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Until recently, it was “green candle galore” in the crypto markets since Trump’s election win. Bitcoin momentarily broke the all-important $100,00 level, a near 500% recovery from the 2022 Crypto Winter lows, and optimism for crypto is even reaching Congress, where talks of a U.S. National Bitcoin Reserve are gaining serious steam.If stock market bull runs are marathons, crypto bull runs are breakneck sprints. But buyer beware: when crypto surges and FOMO takes hold, scammers seize the moment, turning hype into a goldmine for illicit activity.With no clear regulatory framework yet in place, the risks are amplified. As former President Trump returns to office with a more pro-crypto Congress, regulatory change feels imminent. But what risks do investors face if enforcement measures are not adequately funded?The 2024 election results could mark a pivotal chapter in crypto’s history. Can the new Trump Administration rise to the challenge to not just unlock greater innovation in crypto, but also better protect its users and investors?Why Enforcement and Protection Should Still be a PriorityCrypto bull runs are often accompanied by a surge in scams and fraud. In 2023 alone, a period of rising prices, the FBI’s Crypto Fraud report showed that there was $5.6 billion in reported losses tied to crypto scams and fraud. A staggering 70% ($3.9 billion) of these losses stemmed from investment scams.While phishing scams are prevalent in a digital world, the tenfold rise in Bitcoin ATM scam losses from 2020 to midway through 2024 paints the issue in a tangible way. $65 million in just the first six months of 2024 was stolen via Bitcoin ATMs, with the average loss at about $10,000 according to the Federal Trade Commission. Collectively, these figures show the financial damage and expose gaps that must be addressed to protect consumers and deter bad actors – especially if crypto is going to continue to gain traction and popularity.The U.K. has shown how government policy can adapt to address the rise in crypto-related crime directly. In 2024, legislative updates were made to allow law enforcement to more effectively investigate, seize, and recover illicit crypto assets. Key measures include allowing asset seizures without prior arrests, confiscating investigation-related items like passwords, transferring assets to law enforcement-controlled wallets, destroying certain cryptoassets like privacy coins when necessary, and enabling victims to reclaim their funds.The challenge is finding a balance between the measures implemented in the U.K., while also ensuring the privacy and sovereignty of crypto users.To maintain its reputation as a global leader in financial regulation, the U.S. must establish frameworks that foster innovation while safeguarding market participants from bad actors, and refocus efforts on investigating criminal activity.At the heart of the problem lies regulatory ambiguity, which has plagued the crypto industry for years. In 2024, despite spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs gaining approval, enforcement actions against major crypto institutions intensified, something critics cite as a contradictory approach to oversight. This uncertainty stifles innovation and leaves companies struggling to navigate an inconsistent regulatory landscape.For the incoming Trump administration, there is an obvious starting point to solving high-level compliance issues: creating a clear division of responsibilities between agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to eliminate regulatory overlap or opaque rules. But that only partially solves the larger problem.Protecting Investors Protects Crypto’s Growth PotentialCompliance frameworks are only as strong as those investigating and enforcing them. Effective compliance requires investment — not only from individual companies but also from enforcement agencies. If nobody is there to enforce the rules, bad actors have little to fear. Historically, regulatory agencies have lacked the specialized resources necessary to oversee the fast-evolving digital assets landscape, especially at the state level. The Trump administration now has an opportunity to prioritize investment in specialized enforcement capabilities, equipping agencies with the tools, talent, and technology to stay ahead of sophisticated bad actors.For example, this could involve creating deeper channels for law enforcement collaboration and facilitating public-private partnerships to monitor and prevent illegal activities in the digital asset space. It could also significantly reduce the heavy-handed enforcement approach currently being applied to the crypto industry.By allocating funds to train personnel and develop resources tailored to digital assets, agencies can better track, investigate, and prosecute illicit activities. Additionally, public and private investments in blockchain analytics tools could enable more effective tracking of transactions, deterring bad actors and aiding in asset recovery in cases of fraud.This bolstered enforcement strategy would not only protect consumers but also enhance the legitimacy and reputation of the U.S. digital asset market on the global stage.What will crypto look like under a pro-crypto President and Congress? To me, the future is exceptionally bright. However, the way forward will require active dialogue, strategic investments, and a commitment to collaboration between industry leaders and regulators. This moment has the potential to redefine the digital asset landscape in the U.S., setting a high standard for the world.... Read more

MoonPay, a crypto infrastructure service provider, has bought Helio, a Solana-powered crypto payment processor. According to Fox Business, the deal is reportedly worth $175 million. The Miami-based company aims to expand its trading and marketplace volume using Helio's products. "This acquisition is an important step in advancing our vision for the future of payments,” said Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO and co-founder of MoonPay, in a statement. “Helio’s technology and expertise strengthen our ability to deliver efficient, secure, and scalable solutions for crypto commerce, trading infrastructure, and marketplaces." Helio, a London-based startup, was launched in 2022 and enables businesses to process payments via digital currencies such as USDC, SOL, BTC and ETH, among others. Helio has already processed over $1.5 billion in transactions and has integrated with platforms including Discord, WooCommerce, and Shopify.The company supports over 6,000 merchants and one million users. Meanwhile, MoonPay has over 20 million users, the statement said. The deal comes after MoonPay formed a strategic partnership with PayPal in May to use PayPal accounts for buying and selling over 100 cryptocurrencies on its platform. Then, in October, PayPal announced that eligible U.S. users could use Venmo to fund their accounts on MoonPay.... Read more

