Crypto World
PENGU Eyeing Breakthrough to $0.009 Amid Open Interest Boost and Solid Bullish Pattern
Key Insights
- Increasing open interest amid price fall indicates new capital flowing into the market before a breakout.
- Bollinger Bands contracting and relatively steady RSI hint at a volatility squeeze, typically followed by significant price movement.
- Intelligent money holds a greater long-term position than retail investors.
PENGU Set for Critical Breakout Period
It looks like PENGU is entering a very crucial period as the technicals, along with derivatives market analysis, are pointing towards a breakout period for the cryptocurrency. At the moment, PENGU is stuck in a tight range, with the volatility gradually declining during recent sessions. Such developments generally indicate a big price movement in the making.
Currently, we are witnessing the emergence of a standard squeeze pattern, wherein the price range is gradually closing up. As this happens, the pressure starts building on buyers and sellers, who are waiting to enter a new trend. At the same time, all signs point to the bulls taking control of the market soon.
Bands Compressing Indicates Upcoming Expansion
One of the best indications we have at the moment is provided by the Bollinger Bands, which are now narrowing at an extreme rate. The fact that they are compressing means that volatility is low, and that the market is set to break out. As has always been seen in the past, when this happens, prices are set to move sharply.
On the other hand, the RSI indicator stands at 56, meaning that there is continuous buying pressure but that it is not yet overbought. Therefore, there should be more room left before we see a bearish trend forming in the market. Finally, the MACD is relatively flat, suggesting that the momentum in the market is balanced. These indicators suggest that the market is in the process of accumulation.
Repetition of Resistance Tests Heightens Breakout Odds
PENGU has made several tests on an important resistance level of around $0.008, with each repetition seeming to erode the sellers’ resolve. This is noteworthy since multiple attacks on a resistance level often burn up the available liquidity, thereby increasing the probability of a breakout on the next attempt.
As the resistance level becomes weaker, the breakout odds will continue rising. After the breakout, the automated trading system and momentum-based algorithms will likely add further upward pressure. As such, the price may quickly surge towards the next target of $0.009.
The narrowing range indicates that algorithmic traders are keenly watching the resistance level. Therefore, once it breaks out, there will be a quick rally.
The Bullish View Supported by Increase in Open Interest
An additional key element of the bullish sentiment is the increase in the open interest. It has risen by about 6.86% to reach $22.2 million, despite the spot price falling by over 8%. The significance of this difference is that new open interest is being added, rather than previous contracts being closed out.
In many cases, such actions signal strategic positioning, whereby investors are positioning themselves to profit from future price moves. Instead of taking action to close out their current positions due to the decline in prices, they are adding new positions in the hope of a breakout in the future. It can be seen that such actions could be fuel for a sharp price rally.
The Smart Money Has a Significant Long Bias
According to statistics from leading traders, there is a tendency for long bias among the smart money, where around 60% of them have a bullish outlook, compared to just 56.7% from the retail investors. Although the differences appear negligible, they reflect a notable disparity in terms of commitment between experienced traders and average investors.
Such a situation implies the activity of professional or upper-level traders who are building up their positions amid the consolidation stage. In the past, similar trends were always followed by growth in prices, because professionals always positioned themselves in advance before the onset of significant changes.
Moreover, the rather stable ratio of buyers vs. sellers confirms this assumption since controlled accumulation is a much more reliable process.
Key Resistance and Support Areas to Pay Attention To
In order for this scenario to be fulfilled, there should be an eventual break above the $0.008 resistance area, which will mark the beginning of the next uptrend leg towards the $0.009 area.
As for possible support levels, $0.0074 is critical to watch as any movement lower may lead to further losses for PENGU to the $0.006 level because of the potential stop loss order execution.
Candlestick reversal patterns are formations that signal a potential shift in price direction as an existing trend begins to lose momentum. They typically appear at the end of trends, where buying or selling pressure starts to weaken, offering traders an early indication of a possible turning point.
There are many ways to spot a trend reversal, including momentum indicators, trend-following tools, and chart and candlestick patterns. Candle patterns, in particular, have been widely used by traders for decades due to their clear structure and well-defined signals, which have been tested and applied across various financial markets.
Depending on the data source, the total number of candlestick patterns ranges from 30 to more than 100, when niche formations are included. Since it may be challenging to remember and recognise all of them, we have selected 10 of the most popular reversal candlestick patterns that traders with any level of experience can implement in their trading strategies.
Definition and Market Function
Candlestick reversal patterns are formations on a price chart that signal a potential trend change after an extended move. Each candle captures the open, high, low, and close for a set period. The shape of the formation reflects the balance between buyers and sellers at that moment.
Reversal differs from retracement. A reversal points to a change in the dominant trend. A retracement is a counter-move within a trend that quickly resumes. Context matters. A pattern carries weight when it forms at a tested support or resistance level and aligns with recent market structure. In the middle of a range, the same shape means little.
This article covers 10 reversal candlestick patterns:
Market Interpretation of Reversals
Market structure shifts when sustained move exhausts and the opposing side quietly builds conviction. The turn often shows in price action before lagging indicators like moving averages or oscillators react.
Three forces cluster around a change in market structure:
- Liquidity pools build near trend extremes, where stop orders sit above swing highs or below swing lows.
- Positioning becomes one-sided, exposing the weaker side to a squeeze.
- Volatility often expands at the turn, producing wide-range candles with long wicks.
Reading the signal requires trend context and level alignment, not shape alone.
Classification of Reversal Patterns
Candlestick reversal patterns in forex fall into three groups by candle count. Single-candle patterns form in one candle. The hammer, hanging man, inverted hammer, and shooting star belong here. Their signal rests on wick-to-body ratio and trend position.
