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The three major U.S. stock indices closed higher today. - S&P 500: +0.56% - Nasdaq: +0.78% - Dow Jones: +0.26%

Non-custodial liquid staking protocol Ether.fi (ETHFI) announced it is migrating its Layer 2 Scroll-based crypto-native credit card, Ether.fi Cash, to the Optimism (OP) mainnet. According to The Block, Ether.fi stated that approximately 70,000 active cards and 300,000 accounts will be migrated to the OP network over the next few months.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on X that many people still do not properly understand the company, and that despite its stock falling 36% over the past year, "we have never been in a stronger position than we are today." He noted that it is natural for some to misunderstand cryptocurrency and Coinbase. "As regulatory clarity improves, about 50% of large financial institutions are actively embracing crypto," Armstrong explained. "However, the other half is lagging and still resisting. I believe some of them are skeptical because their careers were built in the traditional financial system, and cryptocurrency is threatening to them. You don't ask a taxi company what it thinks of Uber." Armstrong added that all globally innovative technologies face similar resistance, citing Uber, Airbnb, self-driving cars, and artificial intelligence. "Cryptocurrency is directly disrupting Wall Street," he emphasized. He pointed out that Coinbase has achieved remarkable performance over the past three years and has diversified its revenue streams. Armstrong also highlighted that regulatory clarity has strengthened, and an increasing number of financial institutions, governments, and retail investors are entering the market. "There is no company better suited than Coinbase to make these changes a reality and capitalize on them," he asserted, concluding that the company remains undervalued.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a DeFi project associated with the Trump family, announced on its official X account that it is launching an institutional-grade real-world asset (RWA) product in partnership with Securitize and Dar Global. The first asset will be the Trump International Hotel & Resort in the Maldives.

According to the minutes from the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) January 2026 meeting, nearly all members supported the decision to hold interest rates steady. Two members, however, argued for a rate cut. The minutes noted that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace and is expected to maintain this growth rate throughout the year. A number of members indicated that further rate cuts would be appropriate if inflation falls to a level consistent with expectations. However, some members expressed support for a two-sided approach, which would include considering rate hikes if inflation persists.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has fallen below $66,000. BTC is trading at $65,952.93 on the Binance USDT market.

OpenAI has launched EVMBench, a benchmarking system designed to evaluate the smart contract analysis and security capabilities of AI agents, Unfolded reported. The company collaborated with crypto investment firm Paradigm on the project.

Coinbase has added XRP, DOGE, ADA, and LTC as collateral options for its on-chain lending service, which is built on Morpho, according to The Block. U.S. customers, excluding those in New York state, can borrow up to $100,000 in USDC without having to sell their assets.

The issuance volume of U.S. short-term Treasury bills (T-bills) is the most influential liquidity metric for Bitcoin's price, according to a report from crypto market maker Keyrock, cited by Cointelegraph. The report found a high correlation of around 80% between T-bill issuance and the price of BTC since 2021. Changes in T-bill issuance have preceded BTC price movements by approximately eight months, and a 1% change in global liquidity levels was observed to correspond with a 7.6% fluctuation in BTC's price in the subsequent quarter. A significant portion of the current $38 trillion U.S. national debt is set to mature within the next four years. To repay debt originally borrowed at near-zero interest rates, the government must issue new debt at today's much higher rates, necessitating a larger volume of Treasury issuance to cover both principal and interest payments. The report estimates that annual Treasury issuance will remain between $600 billion and $800 billion through 2028. Consequently, Keyrock anticipates a positive impact on BTC's price between late this year and early 2027.

Donald Trump Jr. called the banking industry a "Ponzi scheme" in an interview with CNBC at the World Liberty Forum. This, he stated, is why his family had to establish World Liberty Financial (WLFI). "We didn't get into crypto because we were at the forefront," he emphasized. "We got into it out of necessity. They basically forced us into it." His remarks follow a recent $5 billion lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against JPMorgan and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, alleging the bank closed his accounts in 2021 for political reasons.

A Hong Kong-based company has disclosed it held 8.79 million shares of BlackRock's IBIT, worth approximately $436 million, as of Dec. 31 of last year. This makes the firm the largest new shareholder in the spot Bitcoin ETF, although information regarding the company and the source of its funds has not been made public. According to CoinDesk, the holding was revealed in a 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company, identified as Laurore, only disclosed its position at the end of the quarter, without specifying the timing of its purchases or sales. Jeff Park, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of ProCap Financial, noted that the firm appears to hold no other assets besides its IBIT shares.

SG-Forge, the crypto subsidiary of French financial giant Societe Generale, has launched its euro-pegged stablecoin, EURCV, on the XRPL network, Cointelegraph reported. This marks the third blockchain deployment for the stablecoin, following its release on Ethereum and Solana. The launch leverages Ripple's custody technology, and EURCV is set to be integrated into Ripple's financial products for use as trading collateral.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the recent drop in BTC's price is due to trader psychology rather than any fundamental issues with the asset. Speaking at the World Liberty Forum, he explained that the current decline is not caused by underlying problems like a change in the U.S. Fed Chair or the threat of quantum computing, but rather by investors taking profits and crowd psychology. Armstrong described the downturn as a temporary phenomenon, noting that BTC has been the best-performing asset over the last 10 years. He added that Coinbase is continuing to buy back its own stock and purchase additional BTC.

