LayerZero’s ZRO token is leading the altcoin market today, rallying 40% after unveiling Zero, its new Layer 1 blockchain.

ZRO sold off immediately after yesterday’s announcement; however, after more details emerged – such as Ark Invest founder Cathie Wood stepping on board as an advisor – the token surged from $1.7 to $2.5.

The ZRO token has been pricing in an impending announcement throughout 2026, and has been one of just a handful of strong altcoins over the last six weeks. The move brings ZRO’s market capitalization to $481 million, its highest level since January 2025.

In addition to Wood, the protocol also added Michael Blaugrund, the vice president of Strategic Initiatives at Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), and Caroline Butler, the former Head of Digital Assets at the Bank of New York Mellon, and co-chair of the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to its advisory board.

LayerZero brands Zero as “the first multi-core world computer” and says it’s been designed to address all existing bottlenecks in blockchain design, with an explicit goal of 2 million transactions per second (TPS) for every component in its system.

“We have replaced the fragmented, one-size-fits-all model with a unified high-performance system that treats multiple applications like concurrent processes on a single modern multi-core CPU. Due to this massive cost reduction, Zero is not only an alternative to existing blockchains; it provides a credible alternative to centralized cloud providers like AWS,” the Zero debut article claims.

“By stripping away the overhead of redundant replication, we have finally made decentralization viable on a global scale. Zero is the first truly scalable, multi-core world computer,” the article concluded.

Despite a bearish cryptocurrency market, ETF issuers continue to push forward with new filings, betting that demand for digital asset funds will remain strong.

This month, Bitwise Asset Management filed for a Uniswap-linked ETF, while ProShares sought approval for leveraged Bitcoin and Ether ETFs. 21Shares also resubmitted plans for funds based on Ondo and Sei, signaling progress in its efforts.

Todd Sohn, chief ETF strategist at Strategas, told Bloomberg that while firms like 21Shares and Bitwise remain committed to the long-term potential of crypto, ongoing poor performance could affect future flows.

This comes amid a crowded market, with over 140 crypto-focused US ETFs already trading, and 10 more launched this year. A BNB staking ETF is expected soon.

Cryptos have faced renewed pressure after October’s selloff, with Bitcoin falling sharply, dragging smaller tokens down. Investors are stepping back as liquidity tightens and risk appetite wanes.

Data from Glassnode shows that buyers of U.S. spot-Bitcoin ETFs are sitting on average paper losses, having bought Bitcoin at around $84,100 per coin, while the price now hovers near $66,000. This has led to significant outflows, with over $1.5 billion withdrawn from Ether-focused ETFs and more than $3.5 billion pulled from Bitcoin ETFs in recent months.

Ondo Finance’s Ondo Global Markets platform has integrated Chainlink as its official data oracle, enabling on-chain price feeds for tokenized US stocks such as SPYon, QQQon and TSLAon to go live on Ethereum. The feeds are now being utilized on Euler, where users can post tokenized equities as collateral to borrow stablecoins. This development provides on-chain pricing references for the tokenized assets and allows DeFi protocols to set collateral parameters and manage liquidations tied to underlying equities, while also accounting for corporate actions like dividends. The move marks a notable step in bringing traditional equities closer to decentralized finance, offering new avenues for lending and structured product design that hinge on reliable price data.

Key takeaways

• Chainlink has been designated as the official data oracle for Ondo Global Markets, supplying on-chain price feeds for tokenized US stocks on Ethereum.
• Initial support covers SPYon (SPDR S&P 500 ETF), QQQon (Invesco QQQ ETF), and TSLAon (Tesla stock), with the expectation of expanding to additional tokenized assets as coverage broadens.
• The price feeds feed into Euler, enabling tokenized equities to be used as collateral for borrowing stablecoins and for setting liquidation parameters in DeFi lending markets.
• Corporate actions, including dividends, are incorporated into the reference prices, helping maintain alignment between on-chain valuations and the underlying equities.
• Ondo’s move follows a broader push to tokenize US equities, underscored by regulatory and market actions across traditional finance and crypto venues, including Nasdaq’s rule-change efforts and public experiments by Robinhood and others.
• Industry developments highlight a growing ecosystem where tokenized stocks can feed DeFi protocols and potentially participate in broader on-chain trading and custody flows.

