Crypto World
Galaxy’s Steve Kurz sees ‘great convergence’ driving crypto’s long-term outlook
Crypto is no longer just an asset class, it is also an ever-more critical part of financial infrastructure, says Steve Kurz, Galaxy Digital’s (GLXY) global head of asset management and co-head of digital assets
In “The Great Convergence,” the company’s 2026 investment outlook, Kurz sets out a plan that’s pragmatic about what can be done now while staying optimistic about the big picture in the long run.
The defining story of this cycle, he argues, is the asset-to-infrastructure transformation.
“The convergence of traditional financial rails with crypto infrastructure represents a significant and durable market structure evolution for global financial services,” Kurz told CoinDesk in an interview.
Galaxy Digital, a digital asset financial services and investment firm founded in 2018 by Michael Novogratz, functions as a bridge between traditional finance and the expanding cryptocurrency ecosystem. It offers institutional-grade trading, asset management, investment banking, custody, mining and infrastructure services and, increasingly, consumer-facing products.
A market caught in overlapping cycles
Kurz characterizes the current environment as one where “a lot of cycles are sitting on top of each other.”
While crypto token prices have pulled back substantially, he stresses that the levels reached are now below those at which many fundamentally positive developments have occurred. That disconnect makes it “pretty hard not to scratch your head.”
In his view, the dominant force behind recent price weakness has been the liquidity and leverage cycle.
While the October liquidity event and subsequent deleveraging weighed heavily on markets, it differed from 2022, when liquidations exposed structural fragilities in a less developed market architecture.
Today’s pullback is healthier. The ecosystem now includes more sophisticated instruments and better-developed risk-management frameworks. The selloff, he argues, was “a regular wave of deleveraging,” not a systemic breakdown in the back end of the system.
Infrastructure is growing rapidly, and prices usually respond only after tangible increases in activity and adoption, rather than beforehand, he said. When onchain activity and engagement rise again, the story will coalesce around it.
He allows that “there’s always a possibility of a leg down,” but said most of the dramatic selling has probably already occurred. Enough pain has been absorbed that consolidation, range-bound trading or a gradual grind higher are more likely than a V-shaped recovery. His base case is several months of consolidation followed by a firmer move into the second half.
A new regime: crypto on a bigger dashboard
At the center of his thesis: Crypto’s integration into Wall Street’s plumbing. With new connections to traditional finance, crypto is now on a much bigger dashboard of global assets, a position that comes with trade-offs.
Capital now flows across a broader opportunity set, and crypto competes more directly with established assets like gold or emerging themes such as quantum technology. The bar for attracting global capital is higher.
According to Kurz, that’s evidence of maturity. The relationship between crypto and traditional finance is still immature, but is deepening. Public blockchains are increasingly viewed as institutional-grade infrastructure. Stablecoins and tokenization are reshaping payments and market structure. The tentacles of crypto infrastructure are spreading across financial services.
This is what he calls a bull market in crypto plumbing. The infrastructure layer — custody, compliance frameworks, integration with banks and fintechs — is clearly advancing. And while that may not immediately translate into price appreciation in the short term, it is foundationally important for the long-term value of both the technology and the assets built on top of it.
The fusion of asset and technology
Key to the “Great Convergence” is the fusion of crypto as an asset class with crypto as a technology stack. That integration is driving the creation of a larger, more robust onchain economy.
Galaxy remains focused on crypto-native assets and believes the long-term bridge being built between infrastructure and capital markets is highly likely to play out. Kurz is clear: This is not a short-term “buy the dip” trade; it is a multiyear structural shift.
Sentiment, risks, and the bottoming process
Kurz notes that the spread between price, sentiment and underlying business activity has “never been wider.” While market prices have struggled, business activity, particularly on the infrastructure side, remains strong. That divergence gives Galaxy conviction.
He downplays existential fears, such as quantum computing, as immediate threats to crypto’s viability. More broadly, he observes that periods of intense negativity often coincide with market bottoms. At the same time, he identifies a subtler risk: apathy. A loss of relevance in the broader market conversation would be more concerning than volatility itself.
Bitcoin , in his experience, often acts as a “canary in the coal mine.” Historically, it has been adept at sniffing out macro risk moves before other markets react. It’s possible, he suggests, that BTC sensed broader risk-off conditions and absorbed the pain first. That dynamic can work in both directions.
Having “lived with bitcoin enough,” Kurz believes it can be assessed through a cyclical macro lens. Crypto no longer trades in isolation; it is increasingly intertwined with broader liquidity and risk cycles.
Galaxy’s performance and strategic positioning
Against this backdrop, Galaxy sees strong momentum in its core businesses, particularly infrastructure and asset management. As of the end of last year, Galaxy had $12 billion in assets on its platform.
On the infrastructure side, Galaxy is doing more than it was a year ago. It provides technology and payments services to banks and fintech companies, and its ability to integrate services with traditional financial institutions continues to improve.
