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Dual South Korean listings send Ethereum layer-2 token AZTEC surging 82%

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(CoinGecko)

Aztec (AZTEC) surged about 82% in 24 hours to around $0.035 after South Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb both moved to list the token with local currency pairs, triggering a wave of KRW-denominated buying into a thinly traded market.

(CoinGecko)

Korean listings still matter because they flip a token from being crypto-only to something a huge retail base can buy directly with local currency.

South Korea consistently ranks among the top three countries by crypto trading volume relative to population, and Upbit alone regularly matches or exceeds Coinbase in daily spot turnover during active sessions.

A KRW pair cuts out the extra hop through USDT, plugs into Korea’s unusually active spot trading culture, and puts the token on the screens people in the region actually watch. And that kind of exposure can be transformative for smaller-cap tokens like AZTEC.

Traders often treat new Upbit and Bithumb listings as momentum events, rushing in before liquidity deepens and before the initial premium fades. The pattern has played out repeatedly — tokens like VIRTUAL have printed double-digit moves on Korean listing announcements alone, regardless of what the underlying project was doing at the time.

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In thin books, that dynamic creates the kind of vertical candle AZTEC printed. Once prices gap higher locally, arbitrageurs step in, buying on global venues and selling into the Korean bid, which helps drag prices up across the board. The so-called “kimchi premium” — the persistent spread between Korean and international prices — tends to widen sharply during these episodes before narrowing as arb flow catches up.

Aztec itself is pitched as an Ethereum-based, privacy-focused layer 2 that uses zero-knowledge proofs to enable encrypted transactions on a public chain. That gives the token a narrative beyond the listing event.

The premium had narrowed slightly by the Asian evening session as arbitrage flow caught up and the surge showed signs of exhaustion.

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Polymarket ends trading loophole for bitcoin quants

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Polymarket ends trading loophole for bitcoin quants

After Polymarket quietly ended a substantial penalty on liquidity-removing ‘taker’ orders, quantitative traders (quants) lamented an end to their gravy train. For highly sophisticated market makers, that 500-millisecond quote-adjustment period granted them a superpower over slower traders.

Unfortunately for them, Polymarket has ended its time incentive.

Unsurprisingly, the money spigot used to flow from Polymarket and Kalshi advertising short-term binary options on the price of bitcoin (BTC) to everyday speculators.

Read more: Maduro Polymarket bet raises insider trading concerns

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The exchanges feature 5 and 15 minute betting markets on the price of bitcoin (BTC). On their respective homepages, they place those markets in their top three spots on their homepage, and those markets have earned substantial media coverage.

These so-called prediction markets resolve on pricing data from Chainlink and carry high risk for anyone but the most sophisticated traders. One of those risks buried in technical documentation was the ability for market makers to make these adjustments to their quotes, helping ensure they received the most advantageous price.

Rewarding makers to lure money from Polymarket takers

According to several market observers, Polymarket has quietly eliminated its 500-millisecond (half-second) taker price delay.

Makers use limit orders that do not immediately execute, such as a bid price below the current ask price. Takers, in contrast, use market orders or immediately executable limit orders, such as a limit buy order with a price higher than the current ask. 

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In a traditional ‘level 2’ or Depth of Market (DOM) quote, makers are listed above and below the last price of an asset. Makers’ limit buy and sell orders, which cannot immediately execute against other orders, remain in pending status, ranked by price. 

Takers, in contrast, whose orders always execute immediately using a standing order from a maker, create each market-clearing price.

Historically, exchanges have rewarded makers with various discounts to encourage their participation. Trading venues with consistently deep or ‘liquid’ DOM quotes across their trading pairs earn more business from traders who are concerned about the ability to easily enter and exit positions with minimal slippage.

Although penalties for takers and rewards for makers vary by exchange, Polymarket has a history of penalizing takers with a 500-millisecond price delay.

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Quants never needed speed bumps

However, some traders detected its sudden, quiet removal this month. “Rumor has it the speed bump on crypto markets is GONE. No announcement, no changelog, nothing,” wrote one observer.

For quants and arbitrageurs, trades in Polymarket’s 5-minute games just got 500 ms faster. Those trades can also be hedged using Kalshi’s 15-minute binary options or hundreds of other BTC proxies.

For context, there were only 600 maximum taker transactions within five-minute increments. Now, the number of possible trading combinations seems to have exploded into the thousands or millions – bounded only by speeds of connectivity and computation.

“With the speed bump gone, latency is now the only moat,” someone noted.

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Latency is, of course, a double-edged sword. The most advanced, colocated arbitrageurs with the quickest refresh rate on their quotes relative to the price of BTC on Chainlink oracles or even other exchanges can now enjoy amateur order flow from slower competitors.

Many other traders agreed with the implications. 

“Was basically free money before,” observed one trader about the substantial, half-second incentive for makers to leisurely update their quotes with relative ease in computer time. “They did it to invite makers. Now makers are there, they take it away, but still give fee rebate.”

