Ether whale order sizes are shrinking, while a $2 billion short cluster near $2,000 frame a tightening liquidity scenario for ETH after a sixth week of red price action. Ether (ETH) whale activity on a major exchange has slowed since the start of 2026, with roughly 2 million ETH traded in large-sized transactions over the past 45 days. ETH is currently in the midst of its worst weekly losing streak since 2022, with exchange flow trends and futures market liquidation data impacting investor expectations for Ether’s short and long-term price direction in the broader market. CryptoQuant data shows that the average ETH whale sell orders on Binance have fallen to around 1,350 ETH in recent weeks, down from roughly 2,250 ETH in early January. Assuming 15 to 35 whale-sized executions per day, the cumulative gross sell-side turnover since Jan. 8 is estimated at around 1.8 to 2 million ETH over the past 45 days. Read more
A 9.8% shareholder has doubled down on calls for Empery Digital to sell its BTC holdings, return capital to investors and remove its CEO and board. A major shareholder in Empery Digital has called on the company to abandon its Bitcoin-centric strategy, sell its digital asset holdings and return the proceeds to investors, along with demanding the resignation of the CEO and the entire board of directors. In a letter to the company’s board on Monday, Tice P. Brown, who is the beneficial owner of roughly 9.8% of Empery Digital’s outstanding shares, accused management of entrenching themselves at shareholders’ expense. Brown said that Empery Digital’s leadership privately approached him on Feb. 18 with an offer to repurchase all of his shares at a price equal to 100% of their market net asset value (mNAV), which he called “a large premium to prevailing market valuations.” He declined the proposal, saying it was designed to preserve management’s positions rather than return capital to shareholders. Read more
The approval allows WisdomTree’s tokenized Treasury money market fund to trade and settle around the clock within the US regulatory framework. US-based asset manager WisdomTree has launched 24/7 trading and instant settlement for the WisdomTree Treasury Money Market Digital Fund (WTGXX), enabling round-the-clock secondary trading of a registered tokenized mutual fund within the US regulatory framework. The company said it is the first time a registered tokenized mutual fund has been allowed to trade and settle around the clock under the Investment Company Act of 1940 using a dealer-principal model. The structure allows shares to settle instantly, giving investors real-time access to yield-bearing US Treasurys exposure. To implement the model, WisdomTree entities obtained exemptive relief from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Its affiliated broker-dealer, WisdomTree Securities, also received approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which oversees US broker-dealers, to ...
Two major news outlets published similar reports on Monday claiming that Binance had fired or suspended employees involved in an investigation into crypto going to Iranian entities. Binance CEO Richard Teng took to social media on Tuesday to attack what he called “inaccurate reporting” by the Wall Street Journal regarding investigators at the crypto exchange uncovering $1.7 billion in digital assets moving to Iranian entities. In a Tuesday X post, Teng said the report, published on Monday, contained “defamatory claims,” including a letter from Binance’s legal team “demanding immediate corrections and a full retraction of these false statements.” “Your Article is false, seriously misleading to your readers, and defamatory of our client,” said the letter to WSJ editor-in-chief Emma Tucker from lawyers at Withers Bergman. “Our client has written to you directly seeking correction of the major matters of significant concern and we call upon you to act responsibly, and to remove your Article pending this correcti...
Tokenized securities, 24/7 trading and onchain settlement could allow the NYSE’s blockchain plans to reshape post-trade processes in financial markets. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)’s blockchain-based initiative is about upgrading market infrastructure, not adopting cryptocurrencies. It intends to use blockchain for improving settlement, reconciliation and collateral efficiency. Onchain delivery-vs.-payment settlement could significantly reduce counterparty risk and free up capital tied up in margins. It also shifts risk toward real-time liquidity needs and continuous funding requirements. While 24/7 trading may expand global access, it does not necessarily solve deeper market-structure issues. It could introduce liquidity fragmentation, wider spreads and noisier price discovery during low-volume periods. Read more
The deal channels crypto liquidity into US home loans, testing whether blockchain-based capital can fund traditional mortgage markets at scale. Mortgage lender Better has partnered with crypto venture firm Framework Ventures to secure up to $500 million in financing through the Sky stablecoin ecosystem, in a deal that connects traditional home lending with decentralized finance infrastructure. Better, which originates mortgages for homebuyers, will access the credit through Sky, a blockchain-based system with roots in MakerDAO, the companies announced Tuesday. Within the ecosystem, Better will operate as a designated capital recipient, referred to as a “Star.” The arrangement aims to channel real-world mortgage activity into decentralized finance (DeFi) via stablecoins. Better will continue to handle underwriting and loan origination. Read more