Category: Bitcoin News

Key takeaways World Liberty Financial has entered DeFi lending with the launch of World Liberty Markets, an onchain borrowing and lending platform built around its dollar-pegged stablecoin USD1. The platform uses smart contracts to manage lending terms, replacing centralized intermediaries with transparent and automated risk controls that are visible on the blockchain. USD1 plays a central role as the primary borrowing and settlement asset, allowing users to unlock liquidity from volatile holdings such as ETH or tokenized Bitcoin without selling those assets. Supported collateral includes major cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, with…

Institutional crypto derivatives provider Rails announced the launch of “Institutional-Grade Vaults” on the Stellar network on Tuesday, allowing brokerages, fintechs and other intermediaries to plug into crypto perpetuals via a single backend. The company aims for options trading in Q2 2026.  Satraj Bambra, CEO of Rails, told Cointelegraph that the core idea was to separate matching from money. “The critical difference is custody and verifiability,” he said. Rails runs a centralized matching engine, while client assets will sit in audited smart contract vaults on Stellar. Every 30 seconds of profit…

The Spanish Red Cross (Creu Roja) has deployed a new blockchain-based aid distribution system, RedChain, that promises real-time donor transparency without exposing the identities of the people receiving assistance.  According to a release shared with Cointelegraph, the platform, developed with Barcelona-based infrastructure provider BLOOCK and zero-knowledge credential firm Billions Network, aims to digitize “the entire aid lifecycle from donation to disbursement.” It replaces paper vouchers and prepaid cards with ERC‑20 aid credits issued on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, delivered to a mobile wallet that can be used at participating merchants…

A Nevada state judge has temporarily forced onchain prediction market Polymarket to halt business in the state, with a ruling that challenges the industry’s argument that federal commodities law preempts state gambling rules.  In a Thursday order seen by Cointelegraph, the court granted the Nevada Gaming Control Board a 14‑day temporary restraining order (TRO) against Polymarket operator Blockratize. The order bans Polymarket from offering event‑based contracts to Nevada residents while the case develops. A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for Feb. 11. The order leans on Nevada gambling statutes, finding…

Bitcoin (BTC) traded 5.5% above its nine-month low of $74,500 reached on Monday amid hopes of a rebound toward $85,000. Key takeaways: A “squeeze” toward $85,000 is in play as Bitcoin rebounds from multimonth lows. The return of spot Bitcoin ETF inflows could fuel BTC price recovery in the short term. Can BTC price rebound toward $85,000? Bitcoin bulls fought to secure the recent recovery to $78,000 as traders hoped that further BTC price gains would follow. Bitcoin “created a massive CME gap this weekend,” analyst Daan Crypto Trades said…

Cathie Wood-founded asset manager ARK Invest revealed on Monday it had upped its exposure to crypto-linked stocks amid a stock slump this week. In a trade notification shared with Cointelegraph on Monday, ARK Invest indicated that it had bought shares in trading platform Robinhood, stablecoin issuer Circle, Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc, digital asset manager BitMine and crypto exchanges Coinbase and Bullish, among others.  The purchases were made primarily across two of the firm’s exchange-traded funds (ETFs),  including the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) and the ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF…