Autor Cointelegraph by Zoltan Vardai

Open interest in perpetual futures markets and onchain trading patterns suggest some traders may have positioned ahead of Robinhood crypto listing announcements, according to a Monday report from analytics provider Kaiko.One of the clearest examples was wallet address ‘0xa1E,’ which Kaiko said opened a long position on Lighter (LIT) on decentralized exchange Hyperliquid at 11:05 am UTC on Jan. 15, about an hour before Robinhood announced the token’s listing at 12:12 pm The wallet closed the position at 1:00 pm, shortly after the announcement.Kaiko said the same address later opened a short position on a HOOD-linked perpetual contract on April 28, hours before Robinhood reported first-quarter revenue that missed analyst expectations. The trader closed the short later that day after HOOD moved lower.The trading patterns raise questions about whether some market participants had access to non-public listing information or had developed a reliable method for detecting public signals before announcements. Kaiko also said sophisticated traders may have been reacting to funding-rate spikes, volume increases and open-interest changes rather than inside information.Multiple other wallets made similar moves just before a listing was made public, raising the question of whether “more than one participant had access to the same information ahead of the announcement,” wrote Laurens Fraussen, a research analyst at Kaiko.LIT trading price, listing time, minute-by-minute. Source: KaikoHyperliquid data points to unusual pre-listing tradesKaiko pointed to multiple cryptocurrency listings that led to a surge in open interest and funding rates just ahead of Robinhood’s public listing announcements, including Zcash (ZEC), Synthetix (SNX) and the Near Protocol (NEAR) tokens, among other assets.Hourly price drift ahead of Robinhood listing announcements for LIT, SNX and ZEC. Source: KaikoAll three tokens recorded a pre-announcement price drift, with each coin averaging abnormal returns in the hours leading up to and following the listing announcement, explained the report.Related: Crypto VC funding plunges to $659M in April, hits near two-year lowWhile the data raises concerning signs of potential insider activity, it may also indicate that some of the smartest traders are positioning based on funding or volume increases, Kaiko’s Fraussen told Cointelegraph.“Traders that know how microstructure works could have noticed the funding spikes, increase in volumes and open interest spikes, and position based on that.”Still, derivatives metrics show that this type of positioning was statistically consistent and repeated across multiple asset listings, reflecting either “privileged access to Robinhood’s listing pipeline” or an “exceptionally reliable front-running methodology built on public signals.”Magazine: Bitcoiners eye ‘sell in May,’ SBF’s bid for new trial shut down: Hodler’s Digest, April 26 – May 2Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

European financial institutions should assess whether the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) can be extended into tokenized payments, Bank of Italy Deputy Governor Chiara Scotti said, as policymakers look for ways to keep euro-denominated settlement central to digital finance.Scotti called a tokenized extension of SEPA an “important area for reflection” during a Monday speech at the Digital Assets and Monetary Policy Transmission workshop in Rome, saying Europe’s existing payments framework offers scale, shared standards and interoperability.Her comments come as the Eurosystem prepares a pilot for Pontes, a distributed ledger technology settlement initiative designed to link market DLT platforms with TARGET Services and settle transactions in central bank money. The pilot is expected by the third quarter of 2026.The European Central Bank (ECB) is also developing Appia, a longer-term roadmap for Europe’s tokenized financial ecosystem that is expected to conclude in 2028, as policymakers weigh how tokenized deposits, stablecoins and central bank money should coexist.The ECB said it was exploring ways to bring central bank money onto DLT due to concerns over the adoption of a non-euro stablecoin, which may have “serious consequences for Europe’s monetary sovereignty,” such as diminishing the euro’s role and creating a dependency on foreign settlement assets.Banca d’Italia, ECB, EABCN, and CEPR Workshop on‘Digital Assets and Monetary Policy Transmission.’ Source: Bank of ItalyECB says stablecoin adoption may shift bank depositsThe ECB has previously outlined concerns related to widespread stablecoin adoption.In a report published in November 2025, the ECB said that widespread stablecoin adoption may see households replace some of their bank deposits with stablecoin holdings, leading to significant bank deposit outflows.