Double-candle patterns involve two consecutive candles. Bullish engulfing, bearish engulfing, piercing line, and dark cloud cover sit in this group. The second candle is opposite and usually overwhelms the first.
Triple-candle patterns need three candles to complete. Three white soldiers and three black crows form this category. They develop slowly but show directional pressure.
Bullish Reversal Patterns
Bullish reversal patterns form at the end of downtrends. Selling momentum fades as buyers regain control.
Hammer
The hammer candlestick pattern has a small body, a lower wick at least twice the body length, and little to no upper wick. It appears at the end of a downtrend after sustained selling pressure. A close above the hammer’s high on the following candle supports the signal.
Inverted Hammer
The inverted hammer has a small body, an upper wick at least twice the body length, and little to no lower wick. It forms after a prolonged downtrend, often near a tested support zone. Traders often look for the next session to close above the candle’s body before acting.
Three White Soldiers
The three white soldiers pattern consists of three consecutive bullish candles, each opening within the prior body and closing at a new high with short upper wicks. It develops after a downtrend, typically following a stall near the low. The third candle closing above a recent resistance level adds weight to the pattern.
Bullish Engulfing
The bullish engulfing forms when a bullish candle’s body fully covers the prior bearish candle’s body. It appears at the end of a downtrend, with the bearish candle often marking the final push lower. Confirmation is found when a close is seen above the engulfing pattern, meaning the reversal likely has more weight.
Piercing Line
The piercing line pairs a long bearish candle with a bullish candle that opens below the prior low and closes above the bearish body’s midpoint. It forms at the end of a downtrend, often at a tested support zone. Another bullish candle forming after the pattern reinforces the signal.
Bearish Reversal Patterns
These bearish reversal patterns form at the end of uptrends. Buying momentum fades as sellers regain control.
Hanging Man
The hanging man has a small body, a lower wick at least twice the body length, and little to no upper wick. This candlestick pattern structure appears at the end of an uptrend after sustained buying pressure. A close below the hanging man’s low on the following candle supports the signal.
Shooting Star
The shooting star has a small body, an upper wick at least twice the body length, and little to no lower wick. It forms after a prolonged uptrend, often near a tested resistance zone. Traders often look for the next candle to close below the candle’s body before acting.
Three Black Crows
The three black crows formation consists of three consecutive bearish candles, each opening within the prior body and closing at a new low with short lower wicks. It develops after an uptrend, typically following a stall near the high. The third candle closing below a recent support level adds weight to the pattern.
Bearish Engulfing
The bearish engulfing forms when a bearish candle’s body fully covers the prior bullish candle’s body. It appears at the end of an uptrend, with the bullish candle often marking the final push higher. A close below the engulfing candle’s low session supports the reversal.
Dark Cloud Cover
The dark cloud cover setup pairs a long bullish candle with a bearish candle that opens above the prior high and closes below the bullish body’s midpoint. It forms at the end of an uptrend, often at a tested resistance zone. Another bearish candle forming after the pattern reinforces the signal.
How Traders Identify Reversal Candles
Identifying a candlestick reversal pattern involves four observable checks. Each one either confirms or filters the signal before it carries weight.
- Trend presence: the pattern forms at the end of a clear uptrend or downtrend. Shapes that appear inside a range or consolidation carry little meaning.
- Key level alignment: the pattern aligns with a tested support or resistance zone, a prior swing point, or a known supply or demand area.
- Candle structure: wick-to-body ratios, close position, and body size match the pattern’s definition. Loose approximations dilute the signal.
- Confirmation: the next candle closes in the reversal direction, or a second pattern, indicator reading, or price-action event aligns with the signal before action.
Skipping any of the four reduces the pattern to a shape on the chart rather than a usable signal. Platforms such as TickTrader let traders explore, identify, and trade these patterns across multiple instruments.
Application in Trading Context
Candlestick reversal patterns sit inside a wider decision process rather than drive trades on their own. Position sizing, stop placement, and volatility conditions shape how traders interpret and act on any signal.
Risk context matters at the trade level. A pattern at a major resistance zone in a quiet market carries different weight than the same pattern ahead of an important economic release. Traders often scale position size based on volatility, recent range, or proximity to liquidity levels. Broader risk management frameworks often define stop placement based on the pattern’s structure rather than arbitrary price offsets.
Volatility expansion around reversal patterns cuts both ways. Wider price ranges can make candlestick patterns more visually distinct, but they also increase the likelihood of false breakouts and unreliable signals. False signals appear more often around news releases, low-liquidity hours, and transitions between major trading windows.
Limitations and Market Risks
Candlestick reversal patterns in technical analysis have consistent limitations worth naming directly.
- Low-liquidity conditions distort pattern formation. Thin order books produce wider spreads, longer wicks, and candles that look like patterns but lack the participation to drive a reversal. Exotic currency pairs during off-peak hours often show this behaviour.
- News releases override technical structure. A hammer printed seconds before a non-farm payrolls release may face volatility that ignores the pattern entirely. Scheduled events and surprise headlines both reset short-term price structure.
- Timeframe dependency shapes signal weight. The same pattern on a 1-hour chart often carries less weight than on a daily or weekly chart, where each candle represents more participation and more information.
Takeaway
Bullish vs bearish candlestick patterns are tools for identifying shifts in market direction across forex, stocks, indices, and commodities. They carry weight when structure, trend context, and key levels align.
In practice, traders treat them as early signals and rely on confirmation before acting. Combined with sound risk management, they may help refine timing.
Traders who want to test candlestick patterns and develop their own strategies can consider opening an FXOpen account today and access over 700 instruments with tight spreads and low commissions (additional fees may apply). Good luck!
FAQ
What Are Candlestick Reversal Patterns?
