Need evidence of the crypto market’s maturation? Look no further than Deribit, the crypto exchange that registered record trading volumes in 2024.

Total trading volume in Deribit’s product suite, which comprises crypto options, perpetual futures, volatility futures, and spot market, rose 95% from $608 billion in 2023 to $1.185 trillion in 2024.

Options alone registered a trading volume of $743 billion, a 99% year-on-year growth, accounting for a giant share of the total exchange activity. Deribit listed BTC options in 2016 and has since cemented its position as the world’s leading crypto options exchange.

“Deribit saw an increase in activity throughout the year, particularly in Q4 as institutional investors demonstrated heightened optimism around the U.S. presidential election, as well as the $100k Bitcoin bull run that followed,” Deribit’s Chief Commercial Officer Luuk Strijers, said in a note shared with CoinDesk.

“The rise in total platform volume and across our offered products indicates that Deribit continues to be the go-to derivatives exchange, particularly as more professional traders enter the space,” Strijers added.

This impressive boom in trading activity on Deribit reflects a maturation of the market, mainly as spot ETFs and options tied to those ETFs went live in the U.S., accelerating institutional participation. It is a sign of a growing shift toward more sophisticated multi-legged trading strategies involving options, futures, and volatility bets.

Chinese officials were prepared for Donald Trump to deliver bad news on his return to the US presidency: immediate 60 per cent tariffs on exports that could deal a serious blow to the world’s second-largest economy. 

Instead, they received an apparent reprieve this week. Trump ordered an investigation into US-China trade, and later reiterated the threat of a 10 per cent tariff related to the deadly opioid fentanyl.

The threat of a 10 per cent levy, which Trump suggested could be applied on February 1, hit China’s stocks and currency on Wednesday. The mainland’s CSI 300 index fell 1 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng retreated 1.6 per cent, while the offshore renminbi was the worst-performing major Asian currency, weakening 0.25 per cent to Rmb7.29 a dollar.

But Trump’s opening moves on China were less severe than the 25 per cent tariffs he announced on US allies Mexico and Canada. He also hinted at a potential broader deal linking tariffs to ownership of TikTok, the Chinese-controlled short-video platform that US security hawks want to shut down.

Despite Trump’s tendency for erratic statements and rapid changes of course, this softer than expected prelude has rekindled hope in Beijing that negotiations might be possible to avert a second trade war. Now, the question is what kind of deal would be acceptable to both sides. 

“There is a possibility that the two sides can strike a deal — you can sense there is cautious optimism,” said Zhao Minghao, professor at the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. “But we will need to see if there is a good match between what Trump and Beijing can offer each other.”

Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping held a phone call the weekend before the inauguration, their first in four years, which the US president described as “very good” and covered “Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects”.

Xi also dispatched the most senior Chinese official to ever attend a US inauguration, vice-president Han Zheng, who also met US business leaders including Trump confidant Elon Musk.

During his campaign, Trump had vowed to hit China with 60 per cent tariffs upon taking office, and later threatened an additional 10 per cent on day one to compel Beijing to crack down on flows of precursor drugs for fentanyl.

Instead, on Monday he issued a memo directing officials to investigate the US trade deficit and “recommend appropriate measures, such as a global supplemental tariff or other policies, to remedy such deficits”. 

He also asked the US Trade Representative to study Beijing’s compliance with the “phase one” deal agreed during his first term as president, and to consider additional tariffs “particularly with respect to industrial supply chains and circumvention through third countries” — a move with potentially much further-reaching implications for China.

Economists believe part of China’s trade with the US has been diverted through third countries to avoid tariffs since the trade war of Trump’s first administration. The US officials are due to report their findings on April 1. 

Although Trump signed an order allowing TikTok to operate for 75 days — a turnaround from his first term, where he had sought to ban it from the US — he also said Beijing would need to allow a US entity to take half of the company or face tariffs of up to 100 per cent. 

The linking of tariffs to TikTok’s ownership followed quixotic remarks on Monday by Musk, who complained that while the former was allowed to operate in the US, his social media site X was blocked in China. 

One person familiar with the matter in China said Beijing might agree to TikTok’s owner ByteDance selling the platform as part of a broader deal that would cover a range of issues including trade. However, any such discussions were at an early stage, the person said. 

Chinese officials, who have long opposed a forced sale of TikTok and would need to approve it, have in recent days appeared to signal a more hands-off approach.

