’s agentic features is Google’s Gemini—specifically a new capability where the AI opens apps in a virtual background window and navigates them while you do something else entirely.

    At the Unpacked event, Google’s Samir Samat showed a demo: The family group chat floods in with pizza requests, Gemini reads the thread, figures out everyone’s order, opens DoorDash, builds the cart, and waits for your manual tap before actually confirming. Your phone stays usable the whole time.

    At launch, that works for DoorDash, GrubHub, Uber, Kroger, Walmart, and other selected apps in a very short list. It’s rolling out first as a limited preview in the U.S. and South Korea, with more apps to come.

    Calling it a beta would be accurate—Google is explicitly collecting feedback from S26 users. The important guardrail: Gemini never hits “confirm” or “pay” without your final tap. You can also watch it work in real time if you don’t trust it to operate unsupervised, which, fair.

    Alongside Gemini, Samsung is bringing in Perplexity as a second system-level agent. Perplexity, which bills itself as an “answer engine” rather than a chatbot, will be accessible via a wake phrase or a side-button shortcut on the S26.

    Inside Samsung’s web browser, Perplexity’s Ask AI feature can sweep across all your open tabs and recent browsing history simultaneously to answer a research question without you jumping between sources. Samsung says nearly 80% of users already rely on more than two AI agents daily—which is the practical justification for offering both instead of picking one.

    There’s also a new Bixby, the AI assistant that Samsung refuses to let die. It has been overhauled to go beyond simple command executions and operate based on context understanding. Bixby now understands natural language well enough that you can say “My eyes hurt after looking at the screen,” and it’ll open the brightness settings automatically. It also pulls live information directly into your conversation without kicking you out to another app. Whether people will actually use Bixby this time is a separate conversation.

    Beyond the agentic stuff, the AI feature list for the S26 is long. “Now Brief” is a personalized daily digest—it proactively surfaces your restaurant reservations pulled from notification history, schedule conflicts, and energy levels, even for events you never manually added to a calendar. “Call Screening” identifies unknown callers and summarizes their intent before you pick up. A new “Nudge” feature detects context in a chat—if someone asks if you’re free this weekend, it brings your calendar to you inside the message thread instead of making you switch apps.

    “Photo Assist” lets you describe something missing from a shot and Galaxy AI adds it in. The front camera also now uses an AI image signal processor for sharper detail on selfies, while night video gets cleaner grain reduction. The S26 Ultra shoots 8K video using the new APV codec, which supports near-lossless quality so footage survives multiple rounds of editing. The whole camera pipeline leans heavily on AI at the hardware level.

    On competition: Apple has been promising a smarter Siri since at least 2024 and still hasn’t delivered the features it announced. Google’s own Pixel 10 will get the same Gemini agentic features—but Samsung ships first, in far larger volumes, to far more countries. No other phone maker is currently using the word “agentic” to describe its product. Samsung grabbed the label. Whether the tech giant earns it long-term depends on how fast the beta expands.

    But the actual standout from Wednesday wasn’t the AI. It was a piece of display hardware that privacy-conscious people will appreciate: a built-in privacy display that lets you control whether onlookers can actually see what you’re doing on your phone.

    It works like this: a “black matrix” layer physically narrows the path of light from each pixel so only the person holding the phone can see what’s on screen. Those watching at an angle get nothing but pitch black, as if the display is off. Someone next to you on the subway sees nothing.

    Unlike the plastic privacy films that have existed for years and make your screen permanently darker and harder to share, this one toggles on and off. You can apply it only to specific apps—banking stays private, for example, but your games don’t—or just to the notification bar, so a person next to you can see most of your screen but not your incoming messages.

    The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, starting at $1,299, is the only phone in the world with this feature built into the display hardware. Pre-orders open today; shipping starts March 11. The standard Galaxy S26 starts at $899, while the larger Galaxy S26 Plus will sell for $1,099.

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  • Nvidia Earnings Results Steady Markets as AI Spending Debate Intensifies

    Nvidia Earnings Results Steady Markets as AI Spending Debate Intensifies

    In brief

    • Nvidia’s data-center revenue rose 75% to $62.3 billion, reinforcing its dominance at the core of global AI infrastructure spending.
    • U.S. stocks rebounded modestly, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq outperforming.
    • CEO Jensen Huang has argued that AI remains early in a multitrillion-dollar buildout, countering investor concerns that the sector may be overheating.

    U.S. stocks edged higher late Wednesday as investors weighed another blockbuster earnings report from Nvidia against lingering concerns over the scale and sustainability of global AI investment.

    Nvidia reported fourth-quarter revenue of $68.1 billion, up 73% from a year earlier, driven almost entirely by continued demand for data-center infrastructure.

    Sales in that segment rose 75% to $62.3 billion, reinforcing the company’s central role in the artificial-intelligence buildout that has underpinned equity markets over the past year. 

    “Nvidia has sent a clear message to the market with this result that the AI infrastructure buildout is only accelerating,” Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro, told Decrypt. “Every quarter, the sceptics line up, and quarter after quarter, Nvidia has managed to prove them wrong.”

    Net income nearly doubled to $43 billion, while gross margins held at about 75%, reflecting strong pricing power.

    The results helped lift semiconductor shares and supported a modest rebound in broader equity benchmarks after a volatile start to the week.

    The Nasdaq outperformed, advancing 1.26% while the S&P 500 closed higher at 0.8% as gains in megacap technology stocks offset weakness in more cyclical sectors. Shares for Nvidia in after-hours trading rose 1.37% to $198.31.

    Crypto also saw major valuation gains in blue-chip assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, which jumped 7% and 12.5%, respectively, ahead of the earnings release.

    Treasury yields fell across most maturities, signalling continued caution in rates markets even as equities stabilized.

    Nvidia’s guidance, meanwhile, added to the sense that AI spending remains resilient. 

    The company forecast first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of about $78 billion, implying further sequential growth, despite excluding any contribution from China data-centre sales. 

    Management said customers continue to invest aggressively to scale inference and deploy so-called agentic AI systems.

    The earnings echoed comments made last month by Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he argued that AI is still in the early stages of what he described as the “largest infrastructure buildout in human history.” 

    Huang said trillions of dollars in additional investment would be needed across energy, chips, and data centres to support the technology’s long-term potential, pushing back against fears that the sector is already in a bubble.

    Goldman Sachs has forecast that AI capital expenditure growth will peak in 2026 and then decelerate, which investors see as a mixed signal: growth will remain, but cash-flow visibility could improve only as spending slows.

    Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest, by contrast, has argued that AI infrastructure spending is still in its early stages, framing the current surge in capital outlays by hyperscalers as the start of a multi-year investment cycle rather than a peak.

    “Nvidia has locked in $95.2 billion in inventory and capacity commitments, nearly double the level from a year ago,” Gilbert said. “When the world’s biggest companies are spending at this pace, you’d better be ready to deliver.”

    Editor’s note: Adds comment from eToro analyst Josh Gilbert

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  • The Picture Changes in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) ETFs After the Rise! “Highest Price in the Last Three Weeks!”

    Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), and altcoins saw a recovery last night after recent declines. The cryptocurrency market turned green after a long period, and this was reflected in US spot ETFs as well.

    US spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows for the second consecutive day.

    According to SoSoValue data, US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a total net inflow of $506.5 million on February 25th. BlackRock’s IBIT fund saw $296.75 million, Fidelity’s FBTC fund $30.09 million, Bitwise’s BITB fund $39.37 million, Ark Invest’s ARKB fund $2.29 million, VanEck’s HODL fund $15.61 million, Grayscale’s GBTC fund $102.49 million, and Grayscale Mini $BTC fund $19.29 million in inflows.

    US spot Ethereum ETFs saw net inflows for the second consecutive day.

    According to SoSoValue data, US spot Ethereum ETFs recorded net inflows of $157.1 million on February 25th. BlackRock’s ETHA fund saw $31.21 million, Fidelity’s FETH fund $61.94 million, Bitwise’s ETHW fund $1.48 million, VanEck’s ETHV fund $3.03 million, Grayscale’s ETHE fund $33.87 million, and Grayscale Mini Trust’s $ETH fund $25.55 million in inflows.

    Vincent Liu, Chief Investment Officer at Kronos Research, said, “The inflows indicate that institutional sentiment has shifted from a prolonged period of risk aversion to cautious accumulation. However, positioning remains moderate, suggesting that sentiment is stabilizing.”

