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Crypto Daybook Americas: Inflation May Just Provide a Santa Spark
By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)
If you’re waiting for a spark to ignite a Santa rally in bitcoin and the wider crypto market, today’s U.S. inflation release might just be it.
Initially, I wasn’t sure the report matters anymore. Obsessing over prices feels so 2022, when inflation was through the roof and the Fed squarely focused on interest-rate hikes to tame the beast. Recently, though, CPI has been below 3% and the Fed has cut rates, focusing on balancing employment and price stability.
The November report is <a href=»https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/asian-stocks-fluctuate-as-traders-await-us-cpi/articleshow/116192395.cms?from=mdr» target=»_blank»>expected to show</a> a slight uptick in price pressures and there are two reasons to keep an eye on it. Firstly, BTC bulls and bears are having a showdown near the all-important $100,000 level and might look to fundamental/macro news to reassert themselves. A softer-than-expected inflation print will likely validate Fed rate cut bets, potentially strengthening the bull grip for a sustained move above $100K. ETH might see bigger gains, having experienced a classic «throwback,» or a bullish retest of a breakout point, near $3,600 in the last 24 hours.
But if the data comes in hotter than estimated, especially the core figure, it could add to the dollar’s bull momentum and energize bitcoin bears, who have an advantage heading into the data release. Data shared by Hyblock Capital overnight showed a 50% order-book imbalance, with more limit sells than buys. Cardano’s ADA is also feeling the pinch, with slippage spikes hinting at worsening liquidity.
The second reason is that the U.S. Treasury market has been a picture of calm recently, with its volatility gauge, MOVE, plunging to 85 from 136. So, what better than CPI to stir it up again, sending ripples across financial markets. Let’s see how it goes. Bank of America said it <a href=»https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/us-inflation-stock-market-outlook-november-cpi-bank-of-america-2024-12″ target=»_blank»>expects</a> the report to breed equity market volatility.
Looking past inflation, I want to reiterate the importance of watching the Far-East. Reuters reports that China could allow the <a href=»https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/chinese-authorities-are-considering-weaker-yuan-trump-trade-risks-loom-sources-2024-12-11/» target=»_blank»>yuan to depreciate next year</a> in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s poposed tariffs. While that may drive Chinese investors toward crypto, as the popular narrative says, a rapid decline might force the PBOC to intervene, <a href=»https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/05/31/crypto-traders-need-to-pay-attention-to-chinese-yuan-heres-why» target=»_blank»>inadvertently strengthening</a> the dollar and tightening global financial conditions. That’s typically not great news for risk assets like BTC.
Elsewhere, Bloomberg’s observers said that Nasdaq might add MicroStrategy (MSTR) to its index, which might inject $2.1 billion of buying demand into the stock. MSTR has been <a href=»https://www.businessinsider.com/microstrategy-bitcoin-100000-michael-saylor-crypto-markets-investing-strategy-analysis-2024-12#:~:text=%22MicroStrategy%20is%20literally%20borrowing%20USD,bitcoin%20is%20more%20widely%20adopted.%22″ target=»_blank»>literally borrowing</a> dollars to buy BTC, becoming a leveraged bet on the cryptocurrency. But remember, leverage works both ways; what goes up faster can also come down harder.
That’s plenty of macros to chew on today. Stay alert!
What to Watch
Crypto:
Dec. 13: The annual Nasdaq-100 reconstitution. Changes to the index, if any, are announced on this day. MicroStrategy (MSTR), the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin, is widely expected to be added to the index.
Dec. 18: CleanSpark (CLSK) Q4 FY 2024 earnings. EPS Est. $-0.18 vs Prev. $-1.02.
Macro
Dec. 11, 8:30 a.m.: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases November’s <a href=»https://www.bls.gov/cpi/» target=»_blank»>Consumer Price Index (CPI)</a> data.
Inflation Rate YoY Est. 2.7% vs Prev. 2.6%
Core Inflation Rate YoY Est. 3.3% vs Prev. 3.3%
Dec. 11, 9:45 a.m.: The Bank of Canada announces its <a href=»https://www.bankofcanada.ca/core-functions/monetary-policy/key-interest-rate/» target=»_blank»>policy interest rate</a> (also known as overnight target rate and overnight lending rate). Est. 3.25% vs Prev. 3.75%. A press conference starts at 10:30 a.m. <a href=»https://youtu.be/x-motc1cW8s» target=»_blank»>Livestream link</a>
Dec. 12, 8:15 a.m.: The European Central Bank (ECB) announces its latest <a href=»https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/activities/mopo/html/index.en.html» target=»_blank»>monetary policy decision</a> (three key interest rates), followed by a <a href=»https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/press_conference/html/index.en.html» target=»_blank»>press conference</a> at 8:45 a.m.