Candlestick reversal patterns are single candles or short sequences that form at the end of a trend and mark a potential change in market direction. They reflect a shift in the balance between buyers and sellers, visible through the candle’s open, close, high, and low. Common examples include the hammer, shooting star, engulfing patterns, and three black crows. Their weight depends on where they form, not just their shape.
Which Candlestick Patterns Signal a Reversal?
Ten patterns commonly appear in reversal analysis: hammer, hanging man, inverted hammer, shooting star, three white soldiers, three black crows, bullish engulfing, bearish engulfing, piercing line, and dark cloud cover. Each pattern carries weight only when it appears at a tested level in a clear trend.
What Is the Difference Between Bullish and Bearish Reversal Patterns?
Bullish reversal patterns form at the end of a downtrend and point to a potential move higher. Hammer, inverted hammer, bullish engulfing, three white soldiers, and piercing line sit in this group. Bearish reversal patterns form at the end of an uptrend and point to a potential move lower. Hanging man, shooting star, bearish engulfing, three black crows, and dark cloud cover belong here. Shapes often mirror across the pair.
Do Candlestick Reversal Patterns Require Confirmation?
Confirmation matters when trading candlestick patterns. A pattern on its own shows a shift in the last candle or two, but not whether the broader trend has turned. Traders often wait for the next candle to close in the reversal direction, or for a second signal from price action, a technical indicator, or a break of a key level. Patterns that form without confirmation produce more false signals, especially in low-liquidity or high-news conditions.
Are Reversal Patterns Popular in Forex Trading?
In forex, reversal signals are widely used, and for reasons tied to the market’s structure. Forex runs 24 hours on weekdays across overlapping sessions, producing clear trending and reversal behaviour around liquidity transitions. The patterns work across major, minor, and exotic pairs, and across all timeframes from intraday to weekly. Traders often combine them with support and resistance zones, moving averages, or momentum readings to filter signals.
This article represents the opinion of the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand only. It is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, or recommendation with respect to products and services provided by the Companies operating under the FXOpen brand, nor is it to be considered financial advice.
XRP (XRP) price is setting up for an 18.81% breakdown on the 8-hour chart, but weakening sell-side volume and steady ETF inflows are delaying the move.
The signal comes from a hidden bearish divergence that flashed during the bearish pattern formation, now compounded by long-term holder capitulation. However, a mismatch between retail holders and institutional buyers is keeping the price propped up near key resistance.
Hidden Bearish Divergence Sets the Stage for Downtrend Resumption
XRP (XRP) price traded at $1.41 on April 23, slightly down on the 8-hour timeframe and broadly flat across weekly and monthly windows. The shorter timeframe reveals what the longer ones mask.
Between March 23 and April 22, price made a minor lower high while the Relative Strength Index (RSI), a momentum indicator, which made a higher high. In a broader downtrend, this setup is a hidden bearish divergence. It signals that the corrective bounce is losing momentum even as price pushes higher, suggesting the downtrend is set to resume.
The divergence appeared as XRP sits inside a head-and-shoulders structure, a bearish reversal pattern. The right shoulder topped on April 17. However, the timing of the breakdown depends on whether the selling pressure has enough strength to drive the move immediately, which the next chart addresses.
Sell-side pressure has been fading exactly when the bearish structure needs it most. Between April 12 and April 23, the red volume bars on the 8-hour chart trended lower as XRP price trended higher.
The fading XRP volume on the sell side shows the pullback could be running out of steam yet. The implication is a delayed breakdown rather than an invalidated one. The pattern stays intact, but the 18.81% measured move will have to wait for sell pressure to re-accelerate.
This creates a near-term stalemate. The structural case and momentum divergence both say breakdown, but the volume tape says not right now. Whether hodler and institutional flows confirm or override the volume signal determines the next move.
Long-Term Hodlers Capitulate as ETFs Keep Buying
On-chain data shows a split between XRP hodlers and institutional buyers. According to Glassnode, the hodler net position change sat at 260,176,113 XRP on April 12. By April 22, it had dropped to 149,050,480 XRP. That is a decline of roughly 42.7% in ten days, reflecting long-term holders (155 days or more) trimming positions.
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The hodler distribution started before the right shoulder formed on April 17. The timing suggests long-term holders were already losing confidence in the bounce.
However, institutional buyers saw it differently. US spot XRP ETF products have logged net inflows on 8 of the last 9 trading days, a run that spans nearly two weeks since April 10.
The only exception was a flat session on April 21 with zero net flow, meaning there were no outflows during the entire window. The data suggests steady accumulation through the same period hodlers were distributing. April 17 alone saw $13.74 million in inflows, followed by $3 million on April 20 and $2.42 million on April 22.
The disjoint matters. Retail long-term holders are betting on the pattern breakdown, while institutional flow is betting the bounce extends. The XRP price chart will eventually vindicate one side over the other.
XRP Price Levels That Resolve the Tension
The XRP price chart lays out the full decision zone. XRP has already lost the 0.236 Fibonacci level at $1.43, which served as the immediate bounce cap. Below it, the 0.382 Fib at $1.38 and the 0.5 Fib at $1.34 are the first downside tests.
The key decision level sits at $1.30, the 0.618 Fib. A daily close below this level clears the path toward $1.25 (0.786 Fib) and triggers the measured move projection. The measured move from the right shoulder points to $1.18 initially, with extension to $1.01, representing an 18.81% decline from the breakdown point.
For invalidation, XRP needs to reclaim the right shoulder cap at $1.50 on the 8-hour close. A move above $1.60, the head peak, would fully invalidate the bearish structure and align with the ETF thesis.
The $1.30 level separates a shallow pullback supported by fading sell pressure and ETF demand from a deeper 18.81% flush toward $1.01 if hodler capitulation spreads.
