Autor Nate Kostar

Bitcoin options traders hedge downside as uncertainty lingers, Anchorage says

Bitcoin options traders hedge downside as uncertainty lingers, Anchorage says

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 25, 2026 |

Bitcoin options traders remain heavily positioned for downside protection, with both crypto-native and exchange-traded fund investors showing elevated demand for downside hedges, according to new research by Anchorage Digital’s head of research, David Lawant.The report analyzed options activity across Deribit, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Strategy (MSTR), saying the three markets together provide a broader view of crypto-native, institutional and retail investor sentiment than any single options market alone. Both Deribit and IBIT options markets showed elevated put skew, indicating traders are paying a premium for downside protection rather than positioning for further gains. The report found defensive positioning ranked in the 82nd percentile of IBIT’s history and the 84th percentile of Deribit’s five-year history.Anchorage also found that Bitcoin (BTC) options markets have spent nearly half of 2026 pricing higher implied volatility over the next week than over the next month, an unusual inversion that has historically been episodic and short-lived. The report attributed the pattern to a succession of macroeconomic, geopolitical and crypto-specific catalysts that have kept traders focused on near-term risks.Bitcoin options 30-day/7-day implied volatility ratio. Source: Anchorage Digital reportTaken together, the findings suggest options traders remain focused on managing near-term risks rather than positioning for a clear directional move. Lawant said he is watching for one-month implied volatility to once again exceed one-week implied volatility, a shift he said would indicate markets are becoming more comfortable looking beyond immediate risks.Related: Bitcoin price is down over 40% since STRC launched: Is Strategy ‘fine’?Options market not signaling Strategy crisisThe analysis from Anchorage Digital also suggests investors remain cautious but are not pricing a severe downside scenario for Strategy despite recent weakness in the company’s preferred and common shares.Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock, STRC, fell as low as $82.53 on June 22, or about 17% below its $100 par value, before partially recovering after the company disclosed it had increased its fiat reserves to $1.3 billion. As of Thursday, it was trading around $77, roughly 23% below par.The weakness has extended beyond STRC. Strategy’s common shares (MSTR) were down about 78% over the past year and traded around $87 on Thursday, according to Yahoo Finance data.Strategy stock. Source: Yahoo Finance Despite the sell-off, Anchorage found that Strategy’s options market remains well below stress levels seen during previous market corrections. While traders continue to hedge against downside risk, put skew has not reached levels typically associated with fears of forced deleveraging or a broader crisis, according to the report.Strategy, led by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, pioneered the corporate Bitcoin treasury model in 2020 and remains the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with 847,363 BTC on its balance sheet.30-day risk reversals in Strategy (MSTR) options markets. Source: Anchorage Digital reportMagazine: Bitcoin decouples from tech stocks, Ether eyes ‘selling wave’: Market Moves

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Kraken, Maple launch onchain warehouse facility for crypto-backed institutional loans

Kraken, Maple launch onchain warehouse facility for crypto-backed institutional loans

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 25, 2026 |

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.Tokenized credit has grown to more than $6.2 billion in distributed value from roughly $1.87 billion a year ago, according to RWA.xyz data. Maple is the sector’s largest platform, with approximately $1.4 billion in tokenized credit assets.Maple said the structure gives institutional lenders access to senior, overcollateralized exposure backed by Bitcoin and Ether while allowing collateral and loan performance to be tracked onchain. Commonly used in large commercial transactions, in particular commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), a bankruptcy-remote SPV removes the borrower’s ability to file for bankruptcy.Kraken affiliates will originate, sell and service the loans while retaining a position in the transaction. Kraken Financial, a Wyoming-chartered Special Purpose Depository Institution, will hold the underlying collateral, while independent SPV administrator Zaria will oversee administration of the facility. The companies did not disclose the facility’s size or financial terms.Related: FalconX expands tokenized credit facility to Monad network in lending pushTokenized credit market continues to expandThe announcement comes as crypto lending continues to rebuild following the 2022 market collapse, with firms expanding institutional lending and blockchain-based credit infrastructure after the failures of lenders such as Celsius and BlockFi.In May, Ripple secured a $200 million credit facility from investment manager Neuberger Berman to expand the lending capacity of its institutional prime brokerage business. The financing is intended to support margin lending and other credit products for hedge funds, trading firms and other institutional clients.The same month, analysts at Bernstein said tokenized credit could represent a $4 trillion addressable market as blockchain-based lending expands beyond niche use cases into sectors including mortgages, auto loans and small-business lending.Source: RWA.xyzWhile onchain lending has continued to evolve, some parts of the decentralized finance sector have struggled. Earlier this month, lending protocol Radiant Capital said it would wind down after failing to recover from a $50 million exploit in 2024, citing an inability to replace lost funds or secure new capital.Magazine: The end of anonymity? AI could unmask crypto’s hidden identities

