Crypto World
Ripple Teams with Korean Insurer for Blockchain-Based Bond Settlement
Ripple has partnered with Kyobo Life Insurance, one of South Korea’s largest life insurers, to pilot blockchain-based settlement of government bonds, as Seoul moves to formalize rules for tokenized securities.
Ripple Custody, Ripple’s digital asset custody solution, will support the issuance, storage and settlement of tokenized government bonds, the company said in a Wednesday announcement. The companies will also explore tokenized treasury settlement across Korea’s financial system.
The project aims to replace traditional bond settlement processes, which often rely on multiple intermediaries and two-day settlement cycles, with onchain execution that enables near real-time settlement. This change could reduce counterparty risk and improve capital efficiency.
The project arrives as South Korea builds the legal infrastructure for tokenized securities. Amendments recognizing blockchain-based distributed ledgers as valid securities registries passed the National Assembly on Jan. 15, and the new framework is scheduled to take effect on Feb. 4, 2027, after additional rulemaking and infrastructure work.
The reforms also pave the way for investment contract securities to be circulated through regulated securities firms, expanding access and improving market liquidity for non-traditional financial instruments.
Related: South Korea fines Coinone $3.5M, orders partial business suspension: Reports
Kyobo Life explores stablecoin payments
As part of the partnership, Kyobo Life said it will also explore other use cases, including stablecoin-based payment rails and integration with liquidity and treasury management systems.
Jin Ho Park, senior executive vice president at Kyobo Life, said that traditional financial instruments “can operate securely and efficiently on blockchain.”
Related: Jito, KODA team up on institutional staking in South Korea
South Korea draft bill to tighten stablecoin, RWA rules
As Cointelegraph reported, South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party is reportedly preparing legislation that would classify stablecoins used in cross-border payments as foreign exchange instruments.
Under the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act, such tokens would fall under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, bringing related businesses under regulatory oversight even without separate licensing.
The draft also introduces stricter rules for tokenized real-world assets, requiring issuers to back underlying assets through regulated trust structures under capital markets law.
Magazine: South Korea gets rich from crypto… North Korea gets weapons
UAE investors shifted toward software and AI infrastructure shares in Q1 2026, according to eToro data. The press release documents which stocks saw the largest gains and how UAE holders responded to ongoing market volatility, including a notable jump in holders for ServiceNow and Adobe as their prices trended lower. It also highlights AI hardware and memory players such as Super Micro Computer, Micron, and Oracle as popular buys, and notes ongoing attention to mega-cap tech. The release frames these moves as selective conviction rather than broad risk-off behavior, with comments from eToro’s MENA MD.
Key points
- ServiceNow led Q1 2026 risers with a 125% increase in holders as the stock fell about 32%, while announcing partnerships with OpenAI and Anthropic.
- AI infrastructure names Super Micro Computer (+65%), Micron (+39%), and Oracle (+38%) also saw notable holder increases in Q1 2026.
- Adobe rose 54% in holders despite roughly 25% price decline and CEO leadership changes noted in the period.
- Micron exception: posted stock gains driven by momentum in AI memory demand and limited new supply.
- Top holdings snapshot: NVIDIA remained first; Amazon rose to second; Tesla third; Microsoft fourth; Apple fifth in the rankings.
Why it matters
These data points suggest UAE investors are selectively engaging with AI and enterprise tech, seeking long-term value amid volatility. The dip-buying pattern in software and AI infrastructure hints at confidence in AI-enabled growth, rather than a blanket risk-off stance. For readers tracking regional sentiment, the mix of mega-cap leaders and niche AI names indicates which parts of the tech value chain are drawing attention in the UAE at the start of 2026.
What to watch
- Updated data after 31 March 2026 will show whether the tilt toward software and AI infrastructure persists.
- ServiceNow’s partnerships with OpenAI and Anthropic may influence investor sentiment.
- Watch for changes in the top held rankings (NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla, Microsoft, Apple) in upcoming quarters.
Disclosure: The content below is a press release provided by the company or its PR representative. It is published for informational purposes.
UAE Investors Hunt Value in AI and Enterprise Tech Amid Market Volatility
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – April 15, 2026: Against a backdrop of geopolitical conflict in the Gulf and rising investments in AI, retail investors increased their exposure to software and AI infrastructure stocks whose share prices have taken a hit in the first quarter of 2026, according to the latest data from trading and investing platform, eToro.
eToro looked at which companies saw the largest proportional change in holders quarter-on-quarter (table 1) and also examined the 10 most held stocks on the platform among users based in the UAE (table 2).
