A crypto whale walked away with a huge profit early Wednesday after U.S.-Iran ceasefire news sent oil prices crashing.

The trader “Loracle” had shorted $5 million in crude oil perpetual futures on Hyperliquid last week. As oil prices cratered over 15% below $100 per barrel early Wednesday, Loracle squared off the bearish bet, pocketing $2 million, per Arkham Intelligence.

Loracle’s crypto holdings, comprising USDT, USDC, ETH, and others, total over $8 million as of this writing.

This shows how traditional markets on decentralized platforms like Hyperliquid are helping crypto traders mint fortunes akin to the memecoin mania of 2020-21 that created degen millionaires.

The recent war has established established Hyperliquid as a go-to platform for crypto traders to bet on traditional assets, especially on weekends when legacy markets are closed.

Hyperliquid’s latest activity figures make it clear: WTI crude oil perpetual futures racked up $2.45 billion in trading volume over the past 24 hours, outpacing perpetuals tied to ether (ETH), the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market value. Bitcoin BTC$71,790.15 holds the top spot, while Brent oil sits fourth with $1.3 billion in volume.

Alchemy, a cryptocurrency infrastructure provider used by many blockchains and firms in the space, has released a new tool, AgentPay , that lets different AI payment systems, from companies like Coinbase, Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, and Circle, work together.

The new tool addresses the problem that agentic payment systems currently coming online aren’t “interoperable”, or in other words, don’t talk to one another, meaning a merchant that wants AI agents as customers has to build a separate integration for every protocol.

“That’s not sustainable, and it’s only going to get more fragmented as more systems launch,” said Alchemy CTO Guillaume Poncin in an email. “AgentPay fixes that. A merchant registers their existing API with us, we give them a new endpoint, and any agent on any supported protocol can pay them through it.”

Alchemy is widely seen as the “AWS of Web3,” as it provides the infrastructure, developer tools, and node services needed to build blockchain applications.

AgentPay promises one integration for every protocol, citing the likes of x402, MPP, A2P, L402. “We sit in the middle as the translation layer, where AgentPay routes instructions, and Alchemy never touches the funds,” Poncin said.

So-called agentic finance, which is expected to become a major pillar of all payments activity on the internet, can involve micro-transactions, or nano-payments, some of which take place between AI agents with humans somewhere in the background.

Alchemy has carried out a private beta soft launch for now, and is aiming for a general release in the coming weeks.

More than two years after the first 11 spot bitcoin ETFs began trading in the U.S., a 12th, issued by a top-10 Wall Street bank with $1.9 trillion in assets under management, could debut Wednesday.

The Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust could start trading NYSE Arca under the ticker MSBT, Bloomberg’s ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas said on X, an NYSE listing notice that points to an April 8 launch.

The ETF hold actual bitcoin and tracks the CoinDesk Bitcoin Benchmark 4 PM NY Settlement Rate. It does not use leverage, derivatives, or active trading to beat bitcoin’s price swings. BNY and Coinbase Custody will handle bitcoin storage, and the fund is launching with about $1 million in initial capital (seed) and 50,000 shares ready for trading.

Like its peers, the fund gives investors exposure to the cryptocurrency without having to own or safeguard it themselves.

Where it stands out is on cost: the trust charges a 0.14% annual fee, undercutting BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust at 0.25% and most rivals.

The impending launch marks a milestone for the market, signaling the first time a major U.S. bank is bringing a spot bitcoin ETF to investors. It underscoring the surging demand for exposure to alternative assets like bitcoin.

Morgan Stanley is pushing deeper into digital assets, having filed earlier this year for spot Solana ETFs and planning to roll out trading in bitcoin, ethereum and solana on E*Trade in the first half of 2026 via a collab with Zero Hash.

Spot ETFs have become a go-to vehicle for institutions seeking exposure to the cryptocurrency. Since the first 11 funds debuted in January 2024, they have collectively drawn more than $56 billion in net inflows, according to data source SoSoValue.

Activity in derivatives linked to these products has surged as well, with the mechanics of options tied to iShares Bitcoin Trust widely seen as amplifying bitcoin’s price slide in early February.

These alternative investment vehicles have driven the mainstream financialization of Bitcoin, helping to dampen its volatility. Market dynamics have evolved, with BTC’s implied volatility increasingly mirroring Wall Street’s fear gauge, the VIX – rising during price declines and falling during rallies.

Morgan Stanley’s upcoming ETF is likely to reinforce these trends.

JPMorgan released a projection on Monday stating that the tokenized real-world assets (RWA) market could grow to $13 trillion by 2030. The estimate reflects the investment bank’s outlook on the expansion of blockchain-based tokenization of traditional assets including securities, commodities, and real estate.

