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Bitcoin’s BTC$69,329.66 sharp rebound from last week’s plunge toward $60,000 has been accompanied by a subtle but important shift in one closely watched indicator of U.S. demand.The Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index — which tracks the price gap between bitcoin traded on Coinbase and the global market average — has climbed sharply from deeply negative territory, moving from around -0.22% at the height of the selloff to roughly -0.05% by Tuesday.While the index remains below zero, the rebound suggests U.S.-based investors stepped in to buy the dip as forced selling pressure eased.Coinbase is widely viewed as a proxy for institutional and…

Buterin criticized modern DeFi as centralized in disguise, arguing USDC yield farming misses core principles. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has questioned the legitimacy of popular USDC yield strategies, arguing they don’t follow the principles of true decentralized finance (DeFi). His critique was in response to crypto analyst C-node, who said that most modern DeFi focuses on speculative gains instead of building genuinely decentralized infrastructure. Critique of Modern DeFi C-node challenged the crypto industry on social media, saying there is little reason to use DeFi unless users hold long cryptocurrency positions and need financial services while keeping self-custody. Buterin supported this…

Ripple has announced two new partnerships with Figment and Securosys to expand the capabilities of Ripple Custody, its institutional digital asset custody solution.It is evident that Ripple is currently in an infrastructure arms race to perfect its payment, custody, and staking services for institutions. However, real-world adoption and price have yet to show signs of a breakthrough.Sponsored SponsoredRipple Expands Custody Offering With Figment and Securosys Partnerships Ripple said the partnerships are designed to simplify procurement and support faster deployment of custody services for regulated institutions. The move comes shortly after Ripple expanded its custody stack through the acquisition of Palisade and…

In brief Selling pressure is showing signs of fatigue, according analysts citing on-chain data. Large holders scooped more than 54,000 BTC during last week’s drop, in a sign some are buying the dip. Still, experts warn stabilization alone does not signal a reversal. Sell-side pressure for Bitcoin, which last week brought the world’s largest crypto to its lowest point since President Donald Trump was elected for a second term, has begun to abate.Analysts point to increasing demand from large buyers, the balance of aggressive buying and selling, and the percentage of supply in profit as evidence that the drawdown could…

The Ethereum Foundation is sponsoring crypto security nonprofit Security Alliance (SEAL) to “track and neutralize” crypto drainers and other social engineering attackers targeting Ethereum users.SEAL said on Monday that it launched the “Trillion Dollar Security” initiative with EF to support these efforts after reaching out to EF late last year about funding security engineers to more closely track drainer development and protect against wide-scale attacks.The EF is now sponsoring a security engineer whose “sole mission” is to work with SEAL’s intelligence team to combat drainers targeting Ethereum users, said SEAL. Source: Security AllianceSEAL’s broader mission is to protect crypto market…

CoinDesk is hosting its second annual Consensus Hong Kong conference, and as always, we’ll have a number of policy-focused sessions. Are you in town? Find me on stage or around the show floor and say hi!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 narrativeCoinDesk’s annual Consensus Hong Kong conference will kick off this Wednesday with a speech from Hong Kong Chief Executive John KC Lee.Why it mattersHong Kong is playing an interesting role in the intersection of financial services between the global East and…

The Seoul court handed crypto asset manager prison sentence in the first case under the new Virtual Asset User Protection Act. A South Korean court has sentenced Jong-hwan Lee, CEO of a local crypto asset management firm, to three years in prison for manipulating cryptocurrency prices to secure illicit profits. The Seoul Southern District Court ruled on Wednesday that Lee violated the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, earning approximately 7.1 billion Korean won (which is worth around $4.88 million) through price manipulation. Court Findings In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a fine of 500 million won, nearly…

The Bitcoin Sharpe ratio, which measures risk/reward potential, is in negative territory that is often associated with the end of bear markets, according to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost.“The Sharpe ratio has just entered a particularly interesting zone, one that has historically aligned with the final phases of bear markets,” said the analyst on X on Saturday.They added, however, that it is not a signal that the bear market is over, “but rather that we are approaching a point where the risk-to-reward profile is becoming extreme.”The Sharpe ratio has fallen to -10, its lowest level since March 2023, according to CryptoQuant.The ratio…

In brief The FDIC agreed to pay Coinbase $188,440 in legal fees and overhaul FOIA policies following a court ruling that found the agency violated federal disclosure law. The settlement concludes a multi-year legal battle that exposed dozens of “pause letters” the FDIC sent to banks ordering them to halt crypto-related activities. Under new leadership, the FDIC pledged that it would not categorically withhold all bank supervisory documents. The FDIC has agreed to pay $188,440 in legal fees and drop its fight to withhold crypto-related “pause letters,” settling a FOIA lawsuit tied to alleged Operation Choke Point 2.0 debanking tactics…

US-headquartered companies captured 55% of Q4 crypto VC capital. Crypto and blockchain venture capital witnessed a sharp rebound in Q4 2025, driven predominantly by large late-stage deals. Galaxy Digital’s report, authored by Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research, found that venture capitalists deployed $8.5 billion across 425 deals in the quarter – an 84% increase in capital invested and a 2.6% rise in deal count compared to Q3 2025. This represents the strongest quarterly investment in the sector since Q2 2022, although deal counts remain well below 2021-2022 levels. Crypto VC Surge in Q4 Thorn reported that later-stage companies captured…