Latest Crypto News | Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoin Updates

United Overseas Bank (UOB) economists warn Indonesia’s fiscal deficit may widen markedly in 2025, potentially approaching 3.0–3.2% of GDP. The projection, from UOB’s quarterly ASEAN analysis, cites moderated tax revenue growth, continued energy and food subsidy pressures, ongoing infrastructure capital spending, and weaker global demand as chief drivers. Indonesia’s statutory deficit ceiling is 3% of GDP; the projected range would test that boundary. UOB notes the country’s public debt remains moderate (~39% of GDP) relative to regional peers, offering some policy space. Market implications include larger government borrowing needs, upward pressure on domestic interest rates, potential currency volatility, and influence on credit ratings. Policymakers can respond through revenue administration improvements, subsidy targeting, expenditure rationalization, and careful borrowing. UOB’s mixed quantitative and qualitative analysis frames the outlook under scenario assumptions for commodity prices, growth, and policy implementation. For traders, the key takeaways are higher sovereign financing requirements that could tighten domestic liquidity and rates, possible IDR weakness if sentiment shifts, and sectoral implications—benefits for infrastructure-related firms but risks for sectors sensitive to interest rates and currency moves. UOB’s forecast merits monitoring alongside fiscal announcements, Bank Indonesia policy signals, and commodity price trends.

Bitcoin fell 4.6% on February 24 and market sentiment plunged: the Crypto Fear & Greed Index hit 5, an extreme-low last seen in 2019. Glassnode reported the 90-day realized profit/loss ratio below 1, meaning average holders have realized losses over the past three months — a shift into a regime of “excess loss-realizing.” Historical patterns suggest phases with this ratio under 1 tend to persist for about six months. CryptoQuant’s Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) has been declining since October 2025; if NUPL falls below 0, market cap would be below realized cap, indicating most holders are at a loss and signalling deep discount conditions that typically attract longer-term value buyers. The article warns that correlated selling in BTC and ETH, plus extreme fear readings, point to continued risk-off behaviour and likely further bearish price action over the next six months. Key on-chain metrics to watch: 90-day realized profit/loss ratio (main keyword: realized profit/loss ratio), Crypto Fear & Greed Index, and NUPL.

Australia’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.8% year‑over‑year in January 2025, above the 3.7% market consensus and up from 3.6% in December. Key drivers included housing costs (rents +7.2%, new dwelling prices +4.1%), services inflation (4.2% YoY), higher utilities and persistent food and transport costs. The reading pushed Australian government bond yields higher and strengthened the AUD as markets scaled back expectations for near‑term Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) rate cuts. Swap markets now price under a 20% chance of a cut in the next quarter; the RBA cash rate stands at 4.35%. Economists revised 2025 inflation forecasts upward and expect the cash rate to remain at least through mid‑2025, with upside risk if subsequent data confirms persistence. For traders, notable implications include potential further AUD strength, upside pressure on yields, greater volatility around RBA communications and economic releases, and a higher cost of carry that may affect leveraged positions and risk appetite.

A Reuters report says the future use of Anthropic’s Claude AI within classified Pentagon systems is uncertain after internal reviews and concerns over data handling. U.S. defense officials and contractors are reassessing deployments following an audit-like review that evaluated compliance with security protocols. The review highlighted potential risks in processing classified information and raised questions about whether Claude meets stringent defense requirements. Anthropic and Pentagon representatives have been engaged in discussions; no immediate large-scale removal was announced, but the outcome could limit Claude’s role in sensitive defense projects. The development underscores heightened scrutiny of AI vendors supplying government and defense systems and may affect contract decisions and vendor trustworthiness assessments.

Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas shared historical annual-return data (1972–1981) originally compiled by Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, showing that gold’s volatility in the 1970s exceeded Bitcoin’s contemporary volatility. The dataset—initially mistaken by some as crypto returns—illustrates dramatic price swings after the 1971 collapse of the Bretton Woods system, when gold moved from $35/oz to nearly $850/oz by January 1980. Analysts use this comparison to challenge narratives that label Bitcoin uniquely unstable, arguing that emerging stores of value typically undergo high volatility during price discovery. Key points: gold annualized volatility exceeded 40% in certain years (1972–1981); Bitcoin’s recent 30-day annualized volatility typically ranges 30–80% but has trended lower over longer horizons; structural factors behind 1970s gold swings included monetary policy shifts, stagflation, geopolitical shocks, and changing regulation. Bitwise’s Hougan contends Bitcoin may follow gold’s path toward broader institutional adoption and reduced volatility as market cap and regulatory clarity increase. For traders, the takeaway is that historical precedent suggests volatility can decline with maturation, but short-term price risk remains while adoption and policy evolve.

MatX, an AI chip startup founded by former Google TPU engineers, closed a $500 million Series B on Feb 24, 2026. Led by Jane Street and Situational Awareness, the round included Marvell Technology, NFDG, Spark Capital and Stripe co‑founders Patrick and John Collison. The capital follows a $100 million Series A and will fund chip development and manufacturing at TSMC with planned initial shipments in 2027. MatX aims to deliver processors that offer up to 10x training performance for large language models versus current Nvidia GPUs, leveraging founders’ TPU software‑hardware experience and full‑stack co‑design. Technical details are limited, but analysts expect approaches such as tensor‑optimized cores, advanced memory hierarchies, chiplet layouts and novel numerical formats. The raise signals growing investor appetite for GPU alternatives amid Nvidia’s ~80% market share, supply constraints and rising training costs. Strategic investors and partnerships (notably TSMC and Marvell) may ease manufacturing and go‑to‑market hurdles, but MatX still faces the challenge of building compilers, libraries and customer adoption against entrenched GPU ecosystems. Traders should note the funding’s potential to accelerate competition in AI hardware, possibly affecting firms exposed to AI compute demand, chipmakers, and cloud GPU prices as alternative accelerators approach production.

EUR/USD dropped decisively below the key 1.1800 support, hitting an intraday low near 1.1765 after a string of unexpectedly hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials. The Fed rhetoric emphasized persistent core services inflation, a tight labor market and continued quantitative tightening, prompting a 12-basis-point jump in the 2‑year Treasury yield and a sharp rise in dollar demand. Trading volumes rose ~40% above the 30‑day average during the European–New York overlap. Technical indicators deteriorated: the 50‑day SMA crossed below the 200‑day SMA (a “death cross”) and RSI entered oversold territory below 30, suggesting potential short-term bounces but overall bearish momentum. Analysts note widening Fed–ECB policy divergence — the ECB is easing amid slowing Eurozone growth — which supports sustained dollar strength. Market implications include downward pressure on dollar‑priced commodities, higher debt servicing costs for dollar‑denominated liabilities, and mixed effects for Eurozone exporters. Traders should monitor upcoming U.S. CPI and payrolls releases and ECB communications for confirmation or reversal. Key data points: EUR/USD ~1.1765 session low, 1.1800 support breached, 2‑year U.S. yield +12 bps, volume ~+40% vs 30‑day avg.

Bitcoin Depot, operator of about 8,800 crypto ATMs across North America, will require identity verification for every transaction in a phased rollout beginning this month. The change tightens a policy introduced in October that only required ID at initial activation. Bitcoin Depot says per-transaction ID checks aim to curb account sharing, identity theft and account takeovers, strengthen anti-fraud controls, detect patterns missed at onboarding and assist law enforcement. The move follows lawsuits from the attorneys general of Massachusetts and Iowa alleging the company facilitated scams (including schemes targeting seniors) and charged hidden premiums; Massachusetts has sought court-ordered changes including extra anti-fraud steps and increased scrutiny for single transactions above $10,000. The announcement came amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of crypto ATMs after large consumer losses to scams; regulators and some states have already imposed stricter limits and monitoring. For traders, expect reduced OTC/peer cash-on-ramp via ATMs, slower instant cash-to-crypto flows at affected locations, and a modest decline in immediate buy demand in jurisdictions enforcing the checks. Market participants should watch regional adoption speed, enforcement outcomes of the lawsuits and any resulting limits on transaction size that could further constrain retail onramps.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin publicly supported AI developer Anthropic after reports that the U.S. Department of Defense told the company to provide unrestricted access to its Claude model or face measures under the Defense Production Act or being flagged as a supply-chain risk. Vitalik said he would value Anthropic more if it stood by two ‘red lines’: not developing fully autonomous weapons and not enabling large-scale surveillance of U.S. citizens. He argued that fully autonomous weapons and mass privacy violations should be restricted and favored supplying only general open model capabilities rather than extra special-purpose support. The report and Vitalik’s comments highlight growing tensions between AI firms, national security agencies, and civil-liberty advocates over access controls and permissible uses of large language models.

