Bullish, the publicly listed digital asset exchange and parent company of CoinDesk, has invested 250 BTC — roughly $19 million — into Mezo, a Bitcoin DeFi-focused protocol, per a press release shared with The Defiant. The investment coincides with the launch of Mezo Prime, a new institutional yield product built in partnership with Anchorage Digital Bank.

Bullish will become the first company to use Mezo Prime with Anchorage, deploying a portion of its corporate Bitcoin treasury into the product. Anchorage is the custody provider for the vaults, per the release, and Mezo Prime is now available to Anchorage Digital Bank clients.
Mezo Prime centers on “Enclaves” — segregated Bitcoin vaults designed for institutional depositors. Bitcoin deposited into an Enclave can be locked as veBTC to earn protocol fees or used as collateral to borrow MUSD, Mezo’s Bitcoin-backed stablecoin, the release notes.

“Over a million Bitcoin sits on corporate balance sheets today, and almost none of it is working,” said Matt Luongo, co-founder of Mezo.

The launch comes as the broader BTCFi space continues to expand. Institutions in particular have faced a gap between wanting to earn yield on BTC holdings, and meeting their risk and compliance requirements. Late last year, The Defiant reported that Threshold Network had updated its tBTC bridge to make it easier for institutional Bitcoin holders to deploy their funds in DeFi.

This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.

Celsius founder Alexander Mashinsky agreed to a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settlement that permanently bars him from promoting asset-related products and requires a $10 million payment tied to a broader, mostly suspended $4.72 billion judgment. 

The stipulated order, entered by Judge Denise Cote in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, said Mashinsky is “permanently restrained and enjoined” from advertising, marketing, promoting, offering or distributing any product or service that can be used to “deposit, exchange, invest, or withdraw assets.”

The order entered a $4.72 billion monetary judgment in favor of the FTC against Mashinsky, but most of it was suspended. Mashinsky must now pay $10 million to the FTC. However, the order said this obligation can also be satisfied if he pays at least $10 million to the US Department of Justice under the forfeiture order in his criminal case.

The settlement adds to the legal fallout from Celsius’s 2022 collapse, while preserving the FTC’s ability to pursue the larger judgment if Mashinsky is found to have misstated or omitted assets in financial disclosures. 

In May 2025, Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to commodities fraud and securities fraud, with prosecutors saying he misled Celsius customers about the company’s profitability, investment risks and the safety of customer funds.

Excerpt from the court filing. Source Court Listener

Suspended judgment can be revived 

According to the order, the remainder of the judgment beyond the $10 million payment obligation is suspended, but the suspension is conditional. 

It can be lifted if the FTC asks the court to do so and the court finds that Mashinsky failed to disclose a material asset, misstated the value of an asset or made another material misstatement or omission in his financial disclosures. 

Related: Judge rejects new trial for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried

If the suspension is lifted, the order said the $4.72 billion judgment would become immediately due against Mashinsky. 

That amount would be reduced by any payments already made under the FTC order, any amount paid to consumers through the DOJ forfeiture order in his criminal case or any amounts Mashinsky can show were paid to consumers by other defendants, including through the Celsius bankruptcy case. 

The structure allows the FTC to preserve a larger consumer-redress claim while limiting Mashinsky’s immediate payment obligation. 

Magazine: Will the CLARITY Act be good — or bad — for DeFi?

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Polymarket is seeking regulatory approval to reopen its main prediction markets platform to US users, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to Bloomberg, Polymarket has been engaging with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to lift the prohibition on US-based customers.

The move would mark a broader US return for the company, which re-entered the market in a limited form last year through its regulated QCEX-based setup but still keeps Americans off its main international exchange.

Any broader relaunch would reverse a restriction dating back to Polymarket’s 2022 settlement with the CFTC, which required the platform to block US users and pay a $1.4 million civil penalty over unregistered event contracts.