As for asset management, Galaxy is expanding its offerings, including the introduction of a fintech hedge fund designed for wealth and high-net-worth channels.
The disruption of financial services market structure represents a “Fintech 2.0” moment and creates both public and private-market investment opportunities, according to Kurz.
“Galaxy’s Fintech Fund will focus on the public markets winners and losers of the great convergence, while Galaxy Ventures will continue to invest in early-stage companies around the globe that are building high quality, crypto-enabled financial services businesses.”
Institutional allocators, pensions, sovereign wealth funds and other asset owners often view crypto as cyclical. But many of these allocators are now making fresh capital allocation decisions. Galaxy reports winning business across banks, wealth intermediaries and institutional asset owners, facilitating inward capital flows even during a consolidation phase.
Institutional assets under management (AUM) remains a key focus, and the firm is seeing growing engagement from large clients. The gap between subdued prices and steady institutional interest reinforces Galaxy’s long-term thesis.
Owning the great convergence
Ultimately, Kurz frames Galaxy’s strategy as “owning the whole story of the great convergence,” from crypto rails and onchain infrastructure all the way to public markets and asset management.
The firm is positioning itself across the stack, capturing both the technological integration of crypto into traditional finance and the financialization of crypto assets.
For 2026, the outlook is measured, constructive. Don’t expect a V-shaped recovery. Expect consolidation, maturation, continued infrastructure buildout. Expect crypto to compete on a broader stage for global capital. And expect the narrative to catch up to the activity once it turns.
In Kurz’s view, the plumbing is being laid for a larger, more durable onchain economy. Prices may lag in the near term, but the long-term fusion of asset and technology leaves him structurally bullish on digital assets, and confident in Galaxy’s role at the center of that convergence.
Read more: Deutsche Bank says bitcoin’s selloff signals a loss of conviction, not a broken market
The Digital Chamber, a leading cryptocurrency advocacy group, has urged the US Congress to preserve yield-generating capabilities for payment stablecoins.
In its latest proposal, the group argued that current legislative drafts in the CLARITY Act threaten to outlaw the fundamental mechanics of DeFi.
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Digital Chamber Urges Congress to Preserve Stablecoin Yields
The group specifically petitioned lawmakers to retain the exemptions in Section 404 of the proposed CLARITY Act.
These provisions distinguish between traditional “interest,” which banks pay on insured deposits, and other interest rates. They effectively separate this income from “rewards” derived from liquidity provision (LP) activities on decentralized exchanges.
The Chamber warned that removing these exemptions would not only stifle domestic innovation but also “undermine dollar dominance.”
The group posits that if US-regulated stablecoins are legally barred from participating in DeFi markets, global capital will inevitably flow to foreign-issued digital assets or unregulated offshore entities.
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This shift, they argue, would effectively reduce demand for the US dollar in the digital economy.
Furthermore, the advocacy group stressed that a total ban on yields would force users into passive holding strategies.
According to them, this could, ironically, increase financial exposure to “impermanent loss.” This is a risk associated with asset volatility in liquidity pools.
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Digital Chamber Offers Regulatory Concessions
Notably, the banking lobby contends that allowing stablecoins to offer yield without complying with banking capital requirements creates a dangerous arbitrage opportunity.
They argue that this regulatory gap threatens to destabilize the entire financial system. They also claimed that high-yield stablecoins would siphon liquidity away from community banks.
As a proposed compromise, the Chamber suggested mandating clear consumer disclosures to clarify that stablecoin yields are not comparable to bank interest rates and are not FDIC-insured.
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Additionally, they recommended that regulators conduct a federal “Deposit Impact” study two years after the bill becomes law.
The group argues that this empirical data will prove that stablecoins complement, rather than disrupt, the traditional banking sector.
The recommendations arrive as negotiations on a comprehensive market-structure bill (CLARITY Act) reach a critical impasse.
A high-stakes meeting at the White House earlier this week between banking representatives and cryptocurrency executives reportedly ended in deadlock.
Wall Street lobbyists remain staunchly opposed to any measure that would allow non-bank stablecoin issuers to pass yields to customers, viewing such products as a direct threat to the traditional depository model.
Compound was an OG of DeFi lending, but missteps have knocked it off its perch.
Compound was once the default answer for crypto lending in decentralized finance. Launched in 2018 by Robert Leshner and Geoffrey Hayes, the protocol lets users earn interest or borrow assets directly on Ethereum, in a fully decentralized manner, without banks or brokers.
For early DeFi users, it felt obvious. The project raised millions in backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Crypto, Paradigm, and Coinbase Ventures.
Compound also helped popularize yield farming, especially after launching its governance token, COMP, in 2020, which turned passive users into active participants.
By 2021, Compound was the core infrastructure for crypto lending. Billions of dollars sat in its smart contracts. Other protocols like Yearn Finance and exchanges like Coinbase also integrated it, cementing the protocol’s dominance in the space.
That changed in October 2021, when the protocol’s liquidity began to thin quickly.
