Crypto

XRP’s chance of a daily close below $1 are rising, but whale accumulation and shrinking exchange supply may be a sign that traders are buying. XRP is trading just above $1, leaving the token at its weakest price level of the year, but onchain data paints a different picture. The exchange-held XRP supply continues to fall, Binance withdrawals have exceeded deposits for seven straight days, whale flows are holding positive and spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have attracted $243 million in inflows since April. The improving onchain data points to healthy network positioning, even as XRP continues to search for a price bottom. Read more

Bitcoin’s prolonged decline is forcing cryptocurrency companies to cut staff, automate more work, and abandon the expansion plans that defined the last bull market. At the same time, it is also creating one of the industry’s busiest periods for takeovers. Crypto mergers and acquisitions reached $7.23 billion during the second quarter of 2026, up from […] The post Bitcoin’s bear market struggle is killing crypto jobs but fueling a $10 billion Wall Street-backed M&A boom appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The startup formerly known as Story Protocol raised $140 million to secure internet rights and is now building an audit layer for data consent, licensing, and provenance for tech firms.

Asset manager 21shares sees crypto infrastructure advancing faster than prices, as ETFs, stablecoins and prediction markets mature while several 2026 targets slip. Asset manager 21shares has scaled back several of its bullish forecasts for the crypto industry this year, saying institutional adoption continues to strengthen even as weak market conditions and muted retail participation have slowed the pace of growth. In its midyear outlook, the asset manager said the industry’s underlying infrastructure has advanced more quickly than prices. Areas such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stablecoin regulation, tokenization and prediction markets have continued to mature, but weaker crypto prices, major DeFi exploits and slower-than-expected enterprise adoption have pushed several of its 2026 targets out of reach. One of the report’s clearest conclusions was that Bitcoin’s (BTC) four-year market cycle remains intact, despite signs the asset class is becoming more institutionally driven. Read more

Asset manager 21shares sees crypto infrastructure advancing faster than prices, as ETFs, stablecoins and prediction markets mature while several 2026 targets slip. Asset manager 21shares has scaled back several of its bullish forecasts for the crypto industry this year, saying institutional adoption continues to strengthen even as weak market conditions and muted retail participation have slowed the pace of growth. In its midyear outlook, the asset manager said the industry’s underlying infrastructure has advanced more quickly than prices. Areas such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), stablecoin regulation, tokenization and prediction markets have continued to mature, but weaker crypto prices, major DeFi exploits and slower-than-expected enterprise adoption have pushed several of its 2026 targets out of reach. One of the report’s clearest conclusions was that Bitcoin’s (BTC) four-year market cycle remains intact, despite signs the asset class is becoming more institutionally driven. Read more

Kraken's new facility with Maple brings a traditional warehouse financing model onchain, allowing the exchange to expand its institutional crypto lending business using blockchain-based structured credit. Crypto exchange Kraken and onchain asset manager Maple have launched an onchain warehouse financing facility for crypto-backed loans, applying a lending structure widely used in traditional credit markets to institutional digital asset lending.  According to Thursday's announcement, the facility will fund Kraken's OTC lending business using a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle (SPV) and USDC-denominated financing. Unlike traditional bilateral crypto loans, the facility is structured through the SPV, with Maple providing senior financing and Kraken retaining a stake in the transaction. The arrangement is intended to let Kraken expand its institutional lending business without tying up additional balance-sheet capital. Read more

Kraken's new facility with Maple brings a traditional warehouse financing model onchain, allowing the exchange to expand its institutional crypto lending business using blockchain-based structured credit. Crypto exchange Kraken and onchain asset manager Maple have launched an onchain warehouse financing facility for crypto-backed loans, applying a lending structure widely used in traditional credit markets to institutional digital asset lending. According to Thursday's announcement, the facility will fund Kraken's OTC lending business using a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle (SPV) and USDC-denominated financing. Unlike traditional bilateral crypto loans, the facility is structured through the SPV, with Maple providing senior financing and Kraken retaining a stake in the transaction. The arrangement is intended to let Kraken expand its institutional lending business without tying up additional balance-sheet capital. Read more

Bitcoin touched its lowest price in 21 months early Thursday—and prediction market users don't see the crypto carnage ceasing imminently.

