Bloomberg and Kaiko aim to embed licensed financial data directly on blockchain networks, targeting institutional tokenized Treasurys and repo markets. Bloomberg is collaborating with Kaiko, a Paris-based digital asset market data provider, to make Bloomberg’s licensed financial data accessible directly within blockchain environments rather than through traditional offchain databases. The companies said Thursday that the initiative is designed to address the challenge of inconsistent data across tokenized markets. In many tokenized asset ecosystems, companies may rely on different versions of pricing data, security identifiers or reference information, increasing the risk of discrepancies and operational inefficiencies. Read more
Heavy outflows haven’t erased the success of spot Bitcoin ETFs, which still hold $53 billion in cumulative inflows, according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas. US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may be seeing heavy outflows lately, but the broader picture tells a different story. According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, cumulative net inflows into Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs peaked at $63 billion in October and now stand at about $53 billion, even after months of redemptions. “That’s NET NET +$53b in only two years,” Balchunas wrote on X, sharing data compiled by fellow analyst James Seyffart. Read more
The Bitcoin lender reportedly packaged thousands of Bitcoin-backed consumer loans into rated bonds, giving investors a new way to take crypto‑linked risk without holding BTC. Bitcoin-backed loan platform Ledn sold about $188 million of bonds tied to Bitcoin‑collateralized consumer loans into the mainstream asset‑backed securities (ABS) market, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. In a first-of-its-kind deal, one of the two tranches — the investment‑grade portion — was reportedly priced at a spread of about 335 basis points over a benchmark rate, implying that investors are demanding 3.35 percentage points in extra yield to hold crypto‑linked credit risk rather than conventional consumer ABS. The deal is structured through Ledn Issuer Trust 2026‑1, which securitizes a pool of 5,441 short‑term, fixed‑rate balloon loans extended to 2,914 US borrowers, backed by 4,078.87 Bitcoin (BTC) held as collateral, according to S&P Global Ratings’ preliminary documentation on Feb. 9. Rea...
Bloomberg commodity strategist Mike McGlone explains his bearish turn on Bitcoin outlook and broader market expectations for 2026. Bloomberg Intelligence strategist Mike McGlone said he has reversed his long-term outlook on Bitcoin and the broader crypto market, arguing that investors should “sell the rallies” across risk assets in 2026. In McGlone’s view, the conditions that once made Bitcoin (BTC) compelling have changed fundamentally. What began as a scarce, disruptive asset has become part of a crowded and highly speculative ecosystem, increasingly correlated with equities and vulnerable to the same macro forces that drive traditional markets. He draws parallels with past market peaks, pointing to excessive speculation, the approval of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and historically low volatility as warning signs. Bitcoin, he argues, has gone from being a hedge against the system to being firmly inside it, and that changes everything. Read more
The debate over DeFi and stablecoin reward provisions in the CLARITY Act is at risk of holding the bill back as banking and crypto stakeholders push competing agendas. US Senator Cynthia Lummis reportedly expects the US Senate Banking Committee to delay its hearing on crypto market structure legislation after Coinbase withdrew support for the bill. There were already some murmurs of a CLARITY Act Senate markup delay on Wednesday, which were heightened following an X post from Bloomberg reporter Steven Dennis on Wednesday night, stating: Lawmakers have been consulting with members of the banking and crypto industries over provisions of the CLARITY Act for several weeks. Read more
Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas says Zcash could dilute political and cultural support for Bitcoin, as critics accuse the privacy coin of manufactured hype. Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas has warned that Zcash may adversely impact Bitcoin at this crucial moment. In a recent post on X, Balchunas said Zcash (ZEC) has “third-party candidate vibes, like Gary Johnson or Jill Stein,” arguing that pushing a separate privacy coin risks “splitting the vote” when Bitcoin (BTC) needs unified political and cultural support. Balchunas’s comment comes as the Bitcoin vs Zcash debate intensifies. Arman Meguerian, founder and CEO of Timestamp, dismissed the idea that BTC supporters are pivoting to Zcash. “I don't know a single Bitcoin maxi that thinks about Zcash at all,” he wrote on X. Read more
BNY Mellon is exploring tokenized deposits to move part of its $2.5 trillion daily payment flow onto blockchain rails and modernize cross-border settlements. BNY, the largest custodian bank in the world, is exploring tokenized deposits to enable clients to transfer funds instantly, 24/7, while easing constraints of its legacy systems. Carl Slabicki, executive platform owner for Treasury Services at BNY, told Bloomberg that the project is part of an effort to upgrade real-time and cross-border payments, aiming to move a portion of its $2.5 trillion daily payment flow onto blockchain rails. Tokenized deposits can help “banks overcome legacy technology constraints, making it easier to move deposits and payments across their own ecosystems – and eventually, across the broader market as standards mature,” Slabicki said. Read more
According to the lawsuit, Justin Sun’s crypto holdings included about 60 billion Tron, 17,000 Bitcoin, 224,000 Ether and 700 million Tether as of February. A US judge has set Tron founder and CEO Justin Sun’s lawsuit against Bloomberg back a peg after denying a temporary restraining order and injunction over publishing information about his cryptocurrency holdings. In a Monday filing in the US District Court for the District of Delaware, Judge Colm Connolly sided with Bloomberg in Sun’s lawsuit over “disclosed amounts of specific cryptocurrency he owns.” According to the filings, the holdings included about 60 billion Tron (TRX), 17,000 Bitcoin (BTC), 224,000 Ether (ETH) and 700 million Tether (USDt). The publication had reached out to Sun’s team in February to gather information about the Tron founder’s wealth for its Billionaires Index. Read more
The era of memecoin exchange-traded funds has begun in the United States, according to Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas. The United States’ first memecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is set to debut on Thursday, marking the latest step in the expansion of regulated crypto products after the successful rollout of Bitcoin and Ether funds last year. In a social media post on Tuesday, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the Rex-Osprey Doge ETF (DOJE) is set to debut Thursday. “Pretty sure this is the first-ever US ETF to hold something that has no utility or purpose,” Balchunas said. Read more