CleanSpark Inc. had a rough Thursday, with shares sinking as investors brace for the company’s first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings report, set to drop after the market closes today.

It’s not exactly a “buy the rumor, sell the news” situation — more like “wait and see… but we’re nervous.”

Analysts are pegging CleanSpark’s expected earnings per share (EPS) at $0.09 for the quarter. While that’s nice, the company’s performance comes at a time when cryptocurrency markets are as volatile as a Tesla driver’s mood after a software update.

And it’s no secret that these rollercoaster markets have been shaking up mining stocks across the sector.

Crypto market turmoil: Because why not?

At the time of publication, CleanSpark shares were down 19.13%, hovering at $8.26. Investors are on edge as they wait for that earnings report, and with the volatility in the crypto sector, it’s anyone’s guess where the stock might land next.

So far, analysts seem to be sticking with CleanSpark for the most part. The stock holds a Buy Rating with an average price target of $23.16. Recent analyst moves include:

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods: Outperform (lowered target to $18.00)
• Maxim Group: Initiated with Buy (target $22.00)
• Chardan Capital: Buy (maintained target of $30.00)

Technical talk: Don’t look. It’s ugly

CleanSpark’s technicals are looking a bit grim, too. The stock is 25.9% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and a whopping 34.9% below its 100-day SMA, indicating a serious short-term slump. Over the past year, shares have dropped 10.81%, and right now, they’re hanging out closer to their 52-week lows than their highs — not exactly where you’d want to be for a quick turnaround.

With an RSI of 38.28 (aka neutral territory) and the MACD below its signal line, the stock seems to be caught in a bearish holding pattern. It’s not in full-on “panic sell” territory, but let’s just say the mood isn’t exactly “sunny and 75.”

Ripple made a big announcement yesterday, while the XRP ETFs are actually in the green – so, what’s up with the price move today?

Ripple’s cross-border token has not been spared in the past 24 hours (or the last week or so), and has actually become the poorest performer from the larger-cap alts.

The asset has slumped by over 10% daily as it dumped to $1.42 minutes ago, which became the lowest price tag since late November 2024.

The chart above demonstrates that XRP has dropped significantly on smaller and larger timeframes. Recall that it had surged to $2.40 just a month ago, when it was violently rejected, and has plummeted by 40% since then.

While last Thursday’s crash could be attributed, at least to some extent, to investors employing the ETFs to gain XRP exposure, as they withdrew $92.92 million in just a day, making it the worst since their inception, the price moves now contrast with the most recent ETF behavior.

Data from SoSoValue shows that investors have actually invested $19.46 million on Tuesday and $4.83 million on Wednesday into the financial vehicles.

Additionally, Ripple made a big announcement yesterday by outlining institutional support for Hyperliquid through its prime brokerage platform.

Consequently, the most probable reasons behind today’s crash don’t seem to be related to ecosystem weakness or fundamental problems. Instead, the growing FUD within the broader crypto market continues to take its toll, with (retail) investors disposing of their positions.

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Moreover, the liquidation cascades have often been blamed by analysts for the market behavior in crypto, where volatility is often in the double digits.

CryptoWZRD weighed in on XRP’s daily performance, indicating that the asset closed bearish. At the time of their post, the token tested the $1.51 support, which cracked in the following hours and opened the door for another decline.

Previously, analysts identified $1.42 and $1.27 as the only two support levels remaining before XRP heads toward the psychological $1.00 level.

Crypto derivatives-focused centralized exchange BitMEX has expanded its copy trading feature to let users copy the strategies of top traders from Hyperliquid, the largest decentralized perpetual futures platform by trading volume and open interest.

The new feature, called Hyperliquid Copy Trading, lets BitMEX users automatically replicate trades from selected Hyperliquid traders, according to a press release viewed by The Defiant.

Trades are opened directly on BitMEX and users can copy up to five Hyperliquid traders at once. Other features include basic risk-management tools, such as take-profit and stop-loss options.

The launch illustrates how CEXs continue to push into decentralized finance as on-chain platforms for both spot and derivatives trading gain popularity. A spokesperson for BitMEX told The Defiant, “We’ve basically leveraged Hyperliquid L1’s open-source code to track their users’ positions and have that as an automated system as part of our copy trading feature,” noting that the offering lets traders replicate trades using the CEX’s interface and risk management features they’re used to:

“It’s an opportunity for users to make the same perp trades as top hyperliquid traders and have that automatically reflected to their accounts.”

The Rise of DEXs

The move comes as trading activity continues to grow across DEXs, with volumes in some cases overtaking those on CEXs.

Over the past 24 hours, BitMEX reported about $655 million in trading volume and $14.5 billion in open interest, which represents the value of outstanding derivatives contracts. While OI on Hyperliquid is smaller at $5.8 billion, the perp DEX saw nearly $13 billion in trades in the past 24 hours, outpacing the CEX by nearly 20x.

The contrast is notable given BitMEX’s role as a first mover in crypto derivatives, and as the pioneer of perpetuals futures in particular, a version of which it first launched in 2016.

“BitMEX pioneered the perpetual swap, which has since become the industry standard for futures trading,” BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz said in the release, continuing:

“The launch of Hyperliquid Copy Trading completes the circle, bringing the alpha available on the world’s leading PerpDEX to BitMEX users and incorporating it into their existing workflow.”

