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Base App Pivots to ‘Trading-First’ Six Months After SocialFi Rebrand

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Base App Pivots to ‘Trading-First’ Six Months After SocialFi Rebrand

Base lead Jesse Pollak said the web3 app will focus more on trading features, dialing back its social-heavy approach.

Jesse Pollak, Coinbase’s head of Base and Base App, announced that the Base App will shift its product focus to trading after mixed user feedback on its social-heavy features.

In an X post on Wednesday, Jan. 14, Pollak said the centralized exchange is now refocusing the Base App “to be trading-first,” signaling a shift to a finance focus for the web3 app after months of debate over its direction.

Base is the Ethereum Layer 2 developed by Coinbase, while Base App is the rebranded version of what was Coinbase Wallet, the CEX’s self-custody web3 wallet app.

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After the company positioned the rebranded product as a “super app” in July of last year — combining crypto wallet, trading, social, and other functions — Pollak said “hundreds of thousands” of users indeed tried it for creating, trading, and building. But, as Pollak revealed this week, the response to the Base App’s social features was mixed.

“The app felt overly focused on social,” he wrote, adding it felt “too close to web2” and didn’t reflect the range of assets people want to trade. Pollak also wrote that users are asking for “more high quality assets” and a feed that shows not only social tokens.

Finance-First UX

“We’re going to lean into a finance-first UX. We believe it makes more sense to layer social features on top of finance, than the other way around,” Pollak wrote on X.

The shift follows a similar move by Farcaster, a prominent SocialFi protocol that recently stepped back from its original social-first model to focus more on trading.

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Commenting on Base’s refocus, Dragonfly Capital partner Rob Hadick said in an X post on Jan. 15 that the move reinforces the view that blockchains work best for moving money, saying that “Base may have been the last meaningful hold out” of the social-first approach in web3.

The change also follows Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s public request for feedback late last year, in which he questioned whether the Base App should prioritize trading, social features, or a mix of both.

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Strategy Posts $12.4B Loss as Bitcoin Falls Below Cost Basis

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Strategy Posts $12.4B Loss as Bitcoin Falls Below Cost Basis

Michael Saylor’s Strategy reported a $12.4 billion net loss for the fourth quarter, driven largely by mark-to-market declines in its massive Bitcoin holdings. The loss coincided with Bitcoin briefly slipping below $60,000, pushing the firm’s stash beneath its cumulative cost basis for the first time since 2023 and wiping out gains made after last year’s U.S. election rally.

For years, Strategy transformed itself from an enterprise software company into a leveraged Bitcoin proxy, exploiting a persistent premium in its stock price to raise capital and buy more BTC. That strategy is now faltering. The treasury company announced no new equity issuance or debt financing alongside earnings, signalling tightening access to capital as investor appetite cools.

While Saylor has insisted there are no margin calls and said the firm holds $2.25 billion in cash, enough to cover interest obligations for more than two years, pressure is mounting as Bitcoin continues to trade well below Strategy’s reported average acquisition price of $76,052. The company also reiterated that it does not expect to generate profits in the foreseeable future.

Strategy Holds 713,502 BTC Worth $46 Billion

Strategy currently holds more than 713,000 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $46 billion, per Bloomberg data. Although the firm added $75.3 million worth of BTC in late January, analysts say the broader model is under strain. Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer told Bloomberg that investors are now focused on whether Strategy can still raise capital to fund additional Bitcoin purchases under worsening market conditions.

Critics have grown louder. As reported earlier Michael Burry recently warned that continued declines in Bitcoin could trigger cascading losses for corporate holders, reviving concerns long raised by short sellers about Strategy’s reliance on leverage and non-yielding assets. Strategy’s shares are now down nearly 80% from their November 2024 peak, underscoring how quickly sentiment has turned.