Software and SaaS names featured prominently in the Q1 top risers list, suggesting UAE investors used the sector-wide sell-off to buy the dip. ServiceNow topped the list with a 125% jump in holders as its share price fell around 32% in Q1, although in the same quarter it announced partnerships with AI heavyweights OpenAI and Anthropic. Adobe ranked third (54% increase in holders) even as the stock came under pressure over concerns about its ability to defend its core software business against AI disruption. Shares were down about 25% by mid-March, along with news that the chief executive would step down, suggesting UAE investors were buying during the pullback.
AI infrastructure was another clear theme in Q1: Super Micro Computer (+65%) in second place, followed by Micron (+39%) in fifth, and Oracle (+38%) in sixth. Investors appear to have bought into a late-quarter sell-off with Super Micro Computer. The stock had traded largely sideways before tumbling 33% after US prosecutors charged the co-founder over an alleged scheme to smuggle Nvidia-powered servers to China. Oracle also fits the buy-the-dip theme. The stock has been volatile amid concerns about spending tied to its AI cloud expansion.
The standout exception was Micron, one of the few names in the group to post stock price gains over the quarter. The move was driven by stronger momentum from surging demand for AI memory chips and limited new supply.
George Naddaf, Managing Director at eToro (MENA), said: “In Q1, UAE investors approached technology with selectivity and opportunism. Some of the companies that drew the strongest increase in holders had fallen to around 25% to 33%, suggesting investors were willing to buy into the sell-off where they still saw long-term value.”
He added: “Despite talk about the ‘Saaspocalypse’, the idea that AI will dismantle traditional SaaS business models, UAE investors showed sustained interest in software. They are honing in on companies that they believe have a clear role in the tech value chain and potential for monetisation. While geopolitical tensions added to market volatility, the pattern in holdings suggests UAE investors were driven more by sector conviction than by a broad risk-off mindset.”
Other Q1 risers spanned multiple sectors. Investors pushed e.l.f. Beauty to fourth place by increasing holdings 52%. They also drove gains in Duolingo, Gorilla Technology, Hims & Hers Health, and SoFi Technologies, highlighting interest in companies across digital education, IT services, telehealth, and fintech.
Q1’s ‘top fallers’ list featured a mix of industries. Twist Bioscience Corporation led the pack with a 90% decrease in holders, followed by Okta (-49%) and CoreWeave (-47%). BioMarin Pharmaceuticals also saw a big decline, with holders down 35% QoQ.
The most widely held stocks were largely unchanged from last quarter, with only minor reshuffles in the top half. NVIDIA held onto first place, while Amazon rose to second, and Microsoft to fourth. Tesla slipped to third and Apple to fifth, while positions six to ten remain unchanged.
Naddaf remarked: “Local investors’ selective approach to technology is further evidenced by the fact that AI and tech companies feature in both the risers and fallers lists. They appear to be making efforts to distinguish between the winners and laggards of the AI revolution.”
Looking at the most held ranking, he added: “It suggests UAE investors are continuing to treat these names as core positions rather than short-term trades. NVIDIA held onto the top spot, while Amazon moved up to second and Microsoft climbed to fourth, but the ranking is largely unchanged. This points to continued conviction in mega-cap technology companies contributing to AI infrastructure and enterprise applications. In a quarter marked by uncertainty, that kind of stability points to a confidence in scale, earnings visibility, and relevance.”
Table 1: Shows which stocks have seen the biggest proportional increase and decrease in holders on the eToro platform in the UAE, quarter-on-quarter.
Table 2: Shows stocks most widely held by eToro users in the UAE, and their position last quarter.
Notes:
Past performance is not an indication of future results.
The tables compare data from the eToro platform on the final day of Q1 2026 with the final day of Q4 2025. The data refers to funded accounts of eToro users in the UAE.
The data in the first table shows the 10 stocks that have seen the largest proportional increases and decreases in holders on the eToro platform quarter-on-quarter (Q1 2026 vs Q4 2025).
The data in the second table shows the top 10 most-held stock positions (open positions) by investors on the eToro platform at the end of Q1 2026. As the vast majority of stocks traded on eToro are real assets, this data does not include positions held as CFDs.