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission must now thoroughly "explain itself" for refusing to grant Coinbase.'s formal request that the agency write regulations for how the industry should assess whether crypto assets are securities or not, according to a circuit-court ruling on Monday.A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in a legal rebuke of the securities regulator, partially sided with Coinbase's effort to get the agency to offer legal clarity by writing crypto regulations."Rather than force the agency to make a rule, we order it to explain its decision not to," one of the judges wrote. "Indeed, a rule may not prove necessary to solve the notice problems here; the agency could just state its position on crypto assets unequivocally."Judge Stephanos Bibas added a caution to the SEC: "It should not give yet another poor explanation in an already-long line of them."The legal blow for the agency — the second setback in a Coinbase-related case in less than a week — could leave an opening for its new leadership. Chair Gary Gensler, the architect of the SEC's crypto enforcement-heavy approach in recent years, is stepping down as President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on January 20. Trump's chosen replacement, former Commissioner Paul Atkins, could have a chance to use this court demand to answer that, yes, his agency will change its course on crypto oversight.Or, even sooner, an acting chairman such as sitting Commissioner Mark Uyeda, one of the agency's two current Republican members, could be in a position to get that ball rolling while Atkins awaits a Senate confirmation process.The Monday ruling called the SEC's crypto actions "arbitrary and capricious," echoing language from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals when it rejected the agency's opposition to Grayscale's application for a spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF)."Because we believe the SEC’s order was conclusory and insufficiently reasoned, and thus arbitrary and capricious, we grant Coinbase’s petition in part and remand to the SEC for a more complete explanation," the judges ruled in this case. However, the circuit court didn't believe Coinbase's arguments justified a clear need to demand new rules from the regulator.“We’re reviewing the decision and will determine next steps as appropriate," a spokesperson for the SEC said in response to a request for comment."We appreciate the court's careful consideration," said Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, in a posting on social-media site X. His company's pursuit of this petition with the SEC is one of a number of court battles Coinbase has been waging with the agency, including its defense against an SEC enforcement action. Last week, a federal court granted the exchange's effort to accelerate a key legal question in that case to an appeals court.Read More: Coinbase Granted Significant Advance in Court Clash With Gensler's SECWhile the partial ruling against the SEC was forceful, one of the judges added his more blistering view on the agency's performance in this case."If the SEC were to promulgate a rule banning crypto assets, it would surely face legal challenges," Judge Bibas noted. "One might wonder if an agency whose mission is maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets is authorized to ban an emerging technology. … So the SEC has sidestepped the rulemaking process by pursuing a de facto ban through enforcement instead."... Read more

Blockchain analytics company Chainalysis said Monday it had acquired fraud detection startup Alterya. The deal carried a price tag of $150 million, according to Business Insider.Chainalysis, the largest company tracing illicit crypto flows on behalf of financial institutions and governments, plans to bolster its scam-stopping capabilities with Alterya, CEO Jonathan Levin told CoinDesk.The two companies attack a thematically similar problem – bad actors on the blockchain – from different positions. Chainalysis amasses troves of intel on crypto wallets to trace where money is moving. Alterya, meanwhile, uses data on scammers to nix their transactions mid-route."Alterya has collected the most comprehensive set of information about all of the scammers' financial infrastructure that's out there," Levin said. Exchanges that plug into its dataset can flag transactions initiated by potential victims, stopping the crime before it happens.Chainalysis already collects reams of data about crypto scammers, and there's significant overlap between its in-house blacklist and Alterya's, Levin said. But the startup's got an even bigger list than that of Chainalysis. By combining the two companies' capabilities, he expects to sniff out yet more scammers.The acquisition continues Chainalysis' poaching of Israeli-based crypto security startups, after last month's buyout of Hexagate. All teams will work out of a new, combined office in Tel Aviv, Levin said. That could position the company well to further tap what he called Israel's "very deep talent market for this kind of work."While Chainalysis is best-known for its work in the cryptospace, it is now moving to combat financial fraud more broadly. Alterya's AI driven fraud models have "substantial opportunities in the traditional market," Levin said, and the requisite data to help banks and other financial institutions stop fraud. ... Read more