BitMine Faces $8.2B Unrealized ETH Loss as Ether Slides Below $2,000

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BitMine Immersion Technologies is also sitting on roughly $8.2 billion in unrealized losses after Ethereum’s price fell to around $1,930, well below the firm’s average purchase price of $3,826 per token. The company holds about 4.29 million ETH, acquired for roughly $16.4 billion, and has seen the value of those holdings shrink following a nearly 30% decline since early January.

Despite the drawdown, BitMine has staked more than 2.9 million ETH, generating about $188 million in annual yield, holds $538 million in cash with no debt, and says it views the sell-off as a buying opportunity, even as its shares have plunged 88% from their July peak, echoing losses seen at Michael Saylor’s Strategy.

The post Strategy Posts $12.4B Loss as Bitcoin Falls Below Cost Basis appeared first on Cryptonews.

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BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF (IBIT) hits $10 billion volume record, hinting at capitulation

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BlackRock's bitcoin ETF (IBIT) hits $10 billion volume record, hinting at capitulation

Talk about frenzied trading.

On Thursday, BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, tickered as IBIT, hit a wild record with over 284 million shares traded, per Nasdaq data. That’s a whopping $10 billion-plus in notional value.

To put it in perspective, that smashed the old record of 169.21 million shares from Nov. 21 by a massive 169%.

The record volume came as IBIT plunged 13% to under $35, the lowest since Oct. 11, 2024, extending the year-to-date loss to 27%. Prices peaked at a high of $71.82 in early October.

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The fund processed redemptions totaling $175.33 million on Thursday, accounting for 40% of the cumulative net outflow of $434.11 million across 11 funds, according to SoSoValue.

IBIT, the world’s largest publicly listed bitcoin fund, holds physical coins and is designed to mirror the spot price of the world’s top cryptocurrency, which has been declining recently, crashing to nearly $60,000 on Thursday. The fund has been a preferred alternative investment vehicle for institutions seeking exposure to cryptocurrency through regulated products.

Capitulation hints

The combination of record volume and price crash often signals capitulation – long-term holders throwing in the towel and liquidating their holdings at a loss.

It marks the bear market’s peak selling phase, potentially signaling the start of a slow, painful bottoming process.

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IBIT options trading on Thursday told the same story. Longer duration put options. or contracts used to hedge against downturns, reached a record premium of over 25 volatility points above call options (bullish bets), according to data from MarketChameleon.

That kind of heavy put bias often signals peak fear as well.

That said, nothing’s guaranteed, as bear markets can drag on longer than even dip buyers can stay liquid.

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Bitcoin Volatility Hits 100% Ahead of $2.6B Options Expiry

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Bitcoin Expiring Options

More than $2.6 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum options are set to expire, a development that could reshape short-term price dynamics as traders unwind hedges and reposition.

The event comes amid elevated volatility, defensive positioning, and growing evidence that institutional participants are actively hedging downside risk.

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Bitcoin and Ethereum Options Expiry Could Trigger Volatility as $2.6 Billion in Contracts Settle

Data from derivatives markets shows Bitcoin accounts for the bulk of the expiry, with roughly $2.2 billion in notional value tied to contracts. Ethereum represents an additional $419 million, bringing the combined total to more than $2.6 billion.

Bitcoin is currently trading near $64,686, significantly below its max pain level of $80,000, the price at which the greatest number of options would expire worthless.

Total open interest stands at 33,984 contracts, including 21,396 calls and 12,588 puts, resulting in a put-to-call ratio of 0.59.

Bitcoin Expiring Options
Bitcoin Expiring Options. Source: Deribit

Ethereum, meanwhile, is trading around $1,905, also below its $2,400 max pain level. Total open interest stands at 219,034 contracts, with call open interest of 113,427 and put open interest of 105,607.

The put-to-call ratio of 0.93 suggests a more balanced, yet still cautious, positioning compared with Bitcoin.