Stock price data from Yahoo Finance.
All data accurate as of after market close on 31 March 2026.
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The rally on Wall Street is closing in on a major milestone. The S&P 500 is now just 0.5% from its all-time high of 7,002 recorded in January 2026
The index has turned positive for the year after a powerful rebound that has added nearly $6 trillion in market value since March 30. That recovery translates to roughly $550 billion per trading day over 10 consecutive sessions, with Tuesday marking the index’s green day.
The S&P 500 Nears Its All-Time High, and the Rally Isn’t Slowing Down
What makes the rebound particularly notable is that it began against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran. Although both sides agreed to a two-week ceasefire, failed diplomatic negotiations and the US’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have continued to fuel uncertainty.
Even so, markets have shown remarkable resilience, with equities pushing higher despite the overhang of geopolitical risk.
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BeInCrypto reported that Citadel Securities executives see room for upside in both stocks and bonds, arguing that the worst-case tail risk from the Iran conflict has been “substantially truncated.”
Separately, Bitmine’s chairman, Tom Lee, said last week that a stock market bottom is already in. He projected that the S&P 500 could climb as high as 7,300 to mark a new all-time high this year.
Hedge Funds Unwind as Sidelined Capital Returns
The shift in positioning tells the story. The Kobeissi Letter noted that in just five trading days, hedge fund short exposure to US ETFs dropped from the highest level since May 2025 to below the 97th percentile of cases over the last five years.
“Meanwhile, the capital that was sidelined amid the Iran War is quickly rotating back into AI stocks. Stocks like Nvidia and Apple were nearly half as cheap as Costco and Walmart on a Forward P/E basis after the recent correction,” the analysts said. All while 4% inflation is back and investors are searching for any source of yield as a hedge. Record highs are on the horizon.”
However, the rally is pushing valuation metrics into historic extremes. Global Markets Investor reported that the Buffett Indicator has risen to 232.6%. That marks the highest reading in history.
The indicator is used to assess whether a stock market is overvalued or undervalued relative to its underlying economy. A value above 100% usually indicates that the former is the case.
The current figure sits well above both the 2000 Dot-Com Bubble peak of 162.6% and the 2021 market high of 218.7%.
“Since the Great Financial Crisis low, the ratio has risen +163.6 percentage points, or more than 3 times. US equities are in uncharted territory,” the post revealed.
Overall, it points to a market that is historically expensive and potentially vulnerable to corrections. Thus, while momentum remains bullish and a fresh record high appears within reach, the backdrop is becoming increasingly complex.
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The post S&P 500 Sits 0.5% From All-Time High as Capital Floods Back Into Equities appeared first on BeInCrypto.
U.S. spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds recorded their fourth straight day of inflows on Tuesday as Ethereum touched $2,400 for the first time since February.
Summary
- U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded their fourth consecutive day of inflows, extending total inflows to over $212 million during the streak.
- Ethereum price rose to test the $2,400 resistance level for the first time since February, supported by improved market sentiment and continued institutional demand.
- Bitmine expanded its ETH holdings to 4.87 million tokens, with around 3 million staked.
According to data from SoSoValue, the ten spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $53.03 million in net inflows on April 14, with Fidelity’s FETH drawing in nearly $38 million.
BlackRock’s ETHA followed with $10.49 million in inflows while Grayscale’s ETH and BlackRock’s ETHB contributed more modest inflows of $3.2 million and $1.2 million, respectively. Notably, none of the remaining ETH ETFs saw any outflows on the day.
This marks the fourth consecutive day of inflows into the investment products, with over $212 million entering the funds. Amidst these favourable conditions, April has turned out to be a positive month for these investment vehicles with $171.2 million drawn in so far after witnessing 5 months of negative flows where nearly $2.8 billion exited the funds.
This is a sign that institutional investors are once again turning towards the Ethereum ecosystem. Previously, such inflows into ETH ETFs helped support broader market liquidity as retail investors followed the institutional lead.
This time, the Ethereum ETFs resumed inflows at a time when renewed hopes of a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran helped lift global market sentiment following weeks of uncertainty driven by uncertainity driven by the war.
Besides the buying pressure generated by these products, Ethereum treasury company Bitmine has continued to bolster its holdings with aggressive ETH accumulation with the goal of securing atleast 5% of the total ETH supply.
