Crypto World
UK appoints HSBC for blockchain bond pilot
Britain is positioning itself to become the first G7 nation to issue sovereign debt on the blockchain, appointing banking giant HSBC and law firm Ashurst to steer a digital gilt trial expected this year, according to the Financial Times.
The Treasury’s selection of the two firms aims to quell growing criticism that the U.K. has been dragging its feet on tokenized government bonds. While Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled the pilot plan in late 2024, other jurisdictions including Hong Kong have already crossed the finish line with their own digital sovereign issuances.
The pilot aims to slash settlement time and operational costs for market participants. The experiment will run within the Bank of England’s “digital sandbox,” a controlled environment where financial innovations can operate under relaxed regulatory constraints.
HSBC has experience in digital debt offerings, having orchestrated over $3.5 billion in digital bond issuances through its proprietary Orion blockchain — including Hong Kong’s $1.3 billion green bond last year, one of the largest tokenized debt sales globally.
On Wednesday, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the multicurrency offering helped boost liquidity on the product.
“We will regularize the issuance of tokenized green bonds,” he said at CoinDesk’s Consensus Hong Kong conference, which could support further adoption.
Bitcoin treasury company Strategy will further lean on its preferred stock sales to acquire Bitcoin, shifting from its strategy of selling common stock, says CEO Phong Le.
“We will start to transition from equity capital to preferred capital,” Le told Bloomberg’s “The Close” on Wednesday.
Stretch (STRC) is Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock, launched in July, and is aimed at buyers looking for stability by offering an annual dividend of over 11%.
STRC is the company’s fourth perpetual preferred offering, launched to finance its Bitcoin (BTC) purchases. It’s an alternative to issuing new shares that dilute its stock price.
Le admitted that its preferred stock will “take some seasoning” and marketing to pitch traders on the offering, but added that “throughout the course of this year, we expect Stretch to be a big product for us.”
Strategy could restart offerings as STRC hits $100
STRC reclaimed its par value of $100 at the close of trading on Wednesday for the first time since mid-January, which Le said was the “story of the day.”
The stock had dipped below $94 earlier this month as Bitcoin crashed under $60,000, but with it now trading at par — the price Strategy has designated as its minimum — the company could again offer shares to fund more Bitcoin purchases.
Bitcoin has traded mostly flat over the last 24 hours at around $66,800, down from an intraday high of over $68,000.
Buying Bitcoin treasury rivals a “distraction”
Analysts have warned that the crypto treasury space is becoming crowded as companies compete for a small segment of traders, leading to some companies’ crypto holdings being worth more than the companies themselves.
Related: Saylor’s Strategy buys $90M in Bitcoin as price trades below cost basis
In that case, some analysts said that rival treasury firms could move to acquire underperforming companies to scoop up Bitcoin on the cheap, but Le said Strategy isn’t interested in making such a move.
“I think in any new market, whether it be electric cars or AI or SaaS software, you want to focus on your core product,” Le said. “I think it would be a distraction to go buy, at a discount to net asset value, another digital asset treasury company.”
Shares in Strategy (MSTR) ended trading on Wednesday down over 5% at $126.14.
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Binance completed the $1 billion Bitcoin conversion for its emergency fund, committing to holding Bitcoin as its core reserve asset.
Binance purchased another $304 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) on Thursday, completing the conversion of $1 billion in Bitcoin for its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) wallet, according to Arkham data.
The fund now holds 15,000 Bitcoin, worth over $1 billion, acquired at an average aggregate cost basis of $67,000 per coin, Binance said in a Thursday X post.
“With SAFU Fund now fully in Bitcoin, we reinforce our belief in BTC as the premier long-term reserve asset.”
The last tranche of BTC came three days after Binance’s previous $300 million acquisition on Monday.
Related: Bitcoin’s $60K crash may mark halfway point of bear market: Kaiko
The exchange first announced it would convert its $1 billion user protection fund into Bitcoin on Jan. 30, initially pledging a 30-day window for the acquisitions, which were completed in less than two weeks.
