Latest Crypto News | Bitcoin, Ethereum and Altcoin Updates

Trader Noah Goldberg argues that artificial intelligence could eventually make traditional market prediction so accurate that public-market returns increasingly reflect factor exposure rather than genuine alpha. As AI tools improve, prices may absorb information faster, leaving excess returns mainly to large funds with superior data, networks and computing power. Goldberg says investors often mistake exposure to rewarded risks for stock-picking skill. Examples include quality retailers such as Costco and Walmart, which benefited from passing inflation through to consumers before higher interest rates weakened that support. A similar dynamic may be supporting megacap technology companies, as AI-related spending flows into advertising and cloud services. In crypto, token economics has created new mechanisms for reflexivity, where price gains, narratives and capital inflows reinforce one another. The success of HYPE suggests reflexivity alpha has not disappeared, but Goldberg warns that these opportunities may increasingly behave like a market factor rather than unique skill. As more projects compete for limited attention, the cost of building self-reinforcing narratives rises, while the probability of success falls. Traders should distinguish sustainable fundamentals from leverage- and narrative-driven momentum.

The US Senate blocked further progress on the Clarity Act after a procedural vote ended 49-50, below the 60 votes required to advance the cryptocurrency market structure bill. Andreessen Horowitz partner Chris Dixon said the result was disappointing but argued that on-chain activity, institutional blockchain adoption and crypto innovation remain strong. Dragonfly partner Haseeb Qureshi said the SEC and CFTC could still develop clearer rules, while warning that broad consumer adoption may offer the industry stronger long-term protection than legislation alone. Waterdrip Capital’s Jademont viewed the bill as a potential bipartisan framework, with disputes reportedly focused on ethics provisions linked to Donald Trump. The failed vote could therefore lead either to a revised bill after the midterm elections or to a more aggressive Republican-led proposal. The report also highlights Bitcoin’s return to $80,000 and renewed interest in altcoins, although it does not provide enough data to confirm a sustained market recovery. Separately, Blockchain Capital urged AI investors to revisit lessons from crypto investing, while Delphi Digital examined AI agent task markets that could allow users to buy and sell work outcomes. Begin Capital argued that crypto venture capital is shifting away from narrative-driven projects waiting for token generation events. Ten publicly disclosed funding rounds from 7-13 September raised more than $166 million, involving Payward, Latitude, Ethos, Agentum, Antarctic Exchange, RealGo, TINA, TRM Labs, Tazapay and Bilinear Labs.

Aave V4 is now operational on Circle’s Arc blockchain, following the Protocol Security Council’s decision to lift a temporary deployment halt on 16 September. Arc is designed for institutional stablecoin settlement and tokenised assets, strengthening Aave V4’s role in institutional DeFi. The initial Aave V4 market supports USDC, EURC, cirBTC and WETH. It uses a hub-and-spoke architecture, with a Core Liquidity Hub supplying market-specific spokes. The launch includes a general Main Spoke and a Forex Spoke for stablecoin borrowing. This structure is intended to reduce liquidity fragmentation while enabling separate risk parameters. Aave governance has set conservative supply and borrowing caps while Arc’s liquidity develops. The deployment could improve USDC integration, capital efficiency and cross-market liquidity, but its trading impact will depend on institutional adoption, borrowing demand and liquidity inflows. Traders should monitor Arc total value locked, stablecoin volumes, AAVE activity and any changes in borrowing rates.

HYPE has gained a new use case after Hyperliquid users borrowed $269 million against the token on the first day of its lending launch. The feature may improve capital efficiency and support HYPE demand, but it also increases leverage and the risk of forced liquidation if prices fall. Hyperliquid’s safeguards include an 82.5% liquidation threshold, a 10% interest reserve and a $500 million USDC borrowing cap. Glassnode said Bitcoin has fallen below its key $76,700 realised-market mean. New capital demand is weakening, with Bitcoin realised capitalisation turning negative, US spot Bitcoin ETFs recording about $334 million in weekly outflows and stablecoin supply remaining broadly flat. Traders are watching $71,300, followed by the $62,000-$65,000 area, while a recovery above $76,700 could restore the previous range. Bankless co-founder David Hoffman declared that an altcoin season may have begun, highlighting HYPE, ZEC, VVV, NEAR and LIT. However, this view contrasts with weakening Bitcoin flows and rising downside risks. GSR research found that high fully diluted valuations and low initial circulating supply have historically produced poor token performance. Tokens with FDV above $1 billion retained a median of only $0.19 for every $1 invested after one year, while low-float launches often fell below their listing price within three days. The market outlook is mixed: HYPE and selected altcoins may attract speculative capital, but weak Bitcoin demand, leverage and token-unlock pressure remain key risks.