Tether, the crypto behemoth behind the $137 billion stablecoin USDT, is establishing headquarters for the group in bitcoin-friendly nation state El Salvador, the company said on Monday.The firm said the development came after acquiring all the necessary licensing as a stablecoin issuer in the country.The move will see Tether relocate incorporated subsidiaries to El Salvador and create its first brick-and-mortar headquarters, a company spokesperson said. Previously most of the group's entities have been incorporated and licensed in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a source familiar with the company's operations told CoinDesk. The move does not affect the company's existing presence in Swiss crypto hub Lugano, the source added.Two Tether-related companies — Tether NA El Salvador, S.A. de C.V. and Tether International El Salvador, S.A. de C.V. — obtained regulatory approval last August for most crypto-related activities in the country, according to the public registry of the National Commission of Digital Assets in El Salvador (CNAD), the government's crypto regulatory body."This decision is a natural progression for Tether as it allows us to build a new home, foster collaboration, and strengthen our focus on emerging markets,” CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement. “El Salvador represents a beacon of innovation in the digital assets space."The relocation is a massive development for El Salvador's aspirations as a crypto hub. Tether is one of the biggest digital asset companies and reported $7.7 billion in net profits for crypto in the first three quarters of 2024. That's roughly 20% of the country's annual GDP, per IMF data. The move could also bring significant advantages for Tether, too, enjoying the country's tax benefits aimed to attract tech and crypto firms. The "potential relocation leverages El Salvador's new ICT Innovation Law, which offers 15-year tax exemption for tech firms on income, property and capital gains," noted Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at investment firm VanEck.Read more: An Interview With El Salvador’s Top Crypto Regulator: ‘Developing Countries Can Lead the Financial Revolution’Tether's USDT is the largest stablecoin and popular payments and remittances vehicle for users in emerging countries.El Salvador, a tiny country in Central America of over 6 million inhabitants, has become a nascent crypto hub under President Nayib Bukele. The country introduced bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in 2021 and created comprehensive digital asset regulations attracting a range of crypto firms to settle. It's also a significant bitcoin holder, currently holding over 6,000 BTC worth about $550 million, per Arkham data.In other El Salvador news, Rumble (RUM), the video-sharing platform Tether acquired a stake in for $775 million, struck a cloud services deal with the Salvadorian government last week.... Read more

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will soon be under new management, and the senior Republican there, Travis Hill, has outlined some pro-crypto policy thoughts just before he'll take over – at least on a temporary basis, if not as the permanent new chairman.FDIC Vice Chairman Hill, who is expected to be among those in contention for the job once President-elect Donald Trump takes office, is calling for the U.S. banking regulator to issue new guidance for digital assets. He wants to shed the agency's current, one-by-one approach to directing banks' cryptocurrency ties."It has stifled innovation and contributed to a public perception that the FDIC is closed for business if institutions are interested in anything related to blockchain or distributed ledger technology," Hill said in Jan. 10 remarks, which also noted the controversial "pause" letters dug up by a Freedom of Information Act court battle with Coinbase Inc. He suggested those letters illustrated how — in its piecemeal approach to supervising crypto in the banking system — the agency steered many banks away from digital assets business lines. "I continue to think a much better approach would have been — and remains — for the agencies to clearly and transparently describe for the public what activities are legally permissible and how to conduct them in accordance with safety and soundness standards," he said. "And if regulatory approvals are needed, those must be acted upon in a timely way, which has not been the case in recent years."Hill, who was a Republican appointee to the board two years ago, also criticized the FDIC's role in pressuring banks to shed crypto clients."A longstanding goal of the FDIC’s has been to decrease the number of people who are unbanked," he said. "Efforts to debank law-abiding customers are unacceptable, regulators must work to end it, and there is no place at the FDIC for anyone who has pushed — explicitly or implicitly — banks to stop serving law-abiding customers. "Current longtime Chairman Martin Gruenberg has told agency employees he'll step down on January 19, the day before the inauguration of Trump. In the absence of a chairman, the vice chairman steps into that role on an interim basis.Read More: Citibank Debanked Ripple's Brad Garlinghouse Due to Crypto, Exec Says... Read more

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon is nothing if not consistent when it comes to his views on Bitcoin (BTC).“Bitcoin itself has no intrinsic value,” he said in an interview with CBS News on Sunday. “It’s used heavily by sex traffickers, by money launderers, ransomware. So I just don’t feel great about Bitcoin.”Similar to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Dimon was a longtime opponent of bitcoin. Unlike Fink — who underwent a 180 degree reversal in his views a couple of years ago — Dimon has continued holding the same negative outlook even as the bank he leads has profited off of bitcoin's growing use as a financial product, including serving as an authorized participant for BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF.JPMorgan also recently rebranded its blockchain platform, formerly Onyx, to Kinexys as it aims to double down on real world tokenization. The goal, according to JPM’s co-head of Payments Umar Farooq, is to reduce limitations of the current financial infrastructure, like tokenization of real-world assets (RWA). The banking giant said in November that it plans to introduce on-chain foreign exchange capabilities on its platform as soon as the first quarter of 2025.Dimon's most recent comments came just days ahead of Donald Trump reassuming the U.S. presidency. Trump and team have promised and at this point appear set on delivering a far friendlier regulatory environment for bitcoin and crypto in general. ... Read more

Non-fungible token (NFT) project Azuki has announced the release of ANIME, a Japanese cartoon-themed token described on its website as a "culture coin."The price of the Azuki NFTs rose by 9.1% following the announcement, with the cheapest NFT selling for 13.77 ETH ($42,000), according to CoinGecko."We acquired Anime.​com, soon to launch alongside Animecoin as the home for global anime fandom," Azuki wrote on X. "And now, together with the Animecoin Foundation, we’re forging the next arc for anime ... Our mission remains the same: build the open anime universe."The token will be distributed with a heavy focus on community, with 50.5% of the total supply being allocated to the community, 37.5% of which will be fully unlocked at launch whilst an additional 13% "will be managed by ANIME holders through the future AnimeDAO to fund community incentives and initiatives."The company's team and advisors will receive 15.6% of supply bound by a three-year vesting schedule.The move to release a native token follows Pudgy Penguins, which issued PENGU in December which now has a market cap of $1.87 billion.... Read more