“When it comes to actions such as the operation and acquisition of businesses, we believe it should be independently decided by companies in accordance with market principles,” the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, adding that “China’s laws and regulations should be observed”.

Gabriel Wildau, managing director at consultancy Teneo, wrote in an analyst note that Chinese leaders might “believe that an amicable resolution of the TikTok issue could lay groundwork for co-operation” on other issues.

“These could include tariffs, export controls, and — in a dream scenario for Beijing — even US policy towards Taiwan and the South China Sea,” Wildau said.

However, economists warned that it was too early to be confident that trade conflict could be averted. While Trump sounded more open to dealmaking, his administration was filled with China hawks, they said.

“This is more of a holding pattern for now,” said Fred Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC. “It is somewhat encouraging that we didn’t see an immediate rise and tariffs and that maybe there is some room for discussions beforehand. But I think it would be the wrong conclusion to say that China is now entirely off the hook.”

Aside from trade, Beijing could offer Trump help on other issues, such as resolving the Ukraine war, said Wang Chong, a foreign policy expert at Zhejiang International Studies University.

Wang warned, however, that Beijing was ready if relations broke down. Even if the US started with small tariff increases, it would undermine investor confidence in China. “If tariffs are imposed, China should fight,” Wang said.

Additional reporting by Arjun Neil Alim in Hong Kong

One of Donald Trump’s first acts as president was issuing an executive order that could kill the nascent offshore wind industry in the United States.

Trump’s order, signed Monday, halted federal leases for offshore wind development on the outer continental shelf — a location far enough from shore that wind speeds are consistently higher, but near enough that it’s readily accessible. 

“This withdrawal does not apply to leasing related to any other purposes such as, but not limited to, oil, gas, minerals, and environmental conservation,” the order states.

The order does not halt work on projects that have signed leases, though it does direct the Secretary of the Interior to review existing contracts for ways to terminate or amend them.

Offshore wind has had a rough go of it in the United States. There are just a handful of operating offshore wind farms in American waters, amounting to just 174 megawatts of capacity at the end of May, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. That’s a fraction of a percent of the worldwide total of 68 gigawatts, most of which are in Europe and China.

The sector’s prospects were starting to improve, though, with 4.1 gigawatts under construction, another 3.4 gigawatts approved, and another 19.8 gigawatts moving through the permitting process. Altogether, that would have helped reach the Biden administration’s goal of boosting offshore wind capacity to 30 gigawatts by the end of the decade.

While offshore wind is still expensive compared with other sources of power, its relative consistency and proximity to major population centers — and data centers — has made it attractive. In Europe, data centers operators have been keen to sign deals. Last year, Google agreed to buy 478 megawatts of offshore wind power to supply two data centers in the Netherlands.

In the U.S., offshore wind has been hampered by public resistance and a lack of infrastructure required to build and install the turbines. The availability of cheap, windy land in the interior of the country has also tilted the scales in favor of onshore turbines.

Since the majority of offshore wind development occurs in other countries, Trump’s executive order won’t kill offshore wind entirely. Instead, the sector is likely to mature in other countries where companies can gain expertise while waiting for the U.S. market to reopen.

Dyson has just revealed two new special edition colorways for its popular hair styling tools, and I think I’m in love. They’re called ‘Jasper Plum’ and ‘Red Velvet & Gold’ and they’ll be available across the full haircare range, including the Airwrap i.d. multi-styler, the Supersonic dryer, and the Airstrait wet-to-straight styler.

While I don’t dislike the current purple-and-orange or turquoise options, they have more of a ‘Children’s TV presenter’ energy than I’d ideally want in a haircare tool that costs upwards of $400 / £350. These new options have a much more luxe feel that fits the premium price tag, and are perfect for a grown-up dressing table. I’ve been eyeing up an Airwrap for some time, and this might be the thing that makes me take the plunge.

The Jasper Plum colorway will be available to buy direct from Dyson UK from today (22 January), with the Red Velvet & Gold options joining in late February. There are no specifics on other territories yet, although a Dyson spokesperson told us the new-look tools “will become available at a later date” in the US and Australia.

Dyson says the new color options are “thoughtfully designed to celebrate love, individuality, and the small yet powerful moments of self-care”. The Jasper Plum option, which combines violet and plum with blush pink detailing, symbolizes “strength and self-discovery”. The Red Velvet & Gold model “embodies sophistication and modern beauty”.

I didn’t immediately get all that, but the new colors certainly do look very nice. And the Red Velvet version taps into the current obsession with burgundy that’s sweeping the fashion world.