The decline is evident in Compound’s total value locked (TVL), which fell sharply from a November 2021 peak of $12 billion to just $2.2 billion by November 2022, per data from DefiLlama.
Value Leak
The problems began when a protocol update called “Proposal 62,” intended to adjust COMP rewards, went live with a bug. As a result, the protocol began overpaying rewards, leaking tens of millions of dollars’ worth of COMP to users.
Because of how Compound governance worked, the team couldn’t immediately stop it. The fix had to wait through a mandatory timelock. In the meantime, tokens kept flowing out, and confidence in the protocol’s stability went with them.
In an X post on Sept. 30, 2021 Leshner asked recipients who received excess COMP to return it and offered a 10% reward for whitehat returns.
He added that “otherwise, it’s being reported as income to the IRS, and most of you are doxxed.” The threat sparked swift backlash from the crypto community, and Leshner later called it a bone-headed post and walked it back.
But funds continued to leave, and tens of millions of dollars flowed out of the protocol in the weeks after the bug was discovered. Even though the issue was fixed, the incident was enough to shake confidence.
Bad Timing
It’s hard to say if the October 2021 bug alone ended Compound’s dominance, but it clearly left the protocol vulnerable at a bad time. By December 2021, Bitcoin had started falling from its $69,000 all-time high, signaling the start of a multi‑year crypto bear market.
As crypto prices fell, lending activity slowed across DeFi as borrowers began pulling funds. For Compound, which relied heavily on pooled liquidity markets, those outflows hit harder than rivals like Aave and Maker, which were built around isolated or more flexible risk models.
The contrast became clearer as the 2022 crypto winter came in. After Terra’s multi-billion dollar collapse, the implosion of FTX, and a string of centralized lender failures, the crypto community grew more sensitive to systemic risk.
Behind the scenes, leadership was changing too. Leshner stepped back from day-to-day involvement, and by June 2023, he left Compound and founded Superstate, a tokenization platform that allows companies to issue and trade their public shares on blockchain.
As a result, today Compound looks markedly different from its peak, when crypto lending was still taking off. Today, Compound’s once double-digit TVL sits at just below $1.4 billion. That makes it the 7th largest lending protocol in DeFi by TVL, where Aave dominates with a TVL of nearly $27 billion.
Monthly fees have dropped from a 2021 peak of nearly $47 million to about $3.5 million, while the protocol’s highest monthly revenue since the start of 2025 was $888,666, down from an all-time high of $5.14 million in April 2021.
Compound declined The Defiant’s request for comment for this story.
Bitcoin price is attempting another breakout toward $70,000 after weeks of choppy consolidation. BTC trades at $69,815 at publication, sitting just below the $70,610 resistance level. The largest cryptocurrency is trying to recover recent losses, yet mixed on-chain and derivatives signals present an uncertain short-term outlook.
Market participants are closely watching this psychological threshold. A sustained move above $70,000 could shift sentiment decisively. However, persistent bearish positioning suggests that volatility may intensify before a clear trend emerges.
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Bitcoin Shorts Resemble The Past
Aggregated funding rate data across major crypto exchanges shows an extreme surge in short positioning. Current negative funding levels are the deepest since August 2024. That period ultimately marked a significant Bitcoin bottom.
In August 2024, traders crowded into downside bets as funding rates plunged. Instead of continuing lower, Bitcoin reversed sharply. The reversal triggered widespread short liquidations and fueled an approximately 83% rally over the following four months.
Want more token insights like this? Sign up for Editor Harsh Notariya’s Daily Crypto Newsletter here.
Deeply negative funding rates signal heavy bearish positioning and widespread fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD). While this setup does not guarantee immediate upside, it creates a fragile structure. If price rises, forced short-covering could amplify volatility and accelerate upward momentum.
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Bitcoin Towards Capitulation
The Net Unrealized Profit and Loss, or NUPL, indicator has returned to the Hope/Fear zone near 0.18. This reading shows that profit cushions among holders are thin. When NUPL enters this regime, market behavior tends to become reactive.
Historically, declines into this zone often preceded extended weakness. Panic selling typically intensifies before a durable bottom forms. Unless capitulation resets sentiment, Bitcoin may remain vulnerable to deeper pullbacks before stabilizing.
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What Does The Short-Term Outlook Look Like?
Short-term technical cues suggest improving momentum. The Chaikin Money Flow, which measures capital inflows and outflows, is approaching the zero line. A confirmed move into positive territory would signal renewed demand for Bitcoin.
Simultaneously, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence indicator is nearing a bullish crossover. A confirmed crossover would indicate a shift from bearish to bullish momentum. However, early signals require validation through sustained price strength.
Even with improving indicators, broader sentiment remains cautious. Shorts are unlikely to close voluntarily under weak conditions. This dynamic increases the probability that a price-driven liquidation event becomes the catalyst for recovery.