Tickers mentioned: SPYon, QQQon, TSLAon

Market context: The integration arrives amid a broader push to bring tokenized equities onto blockchain infrastructure as regulators in the United States refine custody and trading rules for tokenized securities. Observers note the convergence of traditional markets and DeFi as institutional and fintech players experiment with on-chain collateral, settlement efficiency and new product structures.

Why it matters

Ondo’s integration of Chainlink as the on-chain price oracle for tokenized stocks addresses a critical gap in DeFi’s treatment of synthetic equity representations. Before this development, tokenized equities had primarily served price exposure purposes or lightly simulated baseline risk rather than functioning as robust collateral. By linking on-chain prices to reference values tied to the underlying assets—and incorporating corporate actions—the ecosystem gains a more reliable mechanism for risk management, enabling lenders and protocol designers to calibrate collateral factors, liquidation thresholds and risk controls with greater fidelity to real-world equity behavior.

The partnership’s significance extends beyond Ondo. As markets experiment with tokenized versions of mainstream securities, the entire DeFi lending stack benefits from standardized, auditable price feeds that react to corporate actions and market dynamics. The collaboration with Chainlink—a long-standing oracle provider in the crypto space—also helps align DeFi protocols with real-world financial benchmarks, potentially fostering broader adoption of tokenized stocks within lending, derivatives and structured products. The move comes at a moment when traditional exchanges and fintechs are stepping up efforts to offer tokenized equity trading, custody and settlement on or near blockchain rails, signaling a converging trajectory for regulated tokenized assets and decentralized finance.

Regulatory and market developments underscore the momentum behind tokenized equities. Nasdaq has pursued a rule change with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to enable listing and trading of tokenized stocks, aiming to integrate blockchain-based representations with a regulated exchange framework. Separately, the SEC issued a no-action letter allowing a Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation subsidiary to launch a tokenization service for securities already held in custody, adding clarity to custody pathways for tokenized assets. In the broader crypto ecosystem, tokenized stock offerings have already surfaced on various platforms, illustrating a multi-pronged approach to bringing on-chain exposure to blue-chip equities without sacrificing the transparency and programmability that DeFi affords.

On the liquidity and trading front, major market participants are pursuing ways to expand access to tokenized securities. The New York Stock Exchange and its parent company, Intercontinental Exchange, announced efforts to develop a blockchain-based trading platform for tokenized stocks and ETFs with 24/7 trading and near-instant settlement, subject to regulatory approval. Meanwhile, crypto-native tokenization initiatives have already brought dozens of tokenized US stocks to multi-chain ecosystems, with platforms like Kraken and Bybit hosting tokenized stock markets under the xStocks banner, and Robinhood launching a public testnet for Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum layer-2 network built on Arbitrum, designed to support tokenized assets and on-chain lending and derivatives. These moves collectively illustrate a cross-market push toward more flexible capital markets built on tokenized representations and on-chain data feeds.

For developers and users, the Ondo–Chainlink integration signals a more practical pathway for tokenized equities to function as collateral within DeFi. It binds the on-chain price determiners to the equity’s fundamentals, potentially enabling more sophisticated service models and risk management strategies in decentralized lending and beyond. The collaboration also reinforces the role of oracles as a bridge between traditional asset classes and DeFi ecosystems, an area that continues to attract attention as regulators, exchanges and fintechs map out the future of tokenized securities and on-chain finance.

Additional context around the broader tokenization wave is reflected in the ongoing coverage of tokenized assets across crypto media, including continued discussions of how tokenized stocks could operate within regulated frameworks and the evolving custody landscape. The ecosystem’s trajectory remains contingent on regulatory clarity, liquidity, and the ability of on-chain price feeds to reflect real-time market movements and corporate actions with high fidelity.

What to watch next

• Expansion of oracle coverage to additional tokenized equities and ETFs as Ondo and Chainlink broaden their integration footprint.
• Regulatory progress on tokenized securities, including potential approvals or filings related to further tokenized-stock listings and custody rules.
• Adoption by more DeFi protocols that may incorporate tokenized equities as collateral or reference price sources in lending and derivatives.
• New corporate actions and governance events for tokenized assets that could drive updates to reference prices and collateral models.