One of the largest investment companies in the world with more than $2.3 trillion in assets under management, Los Angeles-based Capital Group has become one of the biggest shareholders in Metaplanet.Based in Japan, Metaplanet was a hotel industry investor that's become notable over the past year for its bitcoin (BTC) treasury strategy modeled along the lines of Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy (MSTR). Capital Group's boosted stake was noted in an X post by Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovic.Metaplanet holds 1,762 BTC and is the fifteenth-largest publicly traded company that holds bitcoin. Since they adopted a bitcoin treasury strategy in April 2024, their share price is up over 1,700%.Capital Group is also the second largest shareholder of Bitcoin development company MicroStrategy (MSTR), owning 18.4 million shares, or more than an 8% stake in the company. Only founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor holds a larger stake. Other sizable investors include Vanguard Group, Morgan Stanley and Jane Street Group.Read more: MicroStrategy Added 2,530 Bitcoin for $243M, Bringing Holdings to 450K BTC ... Read more

On Jan. 2, Muneeb Ali, the co-founder and CEO of leading Bitcoin L2 Stacks, updated his X bio from simply “founder @Stacks” to “war time founder @Stacks.” The change signaled Ali’s recognition that 2025 is a year when Stacks must pivot to a focus on going to market and expanding its user base after 2024’s major technical upgrades. Those upgrades included the long-awaited Nakamoto update that dramatically increased the project’s speed and achieved 100% finality on Bitcoin for all its transactions.According to Ali, a new orientation for Stacks is even more appropriate given that crypto is now firmly in the throes of a bull market, powered by the election of Donald Trump and what is expected to be a more favorable environment for crypto development.“The bio change was a signal to the community that, ‘hey, we understand that these times are different, and you need to move much faster and be much more aggressive,’” Ali said in an interview with CoinDesk. “Not that there won't be product upgrades in 2025, but I would say the product stops being the focus of the work.”Here, Ali discusses what he would have done differently with the Nakamoto upgrade if he could, his frank thoughts on Lightning’s slow progress at enabling payments via bitcoin, where he sees bitcoin’s price going in 2025 and his ultimate goal of getting one billion people on-chain via Stacks. Ali will be a speaker at Consensus Hong Kong in February.This series is brought to you by Consensus Hong Kong. Come and experience the most influential event in Web3 and Digital Assets, Feb.18-20. Register today and save 15% with the code CoinDesk15.This interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.So where does the Nakamoto upgrade stand now?I still think Bitcoin needs a really, really good L2. One reason is that Bitcoin's UX is not going to change at the L1 level; you're never going to have fast, cheap transactions at the L1. And that's why a lot of people were interested in Lightning. It’s been around for a while, it has had some adoption, but not a ton. Let's be real about it.So I think there's still a need for extremely fast, great UX Bitcoin transactions. I would say even Solana has achieved that way better than Lightning or anything else. So one of the things that we want to do is have a Solana-like Bitcoin L2, where you can move any amount of capital super fast, and it's a great UX experience. And I think that's one goal that we are hitting with Nakamoto.Is there anything you would have done differently with respect to Nakamoto’s rollout if you could?So the Nakamoto launch happened in a lot of phases. First, the core consensus capital moved in April. Then we launched the fast blocks, but the more complex transactions couldn't benefit from it. And then we did another release where the more complex transactions could also benefit. But looking back, it's like there was a trickled release. So people had high expectations at every step, and then they're like ‘oh, it's not here yet, it's not here yet.’ So by the time it fully launched, I think it took away some of the excitement, frankly.Do you think we'll continue to see interest swing back to building and programming on Bitcoin as opposed to Ethereum and other chains in 2025?I think so. Bitcoin is like one of those things that is like a class of its own in a way; it just never goes away. Even if you think about what's happening in the public markets and how many public companies are now building Bitcoin treasuries, Bitcoin is so far ahead of anything else in terms of adoption. So there was more excitement about Bitcoin L2s maybe a year ago, and it seemed to have cooled down a little bit. But I think Bitcoin is so fundamental that people will just come back to it.How do you think Donald Trump will affect the course of Bitcoin?A lot. Look at the people he's picking, like David Sachs as crypto and AI czar. He’s a big LP at Multicoin Capital and fully updated on crypto and Solana, so I think it makes a huge difference. And the same is true for some of the other people that Trump is picking as advisors. In the U.S. for the last four years, the government and the regulatory bodies were literally just fighting us. Now I think they're actually going to actively support and encourage things, which is a huge 180. It helps a lot.Also, if any of the Bitcoin Reserve [plans] happen, that's going to be a huge, huge signal throughout the world. Even if they happen [just] at the state level, like in Texas or Wyoming, it will send a huge signal around the world.What’s your guess on where bitcoin's price might be at the end of year?I'm still a believer in the four year cycle, with the current cycle I see as ending in Q4 2025. And even though there are some reasons to believe that maybe the cycles won't be that intense, I'm personally still a believer. I'd be surprised if we don't see $150,000 by the end of the year, and I do