Removing the prohibition would require a formal CFTC commission vote, a process that could be easier given that four commissioner seats are vacant, leaving fewer members needed to reach a decision, according to the report.

A full US return would add to competition in the country’s fast-growing prediction markets sector, where rivals such as Kalshi have built a stronger foothold even as the industry faces mounting legal and regulatory scrutiny at both state and federal levels.

Polymarket declined to comment to Cointelegraph about the report.

Polymarket made US comeback with sports event contracts in late 2025

Polymarket has so far made limited progress in resuming US operations. In December 2025, Polymarket announced that its US app was rolling out with waitlist-only access. The app initially focused exclusively on sports contracts, with Polymarket saying it would be “followed by markets on everything.”

Source: Polymarket

Some prediction platforms have had more success operating in the US than Polymarket. Kalshi, one of Polymarket’s biggest rivals, has emerged as a leading local prediction platform and an official market provider for major US crypto exchange Coinbase.

Polymarket losing volume share to Kalshi as both platforms face legal pressure in the US

Polymarket was once a leading prediction market platform, accounting for more than 90% of total monthly notional volume in November 2024, according to a Dune dashboard compiled by Datadashboards.

The platform’s volume reporting has been questioned by firms such as Paradigm, and Polymarket has been steadily losing share to Kalshi since September 2025.

Source: Datadashboards (Dune)

Despite Kalshi outstripping Polymarket in volumes, both platforms have faced legal scrutiny in the US.

Related: Kalshi, Polymarket among 27 prediction platforms banned in Brazil

In the latest US state action, Wisconsin’s top law enforcement official on April 23 filed a lawsuit against Kalshi and Polymarket, alongside companies including Coinbase, Robinhood and Crypto.com, alleging that the firms facilitate illegal sports betting through “event contracts.”

Additionally, the CFTC and Justice Department last week accused a US soldier of using classified information to make more than $400,000 on Polymarket’s international exchange, which authorities said he accessed via a VPN, in violation of US restrictions.

Magazine: How to fix suspected insider trading on Polymarket and Kalshi

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Even as calls for bitcoin BTC$77,562.43 to rally further are growing, participation in the spot market is cooling, leaving the door open for erratic price action.

Trading volume, the dollar value of BTC changing hands in a day, has recently dropped to less than $8 billion, according to Glassnode. That’s the lowest since October 2023, when bitcoin was less than $40,000. Volume has been declining since hitting highs above $25 billion in early February.

“Such low volume environments often coincide with reduced market depth and heightened sensitivity to flow shifts,” Glassnode said.

Market depth, typically measured by looking at buy and sell orders within 2% of the current price, is widely used to assess liquidity, or the ability of the market to absorb large orders at stable prices.

When market depth shrinks, it means a few large orders can move prices significantly. In other words, the declining volume might end up boosting market volatility, though options traders do not seem to be considering that scenario for now.

Volmex’s BVIV index, which measures BTC’s expected 30-day price swings, has dropped to three-month lows below an annualized 42%. Clearly, traders are positioned for calm, not turmoil.

It’s notable, especially because the Fed sets interest rates later today. Nobody expects a change; attention will focus on what the policy statement has to say about energy-market disruptions and rising prices at gas stations. A hawkish statement, expressing alarm over growth and inflation risks, could mean a prolonged pause in rate reductions, and even possible rate increases, capping gains in risk assets.

This is an excerpt from CoinDesk newsletter ‘Daybook.’ Sign up here, if you haven’t already.

“Bitcoin is sitting around 77k and trading like a market that does not want to commit ahead of the Fed. The tape is calm on the surface, but it is not relaxed. Positioning is cautious, liquidity is thinner, and the next impulse is more likely to come from macro than anything crypto-native,” Marex analysts said in a morning note.

“The big macro curveball is energy politics. If energy becomes less predictable, risk assets stay headline-sensitive,” they said, noting the UAE’s Tuesday decision to leave OPEC and OPEC+.