The fine comes after an investigation concluded that Bithumb shared information with many overseas exchanges in violation of laws intended to protect user data. South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb was order to pay a $136,000 fine after it was found to have breached personal information protections rules when it sent user data overseas. In a Thursday notice, the country's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said that its investigation into Bithumb found that the exchange had “transferred personal information overseas without the separate consent of the data subjects during the process of order book sharing and virtual asset transfer with overseas virtual asset exchanges.” The incident was connected to Bithumb sharing its Tether (USDT) order books between September and November 2025 with BingX, despite obtaining consent to share the data with Stellar, as well as sharing user information with 13 overseas exchanges. Read more

The fine comes after an investigation concluded that Bithumb shared information with many overseas exchanges in violation of laws intended to protect user data. South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb was order to pay a $136,000 fine after it was found to have breached personal information protections rules when it sent user data overseas. In a Thursday notice, the country's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said that its investigation into Bithumb found that the exchange had “transferred personal information overseas without the separate consent of the data subjects during the process of order book sharing and virtual asset transfer with overseas virtual asset exchanges.” The incident was connected to Bithumb sharing its Tether (USDT) order books between September and November 2025 with BingX, despite obtaining consent to share the data with Stellar, as well as sharing user information with 13 overseas exchanges. Read more

Binance withdrew its MiCA application in Greece after reported resistance and told users the absence of a formal decision before the transition deadline forced it to seek authorization elsewhere. Reports noted that talks with regulators in Ireland and Latvia had also encountered friction, though Binance maintains that Greece was its only formal application. ESMA has […] The post Why Europe is struggling to give Binance the MiCA license it needs appeared first on CryptoSlate.

When markets wanted growth, money chased tech, but when they wanted safety, it moved to cash and Treasuries.

BlackBerry's stock is surging after the company's massive earnings beat and is pivoting into becoming a critical component of the AI and robotics boom.

STRC was marketed as a low volatility income product designed to trade near $100, and its sharp decline has undermined investor trust.

Bitcoin fell to 21-month lows as stock market volatility accompanied three-year highs in US PCE inflation, leading to $600 million in hourly crypto liquidations. Bitcoin (BTC) hit new 21-month lows at Thursday’s Wall Street open as high US inflation unsettled stock markets. Key points: Read more

Bitcoin fell to 21-month lows as stock market volatility accompanied three-year highs in US PCE inflation, leading to $600 million in hourly crypto liquidations. Bitcoin (BTC) hit new 21-month lows at Thursday’s Wall Street open as high US inflation unsettled stock markets. Key points: Bitcoin returns to its lowest level since September 2024, dropping to $58,000. Read more

Hyperion Decimus' Chris Sullivan said four historically reliable indicators have aligned, leaving bitcoin one move away from confirming a major turning point.

Sticky inflation, firmer activity data, and lower claims left buyers without the rate-cut cover they needed. The post Bitcoin’s $60K rebound just collapsed as $427M in long liquidations followed sticky inflation data appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Derivatives markets signal that betting on further slide in prices is getting overcrowded, setting up for a potential snapback.

Story Protocol is now the DATA Foundation as it aims to provide licensable data to AI firms that have “run out of internet to scrape.” Story Protocol, a layer-1 blockchain built around intellectual property licensing, is pivoting to artificial intelligence as it rebrands as the DATA Foundation. The company said Thursday that it will focus on building “essential infrastructure for training AI,” which it called “the most valuable and least solved category of IP.” “Frontier AI labs have hit a multi-billion-dollar data bottleneck, where the internet has been effectively exhausted for scraping,” the company said. “The remaining supply is either expensive and bespoke or legally undocumented, leaving labs without a way to source data at scale, prove its provenance, or guarantee its quality.” Read more