The post Can 2 Weeks of XRP ETF Buying Delay the 18% Price Breakdown? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
On 22 April, Tesla released its Q1 2026 results: adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.41 versus expectations of $0.37, but revenue of $22.39 billion fell short of the $22.64 billion forecast. The automotive segment continues to lose ground under pressure from competitors, particularly China’s BYD and Xiaomi. Additional concern came from the energy storage division, where deployments dropped 38% compared to the record fourth quarter of 2025 — a segment that had recently been seen as a key growth driver.
Management continues to pin its long-term growth strategy on robotaxis and autonomous driving.
Technical picture
On the daily chart, TSLA has been trading within a sustained downward channel since peaking near $500 in December. In early April, the price reached the $340 level, which coincided with the lower boundary of the channel — the confluence of these levels strengthened buyer reaction. In recent sessions, the price has moved above the upper boundary of the channel, though the breakout has yet to be confirmed by a sustained close, and the earnings release has not clarified the near-term trend. Nevertheless, the move itself is noteworthy.
The horizontal volume profile spans the $398–455 range, with the Point of Control concentrated around $433–440 — an area of high liquidity that now represents the nearest resistance. The RSI with moving averages shows readings of 53 / 46 / 44: the indicator has crossed above the neutral 50 level, while both moving averages remain below it, suggesting that a sustained bullish impulse has yet to be confirmed.
Summary
The earnings report delivered mixed signals to the market: the earnings beat was not sufficient to offset weaker revenue and a sharp decline in the energy segment. From a technical perspective, the key question is whether the price can hold above the upper boundary of the channel — an unconfirmed breakout can easily turn false, particularly with a dense volume zone overhead.
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Bitcoin (BTC) slipped from near three-month highs on Thursday as attention turned to the weekly close.
Key points:
- Bitcoin retraces after its latest trip to its highest levels in several months.
- The upcoming weekly candle close is of particular interest as price eyes its bull market support band.
- A macro lull comes ahead of a deluge of US inflation data next week.
Bitcoin bull market support band returns after six months
Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD dropping to $77,200 prior to the Wall Street open.
The pair hit $79,500 the day prior, marking its highest levels since the last day of January as the $80,000 mark remained narrowly out of reach.
BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
“$BTC just keeps taking out the highs, taking out short stops without following through,” trader Jelle commented on the latest price action in a post on X.
“Been a while since we saw PA like that; usually means liquidity is being generated for a larger position. The question is, when will they step on the gas?”
BTC/USD four-hour chart. Source: Jelle/X
As Cointelegraph reported, multiple resistance levels remain in play in the current spot price zone, with the 21-week exponential moving average (EMA) proving hard to flip to support. Bitcoin last traded above that trend line in October 2025.
With that, another chart feature finally making a comeback after a six-month absence is Bitcoin’s bull market support band.
Formed by the 21-week EMA and the 20-week simple moving average (SMA), the support band was lost as support soon after Bitcoin’s latest all-time highs.
“$BTC Attempting to break back above the bull market support band,” trader Daan Crypto Trades confirmed.
“Eyes on the weekly close this weekend, as it will be an important one. Bitcoin has not traded above its bull market support band since October 2025.”
BTC/USD one-week chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X
Fed policy, oil seen as next crypto catalysts
Macro markets provided little volatility on the day, with few cues from the US-Iran war.
Related: Bitcoin Bull Score hits six-month high as 2022 bear-market fears linger
The coming week was due to see key US macroeconomic data prints released, along with the latest interest-rate announcement from the Federal Reserve.
As Cointelegraph previously noted, markets saw little chance of Fed easing policy until the end of 2027 as geopolitical uncertainty raised the odds of inflation making a comeback.
The latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool put the chances of the Fed changing rates at next week’s meeting at practically zero.
“The cleanest tells from here are still oil and policy. Oil below $100 would support the relief case, while clearer Fed signalling would help compress the policy premium,” trading company QCP Capital wrote in its latest “Market Color” analysis on Wednesday.
“Until then, the broader message remains the same: risk has stepped back from the brink, but the underlying macro and geopolitical overhang has not been cleared.”
Fed target rate probabilities (screenshot). Source: CME Group
Nokia beat profit expectations in Q1 2026, and the reason has nothing to do with phones. The Finnish company’s optical fiber business has become the quiet engine behind its strongest quarter in years.
Comparable operating profit jumped 54% to €281 million, well above analyst estimates. Shares rose roughly 7% in Helsinki, reaching levels not seen since 2010. The company’s stock price is up by a staggering 63% in 2026.
The Fiber Behind the AI Boom
The headlines say “AI revived Nokia,” but the earnings tell a more specific story. Inside Nokia’s Network Infrastructure segment, the Optical Networks unit grew 20% in the quarter.
This single business line, which builds the high-speed fiber systems connecting AI data centers, delivered far more growth than any other part of the company.
The rest of the portfolio tells a different story. IP Networks grew 3%. Fixed Networks shrank 13%. The legacy mobile infrastructure business, once Nokia’s identity, managed just 3% growth.
What changed is who Nokia sells to. Cloud giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are building massive AI training facilities, and those facilities need fiber optic cables to move data at scale.
Nokia booked €1 billion ($1.17B) in new orders from these hyperscaler customers in Q1 alone. Sales to AI and cloud buyers now account for 8% of the company’s total revenue, up 49% from a year ago.
A Bigger Bet on Optical
Nokia is leaning into the momentum. The company raised its 2026 growth forecast for Network Infrastructure to 12-14%, up from 6-8%.
It now expects the AI and cloud market it serves to grow at 27% annually through 2028, nearly double its November estimate.