Bitwise has acquired staking provider Chorus One, bringing over $2.2 billion in staked assets and roughly 50 employees into Bitwise Onchain Solutions. The undisclosed deal expands Bitwise’s institutional staking infrastructure across more than 30 proof‑of‑stake chains — notably Solana (SOL), Sui, Aptos, Avalanche (AVAX), Tezos (XTZ) and Monad — and transfers Chorus One CEO Brian Crain to an advisory role. Bitwise (managing ~ $15 billion across 40+ products) says the move strengthens its staking capabilities for institutions and retail clients and could support growth in staking-related ETFs such as the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL). Analysts cited in later coverage noted the acquisition may make staking rewards more accessible and bolster long‑term SOL fundamentals; however, short‑term technicals for SOL remain weak (oversold RSI and ongoing downtrend). The deal size was not disclosed. Primary keywords: Bitwise, Chorus One, staking, staked ETFs, Solana, multi‑chain staking.

Spanish startup Multiverse Computing has released a compressed version of its HyperNova 60B AI model for free on Hugging Face, positioning the company as a challenger to larger U.S. and European AI providers. Using its CompactifAI quantum‑inspired compression, Multiverse reduced the model size to ~32GB — roughly 50% smaller than the gpt-oss-120B source — while retaining about 95% of original accuracy. The HyperNova 60B 2602 build claims 45% faster inference and a 60% smaller memory footprint versus comparable models, with improved multilingual support and enhanced tool-calling and agentic coding features. Multiverse compares favorably in efficiency benchmarks with rivals such as Mistral AI, and emphasizes European technological sovereignty, aided by regional government support and participation in a €215 million Series B. The company is reportedly pursuing a €500 million funding round that could lift its valuation above €1.5 billion and has claimed (unconfirmed) ARR around €100 million. Multiverse plans further open-source releases in 2026, compression toolkits in early 2026, specialized industry models in late 2025, and multimodal compressed models by 2026 Q3. Market implications include broader access for SMEs, edge deployment possibilities, and adoption in regulated sectors where data sovereignty matters. Keywords: compressed AI model, HyperNova 60B, CompactifAI, model compression, Hugging Face, European AI sovereignty.

The White House confirmed that former President Donald Trump will not grant clemency to Sam Bankman‑Fried (SBF), the ex‑FTX founder now serving a 25‑year sentence for fraud and conspiracy. A White House spokesperson reiterated Trump’s January statement that he does not plan to pardon SBF, Senator Robert Menendez, Nicolás Maduro and others, emphasizing the president is the final decision‑maker on pardons. The reports note SBF’s recent social‑media efforts from prison — including posts on X praising Trump and attacking the judiciary and Judge Lewis Kaplan — widely seen as attempts to win political favor and a possible pardon. Despite the Trump administration’s generally lighter approach to crypto enforcement, SBF’s high‑profile collapse of FTX in November 2022, his past large donations to Democrats, and his damaged reputation in the crypto industry make a pardon unlikely. For crypto traders, the decision closes a major political avenue for SBF’s legal relief, preserves legal certainty around his conviction, and removes a potential bullish catalyst for any recovery of FTX‑related tokens or reputationally linked assets.