The exchange said it would rebalance the fund if volatility pushes its value below $800 million.
Related: Bitcoin dips to $60K, TRM Labs becomes crypto unicorn: Finance Redefined
Crypto investor sentiment plunges to lowest levels on record
The conversion comes as broader market sentiment remains deeply negative.
Sentiment took another hit following Bitcoin’s brief correction below $60,000 on Feb. 5, plunging to five on Thursday — the lowest reading on record — signaling extreme fear among investors, according to data from alternative.me.
The index is a multifactorial measure of crypto market sentiment.
The industry’s leading traders by returns, tracked as “smart money,” are also hedging for more crypto market downside.
According to crypto intelligence platform Nansen, smart-money traders held a cumulative $105 million net short position in Bitcoin and were net short across most major cryptocurrencies, with Avalanche (AVAX) the only notable exception, recording $10.5 million in net long exposure.
Bitcoin’s correction also took a significant supply of tokens at a loss equaling to 16% of Bitcoin’s market cap, marking the highest pain point seen in markets since the implosion of algorithmic stablecoin issuer Terra in May 2022, wrote Glassnode in a Monday X post.
Yet in a silver lining to the correction, the market structure is showing early signs of stabilization, according to Dessislava Ianeva, dispatch analyst at digital asset platform Nexo.
“Derivative positioning remains cautious. Funding rates are neutral to slightly negative, reflecting subdued leverage demand, while open interest in native BTC terms has returned to early-February levels, suggesting stabilization rather than a renewed expansion phase,” the analyst told Cointelegraph.
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Gen Z Americans may be open to paying for dates with cryptocurrency, but most still aren’t putting digital coins where their hearts are, according to a January Pollfish survey commissioned by crypto exchange OKX.
The poll of 1,000 US adults found that 13% of Gen Z respondents said they have paid for a date using crypto, while many who haven’t said the main issue is practical: they don’t have a direct way to pay with crypto.
Interest extended beyond payments. 31% of Gen Z respondents said receiving crypto as a Valentine’s Day gift would be appealing, and 76% said financial literacy is an attractive trait in a partner, a reminder that for some daters, “knowing your numbers” can be more charming than knowing your zodiac sign.
Still, ownership appears to be a limiting factor. OKX told Cointelegraph that 29.5% of respondents said they currently own or previously owned crypto assets, suggesting that curiosity about crypto doesn’t automatically translate into daily use.
Gen Z flirts with crypto, but ease of use a problem
The gap between “open to it” and “actually did it” points to a familiar hurdle for crypto: in many everyday settings, it’s still easier to tap a card than to pay directly with a wallet.
The survey also found that two-thirds of respondents said financial literacy plays well in the dating marketplace, with Gen Z (76%) and Millennials (75%) showing the strongest support.
Familiarity with digital finance tools also carried weight. Between 52% and 55% of respondents said knowledge of digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies and digital wallets, can make someone more attractive as a potential partner.
But only 17% of respondents overall said holding digital assets makes someone more attractive, including 30% of millennials and 28% of Gen Z. The findings indicate that for younger cohorts, digital asset awareness is increasingly viewed as part of broader financial competence.
Related: Valentine’s nightmare? Romance scams remain a $1B honeypot for criminals
Romance scams kill the mood
Crypto has also shown up in dating headlines for less romantic reasons. In 2024, the US Federal Trade Commission issued a consumer alert over rising crypto-related romance scams. Canadian authorities issued similar warnings, as crypto scammers flooded dating apps.
The rise of artificial intelligence also heightened the risks of romance scams in crypto. In 2025, scammers have increasingly used chatbots and deepfakes to manipulate victims emotionally and financially.
Perception has also been mixed. While the OKX survey showed that some are attracted to crypto, a survey by the Date Psychology blog in 2024 found that women ranked crypto among the least attractive male hobbies.
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A DePin company that has 3.5 million users and is currently raising for a Series A won this year’s PitchFest at Consensus Hong Kong.
