Cryptocurrency

(Reuters) – The cryptocurrency industry, including heavyweights like Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) and Ripple, spent more than $119 million backing pro-crypto U.S. congressional candidates, hoping to boost those who would pass crypto-friendly bills to promote digital assets.The effort succeeded on Tuesday, with many of the industry’s chosen candidates winning their races, potentially ushering in a Congress poised to champion crypto like never before. Much of the sector’s spending in 2024 came from supercharged political action committees, which can spend unlimited amounts of money. Fairshake, one of the most prominent PACs dedicated to supporting candidates with favorable views of crypto, spent more than $40 million during this election cycle, according to OpenSecrets. The spending data comes via both OpenSecrets and the Federal Election Commission. Here are the races where crypto has spent the most money, and whether the industry was ultimately successful in boosting their preferred candidate: 1. Ohio Senate: (R) Bernie Moreno vs. (D) Sherrod Brown (incumbent)The cryptocurrency industry spent by far the most amount of money attempting to unseat current Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown in this year’s elections, doling out $40.2 million on behalf of Brown’s opponent, Republican Bernie Moreno.Moreno defeated Brown on Tuesday, Edison Research projected, in one of the most expensive Senate races in history, ousting one of crypto’s biggest foes in Congress. Brown has been skeptical of cryptocurrencies, expressing particular concern about their use in financing groups deemed by the U.S. to be state sponsors of terrorism. Meanwhile, Moreno started a blockchain-based company and has said he will “lead the fight to defend crypto” in the Senate. Moreno enjoyed contributions from Defend American Jobs – an affiliate of Fairshake – as well as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. 2. Michigan Senate: (R) Mike Rogers (NYSE:ROG) vs. (D) Elissa SlotkinCrypto spent $10 million supporting current U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin of Michigan in her race for a vacated Senate seat, with contributions coming from Fairshake affiliate Protect Progress as well as Chris Larsen, the executive chairman of Ripple. Slotkin narrowly won her race, according to Edison Research. In Congress, Slotkin voted in favor of repealing a crypto-related accounting bulletin from the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as a bill promulgated by Republican House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry that would seek to develop a regulatory framework for crypto. 3. Arizona Senate: (R) Kari Lake vs. (D) Ruben GallegoProtect Progress, along with individual donors like Coinbase’s Armstrong and Andreessen Horowitz general partners Chris Dixon and Ben Horowitz, spent $10 million supporting current U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego’s campaign for an Arizona Senate seat. Gallego voted along with Slotkin in favor of legislation that the crypto industry supported. The race has not been called yet. 4. Massachusetts Senate: (R) John Deaton vs. (D) Elizabeth Warren (incumbent)The crypto industry spent $4.2 million propping up Massachusetts Senate candidate John Deaton in his race against Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has clashed with digital assets leaders numerous times. Warren, the incumbent, won re-election, Edison Research projects. Warren has called for applying stringent anti-money laundering standards to crypto, and has said crypto businesses are reticent to follow the same rules that other financial firms like banks comply with. With Brown having lost his Senate race in Ohio, Warren could become one of the top Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee next year. 5. West Virginia Senate: (R) Jim Justice vs. (D) Glenn ElliottCrypto spent $3 million supporting former West Virginia governor in his quest for Senate, led by Defend American Jobs, Armstrong, and the Coinbase Inc Innovation PAC. Justice won the Senate seat on Tuesday, Edison Research projects. On his website, Justice said earlier this year that the U.S. has “a tremendous opportunity” with crypto and blockchain innovation, and that he supports a regulatory framework for digital assets that “allows entrepreneurs to innovate, flourish and achieve their full potential.”6. Indiana Senate: (R) Jim Banks vs. (D) Valerie McCrayIndividual donors like Armstrong, Horowitz and Dixon along with the Coinbase Inc Innovation PAC and Defend American Jobs in the primary campaign spent $3 million to back Republican Indiana Senate candidate and current congressman Jim Banks, who won the Senate seat, according to Edison Research. Banks supported legislation backed by the crypto industry in Congress. 7. California 45th Congressional District: (R) Michelle Steel (incumbent) vs. (D) Derek TranThe crypto industry spent $2.8 million supporting Representative Michelle Steel’s re-election campaign, led by Fairshake, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and the Coinbase Inc Innovation PAC. Steel voted in favor of legislation to repeal the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s accounting bulletin and create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. The race has not been called yet. 8. Alabama 2nd Congressional District: (R) Caroleene Dobson vs. (D) Shomari FiguresCrypto has spent $2.6 million backing Shomari Figures’ congressional race for a brand new district in Alabama, a race that he won by a wide margin, according to a projection from Edison Research. That $2.6 million includes contributions from Protect Progress, the Winklevoss twins, Armstrong and the Coinbase Inc Innovation PAC. Figures signed onto a letter from Democrats in July asking the Democratic National Committee to soften its stance on crypto and include crypto-supportive language in the party’s platform. On his website, Figures said that he would embrace digital assets to spur innovation and technological advancement.    9. North Carolina 1st Congressional District: (R) Laurie Buckhout vs. (D) Donald Davis (incumbent)Individual donors like Armstrong, Larsen and the Winklevoss twins along with Fairshake spent $2.3 million in the primary campaign on behalf of Representative Donald Davis’ re-election campaign, which Davis won, Edison Research projects. Davis supported legislation backed by the crypto industry in Congress. 10. Colorado 8th Congressional District: (R) Gabe Evans vs. (D) Yadira Caraveo (incumbent)The crypto industry spent $2.3 million to back Yadira Caraveo’s congressional campaign in Colorado, led by contributions from Fairshake, Armstrong, Dixon and Horowitz. Caraveo is the ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee’s subcommittee on commodity markets, digital assets and rural development and has called for a regulatory framework for digital assets. The race has not been called yet.  More