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Ethereum Expiring Options
Ethereum Expiring Options. Source: Deribit

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The gap between spot prices and max pain levels suggests that option sellers could benefit if prices remain suppressed into expiry. Meanwhile, traders holding directional bets may face losses if markets remain range-bound.

Notably, today’s expiring options are significantly lower than the $8.8 billion contracts that settled last Friday, because the January 30 event was for the month.

Institutions Hedge as Volatility Climbs

Nevertheless, analysts at Greeks.live say derivatives markets are showing clear signs of stress and repositioning, with volatility rising sharply and traders moving to protect portfolios.

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“The $60,000 range [for Bitcoin] represents the consolidation zone prior to the Trump rally, where support remains relatively strong. Should a rapid dip occur in the short term, it may present a buying opportunity,” they wrote.

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According to the analysts, options data indicate institutions and large players are urgently hedging and placing bets.

Bitcoin’s current-month implied volatility (IV) has surged to 100%, doubling since the start of the year, while the main contracts’ IV has also breached 50%, climbing 15% over two weeks.

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With skew at a two-year low, the experts say options market structure is now entirely dominated by bearish sentiment, though some lottery-style buying of deeply out-of-the-money options has emerged.

“The market currently exhibits excessive panic, and conditions for a sustained BTC crash remain insufficient. Rapid risk-off liquidation could actually facilitate a market rebound,” Greeks.live analysts wrote.

Indeed, the market is in panic mode, and with good reason, as the Bitcoin price steadily edges toward the $60,000 psychological level.

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The surge in implied volatility to 100% highlights the scale of uncertainty currently priced into Bitcoin markets, reflecting expectations of larger-than-normal price swings.

Expiry Could Reset Market Flows

Elsewhere, Deribit analysts note that options positioning is clustered around key strike levels, which may be influencing price behavior ahead of expiry.

“With protection demand already increasing and volatility repriced, this expiry could act as a short-term reset in dealer hedging flows. Expiry may remove positioning-related ‘gravity’ around big strikes, so price behavior after 08:00 UTC may differ from the days leading into expiry,” Deribit analysts stated.

The options expire at 08:00 UTC on Deribit. If those dynamics play out, markets could see increased volatility immediately after expiry as hedging flows unwind and liquidity conditions shift.

While bearish sentiment currently dominates derivatives positioning, panic-driven markets can sometimes produce sharp rebounds, particularly if large liquidations clear excess leverage.

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Tether Invests $150M in Gold.com to expand gold tokenization

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Tether Invests $150M in Gold.com to expand gold tokenization

The investment arm of stablecoin issuer Tether has acquired a $150 million stake in the precious metals platform Gold.com to expand access to tokenized gold.

Tether said on Thursday that it acquired an approximately 12% stake in the company, which will integrate Tether Gold (XAUt), its gold-backed cryptocurrency, into Gold.com’s platform.

Source: Tether

Gold.com is a publicly listed online marketplace that sells gold and other precious metals, such as silver and platinum, to several markets, including the US.

“Gold has played a central role in preserving value for centuries, particularly during periods of monetary stress and geopolitical uncertainty,” said Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. “Gold exposure is not a trade for Tether; it is a hedge and a long-term allocation to protect our user base and ourselves in a world that is becoming increasingly unstable.”

He added the company’s investment in Gold.com “reflects a long-term belief that gold should be as accessible, transferable, and usable as modern digital money, without compromising on physical backing or ownership.”

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Tether explores stablecoin payments for gold

Tether and Gold.com are also exploring options to enable customers to purchase physical gold with Tether’s flagship stablecoin USDt (USDT) and its new stablecoin specifically for the US market, USAt (USAT), which it launched with crypto-native bank Anchorage Digital on Jan. 27.

Related: Bhutan makes second Bitcoin transfer in a week, worth $22M

Tether’s expanded gold offerings come as gold rallied more than 80% over the past 12 months to $5,600 on Jan. 29, before cooling off to $4,800 at the time of writing.