“We are increasing our growth assumption for Optical and IP Networks and we are investing to capture accelerating demand from AI & Cloud customers,” stated Justin Hotard, President and CEO.
The Infinera acquisition, completed in early 2025, gave Nokia a larger footprint in coherent optical transport. That deal is now showing up in wider margins and stronger order books.
Nokia’s comeback is real. It just has less to do with AI hype and more to do with the fiber optic cables that make AI possible.
The post Nokia’s Fiber Optic Bet Is Paying Off as AI Hunger Lifts Earnings appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Key Highlights
- Shares of Hims & Hers surged 7% following news of a broadened collaboration with Eli Lilly
- Healthcare providers using the platform can now order Zepbound vials, KwikPen, and Foundayo through LillyDirect fulfillment
- This announcement arrives roughly one month after a comparable agreement with Novo Nordisk for Wegovy distribution
- Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherny raised concerns about Hims’ function, questioning if it’s merely a “front door” to pharmaceutical products
- CEO Andrew Dudum defended the strategy by drawing parallels to Netflix’s transformation in its formative years
Shares of Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) jumped 7% during Thursday’s trading session following the company’s announcement of an enhanced partnership allowing healthcare professionals to prescribe Eli Lilly’s weight management products directly through its digital platform.
Hims & Hers Health, Inc., HIMS
Medical professionals utilizing the Hims platform now have the capability to route prescriptions for Zepbound vials, KwikPen delivery devices, and Foundayo to Eli Lilly’s LillyDirect pharmacy service. Patients receive access to self-payment pricing structures, while licensed healthcare providers can facilitate connections between patients and FDA-sanctioned GLP-1 treatment options.
The arrangement provides Hims with what the organization describes as comprehensive access to FDA-cleared GLP-1 medications across its digital ecosystem. The offering integrates clinical oversight and dietary counseling within a subscription-based framework.
This marks the company’s second significant GLP-1 alliance within a two-month span. Last month, Hims finalized an agreement with Novo Nordisk, which agreed to withdraw a patent violation lawsuit in return for Hims’ commitment to distribute branded Ozempic and Wegovy via its digital channels.
The Novo arrangement included specific conditions. Hims scaled back its extensive compounding operations for GLP-1 drugs as a condition of the settlement. The Eli Lilly agreement reflects a similar strategic direction.
Hims had established a substantial presence throughout the 2024 GLP-1 supply crisis, when heightened demand coupled with constrained availability from leading pharmaceutical manufacturers created opportunities for the telehealth provider to expand. Currently, with supply chains stabilized, market conditions have evolved.
Wall Street Analyst Questions Platform Value Proposition
Michael Cherny, an analyst with Leerink Partners, provided a cautious assessment of the development. He recognized that Hims is broadening its service offerings and “functioning as a bridge to generate additional pathways” for patients seeking treatment.
However, Cherny expressed uncertainty, noting it was “difficult to determine what function Hims fulfills beyond serving as the entry point for patients obtaining Lilly medications.” This question grows increasingly relevant as Hims transitions away from its compounding operations.
CEO Draws Streaming Giant Analogy
CEO Andrew Dudum rejected characterizations that these partnerships signal a strategic withdrawal. In his public remarks, he drew comparisons between Hims and Netflix during its transformative period.
“Netflix wasn’t simply distributing DVDs,” Dudum stated. “It was transforming how consumers accessed content by relentlessly emphasizing selection and creating innovative delivery methods for the most sought-after entertainment.”
The organization highlighted its weight management subscription program as proof of a more comprehensive service offering. Subscribers receive round-the-clock access to medical teams, customized dietary guidance, continuous clinical monitoring, and community support through the Hims & Hers Weight Loss network.
The company’s stated objective involves aligning users with therapeutic options tailored to their specific medical backgrounds, personal preferences, and wellness objectives.
Market participants seemed receptive to the CEO’s narrative. HIMS stock maintained gains of 0.4% later in the trading day even as the S&P 500 experienced modest declines. Eli Lilly shares remained relatively unchanged.
The Eli Lilly collaboration represents Hims’ latest strategic initiative to transform its position within the GLP-1 marketplace from a provider of compounded alternatives into a distribution platform facilitating medication access.
Persistent security vulnerabilities and stagnant total value locked (TVL) are weighing on decentralized finance’s (DeFi) institutional appeal, according to Wall Street investment bank JPMorgan (JPM).
TVL refers to the total value of crypto assets deposited in DeFi protocols, and is commonly used as a gauge of the size, usage and overall health of the ecosystem.
The KelpDAO exploit, which the bank said erased about $20 billion in TVL within days, exposed structural risks.
An attacker breached a cross-chain bridge, minted $292 million in unbacked rsETH and used it as collateral to drain lending protocols, leaving roughly $200 million in bad debt. Contagion spread beyond directly affected platforms, underscoring how DeFi’s interconnectedness can amplify shocks.
“Much as traditional investors shift towards cash in uncertain times, crypto participants have responded to recent exploits by seeking refuge in stablecoins,” wrote analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou in the Wednesday report.
Hacks and exploits remain a central risk for crypto because they directly undermine trust in systems that rely on code rather than intermediaries. Smart contract bugs, phishing and cross-chain bridge flaws can expose large pools of locked assets, with attackers often needing to exploit just a single weak point to trigger outsized losses.
These vulnerabilities are amplified by the complexity and interconnectedness of blockchain infrastructure. Cross-chain bridges, for example, expand functionality but also increase the attack surface, and have been responsible for billions of dollars in losses because they rely on complicated designs, shared infrastructure and sometimes weak validation mechanisms.
Beyond the immediate financial damage, repeated exploits erode confidence across the ecosystem. Each major hack can drive users and institutions away, prompt stricter regulation and slow adoption, making security a foundational constraint on crypto’s growth.