The firm currently holds 4.87 million ETH tokens, nearly 4% of the circulating supply. Out of this, approximately 3.0 million ETH is staked, contributing to the network’s security while generating yield for its treasury.
Bitmine chairman Tom Lee recently described the recent downturn as a “mini crypto winter,” stating that Ethereum is now in the “final stages” of that phase, suggesting the worst of the cycle may already be behind it.
Ethereum (ETH) price rallied 9% on Tuesday to touch the $2,400 threshold before paring off some gains and settling at $2,321 at press time, down 3% over the past 24 hours.
The daily chart shows that the $2,400 marks a significant resistance level since its drop below the psychological barrier in early February this year. Each time the token approached this mark, it faced heavy selling pressure. Hence, a clean breakout above the current ceiling would mark a major shift in market structure and signal a return to a long-term bullish trend.
Technical indicators seem to support a bullish bias in the short term. Notably, the 50-day SMA is closing in on a bullish crossover with the 100-day SMA. Meanwhile, the MACD lines have pointed upwards, indicating strengthening momentum.
Hence, Ethereum price is most likely to continue its uptrend with a break from the $2,400 resistance, potentially opening the doors for a run toward $2,600.
On the contrary, if Ethereum fails to hold its ground and slides towards $2,200, it could see a period of consolidation as bulls look for a stronger floor.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Crypto World
Crypto Whales Just Accumulated 100 Million FET Crypto: So Why Is the Price Still Falling?
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET crypto) token is trading at $0.2286, down 2.76% in 24 hours, and the next 48 hours could determine whether the recent rally was a structural breakout or an elaborate bull trap.
Volume has climbed sharply, $77.4M to $153M in 24-hour range, yet price continues to bleed.
That divergence is worth watching closely. The token is part of the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance, a coalition that has ridden the AI narrative hard in 2025.
Social interactions spiked 305% recently, pushing FET’s AltRank from #297 to #4. Whale accumulation of 100 million tokens drew widespread analyst attention, with CCN noting on March 25 that FET “is targeting $0.40 after crypto whales accumulated 100 million tokens…signaling that sophisticated investors view the move as a structural shift.”
The broader market is only marginally green (+0.3%), but FET is underperforming the Ethereum ecosystem, which is up 12.7%. Geopolitical pressure from US-Iran tensions contributed to a 7.5% drop across risk assets, FET included.
Can FET Crypto Price Recover to $0.30 This Week?
FET is currently consolidating after a falling wedge breakout that produced a 66% weekly surge with a 557% volume spike.
That kind of move doesn’t cool off quietly. The current pullback has the price sitting just above the $0.21–$0.226 support zone, the same level that served as the breakout base. Hold it, and the structure remains intact. Lose it, and the next meaningful floor is around $0.18.
Resistance sits at $0.25–$0.27. A confirmed close above that band opens a path to $0.30–$0.35, with $0.40 as the whale-momentum target if broader AI sentiment re-ignites.
The Ichimoku cloud remains supportive; price is trading above it, but the RSI is flashing overbought, suggesting the pullback may not be over.
FET is at that typical post-breakout pause where the next move depends on whether buyers can actually defend the level, and $0.226 is the one holding things together, because if it stays intact and price pushes back above $0.25 with volume, that is where continuation kicks in and opens a move toward $0.30 to $0.35.
Right now, though, it looks like it is cooling, with price likely chopping between $0.21 and $0.25 while RSI resets, so instead of immediate continuation, you get sideways action before the next move.
The risk is clear: if $0.21 breaks, the whole breakout idea fails, and that is where price can slide toward $0.18 as momentum flips back in favor of sellers.
Upcoming catalysts include Nvidia’s GTC event, ETF flow developments, and Fetch.ai ecosystem integrations, any of which could shift momentum fast. The AI agent narrative cuts both ways right now. Monitor the $0.226 level closely.
LiquidChain Targets Early Mover Upside as FET Tests Key Levels
FET’s chart tells a familiar mid-cycle story: a sharp move higher, followed by a test of conviction. For traders already holding FET at these levels, the risk-reward is narrowing (even the bull case tops out near $0.40 on a token with an existing nine-figure market cap).
Early-stage infrastructure is where asymmetric bets are still available, and LiquidChain is one presale drawing attention in that category.