The projection underscores growing institutional interest in RWA tokenization as a mechanism to improve settlement efficiency and accessibility to traditionally illiquid assets. JPMorgan has been active in the blockchain space, previously launching its own blockchain network for institutional payments.

Sources: WatcherGuru

This article was generated automatically by The Defiant’s AI news system from publicly available sources.

The Solana Foundation announced the launch of STRIDE (Solana Trust, Resilience and Infrastructure for DeFi Enterprises) and the Solana Incident Response Network (SIRN) on Monday. STRIDE establishes security requirements and independent evaluations for Solana protocols, with the Solana Foundation funding formal verification for protocols above $100M TVL and providing 24/7 threat monitoring for those above $10M TVL. SIRN, a membership-based network led by founding members Asymmetric Research, OpenZeppelin Security, Neodyme, Multisig, and Zero Shadow, offers real-time incident response across the ecosystem with prioritization by TVL.

The initiatives represent an ecosystem-wide investment in security standards as Solana scales. STRIDE includes hands-on evaluations and a public repository of findings available to all protocols. All three programs—STRIDE, threat monitoring, and formal verification—are funded by the Solana Foundation, with SIRN available to all protocols on the network.

Sources: Solana Foundation

This article was generated automatically by The Defiant’s AI news system from publicly available sources.

Stablecoin supply on Ethereum has reached an all-time high of $180 billion, up 150% over the past three years, according to Token Terminal. Ethereum currently holds a 60% market share in the stablecoin sector, dominating the landscape for dollar-pegged tokens across blockchain networks.

Token Terminal projects $1.7 trillion in stablecoin inflows to blockchain networks over the next four years. Assuming Ethereum’s market share gradually declines from 60% to 50%, the network could capture approximately $850 billion in new stablecoin flows by 2030.

Sources: Token Terminal

This article was generated automatically by The Defiant’s AI news system from publicly available sources.

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is advancing a regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers that operate under its supervision, in line with the GENIUS Act. The FDIC’s board voted to publish a proposal establishing minimum standards on reserves, redemption mechanics, capital requirements, risk management and custody for stablecoin issuers and the insured depository institutions (IDIs) that fall under its purview. Signed into law roughly nine months ago, GENIUS grants the FDIC authority to oversee stablecoin activity within the banks it supervises, with a broad aim of bringing more robust oversight to a fast-growing corner of the digital-asset ecosystem. The agency noted that the proposed rules would apply to reserve-backed payment stablecoins and are scheduled to take effect on January 18, 2027, unless earlier action is taken.

The FDIC underscored that, while the proposed rule would insure reserve deposits backing a payment stablecoin, it would not extend FDIC insurance to stablecoin holders themselves. In its view, treating holders as insured depositors would be inconsistent with GENIUS Act provisions, which limit deposit insurance coverage to traditional deposit accounts rather than tokenized payments. Nevertheless, the FDIC argued that by elevating the regulatory and supervisory standards around stablecoin reserves and governance, the rules would create a more secure environment for users who rely on stablecoins for smoother payments and liquidity needs.

Key takeaways

• The FDIC proposes standards on reserves, redemption, capital, risk management and custody for stablecoin issuers and supervised banks, aligning with the GENIUS Act framework.
• FDIC insurance would cover reserves backing payment stablecoins, but not the stablecoin holders themselves, reflecting GENIUS Act’s limits on deposit insurance for digital-asset tokens.
• The GENIUS Act authorized FDIC oversight of stablecoin activity within its supervision footprint; the regulatory timetable points to a January 18, 2027 effective date for many rules, with potential earlier actions.
• The FDIC’s initiative is part of a broader, multi-agency push to regulate stablecoins, with the OCC also moving to implement GENIUS Act provisions and potentially covering a broader range of activities.
• Public input is invited through a 60-day comment window on 144 questions, signaling an extensive consultation process as regulators shape the regime.

Regulatory architecture under GENIUS Act takes shape

The FDIC’s move represents a meaningful step in translating the GENIUS Act’s broad mandate into concrete, bank-centered standards for stablecoins. By focusing on reserve management and governance, the proposal aims to reduce liquidity and credit risk that could arise if stablecoin reserves are not held in a prudent and auditable manner. The agency’s emphasis on custody and risk management signals a priority on how reserves are held and safeguarded, a critical concern for both issuers and users who rely on the stability of these digital tokens in everyday payments and cross-border transfers.

The GENIUS Act, enacted last year, gave the FDIC new authority to supervise stablecoin activity within the banking system it already oversees. That framework is designed to ensure that as stablecoins grow in breadth and usage, the institutions backing them adhere to consistent, enforceable standards. In the FDIC’s view, this approach should provide greater assurance that payment-stablecoin networks operate with heightened governance and capital resilience, reducing potential shock transmission to the broader financial system.

