Author: Coindesk

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could consider a short-term crypto oversight framework to allow firms to keep innovating while the agency works out a more permanent answer to digital assets regulation, interim Chairman Mark Uyeda suggested during a Friday event at the agency’s Washington headquarters.”We should consider whether there may be a more efficient method of regulation under an accommodating federal regulatory framework,” said Uyeda, in a recorded statement played at the agency’s latest crypto industry roundtable. “While the Commission works to develop a long term solution to address these issues, a time-limited, conditional exempt relief…

Onyxcoin (XCN), the native token of its namesake’s modular blockchain, experienced a major boost over the past 48 hours, bucking the bearish market sentiment with a 150% rise.Daily trading volume averaged around $25 million earlier this week until the token started to rip through levels of resistance. That figure has now ballooned to $600 million, the majority of which took place on Coinbase. The surge in volume and apparent lack of visible catalyst prompted Binance to list XCN futures on its exchange on Friday.Unlike many other Binance listing announcements, the listing did not spur an additional increase in token price,…

Traditional U.S. assets are going haywire as U.S.-China trade tensions continue to rattle global markets, now coupled with fresh data of tumbling sentiment towards the U.S. economy and mounting inflation concerns.The most recent University of Michigan survey, published on Friday, found that consumer sentiment fell to 50.8 from 57.0, nearing the most depressed level in three years and far below that seen during the 2020 Covid shutdowns. Year-ahead inflation expectations surged to 6.7%, up from 5% in the prior month and the highest read since 1981.On the back of the data, investors resumed selling long-term U.S. government bonds and the…

When the U.S. government sanctioned the Ethereum-based crypto mixing service Tornado Cash in 2022, it ignited a debate within the crypto community that continues three years later.Tornado enabled users to transfer crypto anonymously. The government contended that the service facilitated money laundering, prompting some of Ethereum’s validators and block builders to take steps to avoid engaging with Tornado-linked transactions, which made the service slower and costlier to use.Advocates argued that complying with the sanctions amounted to censorship — undermining a fundamental cypherpunk principle. President Donald Trump supported the cypherpunks and lifted the sanctions on Tornado Cash in March of this…

The complex pipes that keep derivatives trades moving are about to get a major efficiency boost in DeFi, according to Crypto Valley Exchange.Crypto Valley Exchange’s “smart clearing” protocol will lower the capital requirements for derivatives traders by setting collateral levels in light of the traded assets’ correlations in price. In doing so, it could make DeFi more competitive with the mainstream financial markets crypto trying to replace, according to CEO James Davies.The service is a new take on an age-old problem in DeFi: how to sufficiently mitigate counterparty risk in a trustless environment.Traditional financial markets like CME and NYMEX rely…

Bitcoin and broader crypto markets are gaining on Friday after sharply declining alongisde traditional markets Thursday.Solana’s SOL and dogecoin (DOGE) rose over 4% in the past 24 hours, leading gains among majors, with XRP (XRP), BNB Chain’s BNB, and Tron’s TRX up between 2%-3%. Ether (ETH) was down 2.4%, continuing a dismal run that has seen it lose 12% in the past week despite most majors down 2% on average in the same period.The Wednesday announcement of a 90-day pause on new tariffs — excluding those on China — sparked a brief relief rally across risk assets (which reversed on…

By Francisco Rodrigues (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)As the trade war between the U.S. and China escalates, with the latter raising tariffs on the former from 84% to 125% this morning, bitcoin (BTC) and the wider cryptocurrency market appear relatively unfazed.Bitcoin is down a mere 0.15% over the last 24 hours, and China’s recent escalation hasn’t stopped its ongoing recovery. The cryptocurrency is now trading above $82,000. The wider crypto market, measured by the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index, is stable with similar performance.The same can’t be said about other assets. Gold rose to a new $3,227.5 record making Tether’s…

The U.S. dollar index (DXY) has fallen below 100 and gold has surged to new all-time highs as escalating tariffs have heightened global economic uncertainty. Consequently, asset prices have taken a hit—most notably in the tech sector and cryptocurrencies. Since reaching its all-time high of $109,000 in January, bitcoin (BTC) has declined approximately 26%. When compared to the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks, bitcoin’s drawdown sits right in the middle, signaling its growing maturity as an asset. Tesla (TSLA) is currently the worst performer, down nearly 50% from its peak. NVIDIA (NVDA) follows with a 31% drop. Apple (AAPL), Bitcoin, Meta…

The Dollar index (DXY), which measures the strength of the U.S. dollar against a basket of other currencies, has dropped below the 100 mark for the first time since April 2022. In January, research from CoinDesk noted that the DXY index was mirroring the pattern seen during President Trump’s first term — and it now appears to have done just that. The index has fallen over 10% from its recent high of 110 and is now at its lowest level in three years.Investor sentiment continues to shift away from U.S. assets, putting further downward pressure on the dollar, as trade…

Activity in PowerTrade’s options market for alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) picked pace this week as heightened market volatility prompted traders to seek derivatives for hedging and speculative opportunities.Trading volume in XRP options has soared to over $5 million this week, with most activity concentrated in short-dated expirations, data shared by PowerTrade shows. Flows have been balanced between put options at strikes ranging from $1.80 to $1.98 and calls at strikes $1.80 to $1.93.”This activity suggests traders are positioning for significant short-term price movement—either from regulatory developments or a breakout pattern—with a nearly even balance between bullish and bearish structures,” Bernd Sischka,…