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BTC Price Needs a Strong Push
Bitcoin trades at $69,815 and remains capped below $70,610 resistance. The $70,000 level represents a critical psychological barrier. A decisive close above this threshold could trigger renewed bullish momentum and attract fresh capital inflows.
However, bearish pressure persists in derivatives markets. Continued dominance of short contracts could keep BTC below $70,000. A breakdown below $65,156 support may trigger long liquidations and intensify downside volatility.
If Bitcoin secures strong investor support and overcomes selling pressure above $70,000, upside targets emerge. A rally toward $73,499 could develop quickly.
Sustained strength may extend gains toward $76,685, invalidating the bearish thesis and confirming a broader recovery attempt.
Blockchain technology is increasingly being viewed as a practical backbone for distributing social benefits, though regulatory guardrails remain a central challenge for governments testing on-chain tools. In the Marshall Islands, guidance from Guidepost Solutions on regulatory compliance and sanctions framework accompanies the rollout of a tokenized debt instrument known as USDM1, issued by the state and backed 1:1 by short-term U.S. Treasuries. Separately, the country launched a Universal Basic Income (UBI) program in November 2025, delivering quarterly payments directly to citizens via a mobile wallet. As proponents point out, digital delivery can accelerate provisioning and provide auditable trails for expenditures, but the path to widescale adoption is entangled with anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements that regulators say are non-negotiable.
Key takeaways
- Tokenized government debt is expanding, with asset-backed bonds that settle rapidly and offer fractional ownership gaining traction in pilots and policy discussions.
- The Marshall Islands’ UBI program, distributed through a digital wallet since November 2025, exemplifies how on-chain tools can reach citizens directly, pending robust AML/KYC controls.
- Regulators view AML and sanctions compliance as the largest risk in issuing on-chain bonds to the public, underscoring the need for rigorous oversight in tokenized finance.
- Data show a sharp rise in tokenized U.S. Treasuries, illustrating growing demand for programmable settlement and auditable fund flows in public debt markets.
- Analysts forecast meaningful growth for the tokenized bond market, with projections pointing to hundreds of billions of dollars by decade’s end, contingent on regulatory clarity.
Market context: The push toward tokenized government debt and on-chain social benefits sits amid a broader push to modernize public finance and expand financial inclusion. Jurisdictions are piloting tokenized instruments to cut settlement times and reduce transaction costs, while also grappling with the necessary compliance architecture. The United Kingdom has taken a parallel step, with HSBC appointed for a tokenized gilt pilot, signaling cross-border interest in the model. Data from Token Terminal indicate the tokenized U.S. Treasury market has grown more than 50-fold since 2024, highlighting the rapid shift toward on-chain finance in a $X trillion debt ecosystem. Analysts, including Lamine Brahimi, co-founder of Taurus SA, project the tokenized bond market could surge to around $300 billion by 2030, a forecast that reflects both demand for digital liquidity tools and the continuing need for robust governance.
Why it matters
The Marshall Islands’ approach illustrates how tokenization can reshape public finance and social programs alike. By backing a debt instrument 1:1 with short-term U.S. Treasuries and tying it to a regulatory framework shaped by a risk-focused compliance firm, the government aims to attract legitimate investment while maintaining guardrails against misuse. The on-chain UBI experiment is a practical testbed for direct-to-citizen distributions, where quarterly payments flow through a digital wallet rather than traditional channels. The potential benefits—faster disbursement, traceable expenditure lines, and a more inclusive financial system—could extend beyond the Marshall Islands, offering a blueprint for other nations seeking to streamline welfare programs and debt issuance through programmable money.
However, the regulatory reality remains central. AML requirements and sanctions screening are highlighted by experts as the most significant obstacles to broad adoption. Governments issuing tokenized bonds must collect know-your-customer information to ensure funds reach the intended beneficiaries, while also ensuring that sanctions regimes are not breached through on-chain channels. The tension between innovation and compliance is not unique to the Marshall Islands; it is echoed in wider discussions about tokenization of public assets and the need for robust, interoperable standards that can scale across borders without compromising security or oversight.
From an investor and builder perspective, the narrative is equally nuanced. Tokenization promises near-instant settlement and fractional ownership, expanding access to assets that were previously illiquid or inaccessible to ordinary individuals. The growth in the tokenized debt market, as tracked by data platforms like Token Terminal, is often cited as evidence that digital-native debt instruments can coexist with traditional markets while offering new forms of liquidity and programmability. Yet the same data underline that progress hinges on a stable policy environment—one that defines privacy, censorship-resistance, anti-fraud controls, and cross-border enforcement mechanisms. The broader ecosystem’s trajectory will be shaped by how quickly regulators can translate principles into scalable, enforceable rules without stifling innovation.
In parallel, pilots such as the UK gilt initiative and other tokenization efforts illustrate that government-sponsored projects are moving from theory toward real-world applications. The combination of digital governance with financial instrumentation could unlock new funding channels and enable more responsive social programs, provided that the operational and legal frameworks keep pace with technological capability. This synthesis—technological potential matched with disciplined compliance—will determine whether tokenized debt and on-chain welfare tools become enduring components of public finance or remain transient experiments.