The bank’s analysts noted hack losses this year are tracking 2025 levels, with infrastructure and bridge exploits still the primary vulnerability despite gains in smart contract auditing.
Growth also remains muted. While TVL has partially recovered in dollar terms, it is largely unchanged in terms of ether (ETH), suggesting limited organic expansion and raising questions about DeFi’s ability to scale for institutional use, the report said.
In periods of stress, investors continue to rotate into stablecoins. Following the exploit, capital flowed from DeFi lending into Tether’s USDT, which benefits from deeper liquidity and faster off-ramps, reinforcing its role as a preferred flight-to-safety asset, the report said.
In today’s newsletter, Vincent Chok from First Digital unpacks the rise of “agentic finance,” where AI agents are moving beyond advice to execute financial transactions, making crypto the essential financial backend for this machine-driven economy.
Then, in “Ask an Expert,” we posed two questions to three leading AI systems — Grok, Gemini, and Claude — about AI payment use cases and the necessary steps for scalability.
Note: Responses were generated by AI assistants and reflect each model’s perspective. They should not be construed as financial or legal advice.
AI agents in crypto: what advisors need to know
The explosive growth of AI agents
AI agents have become one of the most trending topics over the last year. A recent PwC survey of over 300 companies found that 79% are already adopting AI agents in some form. This explosive growth reflects a broader shift: AI agents are evolving from advisory roles to execution roles.
Initially deployed to help with chatbot services and copiloting roles, AI systems are now actively planning, deciding and acting on predefined parameters set by humans, including financial transactions. The result is the early formation of “agentic finance.” This is a new primitive wherein AI agents essentially execute financial actions within predefined rules such as limits, permissions and goals.
Breaking down agentic finance
Agentic finance can be understood in three layers. The agentic commerce layer focuses on discovery and decision-making. For example, an AI agent can search for the best hotel deal for an upcoming trip. The agentic payments layer handles execution, where the agent completes a transaction once approved.
Finally, the asset management layer represents the full stack, where the agent can manage portfolios, handle payments and dynamically optimize financial strategies based on real-time market trends. While this may seem as if we are giving AI agents full autonomy, that is not the case. It’s conditional delegation, wherein users retain control through constraints while offloading execution.
Theoretically, AI agents do have a use case in the financial space; however, they don’t neatly fit in with existing traditional financial infrastructure. Structurally, AI agents lack direct access to global banking rails and are designed to operate 24/7. This structural mismatch is where crypto comes into play.
Stablecoins offer AI agents access to programmable, always-on money, blockchains enable instant and global settlement, and crypto wallets provide permissionless access to funds. Essentially, these components form a financial layer that is better suited to machine-driven activity. Crypto is thus increasingly becoming the infrastructure for autonomous systems, rather than only being an asset class.
Use cases of AI agents
Early implementations are already visible. Machine-to-machine payments powered by API access and data providers have made the inter-merchant rails stronger and faster. In the consumer context, autonomous commerce has allowed users to optimize retail research, using agents to get the best deals for travel, subscriptions and shopping.
Meanwhile, in crypto-native environments, trading agents are widely deployed for portfolio management, yield optimization and trading strategies. On the enterprise side, supply chain management and vendor payments have been easily automated via AI agents, cutting down on errors and resource expenditure. At this stage, most activity remains business-to-business and infrastructure-driven, rather than consumer-facing.
Beyond use cases, AI agents also play an integral part in driving new investable categories as well as demand for crypto itself. As AI agents can’t operate on existing infrastructure rails, demand is growing for agent-native wallets, stablecoin payment rails and data or compute marketplaces.
Coinbase, for example, has launched x402, an open payments protocol designed for agent-native transactions. This shift is particularly relevant for micropayments, where high transaction volumes and low value make traditional rails inefficient. For the first time, non-human users are participating in the financial system and driving activity. AI agents have become a new class of ‘user’ for crypto networks.
Risks and future outlook
Despite the momentum, we are still in the early stages, and there are risks and limitations. Security is the primary concern, particularly around rogue or exploited agents executing unintended transactions. Questions around authorisation, liability and regulatory treatment are still under scrutiny and are being actively defined. For widespread adoption, we must build trust for users. This comes through regulatory clarity from all involved stakeholders, so projects can build with clarity and confidence while safeguarding user funds and interests.
Over the next twelve months, this technology will continue to grow and mature. Signals that matter include growth in agent-driven transaction volume, emergence of agent-native wallets and payments protocols, and deeper integration between stablecoins and AI-driven systems. Finally, regulatory clarity will heavily shape the pace and scope of adoption across different industries and fields.
In conclusion
AI agents are not a theoretical concept; they are already executing transactions in limited environments. As the trend develops, crypto is increasingly emerging as the financial backend for machine-driven economies. For now, this is an infrastructure and long-term thematic play; however, that is changing with rising adoption rates. Advisors should track it as a next-wave driver of crypto utility.
– Vincent Chok, CEO and co-founder, First Digital
Ask an Expert
This week we’re doing something a bit different. Instead of one expert, we have a panel of experts — AI experts. Below, we posed two questions to three leading AI models, asking about the present and future of AI payments. While there were common themes — especially about what’s needed for future growth — there are also some clear differences. We hope you find this experiment as fun and thought-provoking as we have.
Q1: What AI payment use cases are you seeing today?