NEAR Protocol has released nearcore 2.14.0-rc.1, the first release candidate for a major protocol and database upgrade. The release raises the protocol version from 85 to 87, with validator voting scheduled to begin on 23 September at 00:00 UTC. If approved, activation is expected 7–14 hours after the voting epoch ends. Validators must upgrade before voting to remain in consensus. The nearcore 2.14.0 upgrade removes FunctionCall gas rewards by reducing the burnt-gas reward from 30% to zero. It also introduces stricter receipt limits, including a 4,194,944-byte cap for promise inputs and a 4 MB storage-proof limit per receipt. Other changes include ML-DSA-65 post-quantum signature verification, SHA-3 host functions, early chunk-producer reassignment and updated contract-loading fees. The release rejects DelegateV2 actions, nested WithdrawFromGasKey actions, empty FunctionCall method names and oversized state-init receipts. Its database upgrade raises DB_VERSION to 51 and requires operators to review state-sync and epoch-snapshot configuration changes. As a release candidate, nearcore 2.14.0 still requires testing and compatibility checks; ordinary NEAR users do not need to install it directly. For traders, this is mainly a network infrastructure event rather than a direct token-demand catalyst. NEAR could see short-term volatility around validator voting and upgrade activation, but the immediate price impact is likely limited unless the rollout encounters technical problems or improves market confidence in the network.

Web3Caff Research’s weekly report highlights the growing focus on tokenised assets, blockchain infrastructure, payments and regulatory frameworks. Its featured analysis examines how traditional financial institutions are adopting distributed ledger technology through established systems rather than replacing them with public blockchains. The report compares SWIFT and Chainlink’s CCIP in financial messaging and interoperability, Canton Network in settlement, and DTCC in custody and market infrastructure. It argues that institutions prioritise permissioned access, privacy, identity controls, legal ownership and regulatory compliance. This model of institutional blockchain infrastructure is intended to improve settlement and asset servicing while limiting the risks associated with open networks. Key challenges include cross-ledger interoperability, global standards, cross-border rules and coordination between regulators and financial institutions. The report provides no specific fundraising figures or token launches, so its direct impact on crypto prices is likely limited. However, the analysis is relevant to traders monitoring tokenisation, stablecoin payments, blockchain infrastructure and the long-term institutional adoption of digital assets.

DIY Bitcoin hardware signing devices have evolved from simple open-source experiments into a coordinated ecosystem focused on self-custody, air-gapped signing and verifiable software. The movement began in 2018 with PiTrezor, which ported Trezor One’s open-source firmware to Raspberry Pi hardware. The project demonstrated that users could build a low-cost Bitcoin signing device, but also highlighted the need for reproducible builds and firmware verification. Projects including BitBoy and Bowser later explored DIY hardware as educational tools. Specter-DIY, launched in 2019 by Stepan Snigirev and the CryptoAdvance team, introduced fully air-gapped QR communication and stateless signing. Its reusable embit library later became core infrastructure for SeedSigner and Krux. SeedSigner used a roughly $5 Raspberry Pi Zero without Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, combining a camera and display for QR-based transaction signing. Its emphasis on user experience helped make DIY Bitcoin hardware signing devices more accessible. Krux adopted integrated Kendryte K210 development boards, reducing assembly requirements. Blockstream Jade also retained a DIY option through compatible third-party hardware. Related projects include ShieldSigner, which adds Satochip smart-card support, and Kern, an experimental firmware project. In November 2025, developers from Specter-DIY, SeedSigner and Krux met in São Paulo, with support from Vinteum and the Human Rights Foundation. They agreed to share responsibility for maintaining embit and exchanged work on secure boot, user experience and advanced multisignature functions. For traders, the development is strategically positive for Bitcoin’s decentralisation and self-custody infrastructure, but it is unlikely to create an immediate price catalyst. Security, supply-chain resilience and open-source verification may support long-term adoption, while the technical nature of DIY Bitcoin hardware signing devices limits near-term mainstream demand.

