Coinbase has launched stock perpetual futures for non-US traders, expanding its push to offer round-the-clock access to multiple asset classes. Coinbase has launched stock perpetual futures for eligible non-US traders, expanding its push to offer round-the-clock access to crypto, equities and prediction markets on a single platform. In a Friday blog post, Coinbase said the product was not available to US persons at the current time, but that it was “working to expand this offering to additional regions in the future.” The contracts are available on Coinbase Advanced for retail users and Coinbase International Exchange for institutions, offering leveraged, cash-settled exposure to major US stocks and indices, including Apple (AAPL) and Nvidia (NVDA), in a format familiar to crypto traders. Read more
Stablecoins and custody lead adoption priorities, with firms focusing on how to build or source digital asset infrastructure. In a survey released on Thursday, Ripple said 72% of more than 1,000 global finance leaders believe companies must offer digital asset solutions to stay competitive. The survey found stablecoins were the most prominent use case, with 74% of respondents saying they can boost cash flow and unlock trapped capital. The report polled around 1,000 finance firms globally, including banks, asset managers, fintechs and corporates, on adoption, stablecoins, tokenization and custody priorities. Read more
Forced by yet another Israeli bombardment on Lebanon to flee his home for the second time in just two years, and mourning lost relatives and friends, Hassan Kiki said he feels much older than 16. “War has aged us… We have lived through what no one else has,” the tall teen from south Lebanon told AFP in Beirut. “I miss my school, my friends… I lost two cousins and two friends in a massacre in Shehabiyeh,” he added, referring to a deadly Israeli strike in his town that killed at least seven people on March 11. Kiki is among more than a million people Lebanese authorities have registered as displaced since the country was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2. On that day, Hezbollah launched rockets towards Israel to avenge the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel, which never stopped bombing Lebanon despite a 2024 truce that sought to end the last fighting with Hezbollah, responded with widespread strikes, ground operations along the border, and an evacuation warning for swa...