Hong Kong-based zkME Technology won the $20,000 prize after a grueling two-day event where competitors positioned their solutions as key for various problems in the crypto sector.
“If DeFi really wants to become mainstream, this is the only solution,” said founder and CEO David Alexander Scheer.
Scheer told CoinDesk that 2026 is going to be “the year in which the lines between TradFi and DeFi converge” while remaining grounded, saying that Monday morning will be “back to work.”
The competition was judged by Alasdair Foster, CEO of Bullish Capital Management (the venture capital arm of CoinDesk parent Bullish Global); Augie Ilag, CMT Digital’s Head of Asia; Fabric Ventures co-founder Richard Muirhead and Ella Zhang, head of YZi Labs.
The three other finalists were Switzerland-based tokenized real world asset company OnchainLabs, U.S.-based DePin firm Coinbax and Hong Kong-based Hubble AI.
In the runner-up spot was Hubble AI, a company that lets users build bespoke trading strategies via prompts to its AI model.
“We provide infrastructure, not strategy,” the company’s CEO said during the pitch, responding to a question about how public the AI’s trading capability would be.
Onchain Labs co-founder Florian Ehrbar’s pitched Engage, a platform that lets crypto firms offer tokenized gold solutions and answered questions from the judges on revenue and user experience.
Peter Glyman, founder of CEO of Coinbax, explained how his company creates the infrastructure and smart contracts for crypto firms and has plans to rollout a mainnet in Q2 of this year
There were eight other semi-finalists including London-based tokenized real world asset project Agant, Barcelona-based Brickken, Hong Kong-based Satsume Labs, BetterX and OKcontract Labs from Singapore, Malaysian-based Morpheus AI, Japanese-based PokeSeed and Dubai-based Synnax Technologies FZCO.
- LINEA has surged 24% amid strong social engagement and trading volume.
- The launch of trustless agents and ERC‑8004 has boosted ecosystem adoption and interest.
- The immediate support in case of a pullback lies at $0.0037, while the immediate resistance is at $0.00413.
LINEA has surged by 24% in just 24 hours, marking one of its strongest short-term rallies in recent months.
The token is currently trading at $0.003805, recovering from a recent low of $0.002987.
This price jump comes after weeks of consolidation, where LINEA had been hovering in the $0.003–$0.004 range.
The sudden momentum signals a possible shift in market sentiment.
Recent catalysts driving the rally
One of the key drivers behind this surge is LINEA’s growing presence in the crypto community.
Social engagement metrics have shown that LINEA has outperformed other Layer‑2 projects in terms of mentions, interactions, and overall online attention.
This heightened activity appears to correlate with price movement, suggesting that increased visibility and investor interest are fueling the recent uptick.
Technical indicators also support the bullish momentum, with LINEA recently breaking above a multi-week resistance zone around $0.00370.
This breakout coincided with the token reclaiming its 20-day exponential moving average (EMA), which traders often see as a signal for short-term trend reversal.
Furthermore, momentum indicators, including the Relative Strength Index (RSI), are approaching overbought levels, indicating strong buying pressure but also cautioning that a brief pullback or consolidation could occur.
In addition, volume trends show a notable increase in trading activity, further reinforcing that the market is responding to both sentiment and technical factors.
Beyond market activity, developments in LINEA’s ecosystem are adding to optimism.
The launch of trustless agents powered by ERC‑8004 introduces verifiable identity and portable reputation for AI-driven smart contracts.
This feature positions LINEA as more than just a Layer‑2 scaling solution, highlighting its potential as a platform for next-generation decentralised applications.
Analysts suggest that these technological milestones could attract developers and new users, supporting both short-term interest and long-term adoption.
LINEA price forecast
Looking ahead, analysts predict that LINEA could continue to show volatility but remain within a defined range.
The token’s support level is around $0.00370, which traders will watch closely to gauge whether the recent breakout can hold.
Immediate resistance is near $0.00413, aligning with longer-term moving averages.