Bitcoin held near $75,000 after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and the US Senate rejected the Clarity Act, suggesting traders had largely priced in both events. Bitcoin absorbed $571 million in long-position liquidations during the 24 hours after the Senate vote but avoided a deeper sell-off. Analysts expect Bitcoin to trade in a range until a fresh catalyst emerges. A move above $77,950, followed by $79,300 and $80,000, could signal a breakout towards $81,400. A fall below $75,000 would weaken the recovery and raise downside risks. The Clarity Act’s failure leaves statutory uncertainty in the US crypto market. However, analysts expect the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission to continue developing rules under existing authority. The SEC’s temporary conditional exemption for eligible platforms trading tokenised US stocks was cited as evidence that regulatory progress can continue. Market participants remain divided. Some see Bitcoin’s resilience as evidence that liquidity, adoption and broader macroeconomic trends matter more than US legislation. Others, including Sigma Capital’s Vineet Budki, say the recent recovery does not confirm that a market bottom is in. Traders are watching the October 2 jobs report, October 14 Consumer Price Index release, exchange-traded fund flows and renewed spot buying for signs of Bitcoin’s next major move.

Hyperliquid launched manual borrowing on 18 September through its HyperCore infrastructure, allowing users to post HYPE or Bitcoin as collateral and borrow USDC or USDT. The feature supplements the platform’s automated lending system for portfolio-margin accounts. Hyperliquid reported $269 million in borrowed assets on launch day. The maximum loan-to-value ratio is 65% for HYPE and 50% for BTC. Liquidation thresholds are 82.5% and 75%, respectively. Collateral does not earn interest, while users supplying USDC or USDT can earn variable returns. Borrowing rates depend on utilisation, accrue hourly and update hourly. Account-level and global borrowing caps also apply. Manual borrowing is available to manual and unified accounts, while portfolio-margin accounts use automatic lending under the same HyperCore infrastructure. HYPE reportedly reached an all-time high of $90.92 around the launch, but available reports do not prove that manual borrowing caused the price rise. The launch-day borrowing figure also does not show longer-term demand, repayments or liquidations. The manual borrowing feature gives traders stablecoin liquidity while allowing them to retain HYPE or BTC exposure. Traders should monitor utilisation, hourly borrowing rates, collateral volatility and liquidation levels. HYPE offers higher borrowing capacity but may present greater liquidation risk because of its volatility.

The London Company Small-Mid Cap Portfolio returned 12.1% gross and 11.8% net in Q2 2026. The Small-Mid Cap Portfolio delivered strong absolute gains but lagged its Russell 2500 benchmark on a relative basis. Stock selection was a performance headwind, while sector allocation provided partial support. The Russell 3000 Index rose 15.4% during the quarter, while the S&P 500 recorded its strongest quarterly performance since 2020. The rally was supported by artificial intelligence infrastructure spending and a positive earnings season. Only the technology sector outperformed the Russell 2500. Just 25% of profitable Russell 2500 companies beat the benchmark. Relative performance improved sharply in June, but the portfolio did not meet its expected 85–90% upside capture rate. For traders, the update highlights strong US equity momentum, continued leadership from technology and AI-related themes, and the importance of stock selection in small- and mid-cap markets.

Bitcoin traded near $81,500, with a 24-hour high of $81,849 and a low of $80,126. Ethereum outperformed, rising 2.36% to about $2,689 and briefly reaching $2,707. Crypto liquidations totaled $387 million over 24 hours, affecting nearly 120,000 traders. Short positions accounted for $228 million of the liquidations, compared with $158 million for longs, suggesting the rebound was partly driven by a short squeeze. The largest single liquidation was a $5.34 million Binance ETHUSDT perpetual-contract position. Solana rose 1.20% to $112.26, while XRP gained 1.29% to $1.4245. Bitcoin’s technical structure remained constructive, with its price above the 20-, 50- and 200-day moving averages. RSI stood at 64, while resistance was near the $82,075 Bollinger upper band and the recent $82,300 high. Ethereum’s RSI was 66.1 and its price also remained above key moving averages. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index eased to 70 but stayed in the greed zone. Bitcoin’s ability to break above $82,000, alongside derivatives positioning and liquidity flows, will be important for near-term trading direction.

