Key Takeaways

• Verizon shares climbed approximately 4% during premarket hours following stronger-than-expected Q1 results
• Company reported 55,000 net postpaid phone subscriber additions — marking the first positive first quarter since 2013
• Adjusted earnings per share reached $1.28, surpassing Wall Street’s $1.21 forecast
• 2026 full-year EPS outlook increased to $4.95–$4.99 range from previous $4.90–$4.95 guidance
• Service outage in January temporarily impacted wireless revenue due to $20 customer compensation credits

Verizon delivered quarterly earnings on Monday that exceeded Wall Street expectations, sending shares higher in early trading. The telecommunications company saw its stock climb approximately 4% before market open, hitting $48.33.

Verizon Communications Inc., VZ

The carrier reported adjusted earnings of $1.28 per share, topping the FactSet analyst consensus estimate of $1.21. Total revenue reached $34.4 billion, representing a 2.9% increase compared to the same period last year, although falling just short of the anticipated $34.8 billion.

While the earnings beat drew praise, the real story centered on customer growth. Verizon brought in 55,000 net postpaid phone subscribers during the first quarter. Wall Street analysts had projected losses ranging from 81,000 to 88,000 customers.

This marks the first time Verizon has delivered positive postpaid phone customer growth during a first quarter since 2013. For a telecom giant working to revitalize its wireless operations, this represents a significant achievement.

Behind the Customer Growth Revival

CEO Dan Schulman attributed the turnaround to strategic changes in customer approach. “We are beginning to reclaim our market leadership by putting the customer at the center of everything we do, reducing friction to increase loyalty and create genuine value,” he explained.

A key component of this approach involved aggressive targeting of competitors’ customers. Verizon provided enhanced incentives to consumers who presented bills from AT&T and T-Mobile, successfully converting rival subscribers to its network.

The company has also expanded its focus on bundled offerings — pairing home internet services with wireless packages — a tactic AT&T has successfully employed to improve customer retention. Early indicators suggest this strategy is delivering results.

The quarter also represents Verizon’s first financial report including Frontier, following the acquisition’s completion on January 20.

One notable challenge: wireless service revenue faced pressure from $20 customer credits distributed after a roughly 10-hour service disruption in January. These compensation payments, issued to hundreds of thousands of affected customers, modestly reduced overall revenue.

Upgraded Full-Year Outlook

Verizon increased its full-year adjusted earnings per share projection to a range of $4.95–$4.99. This revision moves up from the company’s prior $4.90–$4.95 target and exceeds the $4.90 analyst consensus at the midpoint.

The telecommunications provider also indicated it now anticipates total retail postpaid phone net customer additions for 2026 will fall within the upper half of its 750,000 to 1 million forecast range.

While subtle, this represents a significant upgrade in confidence. Verizon isn’t merely celebrating one strong quarter — management is signaling sustained momentum ahead.

S&P 500 futures traded relatively flat on Monday as investors awaited earnings reports from major technology companies.

LILPEPE nears presale completion after raising over $28 million as investor interest continues to grow.

The LILPEPE coin is close to wrapping up its presale with a total amount of funds collected surpassing the mark of $28 million. Although the project itself could be considered one of the newcomers on the market, it now appears among the most interesting to observe during the presale in the crypto world. At the moment, the coin’s price is $0.0022, with $0.0023 expected for stage 14.

The pricing strategy used by the Little Pepe coin has been quite instrumental in building momentum for the project. Early investors have been rewarded while simultaneously pressuring late investors into getting involved in the investment project. As the presale process winds down, there has been a marked increase in the number of buys that the coin has experienced as investors try to lock in their gains in anticipation of the price increase.

Utility, ecosystem strength, and $777k giveaway rewards

One of the key reasons why Little Pepe continues to have traction in the crypto space is that the coin seeks to shift focus away from the memecoin concept and incorporate real utility in its ecosystem. 

The Little Pepe coin is developed on an Ethereum-compatible Layer 2 blockchain network. These include rapid transactions, low gas prices, and scalability, all of which help make it more practical and effective for investors. In addition, it features zero taxation trade, anti-sniper mechanism for bots, staking benefits, meme launchpad, and DAO governance — all meant to improve its usability in the long term. Unlike most newly launched memecoins, one of the distinguishing factors about Little Pepe is its focus on utility, and this aligns with the prevailing industry trends.