LiquidChain is a Layer 3 blockchain engineered to unify Bitcoin’s capital base, Ethereum’s DeFi depth, and Solana’s execution speed into a single environment.
The pitch isn’t theoretical: assets from all three chains are verifiably represented on the L3 without wrapping, creating deep, fungible markets. Developers deploy once and access users across all three ecosystems.
The presale token, $LIQUID, is priced at $0.01449, with $673,819.16 raised to date. That’s early. Presales carry real risk — illiquidity, execution uncertainty, and no guaranteed exchange listing — so due diligence is non-negotiable. For those willing to do the work: research LiquidChain here.
The post Crypto Whales Just Accumulated 100 Million FET Crypto: So Why Is the Price Still Falling? appeared first on Cryptonews.
- MEXC unveils EMBLEM Launchpool with 5,000,000 tokens in rewards.
- Four staking pools including exclusive new-user EMBLEM pool.
- Users can boost rewards by increasing trading volume thresholds.
MEXC, the world leader in 0‑fee digital asset trading, will launch the EMBLEM Launchpool, running from April 15 to May 15, 2026 (13:00 UTC). Participants can stake eligible tokens during the event period to share a total of 5,000,000 EMBLEM in airdrop rewards.
The Launchpool features four staking pools. The EMBLEM Staking Pool is exclusive to new users, offering a total of 1,500,000 EMBLEM in rewards.
The MX Staking Pool, USD1 Staking Pool, and BTC Staking Pool are open to all users, offering 1,500,000 EMBLEM, 1,000,000 EMBLEM, and 1,000,000 EMBLEM in rewards, respectively.
Participants can further increase their share of rewards through MEXC’s staking limit boost mechanism.
By meeting designated trading volume thresholds during the event period, users can boost their maximum staking limit by up to 100%.
MEXC Launchpool is an event platform that enables users to earn airdrops of popular or newly listed tokens by staking designated tokens, with staked tokens remaining redeemable at any time.
The most recent USD1 Launchpool attracted nearly 2,000 users with a total staking volume exceeding 35 million USD1.
The EMBLEM Launchpool reflects MEXC’s commitment to providing users with accessible opportunities to engage with emerging digital assets.
Looking ahead, MEXC plans to continue rolling out diverse Launchpool events, bringing users more opportunities to discover and participate in quality projects.
Furthermore, MEXC continues to strengthen its position as a universal gateway for global markets, built on the core pillars of “0 Fees” and “Infinite Opportunities”, with a commitment to lowering trading costs and expanding market access for users worldwide.
To learn more and participate in the event, visit the MEXC Launchpool page.
About MEXC
MEXC is the world’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency exchange, trusted by more than 40 million users across 170+ markets.
Built on a user-first philosophy, MEXC offers industry-leading 0-fee trading and access to over 3,000 digital assets.
As the Gateway to Infinite Opportunities, MEXC provides a single platform where users can easily trade cryptocurrencies alongside tokenized assets, including stocks, ETFs, commodities, and precious metals.
MEXC Official Website｜ X ｜ Telegram ｜How to Sign Up on MEXC
For media inquiries, please contact MEXC PR team: [email protected]
Risk Disclaimer:
This content does not constitute investment advice. Given the highly volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market, investors are encouraged to carefully assess market fluctuations, project fundamentals, and potential financial risks before making any trading decisions.
This article is authored by a third party, and CoinJournal does not endorse or take responsibility for its content, accuracy, quality, advertisements, products, or materials. Readers should independently research and exercise due diligence before making decisions related to the mentioned company.
Crypto World
Winklevoss Capital moves $43 million in bitcoin to custody after lowest balance since 2012
Some 572 bitcoin worth $42.77 million moved from a Gemini hot wallet into wallets owned by Winklevoss Capital and custody wallets in the past 24 hours, according to Arkham Intelligence data, the first significant transfers into the fund’s addresses in over a month.
The transfers came in two batches. One of 372 BTC and one of 200 BTC about 11 hours later. Both moved from addresses tagged by Arkham as belonging to the crypto exchange to addresses tagged as Winklevoss Capital and Gemini Custody.
Winklevoss Capital now holds 9,328 BTC worth $689 million across 128 tracked addresses, up from about 8,800 BTC after a $128.5 million deposit into Gemini roughly a month ago that brought holdings to their lowest level since 2012.