CoreWeave is reportedly seeking an $8.5 billion loan from banks with support tied to a transaction involving Meta. The move aims to secure significant financing for the GPU cloud provider; details on loan structure, repayment terms, participating banks, or the exact nature of Meta’s support were not disclosed in the source. The report presents this as market intelligence and not financial advice. Primary keywords: CoreWeave, Meta, $8.5 billion loan, GPU cloud. Secondary/semantic keywords included for SEO: bank financing, corporate lending, tech infrastructure, cloud GPU, institutional support. This development may matter to traders monitoring enterprise demand for GPU capacity, investor funding events in crypto-related infrastructure, and potential counterparty exposure or valuation changes for companies operating in AI/GPU and blockchain compute markets.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said DeFi remains a core component of Ethereum’s value. The Ethereum Foundation (EF) will prioritize supporting permissionless, open-source, privacy-preserving and security-first global financial infrastructure. EF’s planned focus areas include improving security via audits, standards and wallet-side protections; introducing AI-assisted formal verification and user-agent defenses; strengthening oracle security and decentralization; advancing privacy payments and private-collateralized CDP use cases; and improving open-source licensing and forkability. The EF emphasized selective support — it will not back every on-chain finance project, only collaborators that reduce centralized trust and enhance user asset control and risk management. The announcement signals continued institutional and developer commitment to DeFi on Ethereum and outlines operational priorities that may affect protocol development, tooling, audits and privacy-focused products.

Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation (EF) publicly reaffirmed support for permissionless DeFi as a core Ethereum priority. Buterin urged builders to pursue open-source, permissionless, security-first finance that minimizes centralized chokepoints and maximizes user control and privacy. He emphasized projects that pass the “walkway test” — protocols that keep functioning if original teams depart — and called for deeper innovation beyond incremental improvements like “a better stablecoin.” The EF has also formalized renewed backing for DeFi: it created a dedicated DeFi unit within its app relations team to support protocol development, security improvements, and both mature and experimental projects. The statements coincide with recent token movements by Buterin and the EF; Lookonchain reported Buterin sold ~1,869 ETH (~$3.67M) over 48 hours and previously moved 211.84 ETH ($500k USDC) to an open-source health project. Buterin has signaled possible more regular personal sales as the EF implements austerity measures. Key themes for traders: renewed institutional backing for permissionless DeFi, continued emphasis on security and composability, and notable ETH transfers by a high-profile founder that may affect short-term liquidity and market sentiment.

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said the Fed’s current monetary policy is “well‑positioned” to handle mounting economic risks in 2025. Speaking at a business economics forum, Barkin described a data‑dependent, patient approach as the FOMC balances price stability and maximum employment after aggressive 2022 rate hikes. Key risks cited include persistent inflation—especially services and housing costs—an unexpectedly weak labor market, financial‑stability strains (notably commercial real estate), and global shocks. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, remains above the 2% target even as headline CPI has moderated. Barkin and other officials expect to continue quantitative tightening on a predictable path while monitoring incoming employment, inflation and GDP data. Markets are parsing comments for clues on rate-cut timing; pricing currently implies a potential initial cut in late 2025 but remains fluid. Economists say the Fed has optionality: policy is restrictive enough to tame inflation but can pivot if the economy weakens. For traders, the message implies continued elevated interest‑rate sensitivity in risk assets and Treasury yields until clearer data prompt a policy shift.