Another appealing feature is a $777,000 giveaway for ten lucky individuals who can each get $77,000 of the LILPEPE token. Secondly, there is a 15+ ETH giveaway, where the top three buyers would be rewarded 5 ETH, 2 ETH, and 3 ETH. Adding on to it, some random 15 buyers will be rewarded 0.5 ETH as part of the giveaway program. These giveaways help investors to engage more in the presale race.

Late-stage demand and outlook beyond the presale

Now that the presale is drawing to a close, market factors are already starting to shift according to their well-known patterns. In particular, investors who might not have participated until now are joining the fray in greater numbers due to the scarcity of tokens and the upcoming rise in their price. These are typical behaviors for successful presales, which, if continued until the end of the process, will help to achieve a successful close. Meanwhile, the overall environment on the crypto market is favoring projects at an earlier development stage because of the flow of funds toward smaller projects that have higher chances of growth than larger-cap projects. 

At present, Little Pepe is enjoying these trends, thanks to its impressive funding and growing popularity. As the presale is wrapping up, Little Pepe will soon be facing its first real test as a project: its performance on the market after launch. Provided that the ongoing positive trend holds true, Little Pepe will complete its presale with strong results and become one of the most promising projects on the crypto market.

For more information about Little Pepe, visit the official website, X, and Telegram.

Luxembourg-based Banking Circle has begun offering regulated stablecoin settlement services after receiving a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) authorization from Luxembourg’s financial regulator on April 15. The move expands the bank’s fiat-to-stablecoin and stablecoin-to-fiat settlement capabilities for institutional clients, marking a notable step in Europe’s push to build compliant digital-asset infrastructure under the MiCA regime.

The rollout supports Circle’s USDC, Paxos’ USDG, and Banking Circle’s own euro stablecoin EURI, widening the bank’s digital-asset settlement footprint beyond its initial EURI launch in August 2024. In its announcement, Banking Circle said it serves more than 750 payment companies, financial institutions and marketplaces that move and convert over 1.5 trillion euros (about $1.7 trillion) each year across its network. Chief digital asset officer Kirit Bhatia framed stablecoins as a natural extension of the bank’s infrastructure, underscoring their potential to cut costs and boost efficiency in settlement flows.

The development arrives as Europe’s regulated stablecoin ecosystem intensifies competition among banks, fintechs and crypto-native players who seek compliant rails for cross-border settlements under MiCA.

Key takeaways

• Banking Circle secures a CASP license from Luxembourg’s regulator, enabling its new stablecoin settlement services for institutions.
• The service supports Circle USDC, Paxos USDG, and Banking Circle’s EURI, expanding from the August 2024 EURI launch.
• The move signals growing institutional adoption of regulated stablecoins for fiat-to-stablecoin and stablecoin-to-fiat settlement within the European framework.
• European euro-stablecoin activity is heating up, with multiple banks and fintechs pursuing MiCA-aligned tokens and settlement rails, including large-scale launches and multi-chain expansions.
• The landscape features a blend of traditional banks, crypto natives and consortia pursuing interoperability, custody and tokenization infrastructure ahead of broader adoption.

Regulatory momentum and a crowded European playbook

The CASP authorization fits into a broader European momentum to formalize stablecoin issuance and settlement under MiCA, the EU’s ambitious framework designed to bring crypto assets into a regulated, bank-like regime. France’s Société Générale group, through its SG-FORGE unit, has been a prominent early entrant in euro-stablecoin issuance with EURCV, launching on Ethereum in April 2023 and later expanding to additional networks as part of a multi-chain strategy. In mid-2023 and 2024, SG-FORGE continued integrating its MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin into mainstream wallets and infrastructure, including a recent move to bring USDCV into MetaMask, broadening access to a regulated dollar stablecoin issued by a European bank.

Euro-stablecoin activity has also deepened on the custody and tokenization front. Sygnum added EURCV to its B2B platform in January 2025 to serve institutional clients, while a growing consortium of European lenders—ING, UniCredit, CaixaBank among them—has spurred the Qivalis project to issue a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin with a planned launch in the second half of 2026. The consortium has since expanded to 12 banks and has partnered with Fireblocks to provide custody and tokenization infrastructure ahead of launch.

Beyond traditional banks, crypto-native infrastructure players are accelerating similar capabilities. Circle, the issuer of USDC, announced the Circle Payments Network in April 2025 as a managed settlement service for banks and payment providers, and Coinbase’s April 2025 partnership with Nium enables businesses to fund cross-border transfers with USDC and settle in USDC or fiat across a network spanning more than 190 countries.