He forecasted another change in the future as a sunset of all incentive programs for Polymarket quant makers. “Next thing fee rebate is gone, and we pay for maker orders as well.”

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Brickken survey shows 53.8% of RWA issuers prioritize capital formation over liquidity

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Brickken survey shows 53.8% of RWA issuers prioritize capital formation over liquidity

A new fourth quarter 2025 survey from tokenization platform Brickken suggests that the majority of real-world asset (RWA) issuers are using tokenization to raise capital rather than to unlock secondary market liquidity, according to a report shared with CoinDesk.

Among respondents, 53.8% said capital formation and fundraising efficiency is their main reason for tokenizing, while 15.4% said the need for liquidity was their main incentive. Another 38.4% said liquidity was not needed, while 46.2% said they expect secondary market liquidity within six to 12 months.

“What we’re seeing is a shift away from tokenization as a buzzword and toward tokenization as a financial infrastructure layer,” Jordi Esturi, CMO at Brickken, told CoinDesk. “Issuers are using it to solve real problems: capital access, investor reach, and operational complexity.”

Brickken’s report comes as major U.S. stock exchanges announce plans to expand trading models for tokenized assets, including 24/7 markets. CME Group said they will offer around-the-clock trading for its crypto derivatives by May 29, while the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq shared their plans to offer 24/7 tokenized stock trading.

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Esturi said the exchanges’ plans have more to do with business model evolution than with an issuer demand disconnect. “It’s less about getting ahead of demand and more about exchanges evolving their business model,” he said. “Exchanges increase revenue by increasing trading volume, and extending trading hours is a natural lever.”

At the same time, many issuers are still in what he described as the phase of validation, during which they prove regulatory structures, test investor appetite and digitize issuance processes. “Liquidity is not yet their primary focus because they are building foundations,” he emphasized, adding that they view tokenization as “the upstream engine that feeds trading venues.”

The Brickken CMO also said that without compliant, structured, high-quality assets entering the market, secondary trading platforms have nothing meaningful to trade. “The true value creation happens at the issuance layer,” Esturi noted.

Optional liquidity versus mandatory

While 38.4% of surveyed issuers said liquidity was not required, Esturi pointed out the difference between “optional liquidity and mandatory liquidity,” noting that many private market issuers operate on long-term horizons. “Liquidity is inevitable, but it must scale in parallel with issuance volume and institutional adoption, not ahead of it.”

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Ondo, which began with tokenized U.S. Treasuries and now has more than $2 billion in assets, is focused on stocks and ETFs specifically because of their “strong price discovery, deep liquidity and clear valuation,” Chief Strategy Officer Ian de Bode said in a recent interview with CoinDesk.

“You tokenize something either to make it easier to access or to use it as collateral,” de Bode said. “Stocks fit both, and they price like assets people actually understand, unlike a building in Manhattan. If TradFi moves to 24/7, that’s a godsend,” de Bode added. “It’s our biggest bottleneck.”

The survey shows that tokenization is already operational for many participants: 69.2% of respondents reported completing the tokenization process and being live, 23.1% are in progress, and 7.7% are still in the planning phase.

Regulations are still an issue

Regulation is a major concern among those surveyed: 53.8% of respondents said regulation slowed their operations, while 30.8% reported partial or contextual regulatory friction. In total, 84.6% experienced some level of regulatory drag. By comparison, 13% cited technology or development challenges as the hardest part of tokenization.

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“Compliance isn’t something issuers are dealing with after launch; it’s something they’re taking into account and configuring from day one,” said Alvaro Garrido, founding partner at Legal Node. “We see an increasing demand for legal structures tailored to the specific project needs and underlying technology.”

The report also suggests tokenization is expanding beyond real estate. Real estate accounted for 10.7% of assets tokenized or planned for tokenization, compared with 28.6% for equity/shares and 17.9% for IP and entertainment-related assets. Respondents spanned sectors including technology platforms (31.6%), entertainment (15.8%), private credit (15.8%), renewable energy (5.3%), banking (5.3%), carbon assets (5.2%), aerospace (5.3%) and hospitality (5.2%).

“The real bridge between TradFi and DeFi is not ideological,” said Patrick Hennes, head of digital asset servicing at DZ PRIVATBANK. “It is issuance infrastructure that translates regulatory requirements, investor protection and asset servicing standards into programmable systems.”

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Polymarket Traders Price in 82% Chance of Clarity Act Passage

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Odds of Clarity Act Passing in 2026.

The probability of the Clarity Act being signed into law in 2026 surged to a record 82% on Polymarket earlier today.

The increase in odds comes ahead of a looming deadline to move the key crypto legislation forward.

Polymarket Signals Growing Confidence in Clarity Act as Negotiations Accelerate 

Data from Polymarket shows that the probability of the Clarity Act becoming law rose sharply over the past 48 hours. Odds climbed from around 60% on February 18 to a peak of 82% earlier today. 