Polymarket traders now assign a 9% probability to the average number of ships passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait being below 25 at the end of September 2026. The probability fell 38% over the past 24 hours. The Polymarket contract will use IMF PortWatch data, specifically the seven-day moving average of “Arrivals of Ships” on 30 September. The calculation covers container ships, bulk carriers, roll-on/roll-off vessels, general cargo ships and tankers tracked by IMF PortWatch. Settlement will rely on the original unrounded data. The market may use the latest available figure if the 30 September data is delayed for up to 14 days. Any clear official data-entry or integrity error may allow settlement to be postponed until the end of the third day after publication. A difference between IMF data and figures from other organisations will not qualify as an error. The sharp decline in Polymarket odds indicates that traders increasingly expect shipping activity through the strategic waterway to remain above the contract threshold.

Strategy stock gained 47.65% over the month through September 18, making it the best-performing Nasdaq-100 constituent during the period. MSTR closed at $153.92 after rising 16.39% in one session, while Bitcoin climbed more than 5% and reclaimed the $80,000 level. Strategy held 845,050 BTC as of September 13, acquired for approximately $63.73 billion at an average cost of about $75,412 per Bitcoin. The company remains the largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holder, with its holdings representing slightly more than 4% of Bitcoin’s 21 million supply cap. Strategy did not buy Bitcoin during the two reporting weeks after its latest purchase of 4,603 BTC for $369.7 million. Instead, it repurchased STRC preferred shares, spending about $315.6 million across the two periods. The company has spent roughly $950.8 million on STRC buybacks since July and increased the related authorization to $2 billion. The Strategy stock rally coincided with Bitcoin’s recovery, positive crypto ETF flows and fresh US regulatory developments. However, MSTR remains exposed to leverage, capital-raising activity, preferred-share obligations and Bitcoin volatility. Despite the monthly rebound, the stock was still down more than 55% over the previous 12 months.

Investor Bill Miller IV, chairman and CEO of Miller Value Partners, says he has “never been more bullish” on Bitcoin. He argues that Bitcoin’s market capitalisation is near the peak of the previous cycle, while global fiscal conditions have deteriorated significantly, creating a wider gap between Bitcoin’s price and its potential fair value. Miller compares Bitcoin’s market cap with the scale of US government borrowing, noting that one year of US deficit spending is roughly comparable to Bitcoin’s entire market value. He views Bitcoin less as a conventional asset and more as a stable denominator for measuring capital when government-issued monetary units are weakened by debt and inflation. The discussion also covers gold’s recent outperformance, capital rotation from artificial intelligence-related trades, liquidity flows involving Japan and US Treasuries, energy prices, inflation and Federal Reserve policy. Miller attributes gold’s lead partly to stronger investor familiarity with the asset, while describing Bitcoin’s relative performance as a form of narrative lag. For crypto traders, the key signal is a strongly bullish long-term Bitcoin thesis tied to fiscal deterioration, monetary debasement and global liquidity. However, the comments are an opinion rather than a new market catalyst. Short-term Bitcoin price action will still depend on liquidity, interest-rate expectations, institutional demand and risk appetite.

The article contains only Seeking Alpha’s guidelines for its daily political discussion forum. It provides no market-moving political developments, economic data, company news or cryptocurrency updates. No information is given on Bitcoin, Ethereum, altcoins, job cuts, the tech sector or fiscal impact. As a result, there is no actionable crypto market news for traders to assess.

MemeToro, an AI-led memecoin launchpad being developed on BNB Chain, has released 1,373 lines of open-source Solidity code across 17 files. The update introduces FairLaunchEscrow.sol, an escrow contract designed to manage contributor funds during a memecoin launch, along with interfaces for future token deployment, liquidity management and claims. The MemeToro release is intended to improve transparency around funding caps, refunds, liquidity and token allocation. Its draft contract has no owner, administrator role or upgrade path. Launch settings are locked at creation, while a fingerprint of the public launch manifest is stored on-chain. The design limits contributor funds to refunds or the planned liquidity process and aims to prevent insider allocations through its supply-accounting rules. MemeToro has reportedly raised more than $139,000 in its Stage 7 presale, with the $MT token priced at $0.00430. The project lists a 1.2 billion token supply and a displayed launch target of $0.05186, although these figures are speculative and do not account for liquidity, slippage, fees or the risk of losses. The code includes Foundry tests covering funding caps, deadlines, refunds, claims and transaction-order risks. However, MemeToro still needs to complete its token executor, factory, deployment scripts, BNB Chain testnet launch, ERC-8004 agent identity and independent security review. For traders, the open-source release is a positive transparency signal, but $MT remains a high-risk presale asset until the platform is deployed, audited and adopted.