BTC recently changed hands near $77,800, up over 1% in 24 hours, with ether (ETH), solana (SOL), and XRP adding similar amounts. The CoinDesk Memecoin Index is leading the market higher, with 3% gains, followed by the Computing Select Index, which is up 2.7%.

In traditional markets, the Dollar Index, which is inversely related to bitcoin’s price, continues to stay below 100, lacking bullish momentum. However, yields on the 10- and two-year U.S. Treasury notes continue to rise, albeit slowly. Stay alert!

Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today . For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”

What’s trending

Today’s signal

Analysts aren’t wrong in saying that oil price volatility holds the key to all assets. As the chart shows, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note is closely tracking swings in WTI crude prices.

The 10-year yield is considered the risk-free rate in traditional finance, and lending across the broader economy and markets happens at a premium to this rate. So when it rises, interest rates across financial markets also increase, tightening financial conditions.

So, if crude rises further, the 10-year yield could follow suit, potentially destabilizing financial markets, including cryptocurrencies.

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group, POSCO International and Dunamu, the operator of the crypto exchange Upbit, have signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) to launch their blockchain-based remittance system, with POSCO International serving as the first real-world test case.

The agreement, signed Tuesday at Hana Financial Group’s Seoul headquarters, follows a successful proof-of-concept (PoC) completed earlier this year by Hana and Dunamu, which showed that blockchain could reduce settlement times and costs compared to the traditional SWIFT framework. That pilot used Dunamu’s proprietary GIWA Chain to replace SWIFT’s messaging network for cross-border transfers.

The new MoU allows the system to be tested on real trade transactions for the first time, with POSCO International handling the actual fund flows, the company said in a Wednesday announcement.

Traditional cross-border payments use SWIFT, where sending the payment instruction and actually moving the money are two separate steps, which slows things down and adds costs. The blockchain system combines both into a single real-time process, making transfers faster and cheaper.

Related: South Korea to pilot tokenized deposits for government spending

Dunamu’s GIWA Chain to power blockchain remittance system

Under the deal, POSCO International’s trading arm will handle business application using real transaction flows, Hana Financial will manage remittance processing, fund settlement and foreign exchange, while Dunamu provides the blockchain infrastructure through GIWA Chain and maintains the transaction record.

“We have established a foundation for mid-to-long-term partnerships with leading domestic companies in the fields of digital finance and digital assets,” Lee Gye-in, president of POSCO International, said.

From left to right: Hana Financial Group vice chairman Lee Eun-hyung, POSCO International president Lee Gye-in, and Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung-seok. Source: POSCO

The three companies plan to establish a working model for real-time blockchain remittances before the end of the year.

Related: Naver-Dunamu filing sets IPO committee, listing timeline for fintech group

POSCO International deepens crypto push

The deal adds to POSCO International’s broader push into digital finance. The company recently issued blockchain-based foreign currency digital bonds worth approximately 140 billion won (about $95 million) with HSBC, and last year introduced a blockchain-based global payment system with JP Morgan.

As Cointelegraph reported, South Korean internet-only bank Kbank has also partnered with Ripple to test blockchain-based cross-border remittances.

Magazine: South Korea gets rich from crypto… North Korea gets weapons

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Belo, a Latin America-focused digital wallet that uses crypto rails for payments, has raised $14 million in a Series A round led by stablecoin issuer Tether.

The round included Titan Fund, The Venture City, Mindset Ventures and G2.

The company plans to use the funds to expand into Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay, while scaling its infrastructure across the region. It is also deepening its presence in Brazil, targeting freelancers, remote workers and others who move money across borders.

Founded in Buenos Aires in 2021, Belo offers a digital wallet that lets users hold and transfer local currencies alongside digital dollars. The platform has grown to more than 3 million users across Latin America.

“We reached this round with three years of profitable operations and a product that people use in their daily lives,” said CEO Manuel Beaudroit. “This round is about scaling.”