What to watch next
- Progress and results from the Marshall Islands’ UBI wallet rollout and any regulatory updates on AML/KYC standards for on-chain benefits.
- Monitoring the UK’s tokenized gilt pilot and any published findings on feasibility, costs, and investor interest.
- Updates to tokenized debt instrument frameworks and sanctions regimes as more governments explore issuance and distribution through blockchain rails.
- New data releases from Token Terminal and other analytics firms tracking growth in tokenized government debt and on-chain settlements.
- Prominent forecasts, such as Taurus SA’s projection of a $300 billion tokenized bond market by 2030, and any revisions based on policy or market developments.
Sources & verification
- Guidance from Guidepost Solutions to the Marshall Islands government on regulatory compliance and sanctions for USDM1 tokenized debt instruments (tokenized debt instrument reference).
- Marshall Islands’ Universal Basic Income program launch in November 2025 via a digital wallet (UBI program reference).
- Analysis and data on the tokenized U.S. Treasuries market growth since 2024 from Token Terminal (growth reference).
- Forecast by Lamine Brahimi, co-founder of Taurus SA, that tokenized bonds could reach $300 billion by 2030 (market forecast reference).
- On-chain debt instrument and tokenized government debt discussions and related policy pilots, including RWA.XYZ and UK gilt pilot context (verification references).
Tokenized debt, digital governance, and the path to inclusive finance
The effort to tokenize government debt and deliver social benefits on-chain sits at the intersection of efficiency, transparency, and risk management. The Marshall Islands’ USDM1 project showcases how a regulatory framework can be crafted to support tokenized debt while maintaining strong sanctions and AML controls. The accompanying UBI initiative demonstrates a pragmatic use case for digital wallets as a means of distributing welfare benefits with auditable spending trails, potentially reducing delays and leakage that can accompany traditional channels. In parallel, the broader market signals—rapid growth in tokenized U.S. Treasuries, governance pilots in the UK, and ambitious market projections—underscore growing institutional and public interest in tokenization as a means to reimagine public finance and social programs. Yet the narrative remains contingent on a reliable compliance scaffold: one that balances innovation with rigorous risk management to safeguard funds and protect citizens. As policymakers, technologists, and financial actors navigate this evolving terrain, the defining question will be whether these on-chain instruments can deliver measurable benefits at scale without compromising the integrity of the financial system.
Blockchain technology is an effective medium for administering social benefit programs, but key compliance challenges remain, according to Julie Myers Wood, CEO of compliance and monitoring consulting firm Guidepost Solutions.
Guidepost Solutions advised the Republic of the Marshall Islands’ government on a regulatory compliance and sanctions framework for its USDM1 bond, a tokenized debt instrument issued by the government, backed 1:1 by short-term US Treasuries.
The Marshall Islands government launched a Universal Basic Income (UBI) program in November 2025 that distributes quarterly benefits to citizens directly through a mobile wallet. Wood told Cointelegraph:
“Any benefit that is currently being distributed through analog means should be explored for a digital delivery option for several reasons. Digital delivery speeds up the process and can provide an auditable trail for provisioning and expenditures.”
Several governments are exploring tokenized debt instruments and administering social benefit programs onchain to eliminate settlement delays and costly transaction fees inherent in traditional finance by disintermediating the issuing and clearing process.
Related: UK government appoints HSBC for tokenized bond pilot
Regulatory compliance and sanctions challenges remain as the tokenized bond market grows
The cost reduction and near-instant settlement times for tokenized bonds and other onchain instruments democratize access to the financial system for individuals who lack access to traditional banking infrastructure.
However, anti-money laundering (AML) requirements and sanctions compliance are two of the biggest regulatory risks for governments issuing onchain bonds to the public, Wood told Cointelegraph.
Governments issuing tokenized bonds must also collect know-your-customer (KYC) information to ensure that funds are directed to the proper recipients, she added.
The tokenized US Treasury market grew by over 50x since 2024, according to data from crypto analysis platform Token Terminal.
The tokenized bond market could surge to $300 billion, according to a forecast from Lamine Brahimi, co-founder of Taurus SA, an enterprise-focused digital asset services company.
Reduced settlement times, transaction costs and asset fractionalization, which allows individuals to purchase fractions of a financial asset, all expand investor access to the global financial system, Brahimi told Cointelegraph.
Magazine: Will Robinhood’s tokenized stocks REALLY take over the world? Pros and cons
Crypto World
ZKP Stage 2 Presale Auction Ends in 5 Days! Buyers Rush Ahead of Supply Drops, as Monero and Cardano Track Trends
The digital asset landscape is shifting, and finding the best crypto to buy right now requires looking beyond the household names. While established players like Monero continue to offer privacy-centric utility, and analysts weigh in on the long-term Cardano price prediction, a new contender is rewriting the rules of entry. Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) is currently capturing the market’s attention with its unique Initial Coin Auction (ICA), a system designed for pure transparency.