If LINEA breaks through this level, it could test higher targets, with analysts projecting potential upside toward $0.0939 by the end of the year.
Conversely, a failure to hold support could push the price down toward $0.0308, highlighting the token’s potential for significant swings.
Traders should monitor volume, sentiment, and key technical levels to navigate this highly dynamic market.
Overall, LINEA’s combination of social momentum, ecosystem development, and short-term bullish technical signals suggests that the token remains one to watch.
While risks remain, the current rally and forward-looking developments provide a compelling case for both traders and investors looking for opportunities in the Layer‑2 crypto space.
Crypto World
RENDER Down 76% From Peak While Processing 1.5M Frames Monthly: Capitulation or Opportunity?
TLDR:
- RENDER processes record 1.5M frames monthly while token crashes 76% to $1.30 from May 2025 peak of $5.50
- Network burned 1.04M tokens with 35% of all-time frames rendered in 2025 alone despite brutal price action
- AI rendering launch and Dispersed.com platform expand services while trading volume collapses 87% in 30 days
- 5,600 active GPU nodes and partnerships with Nvidia, Apple signal strong fundamentals amid $671M market cap
RENDER token crashes to $1.30 after plummeting 76% from its May 2025 high of $5.50, creating a stark disconnect between price action and explosive network growth.
The cryptocurrency’s market capitalization sits at $671 million following a 66% collapse from previous peaks, while the platform processes record-breaking 1.5 million frames monthly.
Trading volume of $28.7 million reflects an 87% monthly decline, yet network fundamentals surge to unprecedented levels across multiple metrics.
Price Crashes While Network Usage Explodes
The contrast between price performance and network activity reaches extreme levels. RENDER bleeds across all timeframes with a 3.59% drop in 24 hours, 17.63% decline over seven days, and catastrophic 49.97% collapse in 30 days.
Meanwhile, the network hit a monumental milestone of 67 million total frames rendered since inception. The data reveals something remarkable: 35% of all-time frames were processed in 2025 alone, making it the strongest year in platform history.
Network infrastructure expanded dramatically during the price decline. Active GPU nodes grew to 5,600 contributors powering the distributed rendering network.
Token burns reached 1.04 million RENDER tokens through network fee mechanisms. Monthly frame processing hit an all-time record of 1.5 million, demonstrating actual usage growth while token holders suffer massive losses. The divergence between utility metrics and price creates a puzzling scenario for market participants.
Social indicators suggest accumulation despite the carnage. Sentiment analysis shows 80% positive outlook among community members.
Social dominance spiked 158% while AltRank climbed 270 positions in just 30 days. Volume collapse of 87% over the past month signals capitulation-level selling or complete trader exhaustion. The question becomes whether this represents final washout or further downside ahead.
GPU demand for artificial intelligence workloads surges globally while RENDER prices tank. The platform sits at the intersection of two massive narratives: AI infrastructure and decentralized physical infrastructure networks.
Enterprise-grade hardware onboarding through RNP-021 brings NVIDIA H200 and AMD MI300X chips to the network.
These developments target professional-grade computational workloads worth billions in traditional cloud markets.
AI Expansion Launches as Token Holders Face Pain
RENDER launched AI rendering capabilities on January 26, 2026, marking a strategic pivot beyond traditional graphics rendering.
The Dispersed.com platform went live, aggregating global GPU resources for machine learning and AI model training.
This infrastructure directly addresses exploding demand for computational power in the AI sector. Partnerships with Nvidia, Apple, and Stability AI validate the technical approach and market positioning.
The fundamentals tell an insane story of growth. Processing 1.5 million frames monthly while burning over one million tokens creates deflationary pressure amid increasing utility. Network activity proves real users pay real fees for real computational work.
Enterprise GPU integration brings institutional-grade hardware to a decentralized network. The technical roadmap advances with Octane 2026 integration scheduled and RenderCon 2026 event planned.
Price action tells a brutal counter-narrative. The 76% collapse from $5.50 to $1.30 destroys holder value across the board. Market capitalization evaporated from roughly $1.9 billion to $671 million in less than a year.