Banking Circle’s emphasis on EURI as a bank-issued MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin provides a unique in-house option that complements the broader euro-stablecoin ecosystem now taking shape across Europe. The CASP license positions the bank to offer regulated settlement rails for both fiat-to-stablecoin flows and stablecoin-to-fiat conversions, a capability that could reduce pre-funding and liquidity costs for institutional users navigating cross-border payments.

Banking Circle’s strategy in a competitive market

Banking Circle’s admission to the CASP framework reinforces its broader strategy to become a utility-layer provider for digital-asset settlement across Europe. With more than 750 counterparties and a daily footprint that covers a substantial share of European cross-border payment volumes, the bank’s new service could become a preferred on-ramp and off-ramp for institutions seeking compliant, bank-backed stability rails. The combination of USDC, USDG and EURI expands the pool of stablecoins that institutions can utilize to optimize liquidity, settlement speed, and cost efficiency in diverse jurisdictions.

Industry observers note that the European stablecoin space remains highly competitive and uncertain in some respects, given regulatory developments, interoperability considerations, and the cadence of new deployments. While the leading euro-stablecoin players push multi-chain strategies and deep integration with wallets and custodians, banks like Banking Circle are betting on regulated, bank-issued tokens to provide trusted rails for big-ticket settlements. The ongoing evolution of MiCA-compliant stablecoins—alongside continued convergence between fiat-backed tokens and traditional payments rails—could redefine how institutions move value across borders in the near term.

For readers watching next, the key questions revolve around adoption and interoperability: Will more banks and payment networks formalize stablecoin settlement programs under CASP licenses? How quickly will MiCA-compliant euro tokens gain traction in settlement pipelines versus multi-chain opposition? And how will custody and tokenization partners like Fireblocks, Sygnum, and others influence deployment timelines and risk management practices as the market matures?

As the European regulatory and market landscape continues to crystallize, Banking Circle’s CASP-backed stablecoin settlement push provides a tangible signal of momentum for institutions seeking regulated, scalable digital-asset settlement rails. The next several quarters should reveal how deeply these rails are being woven into mainstream payment networks and what that means for liquidity, cost, and the speed of cross-border transfers.

Key Highlights

• Micron (MU) shares have surged over 70% in the current year while maintaining a modest 8.4x forward P/E ratio
• The company’s entire 2026 high-bandwidth memory inventory has been secured through long-term customer agreements
• HBM4 manufacturing commenced in April 2026, delivering 2.8TB/s bandwidth and 20% enhanced energy efficiency versus HBM3E
• The memory chipmaker is advocating for stricter U.S. restrictions on semiconductor equipment exports to China
• Hard drive leader Seagate (STX) reports complete 2026 allocation for its data center nearline storage products

Micron Technology (MU) has experienced remarkable momentum throughout the past twelve months, delivering year-to-date gains exceeding 70%. Even after this substantial rally, shares continue trading at an attractive 8.4x forward earnings multiple that market analysts view as compelling.

Micron Technology, Inc., MU

The primary catalyst behind this performance has been the company’s high-bandwidth memory portfolio. HBM technology utilizes vertical chip stacking architecture instead of traditional horizontal layouts, enabling dramatically superior data transfer rates compared to conventional DRAM solutions. Micron’s HBM3E variant achieves 1.2TB/s data movement while consuming 30% less energy than competing offerings.

Nvidia selected Micron as a key HBM provider for its Blackwell graphics processing unit series. This partnership has generated demand levels that far exceed current production capabilities. Micron’s complete 2026 HBM manufacturing capacity has been committed through extended customer contracts.

Volume manufacturing of Micron’s advanced HBM4 technology started in April 2026. The new generation delivers bandwidth exceeding 2.8TB/s while boosting energy efficiency by over 20% compared to HBM3E. Market pricing for this cutting-edge product has climbed more than 50%.

Policy Advocacy Creates Competitive Implications

Micron has been engaging with U.S. policymakers to strengthen export restrictions on sophisticated semiconductor manufacturing equipment destined for China. Company leadership frames these efforts around national security concerns. The initiative also carries strategic business implications.

Limiting equipment exports to Chinese semiconductor manufacturers would constrain capacity expansion for competitors including Samsung, SK Hynix, and Chinese domestic DRAM producers. This scenario would reinforce Micron’s established position in artificial intelligence memory markets. Conversely, enhanced restrictions might reduce Micron’s market access within China and potentially trigger retaliatory measures.

Market observers have identified elevated non-cash earnings components and recent insider stock sales as factors deserving continued scrutiny alongside regulatory developments.