Deposit facility interest rate Est. 3.0% vs Prev. 3.25%.
Main refinancing operations interest rate Est. 3.15% vs Prev. 3.4%.
Marginal lending facility interest rate Prev. 3.65%.
Dec. 12, 8:30 a.m. The U.S. Department of Labor releases the <a href=»https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf» target=»_blank»>Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report </a>for the week ended Dec. 7. Initial Jobless Claims Est. 220K vs Prev. 224K.
Token Events
Governance votes & calls
The Sandbox DAO is holding a vote to allocate $102,000 in funding to develop Deep Sea, a horror game. The vote will end on Dec. 25.
Spartan Council is holding a vote on updating trading fee distribution in favor of liquidity providers on Synthetix exchange.
Unlocks
Aptos (APT) will unlock $132 million worth of tokens at 16:00 UTC on Dec. 11.
Arbitrum (ARB) will unlock $88 million worth of tokens on Dec. 16.
Token Launches
Fuel Network announced the introduction of a new token (FUEL), with issuance planned within the next two weeks.
Conferences:
Dec. 9 — 12: <a href=»https://adfw.com/» target=»_blank»>Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2024</a> (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
Dec. 9 — 13: <a href=»https://www.blockchainweek.lu/» target=»_blank»>Luxembourg Blockchain Week 2024</a>
Dec. 12 — 13: <a href=»https://www.globalblockchainshow.com/» target=»_blank»>Global Blockchain Show</a> (Dubai, UAE)
Dec. 12 — 14: <a href=»https://www.taipeiblockchainweek.com/» target=»_blank»>Taipei Blockchain Week 2024</a> (Taipei, Taiwan)
Dec. 13: <a href=»https://www.limitlesscrypto.com/» target=»_blank»>Limitless Crypto 2024</a> (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Dec. 16 — 17: <a href=»https://theblockchainassociation.org/policy-summit-2024/» target=»_blank»>Blockchain Association’s Policy Summit</a> (Washington D.C.)
Jan. 13 — 24: <a href=»https://web3fest.ch/swiss-web3fest/» target=»_blank»>Swiss WEB3FEST Winter Edition 2025</a> (Zug, Zurich, St. Moritz, Davos)
Jan. 17: <a href=»https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/about/clubs-and-associations/institutions/entrepreneur-association-ea/unchained» target=»_blank»>Unchained: Blockchain Business Forum 2025</a> (Los Angeles)
Jan. 18: <a href=»https://bitcoinday.io/» target=»_blank»>BitcoinDay</a> (Napes, Florida)
Jan. 21: <a href=»https://www.tokenizationsummit.de/eng» target=»_blank»>Frankfurt Tokenization Conference 2025</a>
Token Talk
By Shaurya Malwa
You might find memecoins to be a whimsical part of the crypto market, but they are proving to be serious business for exchange upstarts.
Memecoin trading propelled Solana-based Raydium to top the decentralized exchange (DEX) rankings by volume for the second straight month in November, eclipsing long-time leader Uniswap with $124.6 billion in volume versus $90.5 billion.
Raydium captured over 60% of the daily total DEX volume last month. A significant portion, peaking at 65%, came from trading in memecoins, according to a Messari report released Tuesday.
This growth mirrors a larger shift in the market, with Solana’s daily DEX volume overtaking Ethereum’s. In November, Solana commanded nearly 50% of the DEX activity across all blockchains; Ethereum captured 18%.
Memecoins on Solana are known for their high volatility, attracting traders looking for quick gains, and their speculative nature has led to significant trading volumes. For more on memecoins and Solana, check out the profile of <a href=»https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2024/12/10/ansem-the-memecoin-king» target=»_blank»>Ansem, the Memecoin King</a>, in <a href=»https://www.coindesk.com/coindesk-news/2024/12/05/most-influential-2024″ target=»_blank»>CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2024</a>.