Trading volume contraction suggests either accumulation by strong hands or complete market disinterest. Traditional investors face cognitive dissonance: fundamentals scream strength while charts scream weakness.
The setup creates a classic value versus momentum dilemma. Bears point to relentless selling pressure and macro headwinds crushing all risk assets.
Bulls highlight record network usage, strategic partnerships, and positioning in high-growth AI markets. The 87% volume decline could signal final capitulation or prolonged bear market ahead.
Either scenario presents radically different outcomes for current price levels and future potential.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) treasury company Strategy will lean more heavily on its perpetual preferred stock program to finance additional Bitcoin purchases, moving away from a reliance on issuing common stock. CEO Phong Le outlined the pivot during Bloomberg’s The Close, explaining that the company intends to shift from equity capital to preferred capital as a core funding channel. The move centers on Stretch (STRC), Strategy’s perpetual preferred offering launched in July, which targets investors seeking steadier returns through an annual dividend north of 11%. The instrument has been positioned as an alternative to diluting the company’s stock while it continues to amass BTC holdings. The development comes as Strategy eyes a broader rollout of STRC later in the year, signaling a potential shift in how corporate treasuries wield equity-like instruments to grow crypto reserves.
Le emphasized that the preferred stock will “take some seasoning” and marketing before traders fully embrace the product, but he remained upbeat about STRC’s trajectory. He told The Close that, in the course of this year, Stretch could become a cornerstone offering for Strategy as it seeks to fund further Bitcoin acquisitions. The company’s financing strategy has repeatedly leaned on STRC to finance BTC purchases since its inception, providing a mechanism to accumulate digital assets without triggering immediate dilution of common equity. The approach is part of a broader class of crypto treasuries that use perpetual preferreds to balance income generation with asset accumulation.
STRC, which was introduced to market as Strategy’s fourth perpetual preferred instrument, was explicitly designed to appeal to buyers seeking long-term stability. It carries an annual dividend and is marketed as a capital-structure play rather than a plain equity raise. The instrument’s structure aims to deliver predictable income while enabling Strategy to keep building its Bitcoin stack. The narrative around STRC has fed into a wider discussion about how corporate treasuries are managing liquidity, risk, and exposure to crypto markets without immediately triggering shareholder dilution. Critics, however, have warned that the space has grown crowded and that some companies’ holdings now exceed their market capitalization, raising questions about concentration risk and governance.
Strategy could restart offerings as STRC hits $100
In late trading, STRC regained its par value of $100 for the first time since mid-January, a development Le described as the “story of the day.” The move back to par could unlock renewed appetite for STRC issuances, potentially enabling Strategy to fund additional Bitcoin purchases without issuing new common shares. Earlier this month, the stock traded under $94 when Bitcoin briefly slid below $60,000, underscoring how BTC price dynamics can influence the attractiveness of STRC as a funding mechanism. With Bitcoin trading roughly around $66,800, the market environment remains relatively constructive for asset accumulation through alternative financing vehicles, even as volatility lingers on near-term horizons.
Bitcoin’s price trajectory has been steady but not spectacular in the immediate term, hovering around the mid-$66,000s after peaking above $68,000 intraday. The price backdrop supports narratives that corporate treasuries can pursue more disciplined, income-generating avenues for finance, while still chasing the long-term upside of BTC exposure. The evolving dynamics around STRC and similar instruments come as crypto returns and risk sentiment influence decisions across corporate balance sheets, with issuers seeking to optimize cost of capital and dilution concerns in parallel.
Buying Bitcoin treasury rivals a “distraction”
Analysts have cautioned that the crypto treasury space is becoming crowded as several firms vie for a relatively small pool of traders and investors. In a crowded market, some observers warn that corporate treasuries could face diminishing marginal value as more players announce similar funding structures. The fragmentation raises questions about price discovery, liquidity, and the true strategic value of perpetual preferreds in maintaining BTC accumulation over the long run.