Grok xAI |
Fraud detection is the most mature use case — AI spots anomalies rules-based systems miss. Intelligent payment routing dynamically selects the best rail by cost and speed. Emerging agentic payments let autonomous AI handle B2B treasury tasks and machine-to-machine micropayments using stablecoins, with Visa, PayPal, and Mastercard beginning to verify these agents. |
|---|---|
| Gemini Google | Three “Agentic Commerce” breakthroughs stand out: autonomous treasury and DeFi yield management where AI executes cross-chain swaps in real time; the “Inference Economy” where agents settle machine-to-machine micropayments instantly via stablecoins; and hyper-personalized wealth implementation — AI-powered direct indexing handling fractional trades and daily tax-loss harvesting at a scale no human advisor could manage manually. |
| Claude Anthropic | AI payments are moving from concept to infrastructure faster than most advisors realize. Clearest use cases: programmatic billing for AI services and agents that autonomously spend funds for compute or subtasks without human approval per transaction. On the wealth side, AI is augmenting rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting, with humans still in the loop on most material decisions today. |
Q2: What’s needed for AI payments to scale?
Grok xAI |
Three gaps need closing: standardized agent identity with cryptographic proof of authorization and clear liability rules; governance and explainability for regulators including AML compliance in automated wealth flows; and high-quality real-time data infrastructure bridging fiat and crypto. Advisors must demonstrate AI augments rather than replaces fiduciary duty. |
|---|---|
| Gemini Google | Three things must converge: Verifiable Agent Identity using DIDs and cryptographically signed mandates so institutions can distinguish authorized AI from rogue bots; standardized governance protocols with universal spend limits and kill switches enforced at the protocol level; and legal liability frameworks clarifying who is responsible when an AI executes a flawed trade or falls victim to a prompt injection attack. |
| Claude Anthropic | Three things are genuinely missing: identity, accountability, and spending controls. AI agents lack a standardized identity layer — that’s the fiduciary risk hiding inside all the excitement. Programmable guardrails built natively into the payment layer (like a corporate card with hard limits and audit trails) are needed, along with regulatory clarity on stablecoins. The technology is largely ready. What’s lagging is governance — and that’s an opportunity for advisors who get ahead of it. |
Keep Reading
Kraken has been around long enough to see nearly every version of the crypto market up close.
Founded in 2011, it lived through Bitcoin’s early volatility, the first big exchange era, the ICO boom, the long bear markets, the rise of institutional crypto, and the latest push into tokenized and multi-asset trading.
Across those cycles, Kraken kept adding products, expanding its reach, and finding new ways to stay relevant as the industry changed around it.
In March 2025, Kraken agreed to buy NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion. In April 2025, it launched trading in more than 11,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs for select U.S. clients. In June 2025, it rolled out xStocks for eligible non-U.S. clients, starting with 60 tokenized U.S. equities, and launched Krak, a payments app supporting transfers across more than 160 countries and 300-plus assets.
The company kept building through the second half of 2025 with deals for Capitalise.ai, Breakout, Small Exchange, and Backed, then added Magna in February 2026 and Bitnomial soon after. By early 2026, Kraken was pushing further into tokenized equities as xStocks expanded from 60 at launch to 100 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs.
Let’s take a closer look at how Kraken has been building through this latest phase of the market.
NinjaTrader and regulated finance
The NinjaTrader deal in March 2025 gave Kraken a serious foothold in U.S. regulated futures.
Kraken valued the transaction at $1.5 billion and described NinjaTrader as the leading U.S. retail futures platform.
A few months later, Kraken used that foothold to launch U.S. regulated crypto futures and said it planned to add commodity, fixed income, FX, and equity futures later in 2025.
This gave Kraken a direct route into one of the main markets active traders use for hedging and directional bets.
Small Exchange gave Kraken a U.S. venue
Kraken pushed further in October 2025 when it bought Small Exchange from IG Group for $100 million. Importantly, Small Exchange came with a CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market license.
Kraken said the purchase would help it launch a fully U.S.-native derivatives suite. Reuters reported the same deal as a move to strengthen Kraken’s American derivatives business for retail and institutional clients.
This put Kraken closer to the center of the U.S. futures market.
Backed and tokenized equities
Kraken’s tokenized equity push became far more serious in 2025.
Reuters reported on May 22, 2025, that Kraken planned to offer tokenized versions of more than 50 U.S. stocks and ETFs, including Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia, to non-U.S. clients.
Kraken formally launched tokenized U.S. equities on June 30, 2025 with 60 assets on the platform.
On December 2, 2025, it announced the acquisition of Backed, the company behind xStocks, saying the deal would bring issuance, trading, and settlement closer together.
By March 18, 2026, Kraken said xStocks had grown to 100 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs and had surpassed $25 billion in total transaction volume since launch. That growth soon fed into a partnership with Nasdaq, announced through Kraken parent Payward, focused on developing an equities transformation gateway for tokenized equities and helping connect regulated market structure with on-chain distribution.
Magna took Kraken into token operations
In February 2026, Payward, the platform behind Kraken, acquired Magna.
Kraken described Magna as a token management platform used for vesting, claims, distributions, and related workflows.
Magna will keep operating as a standalone product, though Kraken also said it will be deeply integrated.
This gives Kraken a place in the day-to-day work of token teams, not just the trading venue where assets change hands after launch.
Capitalise.ai and Breakout
Kraken also used acquisitions to widen the kinds of traders it can serve.
In August 2025, it bought Capitalise.ai, a no-code automation platform that turns plain-language prompts into trading strategies and backtests.
In September 2025, it acquired Breakout, a prop trading platform that offers up to $200,000 in trading capital, with users keeping up to 90% of profits according to Kraken’s materials.
These additions fit a platform trying to keep more of the trader workflow inside one account, from idea generation to automation to funded execution.
Krak linked payments
Krak shows how Kraken wants to connect markets with everyday money movement.
Reuters reported on June 26, 2025 that the app launched in more than 100 countries for crypto and fiat transfers.
