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COIN, MSTR lead gains as bitcoin (BTC) climbs above $70,000

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COIN, MSTR lead gains as bitcoin (BTC) climbs above $70,000

Crypto-related stocks opened the Wednesday U.S. session with sizable gains as bitcoin surged above $72,000 for the first time in almost a month.

Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) jumped above $200 to its strongest price since late January, up 12% in the first minutes of trading. Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate bitcoin holder, advanced nearly 9% to a one-month high.

Galaxy Digital (GLXY), Robinhood (HOOD) and Ethereum treasury firm BitMine (BMNR) were up 6%-8%. Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) climbed another 6%, now up over 70% in the week since its fourth-quarter earnings report.

Bitcoin miners, increasingly tied to the artificial intelligence data center buildout, also rebounded following the Tuesday selloff. Bitfarms (BITF), Hive (HIVE), Hut 8 (HUT) and IREN saw 6%-10% gains.

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The broader U.S. equity market was also seeing gains, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 each higher by about 1% in early action.

The strong early showing came as bitcoin jumped to $72,600 at the start of the U.S. session, its highest price since early February. Recently, it pared some of the gains and retreated to $71,500, still up roughly 5% over the past 24 hours.

The $70,000-$72,000 range, which capped previous rally attempts over the past month, is a crucial zone for bitcoin to overcome if this rally is to last.

Bitcoin’s outperformance over equities comes after crypto assets have massively underperformed any other asset class over the past two months, which could explain why it is now diverging, according to Wintermute OTC trader Jasper De Maere. Another factor could be that, unlike stocks, digital assets are not tied to supply chains, energy costs, or other narratives that seem to be weighing on prices, he wrote in a note.

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De Maere also argued that equities and crypto have become “substitute risk-assets.” With uncertainty slowing inflows into stocks, capital may be rotating into digital assets instead. “Uncertainty is slowing down inflows in equities, which creates opportunity for crypto, which is what we’re seeing now,” he said. Still, he cautioned that the outperformance may not last. “The situation is fluid,” and a chain reaction of longer tension resulting in higher energy prices, sticky inflation, which could lower the odds of another rate cut, would be negative for crypto.

For now, he expects volatility to persist until there is greater clarity.

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Crypto World

Crypto giant debuts WTI trading, but it’s a different model to Hyperliquid’s perps

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Crypto giant debuts WTI trading, but it's a different model to Hyperliquid's perps

The Iran war has set oil on fire and crypto exchanges are racing to offer 24/7 trading to fill tradfi gaps, with most copying decentralized giant Hyperliquid’s perpetual-futures play.

Crypto market-making giant Wintermute is taking a different approach. On Tuesday, its derivatives unit, Wintermute Asia, launched over-the-counter (OTC) trading in WTI crude oil contracts for difference (CFDs).

CFD is type of derivative that allows traders to speculate on the price movement of an asset without owning it. Similar to futures, CFDs track the asset’s price, but the key difference is that only the difference between the opening and closing prices is exchanged between the trader and the broker when the contract is closed.

These are typically traded over-the-counter and can be tailored in term sof size, duration and margin requirements. This bespoke flexibility allows professional traders and institutions to design strategies that match specific risk-return objectives, rather than conforming to one-size-fits-all derivatives such as Hyperliquid’s oil perpetual futures.

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Wintermute’s CFD launch comes amid weeks of intense geopolitical volatility in the Middle East. Escalating tensions between Iran and the U.S.–Israel coalition have left traders in a bind over weekends when traditional finance markets are closed, limiting their ability to adjust positions or manage risk effectively. This led to outsized trading activity on Hyperliquid’s energy market perpetuals and prompted WIntermute to offer CFDs.

“We are seeing strong demand from counterparties looking to use digital asset infrastructure to trade traditional products like oil. The recent price action made that need much more immediate, as many investors were unable to act until traditional venues reopened,” said Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute.

“A Wintermute counterparty could have traded the weekend move before the Monday gap or responded immediately to the reversal,” Gaevoy added.

Note that Wintermute is a counterparty in the CFD. Traders aren’t matched with each other; they are trading directly against Wintermute, which is taking on the market risk. The firm is, therefore, leveraging its risk management systems and deep liquidity to monetize demand for 24/7 crude than simply supplying liquidity to perpetual futures.

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Traders can access WTI CFDs with zero trading fees, using a variety of fiat and crypto assets as margin, the official announcement said. Contracts can be executed via chat, Wintermute’s electronic OTC platform, or API. The rollout builds on the recent introduction of tokenized gold, further broadening Wintermute Asia’s suite of offerings beyond purely digital assets.

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Crypto World

Enlivex Raises Funds for Rain Prediction Market Token Buys

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Enlivex Raises Funds for Rain Prediction Market Token Buys

Immunotherapy company Enlivex has raised $21 million via a debt financing agreement to purchase another 3 billion tokens tied to the prediction market platform Rain.

Enlivex said on Tuesday it exercised an option to acquire another 3 billion Rain (RAIN) tokens at a 62% discount for $10 million on Sunday while extending its option to purchase another 272.1 billion RAIN tokens at the same price to December 2027. The debt financing came from The Lind Partners, a New York-based asset manager.

“We are continuing to execute our prediction markets treasury strategy, and we are pleased that Lind provided us with substantial capital, allowing us to continue the execution of our operating plan, as well as to acquire approximately three billion additional RAIN tokens,” said Enlivex executive chair Shai Novik.

Enlivex develops cell therapy solutions for knee osteoarthritis, but is one of several non-crypto companies that have purchased cryptocurrencies in the hopes that it will strengthen their balance sheets and attract a wider base of investors.

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The company also said it approved a $20 million share buyback program, aimed at enhancing shareholder value.

Details of Enlivex’s debt financing announcement. Source: Enlivex

The value of Enlivex’s RAIN treasury is directly tied to Rain’s decentralized prediction market platform, which has a built-in 2.5% fee that automatically buys back and burns RAIN tokens in a bid to boost the token’s supply-demand dynamics.

RAIN token, Envilex shares trade mostly flat

The Rain token rose 7% to $0.009 after Enlivex’s announcement before falling slightly to $0.0088, trading flat over the last 24 hours with a 0.3% gain, according to CoinGecko. 

Shares in Enlivex (ENVL) also traded mostly flat on Tuesday and closed the trading day down 0.9% to $1.10, but gained 4.5% in after-hours trading, rising to $1.15.

Related: Kalshi, Polymarket eye $20B valuations in potential fundraising: WSJ

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Rain runs on the Ethereum Layer-2 Arbitrum network and ranks among the top 10 prediction market platforms by total value locked and fees over the past seven days, DeFiLlama data shows.