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Sweden's H100 shareholders greenlight acquisition deal to triple Bitcoin holdings

Sweden's H100 shareholders greenlight acquisition deal to triple Bitcoin holdings

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 24, 2026 |

Shareholders of Sweden’s H100 approved the issuance of shares needed to complete the company’s acquisition of Moonshot AS and Never Say Die AS, clearing a key condition for a transaction that would increase its Bitcoin holdings from 1,051 BTC to approximately 3,500 BTC.The approval allows H100, a Nordic SME-listed health technology company, to acquire the two Norwegian investment firms, which collectively hold about 2,450 Bitcoin, in exchange for newly issued H100 shares. Under terms announced in March, the owners of Moonshot and Never Say Die would become majority shareholders of H100, owning roughly 70% of the combined company following the transaction.Source: H100GroupThe deal is structured as a share-for-share transaction with no cash consideration, with ownership of the combined company based on the amount of Bitcoin (BTC) contributed by each party.If completed, the acquisition would increase H100’s Bitcoin treasury to approximately 3,500 BTC, likely making it Europe’s second-largest publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company behind Germany’s Bitcoin Group SE, according to data from BitcoinTreasuries.com. H100 shares closed 9.6% higher on Tuesday. Despite the gain, the stock remains down about 30% since the start of 2026, per Yahoo Finance data.Related: Multi-year Bitcoin holder selling falls to 19-month low as halving model flags new market bottom dateBTC treasury companies face pressureH100’s planned expansion comes as Bitcoin treasury companies face a more challenging market environment following months of declining cryptocurrency prices and signs of strain in some of the financing models used to fund BTC purchases.In May, France-based semiconductor maker Sequans Communications said it would abandon the Bitcoin treasury strategy it adopted less than a year earlier and gradually liquidate its remaining holdings to refocus on its core Internet of Things semiconductor business. The company held 658 Bitcoin at the time and said it would monetize the remaining holdings over time.Strategy, the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, has also faced challenges in recent months. Earlier this month, its preferred stock STRC fell below its intended $100 par value and traded at a steep discount to its liquidation preference.The company’s pace of Bitcoin accumulation has also slowed in recent months. After purchasing more than 34,000 BTC in a single week in April and nearly 25,000 BTC in a week in May, the company added roughly 1,500 BTC in each of the first two weeks of June. Market data analytics provider CryptoQuant on Wednesday said the company led by Michael Saylor should pause Bitcoin purchases and focus on replenishing its cash reserve, which is down 38% year-to-date.“They should pause Bitcoin purchases, rebuild cash reserves, and adopt a systematic framework for purchase timing,” wrote the market data analytics provider’s CEO Ki Young Ju in a Wednesday X post, adding that the biggest public Bitcoin treasury holder should also create a “disciplined selling framework” for the next bull market.Source: Strategy.com Magazine: AI is banking the unbanked in Africa… faster than crypto

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Blockchain.com, KuCoin expand payment rails across emerging markets

