Author: Coindesk
The market capitalization of tokenized gold climbed to a record $1.4 billion in March with trading volumes soaring to yearly highs, CoinDesk Data’s monthly stablecoin report shows.The growth in market value and activity happened alongside the physical yellow metal’s rally to fresh all-time highs above $3,000 per ounce. Tether’s gold-backed token (XAUT) and Paxos’ PAXG dominate among the offerings, with market capitalizations of $749 million and $653 million, respectively.The trading volume with gold tokens surpassed $1.6 billion through the month, the highest level in more than a year, according to the report.Gold-backed tokens’ market capitalization and trading volume (CoinDesk Data)…
The Sei Foundation, the nonprofit development organization behind the layer-1 blockchain Sei (SEI), is exploring the acquisition of bankrupt personal genomics company 23andMe and putting the genetic data of 15 million users on blockchain rails. The foundation announced the initiative in an X post on Thursday, calling the plan its “boldest DeSci bet yet” — referring to the decentralized science movement. Earlier this year, it also launched a $65 million venture capital fund dedicated to DeSci startups building on the Sei network.The foundation said that genomic data security is a national security matter, particularly as 23andMe grapples with financial difficulties.…
In the beginning, there were only CPUs, then GPUs, for bitcoin mining. Then came the mighty ASIC in 2013, and with it, the “shoebox” form factor that has become emblematic of the bitcoin mining industry.What comes next? Will the shoebox design persist as standard for bitcoin mining ASICs? Or will another form factor that more resembles traditional datacenter servers win out?ASIC manufacturers are increasingly betting on the latter – or at least, that a hydro-cooled server rack design will become a substantial portion of bitcoin mining fleets. Moreover, they’re leaning into the “direct-to-chip” cooling for further efficiency gains.Auradine’s new AH3880,…
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized more than $200,000 in cryptocurrency from several wallets and exchange accounts linked to the Palestinian militant group Hamas, according to a Thursday announcement.According to the FBI, more than $1.5 million in crypto — largely in the form of donations from Hamas supporters around the world — has flowed through the seized wallets and exchange accounts since last October. The wallet addresses were allegedly promoted in a group chat claiming to be associated with Hamas, a U.S. and European Union-designated terrorist organization, and donations were subsequently laundered through a series of crypto exchanges and…
Remittance app Abound raised $14 million in a seed round following investment from crypto heavyweights Circle Ventures and the Near Foundation.The app aims to be a financial bridge between non-resident Indians (NRIs) and India, and has processed $150 million worth of remittances with about 500,000 monthly active users. Abound is incubated by the digital arm of the Times of India Group, one of the country’s largest news agencies.“Indians in America have a unique financial reality — one that spans two countries, two economies, and two currencies. Yet, the financial services available today weren’t designed for their needs,” said Nishkaam Mehta,…
Paul Atkins, the former member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that President Donald Trump has tapped to run the agency, assured a different direction for the agency on crypto from the last four years, though he wasn’t pressed with big-picture digital assets questions during a Thursday confirmation hearing.Now that Trump has secured the cabinet-level echelon of his government, the White House is working on shepherding top agency chiefs through the Senate confirmation process. While many of the crypto headlines are coming from the administration and Congress these days, those running the regulatory agencies will ultimately be the ones…
In today’s crypto for advisors, Alex Tapscott explains what the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve is and why it matters to investors.Then, Bryan Courchesne from DAIM answers questions investors have about setting up a personal strategic reserve in Ask an Expert.– Sarah MortonYou’re reading Crypto for Advisors, CoinDesk’s weekly newsletter that unpacks digital assets for financial advisors. Subscribe here to get it every Thursday.Will Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve Move the Needle?On March 7, President Trump signed an executive order creating both a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile, the latter comprised of tokens like ETH, SOL, XRP and ADA.The Strategic…
The synergy of political endorsement and highly speculative assets like meme coins was always bound to be disastrous, and the recent LIBRA scandal was a clear reflection of this concern.Crypto has come a long way over the past decade. Mainstream adoption, institutional interest, and regulatory clarity helped the industry gain increasing credibility. And meme coins also carved out an exciting niche in this sector, which reflected creativity and community engagement. Yet, political meme coins could ruin this decades-worth of progress very quickly.A promotional post from Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, caused LIBRA investors to lose over $250 million in just hours.…
CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 2731.35, up 0.4% (+11.44) since 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday.Twelve of 20 assets are trading higher.Leaders: SUI (+7.1%) and AAVE (+3.6%).Laggards: DOT (-1.6%) and XRP (-1.4%).The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally. Read the full article here
A contentious $7 million bet on prediction platform Polymarket has sparked disagreement between the Polymarket and UMA communities. The bet, which speculated on whether Ukraine would agree to a mineral deal with U.S. President Donald Trump before April, saw its “yes” probability surge from 9% to 100% between March 24 and 25, despite no official agreement being reached.Polymarket relies on UMA, an optimistic oracle system, to determine the outcomes of its prediction markets. In this system, anyone can propose a resolution by staking a $750 USDC.e bond, which can then be challenged. If a dispute arises, UMA token holders vote…