Zircuit, the chain where innovation meets security, is thrilled to announce the success of its EIGEN Fairdrop initiative. With a first-of-its-kind distribution of 2% of ZRC tokens to eligible EIGEN holders, Zircuit has introduced a model of fairness and inclusivity in the Ethereum staking ecosystem, underscoring a commitment to decentralization and community empowerment.The EIGEN Fairdrop, an industry first, provided equal shares to over 190,000 eligible EIGEN holders and moved away from traditional distribution models that often favor larger stakeholders. Within just the first week, over 51,000 users claimed their ZRC and this fair and community-first approach has garnered widespread appreciation across the crypto space.The Fairdrop includes a wide range of contributors to the EigenLayer ecosystem, extending beyond EIGEN stakers to support Uniswap liquidity providers, EtherFi eEIGEN holders, and Renzo ezEIGEN holders. Zircuit protects users from hacks through its built-in, automated AI techniques that guard against smart contract exploits and malicious actors. Bolstered by its strong security infrastructure, Zircuit is the central hub for restaked assets featuring unparalleled security and allowing users to potentially earn industry-leading yields natively. With $1.8 billion in Total (EPA:TTEF) Value Locked (TVL), Zircuit is the premier liquidity hub for restaked assets (ETH, BTC, LSTs, and LRTs) where users can receive stronger security guarantees and trust.During Mainnet, users can bridge their assets and start staking to potentially earn rewards and airdrops from the Zircuit ecosystem at the Liquidity Hub. To learn more about Zircuit, users can visit zircuit.com or read the developer docs at docs.zircuit.com About ZircuitZircuit provides developers with advanced features and users with peace of mind. Built by a team of web3 security experts and PhDs, Zircuit merges high performance with unparalleled security, making it the safest choice for DeFi and staking. Users can visit zircuit.com or follow us on Twitter/X @[email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

Bloomberg has shared a few takeaways along these lines, noting that, overall, Powell tried not to offer forward guidance on where rates might go from here, leaving his options open for the December meeting and beyond.Powell emphasized that the economy is strong, so officials can take their time lowering interest rates. He also stated that policy remains restrictive despite the latest rate cut, and that policymakers are working to bring interest rates back to neutral levels.As for when the Fed will adjust the pace of its rate cuts, Powell said officials might move faster if the labor market deteriorates and slow cuts as they near neutral. However, he stated that officials have yet to decide on this issue. Powell did, however, mention that he was “feeling good” about the economy as a whole.The markets posted a reaction: Stocks continued to rise, with the S&P 500 on track for another record close. Bitcoin was also trading near its record high of over $76,000.The central bank’s decision was generally anticipated by markets ahead of time. At its previous meeting in September, the Fed began lowering interest rates by 50 basis points.Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have mostly profited from low interest rates; hence, the impact on the markets is not farfetched, as Bitcoin and the majority of cryptocurrencies have seen gains.Bitcoin rose about 2% in the last 24 hours to $76,259, while Solana, ADA and Cronos (NASDAQ:CRON) (CRO) gained 9%, 17% and 25%, respectively. Jupiter, Pyth, Neiro and GOAT saw gains ranging from 10% to 13%.One Fed meeting remains on the docket for this year, Dec. 17 to 18, with traders pricing in about a 75% possibility of another rate cut, according to CME Group’s (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool.This article was originally published on U.Today More