    *This is not investment advice.

  • Aave Surpasses $1T in DeFi Lending Milestone

    Aave Surpasses $1T in DeFi Lending Milestone

    • Aave has surpassed $1 trillion in cumulative lending.
    • The protocol has $27.2 billion in total value locked, dominating the DeFi lending space.
    • Aave aims to integrate more with banks and fintech companies.

    Aave has surpassed $1 trillion in cumulative lending, making it the first decentralized finance protocol to do so. This milestone further solidifies Aave’s position as the leading on-chain lending solution.

    Aave Labs CEO Stani Kulechov called the milestone proof that decentralized finance has matured into a core component of digital markets. He emphasized that Aave aims to build the most efficient liquidity network in global finance.

    Over the past 30 days, Aave generated $83.3 million in fees. The protocol currently secures $27.2 billion in total value locked (TVL), nearly four times more than its closest competitor.

    From ETHLend to DeFi Leader

    Kulechov originally launched Aave as ETHLend in November 2017. He rebranded the protocol to Aave in September 2018. Since then, the platform has expanded into a multi-chain lending infrastructure that allows users to deposit crypto assets and borrow against them instantly.

    Aave now leads several prominent DeFi lending protocols in TVL. Competitors such as Morpho, JustLend, SparkLend, Maple, Kamin Lend, and Compound Finance each hold more than $1 billion in value. However, none match Aave’s scale.

    The protocol supports permissionless lending and borrowing with the retention of overcollateralization protection. Users earn interest on their deposits and have access to liquidity without the need for traditional banks.

    Institutional Push With Aave Horizon

    Aave has intensified its efforts on traditional finance integrations. In August, Aave Labs launched Aave Horizon on Ethereum. The product targets institutional participants who want to borrow stablecoins against tokenized real-world assets.

    Firms such as VanEck, WisdomTree, and Securitize have already engaged with Aave’s institutional offerings. The move positions Aave as a bridge between decentralized liquidity and regulated financial entities.

    Kulechov also highlighted the potential of tokenizing “abundance assets” like solar infrastructure, battery storage systems, and robotics. He projects these assets could represent $50 trillion in value by 2050.

    You can track Aave’s real-time TVL on DefiLlama and monitor Ethereum network activity on Etherscan.

    Governance Tensions Within the Ecosystem

    Despite its growth, Aave faces internal governance debates. Tokenholders are currently voting on a proposal that could allocate up to $42.5 million in stablecoins and 75,000 AAVE tokens to Aave Labs.

    In exchange, Aave Labs would direct all revenue from Aave-branded products into the Aave DAO treasury under a DAO-funded operating model. The proposal has raised questions about revenue control and decentralization tenets.

    The proponents believe that the funding will synchronize incentives and hasten development. The opponents are concerned about the focus of power at Aave Labs.

    Aave’s trillion-dollar lending milestone comes at a critical juncture. The protocol is currently navigating the challenges of scaling and governance development.

    As the DeFi space evolves, Aave remains committed to its role as building block infrastructure for on-chain liquidity. This can be achieved through consumer lending, institutionalization, or real-world asset tokenization.

  • Crypto Market on Edge as US-Iran Hold Talks Ahead of Trump’s War Deadline

    Crypto Market on Edge as US-Iran Hold Talks Ahead of Trump’s War Deadline

  • ICP price retests key level: what’s the outlook?

    • Internet Computer token $ICP traded to highs of $2.58 to extend its uptick.
    • Gains came amid a notable spike in volume as crypto prices bounced higher.
    • $ICP could target $4.00 or higher, though risks of a sharp pullback remain.

    Internet Computer ($ICP) price has retested the pivotal supply zone above $2.50 as bulls edge higher from the seven-day low near $2.

    The retest occurs amid broader recovery efforts across the cryptocurrency market, with $ICP among the top altcoin gainers on the day.

    With prices up 9% in the past 24 hours, and volume up 93% to over $125 million, it’s likely bulls could target resistance at higher levels.

    Internet Computer price jumps above $2.50

    $ICP currently boasts intraday gains of about 9% over the past 24 hours, with the price currently trading down from its peak in the period.