Gold tumbled below $5,150 per ounce after a sharp single-day correction driven by large-scale profit-taking and a surge in the US Dollar. Trading volumes in gold futures rose about 35% above the 30-day average during the sell-off, and SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) reported an outflow of roughly 4.5 tonnes. The US Dollar Index hit a one-month high following stronger-than-expected US retail sales (+0.7% MoM) and hawkish Federal Reserve commentary, reducing rate-cut odds for June and raising the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold. Technically, the break of the $5,150 consolidation floor triggered automated selling; key support is now seen at $5,050–$5,080 (near the 50-day SMA), with a deeper risk toward ~$4,950 if that zone fails. Related assets—gold miners and silver—experienced larger percentage declines, while commodity-linked FX (AUD, CAD) weakened. Analysts remain mixed: short-term pressure is clear, but many view the pullback as a potential buying opportunity within a longer-term bullish trend supported by central bank purchases and geopolitical risk. Traders should watch US macro updates, Fed signals, DXY moves, GLD flows, and the $5,050–$5,080 support band to guide entry/exit decisions.

Europe’s securities watchdog ESMA has directed crypto trading platforms to treat leveraged crypto products—such as perpetual futures and perpetual contracts—linked to Bitcoin and Ether as contracts for difference (CFDs). The Feb. 24 guidance requires firms to apply existing EU CFD safeguards regardless of product name: enforce leverage limits, show clear risk warnings, provide negative-balance protection, implement automatic margin close-outs, remove bonuses tied to these products, and restrict access to experienced retail traders via suitability checks. ESMA warned that relabeling or minor product tweaks will not avoid regulation and expects firms to manage conflicts of interest under MiCA-based investor-protection supervision. The move follows growth in leveraged crypto trading and coincides with industry responses including platforms blocking EU users from some products (for example, Kraken withholding tokenized stock/ETF perpetuals in the EU). Expected effects for traders: fewer high-leverage products available to EU retail, stricter risk controls, reduced potential for rapid outsized gains and losses, and possible shifts in liquidity as EU users migrate or reduce leverage. Exchanges that fail to comply risk losing EU retail access. Traders should reassess positions, reduce leverage, and expect tighter product availability and marketing for EU clients.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has fallen to an "Extreme Fear" reading of 11, signalling severe negative sentiment across crypto markets. Compiled by Alternative, the index (0–100) weights six inputs: volatility (25%), market volume (25%), social media (15%), surveys (15%), Bitcoin dominance (10%) and Google Trends (10%). The reading reflects high volatility, weak bullish social chatter, muted institutional flows, regulatory uncertainty and a flight to relative safety into Bitcoin (rising dominance). Historically, similar lows occurred during major sell-offs (for example LUNA/UST and FTX), often coinciding with investor capitulation and heightened downside risk. For traders, extreme fear implies elevated short‑term volatility and increased chance of panic selling, which can push prices lower; common derivatives effects include negative funding rates on perpetual swaps and algorithmic de‑risking by bots and funds. Short‑term traders should tighten risk management (reduce position sizes, use stop losses, avoid emotional trades). Long‑term investors may consider dollar‑cost averaging into fundamentally sound assets if risk tolerance allows, but should wait for corroborating signals (on‑chain metrics such as MVRV, supply‑in‑profit, inflows/outflows and macro developments) before adding risk aggressively. The index updates daily and is best used as a regime indicator among multiple tools, not as a standalone timing signal.

Crypto analyst Crypto Bully warns that Solana (SOL) faces downside risk after repeatedly failing to clear the key $90 resistance. SOL is trading around $78 and has formed lower highs, trading below the 20- and 50-period EMAs—signs of weak short- and medium-term momentum. The $76 swing low is the immediate support; a break below it would confirm a bearish Break of Structure and could send SOL toward a $67 monthly low, a high-liquidity zone. The analyst is waiting for either a liquidation wick (a sweep below $76 that triggers stops before a bounce) or a strong bullish impulse before considering long positions. Key levels: resistance $82–$90 (short-term), support $76, downside target $67. The analyst also flagged Bitcoin’s fragile price action as an additional downside risk for SOL. Traders should remain patient and risk-managed until clear bullish confirmation — reclaiming the 20/50 EMAs, forming a higher low after any sweep, and breaking above $82–$85 would be required to shift the outlook bullish.