We consistently rate Dyson’s styling gadgets among the best hair dryers and best hair styling tools you can buy. Having made its name in vacuum cleaners and fans, the brand gained prominence in the beauty market with its Supersonic hair dryer, which reimagined the traditional dryer shape to make it more streamlined and put the weight in the handle to make it easier to control. The current version – Dyson Supersonic Nural – adds some clever features to streamline the styling process.

Crypto influencers face backlash for amplifying a fraudulent U.S. Treasury XRP wallet, revealed to be a scam.

On Jan. 22, several large influencer accounts began posting about a U.S. Treasury XRP (XRP) wallet. The story quickly snowballed as it gained traction on X through reposts. Influencers either promoted the wallet or questioned its credibility. An on-chain analysis conducted through XRPSCAN has now revealed that the wallet is based in the Philippines.

The purported U.S. Treasury wallet, which is connected to major institutions, including Bank of America and JPMorgan, is fraudulent. The wallet address ‘rfHhX6hA54LBqA3j7r7EnCs6qyaRK2Lyfq’ is also KYC verified, which further bolstered people’s belief that it might be a legit source tied to the United States Treasury.

Now, many within the crypto community are voicing their concern. For instance, Zach Rynes, community coordinator of Chainlink, criticized so-called “crypto-influencers” for spreading rampant misinformation in the XRP community. 

He also explained that in 2021, there was a rumor that the Bank of America was executing all internal payments through Ripple. Crypto influencer David Stryzewski, who recently made the false claims about XRP being a Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDC, shared false information on Ripple in a podcast with Former U.S. Senate candidate John E Deaton.

Stryzewski, who is the CEO of Sound Planning Group, also distorted information that Ripple was located in Hong Kong, said Rynes.

Crypto scams on X are on the rise

The proliferation of crypto-related scams has only added to the confusion pervading the industry. There was an 87% spike in daily impersonation accounts in December 2024, according to Scam Sniffer, with numbers rising from an average of 160 in November to more than 300. 

Scam methods are also increasing—from phishing schemes to fake accounts, fraudsters are tampering with duped users on platforms like X.

Recently, Lenovo India and Yahoo News UK were among the big accounts that are having their handles hijacked to promote scam tokens and the losses are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Further sophisticated phishing operations like those mimicking Zoom domains have lifted private keys and wallet credentials, exploiting trust and technical vulnerabilities in blockchain, making it all the more necessary for users to be on their guard.

On Jan. 21, Donald Trump said he had signed a full and unconditional pardon for Ross Ulbricht, who operated the dark web marketplace Silk Road.

“I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross,” he stated on his social media platform Truth Social on Jan. 22.

Trump continued to add that “the scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern-day weaponization of government against me. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!”

Ross Ulbricht has been freed by President Trump with a full pardon! Thank you for keeping your word to me and others who have been advocating for Ross’ freedom, Mr. President! #freeRoss pic.twitter.com/wOJVFX1DaA

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 22, 2025

Ross Ulbricht Finally Free

The Silk Road founder was serving a life sentence after being convicted of running an underground online marketplace that was used by drug dealers to conduct illicit sales using Bitcoin.

Ulbricht created and operated Silk Road, one of the first modern darknet markets, from 2011 until his arrest in 2013. The site worked on the Tor network and used crypto for transactions, allowing users to buy and sell goods anonymously.

Ulbricht, who used the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts” (DPR), was an ardent libertarian who believed in free market principles and opposed drug prohibition laws.

He was convicted in May 2015 on seven charges, including distributing narcotics, computer hacking, conspiracy, and money laundering. He received two life sentences plus 40 years without the possibility of parole.

“I wanted to empower people to make choices in their lives and have privacy and anonymity,” Ulbricht said at his sentencing hearing.

Supporters have long advocated for clemency, arguing his sentence was disproportionately harsh and that Silk Road reduced violence in the drug trade by moving it online.

Waiting on Crypto EOs

Trump had announced plans to commute Ulbricht’s sentence in May during a speech at the Libertarian National Convention.

“Thanks to President Trump for keeping his word to end Ross’s unjust sentence by granting him a full and unconditional pardon. Prayers have been answered for Ross, Lyn (his mother), and all their family and friends. So happy for them!” commented former Congressman Justin Amash.

The crypto community is still waiting with bated breath for Trump to sign executive orders relating to the industry and pro-crypto regulations. He has been silent on the subject so far.