Sources & verification

• Ondo post: Defi adoption of Ondo tokenized stocks live — https://ondo.finance/blog/defi-adoption-of-ondo-tokenized-stocks-live
• Chainlink partnership with Ondo (PR Newswire, October 2025) — https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ondo-and-chainlink-announce-landmark-strategic-partnership-to-jointly-bring-financial-institutions-onchain-302599151.html
• Nasdaq rule-change for tokenized stocks — https://cointelegraph.com/news/nasdaq-asks-sec-for-rule-change-to-trade-tokenized-stocks
• SEC no-action letter for tokenization services (DTCC) — https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-clears-dtcc-to-offer-tokenization-service
• Robinhood Chain testnet (public) — https://robinhood.com/us/en/newsroom/robinhood-chain-launches-public-testnet/

Ondo and Chainlink bring tokenized stocks to DeFi on Ethereum

Ondo Finance’s Ondo Global Markets platform has integrated Chainlink as its official data oracle, enabling on-chain price feeds for tokenized US stocks such as SPYon, QQQon and TSLAon to go live on Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). The feeds are now being utilized on Euler, where users can post tokenized equities as collateral to borrow stablecoins. The integration anchors on-chain valuations to reference prices that reflect corporate actions like dividends, enhancing the reliability of on-chain pricing for collateral and liquidations. The collaboration marks a meaningful step in expanding the use cases for tokenized equities within decentralized finance and demonstrates how established oracle networks can support new asset classes on-chain.

Initial coverage includes SPYon (SPDR S&P 500 ETF), QQQon (Invesco QQQ ETF), and TSLAon (Tesla stock), with plans to expand as the oracle network and Ondo’s protocol integrations scale. The data feeds feed into lending markets on Euler, enabling users to collateralize tokenized stocks for stablecoin borrowing and to set risk controls based on up-to-date reference prices. This approach addresses a notable limitation: tokenized equities had been primarily used for price exposure rather than as robust collateral. By pairing exchange-linked liquidity with reliable on-chain price feeds, Ondo and Chainlink seek to unlock broader DeFi applications, including more sophisticated lending, risk management and perhaps new forms of on-chain structured products.

The broader ecosystem context includes a growing array of regulatory and market initiatives aimed at tokenized securities. Nasdaq’s pursuit of a rule change to permit listing and trading tokenized stocks signals a potential path for regulated, on-chain representations of listed shares. The same week, the SEC clarified custody rules for tokenized securities in collaboration with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, which could streamline how tokenized assets move through the traditional custody pipeline. On the crypto front, platforms have already experimented with tokenized stock access, including tokenized stock offerings across Kraken and Bybit and the Robinhood Chain initiative, all pointing to increasing interoperability between on-chain finance and legacy markets.

With the Ondo–Chainlink integration, developers and users gain a practical mechanism to reference the true price of tokenized equities within DeFi protocols, enabling more reliable collateralization and liquidations. The development underscores the maturation of tokenized securities as a cross-border, cross-venue concept—one that depends on robust price oracles, regulatory clarity and continued collaboration between traditional finance operators and crypto infrastructure providers. As the market continues to experiment with tokenized assets, observers will watch for further asset coverage, governance updates, and regulatory milestones that could accelerate or recalibrate the adoption curve for tokenized stocks in DeFi and beyond.

Bitcoin faces renewed macro pressure after the latest US jobs report signaled a stronger-than-expected labor market, pushing Treasury yields higher and reducing the likelihood of near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts.

The US economy added 130,000 jobs in January, nearly double consensus expectations. At the same time, the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, showing continued labor market resilience.

While strong employment is positive for the broader economy, it complicates the outlook for risk assets like Bitcoin.

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Strong Jobs Data Delays Rate Cut Expectations

Markets had been anticipating potential rate cuts in the coming months amid slowing growth concerns. However, a resilient labor market reduces the urgency for monetary easing.

As a result, investors repriced expectations for Federal Reserve policy.

Bond markets reacted immediately. The US 10-year Treasury yield jumped toward the 4.2% level, rising several basis points after the report. The two-year yield also climbed, reflecting reduced probability of near-term cuts.

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Ten year treasury yields jumped 8 bps to 4.20% (which has been a magnet for the market) on the jobs report. Given the mix of huge downward revisions and higher than expected Jan hiring – the direction is likely sideways until CPI report on Friday. pic.twitter.com/GOM1uNl19B

— Kathy Jones (@KathyJones) February 11, 2026

Higher yields tighten financial conditions. They increase borrowing costs across the economy and raise the discount rate used to value risk assets. 