It also holds 70,588 ETH worth $163.7 million, bringing its total tracked portfolio to approximately $853 million, the Arkham data show.
The onchain data shows the direction of movement, not the intent. The transfers could reflect new purchases, internal rebalancing between Gemini’s exchange and custody infrastructure, or a partial reversal of last month’s deposit.
Gemini Space Station (GEMI), founded by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, has faced mounting financial pressure this year.
Bloomberg reported last week that the company has lost more than half its market value in 2026, cut 30% of its workforce and exited markets including the U.K., EU, and Australia.
The Winklevoss brothers have roughly $330 million in outstanding bitcoin-denominated loans to the company, and one idea being discussed internally involves converting that debt into equity, Bloomberg said.
Ted Pick, CEO of Morgan Stanley speaks on CNBC’s Squawk Box outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 23, 2025.
Gerry Miller | CNBC
Morgan Stanley is set to report first-quarter earnings before the opening bell Wednesday.
Here’s what Wall Street expects:
- Earnings: $3 a share, according to LSEG
- Revenue: $19.72 billion, according to LSEG
- Investment banking: $2.1 billion, according to StreetAccount
- Trading: Equities of $4.7 billion, fixed income of $2.82 billion, according to StreetAccount
Morgan Stanley is expected to benefit from robust investment banking and trading revenue in the quarter, as rivals JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have shown in their reports this week.
Stocks were whipsawed in the first quarter on concerns over AI-led disruption and the Iran war, which may have impacted the fees collected by the firm’s massive wealth management business.
Analysts will want to know what CEO Ted Pick has to say on the business outlook for the rest of the year as geopolitical tensions remain high.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
Crypto World
BTC price pulls back as $75,000 remains ‘both the milestone and the ceiling:’ Crypto Markets Today
Yesterday, CoinDesk flagged the potential for heightened bitcoin price volatility around the $75,000 level, and that scenario is playing out. After briefly approaching $76,000 late Tuesday, the largest cryptocurrency has pulled back to trade near $73,900.
The move may be partly driven by market makers rebalancing their exposure, adding to short-term price volatility.
For now, the market remains anchored to familiar themes: the U.S.–Iran peace talks, a fading geopolitical risk premium and the persistent $75,000 resistance level. A sustained extension of the recent rebound depends on bitcoin decisively breaking and holding above this threshold.
“The level map is clean. $75K is both the milestone and the ceiling. If we clear and hold above it, the range finally breaks and the move can extend. If we fail again, it becomes a magnet—triggering profit-taking and pulling the market back into choppy conditions,” crypto analysts at Marex noted.
Major altcoins, including XRP (XRP), ether (ETH), and solana (SOL), appear to be feeling the impact of bitcoin’s inability to sustain its gains. Each is down 2% or more over the past 24 hours.
The outlook for the ether-bitcoin ratio, however, is improving, supported by a surge in Ethereum’s onchain activity. The ratio climbed to 0.032 on Tuesday, the highest level since Jan. 31.
Among smaller-cap tokens, DEXE, M, and GT have emerged as the top gainers over the past day, while HASH, WLD and privacy-focused ZEC are the leading losers.
Derivatives positioning
- Exchanges have liquidated $424 million in crypto futures positions due to margin shortages. Notably, the liquidations were almost evenly split between long (bullish) and short (bearish) bets, a rare occurrence that highlights the current uncertainty and lack of direction in the market.
- There are no clear signs that traders are actively shorting bitcoin’s pullback from $76,000. This is reflected in open interest across major dollar- and USDT-denominated futures, which fell to 256K BTC from 267.48K BTC as the price dropped. This combination points to unwinding of positions rather than the buildup of fresh bearish bets.
- Futures tied to XRP, ETH, and SOL display a similar dynamic.
- Open interest in crude oil futures on Binance fell by 12%, suggesting that concerns over a war-driven energy shortage are easing rapidly and speculative positioning is unwinding. This is supportive of risk assets, including bitcoin.
- Futures tied to MemeCore’s M token look overheated, with annualized funding rates jumping to nearly 70%. It points to overcrowding in bullish bets, which often leads to a squeeze on longs and a rapid price slide.
- The opposite is true for futures linked to RaveDAO’s RAVE token, where traders are piling on bearish bets.
- Short-duration ether options are back to favoring puts or downside protection. The so-called skew had flipped slightly bullish on Tuesday. Bitcoin puts remain pricier relative to calls across all time frames.