Seagate Benefits from Parallel Trends

Seagate Technology (STX) is capitalizing on the identical AI infrastructure expansion cycle. As the global leader in hard disk drive manufacturing, Seagate addresses distinct storage requirements. Approximately 90% of AI-created data ultimately resides on HDD systems, which deliver per-terabyte costs up to six times lower than solid-state alternatives.

Seagate’s heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology powers its Mozaic product line, achieving storage density exceeding 4TB per platter — an industry-leading specification. This capability enables data center operators to more than double storage capacity within existing physical infrastructure.

Seagate’s nearline drive portfolio, consisting of high-density units deployed in data centers, has reached full allocation through 2026.

Both organizations count hyperscale cloud providers — including Microsoft, Google, and Amazon — among their principal customers. Capital spending commitments from these technology giants represent a critical variable for future performance. Any deceleration in hyperscaler infrastructure investment could rapidly alter demand dynamics for Micron and Seagate.

Micron launched volume HBM4 production in April 2026, with pricing elevated over 50% compared to previous technology generations.

Bitcoin Cash holds steady as BlockchainFX gains investor attention heading into the final week of April 2026.

Ten thousand dollars is sitting in a wallet right now, and the clock is ticking on where it should go. Bitcoin Cash is doing what BCH usually does, holding its ground without breaking a sweat or breaking records, while a fresh name keeps popping up in every Telegram group and trader chat. That name is BlockchainFX, and the chatter around it has reached a volume that honestly feels hard to ignore as April 2026 winds down toward its final week.

So why is BlockchainFX (BFX) being called the next big crypto by analysts and early buyers alike? The answer sits somewhere between its trading super app design, its Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority license, and a presale that has already pulled in over $14.38M from more than 23,900 participants. Add a juicy bonus code into the mix, and the urgency starts making perfect sense.

Why BFX has traders rushing the final whistle

The presale is currently priced at $0.035 per token, and the launch price is locked at $0.05. That alone hands early buyers a tidy gain before BFX even hits its first exchange. But here’s where things get spicy: the bonus code CEX60 drops 60% extra BFX tokens straight into buyers’ allocations, valid only until June 1st at 6 PM Dubai time. It’s the first exchange listing reveal code, which explains the generosity behind it.

What makes BFX stand out isn’t just the discount. The platform brings stocks, forex, ETFs, commodities, and crypto under one roof, something Binance and Coinbase have flirted with but never properly delivered. On top of that, holders earn daily passive rewards in BFX and USDT through staking, with payouts climbing as high as $25,000 USDT for top stakers. Trading and earning at the same time? That’s the kind of math investors actually enjoy.

The CEX60 math nobody wants to miss

Run the numbers on a $2,000 buy. At $0.035, that grabs roughly 57,142 BFX tokens. Apply the CEX60 bonus, and the total balloons to about 91,427 tokens. At launch price of $0.05, that stack is worth around $4,571 instantly. Now imagine the analyst-backed $1 post-launch target playing out – that same $2,000 turns into roughly $91,427. Wild? Maybe. But with a $15M softcap closing in fast, the window is shrinking by the day.

Quick mention worth tucking in: anyone buying $100+ of BFX gets entered into the $500,000 Gleam giveaway once the presale fully sells out.

Bitcoin Cash outlook: Reliable, but quiet

Bitcoin Cash continues holding its position as one of the most established peer-to-peer payment-focused cryptocurrencies, with recent action reflecting steady but cautious momentum. BCH has caught some upside alongside Bitcoin in recent weeks, but it remains tied to a cycle dictated by liquidity flow, adoption metrics, and overall sentiment rather than any standalone catalyst. For long-term BCH holders, that familiar pattern brings comfort, though not exactly fireworks.

Price predictions for BCH currently lean cautious, with bullish takes pointing toward renewed retail interest and adoption gains, while bearish voices highlight competition from newer chains. The bigger issue for fresh capital? Bitcoin Cash rewards patience, not urgency, and a $10,000 allocation there mostly waits for market cycles to swing. Compared to a presale closing in on its softcap, the opportunity cost stings a little more than usual right now.

Final word: Where that $10,000 should actually land

Based on the latest research, the best crypto presale right now is BlockchainFX, full stop. Bitcoin Cash will keep doing its thing, slow and steady, but BFX is offering ground-floor entry into a regulated trading super app with real users, real volume, and a presale wrapping up faster than most people realize. The next big crypto title isn’t handed out lightly, yet BFX has earned every bit of the attention.

