Prediction market volume scales every month, as resolution infrastructure becomes a bottleneck. Opaque outcomes drive capital to headline markets only. Opinion by: David Azubike, lead analyst at Blocksquare Prediction markets are no longer an experimental corner of crypto. Data now shows something durable: a financial category with sustained volume, diversified participation and increasing institutional attention. Prediction markets are emerging as a new “arbitrage arena” for crypto traders. Monthly notional volume in prediction markets scaled to more than $13 billion by late 2025 from less than $100 million in early 2024 as markets diversified across verticals, according to a joint research report from Dune and Keyrock. Read more
XRP’s technical and onchain signals hint at a significant breakout, with bulls eyeing an “explosive” rally toward $2.55. XRP’s (XRP) price was up 3% on Friday to trade above $1.40 as several technical and onchain indicators suggested it was due for a “significant” upward breakout. Key takeaways: XRP’s Bollinger Bands indicator now sees the potential for a massive price breakout. Read more
Hong Kong is set to issue its first stablecoin issuer licenses, with HSBC and Standard Chartered likely among a “very small number” of initially approved issuers, local media reported. HSBC Holdings and a joint venture led by Standard Chartered are reportedly set to become the first authorized stablecoin issuers in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is expected to issue stablecoin licenses to HSBC and Standard Chartered, the South China Morning Post reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. HSBC and Standard Chartered are set to be in the first batch as authorities reportedly prioritize institutions already authorized to issue banknotes in the city. The Hong Kong government, through the HKMA, authorizes banknote issuance to three commercial banks, including local branches of HSBC, Standard Chartered and the Bank of China. Read more
The crypto conference organizer said tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled April 2027 event, with holders also able to transfer tickets to the Singapore event. Update March 13, 10:56 am UTC: This article has been updated to add more information about the regional situation and additional details from the announcement. The Dubai edition of Token2049, one of the crypto industry’s largest global gatherings, has been postponed until 2027 due to regional uncertainty affecting international travel and event logistics. The organizers said on Friday that the conference, originally scheduled for April 29-30, in Dubai, will instead take place on April 21-22, 2027. Read more
Bitcoin price analysis saw conditions slowly "building” to support a breakout as BTC emerged as the strongest macro performer since the US and Israel-Iran war began. Bitcoin (BTC) hit eight-day highs into Friday’s Wall Street open as markets awaited key US inflation cues. Key points: Bitcoin shows resilience despite macro market uncertainty with another push beyond $72,000. Read more
Sweden is investigating a reported leak tied to CGI Sverige after hackers claimed they exposed source code from the country’s e-government platform. A threat actor has claimed to have leaked source code and other sensitive material it said came from CGI Sverige, the Swedish subsidiary of global IT consulting and outsourcing firm CGI Group. Cybersecurity accounts on X and local media reported Thursday that a threat actor calling itself ByteToBreach had published the material online, according to Swedish news outlet Aftonbladet. CGI told Aftonbladet its cybersecurity team discovered an incident involving two internal test servers in Sweden that were not used in production. The company said an older application version and its source code were accessible, but that there was no indication that customer production data or operational services were affected. CGI press secretary Agneta Hansson confirmed to the news outlet that authorities are investigating the leak. Read more
MetaComp’s Pre-A+ funding round, backed by Alibaba and Spark Venture, brings the total capital raised to $35 million, with aims to expand its StableX Network globally. Singapore-based MetaComp said Friday it completed a new funding round backed by Alibaba, as the company expands its stablecoin payment infrastructure. MetaComp completed a Pre-A+ round backed by Alibaba, bringing the cumulative total to $35 million across two rounds in three months, according to the announcement. The latest round also featured the European early-stage venture capital investor Spark Venture, with Beijing-based 100Summit Partners serving as exclusive financial adviser. Read more