As the Monero price USD faces typical market volatility, ZKP is moving through its final days of Stage 2. With the transition to Stage 3 occurring in just 5 days, the window to participate in the current 190-million daily token distribution is closing. Investors are pivoting toward ZKP’s deflationary burn mechanics and fair-launch protocol, seeking the stability and growth potential that traditional presales often lack.
Tracking Volatility and Demand for Monero Price USD
Privacy remains a core focus within the blockchain sector, making the Monero price USD a key metric for those tracking anonymity-centric assets. Recent market data indicate that Monero has faced notable volatility, including a sharp decline of over 50% from its January high of nearly $800. This correction has seen the Monero price USD stabilize around the $340 to $370 range as of February 2026.
Regulatory pressure continues to influence its market standing, with the asset facing approximately 73 exchange delistings over the past year due to tightening global compliance standards. While technical indicators like the RSI currently show oversold conditions, consistent selling pressure from long-term holders has impacted liquidity. Monero remains a specialized utility for private transactions, though it operates under persistent structural headwinds and shifting regulatory frameworks.
Analyzing the Future Through Cardano Price Prediction
Cardano continues to maintain its position as a major cryptocurrency by market capitalization, currently valued at approximately $9.22 billion. When analysts evaluate a long-term Cardano price prediction, they frequently focus on the protocol’s peer-reviewed development phases, such as the Voltaire era for on-chain governance. Technical data from February 2026 shows the asset trading near $0.26, supported by over 1.3 million active staking wallets that contribute to network decentralization.
Recent milestones include the launch of regulated ADA futures on the CME Group marketplace, marking a step in institutional integration. While a conservative Cardano price prediction often accounts for its methodical scaling approach, the network has reached 17,000 smart contract deployments, reflecting the steady development of its underlying technical infrastructure over time.
ZKP’s Stage 2 Presale Auction Enters Final Countdown
While many market participants wait on external price swings, Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) is introducing the first Initial Coin Auction (ICA), a radical shift toward true decentralization. This is precisely why it is being highlighted as the best crypto to buy right now. Unlike traditional models where prices are set behind closed doors, the ZKP price is determined by real-time market demand through a transparent, 24-hour on-chain process.
The urgency has reached a fever pitch as ZKP’s presale auction enter final days of Stage 2. This represents the absolute last window to access the largest remaining daily distribution of 190 million tokens. In just 5 days, the protocol triggers a structural supply cliff, transitioning to Stage 3 where the daily allocation is slashed by 10 million tokens to a 180-million limit.
This aggressive reduction continues across every subsequent stage of the 450-day timeline, meaning the available daily supply is rapidly evaporating. Furthermore, any unallocated tokens are burned permanently at the end of each day, ensuring that every 24-hour cycle is a final opportunity to participate at the current stage’s specific supply level.
To maintain total integrity, ZKP utilizes an “Anti-Whale” protocol, capping daily contributions at $50,000 per wallet. This prevents large players from dominating the auction, ensuring that the best crypto to buy right now remains accessible on equal terms. With no gas wars, no insider advantages, and a daily supply that drops by 10 million tokens in less than a week, the window to secure a position before the Stage 3 reduction is closing fast.
In Summary
In a market defined by choice, the path forward depends on specific objectives. While monitoring the Monero price USD remains vital for privacy-focused utility, and tracking the long-term Cardano price prediction is essential for patient, research-oriented holders, the shift toward transparent infrastructure is undeniable. ZKP stands out as the best crypto to buy right now, offering a fair-launch model that established projects simply cannot replicate.
With Stage 2 and its 190-million daily ceiling ending in just 5 days, the opportunity to secure tokens at this level is vanishing. As the supply cliff approaches and unallocated tokens burn daily, the window for maximum allocation is rapidly closing. The transition to Stage 3 marks a permanent tightening of the ecosystem, positioning ZKP as a high-momentum choice for those observing the shrinking supply.
Explore Zero Knowledge Proof:
Website: https://zkp.com/
Presale: https://buy.zkp.com/
Telegram: https://t.me/ZKPofficial
Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.
Institutional interest in crypto is accelerating even as markets fluctuate, according to Sui executives at Consensus Hong Kong 2026.
Stephen Mackintosh, chief investment officer of Sui Group Holdings, called 2025 a “landmark year for institutional adoption,” pointing to the boom in digital asset treasury (DAT) vehicles and the success of spot bitcoin ETFs.
“Post the Genius Act, we’ve seen so much more institutional demand and awareness for what the promise of crypto could deliver,” he said, particularly around tokenization and stablecoins.
While sentiment has fluctuated, Mackintosh argued the structural shift is clear. “The market, despite all of the sentiment being low, has never been greater,” he said, citing record options volumes and the entrance of major firms such as Citadel and Jane Street into crypto markets. He described a long-term trend in which “the biggest institutions in finance in the world” are investing in infrastructure and talent to capture market share.