AUD/JPY has rallied sharply toward the psychological 110.00 level as Japanese yen weakness accelerates. The pair trades near 109.85, up about 3.2% over the past week and following a bullish trend since January 2025. Technicals show a 50/200-day golden cross, RSI at 68, rising volumes (~40% above monthly average) and MACD bullish — all indicating continued upside momentum. Key levels: resistance 110.25, support 108.50 and 107.20 (50-day MA). Fundamentals driving the move include sustained BOJ ultra‑accommodative policy (yield curve control, negative short-term rates), persistent Japan trade deficits and higher inflation, versus a hawkish Reserve Bank of Australia (cash rate ~4.35%) supported by strong commodity exports, low unemployment and robust CPI (4.1%). The carry trade — borrowing yen to buy higher-yielding AUD — amplifies buying pressure. Institutional forecasts project AUD/JPY toward 112.00 by mid‑2025 if policy divergence and risk sentiment persist. Traders should monitor BOJ guidance, RBA decisions, commodity prices and global risk sentiment. Immediate trading strategy considerations: momentum favors long/carry positions while stops should guard against sudden risk-off flows or unexpectedly rapid BOJ normalization.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) came under renewed selling pressure after death crosses formed on lower timeframes. The 1-hour death cross appeared on Feb. 19, followed by a confirmed 2-hour death cross on Feb. 23 when the 200-period moving average crossed above the 50-period MA. The technical signals coincided with a sharp 4.2% 2-hour decline that pushed SHIB to the $0.0000060 support zone, a brief rebound to $0.00000614, and current trading near $0.00000592. Key short-term support sits at $0.0000060; failure to hold could open downside toward $0.0000057 and possibly $0.0000050. Potential resistance on any bounce is at $0.0000066, $0.0000072 and $0.0000078. Because SHIB remains below most major moving averages, sustained rallies are unlikely without a clear breakout. Traders should treat the death cross as a lagging but widely watched sign of weakening momentum, monitor the $0.0000060 support and watch for on-chain or market-wide catalysts to confirm direction. This information is for market participants and not financial advice.

A late-January treasury exploit on Solana led to the irreversible loss of 261,854 SOL (≈ $27 million), according to CertiK. Step Finance confirmed the breach and later announced it could not recover operations; partner projects including SolanaFloor and Remora Markets also moved to wind down after failing to secure financing or acquisition. The attacker drained funds after an unstake operation; the precise vector (leaked keys, internal compromise, or smart-contract flaw) has not been publicly confirmed. Remora says its rTokens remain 1:1 backed and will offer USDC redemptions, while Step Finance plans a buyback/redemption for STEP holders based on a pre-incident snapshot. Market reaction was severe: STEP liquidity evaporated and the token plunged over 90%, while SOL traded far below recent peaks. The incident highlights ongoing Solana security and custody risks, reduced DeFi activity on the chain, and elevated volatility for STEP and related assets. Traders should expect possible on-chain movement of stolen funds, heightened short-term downside pressure on STEP and spot SOL, thinner liquidity, and increased risk premiums when trading Solana-based projects.

NZD/USD fell sharply to about 0.5850 after markets materially reduced expectations of further Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) rate hikes. Key data: February inflation 3.2% YoY (below RBNZ 4.0% forecast), core inflation 2.8%, unemployment 4.3%, and wage growth 3.8%—all pointing to cooling domestic momentum. Technicals worsened: breach of 0.5900 support, next major floor at 0.5800, a 50-day/200-day “death cross,” and RSI in oversold territory. Market-implied odds of another 2025 RBNZ rate hike dropped from ~65% to ~15%; expected timing for cuts moved forward to late 2025. Commodity pressures (dairy prices down 4.2%, logs -3.1%) and a weakening terms-of-trade also reduce NZD carry appeal as interest-rate differential with the US narrows. Strategists warn of further downside (targets cited near 0.5750), while positioning shows large reductions in NZD longs. Key events to watch: RBNZ Monetary Policy Statement (April 10), US inflation/Fed commentary, and NZ Q1 GDP. Implication for traders: increased bearish bias on NZD/USD, higher volatility around RBNZ/data releases, and diminished carry trade attractiveness.

