Author: Coindesk

Bitcoin (BTC) has steadied since last Tuesday, bouncing to its 200-day average above $84,000 over the weekend. Still, a crypto whale has taken a contrarian stance by raising a leveraged bearish bet on BTC worth millions on Hyperliquid while betting bullish on the MELANIA token.As of writing, the whale held a short position in BTC perpetual futures worth over $445 million, generating an unrealized gain of $1.3 million. The position employed a 40x leverage and a liquidation price of $86,000, according to data source Hyperliquid and Lookonchain. The outsized short anticipating a bitcoin price slide made waves on social media…

Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have overtaken bitcoin ETFs in assets under management as investors shift toward the traditional safe-haven asset as BTC price tumbled more than 19% over the past three months, while the precious metal climbed 12.5%.Bitcoin ETFs, which saw significant inflows following their U.S. launch in January last year, have experienced major outflows, losing about $3.8 billion since Feb. 24 of this year, according to Farside Investors data. Meanwhile, gold ETFs recorded their highest monthly inflows since March 2022 last month, according to the World Gold Council.These flows have meant that gold ETFs have now “reclaimed the asset…

Leverage Shares by Themes has launched a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) tied to the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) stock despite a downturn in the crypto-related shares.The Leverage Shares 2X Long Coinbase Daily ETF (COIG) is designed to deliver twice the daily return of Coinbase’s stock price, offering traders an amplified exposure to the U.S.’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The ETF, which carries an expense ratio of 0.75%, is listed on Nasdaq, according to a press release.The launch comes amid a significant cryptocurrency market downturn that saw bitcoin (BTC) drop by around 19% over the last three months, from over $105,000…

Crypto asset manager 21Shares is set to liquidate two actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to bitcoin and ether futures amid a wider market downturn.The funds slated for liquidation are the ARK 21Shares Active On-Chain Bitcoin Strategy ETF (ARKC) and the ARK 21Shares Active Bitcoin Ethereum Strategy ETF (ARKY). Investors can trade shares until the market closes on March 27, with liquidation expected to take place “on or around March 28,” according to a press release.The actively managed ETFs, which have an expense ratio of 1% and 0.93%, respectively, are set to be liquidated as U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs saw…

The price of TON has surged more than 20% over the last 24 hours to now trade above $3.45 and have a $8.14 billion market capitalization after French authorities returned Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s passport.The move restores Durov’s ability to travel freely and marks the end of a situation that had drawn concerns from privacy and free speech advocates. Durov, who co-founded Telegram, a messaging platform with nearly a billion users, has long been an outspoken advocate for privacy and secure communication.Read more: TON Down 14% as Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Arrested in FranceThe TON Foundation, which supports the Telegram…

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, the newly named head of the regulator’s crypto task force, has long been a proponent of the crypto industry as one of the Republicans overseeing the federal securities regulator. She discussed her approach with CoinDesk in late February.You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government. Click here to sign up for future editions.The narrativeSEC Commissioner Hester Peirce spoke with CoinDesk on Feb. 28, 2025, hours before U.S. President Donald Trump announced his White House crypto summit.Why it mattersThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is one of the key…

Solana’s SOL and xrp (XRP) edged up 5% in the past 24 hours to lead gains among majors Saturday as bitcoin (BTC) saw resistance at the $84,000 price level.SOL surged 7% as a contentious SIMD-0228 drew to a close late Thursday in favor of those against it, keeping its current inflation schedule intact. The proposal drew the highest voting turnout in Solana’s governance history, as reported, with those against saying a passage could disrupt parts of its flourishing DeFi ecosystem and dispel chances of further institutional interest.XRP rose 5% following a strong week for closely-related Ripple Labs, which bagged a…

Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who recently won a leadership contest of the Liberal Party to replace Justin Trudeau, has dramatically increased his odds of winning the next federal election in the eyes of Polymarket bettors.(Polymarket) Carney now has a 49% chance of winning the next Canadian election, compared to 26% a month ago. Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre’s chances are at 51%, down from 72% in February.(Polymarket) The next Canadian federal election is scheduled to occur on October 20, 2025.However, under Canada’s Westminster system, if the opposition Conservatives and NDP jointly vote against the minority Liberal government…

By James Van Straten (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)The recent market turmoil might have given gold the bragging rights of being the “store of value” while “digital gold” struggles, at least for now. Gold futures for April delivery have surpassed $3,000 an ounce for the first time ever, marking a historic milestone for the precious metal. Spot gold is consolidating just below $3,000 an ounce, up 15% year-to-date, while its digital counterpart, bitcoin (BTC), is struggling—down 12% this year and hovering around $80,000. This divergence underscores gold’s role as the ultimate safe-haven asset in the current economic environment. Since…

The S&P 500 has now entered correction territory, defined as a 10% decline from its all-time high. A further 10% drop would signal a bear market. But is it time to panic? Since Bitcoin’s creation in 2009, the S&P 500 has experienced multiple 20% corrections. Following the 2008 global financial crisis the index had plunged nearly 60%. In 2019, amid bitcoin’s bear market, the S&P 500 declined by 20%, bitcoin fell as much as 85% from its all-time high. The covid-19 crash in March 2020 saw the index drop almost 40% with bitcoin shedding 60% of its value. Most recently…