Mysten Labs CEO Evan Cheng framed the next phase as convergence rather than competition between traditional finance and decentralized finance. In his view, TradFi products often operate on “T+1 or T+whatever,” while DeFi is “T+0”—a “strictly better product” in settlement terms.
The convergence, he suggested, will emerge through tokenization. “You acquire [an asset] and immediately you can collateralize and borrow against it,” Cheng said, enabling DeFi strategies layered on traditional exposure.
On whether ETFs compete with DeFi, Cheng said products will evolve. Institutional on-ramps may begin conservatively but could incorporate yield or other on-chain mechanics over time.
Both executives emphasized infrastructure as Sui’s differentiator. Mackintosh described Sui as “a differentiated proposition” built by former Facebook engineers behind Libra, offering low latency and high throughput suited for emerging use cases such as “agentic commerce”, the intersection of AI and onchain transactions.
Coinbase posted a $667 million Q4 2025 loss after crypto markdowns hit its holdings even though it registered record trading growth.
Coinbase reported a $667 million net loss for the fourth quarter of 2025, its first quarter in the red since 2023.
The loss, which was largely driven by non-cash write-downs on the company’s crypto holdings and strategic investments, landed far below analyst expectations and reversed a $1.3 billion profit from the same period last year.
Record Growth Metrics Masked by Portfolio Pain
Coinbase’s shareholder letter, published after market close, painted two divergent pictures of its 2025 performance. On the operational side, the company logged all-time highs in total trading volume ($5.2 trillion, up 156% year-over-year), crypto trading market share (6.4%, double the year before), and subscription revenue.
In the letter, the crypto firm stated that paid Coinbase One subscribers have nearly hit 1 million and that it now has 12 products generating over $100 million in annualized revenue.
However, fourth-quarter financials told a different story, with total revenue falling 21.6% year-over-year to $1.78 billion and missing consensus estimates of about $1.83 billion. Additionally, transaction revenue, the company’s core fee business, dropped 36% from Q4 2024 to $983 million. Adjusted earnings per share of $0.66 also came in below analyst forecasts, which ranged from $0.86 to $0.96, according to market commentator MartyParty.
Per Coinbase’s report, the primary culprit behind the GAAP loss was a $718 million unrealized markdown on the exchange’s crypto investment portfolio, as Bitcoin (BTC) and other tokens declined in Q4.
The company also recorded a $395 million loss on strategic investments, including its stake in Circle, the issuer of USDC, which dropped approximately 40% quarter-over-quarter. Ultimately, Coinbase ended the year with $11.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents.
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Market Share Gains Face New Competitive Pressure
Recent data suggests Coinbase is facing rising competition, with analytics firm Artemis reporting that decentralized derivatives platform Hyperliquid processed $2.6 trillion in trading volume, nearly double Coinbase’s $1.4 trillion in the same period. Artemis also reported a sharp divergence in market performance this year, with Hyperliquid’s token up 31.7% while Coinbase shares were down 27% over the same stretch.
The company’s mixed quarter follows a busy 2025, where it joined the S&P 500, secured approval to operate across the European Union under MiCA rules, and completed major acquisitions, including Deribit. It also benefited from a legal win when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped a lawsuit against the firm.
Not all commentary has been positive, though, as shown by security researcher Taylor Monahan’s argument that user protection on Coinbase is still lagging, citing more than $350 million in preventable losses during 2025.
Nonetheless, the exchange has maintained that its strategy focuses on diversification beyond spot trading. It said it is building an “Everything Exchange” that includes derivatives, equities, and prediction markets, and it recently partnered with Kalshi to support event-based contracts. Whether that broader model offsets swings in crypto prices will become clearer in the coming quarters.
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Elon Musk’s social media platform X is set to soon let users trade stocks and cryptocurrencies directly from their timelines as the company pushes deeper into financial services.
The upcoming features, described by the company’s head of product, Nikita Bier, will include “Smart Cashtags.” These will allow users to interact with ticker symbols in posts and execute trades from the app.
The announcement comes as the company prepares to launch an external beta of X Money, its in-house payments system. Musk said the tool is already live in internal testing and will be available to a limited group of users within one to two months.
The idea is to make X a one-stop platform where users can message, post, send money and invest, a version of Musk’s “everything app” vision.
He’s compared the rollout of financial tools like X Money to adding banking services inside the app, saying users could eventually manage most of their daily digital activity without leaving the platform.
Elon Musk’s companies have been involved with crypto in the past. His electric car maker Tesla owns 11,509 bitcoin on its balance sheet, down from an initial investment of 42,300 made in early 2021. SpaceX currently controls around 8,285 BTC.
Over the years Musk has also shown support for the meme-inspired cryptocurrency dogecoin. In 2022, he said SpaceX would accept DOGE for some merchanside, echoing an earlier move from Tesla. Earlier this month, Musk said he may put DOGE “on the moon.”