    But having pushed from a low near $2, it appears bulls have their sight on more.

    Gains for $ICP mirror broader market sentiment, where Bitcoin tested highs near $70,000 amid Nvidia-driven risk appetite.

    The AI narrative also pushed tokens like NEAR, Bittensor, and Render higher.

    The uptick to intraday highs of $2.58 sees the Internet Computer token trade at levels last seen in mid-February.

    $ICP price technical picture

    From a technical standpoint, $ICP’s retest of the $2.50 hurdle marks a potentially critical flip.

    The price action signals buyer interest, and a breakout from a long-term downtrend line is likely to strengthen.

    Bulls now need to successfully hold above this level to validate a bullish reversal pattern.

    Targets on the upside include resistance at $3.21 and $4.00, with volume confirmation key to buyer conviction.

    <span class=$ICP Price Chart “>

    Internet Computer price chart by TradingView

    RSI on the daily chart suggests bulls may have room to test bears’ resilience, while the MACD also displays potential bullish strength.

    However, price is below key moving averages, and the shape of the 50 and 100-day simple moving averages outlines overhead resistance.

    If price drops from current levels, robust support lies at $2.00 and the October 10 low of $1.98.

    The token changed hands at around $2.41 at the time of writing.

    Key $ICP proposal

    Notably, $ICP is rising amid Internet Computer’s recent proposal for a tokenomics upgrade.

    In its plan, DFINITY Foundation seeks the introduction of revenue-funded burns, with 20% from cloud engine fees alongside usage-based node rewards being removed.

    This will directly tie $ICP supply reduction to network demand, a mechanism that then sees 80% of cloud engine revenue allocated to node providers.

    In this case, the Internet Computer wants to shift from fixed subsidies to performance-linked incentives, a model that would mirror other cloud compute-focused chains.

  • Analyst Issues Bullish Warning This Time! Shares Price Expectations for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and XRP!

    Analyst Issues Bullish Warning This Time! Shares Price Expectations for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and XRP!

    Bitcoin and altcoins have seen a significant rebound in the last 24 hours after experiencing a recent wave of decline.

    Bitcoin ($BTC) is once again approaching the $70,000 mark, while Ethereum ($ETH) has surpassed $2,000.

    As optimism in the market began to rise, one analyst said that these gains could continue, but would likely be short-lived.

    In his latest YouTube video, experienced analyst Gareth Soloway said that the uptrend could continue.

    Accordingly, he predicts that Bitcoin could rise to $80,000-$85,000, Ethereum could increase by 30%, and $XRP could experience a significant surge if it surpasses the $2 level.

    1) Bitcoin ($BTC):

    After experiencing a sharp drop towards $60,000, Bitcoin has recovered strongly. According to the analyst, this recovery has created a classic bullish consolidation pattern in Bitcoin.

    At this point, the analyst predicts that Bitcoin is more likely to reach $80,000 before $50,000 in the short term.

    The analyst sees a strong consolidation following the decline, a significant accumulation between $60,000 and $70,000, and extremely negative market sentiment as harbingers of a rise. According to the analyst, these situations could trigger the closing of short positions in Bitcoin and lead to an upward trend.

    At this point, the analyst stated that the target range is between $80,000 and $85,000, but warned that this recovery and expectations do not necessarily mean a bull market.

    2) Ethereum ($ETH):

    The analyst noted that Ethereum showed great strength, rising above $2,000.

    According to the analyst, Ethereum has formed a bullish flag pattern with this recovery. This suggests a potential short-term upside of 27% to 35% for $ETH.

    At this point, the analyst believes that if this upward trend continues, Ethereum could quickly rise to the $2,600 to $2,800 level.

    However, if $ETH reaches this region, it may encounter strong resistance and selling pressure.

    3) $XRP:

    The analyst, noting that $XRP is in a more vulnerable position compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum, believes that $XRP needs to surpass $2 for strong upward momentum.

    The analyst noted that $XRP is below a key support line, but a recovery is still possible, and identified resistance levels:

    “First resistance at $1.60 and $1.90
    Stronger second resistance around $2.00”

    Finally, the analyst added that he believes $XRP could experience a much larger surge if it manages to break above $2 and maintain that level.

    *This is not investment advice.