Author: Coindesk
It has been a whirlwind. Bitcoin surpassing $100,000 may have been the champagne moment, but the digital asset class has had much to cheer about and digest since the Fed’s easing cycle began on September 18, and even more since the U.S. election.New incoming leadership at the SEC and other regulatory agencies, blockchain-savvy cabinet appointees, a new “AI and Crypto Czar,” and frequent mentions of bitcoin and crypto by the President-elect all point towards more support for the industry from the U.S. government.You’re reading Crypto Long & Short, our weekly newsletter featuring insights, news and analysis for the professional investor.…
It’s not easy to pick what crypto tokens to invest in. Conventional wisdom among crypto natives is that you shouldn’t think too hard about it — after all, coins named after dogs, frogs or cats will regularly outperform tokens tied to legitimate projects.But that state of affairs cannot last forever, according to Cosmo Jiang, a general partner and portfolio manager at crypto hedge fund and venture capital firm Pantera Capital.“If fundamental investing does not come to this industry, it just means that we failed,” Jiang, a self-described classically trained investor who worked in banking and private equity before joining crypto…
Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Marc Hochstein, CoinDesk’s deputy editor-in-chief for features, opinion and standards.In this issue:What does Google’s quantum computing chip mean for Bitcoin?Dev’s defection highlights Ethereum’s growing Solana problemOrdinalsBot inscribes largest-ever file on Bitcoin blockchainPolygon touts speed of Plonky3 proving systemCrypto’s most influential techies of 2024Network NewsNEED FOR SPEED: Polygon Labs claims its newest proving system, Plonky3, is the fastest on the market. (Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s creator, apparently agrees.) A proving system is at the core of zero-knowledge rollups, and a crucial component for transactions that…
With the highly successful introduction of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, the U.S. crypto regulatory situation looking much rosier now that former President Donald Trump has been elected for a second term, and the bullish price action, it’s undeniable that 2024 was a big year for crypto.But things could get even crazier in 2025, according to Bitwise Asset Management, a firm which specializes in developing crypto investment products. The company laid out 10 crypto predictions for the year to come in a report released Wednesday, penned by the firm’s chief investment officer, Matt Hougan, and its head of research, Ryan Rasmussen.First…
The booming stablecoin market hit another milestone Wednesday, crossing the $200 billion total market value mark for the first time ever as demand accelerates and adoption expands for the assets.The asset class as a whole added $10 billion market value in only two weeks since it surpassed the 2022 bull cycle record of $190 billion, according to CCData and DefiLlama.Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to hold a steady price, predominantly pegged to the U.S. dollar. They are a key piece of infrastructure for the digital assets space, serving as the main source of liquidity for trading crypto assets on exchanges and…
One of the most significant factors for the crypto industry lies not in market dynamics, but in the political arena.Trump’s pro-crypto rhetoric certainly grabbed headlines, but the real catalyst for banks and other financial intermediaries is likely a Republican sweep in Congress, given that most of his pledges would require legislative approval. With strong Republican backing and bipartisan support also showing momentum, crypto-friendly legalisation would be far more likely to pass.Two developments are central to this shift: dismantling the SEC’s SAB 121 (which has kept much of the financial sector sidelined) and the Bitcoin Act 2024 (which proposes a national…
The crypto market is in recovery mode on Wednesday following a cascade of selling earlier in the week that for now appears to have flushed out much of the long leverage.The move higher comes alongside a sizable rally in the U.S. stock market following this morning’s Consumer Price Index report that matched economist forecasts. The news was enough to convince traders that the Federal Reserve is certain to trim its benchmark fed funds rate another 25 basis points at its meeting next week. The Nasdaq is ahead 1.5% and the S&P 500 just shy of 1%.After having fallen to as…
“Crypto + AI” is personified by Erik Voorhees. His career has spanned the eras. In 2012, when Voorhees launched the blockchain-based gambling game “Satoshi Dice” — which once accounted for half of all Bitcoin transactions — he pioneered a novel use case for cryptocurrency.The founder of the decentralized exchange ShapeShift is now applying the ethos of bitcoin to the next wave of AI, launching Venice.AI with the humble goal of “unfettered civilizational advancement.” In announcing Venice on May 10, Voorhees explained that the app is similar to ChatGPT or Claude but “without all the Orwellian stuff,” and that Venice doesn’t…
<a href=”https://www.coindesk.com/indices/” target=”_blank”>CoinDesk Indices</a> presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the <a href=”https://www.coindesk.com/indices/cd20/” target=”_blank”>CoinDesk 20 Index</a>. The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 3744.31, up 5.2% (+185.86) since 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.All 20 assets are trading higher.Leaders: RENDER (+13.5%) and ETC (+11.3%).Laggards: BTC (+2.4%) and ETH (+2.6%).The <a href=”https://www.coindesk.com/indices/cd20/” target=”_blank”>CoinDesk 20</a> is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally. Read the full article here
XRP is hot and it is probably setting up for another big rally. That’s the message from the price chart and options market.The payments-focused cryptocurrency is down 10% this week. The pullback, however, has taken the shape of a bull flag. This technical analysis pattern usually slopes in the opposite direction of the preceding sharp uptrend and, more often than not, recharges bulls’ engines for further gains.”The breakout should be expected in the direction of the preceding trend, provided it is steep and sharp,” Charles Kirkpatrick, a chartered market technician and the president of Kirkpatrick & Company, Inc, said in the…