The CEX60 bonus code, the $0.035 entry price, and the looming $15M softcap together create the kind of setup early crypto investors dream about. Once that target hits, the presale ends and BlockchainFX launches, period. Anyone still on the fence might want to lock in their bag before the next big crypto leaves the station without them.

For more information, visit the official website, X, and Telegram.

Bitcoin BTC$77,779.73 is doing that familiar dance just below a big round number, $80,000, stalled by sellers even as fresh stablecoin liquidity, ETF demand and a risk-on equity market suggest the breakout may be delayed rather than denied.

The leading cryptocurrency briefly climbed above $79,000 during Asian trading hours before slipping back to trade below $78,000 recently. Over the past 24 hours, bitcoin has lost about 0.4%. Ether (ETH) has fallen 0.6%, XRP (XRP) is down 0.8% and Solana’s SOL has dropped more than 1%. Broader market benchmarks, including the CoinDesk Memecoin Index and Smart Contract Platform Select Capped Index, were also under pressure, falling more than 1% each.

According to Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, the $80,000 level is acting as a near-term ceiling due to concentrated sell orders.

“Bitcoin has approached the $80K mark for the second time in the last few days, but has since experienced significant downward momentum. As it approaches this round figure, a build-up of sell orders is preventing the coin from moving further upwards,” he said in an email.

Still, Kuptsikevich argued the pullback appears temporary and consistent with a broader uptrend that began in late March.

This is an excerpt from CoinDesk newsletter ‘Daybook.’ Sign up here, if you haven’t already.

On-chain and ETF data offer support for that view. Crypto exchange Binance has recorded a net inflow of roughly $3.4 billion in stablecoins so far this month, following $3 billion in March, according to CryptoQuant data. That suggests fresh capital inflows, waiting for a entry point.

“This indicates an influx of new capital waiting to participate in the recovery,” pseudonymous CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost wrote on X.

Institutional demand remains strong. U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs have pulled in $2.44 billion in investor money this month, the most since October, when bitcoin hit record highs above $126,000.

But not everything is hunky-dory. Security risks in decentralized finance (DeFi) continue to weigh on sentiment. On Sunday, the SUI-based lending platform Scallop was exploited, resulting in the loss of roughly 150,000 SUI, or about $142,000. While small, it adds to a growing list of attacks this month, including the massive Drift and KelpDAO exploits.

Together, DeFi protocols have lost an estimated $623 million to hacks in April alone, according to Memento Research. Since inception, total losses from DeFi-related exploits have climbed to roughly $7.72 billion, according to data source DeFiLlama. This underscores a persistent structural risk for the sector.

In traditional markets, WTI crude oil prices continue to hover above $90 per barrel, with Brent above $100 as supply remains constrained. The latest pricing is significantly higher than $70 or below before the Iran war began in late February, and threatens to destabilize global economy with high inflation. Stay alert!

Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today . For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”

What’s trending

Today’s signal

The pie chart shows the breakdown of total losses suffered in crypto hacks by different methods of attack, including private key compromises, phishing exploits, access control issues and other smart-contract vulnerabilities.

Since inception, the biggest vulnerability has been private key compromises, accounting for 40% of the total.

Think of a private key as the master password to your crypto wallet. It’s a long, random string that proves you control your wallet and own crypto funds in it, allowing you to transact onchain. The issue, however, is that there is no reset password option if you lose the key.

So, once the hacker has it, you have lost your wallet and funds. This is known as the private key compromise and the fact that it’s the biggest security risk indicates that audits need to focus beyond just smart contracts.

Google DeepMind has entered into a partnership with South Korea to provide the technical backbone for the country’s K-Moonshot initiative, an ambitious national programme designed to solve the most complex scientific challenges of the century using AI.

According to recent reports, the collaboration will span several high-stakes fields such as life sciences, meteorology, and climate research. To accelerate progress, both sides have committed to a deep exchange of AI models, specialized tools, and vast scientific datasets.

The agreement was inked in Seoul on Monday by DeepMind Chief Executive Demis Hassabis and Deputy Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-Hoon. As a core part of this deal, Google will establish a dedicated AI-focused campus in Seoul.

This facility marks the first of its kind for the company globally and is expected to serve as a melting pot for local engineers, startups, and academic institutions while hosting elite training programmes for Korean researchers.

Officials from the South Korean government said they have already requested that Google dispatch at least ten senior engineers from its U.S. headquarters to provide on-the-ground support for the initiative.