Stablecoins — cryptocurrencies with prices tied to fiat money — have gained traction across emerging markets as an alternative to traditional banking systems, especially in regions with high inflation, currency volatility or limited access to dollar-denominated accounts. In Latin America, they are often used to store value, send remittances and bypass costly foreign exchange systems.

Belo combines payments, foreign exchange and cross-border transfers in a single flow, aiming to reduce friction in a region where moving money between countries remains slow and expensive. Users often rely on multiple services to send or receive funds, adding costs and delays.

The company’s model uses crypto infrastructure behind the scenes to streamline that process. Tether’s backing points to a broader push to expand stablecoin-based payment systems in markets where demand for dollar-linked assets remains strong.

Beaudroit framed Belo’s approach as part of a wider shift, with crypto tools starting to fill gaps left by traditional finance, in an interview with CoinDesk.

“Crypto will be starting to do what the traditional financial services haven’t done, which is servicing people and their companies,” he said.

Belo said it is also hiring across product, engineering and operations as it expands its regional footprint.

Bitcoin BTC$77,606.09 is trading around $77,700, up 1.8% since midnight UTC, after rebounding from $75,650, a price that had served as an upper barrier during last week’s rally.

The rebound suggests a bullish shift, with $75,650 now acting as support — a level that could prove crucial if bitcoin is to make another attempt at breaking through $80,000.

Ether (ETH) is at $2,344, and its chart is showing more bearish signals than bitcoin’s, having made a series of lower highs since April 17.

The broader market is higher, as U.S. investors anticipate a slew of tech company earnings. Alphabet (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta (META) are all due to report after the closing bell on Wednesday.

Nasdaq 100 futures are up by 0.25% in pre-market trading.

Derivatives positioning

• Bitcoin futures open interest (OI) fell to 715.60K BTC, the lowest since April 9 and notably below the monthly high of 800K BTC. The decline shows steady de-risking as the spot price rally slows near $80,000, and some analysts point to potential for a continued bear market.
• OI has largely held steady across ETH, SOL, and XRP over the past 24 hours.
• Traders, meanwhile, continue to deploy capital in DOGE futures, lifting the OI by 18% in a single day to 16.06 billion tokens, the highest since Oct. 10.
• With perpetual funding rates steady at around an annualized 4% and the highest OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta among majors, the DOGE activity appears to be driven more by fresh directional positioning than overheated leverage, pointing to sustained bullish interest rather than a crowded, fragile trade.
• The Binance-listed SHIB futures are flashing a similar bullish setup. Rising activity in these non-serious tokens suggests a build-up of speculative froth, a pattern often seen ahead of broader market pullbacks.
• The market for crude oil futures listed on Binance is also heating up, with open interest up 27% as prices top $100, presenting a headwind for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.
• The slide in bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index, BVIV, continues, and it’s now probing three-month lows below 42%. It shows the market has become desensitized to macro risks such as an Iran war and elevated oil prices. The ether volatility index, EVIV, is displaying similar trends.
• The story in the Deribit-listed options market remains the same: Puts for both BTC and ETH remain pricier than calls, indicating downside concerns. These reservations are more pronounced in bitcoin than ether.

Token talk

• The altcoin market showed signs of strength on Wednesday, buoyed by previously oversold conditions.
• The CoinDesk Memecoin Select Index (CDMEME) is the best-performing benchmark, adding 2.3% since midnight UTC, while the DeFi Select Index (DFX) gained by 2.2%.
• The bitcoin dominant CoinDesk 20 (CD20) and CoinDesk 5 (CD5) both rose 1.7%.
• Popular memecoins DOGE, PEPE and FLOKI were among the top-gaining altcoins in the CoinDesk 100 (CD100), advancing 10%, 6.3% and 6.2%, respectively.
• CoinMarketCap’s “Altcoin Season” indicator ticked up to 41/100 from 39/100 overnight, demonstrating relative strength in the sector.