Related: Saylor’s Strategy buys $90M in Bitcoin as price trades below cost basis
Beyond pure competition concerns, Le dismissed the notion that Strategy would pursue aggressive consolidation through acquisitions of underperforming peers. He argued that focusing on the core STRC product is preferable to pursuing opportunistic takeovers, likening the approach to other technology or finance markets where companies emphasize product development over opportunistic acquisitions. “In any new market, whether it be electric cars or AI or SaaS software, you want to focus on your core product,” Le said. “It would be a distraction to go buy, at a discount to net asset value, another digital asset treasury company.”
As the wider market digests these developments, Strategy’s stock, traded as MSTR, closed down more than 5% at $126.14, reflecting a sentiment that remains cautious in the near term even as STRC gains traction. The price action underscores the delicate balance investors weigh between funded BTC accumulation and the potential dilution risk associated with new equity or preferred stock offerings. The discussion around STRC also feeds into broader debates about how corporate treasuries manage risk, yield, and the opportunity cost of capital when BTC becomes a strategic asset rather than a speculative instrument.
To contextualize the conversation, industry observers have pointed to a broader trend: as more companies adopt crypto treasuries, the market could see consolidation through mergers and acquisitions or more aggressive share-issuing strategies when faced with capital needs. Yet Strategy’s leadership seems intent on refining its preferred-stock route rather than chasing rapid expansion through bolder balance-sheet moves. The decision to prioritize a steady, dividend-bearing instrument aligns with a philosophy of measured growth and risk control, even as BTC remains a volatile, high-beta asset that can swing strategic outcomes in a single trading session.
In parallel, the crypto treasury sector has become a focal point for investors seeking visibility into how corporate treasuries navigate liquidity, risk, and regulatory constraints. Analysts suggest that while the category has matured in some respects, it remains a moving target shaped by Bitcoin’s price action, macroeconomic conditions, and evolving market structure. The emergence of streaming discussions around STRC and similar products indicates a willingness among issuers to experiment with bespoke capital-structure solutions as legitimate means of funding crypto purchases. The question remains: how durable will these instruments prove in different market regimes, and will investor demand stabilize as more issuers publish performance data and governance disclosures?
Why it matters
For investors, Strategy’s pivot toward preferred stock as a primary funding mechanism highlights a shift in how crypto treasuries can balance income with exposure to Bitcoin outright. The STRC instrument promises yield and stability, potentially reducing the pressure to issue more common stock and mitigate dilution. If STRC continues to perform and attract sufficient investor interest, Strategy could emerge as a case study for how treasuries combine traditional fixed-income features with crypto exposure to create a hybrid financing model.
From a market perspective, the development reinforces the idea that institutional players are increasingly treating BTC as a fundamental corporate asset rather than a speculative risk. The use of perpetual preferreds could provide a template for other issuers seeking to augment BTC reserves without triggering immediate equity dilution. Yet the crowded nature of the space also invites closer scrutiny of governance, risk management, and the alignment of incentives between a company’s treasury activities and shareholder interests. The balance between discipline in funding and the pursuit of BTC upside remains a central tension, one that Strategy appears intent on navigating with caution and clarity.
For builders and researchers, the case raises questions about the transparency of crypto-treasury deals, the long-term performance of perpetual preferreds in crypto contexts, and how such instruments should be regulated as they gain traction in mainstream finance. The evolving narrative around STRC and related products could influence product design, disclosure standards, and investor education as more firms explore innovative capital-structure solutions to support digital-asset accumulation.
What to watch next
- Progress in STRC marketing and adoption, including any new issuances or marketing milestones (dates to watch).
- Bitcoin price movements and any corresponding shifts in Strategy’s BTC purchase cadence or balance-sheet disclosures.
- Regulatory developments affecting corporate crypto treasuries and preferred-stock financings.
- Q3 and Q4 earnings context for Strategy (or related entities) that could reflect changes in capital-raising strategies.
- Market sentiment indicators for crypto treasuries, including liquidity and trading volumes for perpetual-preferred products.