In the face of rising competition from decentralized platforms, as well as centralized giants, smaller CEXs have had to get proactive with their strategies. For example, in December, Bitfinex removed all trading fees across its spot and derivatives markets in an effort to attract and retain users.

The announcement comes as crypto markets have swung sharply in recent weeks, with Bitcoin falling to levels not seen since April 2025.

In October, self-custody crypto wallet MetaMask integrated Hyperliquid to offer perpetual futures trading from directly within the wallet.

A growing share of information driving crypto markets comes not from journalists, but from paid press releases.

A Chainstory analysis of 2,893 crypto press releases published between June and November 2025 shows that these distribution networks operate as a parallel news market, capable of shaping sentiment and temporarily moving prices, even before verification occurs.

Over 60% of Releases Come from High-Risk Projects

The study found that 62% of releases originated from high-risk (35.6%) or outright scam (26.9%)projects. Meanwhile, 27% were low risk, and 10% were medium risk.

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Unlike editorial coverage, where journalists assess credibility, press-release wires publish client content with minimal review. This allows misleading or exaggerated claims to reach audiences quickly, influencing asset prices.

Only 2% of releases (58 total) covered substantive events such as funding rounds, mergers, or research. Nearly 50% were product or feature updates, and 24% were related to trading and exchange listings, often flooding the market with repetitive content ignored by credible newsrooms.

Tone analysis revealed that only 10% of releases were neutral, while 54% were overstated and 19% overtly promotional.

In total, around 70% contained blatant marketing spin, with words like “revolutionary,” “game-changing,” or “leading the Web3 future.”

Market Impact and Manipulation Risk

Syndication practices amplify these effects. Many platforms guarantee placement across dozens of sites, including crypto media outlets and mainstream sidebar feeds. This allows projects to showcase “as seen on” signals.

Small or overlooked disclaimers may lead casual investors to treat promotional content as independent reporting.

The hype-laden content can trigger retail investor activity and even algorithmic trading bots, generating short-term price moves based on perception rather than fundamentals.

This mirrors traditional pump-and-dump tactics in penny stocks, where press releases have historically created artificial demand before insiders sell.

Therefore, the study presents a crucial takeaway for investors: visibility does not equal validation. Press releases, especially from high-risk or scam-adjacent projects, should be treated first as promotional material and second as potential market-moving signals—with skepticism applied at every step.

A group of European tokenization operators has urged EU policymakers to swiftly amend the bloc’s DLT Pilot Regime, warning that current asset limits, volume caps and time-limited licenses are preventing regulated onchain markets from scaling as the United States advances toward industrial-scale tokenization and near-instant settlement.

In a joint letter coordinated ahead of an upcoming parliamentary debate, tokenization and market infrastructure companies Securitize, 21X, Boerse Stuttgart Group, Lise, OpenBrick, STX and Axiology called for targeted changes to the DLT Pilot Regime, the EU’s regulatory sandbox for tokenized securities markets.

The companies said the EU’s broader Market Integration and Supervision Package sets the right long-term direction, but warned that existing constraints are already limiting the growth of regulated tokenized products in Europe. Pointing to the United States as a key contrast, they wrote:

Without timely action on the DLT Pilot Regime, the EU risks losing market relevance. The structural inertia of this package delays effective application until at least 2030 — creating not a temporary setback, but a critical strategic vulnerability.

They added that “global liquidity will not wait” if Europe remains constrained, warning it could migrate permanently to US markets as onchain settlement infrastructure matures.

Rather than calling for deregulation, the companies proposed a narrow technical “quick fix” that would keep existing investor protections intact. The changes would expand the scope of eligible assets, raise current issuance caps and remove the six-year limit on pilot licenses to allow regulated operators to scale products already live in other jurisdictions.

The group said the adjustments could be adopted quickly through a standalone technical update without reopening the EU’s broader market-structure reforms.

It warned that prolonged delays risk weakening the euro’s competitiveness in global capital markets as settlement and issuance activity shifts toward faster, fully digital market infrastructure.

Related: Gemini announces exit from UK, EU, Australia, slashes workforce

US regulators and exchanges advance tokenization framework

The US has taken regulatory steps toward tokenization by clarifying how tokenized securities can be issued, custodied and settled within existing market infrastructure.

On Dec. 11, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Trading and Markets Division outlined how broker-dealers can custody tokenized stocks and bonds under existing customer protection rules, signaling that blockchain-based securities will be governed within the traditional regulatory framework rather than treated as a new asset class.

The SEC issued a no-action letter on the same day to a subsidiary of Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, clearing the way for a new securities market tokenization service. DTCC said its Depository Trust Company unit has been authorized to launch a service that tokenizes real-world assets already held in DTC custody. 

On Jan. 28, the SEC issued guidance clarifying how it views tokenized securities, splitting them into two categories: those tokenized by issuers and those tokenized by unaffiliated third parties, a move aimed at giving companies a clearer regulatory footing as tokenization activity expands.

Alongside clearer US regulatory guidance, Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange have begun exploring tokenization within traditional market infrastructure.

In November 2025, Nasdaq said securing SEC approval for its September proposal to list tokenized stocks was a top priority, noting that the exchange was responding to public comments and regulator questions as the review process continued.

On Jan. 17, the NYSE said it is developing a platform to trade tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds, pending regulatory approval, that would support 24/7 trading and near-instant settlement using blockchain-based post-trade systems.

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