Token talk
- Blockchain-powered rave and entertainment project RaveDAO’s RAVE token is showing signs of weakness after a surge that lifted its market cap to $4.75 billion from $65 million in a week.
- The market cap was down at $3.4 billion as of writing, a 5% drop in 24 hours.
- The decline comes as perpetual funding rates stay deeply negative, pointing to overcrowding in bearish short positions. Should prices begin rising again, these shorts may throw in the towel, adding to the upward momentum.
- The initial rally was fueled by a similar short-squeeze dynamic. Experts argue that wallets associated with team members, who control over 90% of the token supply, moved large amount of coins to exchanges, creating an illusion of an impending sell pressure. This lured traders to take bearish short positions in large numbers.
- Later those coins were withdrawn just as quickly, engineering a price rally that triggered unwinding of short bets on the way higher.
- The market for this token remains highly illiquid, indicating scope for wild price moves in either direction.
Bitcoin 2026 has published a 400-name speaker roster for its upcoming megaconference this month. But despite a history of promoting the industry’s largest annual gathering as exclusively about bitcoin (BTC), many of these speakers have promoted a dubious variety of digital assets.
Protos reviewed the list and found dozens of speakers with documented promotions of non-BTC digital assets, many of which have, unsurprisingly, declined in value disastrously.
Last year, Protos documented a similar pattern at Bitcoin 2025 where attendees learned not only about BTC but also QI, ZEUS, YU, SUI, CORE, FXS, QBTC, TRX, BTT, SUN, JST, USDJ, MAG7, MEME, DEFI, USSI, WBTC, HUSD, USDD, IQ, and others.
This year, altcoin promoters will migrate from expo floor booths to speaking stages where they’ll probably spend most of their time talking about BTC.
Below are some details of the aforementioned altcoin promotions. Note that this list excludes stocks of so-called digital asset treasury companies, including their BTC-only variants, which have also mostly declined in value.
For example, the stock price of Bitcoin 2026 speaker Adam Back’s H100 Group is down 69% over the past 12 months. Over the same time period, Jack Mallers’ Twenty One Capital is down 31%, David Bailey’s Nakamoto is down 85%, Simon Gerovich’s Metaplanet is down 10%, and Michael Saylor and Phong Le’s Strategy is down 55%.
Eric Trump among Bitcoin 2026 altcoin shills
Donald Trump’s son Eric, who has repeatedly urged his X followers to buy ether (ETH), will be speaking on the Bitcoin 2026 main stage this month. Trump also promotes World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token, its USD1 stablecoin, and his father’s Solana-based TRUMP memecoin.
WLFI is down 75% from its high last year, and TRUMP is down 96%.
Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s chief executive, told Fortune that his flagship stablecoin USDT represents “the last stronghold for US dollar hegemony out there.”
He’s promoted XAUT, MXNT, XAUT, and his company’s new USAT stablecoin. None of those tokens use Bitcoin as their primary blockchain.
Last year, Arthur Hayes predicted ETH would reach “$10,000 to $20,000 before the end of the cycle,” which certainly never happened. He’s also repeatedly endorsed Ethena’s ENA token, including a call for it to reach $10.
In reality, ENA’s all-time high was $1.52, and it’s trading 93% lower today.
Read more: Bitcoin treasury Nakamoto down 98% — still pays David Bailey lavishly
Also on the list are:
- Aaron and Austin Arnold who co-run the crypto podcast Altcoin Daily
- SethForPrivacy, Cake Wallet’s COO, who has written extensively about XMR
- Milan de Reede of NanoGPT who wrote that NANO is “a form of money that cannot be debased” and promoted a 5% discount for NANO payments
- Fred Thiel of Marathon Digital who’s company held millions of KAS tokens on its balance sheet at one point
- Sam Kazemian, the founder of Frax and its FXS token
- Bruce Fenton, co-founder of Ravencoin
- Afroman, who launched his own Pump.fun memecoin
Exchange and fund executives will also take the stage
Bitcoin 2026 speaker Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, proudly broadcasted that his company spent “millions of dollars” defending Solana, claiming that he woke up “every day” in January 2025 to defend Solana “because we believe in SOL.”
Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s chief investment officer and scheduled Bitcoin 2026 speaker, told CoinDesk, “I own a lot of ETH, and I’m very bullish on where it’s going.”