Sources & verification
- Bloomberg – Phong Le interview on The Close discussing Strategy’s move from equity capital to preferred capital and STRC’s role (YouTube link provided in original coverage).
- Cointelegraph – Strategy raises $2B in preferred stock to back Bitcoin purchases (article detailing STRC launch and purpose).
- Cointelegraph – Why Saylor’s Strategy keeps buying Bitcoin: Long-term investment rationale and treasury approach.
- Cointelegraph – Saylor/Strategy buys $90M in Bitcoin as price trades below cost basis (context on BTC purchases and treasury activity).
- Cointelegraph – Crypto treasury more merger/acquisition cycle mature (analysis of competitive dynamics in the treasury space).
What to watch next
Market development and official disclosures in the coming quarters will be critical to assess STRC’s effectiveness as a funding tool and Strategy’s broader strategy for growing its BTC holdings through preferred-stock issuances.
The American Bankers Association (ABA) is urging the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to slow its approval of national trust bank charters for crypto and stablecoin firms until the regulatory landscape under the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act is clearer.
In a Wednesday comment letter on the OCC’s national bank chartering notice of proposed rulemaking, the trade group warned that recent and future applicants engaged in stablecoin and digital asset activities face still‑unsettled oversight from multiple federal and state regulators.
The ABA said that the OCC should not advance applications where an institution’s full regulatory obligations, including under forthcoming GENIUS Act rulemakings, are not yet fully defined.
The association warned that uninsured, digital asset‑focused national trusts raise unresolved safety and soundness, operational and resolution issues, particularly around the segregation of customer assets, conflicts of interest and cybersecurity.
Related: OCC boss says ‘no justification’ to judge banks and crypto differently
It also cautioned that national trust charters could be used to avoid registration and scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) when firms engage in activities that would otherwise trigger securities or derivatives regulation.
The ABA urged the OCC to be “patient,” resist applying traditional timing expectations to these applications, and ensure each charter applicant’s regulatory responsibilities “come fully into view” before moving applications forward.
The association further called for greater transparency around how the OCC calibrates capital, operational and resilience standards in conditional approvals for crypto‑related charters, and pressed the agency to tighten naming rules so that limited‑purpose trust banks that are not engaged in the business of banking cannot use “bank” in their names.
That, it argued, would reduce the risk of consumer confusion about the status and safety of obligations at uninsured entities.
Related: Stablecoin rewards provisions face industry test in Senate crypto bill
Warning after new crypto trust charters
The intervention comes less than two months after the OCC granted conditional national trust bank approvals to five crypto firms: Bitgo Bank & Trust, Fidelity Digital Assets, Ripple National Trust Bank, First National Digital Currency Bank, and Paxos Trust Company.
On Dec. 12, 2025, the OCC greenlighted a path for these companies to hold and manage customer digital assets under a federal charter while remaining outside the deposit-taking and lending business.
The same banking lobby is also pressing Congress, through pending crypto market structure legislation such as the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, to curb stablecoin rewards, contending that yield‑bearing stablecoins and affiliate “rewards” programs would function as bank‑like products without being subject to the full bank regulatory regime.
Magazine: When privacy and AML laws conflict — Crypto projects’ impossible choice
PIPPIN price has shot up nearly 200% over the past week, driven by sharp demand from futures traders. Is the meme coin set to see more gains, or will it crash?
Summary
- PIPPIN price rallied 200% over the past week, primarily driven by a spike in speculative trading.
- The meme coin has confirmed a rounded bottom pattern on the daily chart.
According to data from crypto.news, the Pippin (PIPPIN) price rallied over 200% in the past 7 days to a high of $0.52, which is roughly 7% short of breaking past its previous all-time high of $0.55 hit last month.
The PIPPIN rally appears to be mostly fueled by increased speculative activity, as traders aggressively opened bullish positions in the derivatives market, a trend common among high-volatility meme coins where momentum is often driven by leverage rather than fundamental developments.