think we can see $200,000. That would be my high range.When are we going to see fast and efficient payments via bitcoin?We're trying to make it happen ourselves. And I think Lightning deserves a lot of credit — there are a lot of die-hard fans that use it. But the technology was complex and not very easy to integrate, and the Bitcoin community really just got behind one project. And I think the way to do this is you let dozens of experiments happen and see what attracts attention. One of the things I like about Bitcoin L2s with so many different projects getting started is that finally we are seeing multiple experiments happen. If Lightning was too hard to integrate, let other projects have a go at it.If you go to a Bitcoin conference or hear from some of the top people like [MicroStrategy Founder] Michael Saylor, there’s this attitude that Lightning is the solution and the only solution. They wouldn't talk about any other L2s, and I think some of that has to do with the fact that some of these L2s have their own tokens. The bitcoin community doesn't like that. But I think they're slowly now at least opening up.What are you excited about discussing at Consensus Hong Kong?How do we take Bitcoin to a billion people? That's something that excites me and drives some of the technology decisions that we make. If that’s your goal, you almost immediately start looking for L2s, because on L1, a billion people can't even own UTXOs [Unspent Transaction Outputs]. I don't know that a lot of Bitcoiners even realize that a billion people cannot own a UTXO on-chain on Bitcoin alone.That’s something that probably doesn't get talked about that much in our industry. People have made peace with onboarding people to Bitcoin through Coinbase and Binance and maybe through ETFs. But that’s not what Bitcoin is about. Bitcoin is about decentralization and self-custody and people being in control directly. We can't forget that mission.... Read more

The final quarter of 2024 marked a surge in cryptocurrency mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, signalling that the post-election sentiment shift could spark even more deals in the new year.M&A has already been on the rise, and the recent acquisition of Bridge by Stripe marked a significant milestone that highlights a trend of the increasingly blurred lines between traditional finance and digital assets.According to The Block Pro data, activity in 2024 was still behind 2022's all-time high of 271 deals, signaling steady yet restrained growth but there are signs that the record may be broken in 2025. With major institutions including BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale launching Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs, and the Trump election fueling optimism, the stage is set for a renewed M&A wave.The key question now is - what does M&A mean for driving innovation in the DeFi space?Bridging the GapRecent high-profile acquisitions, such as Stripe’s purchase of Bridge and Robinhood’s acquisition of Bitstamp, underscore the undeniable intersection between traditional finance and digital assets. These deals aren’t just about expansion, they’re a clear signal that firms are looking to strengthen their offerings to meet the growing demands of institutional clients who want secure custody and robust risk management.A lot of discourse has focused on pitting DeFi against TradFi, but the recent M&A activity suggests we may be entering a new era where finance is finally a unified, evolving ecosystem. Traditional finance has hurdles to clear in its DeFi transition, especially around regulatory compliance and accessibility. To navigate these waters, TradFi needs enterprise-grade solutions that not only meet regulatory standards but also simplify the user experience. DeFi platforms, while powerful, can sometimes be challenging for non-crypto native users due to their complex interfacesThose looking to branch into crypto should focus on platforms like Enzyme with transparent on-chain infrastructure, that combines automated features like smart contracts, automated investment strategies, and risk management tools within a user-friendly interface. This approach simplifies the management of digital assets, ensuring compliance without the usual complexity of blockchain technology. By adopting these tools, traditional financial institutions can transition into the DeFi space more easily, minimizing risk while maintaining control.Composability as a Catalyst for ChangeFor builders and managers, consolidation caters to the convenience of accessing a wider pool of resources within a secure, integrated infrastructure, making it easier to innovate. This global movement bridges the gap between Web2 and Web3, gradually dissolving the boundary to form a unified, innovative space. It’s also happening within the decentralized space itself.M&A plays a key role in driving composability in DeFi by enabling the consolidation of resources, technologies, and expertise from multiple projects, which can strengthen interoperability between different protocols. Composability is the ability for different protocols and apps to integrate and work together, enabling users to build complex financial solutions and acting as a catalyst for growth in the DeFi space. This increasing consolidation and merging of different protocols and resources empowers builders to build new financial products. This reduces barriers to entry, meaning developers can create powerful applications without starting from scratch, while users benefit from easy access to interconnected services.Liquid Staking Tokens are a prime example of composability and a key trend that is predicted to grow in 2025. Earning staking rewards while also being used as liquidity or collateral, they strengthen capital efficiency and maximize the utility of assets across the DeFi ecosystem.The Future of DeFi in 2025The future for decentralized finance is bright. Established Ethereum protocols have been consistently building and improving. These advancements, combined with a more favourable regulatory environment and enhanced user experiences, are setting the stage for significant growth.The future of decentralized finance lies in composability and interoperability. Networks should not be an obstacle to investment, but navigating them can sometimes be complex. Simplified interfaces that bridge the complexity of multiple networks allow users to focus on opportunities rather than technical barriers.As M&A activity continues, crypto firms will have to balance the innovation of DeFi with the practical realities of regulation, governance, and market competition. This consolidation is key to building secure ecosystems and meeting the increasing expectations of investors and builders. ... Read more