The move upwards pushed Cardano’s market cap up to $15.7212B, or 0.63% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, Cardano’s market cap was $94.8001B.Cardano had traded in a range of $0.4043 to $0.4507 in the previous twenty-four hours.Over the past seven days, Cardano has seen a rise in value, as it gained 26.97%. The volume of Cardano traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $1.3151B or 0.98% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $0.3206 to $0.4507 in the past 7 days.At its current price, Cardano is still down 85.47% from its all-time high of $3.10 set on September 2, 2021.Bitcoin was last at $76,385.7 on the Investing.com Index, up 0.46% on the day.Ethereum was trading at $2,932.54 on the Investing.com Index, a gain of 3.02%.Bitcoin’s market cap was last at $1,511.3191B or 60.19% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Ethereum’s market cap totaled $353.6107B or 14.08% of the total cryptocurrency market value. More

The world’s largest cryptocurrency rallied to record highs this week amid optimism over friendlier U.S. regulations during a second Trump presidency. The Fed’s interest rate cut on Thursday added to this rally, as the bank signaled that the U.S. economy remained strong, and that it will likely ease monetary policy further.Bitcoin rose 1.4% to $76,029.0 by 08:25 ET (13:25 GMT). Bitcoin surged to a record high of $76,837.8 on Thursday, and remained in sight of these peaks after Trump’s victory sparked sharp gains in crypto markets.Bitcoin was at the forefront of these gains, as markets bet that Trump will roll out more crypto-friendly regulations, as promised by his campaign. Trump had vowed to make the U.S. the “crypto capital” of the world, although he did not specify just what his policies would entail for the crypto industry. Still, crypto bulls bet that Trump’s policies would give Bitcoin more legitimacy as an investment vehicle, boosting its adoption by institutional investors. Risk appetite was furthered by the Fed cutting interest rates by 25 basis points, as widely expected, on Thursday. Chair Jerome Powell said that the U.S. economy was in a good place, and signaled that the bank would continue to ease monetary policy, albeit cautiously. Powell also said that the Fed’s path was unchanged in the face of near-term political changes in the U.S., but would adapt to changing policies in the long-term.His comments spurred gains across most risk-driven assets, with Wall Street hitting a record high on Thursday. These gains also spilled over into crypto.Still, the longer-term outlook for interest rates was seen turning more uncertain, especially with Trump expected to enact more inflationary policies. Crypto prices were headed for a stellar week, with Bitcoin trading up nearly 10%.World no.2 crypto Ether jumped 4.4% to $2,929.03 on Friday, and was set for an over 15% gain this week- its best since mid-May.Memecoin Dogecoin was a standout performer this week, up nearly 22% in its second consecutive week of double-digit gains.Solana (SOL), now the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has broken past $200 for the first time since April, driven by Trump’s election victory.The cryptocurrency has risen over 9% in the last 24 hours and around 20% over the past week, reaching a market cap of $95 billion, according to CoinGecko. Early Friday, SOL hit a high of $204.4, marking its highest value since April 1, 2024.Meanwhile, Cardano (ADA) has surged 16% over the past day, outperforming most other major digital assets. ADA crossed 43 cents on Friday, hitting levels not seen since late July. Key factors driving recent price increases include a broader market rally and renewed interest in decentralized finance (DeFi).Moreover, some analysts note ADA’s popularity among retail investors as a growth driver.Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.  More

Most definitely, more and more people are weighing in on Spot Bitcoin ETFs, which shows that investors are beginning to prefer safe, regulated Bitcoin-based financial products over direct exposure. This increased interest is a sign that the retail side of the market is moving toward digital assets, especially as institutions like BlackRock offer access to the cryptocurrency through structured and compliant investment vehicles.Meanwhile, this ETF-driven activity parallels Bitcoin’s upward momentum, with the cryptocurrency hitting all-time highs for three consecutive days.Ethereum-based ETFs have also caught the attention of investors, recording the third-highest single-day inflow in history, bringing in $79 million during the last trading session.This development suggests that interest in crypto-backed financial products may extend beyond Bitcoin, suggesting a more diversified approach by investors looking to tap into a wider range of digital assets or trying to catch up through beta, as Ethereum lags significantly behind BTC in terms of price action.This article was originally published on U.Today More