While Demis Hassabis indicated the company is carefully considering this request, he also highlighted plans to strengthen existing ties with local industrial giants, including Samsung, SK Hynix, and Hyundai’s Boston Dynamics.

The partnership will also prioritize the ethical side of innovation by including joint work on AI safety. This cooperation will extend directly to Korea’s AI Safety Institute to ensure that these new technologies are developed with rigorous oversight.

For the uninitiated, K-Moonshot is South Korea’s premier science and technology roadmap built around twelve transformative goals. These targets include revolutionary breakthroughs in AI-led drug discovery, the quest for sustainable fusion energy, and the creation of next-generation humanoid robotics.

Deal follows Alphabet’s expanded AI investment push

The collaboration comes shortly after Alphabet Inc. outlined a major funding commitment to AI firm Anthropic, signalling continued momentum in the sector.

Alphabet said it would invest $10 billion upfront, with plans to commit up to $30 billion more over time. The total package could reach $40 billion if the company meets performance and usage milestones.

Anthropic added that the initial investment values the firm at $350 billion, matching its February round and placing it among the most highly valued startups globally.

Volatility returned to crypto markets Monday as bitcoin BTC$77,886.52 spiked up to $79,480 before quickly reversing to $77,800.

The move began around 23:00 UTC with the opening of U.S. equity and CME bitcoin futures, a period that often sees heightened volatility.

By 05:30 UTC, the price began falling after it failed to break above the $80,000 level, dropping 2% in an hour.

The decline occurred as oil reached its highest level since the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran began. Brent crude trades at $107 per barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump canceled plans to send U.S. officials for talks in Pakistan on Saturday.

Ether (ETH) recently traded around $2,320 after losing 2.2% since midnight UTC, underperforming bitcoin, which is down by 1.1%, but not falling as precipitously as several altcoins.

Derivatives positioning

• Nearly $300 million in crypto futures bets have been liquidated in the past 24hours. Most of these have been bearish short plays, which likely faced the brunt of the cryptocurrency’s brief rally to nearly $79,500.
• Open interest (OI) in XRP futures rose by nearly 2.5% in 24 hours. That’s the biggest increase among major tokens, including bitcoin, ether and solana (SOL). The OI touched a one-week high of 1.82 billion XRP alongside negative perpetual futures funding rates and OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta. This combination paints a bearish picture, consistent with the bitcoin and ether markets.
• Analysts, however, said that persistent negative funding rates in BTC are mainly due to institutions hedging their bullish exposure in related markets and do not represent an outright bearish bet on the market.
• HBAR, CC, XLM and HYPE are other standout OI gainers of the past 24 hours.
• SUI records the most negative CVD, suggesting sustained aggressive selling through market orders. A Sui-based DeFi protocol named Scallop was hacked early today, and the perpetrators walked away with approximately 150,000 SUI tokens valued just over $140,000.
• Bitcoin and ether’s 30-day implied volatility indexes extended declines, painting a picture of market calm that supports continued price rallies in the two assets. This is consistent with the recent drop in Wall Street’s VIX index, a gauge for the S&P 500 index, and record highs in other key measures, including the Nasdaq.
• On Deribit, bitcoin and ether options continue to show a bias for puts across all time frames. Ether options expiring in December and next March are notably less bearish than their bitcoin counterparts.
• Bitcoin’s $80,000 strike call option is the most popular on Deribit, boasting a notional open interest of over $1.5 billion. The dealer gamma here is positive, which implies that dealers (market makers) could sell on a potential breakout above this level and similarly buy the dip, arresting the price volatility.
• Speaking of flows, Laser Digital said investors are favoring risk reversals over outright puts. This means traders prefer options strategies that profit from price swings and differences in how options are priced at different strike levels.

Token talk

• While the broader market was volatile on Monday, the altcoin sector was hit hardest during the 05:30 UTC selloff.
• Liquid restaking token Lido (LDO) led losses, giving back all of Sunday’s gains to fall around 17%.
• The bitcoin-heavy CoinDesk 20 (CD20) Index is down 1.5% since midnight UTC, while the DeFi Select Index (DFX) has lost 2.3%, with only the Smart Contract Platform Select Index (SCPX) performing worse, down 2.5%.
• A handful of tokens managed to avoid the selloff, notably PENGU, JUP and CHZ, which rose 9.1%, 4% and 3.1%, respectively.
• CoinMarketCap’s “Altcoin Season” indicator sits at a neutral 39/100, unchanged from last week and well below last month’s high of 51/100.