ESG researcher Daniel Batten says peer-reviewed studies challenge claims that Bitcoin mining destabilizes power grids or raises electricity costs. Bitcoin’s environmental impact remains contested as critics question its energy use, while ESG researcher Daniel Batten disputes several of those claims. In a Saturday X thread, ESG researcher Daniel Batten said nine common criticisms of Bitcoin mining’s energy use are contradicted by peer-reviewed studies and grid-level data. “Every nascent disruptive technology is accompanied by claims that are based on lack of understanding, lack of data, and a fear of something unknown,” said Batten. Read more
PwC’s CEO says clearer US crypto rules and stablecoin legislation pushed the firm to expand its digital asset services. PricewaterhouseCoopers decided to expand its crypto business after a shift toward clearer US regulation, citing new leadership at regulators and progress on stablecoin legislation, CEO Paul Griggs said. New leadership within US regulators such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission and new laws like the GENIUS Act were among the major developments that spurred PwC’s reversal, Griggs told the Financial Times in a report on Sunday. “The GENIUS Act and the regulatory rulemaking around stablecoin, I expect, will create more conviction around leaning into that product and that asset class,” he said, adding that “the tokenization of things will certainly continue to evolve as well. PwC has to be in that ecosystem.” Read more
Dune Analytics data reveals a surge from $14.6 million to $91.3 million in net spend across Visa's key crypto cards, led by EtherFi, in 2025. Visa-issued crypto cards saw a massive spike in usage in 2025, with the total net spend increasing by 525% last year. According to Dune Analytics data, the total net spend for six crypto cards issued by blockchain projects in partnership with Visa went from $14.6 million in January to $91.3 million at the end of December. The six cards tracked come from crypto payments platforms GnosisPay and Cypher, along with decentralized finance projects EtherFi, Avici Money, Exa App, and Moonwell. Read more
The amount of crypto sent to Binance rose in the past week, but CryptoOnchain says the other side of the trade, the buyers, are yet to show up. Large crypto holders have been moving tokens onto Binance, a pattern analysts associate with potential selling, but buying demand remains muted. So-called crypto whales deposited $2.4 billion near-evenly split between Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to Binance in the past week, the exchange’s largest net inflow in a month, but the “buying power is missing,” CryptoOnchain said in a note to CryptoQuant on Sunday. “Crucially, this surge in risk-asset deposits was not accompanied by new buying power,” it added, noting that stablecoin net flows were “essentially flat” at an inflow of $42 million for the week, which was mostly tokens moving between the Ethereum and Tron blockchains. Read more
Bitcoin rose toward $93,000 as Donald Trump made remarks suggesting tougher action on Colombia and Mexico following the US operation in Venezuela. Bitcoin climbed toward $93,000 on Monday as US President Donald Trump made comments suggesting the United States could pursue tougher action against Colombia and Mexico, extending geopolitical uncertainty in the region following the weekend operation in Venezuela. Speaking on Sunday, Trump criticized Colombia over cocaine trafficking and said a new US military operation focused on the country “sounds good to me,” according to Reuters, while also warning that “something is going to have to be done” in Mexico. “Colombia is very sick, too, run by a sick man, who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States, and he’s not going to be doing it very long," Trump warned. Read more