The latest trend is AI agents, or meme tokens that claim to use AI for products such as financial research or music creation. Tokens like AI16Z and ZEREBRO have run to market caps in excess of $300 million from under under $10,000 in a few weeks.
Memecoins often start trading on Raydium after hitting market cap thresholds on <a href=»https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/12/10/pump-fun-solana-s-memecoin-juggernaut» target=»_blank»>launch platforms like Pump.fun</a> — the most-used token issuance platform and another of CoinDesk’s most influential — giving it a stream of new tokens every day.
Such activity has minted Raydium developers’ revenue of over $25 million since October, more than $500 million since January. That’s 10 times the<a href=»https://defillama.com/protocol/raydium#fees-revenue» target=»_blank»> $44 million the DEX made in 2023</a>, DefLLama data shows.
A few people are probably wishing the frenzy never ends.
Derivatives Positioning
Perpetual funding rates in small-cap tokens, often considered a proxy for speculative frenzy, are no longer overheated and have normalized to levels seen in bitcoin and ether.
BTC options flows continue to lean bullish, with notable activity in calls at the $130,000 and $150,000 strikes expiring in February and March, respectively.
Strong uptake has been seen for ETH $3,300 put expiring Dec. 20 and $3,750 call expiring Dec. 13.
Friday expiry BTC and ETH puts are trading at a slight premium to calls, reflecting concern of short-term downside volatility.
Market Movements:
BTC is up 1.44 % from 4 p.m. ET Tuesday to $98,278.92 (24hrs: +0.53%)
ETH is up 1.95% at $3,710.30 (24hrs: -0.88%)
CoinDesk 20 is up 3% to 3,688.50 (24hrs: +1.49%)
Ether staking yield is up 24 bps to 3.47%
BTC funding rate is at 0.01% (10.95% annualized) on Binance
DXY is up 0.31% at 106.73
Gold is up 1% at $2,724.5/oz
Silver is up 0.53% to $32.53/oz
Nikkei 225 closed unchanged at 39,372.23
Hang Seng closed -0.77% at 20,155.05
FTSE is unchanged at 8,283.83
Euro Stoxx 50 is unchanged at 4,950.03
DJIA closed on Tuesday -0.35% to 44,247.83
S&P 500 closed -0.3% at 6,034.91
Nasdaq closed -0.25% at 19,687.24
S&P/TSX Composite Index closed -0.47% at 25,504.30
S&P 40 Latin America closed +0.21% at 2,361.59
U.S. 10-year Treasury was unchanged at 4.24%
E-mini S&P 500 futures are unchanged at 6,051.00
E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures are up 0.2% to 21,447.75
E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average Index futures are down 0.17% at 44,258.00
Bitcoin Stats:
BTC Dominance: 56.88% (-0.11%)
Ethereum to bitcoin ratio: 0.03782 (0.67%)
Hashrate (seven-day moving average): 773 EH/s
Hashprice (spot): $60.19
Total Fees: 15.87 BTC / $1.55M
CME Futures Open Interest: 194K BTC
BTC priced in gold: 35.6 oz
BTC vs gold market cap: 10.38%
Bitcoin sitting in over-the-counter desk balances: 432.09K BTC
Basket Performance
Technical Analysis
The chart shows a successful <a href=»https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/06/14/bitcoins-price-throwback-suggests-potential-for-rally-to-37k-valkyrie-investments» target=»_blank»>throwback</a>, or bullish-retest, of a breakout point in ETH.
An asset typically sees a throwback to crowd out weak hands before staging a strong rally.
Crypto Equities
MicroStrategy (MSTR): closed on Tuesday at $377.32 (+3.28%), up 1.77% at $384.00 in pre-market.
Coinbase Global (COIN): closed at $302.42 (-2.61%), up 3.12% at $311.85 in pre-market.
Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY): closed at C$25.98 (-2.77%)
MARA Holdings (MARA): closed at $22.81 (-4.4%), up 1.95% at $23.25 in pre-market.
Riot Platforms (RIOT): closed at $11.10 (-0.98%), up 1.26% at $11.24 in pre-market.
Core Scientific (CORZ): closed at $15.78 (-1.62%), up 0.95% at $15.93 in pre-market.
CleanSpark (CLSK): closed at $12.94 (-4.57%), up 1.47% at $13.13 in pre-market.
CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): closed at $27.13 (-5.07%), up 3.32% at $28.03 in pre-market.
Semler Scientific (SMLR): closed at $59.83 (-3.69%), up 1.09% at $60.48 in pre-market.
ETF Flows
Spot BTC ETFs:
Daily net inflow: $438.5 million
Cumulative net inflows: $34.32 billion
Total BTC holdings ~ 1.113 million.
Spot ETH ETFs
Daily net inflow: $305.7 million
Cumulative net inflows: $1.86 billion
Total ETH holdings ~ 3.323 million.
Source: <a href=»https://farside.co.uk/btc/» target=»_blank»>Farside Investors</a>
Overnight Flows
Chart of the Day
The Truflation index, which uses data from over 30 sources including Amazon, Walmart and Zillow, to create an index of prices for goods and services, has surged to 2.84%, the highest since September 2023.
Its a sign of sticky price pressures that may soon show up in the official CPI figures.
While You Were Sleeping
<a href=»https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/12/10/binance-partners-with-circle-to-push-usdc-stablecoin-adoption-across-the-globe» target=»_blank»>Binance Partners With Circle to Push USDC Stablecoin Adoption Across the Globe</a> (CoinDesk): Binance will adopt Circle’s USDC for its corporate treasury and work with the company to make it easier for customers to use the stablecoin for trading, savings and payments.
<a href=»https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/12/11/bitcoin-s-100-k-breakout-pause-likely-due-to-liquidity-factors-and-nvidias-stalled-rally» target=»_blank»>Bitcoin’s $100K Breakout Pause Likely Due to Liquidity Factors and Nvidia’s Stalled Rally</a> (CoinDesk): Bitcoin remains range-bound between $90,000 and $100,000, held back by slowing liquidity inflows and a weakening correlation with Nvidia stock, whose recent momentum has also slowed.
<a href=»https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/south-koreas-martial-law-chaos-deepens-with-a-suicide-attempt-and-raids-bdc2efe7″ target=»_blank»>South Korea’s Martial-Law Chaos Deepens, With a Suicide Attempt and Raids</a> (The Wall Street Journal): South Korea’s political turmoil escalated with the former defense minister’s suicide attempt on Tuesday and a police raid on the presidential office on Wednesday.
<a href=»https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/12/10/magic-edens-5-b-token-airdrop-raises-crypto-wallet-security-questions» target=»_blank»>Magic Eden’s $5B Token Airdrop Raises Crypto Wallet Security Questions</a> (CoinDesk): NFT marketplace Magic Eden’s ME token launch faced challenges, including a complex claim process raising security concerns and heavy selling that quickly drove down its price.
<a href=»https://www.ft.com/content/8cc8fa3f-ce2c-463a-90a0-6cc4bb02c091″ target=»_blank»>US Stocks Rally Set to Slow as Investor ‘Euphoria’ Fades, Say Big Banks</a> (Financial Times): Wall Street banks expect the S&P 500 to rise only 8% in 2025, reflecting concerns over elevated valuations, slowing AI-related growth, cautious sentiment toward Big Tech and uncertainties tied to President-elect Donald Trump’s policies.
<a href=»https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/bank-england-set-stay-central-bank-slow-lane-keep-rates-hold-2024-12-11/» target=»_blank»>Bank of England Set to Stay in Central Bank Slow Lane, Keep Rates on Hold</a> (Reuters): Analysts expect the Bank of England to hold the benchmark interest rate at 4.75% on Dec. 19, citing concerns that increased government spending and higher employer taxes in the recent budget may fuel inflation.
In the Ether
HBAR spent much of the past 23 hours locked in a narrow range, oscillating between $0.23 and $0.24 in what amounted to just 2% volatility. The token briefly touched session highs at $0.24 on Sept. 16 around 18:00 UTC before sliding lower, ultimately finding repeated support near $0.23. Multiple rebound attempts from that level throughout Sept. 17’s morning trading hinted at a potential price floor, though conviction remained limited.
Market activity tapered alongside the price drift. Trading volumes fell steadily after an early spike, underscoring weakening participation and suggesting that bullish momentum has largely faded. The constrained range and muted volatility reinforced the impression of indecision, with buyers and sellers unwilling to press for a breakout.