Crypto World
Best Crypto to Buy Right Now: Why BlockDAG, Solana, BNB, and Cardano Could Shift the Market
In 2026, the digital asset market has matured into a high-stakes arena where architectural precision determines long-term survival. While the era of speculative “moonshots” has faded, the demand for protocols that can handle massive transactional loads without sacrificing decentralization is at an all-time high.
Major assets like Binance Coin and Solana continue to anchor portfolios with their massive liquidity, and Cardano remains a benchmark for peer-reviewed security. However, the narrative is rapidly shifting toward BlockDAG, which has recently transitioned to a live Mainnet environment. For those identifying the best crypto to buy right now, the convergence of proven legacy power and fresh, scalable infrastructure offers a clear roadmap for the current cycle.
1. BlockDAG: Final Call for $0.00025 Entry Before Feb 16 Listings
BlockDAG has moved beyond the development phase to become a fully operational powerhouse in the Layer 1 space. With its Mainnet now live, the network has transitioned into active block production, signaling the true beginning of the Genesis era. For anyone scanning the market for the best crypto to buy right now, the data behind BlockDAG (BDAG) is compelling.
The project has already raised a staggering $452M through its presale batches, and the Token Generation Event (TGE) rails are now active, meaning BDAG is being issued directly on the BlockDAG Mainnet. Minting is complete, and the vesting contracts are running, with the claim function for the initial airdrop set to go live shortly.
The current window represents the final private sale allotment, offering a fixed price of $0.00025 for only the next 3 days. This is a rare structural opportunity, as the coin is confirmed for launch on over 20 global exchanges on February 16 with a target listing price of $0.05. This pricing gap implies a 200x potential at launch.
Unlike many early-stage projects, this final allocation carries zero vesting, ensuring that 100% of the coins are delivered to user wallets on launch day. Furthermore, participants in this round gain the advantage of trading up to 9 hours before the public markets open, allowing them to position themselves ahead of the initial volatility and front-run launch liquidity.
Securing the $0.00025 final allocation is the definitive move before the February 16 launch. With the Mainnet live, this is the last window to front-run global markets and 200x potential.
2. Solana: Testing Recovery Near the $80 Support
Solana is currently hovering around the $80 level, showing tentative signs of recovery after recent market fluctuations. As a high-throughput layer‑1 blockchain, Solana supports a broad spectrum of DeFi, NFT, gaming, and payment applications, leveraging fast transaction speeds and minimal fees. Its utility is particularly strong for developers needing quick finality without high operational costs.
Active staking and network participation help secure the network while incentivizing holders, keeping developer engagement robust. While Solana occasionally faces network congestion and performance challenges, these are typical trade-offs for high-speed chains. For investors assessing the best crypto to buy right now, Solana remains relevant due to its resilient ecosystem and adoption, even as it navigates price recovery and market volatility.
3. Binance Coin: Exchange Utility and BNB Smart Chain
Binance Coin is the native token of the Binance ecosystem, used for transaction fees, participation in launchpad events, and as gas on the BNB Smart Chain. It is currently trading around the mid‑$600s, following recent market fluctuations. The network records millions of active daily users, supporting a variety of decentralized applications and DeFi protocols.
BNB has a circulating supply of approximately 136.36 million, with periodic token burns reducing supply over time. Technical data indicate resistance near $620, while derivatives markets show a balanced long-to-short ratio. For those considering the best crypto to buy right now, BNB provides a practical case study in exchange and network utility, reflecting consistent usage rather than speculative activity.
4. Cardano: CME Futures Launch Amid Institutional Consolidation
Cardano is currently trading in the $0.26 – $0.27 range, reflecting moderate volatility. The network uses a proof-of-stake consensus and emphasizes formal verification and research-driven development. Recently, Cardano futures were introduced on the CME Group, offering institutions a regulated way to participate and adding structure to market activity.
At the same time, the ecosystem is gradually expanding into DeFi, including the integration of USDCx via LayerZero. While price movement remains relatively conservative compared to newer high-throughput networks, its capped supply and predictable issuance schedule provide consistent tokenomics. For those evaluating the best crypto to buy right now, ADA illustrates steady adoption and measured network development, prioritizing security and protocol reliability over rapid growth.
Why BlockDAG Tops the 2026 Rankings
The February 2026 market presents a clear contrast between established utility and high-velocity growth. While Solana, Binance Coin, and Cardano remain functional pillars of the industry, they are currently navigating phases of technical resistance and institutional consolidation. For buyers identifying the best crypto to buy right now, these assets offer reliability but lack the explosive multiplier potential found in a Tier-1 launch.
BlockDAG stands apart because its Mainnet is now live, providing a high-throughput ecosystem paired with a final $0.00025 private allocation. With the February 16 exchange debut approaching and a $0.05 target price, the window to secure a 200x edge is closing fast. This is the definitive moment to act before the fixed-price era ends and global market FOMO takes over.
Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.
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