This beginner’s guide explains how to buy crypto in the Philippines using GCash, Maya, GoTyme, UnionBank, InstaPay and PESONet. It recommends checking whether a platform has a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licence or appropriate Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversight before depositing Philippine pesos. To start, users need a government-issued ID, a local bank or e-wallet account, a verified email and phone number, and authenticator-based two-factor authentication. Crypto exchanges typically require Know Your Customer checks and may request proof of funds under anti-money-laundering rules. The guide highlights Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDT and USDC as common starting assets. Traders should compare spreads, trading fees, deposit charges and blockchain network fees. Instant buy features are convenient but can be more expensive than pro order-book interfaces. Market orders execute immediately, while limit orders allow users to set a target price. For withdrawals, users should verify the wallet address and blockchain network, then send a small test transaction because crypto transfers are generally irreversible. The guide also warns against phishing, wrong-network transfers and lump-sum buying during price surges. Dollar-cost averaging and reviewing market capitalisation may help reduce avoidable risks. The main message for Philippine crypto traders is to prioritise regulatory checks, fee transparency, account security and careful transaction testing when buying or selling crypto.

The article examines how investors should position portfolios ahead of the 2026 US midterm elections. The available extract identifies portfolio strategy as the main theme and references gold-related exchange-traded products, including DBP, GLTR, GLD, IAU, BAR, SGOL and OUNZ. However, the supplied crawler content ends before the article’s analysis, recommendations, performance data or political scenarios are provided. Investors should therefore treat the election outlook and any potential fiscal impact, market volatility and safe-haven demand as areas for further review. The 2026 midterm elections and portfolio positioning are the central topics, but no specific allocation guidance can be confirmed from the available text.

NEAR Protocol’s NEAR token rose about 81% in seven days to roughly $4.17 on September 21, driven by growing demand for confidential trading through NEAR Intents. The token gained about 17% in 24 hours, while daily trading volume approached $2 billion and market capitalisation reached approximately $5.45 billion. The rally followed a September 17 update that made Hyperliquid perpetual futures confidential by default on near.com. Traders can access more than 50 markets with leverage of up to 40x. Hyperliquid continues to handle public execution and liquidity, while NEAR’s privacy layer obscures the connection between funding activity and the account holding a position. NEAR Intents supports cross-chain funding across more than 30 blockchains and 100 assets, automatically converting collateral into the required margin currency. Confidential Intents also surpassed $70 million in total value locked, triggering the first snapshot for the NEAR@3.33 incentive programme, linked to 333,333 NEAR in allocations. NEAR Intents has processed more than $29 billion in cumulative cross-chain volume across 35 chains. Traders should note that NEAR’s rapid price rise, elevated volume and leverage availability may increase volatility and the risk of a sharp pullback.

Bitcoin has closed above its 50-week moving average for the first time in 45 weeks, strengthening the case that its prolonged bear phase may have ended. BTC was trading near $81,450 after rising nearly 6% in the latest week and 29% over the past 35 days. The 50-week moving average, currently around $78,115, is widely used as a measure of Bitcoin’s long-term trend. Historical data from Galaxy Research shows that Bitcoin reclaimed this level 13 times after major declines. In 11 cases, BTC did not establish a new low afterward, and several reclaims preceded major bull markets. However, the indicator is not infallible. Two failed breakouts occurred during the volatile 2021–2022 period, when Bitcoin briefly moved above the average before falling towards $16,000. Traders are therefore watching whether BTC can maintain weekly closes above approximately $78,115. A sustained hold could support further gains and increase confidence that the recent low near $60,000 was the cycle bottom. A move back below the 50-week average would weaken the bullish signal and raise the risk of a failed breakout.