Bybit, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, is pleased to announce that Shunyet Jan, its current Head of Derivatives, will take on an expanded role as Head of Institutional. This move underscores Bybit’s commitment to serving institutional clients and enhancing its innovative derivatives offerings.Expanding Responsibilities for a Dynamic IndustryShunyet Jan joined Bybit with a wealth of experience in both traditional finance and high-frequency trading, bringing a fresh perspective to the crypto space. “Bybit has been an exciting place to work, with a strong focus on innovation and rapid execution,” Shunyet noted. “The culture here is remarkably collaborative, and it’s clear that agility and teamwork are at the heart of everything we do.” His positive first impressions of Bybit’s team and culture, shaped by his background across diverse financial environments, have only reinforced his enthusiasm for advancing Bybit’s role in the market.In his expanded role, Shunyet will leverage his insights from a distinguished career, which includes roles in program trading, ETFs, and index arbitrage on Wall Street, as well as algorithmic and high-frequency trading in Asia. His leadership will guide Bybit in crafting solutions that cater specifically to institutional needs, bridging traditional finance principles with the flexibility of digital assets.Championing Bybit’s Vision for Institutional GrowthWith deep experience in serving sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, hedge funds, and market makers, Shunyet understands the unique needs of institutional investors. “Institutional sales and derivatives share a common goal: providing seamless access to liquidity and effective support,” Shunyet explained. His dual background as both an institutional client advisor and a top global market maker allows him to anticipate and address the nuanced demands of these clients, helping Bybit solidify its reputation as a trusted partner for sophisticated trading solutions.In his new role, Shunyet’s focus is clear: “I’m focused on positioning Bybit as the top choice for institutional clients by enhancing our custody solutions, expanding loan products, and strengthening liquidity across the platform.” He envisions building a robust environment that not only attracts institutional clients but also elevates their experience through refined trading conditions and innovative tools. By refining custody options and liquidity enhancements, Bybit aims to further solidify its foundation in a rapidly growing sector.A Vision for Bybit’s Derivatives and Institutional FutureShunyet’s career trajectory highlights a commitment to adapting the best practices from traditional finance to the crypto industry. He sees significant potential in options trading for the crypto sector, especially in the APAC region, where demand is rapidly increasing. “While options are standard in traditional markets, they remain underutilized in crypto. My goal is to build a world-class options trading platform that offers the same level of sophistication and reliability that institutional investors expect.”“Bybit has a vision of creating a secure, innovative environment for traders, and I’m eager to contribute to the growth of our platform, enhancing institutional offerings while expanding sophisticated retail solutions,” Shunyet added.Helen Liu, Chief Operating Officer of Bybit, commented, “Shunyet’s dual expertise in traditional finance and crypto markets equips him to elevate our platform for institutional clients. His insights and leadership will be instrumental as we broaden our reach in institutional services and enrich our derivatives offerings.”About BybitBybit is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, serving over 50 million users. Established in 2018, Bybit provides a professional platform where crypto investors and traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, 24/7 customer service, and multilingual community support. Bybit is a proud partner of Formula One’s reigning Constructors’ and Drivers’ champions: the Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Red Bull Racing team.For more details about Bybit, users can visit Bybit Press For media inquiries, users can contact: [email protected] more information, users can visit: https://www.bybit.comFor updates, users can follow: Bybit’s Communities and Social MediaContactHead of PRTony [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

Glassnode cofounders, who go by “Negentropic” on X (formerly Twitter), have been closely tracking the cryptocurrency’s progress, suggesting that Bitcoin could be poised for another major move.Bitcoin recently surpassed $76,000, reaching highs of $76,509 on Wednesday, setting a new all-time high. The rise coincides with fresh all-time highs for traditional market indices like the Nasdaq and S&P 500.However, an interesting development is the weakening correlation between Bitcoin and these indices. This decoupling raises the question: Could Bitcoin push even higher independently of traditional markets?Negentropic indicated that with the impending interest rate decision and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech afterward, this could be Bitcoin’s first real test for its bullish trend. But will it continue to rise independently of traditional markets?The answers to these questions remain unknown, but the market closely watches for hints to predict Bitcoin’s next big move. At the time of writing, BTC was up 1.72% in the last 24 hours to $74,900 and up 6% weekly.The Federal Reserve is generally expected to cut interest rates again, with financial markets pricing a quarter-point drop as a near certainty.In light of this, investors are closely awaiting the Fed’s interest rate decision during its policy meeting today Thursday. The decision will be followed by comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, which may provide insight into the Fed’s economic and interest rate expectations for the coming months.Traders were last pricing in a 99% chance of a quarter-point cut in interest rates, based on CME Group’s (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool. This comes following the Fed’s 50 basis point rate cut in September.This article was originally published on U.Today More