Summary
gm, Wyoming moved to become the first U.S. state to issue its own stablecoin (WYST), positioned as an alternative to CBDCs with plans to eventually offer yield and funding for the state's school system. Meanwhile, Bitcoin rebounded to $118,300 following a brief dip to $115,000, with analysts suggesting bulls have regained control and institutions taking advantage of buying opportunities, as the cryptocurrency approaches a crucial $120,000 resistance level. In regulatory developments, a TRM Labs report revealed that Kyrgyzstan's cryptocurrency industry has become a significant channel for Russian entities seeking to evade international sanctions, with transaction volumes soaring to $4.2 billion in early 2024. Additionally, Divine Research has pioneered a new microfinance model, issuing approximately 30,000 unbacked short-term USDC loans to underserved borrowers using Sam Altman's World ID platform for verification, with interest rates ranging from 20-30%.

News Headlines
📈 Sui Soars 15% as Analysts Predict Breakout to as High as $10

  • Analysts are forecasting a potential 15% surge in Sui cryptocurrency on unprecedented trading volumes, with price models suggesting it could break out to as high as $10.
  • The increasing enthusiasm around Sui indicates a favorable market outlook, though investors should remain cautious given the inherent volatility and uncertainty of cryptocurrency market predictions.

🌍 Demographics Will 'Leapfrog' Bitcoin Adoption in Pakistan

  • Pakistan's state minister of crypto and blockchain, Bilal Bin Saqib, emphasizes that the country's young demographic profile (70% of 250 million people under 30) positions it for accelerated Bitcoin adoption, with 40 million crypto wallets already placing Pakistan in the top five countries for crypto usage.
  • The government has formed a partnership with El Salvador to share Bitcoin development knowledge and is exploring mining opportunities using excess energy, highlighting emerging markets' potential to adopt new technologies faster than developed nations.

💸 Japanese AI Firm Plans to Buy 3,000 Bitcoin Over Next 12 Months

  • A Japanese AI company has announced plans to purchase 3,000 Bitcoin over the next year, marking a significant institutional investment in the cryptocurrency market amid growing interest from corporate entities.
  • This acquisition strategy reflects a bullish outlook on Bitcoin's long-term value and demonstrates the growing trend of integrating AI and cryptocurrency as complementary technologies, potentially using advanced data analysis to inform investment decisions.

⛏️ Solo Bitcoin Miner Scores $373,000 Block Reward

  • In a remarkable achievement, a solo Bitcoin miner successfully mined block 907283, earning a reward of 3.125 BTC valued at approximately $372,773 despite the increasingly challenging mining landscape dominated by large corporations.
  • This success story demonstrates that individual miners can still occasionally compete with larger operations, even as the Bitcoin network difficulty has risen to around 126 trillion, forcing many mining companies to rely on advanced technologies and low-cost energy sources.

🔮 Bitcoin's 'Up Year' Is 2026, and the Four-Year Cycle Is Dead: Bitwise

  • According to Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, Bitcoin may experience substantial growth in 2026, signaling a departure from the traditional four-year market cycle as the halving cycle loses significance and lower interest rates make Bitcoin more attractive compared to traditional assets.
  • Hougan expresses optimism about cryptocurrency's future, citing regulatory clarity and increased institutional adoption as factors reducing the likelihood of major price pullbacks, while predicting a steady rather than aggressive rally characterized as a "sustained steady boom."

Market Metrics

Fundraising & VC
No fundraising data today.

Regulatory
🏠 FHFA Recognizes Crypto for Mortgage Applications

  • The Federal Housing Finance Agency's decision to recognize cryptocurrency assets in mortgage applications marks a significant shift in integrating digital wealth into traditional finance.
  • This policy change acknowledges the legitimacy of digital wealth and responds to increasing demand from homebuyers who wish to use cryptocurrencies for down payments.

👨‍⚖️ Roman Storm Seeks Additional $1.5M for Tornado Cash Defense

  • Tornado Cash co-creator Roman Storm is requesting an additional $1.5 million for legal fees as his trial enters its third week, with $3.9 million already raised from the community.
  • The case has significant implications for the legality of open-source privacy tools and could set precedents regarding developer responsibility for how decentralized software is used.

⚖️ Coinbase Files Lawsuit Over Domain Cybersquatting

  • Coinbase has sued German resident Tobias Honscha for cybersquatting on the coinbase.de domain and allegedly using it to profit through the company's affiliate system.
  • The exchange claims Honscha violated affiliate agreements, exploited Coinbase's brand goodwill, and threatened to manipulate the domain for extortion purposes.

📱 Divine Research Launches Crypto Loans Using World ID

  • Divine Research has initiated 30,000 unbacked USDC loans verified through Sam Altman's World ID platform, targeting underserved users like teachers and vendors.
  • The loans, mostly under $1,000, carry interest rates between 20-30% with a first-loan default rate around 40%, representing a novel approach to crypto-based financial inclusion.

🔄 Crypto Investment Perception Remains Risk-Focused

  • Despite cryptocurrency ownership among U.S. investors growing eightfold since 2018, perceptions of crypto as a risky asset class remain prevalent.
  • The survey highlights ongoing concerns about security, volatility, and regulatory issues influencing investment behavior despite increasing market participation.

Technical Analysis
Bitcoin - Investors have paid higher prices over time to buy Bitcoin and the currency is in a rising trend channel in the short term. This signals increasing optimism among investors and indicates continued rise. The price has risen strongly since the positive signal from the rectangle formation at the break through resistance at 107710. The objective at 115727 is now met, but the formation still gives a signal in the same direction. The currency is approaching resistance at 120800 points, which may give a negative reaction. However, a break upwards through 120800 points will be a positive signal. Volume tops and volume bottoms correspond badly with tops and bottoms in the price. This weakens the rising trend and could be an early signal of a coming trend break. The RSI curve shows a falling trend, which is an early signal of a possible trend reversal downwards for the price as well. The currency is overall assessed as technically neutral for the short term.

Ethereum - Ethereum has broken through the floor of a rising trend channel in the short term. This indicates a slower rising rate at first, or the start of a more horizontal development. There is no resistance in the price chart and further rise is indicated. In case of a negative reaction, the currency has support at approximately 2780 points. RSI above 70 shows that the currency has strong positive momentum in the short term. Investors have steadily paid more to buy the currency, which indicates increasing optimism and that the price will continue to rise. However, particularly for big stocks, high RSI may be a sign that the stock is overbought and that there is a chance of a reaction downwards. The RSI curve shows a falling trend, which could be an early signal of the start of a falling trend for the price as well. The currency is overall assessed as technically positive for the short term.