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Crypto World

BTC price falls with ETH, SOLwhile decred, AI-linked tokens advance: Crypto Markets Today

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BTC price falls with ETH, SOLwhile decred, AI-linked tokens advance: Crypto Markets Today

Decred (DCR), a token built for autonomy and decentralized governance, extended gains even as the broader market led by bitcoin struggled.

The token has risen 16% in the past 24 hours and now trades at $34.58, the highest since November, CoinDesk data show. It’s the best-performing top-100 token over the past four weeks, having gained more than 80% after a Feb. 8 change to its treasury rules.

Bitcoin, for its part, is facing renewed selling pressure, trading just around $67,000, a weak follow-through after bouncing to $70,000 on Wednesday. The cryptocurrency is down 2% on a 24-hour basis, with ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), solana (SOL), and the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) registering similar losses.

Market participants remain cautious and are continuing to seek put options, or downside protection, in bitcoin. Deribit said that ETF holders and corporate treasuries are buying put options at the $60,000 strike expiring in six to 12 months.

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Analysts said institutional flows are improving but not yet decisive, and traders should avoid taking big risks.

“Long-term investors may consider staggered accumulation (SIP-style allocation) near support zones rather than deploying lump sums at resistance,” Vikram Subburaj, CEO of crypto exchange Giottus.com, said in an email to CoinDesk.

Derivatives positioning

  • Cumulative crypto futures open interest (OI) has fallen back to recent multimonth lows of around $93.5 billion. The drop shows how quickly the optimism sparked by Wednesday’s bitcoin price bounce has fizzled out.
  • Major tokens, including bitcoin and ether, have seen capital outflows from futures as notional OI declined more than their spot prices.
  • The market-wide long-short ratio continues to show a dominance of shorts, or bearish bets.
  • OI in tether gold (XAUT) dropped another 11% extending the decline from early this week. Gold-linked assets seem to have fallen out of favor lately.
  • Most large-cap tokens, including BTC and ETH, are again seeing negative perpetual funding rates. That means bearish plays are dominating the market once more.
  • Participation in CME bitcoin futures is falling, as shown by open interest hitting the lowest levels this year.
  • On Deribit, one-month bitcoin puts still trade at a 7% premium to calls in a sign of lingering concerns of further spot price declines. The same is true for ether.
  • Bitcoin put spreads, a bearish strategy, accounted for 75% of the total block flow over 24 hours. In ETH’s case, traders chased put spreads and straddles (volatility strategies).

Token Talk

The DFINITY Foundation proposed burning 20% of cloud engine revenue, introducing a deflationary element tied directly to network usage for Internet Computer (ICP).

The remaining 80% of revenue would be routed to node operators, replacing fixed emissions with performance-based incentives. The idea is to make ICP’s token supply more responsive to real demand.

ICP’s price moved up roughly 6% in the last 24-hour period, from around $2.41 to $2.56. It’s down from a high of $2.7 seen during the period. The price appears to be influenced not just by the foundation’s proposal, but also by Nvidia’s blowout earnings.

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Those earnings boosted sentiment surrounding artificial intelligence-linked assets, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang saying AI is only getting better.

ICP, often marketed as a decentralized alternative to traditional cloud AI infrastructure, was among several AI-linked tokens, including render (RENDER) and bittensor (TAO), to benefit from renewed investor interest in the sector.

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Crypto World

CFTC Staff Share FAQ on Crypto Collateral

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CFTC Staff Share FAQ on Crypto Collateral

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has given more details on its expectations for the use of crypto as collateral amid a pilot program that the agency launched last year.

In a notice on Friday, the CFTC’s Market Participants Division and Division of Clearing and Risk responded to frequently asked questions that emerged from two staff letters issued in December that established a pilot allowing crypto to be used as collateral in derivatives markets.

The notice reminded futures commission merchants wanting to take part in the pilot that they must file a notice with the Market Participants Division “which includes the date on which it will commence accepting crypto assets from customers as margin collateral.”

The crypto industry has argued that crypto technology is best suited for 24-7 trading and instant settlement, and the CFTC’s guidance in December clarified what tokenized assets can be used as collateral, along with how to value them and calculate how much is needed for a trading position.

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CFTC aligns guidance with SEC

The CFTC made clear its guidance was to align with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as the two agencies work together on a regulatory framework for crypto.

The CFTC said that capital charges, the amount that must be held to cover losses, would be “consistent with the SEC” and that futures commission merchants should apply a 20% capital charge for positions in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), while stablecoins should get a 2% charge.

Source: Mike Selig

The notice added that futures commission merchants taking part in the pilot can only accept Bitcoin, Ether, or stablecoins for the first three months and must give prompt notice of any significant cybersecurity or system issues. They must also file weekly reports of the total crypto held across customer account types.

After the three-month period, other cryptocurrencies can be accepted as collateral and the reporting requirements will end.

Related: SEC interpretation on crypto laws ‘a beginning, not an end,’ says Atkins

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The notice also clarified that “only proprietary payment stablecoins may be deposited as residual interest in customer segregated accounts” and that futures commission merchants can’t accept other cryptocurrencies for that purpose.

The CFTC said that crypto and stablecoins cannot be used for collateral of uncleared swaps, but swap dealers can use tokenized versions of an eligible asset if it meets regulatory requirements and grants the holder the same rights in its traditional form.

Meanwhile, derivatives clearing organizations can accept crypto and stablecoins as initial margin for cleared transactions if they meet CFTC requirements regarding minimal credit, market, and liquidity risks.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

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