The final hour of the observed period offered a sharper display of market sentiment. At 13:33 UTC on Sept. 17, HBAR sold off abruptly from $0.24 to $0.23, accompanied by an outsized 2.56 million in volume just three minutes later. Yet the coin staged a measured recovery, climbing back to end near session highs, encapsulating the day’s push and pull between sellers and opportunistic dip buyers.
Overall, HBAR slipped 1% across the 23-hour window. While the establishment of support around $0.23 provides some stability, declining volumes and sustained downward pressure leave the market vulnerable. The swift sell-off and subsequent rebound illustrate the uncertainty still shaping HBAR’s outlook, with bearish sentiment prevailing but tempered by signs of technical resilience.
Technical Indicators Assessment
- Price action demonstrated consolidation within a 2% range between $0.23-$0.24 resistance and support thresholds.
- Volume contracted from 45.7 million to 4.7 million tokens indicating deteriorating market participation.
- Multiple rebounds at $0.23 support level suggest potential price floor establishment.
- Acute sell-off at 13:33 followed by recovery indicates volatile intraday sentiment fluctuations.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly wrap of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, a reporter at CoinDesk.
In this issue:
- Ethereum Faces Validator Bottleneck With 2.5M ETH Awaiting Exit
- Is Ethereum’s DeFi Future on L2s? Liquidity, Innovation Say Perhaps Yes
- Ethereum Foundation Starts New AI Team to Support Agentic Payments
- American Express Introduces Blockchain-Based ‘Travel Stamps’
Network News
ETHEREUM VALIDATOR EXIT QUEUE FACES BOTTLENECK: Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system is facing its largest test yet. As of mid-September, roughly 2.5 million ETH — valued at roughly $11.25 billion — is waiting to leave the validator set, according to validator queue dashboards. The backlog pushed exit wait times to more than 46 days on Sept. 14, the longest in Ethereum’s short staking history, dashboards show. The last peak, in August, put the exit queue at 18 days. The initial spark came on Sept. 9, when Kiln, a large infrastructure provider, chose to exit all of its validators as a safety precaution. The move, triggered by recent security incidents including the NPM supply-chain attack and the SwissBorg breach, pushed around 1.6 million ETH into the queue at once. Though unrelated to Ethereum’s staking protocol itself, the hacks rattled confidence enough for Kiln to hit pause, highlighting how events in the broader crypto ecosystem can cascade into Ethereum’s validator dynamics. In a blog post from staking provider Figment, Senior Analyst Benjamin Thalman noted that the current exit queue build up isn’t only about security. After ETH has rallied more than 160% since April, some stakers are simply taking profits. Others, especially institutional players, are shifting their portfolios’ exposure. At the same time, the number of validators entering the Ethereum staking ecosystem has been steadily rising. Ethereum’s churn limit, which is a protocol safeguard that caps how many validators can enter or exit over a certain time period, is currently capped at 256 ETH per epoch (about 6.4 minutes), restricting how quickly validators can join or leave the network. The churn limit is meant to keep the network stable. With more than 2.5M ETH lined up, stakers on Sept. 16 face 44 days before even reaching the cooldown step. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
IS L2 DEFI EATING AT ETHEREUM’S L1 DEFI?: Ethereum is in the midst of a paradox. Even as ether hit record highs in late August, decentralized finance (DeFi) activity on Ethereum’s layer-1 (L1) looks muted compared to its peak in late 2021. Fees collected on mainnet in August were just $44 million, a 44% drop from the prior month. Meanwhile, layer-2 (L2) networks like Arbitrum and Base are booming, with $20 billion and $15 billion in total value locked (TVL) respectively. This divergence raises a crucial question: are L2s cannibalizing Ethereum’s DeFi activity, or is the ecosystem evolving into a multi-layered financial architecture? AJ Warner, the chief strategy officer of Offchain Labs, the developer firm behind layer-2 Arbitrum, argues that the metrics are more nuanced than just layer-2 DeFi chipping at the layer 1.In an interview with CoinDesk, Warner said that focusing solely on TVL misses the point, and that Ethereum is increasingly functioning as crypto’s “global settlement layer,” a foundation for high-value issuance and institutional activity. Products like Franklin Templeton’s tokenized funds or BlackRock’s BUIDL product launch directly on Ethereum L1 — activity that isn’t fully captured in DeFi metrics but underscores Ethereum’s role as the bedrock of crypto finance. Ethereum as a layer-1 blockchain is the secure but relatively slow and expensive base network. Layer-2s are scaling networks built on top of it, designed to handle transactions faster and at a fraction of the cost before ultimately settling back to Ethereum for security. That’s why they’ve become so appealing to traders and builders alike. Metrics like TVL, the amount of crypto deposited in DeFi protocols, highlight this shift as activity is moved to L2s where lower fees and quicker confirmations make everyday DeFi far more practical. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