He also called SOL “one of the best setups” he had seen in eight years.
Another Bitcoin 2026 speaker, Tim Draper, is a prolific altcoin investor, including XTZ, ANT, among many others. He’s told investors from a Wall Street stage that he owns those tokens plus BCH and XRP.
Also on stage this year will be Amy Oldenburg of Morgan Stanley, who said in April 2026 that the bank is definitely “not going to stop at just bitcoin.”
Meanwhile, Matthew Sigel filed for a Solana ETF at VanEck.
Matt Luongo of Thesis scored his spot at the conference after using over $7 million in KEEP tokens to assist Ethereum-based, Bitcoin-branded TBTC, and Eric Balchunas of Bloomberg declared the odds of SEC Solana ETF approval at “100%.”
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TLDR:
- Ripple partners with Kyobo Life Insurance, Korea’s third-largest insurer managing $88B in assets.
- Ripple Custody will cut bond settlement from two days to near real-time on a live blockchain testnet.
- The partnership explores stablecoin payment rails enabling 24/7 transactions within a regulated framework.
- Ripple signals a long-term Korea strategy, using the Kyobo deal as a blueprint for future engagements.
Ripple has announced a strategic partnership with Kyobo Life Insurance, one of South Korea’s largest life insurers. The collaboration will tokenize government bond settlements through blockchain technology using Ripple Custody.
Kyobo manages approximately $88 billion in assets and ranks as the country’s third-largest life insurer. The two firms will replace manual bond settlement processes with transparent on-chain execution. This marks Ripple’s first major tie-up with a Korean insurance institution.
Ripple Custody Targets Faster, Safer Bond Settlement
The partnership centers on Ripple Custody, a bank-grade digital asset custody platform built for regulated institutions. It supports the secure transfer, settlement, and management of tokenized assets on-chain.
The platform moves bond transactions away from fragmented, manual processes toward streamlined blockchain execution. This directly addresses inefficiencies in Korea’s existing government bond settlement framework.
A proof-of-concept launched in September 2025 and has since entered a live testnet phase. The primary goal is to reduce the standard two-day settlement cycle to near real-time.
Faster settlement reduces counterparty risk and improves capital efficiency for institutional players. These gains are particularly relevant for large asset managers like Kyobo.
Fiona Murray, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Ripple, addressed the broader market meaning of the deal. She said, “Korea’s institutional financial market is at an inflection point, and we are privileged to be entering it alongside Kyobo Life Insurance.”
Murray added that Kyobo is the first major insurer in the country to take this step with Ripple. She further noted that institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure is “available, proven, and ready to deploy in Korea today.”
Murray also reinforced Ripple’s long-term commitment to the Korean market. She said, “We see this as the beginning of a broad and enduring partnership, not only with Kyobo, but with the Korean institutional financial market as a whole.”
This positions the Kyobo deal as an entry point rather than a standalone engagement. Ripple is signaling clear intent to deepen its institutional footprint across Korea.
Kyobo Eyes Stablecoins and Operational Transformation
Beyond bond settlement, Ripple will support Kyobo in exploring stablecoin-based payment rails. These rails would enable 24/7 transaction capability within a compliant, regulated framework.
This expands the scope of the partnership well beyond custody and tokenization alone. Stablecoin integration could further modernize Kyobo’s treasury and liquidity management operations.
Kyobo’s Senior Executive Vice President, Jin Ho Park, shared the insurer’s perspective on the collaboration. Park said, “Our partnership with Ripple is not simply about digital assets — it’s about validating how traditional financial instruments can operate securely and efficiently on blockchain.”
He noted the goal is to advance Korea’s financial market infrastructure and deliver next-generation solutions to customers. Park’s statement frames the partnership as a structural shift, not just a technology trial.
Over time, the infrastructure built through this partnership could expand into payments and liquidity management. Ripple has indicated that the Kyobo deal forms part of a broader Korea strategy.
The firm sees potential to work with multiple institutional players across the Korean market. This partnership, therefore, serves as a blueprint for future institutional engagements in the region.
Regulated financial institutions across Korea are watching this proof-of-concept closely. The live testnet outcome will shape wider decisions on blockchain-based settlement adoption.
If successful, it could lead to broader reform of national bond settlement processes. Ripple and Kyobo aim to demonstrate that on-chain settlement is practical and scalable at the institutional level.
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