“Significant growth in stablecoins could cause retail deposit outflows, diminishing an important source of funding for banks and leaving them with more volatile funding overall.”In a working paper published on March 4, 2026, the ECB highlighted further risks, including that stablecoin adoption induces a “deposit-substitution mechanism, whereby funds shift from retail bank deposits to digital assets.”Related: UBS partners with five banks for Swiss franc stablecoin sandboxLater on March 23, Piero Cipollone, a member of the ECB’s Executive Board, said that both tokenized deposits and stablecoins need tokenized central bank money as a public settlement anchor for scaling Europe’s tokenized financial system, Cointelegraph reported.Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Bullish agreed to acquire transfer agent Equiniti from Siris Capital in a $4.2 billion transaction, giving the crypto exchange a major shareholder recordkeeping business as it pushes deeper into tokenized securities.As part of the deal, Bullish will assume $1.85 billion in debt from Equiniti, according to a Tuesday announcement. The transaction is expected to close in January 2027, pending regulatory approval.The acquisition will allow Bullish to offer 24/7 trading of tokenized securities and stablecoin-based payment and settlement tools. Equiniti is one of the world’s largest transfer agents, servicing nearly 3,000 companies, including the likes of Berkshire Hathaway and Rolls-Royce. Transfer agents are crucial for trading venues, as they are responsible for investor records, issuing ownership certificates and facilitating dividend payments.The acquisition underscores a growing race between crypto exchanges and traditional market infrastructure companies to build tokenized securities products that can support 24/7 trading, stablecoin-based settlement and corporate workflows.The deal comes over a month after the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) partnered with tokenization platform Securitize to develop blockchain-based trading infrastructure for Wall Street by enabling the minting of tokenized shares of stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Cointelegraph reported on March 24.Cointelegraph has approached Bullish for more details about its tokenization initiatives.Wall Street participants accelerate tokenization initiativesWall Street participants are accelerating their tokenization initiatives, despite a developing regulatory environment in the US.On Jan. 19, the NYSE’s parent company, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), shared plans for a tokenized securities venue designed for 24/7 trading, instant settlement, stablecoin-based funding and onchain settlement. Two months later, on March 18, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave the regulatory greenlight to Nasdaq’s pilot proposal to support the trading of tokenized versions of high-volume stocks and securities. Tokenized stocks are shares of traditional company stocks minted on the blockchain ledger, offering investors exposure to stock prices with advantages including 24/7 accessibility and fractional ownership. Some of the largest crypto exchanges have also launched tokenized stock offerings, including Coinbase, Binance and Kraken.Related: US financial markets ‘poised to move on-chain’ amid DTCC tokenization greenlightMeanwhile, investor demand for tokenized stocks continues to rise.Tokenized stocks, total value onchain, all-time chart. Source: RWA.xyz The value of onchain tokenized stocks rose by 31.4% in the past 30 days to $1.25 billion, while tokenized stock holders increased by 10% during the same period, data from RWA.xyz shows.Still, tokenized stocks are only the fifth-largest asset class of the $30 billion tokenized RWA market. Tokenized US treasury debt ranks first at $15.2 billion, followed by tokenized commodities at $5 billion, asset-backed credit at $2.5 billion and tokenized specialty finance products at $1.6 billion.Magazine: Can Robinhood or Kraken’s tokenized stocks ever be truly decentralized? Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

World Liberty Financial filed a defamation lawsuit against Tron founder Justin Sun in Florida, escalating a legal fight between the Trump family-linked crypto platform and one of its largest investors.The lawsuit, filed Monday in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, accused Sun of making false public statements about World Liberty and violating WLFI token-sale terms through alleged prohibited transfers, short-selling and straw purchases.The lawsuit also accused Sun of spreading defamatory statements surrounding the crypto platform, demanding a court-ordered retraction and compensation from the founder. Sun denied the allegations in a Monday post on X, calling the lawsuit a “meritless PR stunt” and saying he looked forward to defeating the case in court.The lawsuit comes less than two weeks after Sun sued World Liberty over the freezing of his WLFI tokens, a dispute that has intensified scrutiny of the project’s token controls and governance structure.The escalating legal battle follows a period of growing backlash towards the crypto platform, which came under