EF STARTS DECENTRALIZED AI TEAM: The Ethereum Foundation (EF) is creating a dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) group to make Ethereum the settlement and coordination layer for what it calls the “machine economy,” according to research scientist Davide Crapis. Crapis, who announced the initiative on X, said the new dAI Team will pursue two priorities: enabling AI agents to pay and coordinate without intermediaries, and building a decentralized AI stack that avoids reliance on a small number of large companies. He said Ethereum’s neutrality, verifiability and censorship resistance make it a natural base layer for intelligent systems. The EF is a non-profit organization based in Zug, Switzerland, that funds and coordinates the development of the Ethereum blockchain. It does not control the network but plays a catalytic role by supporting researchers, developers and ecosystem projects. Its remit includes funding upgrades such as Ethereum 2.0, zero-knowledge proofs and layer-2 scaling, alongside community programs like the Ecosystem Support Program. The foundation also organizes events such as Devcon to foster collaboration and acts as a policy advocate for blockchain adoption. In 2025, EF restructured to handle Ethereum’s growth, emphasizing ecosystem acceleration, founder support and enterprise outreach. The new dAI Team represents a continuation of this shift toward specialized units addressing emerging technologies. — Siamak Masnavi Read more.
AMERICAN EXPRESS DABBLES IN BLOCKCHAIN TRAVEL STAMPS: American Express has introduced Ethereum-based «travel stamps» to create a commemorative record of travel experiences. The travel experience tokens, which are technically NFTs (ERC 721 tokens), are minted and stored on Coinbase’s Base network, said Colin Marlowe, vice president of Emerging Partnerships at Amex Digital Labs. The travel stamps, which can be collected anytime a traveler uses their card, are not tradable NTF tokens, Marlowe said, and neither do they function like blockchain-based loyalty points — at least for the time being. “It’s a valueless ERC-721, so technically an NFT, but we just didn’t brand it as such. We wanted to speak to it in a way that was natural for the travel experience itself, and so we talk about these things as stamps, and they’re represented as tokens,” Marlowe said in an interview. “As an identifier and representation of history the stamps could create interesting partnership angles over time. We weren’t trying to sell these or sort of generate any like short term revenue. The angle is to make a travel experience with Amex feel really rich, really different, and kind of set it apart,” he said. Fireblocks is also involved, supporting Amex as its Wallet-as-a-Service provider for the passport product, a Fireblocks representative said. The Amex travel app also includes a range of tools for travels and Centurion Lounge upgrades, the company said. – Ian Allison Read more.
In Other News
- Blockchain-based real world asset (RWA) specialists Centrifuge and Plume have launched the Anemoy Tokenized Apollo Diversified Credit Fund (ACRDX), backed by a $50 million anchor investment from Grove, a credit infrastructure protocol within the Sky Ecosystem. The fund gives blockchain investors exposure to Apollo’s diversified global credit strategy, spanning direct corporate lending, asset-backed lending and dislocated credit, a type of mispriced debt due to market stress and lack of liquidity. ACRDX will be distributed through Plume’s Nest Credit vaults under the ticker nACRDX, making the strategy accessible to institutional investors on-chain. By packaging Apollo’s portfolio in tokenized form, the fund aims to lower entry barriers and increase transparency for investors seeking exposure to private credit markets, according to a press release. — Ian Allison Read more.
- Google is taking a step toward merging artificial intelligence (AI) and digital money, rolling out a new open-source protocol that lets AI applications send and receive payments, which includes support for stablecoins, digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar, according to a press release. To incorporate stablecoin rails, Google teamed up with the U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase, which has been developing its own AI-integrated payments infrastructure. The company also worked with the Ethereum Foundation and coordinated with more than 60 other organizations, including Salesforce, American Express and Etsy, to cover traditional finance use cases. The move builds on Google’s earlier work to establish a standard for “AI agents.” These digital agents may eventually handle complex tasks, such as negotiating mortgages or shopping for clothes, without direct human input. — Oliver Knight Read more.