As Bitcoin continues to rise and institutional investors pour over $20 billion into crypto ETFs, a fundamental shift is occurring in digital asset markets. The appointment of Paul Atkins as SEC Chair, known for favoring market-driven solutions over heavy-handed enforcement, has fueled optimism that crypto can finally balance innovation with regulation.But the crypto industry faces a stark choice that no amount of regulatory flexibility can overcome: either sacrifice the unlimited programmability that makes these systems revolutionary, or accept that their compliance from an anti-money laundering regulation perspective cannot be fully automated or built into the system. This isn't a temporary technological limitation about one system or another – it's as fundamental as the laws of mathematics.Automating Market IntegrityTo begin to see why, we can think about an economy where shells are money. If we pass a law that nobody can transact more than 10 times per day or hold more than 10% of the shells, we have an enforcement problem. How do we know who holds which shells when? Information asymmetry stymies compliance and compliance devolves to a surveillance challenge.Blockchain technology solves that problem. If everyone sees where all the shells are all the time, then enforcement works. We can build compliance into a system and deny banned transactions. Here, the transparency from the blockchain enables automated compliance.But the long-held premise of Web3 is to automate stock exchanges and myriad complex interactions. Doing so requires moving beyond shells to a system where users create their own assets and upload their own programs. And permissionless access to publish these complex programs causes trouble for users who may be exposed to malicious programs or scams, the system which may face congestion, and regulators who care about preventing financial crimes.The core challenge lies in what computer scientists call "undecidability." In traditional finance, when regulators impose rules like "no transactions with sanctioned entities" or "maintain capital adequacy ratios," banks can implement these requirements through their existing control systems. But, in a truly decentralized system where anyone can deploy sophisticated smart contracts, it becomes mathematically impossible to verify in advance whether a new piece of code might violate these rules.JPMorgan's recent rebranding of Onyx to Kinexys illustrates this reality. The platform now processes over $2 billion in daily transactions, and participation is by participants who meet regulatory criteria before joining. Unlike typical cryptocurrency platforms where anyone can write and deploy automated trading programs (known as smart contracts), JPMorgan's system maintains compliance by restricting what participants can do.This approach has attracted major institutional players like BlackRock and State Street, which collectively have more than $15 trillion in assets under management. Many crypto enthusiasts view such restrictions as betraying the technology's promise. These compromises are not just pragmatic choices – they're necessary for any system that aims to guarantee regulatory compliance.The Securities and Exchange Commission's mandate to protect investors while facilitating capital formation has grown increasingly complex in the digital age. Under Gary Gensler's leadership, the SEC took an enforcement-heavy approach to crypto markets, treating most digital assets as securities requiring strict oversight. While Atkins' anticipated principles-based approach might seem more accommodating, it cannot change the underlying mathematical constraints that make automated compliance impossible in permission-less, fully programmable systems.The limitations of fully automated systems became painfully clear at MakerDAO, one of the largest decentralized lending platforms with over $10 billion in assets. During March 2024's market turbulence, when Bitcoin's price swung 15% in hours, MakerDAO's automated systems began triggering a cascade of forced liquidations that threatened to collapse the entire platform.Despite years of refinement and over $50 million spent on system development, the protocol required emergency human intervention to prevent a $2 billion loss. Similar incidents at Compound and Aave, which together handle another $15 billion in assets, underscore that this wasn't an isolated case. This wasn't just a technical failure – it demonstrates the impossibility of programming systems to handle every potential scenario while maintaining regulatory compliance.Towards Compliant CryptoThe industry now faces three paths forward, each with distinct implications for investors:First, follow JPMorgan's lead by building permission-based systems that sacrifice some decentralization for clear regulatory compliance. This approach has already gained significant traction: six of the top ten global banks have launched similar initiatives in 2024, collectively handling over $2 trillion in transactions. The surge in regulated crypto products, from ETFs to tokenized securities, further validates this path.Second, limit blockchain systems to simple, predictable operations that can be automatically verified for compliance. This is the approach adopted by Ripple with its newly launched RUSD, designed to be compliant with the New York Department of Financial Services standards based on the limited purpose trust company framework. While this constrains innovation due to the restriction action space that users can make, it enables decentralization within carefully defined boundaries.Third, continue pursuing unlimited programmability while accepting that such systems cannot provide strong regulatory guarantees. This path, chosen by platforms like Uniswap with its over $1 trillion in total trading volume in 2024, faces mounting challenges. Recent regulatory actions against similar platforms in Singapore, the U.K. and Japan suggest this approach's days may be numbered in developed markets.For investors navigating this evolving landscape, the implications are clear. The current market enthusiasm, largely driven by regulated products like ETFs, indicates the industry is moving toward the first option. Projects that acknowledge and address these fundamental constraints, rather than fighting them, are likely to thrive. This explains why traditional financial institutions' blockchain initiatives, despite their