Industry experts have pushed back against an analysis from on-chain firm Santiment that claimed Ethereum (ETH) staking volume had surpassed 50% for the first time, calling the figure misleading, CoinDesk reported. Analysts at CoinShares noted that while Santiment reported 50.18% of the total ETH supply is in the staking deposit contract, this contract only records deposits and does not reflect withdrawal data. Taking this into account, they estimate the active staking volume actually contributing to network security is 37 million ETH, or 30.8% of the supply. The 80 million ETH figure cited by Santiment is a cumulative record, not the actual current amount, the analysts added.

Pro-crypto U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno has stated that Congress must pass the crypto market structure bill (CLARITY) within the next 90 days, or by the end of April, to maintain momentum. According to BeInCrypto, speaking at the World Liberty Forum, Moreno acknowledged the difficulty of the negotiations, adding that he felt they had taken a few years off his life.

Global asset manager Apex Group, which has $3.5 trillion in assets under management, has partnered with World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the Trump family's DeFi project, CoinDesk reported. The two companies announced at the World Liberty Forum in Mar-a-Lago that they will test USD1 as a payment method for subscriptions, redemptions, and distributions within Apex's tokenized fund ecosystem. Additionally, Apex is considering listing WLFI's tokenized assets on the London Stock Exchange Group's (LSEG) digital market infrastructure platform, while WLFI plans to launch a mobile app connecting bank accounts and digital asset wallets.

Eric Trump, the second son of U.S. President Donald Trump, said in an interview with CNBC that the price of BTC will reach $1 million. He added that he has never been more optimistic about BTC in his entire life.

Base, Coinbase's Layer 2 blockchain, is scheduled to transition from the existing OP Stack to its own integrated stack, Aggr News reported.

Lynn Martin, president of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), said at the World Liberty Forum that prediction markets have begun to influence the movements of traditional financial markets. According to CoinDesk, she cited the unexpected surge in S&P futures during the 2024 U.S. presidential election as an example. Martin explained that the move occurred because Polymarket had predicted Donald Trump's chances of winning ahead of other platforms, adding that prediction market results are now being used as an input for traditional financial market investments. Last October, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the NYSE, announced a $2 billion investment in Polymarket and a plan to cooperate on future tokenization initiatives.

Payments infrastructure firm Modern Treasury has introduced a stablecoin settlement feature to its existing payment stack, Cointelegraph reported. This allows companies to process stablecoin payments using the same infrastructure they use for automated clearing house (ACH) transfers, wire transfers, and real-time payment networks. The feature currently supports USDG, USDP, and USDC, with plans to add USDT in the future. Modern Treasury previously acquired stablecoin startup Beam.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said he personally owns a very small amount of Bitcoin and that the bank would consider more active participation in the crypto market if regulations are relaxed. Speaking at the World Liberty Forum, Solomon stated that he is closely monitoring Bitcoin as part of a broader interest in how technology is reshaping finance, CoinDesk reported. He described himself as an observer trying to understand the asset's movements. Solomon added that the evolution of the market is being driven by large technology platforms, and he expects tokenization to play a key role. He dismissed the notion that traditional banks and crypto companies are in a zero-sum game, stating they are distinct systems that simply need to operate in the correct manner. When asked why Goldman Sachs has been less involved in the crypto space compared to rivals like JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, Solomon attributed the decision primarily to regulation. He noted that the regulatory framework was overly strict until recently and suggested that Goldman Sachs could reassess its position if authorities begin to grant firms more discretion.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) plans to launch a blockchain platform by the end of this year for 24-hour trading of tokenized stocks and ETFs, CoinDesk reported. NYSE President Lynn Martin made the announcement at the World Liberty Forum. She added that the NYSE has already completed the development of its own tokenization technology and is working closely with regulators on how to utilize it within the existing financial system.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has fallen below $67,000. BTC is trading at $66,995.98 on the Binance USDT market.

Nasdaq-listed AlphaTON, a firm managing a Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) of TON tokens, is selling its pharmaceutical subsidiary to concentrate on the Telegram blockchain ecosystem, The Block reported. The company has sold its biotech unit, iOx Therapeutics, to Immunova in a deal expected to generate up to $100 million in future revenue, including royalties.

Activist fund Starboard Value is urging Riot Platforms to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure business, arguing the move could create up to $21 billion in value. According to The Block, Starboard stated in a report that Riot has a significant opportunity to generate between $9 billion and $21 billion by utilizing its strategic assets in Texas for AI and HPC workloads, which would put the company in a favorable position to attract clients. The fund warned that if Riot fails to quickly capitalize on the growing demand for AI infrastructure, it could become a takeover target, adding that the company is falling behind its competitors.