scrutiny for a proposal seeking to add a further two-year lock-up period for early investors holding the WLFI token, Cointelegraph reported on April 16.Sun called the proposal “one of the most absurd governance scams I have ever seen.” WLFI court filing against Justin Sun. Source: World Liberty Financial / BusinesswireUS President Donald Trump and his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are listed as the co-founders of the platform, according to World Liberty’s white paper.Related: Justin Sun presses WLFI to identify wallets behind freeze powersSun was fully aware of WLFI’s token freezing rights, lawsuit claimsSun’s WLFI token address was blacklisted in September 2025 after blockchain data platforms flagged it for a roughly $9 million transfer. Sun said his presale tokens were unreasonably frozen and urged the team to unlock his investment. However, the lawsuit claims that Sun was “fully aware of World Liberty’s right to freeze user tokens to protect its token holders and its community” and that he agreed to it in the project’s Terms of Sale.“Rather than acting in good faith, Justin Sun chose to defame World Liberty — repeatedly, publicly, and to millions of followers,” Tom Clare, attorney for World Liberty Financial, claimed, adding that the lawsuit was a “last resort” measure seeking to protect its tokenholders and employees.The lawsuit claims that Sun previously agreed to WLFI’s “freezing authority” before publicly calling it a hidden “trap door” in a calculated effort to “harm World Liberty while potentially benefiting his own financial positions.”The lawsuit adds to WLFI’s prior governance concerns, after a March vote showed that 76% of voting power came from 10 wallets. Sun called that an alarming sign of concentrated influence. WLFI clapped back and accused Sun of spreading baseless allegations to cover up his own misconduct and threatened legal action.WLFI/USD, all-time chart. Source: CoinMarketCapThe WLFI token rose 5% in the 24 hours leading up to 1:43 p.m. UTC on Monday, but is down over 80% since launch, according to CoinMarketCap data.Magazine: Quitting Trump’s top crypto job wasn’t easy: Bo Hines Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin mining and energy infrastructure company Hut 8 secured a $200 million Bitcoin-backed credit facility from institutional crypto prime brokerage FalconX, replacing its prior credit facility with Coinbase Credit. The new facility reducwd the company’s fixed interest rate to 7% from 9% under the prior Coinbase credit structure, as part of the company’s focus on lowering the cost of debt on its Bitcoin-backed credit and broader cost of capital, said Hut 8 in a Monday announcement.The refinancing unencumbered about 3,300 BTC, worth roughly $260 million, from the collateral package after replacing the prior Coinbase facility, Hut 8 said.The deal shows how Bitcoin miners and energy infrastructure firms are using BTC reserves to manage liquidity without selling their holdings, as Hut 8 expands into AI data centers and prepares to report first-quarter earnings on Wednesday.“Our capital strategy is designed to lower our cost of capital, reduce risk, and expand strategic flexibility,” said Asher Genoot, CEO of Hut 8, adding that the new facility helps improve the company’s cost of debt on Bitcoin-backed credit and “expands our position of unencumbered Bitcoin.”On Feb. 25, Hut 8 posted a fourth-quarter net loss of a $279.7 million, from income of $152.2 million a year earlier, Cointelegraph reported. The results were affected by a $401.9 million loss on digital assets in the quarter, compared with a $308.2 million increase a year earlier. Top Bitcoin mining companies by market capitalization. Source: Companiesmarketcap.comHut 8 is the third-largest Bitcoin mining firm by market capitalization, currently worth about $8.6 billion according to Companiesmarketcap data. However, it only ranks as the 17th-largest Bitcoin miner in terms of hash rate, according to Bitcoinminingstock.Related: Capital B raises $1.3M from Adam Back for Bitcoin strategyHut 8 shares rise in pre-market tradingShareholders welcomed the new Bitcoin-backed credit facility, as Hut 8 shares rose over 1.1% in pre-market trading on Monday, data from Yahoo Finance shows.Hut 8 stock price, year-to-date chart. Source: Yahoo FinanceHut 8’s stock price is up over 67% year-to-date and has gained significant traction since the Bitcoin miner announced its expansion to AI data center infrastructure.On Dec. 17, 2025, Hut 8 signed a 15-year lease for 245 megawatts of AI data center capacity at its River Bend campus valued at $7 billion. The agreement includes payments financially backstopped by Google and builds on Hut 8’s broader expansion into AI. Other Bitcoin miners that announced strategic pivots to AI infrastructure include  CleanSpark, Core Scientific, HIVE Digital and MARA Holdings.Magazine: Bitcoiners eye ‘sell in May,’ SBF’s bid for new trial shut down: Hodler’s Digest, April 26 – May 2Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.