limitations, are seeing dramatic growth – JPMorgan's platform reported a 127% increase in transaction volume this year.The success stories in crypto's next chapter will likely be hybrid systems that balance innovation with practical constraints. Investment opportunities exist in both regulated platforms that provide clear compliance guarantees and innovative projects that thoughtfully limit their scope to achieve verifiable safety properties.As this market matures, understanding these mathematical constraints becomes crucial for investors' risk assessment and portfolio allocation. The evidence is already clear in market performance: regulated crypto platforms have delivered average returns of 156% over the past year, while unrestricted platforms face increasing volatility and regulatory risks.Atkins' principles-based approach might offer more flexibility than Gensler's prescriptive rules, but it cannot override the fundamental limits of automated compliance. Just as physics constrains what's possible in the physical world, these mathematical principles set immutable boundaries in financial technology. The impossible dream isn't cryptocurrency itself – it's the notion that we can have unrestricted programmability, complete decentralization and guaranteed regulatory compliance all at once.For the crypto industry to deliver on its revolutionary potential, it must first acknowledge these immutable constraints. The winners in this next phase won't be those promising to overcome these mathematical limits, but those who design intelligent ways to work within them.... 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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 3246.57, down 4.2% (-143.25) since 4 p.m. ET on Friday.One of 20 assets is trading higher.Leaders: XRP (+1.4%) and ADA (-2.6%).Laggards: RENDER (-10.7%) and NEAR (-10.4%).The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.... Read more

Disclaimer: The analyst who wrote this piece owns shares of MicroStrategy and Semler Scientific (MSTR).Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy (MSTR) has increased its bitcoin (BTC) holdings for the tenth consecutive week.In the week ending Jan. 12, MicroStrategy purchased 2,530 BTC for $243 million, bringing its total holdings to 450,000 BTC. The average price of the latest bitcoin buy was $95,972. The overall average purchase price of the company's holdings is now $62,691.Executive Chairman Michael Saylor once again teased the announcement on X on Sunday.Shares are lower by nearly 5% in premarket action alongside a similarly sized dip in the price of bitcoin, which is now hanging on just above $90,000.In addition, Semler Scientific (SMLR) has acquired an additional 237 BTC for $23.3 million using proceeds from an at-the-market (ATM) offering and operating cash flow for an an average price of $98,267. SMLR now holds 2,321 BTC for an aggregate amount of $191.9 million average purchase price of $82,867. Shares are down almost 7% in premarket trading. ... Read more

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)Risk assets are trading down as the dollar index and Treasury yields benefit from Friday's blowout nonfarm payrolls report and the Palisades Fires posing a risk to the insurance sector and some P&C companies.BTC is down 2%, changing hands in the key support zone of $90,000 and $93,000, with alternative cryptocurrencies posting bigger losses as usual. ETH has dropped to the lowest since Dec. 21 and the risk-off has clouded XRP's bullish technical outlook (see TA section). Whales likely accumulated XRP over South Korea-based Upbit over the weekend. AI coins is the worst performing sub-sector of the past 24 hours. In traditional markets, futures tied to the S&P 500 point to negative open alongside continued downside volatility in the British pound and emerging market currencies.The risk-off sentiment, however, didn't stop Michael Saylor from indicating a potential for another bitcoin purchase as he shared an update on MicroStrategy's bitcoin purchase tracker. If it would put a dent into the negative market sentiment, is another story. "The firm's purchase last Monday amounted to approximately $100 million, which had limited market impact, but underscores the firm's ongoing demand," Valentin Fournier, analyst at BRN said.Other things being equal, the risk of BTC losing the support zone appears high as some investment banks believe the Fed rate-cutting cycle is over, with Bank of America suggesting a potential for a rate hike. Per some observers, the consensus is that prices will deflate to $70K, followed by a renewed rally. Meanwhile, the 30-day moving average of the Coinbase-Binance BTC price differential, which has a knack of marking major price tops, has slipped to the lowest since at least 2019, a sign of weaker stateside demand.Over the near term, the crypto market is likely to focus on President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20 and the ongoing FTX claim distributions, according to Coinbase Institutional.What to WatchCryptoJan. 13: Solayer (LAYER) "Season 1" airdrop snapshot for staking participants, liquidity providers, and partner ecosystem users. Jan. 15: Derive (DRV) to create and distribute new tokens in token generation event.Jan. 15: Mintlayer version 1.0.0 release. The mainnet upgrade introduces atomic swaps, enabling native BTC cross-chain swaps.Jan. 16, 3:00 a.m.: Trading for the Sonic token (S) is set to start on Binance, featuring pairs like S/USDT, S/BTC, and S/BNB.Jan. 17: Primary listing of SOLV, the native token of Solv Protocol.MacroJan. 13, 2:00 p.m.: The U.S. Department of the Treasury releases December 2024's Monthly Treasury Statement report. Monthly budget deficit Est. $62B vs. Prev. $367B.Jan. 14, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases December 2024’s PPI data.PPI MoM Est. 0.3% vs. Prev. 0.4%.Core PPI MoM Est. 0.3% vs. Prev. 0.2%.Core PPI YoY Est. 3.7% vs. Prev. 3.4%.PPI YoY Est. 3.4% vs. Prev. 3%.Jan. 14, 8:55 a.m.: U.S. Redbook YoY for the week ending on Jan. 11. Prev. 6.8%.Jan. 15, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases December 2024’s Consumer Price Index Summary.Core Inflation Rate MoM Est. 0.2% vs. Prev. 0.3%.Core Inflation Rate YoY Est. 3.3% vs. Prev. 3.3%.Inflation Rate MoM Est. 0.3% vs. Prev. 0.3%.Inflation Rate YoY Est. 2.8% vs. Prev. 2.7%.Jan. 16, 2:00 a.m.: The U.K.’s Office for National Statistics November 2024’s GDP estimate.GDP MoM Est. 0.2% vs. Prev. -0.1%.GDP YoY Prev. 1.3%.Jan. 16, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Department of Labor releases