Blockchain.com, KuCoin expand payment rails across emerging markets

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 24, 2026 |

Crypto exchanges Blockchain.com and KuCoin rolled out new payment services on Wednesday that connect digital assets with local financial infrastructure in several emerging markets.Blockchain.com said it launched a Brazil-focused payments platform for institutional clients that uses USDC (USDC) and USDt (USDT) to support cross-border treasury operations, supplier payments and payroll. The company said the service is designed to give businesses a faster and lower-cost alternative to traditional international wire transfers.KuCoin, meanwhile, expanded its payment network across Mexico, Bangladesh and Zambia, adding support for Mexico’s SPEI banking system, Bangladesh’s bKash and Nagad mobile payment platforms, and mobile-money networks operated by MTN and Airtel in Zambia.KuCoin said the integrations are intended to make it easier for users to move digital assets through payment systems already widely used for remittances, merchant transactions and peer-to-peer transfers. Unlike Blockchain.com’s Brazil offering, which targets businesses managing treasury and international payment flows, KuCoin’s rollout is focused on consumer-facing payment networks.Related: Bitso brings peso-backed MXNB stablecoin to XRP Ledger via Ripple partnershipStablecoins power cross-border commerce in emerging marketsIn a recent report, Latin American exchange Bitso said stablecoin transaction volume among institutional clients grew 81% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, driven by growing use of blockchain-based settlement, treasury management and cross-border liquidity services.The report also found that financial institutions accounted for more than 60% of new business clients added during the period, suggesting banks and payment providers are increasingly incorporating stablecoin rails into existing financial operations.Bitso’s “Stablecoin Landscape in Latin America report for the first half of 2026.” Source: BitsoThe trend extends beyond Latin America. In a September 2025 report on crypto adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa, Chainalysis said stablecoins are frequently used in high-value trade flows between Africa, the Middle East and Asia, including multi-million-dollar transfers supporting sectors such as energy and merchant payments.Companies are investing in infrastructure to support that growth. Last week, Trace Finance raised $32 million to expand its cross-border settlement network across Latin America, the United States and Asia-Pacific. The company said it had processed more than $10 billion in transaction volume and would use the funding to expand infrastructure connecting blockchain-based payments with local banking and foreign-exchange networks.Despite growing adoption, regulatory questions remain. In May, Brazil’s central bank prohibited the use of virtual assets in certain regulated cross-border payment services, reinforcing requirements that Electronic Foreign Exchange providers settle transactions through supervised foreign-exchange channels.Magazine: AI is banking the unbanked in Africa… faster than crypto

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Ethereum Foundation sacks 20% of workforce amid strategic restructuring

Ethereum Foundation sacks 20% of workforce amid strategic restructuring

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 23, 2026 |

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has laid off 54 employees, roughly 20% of its workforce, as part of a major organizational restructuring.According to a blog post published Tuesday, the EF will reorganize around five specialized clusters covering protocol, access, user, community and institutional work. The Foundation said the changes are intended to concentrate resources on Ethereum’s long-term technical priorities, including scaling, privacy, security and censorship resistance.Under the new structure, separate teams will oversee Ethereum’s core protocol, user access tools, community engagement and work with institutions, while management and operations functions remain organized independently.The announcement came a day after former Ethereum Foundation contributors Ansgar Dietrichs, Barnabé Monnot, Caspar Schwarz-Schilling, Josh Rudolf and Julian Ma announced the launch of Ethlabs, an independent nonprofit research organization. Backed by BitMine, SharpLink and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, Ethlabs said it will focus on scaling, interoperability and other protocol-level improvements.Source: EthLabsRelated: Ethereum can quantum-proof accounts for just 7 cents, says Ethereum’s Kohaku leadButerin says Ethereum Foundation cutting budget by 40%In a Tuesday X post, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said the Ethereum Foundation is reducing its budget by roughly 40% as it transitions toward a long-term, endowment-based organization. He said the foundation aims to lower annual spending from about 15% of its remaining funds to roughly 5% after 2030, a shift he said necessitated difficult staffing decisions. Buterin’s post said:The past years have been a challenging era for Ethereum. However, the ecosystem is adapting, both inside the EF and outside.Buterin said the foundation would continue prioritizing major protocol initiatives while shifting some work outside the EF as Ethereum development becomes more distributed.Source: Vitalik ButerinThe Ethereum Foundation has also adjusted its treasury strategy in recent months. The organization unstaked 17,000 Ether in late April and another 21,270 ETH in early May after nearly reaching 70,000 ETH staked earlier this year. The foundation also sold 10,000 ETH to BitMine in an over-the-counter transaction on May 1.Last week, former EF contributor Trenton Van Epps warned that Ethereum’s core development ecosystem could face a “slow-burning funding crisis,” arguing that spending cuts and the expiration of the network’s Client Incentive Program have left some contributors searching for new funding sources.The warning came amid broader changes at the EF, including co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang’s departure and a wave of exits that had already reached an estimated 19 employees and executives this year before Tuesday’s announcement of additional layoffs.Magazine: Bitcoin decouples from tech stocks, Ether eyes ‘selling wave’: Market Moves

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