What would be insured—and what would not

A central nuance in the FDIC proposal is the distinction between reserve insurance and holder protection. The agency confirmed that reserve deposits backing a payment stablecoin would fall under the FDIC’s insured deposits framework, at least for the portion of funds held in its supervised banks. However, this protection would not extend to the token holders themselves. The FDIC argued that treating stablecoin holders as insured depositors would run counter to GENIUS Act limitations on insurance coverage for payment-stablecoin users. In practice, this means that while the rails and buffers supporting a paid stablecoin could be shielded by insurance-like guarantees, the value risk borne by holders would remain separate from traditional deposit protections.

Despite the stance on holder protection, the FDIC stressed that the proposed rules would nonetheless enhance security and oversight for those using payment stablecoins by subjecting reserve management and custody to elevated standards. In its view, that combination should foster greater confidence among users and counterparties who rely on stablecoins for on-chain settlements, remittances and retail payments, especially during periods of market stress.

Feedback, timing and a wider regulatory arc

Public participation is a centerpiece of the FDIC’s approach. The agency invited the public to comment on 144 questions related to how it should regulate stablecoin issuers, with a 60-day window for responses. The consultation process follows a December 19 release detailing an earlier GENIUS Act implementation step that established an application procedure for insured depository institutions seeking approval to issue payment stablecoins through subsidiaries. The current proposal thus sits within a broader, staged effort to codify how financial institutions can participate in the stablecoin economy under federal supervision.

The FDIC’s activity is part of a coordinated federal push on digital-asset regulation. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is also advancing GENIUS Act implementations, and the OCC’s track is described as broader in scope than the FDIC’s, covering national bank subsidiaries and certain nonbank issuers. The dual-track approach underscores how U.S. regulators are attempting to thread the needle between fostering innovation in digital payments and ensuring they do so within well-defined risk-management and consumer-protection boundaries.

Why this matters for markets, users and builders

For stablecoin issuers and banks alike, the FDIC’s proposal could redefine the cost and feasibility of issuing payment-stablecoins through FDIC-supervised institutions. A set of uniform reserve and custody standards can reduce fragmentation across different banking partners and issuer structures, providing a clearer pathway for compliance and oversight. This, in turn, may affect how quickly issuers can scale, how they structure reserve holdings, and how custodial arrangements are designed to meet heightened standards. While the insurance of reserves could boost confidence among users and counterparties, issuers may face additional capital and operational requirements that influence product design, liquidity management and the speed of settlement in volatile market conditions.

From a risk perspective, the emphasis on robust governance around reserves and redemption mechanics is aimed at mitigating a key class of failure modes that previously rattled stablecoin markets. If implemented as proposed, the rules could help prevent liquidity stress scenarios that arise when reserves are illiquid or poorly controlled, contributing to a more stable on-chain economy at a time when stablecoins have become a central component of on-chain commerce and liquidity provision.

Investors and builders will want to watch how the agencies harmonize their rules, how fast the 2027 effective date approaches, and how the public comment shapes final language. The interplay between the FDIC’s rules and the OCC’s broader GENIUS Act program will be particularly consequential, potentially creating a unified federal approach to stablecoins that could set global benchmarks for custodian standards, reserve transparency and prudential requirements for issuers.

Beyond the technical details, the broader takeaway is that the U.S. is moving toward a more formalized, bank-centric governance model for stablecoins. This shift could influence where stablecoin reserves are held, how issuers structure their corporate and regulatory relationships, and how users evaluate the safety and reliability of digital payment rails in the coming years.

Keep an eye on how the public comments frame the discussion. The 60-day input period will likely surface perspectives from banks, stablecoin issuers, consumer advocates and other stakeholders, shaping the final iteration of these rules and their ultimate impact on the evolving landscape of digital payments in the United States.

As regulators prepare to publish the final rules, market participants should assess potential stress-test scenarios, reserve-management practices and custody structures that could become industry benchmarks. The GENIUS Act’s intent is clear: bring higher standards and greater scrutiny to a sector that touches everyday commerce, while preserving the core benefits that stablecoins offer in terms of efficiency and interoperability across financial rails.

Readers should remain attentive to updates from both the FDIC and the OCC as they expand on their respective GENIUS Act plans, and to how issuers adapt their product designs in response to the evolving regulatory terrain.

The FDIC’s latest step marks a significant milestone in the ongoing effort to codify the security and reliability of stablecoins within the U.S. financial framework. The next few months will reveal how the 144 questions are addressed and how the final rules translate into real-world change for stablecoin participants across banking and digital-asset markets.

Closing perspective: As the regulatory scaffolding around stablecoins thickens, market participants should watch closely how the finalized rules balance innovation with safety, and how the two regulatory tracks converge to shape a more predictable, bank-backed landscape for digital payments.