Data from CoinGlass shows that PIPPIN futures open interest has jumped to an all-time high of $217 million, nearly four times the amount recorded nearly a week ago. At the same time, the long/short ratio stood above 1, suggesting more investors were betting on further price increases.
Open Interest reflects the total number of outstanding derivative contracts that have not been settled. When a surge in Open Interest comes along with the price rise of an asset, it indicates new money entering the market.
Meanwhile, the aggregated funding rate was positive at press time at 0.0070%, which shows that long position holders were paying fees to short sellers, conditions that help support continued upward momentum.
It should, however, be noted that PIPPIN’s rally came without the backing of any major news or development from the project’s team. Its official X account has not posted anything since August last year.
Despite this lack of official communication, the retail sentiment surrounding the token has remained bullish, as seen in CoinMarketCap.
Another point of concern is the market-wide downturn fueled by Bitcoin’s underperformance over the past trading sessions. Crypto investors are currently spooked by concerns over another U.S. government shutdown and uncertainty over Fed policy direction.
On the daily chart, PIPPIN price appears to be forming the cup of a multi-week cup and handle pattern, which has been developing since late January.
The cup and handle pattern is one of the most bullish continuation patterns that often signals an existing uptrend is likely to resume after a period of consolidation. The cup in itself is also formed of a rounded bottom pattern, which is yet another bullish indicator by itself.
At press time, the PIPPIN price had already broken above the neckline of the rounded bottom formed.
Considering this, the Solana-based meme coin could likely continue to be in an uptrend, with the path of least resistance appearing to be a bullish move to new highs around $0.89, calculated by adding the height of the rounded bottom formed to the point at which the price crossed the neckline.
Looking at technical indicators also gives us a grounded view of such a bullish forecast. Notably, the supertrend indicator has flashed green while the MACD lines have pointed upwards, both signs that bulls still have significant control over the market price action.
Unless the current upward momentum is hampered by macroeconomic headwinds, PIPPIN’s technical breakout is expected to serve as a bullish catalyst.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
TLDR
- The Pentagon is urging AI companies to make their tools available on classified networks.
- Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael highlighted AI’s role in all classification levels.
- OpenAI and Anthropic are negotiating military use of their tools with varying degrees of restriction.
- OpenAI has agreed to provide its models on unclassified networks under genai.mil.
- Anthropic has expressed concerns over military use in weapon targeting and domestic surveillance.
The Pentagon is pushing for top AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic to make their tools available on classified networks. The military aims to expand the deployment of AI across both classified and unclassified domains. The move has sparked debate between the Pentagon and AI companies over usage restrictions.
Pentagon Aims to Deploy AI Tools on All Classification Levels
According to a Reuters report, Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael urged tech executives to provide AI models for use on both classified and unclassified networks.
“The Pentagon is moving to deploy frontier AI capabilities across all classification levels,” a government official stated.
Currently, AI companies mainly offer their tools for unclassified networks, but this push marks a shift in the military’s strategy. The military seeks to use AI’s power to synthesize data and assist decision-making processes.
However, many AI models have built-in safeguards to prevent misuse. These safeguards have led to tension as Pentagon officials argue for fewer restrictions on deployment, saying the tools should be accessible as long as they comply with U.S. laws.
Ongoing Negotiations with AI Companies
The Pentagon has engaged in ongoing talks with leading AI firms about military applications. OpenAI recently struck a deal with the Pentagon to make its tools available on an unclassified network, known as genai.mil. As part of the agreement, OpenAI removed many restrictions but kept some safeguards in place to ensure safe usage.
While OpenAI’s agreement focuses on unclassified networks, discussions with Anthropic have been more complex. Anthropic executives have expressed concerns about using their models for weapon targeting or domestic surveillance. The company, however, is working with the Department of War to find ways to support national security missions while maintaining its guidelines.
These developments signal a shift in how AI will be integrated into the military. The Pentagon continues to explore the potential of AI tools in critical missions, despite concerns over their reliability in high-risk situations.
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