MemeToro’s crypto presale has reached Stage 7 at $0.00430 per $MT and reportedly raised more than $139,000. The BNB Chain project is developing an AI-guided launchpad intended to help creators configure token allocations, funding rules and memecoin launches. MemeToro has also published 1,373 lines of Solidity across 17 MIT-licensed files. The code includes a proposed fair-launch escrow contract, interfaces, tests and documentation. The design aims to make launch rules visible, limit insider allocations and restrict fund movements to refunds or planned liquidity routes. The project says $MT could support platform access, launch funding, transactions, staking and rewards. Planned features include memecoin trading tools, prediction markets, a crypto news portal and AI-assisted discovery. These products are not yet fully operational, so the MemeToro presale remains highly speculative. The stated total supply is 1.2 billion $MT. The public sale represents 71%, while exchange reserves account for 10%, marketing partners 7.56%, platform liquidity 5%, network rewards 4.44% and the team 2%. The article also cites a target price of $0.05186 and staking yields of up to 35% APR. Investors should verify audit claims, contract security, vesting terms, liquidity plans and product delivery before trading or participating. The MemeToro presale does not by itself provide evidence of broader cryptocurrency market demand.

The CLARITY Act failed to advance in the US Senate after a cloture vote ended 49-50, falling short of the 60 votes required. Although Senator Thom Tillis said his opposition could enable a future vote, limited legislative days and continued partisan disagreements make passage in 2026 unlikely. The CLARITY Act remains a key crypto market-structure keyword for traders monitoring US regulation. Following the setback, the SEC introduced a five-year Innovation Exemption allowing limited trading of tokenized US stocks on public blockchains and through automated market makers. Synthetic stock tokens that do not provide traditional shareholder rights remain excluded. The CFTC also proposed relief for qualifying passive software providers and is preparing broader crypto-market rules. Coinbase and Kalshi filed proposals for individual US stock perpetual futures. The US House Financial Services Committee advanced the American Reserve Modernization Act, which would formalize the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, require digital-asset audits and quarterly proof-of-reserve reports. The House Ways and Means Committee also advanced a digital-asset tax bill. Bitcoin rose 5.9% to $81,185, while Ethereum gained 6.6% to $2,639 and XRP rose 5.4% to $1.40. Arbitrum gained 64.3% during the week. Standard Chartered said ARB could reach $10 by 2030, implying roughly 70 times upside, supported by Arbitrum’s share of network revenue. It cited slower tokenization and competing blockchains as key risks. The CLARITY Act and US crypto regulation remain major catalysts for future volatility.

T. Rowe Price digital-assets executive Blue Macellari says Bitcoin is increasingly central to institutional discussions about currency debasement, fiscal risk and global liquidity. In a Bitcoin Magazine interview, she examined the return of bond vigilantes, rising concerns about US Treasury financing and the shift from foreign to domestic buyers of US government debt. Macellari argued that comparisons between the US, Japan and Italy do not fully align because their investor bases and financing structures differ. She also questioned whether stablecoin demand encouraged by the GENIUS Act would create significant new demand for Treasury bills, rather than simply redirecting existing liquidity. The discussion covered T. Rowe Price’s digital-assets strategy, including its actively managed multi-token ETF, asset tokenisation and the risks of fragmented liquidity in 24-hour markets. Macellari said Bitcoin’s volatility can serve as a portfolio tool and highlighted a generational divide in how investors approach digital assets. For traders, the interview reinforces Bitcoin’s role as a macro asset linked to fiscal policy, Treasury yields, liquidity and inflation expectations. However, it presents institutional adoption and stablecoin-driven Treasury demand as developing themes, not immediate market catalysts.

The Crypto Wallets in the Philippines guide explains how crypto holders can protect assets through exchange custody, hot wallets and cold storage. Cryptocurrency remains on the blockchain; wallets manage the public and private keys needed to receive and authorize transactions. Exchange wallets, including those offered by Coins.ph, PDAX, Maya and Binance, are convenient for active trading, PHP conversion and fiat transfers. However, users face counterparty risks, account restrictions, platform outages and potential hacks because the exchange controls the private keys. Hot wallets such as MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Phantom, Coinbase Wallet and Rabby provide direct self-custody and access to DeFi, NFTs and Web3 applications. Their internet connection increases exposure to malware, phishing and malicious smart-contract approvals. Hardware wallets from Ledger, Trezor, Tangem and Keystone keep keys offline and are recommended for long-term holdings or high-value portfolios. The guide stresses that a seed phrase is the master key. It should be written on paper or steel, stored securely and never entered online, photographed or shared. Lost seed phrases cannot be recovered. Users should also verify wallet addresses, select the correct blockchain network, maintain sufficient gas tokens and send a small test transaction before moving large balances. The recommended approach is hybrid: keep trading funds on an exchange, use hot wallets for Web3 activity and store long-term holdings in cold storage. The guidance is primarily a security reference rather than a market catalyst, but stronger self-custody practices may reduce losses from hacks and scams over time.