the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report for the week ending on Jan. 11. Initial Jobless Claims Est. 214K vs. Prev. 201K.Jan. 17, 5:00 a.m.: Eurostat releases December 2024's Eurozone inflation data.Inflation Rate MoM Final Est. 0.4% vs Prev. -0.3%.Core Inflation Rate YoY Final Est. 2.7% vs. Prev. 2.7%.Inflation Rate YoY Final Est. 2.4% vs. Prev. 2.2%.Token EventsGovernance votes & callsAave community propose adjusting borrow rate for its GHO stablecoin from 10.50% to 9.00%. Aavegotchi DAO has an active vote on modifying ETH sell ladder parameters due to "significant underperformance" by ETH.Jan. 14: Mantra community call with its co-founderUnlocksNo major unlocks scheduled today.Jan. 14: Arbitrum (ARB) to unlock 0.93% of its circulating supply, worth $70.65 million.Jan. 15: Connex (CONX) to unlock 376% of its circulating supply, worth $84.5 million.Jan. 18: Ondo (ONDO) to unlock 134% of its circulating supply, worth $2.19 billion.Token LaunchesNo major token launches scheduled today.Jan. 15: Derive (DRV) will launch, with 5% of supply going to sENA stakers. Jan. 16: Solayer (LAYER) to host token sale followed by five months of points farming.Jan. 17: Solv Protocol (SOLV) to be listed on Binance.Conferences:Day 8 of 14: Starknet, an Ethereum layer 2, is holding its Winter Hackathon (online).Day 1 of 12: Swiss WEB3FEST Winter Edition 2025 (Zug, Zurich, St. Moritz, Davos)Jan. 17: Unchained: Blockchain Business Forum 2025 (Los Angeles)Jan. 18: BitcoinDay (Naples, Florida)Jan. 20-24: World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (Davos-Klosters, Switzerland)Jan. 21: Frankfurt Tokenization Conference 2025Jan. 25-26: Catstanbul 2025 (Istanbul). The first community conference for Jupiter, a decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator built on Solana.Jan 30-31: Plan B Forum (San Salvador, El Salvador)Feb. 3: Digital Assets Forum (London)Feb. 18-20: Consensus Hong KongToken TalkBy Oliver KnightAI agent tokens have suffered a deep correction, with ai16z now trading at $1.02, down more than 60% from its record high set on Jan. 2. Virtual Protocol's native token (VIRTUAL) has slumped a further 16% over the past 24-hours to compound its recent downtrend, it is now trading at $2.40 after surging to $5.04 on Jan. 2.NFT project Azuki has announced the launch of ANIME, a Japanese cartoon-themed token that will distribute 50.5% of the token's supply to the Azuki community. Azuki employees and advisors will receive 15.62% of supply bound by a vesting schedule.Ethena's ENA token has dropped by 11.4% over the past 24-hours as funding rates for ETH, which Ethena's business model relies on, is beginning to fall into neutral territory. Ethena still offers a yield of 11% on its stablecoin although it's unclear how long that rate is sustainable if funding rates continue to fall.Ether whales have begun offloading ETH at a loss with one trader selling 10,070 ETH for $33 million at a $1 million loss, the wallet still holds $45 million, on-chain data reported by Lookonchain shows.Derivatives PositioningPerpetual funding rates for TRX, AVAX, SUI and TON have flipped negative, indicating a bearish shift in positioning.Front-end risk reversals show a strong bias for BTC and ETH protective put options in line with the risk-off sentiment in markets. Screen traders have bought puts at $92K, $90K and $87K in BTC. There is notable negative dealer gamma in the range of $90K and $93K, which means these entities might trade in the market's direction to hedge book, bolstering the move. A similar dynamic exists between $3.2K and $3,450. in the ETH market.BTC and ETH DVOLs, measuring 30-day expected price swings, remain in the familiar ranges for the month.Market Movements:BTC is down 3.12% from 4 p.m. ET Friday to $91,392.04 (24hrs: -2.67%)ETH is down 4.78% at $3,109.45 (24hrs: -4.05%)CoinDesk 20 is down 2.15% to 3,310.23 (24hrs: -3.08%)Ether staking yield is down 16 bps to 2.97%BTC funding rate is at -0.0149% (-16.27% annualized) on BinanceDXY is up 0.35% at 110.04Gold is down 0.13% at $2,705.00/ozSilver is down 0.84% to $30.83/ozNikkei 225 closed -1.05% at 39,190.40Hang Seng closed -1% at 18,874.14FTSE is down 0.25% at 82,27.71Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.92% at 4,931.47DJIA closed on Friday -1.63% to 41,938.45S&P 500 closed -1.54% at 5,827.04Nasdaq closed -1.63% at 19,161.63S&P/TSX Composite Index closed -1.22% at 24,767.70S&P 40 Latin America closed -1.31% at 2,181.96U.S. 10-year Treasury is up 2 bps at 4.79%E-mini S&P 500 futures are down 0.78% to 5,820.50E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are down 1.18% to 20,767.25E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index futures are down 0.48% at 42,022.00Bitcoin Stats:BTC Dominance: 58.39Ethereum to bitcoin ratio: 0.033Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 775 EH/sHashprice (spot): $54.6Total Fees: 4.89 BTC/ $462,582CME Futures Open Interest: 175,380 BTCBTC priced in gold: 34.5 ozBTC vs gold market cap: 9.82%Technical AnalysisXRP broke out of a descending triangle pattern Friday, signaling a resumption of the broader uptrend from early November lows. However, BTC's macro-led risk-off action has pushed XRP back to the breakout point. Watch out for a potential move back inside the triangle, as failed breakouts are powerful bearish reversal signals. Crypto EquitiesMicroStrategy (MSTR): closed on Friday at $327.91 (-1.14%), down 4.95% at $311.67 in pre-market.Coinbase Global (COIN): closed at $258.78 (-0.47%), down 4.42% at $247.34 in pre-market.Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY): closed at C$27.07 (+0.82%)MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $17.86 (-2.62%), down 4.59% at $17.04 in pre-market.Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $12.00 (-0.17%), down 5.25% at $11.37 in pre-market.Core Scientific (CORZ): closed unchanged at $14.04, down 3.49% at $13.55 in pre-market.CleanSpark (CLSK): closed unchanged at $10.09, down 5.05% at $9.58 in pre-market CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $23.11 (-0.17%), down 4.41% at $22.09 in pre-market.Semler Scientific (SMLR): closed at $51.36 (+2.33%), down 7.03% at $47.75 in pre-market.Exodus Movement (EXOD): closed unchanged at $37.77, down 9.98% at $34.00 in pre-market.ETF FlowsSpot BTC ETFs:Daily net flow: $-149.4 millionCumulative net flows: $36.22 billionTotal BTC holdings ~ 1.137 million.Spot ETH ETFsDaily net flow: $-68.5 millionCumulative net flows: $2.45 billionTotal ETH holdings ~ 3.582 million.Source: Farside Investors, as... 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