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Why Higher Yields Pressure Bitcoin

Bitcoin is highly sensitive to liquidity conditions. When Treasury yields rise, capital tends to rotate toward safer, yield-generating assets such as government bonds.

At the same time, a stronger dollar often accompanies rising yields. A firmer dollar reduces global liquidity and makes speculative assets less attractive.

This combination creates headwinds for crypto markets.

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Although Bitcoin briefly stabilized near the $70,000 level earlier in the week, the jobs data increases the risk of renewed volatility. Without a clear signal that the Fed will ease policy, liquidity remains constrained.

“For Bitcoin, this report is a short-term headwind. A beat of this magnitude dampens the probability of a March rate cut and reinforces the Fed’s pause at 3.50%-3.75%. The cheaper money catalyst that risk assets need to mount a sustained recovery just got pushed further out. Expect the dollar to firm and yields to reprice higher, both of which pressure BTC into a range in the near term,” David Hernandez, Crypto Investment Specialist at 21shares told BeInCrypto. 

Market Structure Amplifies Macro Stress

The recent crash demonstrated how sensitive Bitcoin has become to macro shifts. Large ETF flows, institutional hedging, and leveraged positioning can accelerate moves when financial conditions tighten.

A stronger labor market does not guarantee Bitcoin will fall. However, it reduces one of the key bullish catalysts: expectations of easier monetary policy.

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“In the short term, Bitcoin looks defensive. The key level to watch is $65,000. However, if this strong report turns out to be temporary rather than a sign the economy is heating up again, the Fed could still cut rates later this year. When that happens, Bitcoin’s limited supply becomes important again. Strong data today may delay a rally, but it doesn’t break the long-term bullish case,” Hernandez said.

The Bottom Line

The latest US jobs report reinforces a “higher-for-longer” rate environment.

For Bitcoin, that is not immediately catastrophic. But it does make sustained upside more difficult.

Unless liquidity improves or yields retreat, the macro backdrop now leans cautious rather than supportive for crypto markets.

Berachain’s native token, BERA, surged over 150% on February 11, marking its sharpest single-day gain in months. The rally follows weeks of renewed activity after the project spent much of 2025 under pressure from falling prices, token unlock concerns, and investor uncertainty.

The immediate catalyst appears to be the foundation’s strategic shift toward a new model called “Bera Builds Businesses.” 

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Berachain’s Refund Fears to Revenue Ambitions: What Changed?

Announced in January, the initiative aims to back three to five revenue-generating applications designed to create sustainable demand for BERA. 

Instead of relying on heavy token incentives, the network now plans to focus on projects capable of producing real cash flow.

That pivot changed the narrative.

Throughout 2025, Berachain struggled as TVL (total value locked) collapsed from early highs, and the token fell more than 90% from its peak. Critics questioned whether its incentive-heavy growth model could survive a prolonged market downturn.

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However, another major overhang also disappeared this month.

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A controversial refund clause tied to Brevan Howard’s Nova Digital fund expired on February 6, 2026. The clause reportedly allowed the investor to request a $25 million refund if performance conditions were not met.

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With the deadline passing, traders appear to view the removal of that risk as structurally positive.

At the same time, a large token unlock event also cleared without triggering heavy selling. That outcome fueled what analysts describe as a “relief rally.”

On-chain and derivatives data show rising trading volume and increasing open interest. 

Liquidation heatmaps indicate clustered short positions above key resistance levels, suggesting that short covering may have amplified upward momentum.

Still, risks remain.

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Berachain faces continued token distribution pressure and must prove that its business-focused strategy can generate sustained demand. 

For now, however, the market appears to be rewarding clarity and the removal of uncertainty after a long period of silence.

Ondo Finance said its Ondo Global Markets platform has integrated Chainlink as its official data oracle, enabling price feeds for tokenized US stocks including SPYon, QQQon and TSLAon to go live on Ethereum.

According to a post from Ondo on Wednesday, the feeds are now being used on Euler, where users can post the tokenized equities as collateral to borrow stablecoins.

The integration provides onchain pricing data for the tokenized assets, allowing decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to set collateral parameters and manage liquidations based on reference prices tied to the underlying equities. The feeds incorporate corporate actions such as dividends, enabling applications to reference updated equity values.