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, known as Toly, said the code for his experimental project Percolator is still unfinished and that current development work cannot be fully handed over to artificial intelligence. He argued that artificial general intelligence remains a distant goal. Toly said AI is most useful during design, specification research and fuzz testing to identify software bugs. However, he suggested that relying on AI alone is unlikely to increase the number of high-quality products reaching the market compared with the period before large language models became widespread. Percolator is a planned, open-source perpetual futures decentralised exchange built on Solana. It is designed to use a sharded order book to deliver execution speeds comparable with centralised exchanges. The update does not indicate a change to Solana’s network or token fundamentals, but it highlights the development and security risks facing AI-assisted crypto projects.

Best Buy delivered strong quarterly results, but analyst Bela Lakos downgraded Best Buy from hold to sell. The downgrade reflects persistent macroeconomic headwinds, including weaker consumer sentiment, elevated inflation and high energy prices. The analyst argues that Best Buy’s growth does not justify its current valuation. A dividend discount model indicates limited upside and suggests that a significant share-price decline may be possible. The assessment highlights ongoing risks for consumer electronics retailers as households face higher living costs and potentially reduce discretionary spending. Best Buy had previously received hold or buy ratings from the analyst over more than four years. However, the latest valuation analysis points to a less favourable risk-reward balance. Traders should monitor consumer spending data, inflation, energy prices and future earnings guidance for signs of pressure on Best Buy and the wider retail sector.

Bitmine’s ETH holdings loss has narrowed to approximately $2.71 billion as Ethereum trades near $2,700. The company holds 5.956378 million ETH at an average cost of about $3,340 per coin. Around 5.067309 million ETH, or 85% of its portfolio, is staked. The staked holdings are worth roughly $12.7 billion and generate an estimated annualised yield of $330 million. Bitmine’s ETH holdings remain significantly exposed to Ethereum’s price, with the company still facing a large unrealised loss below its average acquisition cost. Traders are likely to monitor ETH’s ability to sustain momentum above $2,700, as well as potential changes in Bitmine’s staking or selling activity.

The AI power trade has cooled since June 2024, with valuations falling for many power suppliers and equipment makers despite stronger earnings and guidance. The AI power bottleneck remains unresolved and may be worsening as data-centre demand grows. BloombergNEF’s higher power-demand forecasts were driven partly by announced projects rather than construction activity, creating uncertainty because some announcements may be cancelled. At the same time, supply constraints remain severe. Substation transformer lead times have exceeded 160 weeks, while shortages of skilled electricians are delaying power infrastructure. The article identifies three potential ways to benefit from the AI power bottleneck: regulated utilities, merchant generators selling electricity into wholesale markets, and equipment suppliers serving unregulated behind-the-meter demand. Vistra and Talen were among the merchant generators that rallied during the 2024 AI power trade. Bloom Energy is cited as another company linked to the power buildout. For traders, the key issue is whether real data-centre construction and contracted electricity demand can justify earlier market expectations. Power infrastructure stocks may remain volatile as investors weigh long-term AI demand against project cancellations, valuation compression and execution risks.

Anthropic may release its next major AI model earlier than planned as OpenAI’s Astra gains traction with enterprise customers, according to Reuters. The competitive pressure is significant because large business clients can provide recurring revenue, long-term contracts and higher AI spending. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei recently called for the AI industry to slow the development of increasingly capable systems because of safety risks. An earlier model release would create tension between Anthropic’s safety messaging and the commercial need to defend its enterprise market share. The company may also delay its initial public offering beyond the US midterm elections, rather than pursue the previously discussed October timeline. A later IPO could give Anthropic more time to strengthen revenue, launch another model and reduce pressure from quarterly earnings expectations and public-market comparisons with OpenAI. The report highlights the growing race for enterprise AI customers and the conflict between AI safety concerns and intense commercial expansion. The developments could also influence investor sentiment toward AI infrastructure spending, but they have no direct cryptocurrency catalyst.