Kraken’s own product pages later put the figure at more than 160 countries and said users could transact across 300-plus assets. The company also said physical and virtual cards were planned.
This gives Kraken a consumer payments product sitting next to trading, tokenized equities, and derivatives rather than outside them.
Bitnomial adds another U.S. derivatives layer
In April 2026, Kraken parent Payward announced the acquisition of Bitnomial, a CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange and clearinghouse. The deal adds another regulated U.S. futures asset to Kraken’s portfolio and expands its ability to serve traders who want futures access inside American market structure.
A one-platform financial business
Let’s go through the list once more.
- NinjaTrader opened the door to U.S. regulated futures.
- Small Exchange added a licensed venue.
- Backed brought xStocks in-house.
- Magna added token administration tools.
- Capitalise.ai and Breakout served more active traders.
- Krak brought payments into the same product family.
- Bitnomial added another U.S. regulated derivatives venue and clearing capability.
Kraken also launched U.S.-listed stock and ETF trading in April 2025, giving select U.S. users access to more than 11,000 equities on the same platform.
The legal side is worth noting too. In Europe, Kraken now operates through MiCA-regulated entities and also holds a MiFID II license. Those approvals give the company stronger footing across the EEA as it expands trading, payments, tokenized equities, and related services.
There is also a major U.S. regulatory angle. Kraken said in March 2026 it became the first digital asset firm with a Federal Reserve master account. Direct access to the U.S. payments system adds another serious piece to its financial-services buildout.
Acquisitions can assemble the parts quickly, but users and institutions will judge the result by whether those parts work well together. Kraken now has trading, payments, token operations, tokenized equities, and multiple regulated derivatives assets. The next phase is proving that this collection functions like one platform.
The post Kraken Builds Beyond Crypto With Futures, Tokenized Stocks, and Payments appeared first on BeInCrypto.
The FTX bankruptcy estate sold a 5% stake in AI coding startup Cursor for $200,000 in April 2023.
That same stake, following SpaceX’s agreement to acquire Cursor at a $60 billion valuation, is now worth approximately $3 billion.
A 15,000x gap realized by whoever bought it from the estate rather than by the creditors the estate existed to protect.
The core question is whether distressed asset liquidation under bankruptcy constraints can ever adequately protect creditor interests in high-velocity technology markets, and what the answer means for every future estate forced to sell illiquid startup equity at bear market prices under cash-conversion pressure.
- Sale price: FTX bankruptcy estate sold its 5% Cursor stake for $200,000 in April 2023 – the same price Alameda Research originally paid in April 2022
- Current value: That stake is worth approximately $3 billion at SpaceX’s $60 billion Cursor acquisition valuation announced April 21, 2026
- Return gap: 15,000x difference between realized recovery and current mark – one of the largest single missed recoveries in crypto bankruptcy history
- Original investment: Alameda Research invested $200,000 in Anysphere (Cursor’s parent company) at a $4 million valuation – the estate sold at cost with zero appreciation captured
- SBF’s prison argument: Sam Bankman-Fried, serving a 25-year federal sentence, projected in February 2026 that FTX’s net asset value would have reached $78 billion had the estate held assets through recovery
- Watch item: SpaceX must decide on full $60 billion Cursor acquisition later in 2026 or trigger its $10 billion breakup fee – the outcome sets the final mark on what creditors actually forfeited
Discover: The best crypto to diversify your portfolio with
How a $200,000 Fire Sale Became a $3 Billion Creditor Recovery Miss
Alameda Research entered Anysphere’s seed round in April 2022 at a $4 million valuation, securing roughly 5% of the company for $200,000.
Seven months later, FTX collapsed. By April 2023, John J. Ray III’s administration was under intense pressure to convert volatile venture holdings into cash, and the Cursor stake was liquidated at exactly what Alameda paid, capturing zero appreciation from the seed entry.
That framing matters. This was not a distressed token sold below water. It was an early equity position in a pre-revenue AI startup, sold at cost into a bear market by administrators operating on a cash-conversion mandate rather than a value-maximization one.
Cursor launched its AI coding product in early 2023, the same quarter the estate sold the stake.
The 2025-2026 AI boom did the rest. Cursor now powers 67% of Fortune 500 companies, has crossed $1 billion in annualized revenue, and sits at the center of Elon Musk’s push to close xAI’s gap with OpenAI and Anthropic on AI coding tools.
SpaceX holds the right to acquire Cursor outright for $60 billion later this year, or pay a $10 billion breakup fee if its planned $2 trillion IPO timeline forces a delay.
Experts note the $3 billion figure assumes an unchanged 5% stake at SpaceX’s price, dilution from Cursor’s separate $900 million funding round at a $9 billion valuation could compress the actual number. Even discounted significantly, the creditor recovery miss is structurally damning.
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What FTX Forced Cursor Sale Actually Exposes About Bankruptcy Administration in Tech Markets
Bankman-Fried’s argument from prison, that the estate destroyed tens of billions in value through forced selling, now has its single clearest data point.
His February 2026 projection of a $78 billion net asset value, had positions been held, looked aggressive at the time. The Cursor number alone adds $3 billion of supporting evidence in one line item.
FTX customers were made whole in dollar terms under the distribution plan, receiving claim values plus interest.
What the creditor recovery framework did not, and structurally could not, preserve was the upside from what those assets became.
That is the honest tension at the center of distressed asset administration: dollar recovery and value recovery are not the same thing, and bankruptcy law is built around the former.
The Cursor sale is likely to feature prominently in Bankman-Fried’s continued campaign from prison, and in his parents’ public advocacy for a pardon.
The post FTX Estate Sold Cursor Stake for $200K: It’s Now Worth $3 Billion appeared first on Cryptonews.
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