At press time, the figure had eased to 78%, still reflecting a significant jump and signaling growing market confidence in the bill’s prospects.

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Odds of Clarity Act Passing in 2026.
Odds of Clarity Act Passing in 2026. Source: Polymarket

The optimism is not limited to prediction market traders. Industry executives are also projecting strong momentum. 

In an interview with Fox Business, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said there’s a 90% chance that the long-debated Clarity Act will pass by the end of April.

“The White House is pushing hard on this, and that is a big reason why it will get done. It needs to get done for US leadership,” he said.

The rise in retail optimism comes as the White House moves to push negotiations forward. According to Fox Business, a March 1 deadline has been set to advance the legislation ahead of the midterms.

White House Hosts Third Meeting as Clarity Act Deadline Nears

The Clarity Act is focused on establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets. At its core, the bill aims to clearly define regulatory oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

The legislation passed the House last July. However, the Senate’s version remains stalled. The primary point of contention between banks and crypto firms centers on stablecoin yields. Last month, Coinbase withdrew its support for the bill after the Senate’s changes. 

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The administration has convened several discussions involving crypto firms and banking representatives, with a third meeting held on Thursday. 

According to journalist Eleanor Terrett, a representative from the crypto industry argued that banks’ concerns may be rooted more in competitive dynamics than in measurable concerns over deposit flight.

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A source representing banks told Terret that, for their part, they are pushing further analysis of how stablecoins could affect traditional deposit bases.

“Bank trade groups will brief their members on today’s discussions and gauge whether there’s room to compromise on allowing crypto firms to offer stablecoin rewards. One source said an end-of-month deadline doesn’t seem unrealistic, with talks set to continue in the coming days,” Terrett said.

As discussions move forward, March 1 stands out as a critical date in the legislative timeline. Despite ongoing disagreements, market analysts still view the bill as broadly positive for the industry.

If passed, it would mark a significant step toward reducing regulatory uncertainty and establishing clearer rules for the crypto sector overall.

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Bitcoin Spikes as US Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs

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Bitcoin Spikes as US Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs

In a landmark 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs were illegal, delivering a sharp blow to one of the White House’s core economic policies.

The decision immediately lifted risk appetite across financial markets — including crypto — though traders remain cautious about what comes next.

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Bitcoin ETFs Near Five-Week Outflow Streak With $404M Outflows

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Bitcoin ETFs Near Five-Week Outflow Streak With $404M Outflows

Selling pressure in US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs continued Thursday, with analysts noting the cryptocurrency is on track for one of its worst yearly starts.

Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs saw $165.8 million in outflows Thursday, bringing weekly losses to $403.9 million, according to SoSoValue data.

The redemptions moved the funds closer to a possible five-week outflow streak, with year-to-date (YTD) losses totaling $2.7 billion.

Daily flows in US spot Bitcoin ETFs this week. Source: SoSoValue

Trading activity continued to shrink, falling 21% over the week and reaching its lowest levels since late December, signaling weakening investor activity.

Despite $53.9 billion in cumulative net inflows, analysts, including DropsTab, noted that 2026 is shaping up to be “one of the worst yearly starts in Bitcoin’s history,” with BTC prices down about 22% year-to-date, according to TradingView data.

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BlackRock’s IBIT leads losses with $368 million in outflows this week

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) accounted for the bulk of outflows this week, totaling $368 million, according to Farside data.

Other US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs saw little or no activity this week, aside from about $50 million in outflows from the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) on Wednesday.

Daily flows in US spot Bitcoin ETFs by issuer. Source: Farside.co.uk

Some major financial institutions reported reducing IBIT exposure earlier this week, with Brevan Howard cutting its holding in the fund by as much as 85% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Bitcoin set for one of its worst yearly starts

The ongoing outflows from Bitcoin ETFs coincide with weakening investor sentiment, as multiple sources point to unusually low BTC price levels compared to previous cycles.

Drops Analytics highlighted Bitcoin’s price in the context of halving — an event that reduces BTC’s block reward once every four years and is typically followed by price surges in the years that follow.

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Analysis, Bitcoin Price, Ethereum ETF, Bitcoin ETF
Source: Drops Analytics

“Almost two years later, BTC trades around $66,000 — nearly the same level as during the April 2024 halving,” Drops Analytics said in a Telegram post on Thursday.

Related: Quantum fears aren’t behind Bitcoin’s 46% drop, says developer

“This has never happened before. In previous cycles, BTC was already three to 10 times above halving levels by now,” it added.

According to Checkonchain data, Bitcoin is off to its worst yearly start on record, 50 days into 2026, surpassing previous down years, including 2018.

Magazine: Did a Hong Kong fund kill Bitcoin? Bithumb’s ‘phantom’ BTC: Asia Express

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