Regulatory and Policy
- Contrary to claims from the U.S. banking industry, stablecoins do not pose a risk to the financial system, according to the chief policy officer at crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN), Faryar Shirzad. Banks’ claims that they do are are myths crafted to defend their revenues, he wrote in a blog post. «The central claim — that stablecoins will cause a mass outflow of bank deposits — simply doesn’t hold up,» Shirzad wrote. «Recent analysis shows no meaningful link between stablecoin adoption and deposit flight for community banks and there’s no reason to believe big banks would fare any worse.» Larger lenders still hold trillions of dollars at the Federal Reserve and if deposits were really at risk, he argued, they would be competing harder for customer funds by offering higher interest rates rather than parking cash at the central bank. According to Shirzad, the real reason for banks’ opposition is the payments business. Stablecoins, digital tokens whose value is pegged to a real-life asset such as the dollar, offer faster and cheaper ways to move money, threatening an estimated $187 billion in annual swipe-fee revenue for traditional card networks and banks. He compared the current pushback to earlier battles against ATMs and online banking, when incumbents warned of systemic dangers but, he said, were ultimately trying to protect entrenched profits. — Jesse Hamilton Read more.
- U.S. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said crypto’s time has come, pledging to modernize the U.S. securities rulebook and expand “Project Crypto” to bring markets on-chain. Speaking in Paris on Sept. 10 at the OECD’s inaugural Roundtable on Global Financial Markets, Atkins said the SEC is shifting away from enforcement-driven policymaking and will provide clear rules for tokens, custody, and trading platforms. “Policy will no longer be set by ad hoc enforcement actions,” he said, calling the new approach “a golden age of financial innovation on U.S. soil.” Atkins said most tokens are not securities and promised bright-line rules for determining when crypto assets fall under SEC oversight. He said entrepreneurs must be able to raise capital on-chain without “endless legal uncertainty” and pledged a framework for platforms that integrate trading, lending, and staking under one license. Custody rules will also be updated to allow investors and intermediaries multiple options. — Siamak Masnavi Read more.
Calendar
- Sept. 22-28: Korea Blockchain Week, Seoul
- Oct. 1-2: Token2049, Singapore
- Oct. 13-15: Digital Asset Summit, London
- Oct. 16-17: European Blockchain Convention, Barcelona
- Nov. 17-22: Devconnect, Buenos Aires
- Dec. 11-13: Solana Breakpoint, Abu Dhabi
- Feb. 10-12, 2026: Consensus, Hong Kong
- Mar. 30-Apr. 2: EthCC, Cannes
- May 5-7, 2026: Consensus, Miami
Shares of Bullish (BLSH) rose 5% to $53.12 on Tuesday after the crypto platform secured a BitLicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services, a crucial regulatory approval that opens the door to offering spot trading and custody services to institutional clients in New York.
With the license, Bullish’s U.S. arm — Bullish US Operations LLC — can now legally serve advanced traders in the financial capital of the U.S., an important step in the company’s push to expand domestically. Until now, Bullish was only regulated in Germany, Hong Kong and Gibraltar. Bullish’s global parent is also CoinDesk’s parent company.
The license comes just a day after Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest significantly increased its exposure to the company. The ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) acquired 120,609 shares while ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) picked up 40,574 shares, together worth about $8.21 million.
Bullish, which runs a trading platform aimed at institutional investors, will report second-quarter earnings after markets close on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, investment bank Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) initiated coverage on the company with a «market perform» rating and a $55 price target. The firm called Bullish “a rare public play” on a crypto exchange built for institutions and noted that its entry into the U.S. could drive growth. KBW sees domestic expansion as a key catalyst.
Bullish debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in August through a direct listing. Its stock surged to $104 on opening day before closing at $68. Since then, shares have fallen 22%, with today’s BitLicense announcement providing a boost.
If Bullish succeeds in expanding its footprint in the U.S., it could emerge as a legitimate competitor to Coinbase, according to brokerage firm Bernstein. The firm said success will depend on the platform’s ability to execute on its U.S. launch plans, currently targeted for 2026, Bernstein said.
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