Bitcoin has entered a pronounced bearish phase as approximately $1.163 trillion of market cap has been erased since its October peak. U.S. institutional demand has waned: the Coinbase Premium Index remains negative (-0.04), indicating weaker U.S. buying versus offshore markets. NetFlow data shows about $2.81 billion left U.S. spot BTC ETFs in the past two months ($1.60B in January, $1.21B year-to-date in February). Retail activity on Binance offers a possible stabiliser — the Binance Buying Power Index fell to -0.07, a historical low last seen in July 2024 when BTC later consolidated then rallied. Spot netflow across exchanges shows modest net buying (~$305M over three days), with average daily demand near $100M; analysts note demand would need to rise toward $300M daily to materially improve recovery prospects. Conclusion for traders: institutional selling has pressured price; retail buying could stabilise but is currently weak. Continued institutional outflows or insufficient spot demand would likely keep Bitcoin fragile and volatile in the short term.

Market structure shows broad weakness: Shiba Inu (SHIB) is trading without clear technical support and has declining volume and participation, making any rebound likely to be a short-lived bounce rather than a durable reversal. XRP is approaching a historical reaction zone near $1.20 — the site of an earlier double-bottom — which could prompt stabilization if buyers defend the level, but the trend remains bearish with lower highs and lows and price below major moving averages. Bitcoin broke below the critical $63,000 psychological level (notably cited at $62,720), signaling renewed downside risk; the loss of this short-term support raises the chance of further selling absent swift buyer recovery. Key takeaways for traders: expect higher downside risk across markets while liquidity and participation remain low; monitor XRP around $1.20 for a potential consolidation or failure; treat SHIB as structurally weak until volume and clear support reappear; for BTC, a quick reclaim of the low-$60k range is needed to avoid deeper declines. Primary keywords: Bitcoin, BTC, XRP, Shiba Inu, SHIB, crypto market, market structure, support, volume.

Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins signalled the Fed is likely to keep interest rates at current levels for an extended period amid persistent inflation and mixed economic data. The FOMC has held the federal funds rate range since July 2024, marking the longest pause since the 2022–23 tightening cycle. Key indicators cited include core PCE at 2.6% (above the 2% target), unemployment around 4.1%, GDP growth near 2.3%, and wage growth moderating at 3.8%. Collins emphasised a data-dependent, risk-management approach; markets largely had priced in extended rate stability, producing muted moves in Treasuries, equities and FX. International central bank pauses and global growth uncertainties — including China’s gradual recovery and volatile commodity prices — also factor into Fed deliberations. Traders should expect sustained higher borrowing costs to influence bond yields, equity valuations and dollar strength, with the timing of eventual rate cuts contingent on further disinflation and labor-market changes.

Market strategist Gareth Soloway warns that equities face a prolonged downward grind driven by weak macro data and tightening financial conditions, but he sees Bitcoin (BTC) potentially rallying ahead of stocks. Soloway highlights elevated recession risks, slowing economic indicators and cautious Fed messaging as factors pressuring risk assets. He expects sector rotation and extended volatility in equities, while noting Bitcoin’s historical tendency to decouple and rally during risk-repricing and liquidity shifts. For traders, Soloway’s view implies watching macro signals, Fed commentary, and on-chain liquidity metrics; positioning may favor shorter-term long BTC exposure while keeping equity allocations defensive until clear macro stabilization. Key takeaways: stocks likely face extended pressure, recession risks rise, Bitcoin could outperform in an early recovery or risk-repricing phase — monitor BTC price action, volume, and macro/Fed cues for trade timing.

OpenAI has appointed Arvind KC, a former Roblox executive, as its Chief Human Resources Officer. KC will oversee hiring, onboarding and employee development and will report to Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon. The move comes as OpenAI expands staffing amid ongoing fundraising reportedly targeting valuations above $100 billion and steps toward a potential IPO. The appointment signals an emphasis on scaling talent and HR operations to support rapid growth of the AI company.