Today, enjoy the Lightspeed newsletter on Blockworks.co. Tomorrow, get the news delivered directly to your inbox.  Subscribe to the Lightspeed newsletter . Howdy!  Today we’re diving into crypto pop-up villages, which reminded me of one of my favorite unused quotes from reporting a story.  One attendee at a pop-up village I was covering told me

Algorithmic crypto trading firm Wintermute is reportedly in discussions with Chinese giant Tencent and other investors to raise up to $300 million. Wintermute, a high-frequency trading and market-making firm in the crypto space, is in talks with multiple investors about a new funding round. The company is looking to raise up to $300 million including

Bitcoin has entered a new paradigm in which investors must consider the future of state-controlled BTC stockpiles and sovereign approaches to holding or selling the asset. The United Kingdom should liquidate its Bitcoin (BTC) trove valued at an estimated $5 billion at current prices, Bloomberg senior opinion columnist Merryn Somerset Webb wrote on Friday. Webb’s

Copper, a digital asset custodian, has enhanced its collaboration with the DFINITY Foundation. This development allows institutions to securely manage assets like ckBTC, a multi-chain Bitcoin twin, alongside other chain-key tokens such as ckETH and ckUSDC. It will also provide institutional investors with secure custody and staking of Internet Computer (ICP) assets on Copper’s platform.

Analysts at Binance Research say they remain “optimistic” about the market’s outlook, expecting upcoming catalysts to position the market “positively for the rest of the year.” The crypto industry may have already seen the worst of this year, according to Binance Research analysts, who said in a Friday report the “incremental negative impact” might be

Anatoly Aksakov, the leader of Russia’s State Duma Banking Committee, has urged banning Telegram’s tap-to-earn game Hamster Kombat, saying it “manipulates” people’s minds. Russian lawmakers appear to be set to address concerns about Telegram‘s Hamster Kombat, as Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma Banking Committee, has criticized the game for showing “obvious scam” traits

Indian crypto exchange WazirX saw over $230 million in withdrawals in early European hours on Thursday as a security breach affected one of its wallets, causing the loss of user funds. “We’re aware that one of our multisig wallets has experienced a security breach. Our team is actively investigating the incident,” the exchange confirmed in

Ethereum ETF issuers have started filing their final S-1 registration statements. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce believes the regulator could reconsider allowing staking in Ethereum ETFs. Ethereum whales could help ETH reach predicted all-time high of $5,627. Ethereum (ETH) is down 1% on Wednesday as issuers began filing their final spot ETH ETF S-1 drafts with

XRP surged 12% to extend weekly gains to over 40%, beating other major tokens. A bullish triangle pattern on XRP’s long-term price charts and a substantial increase in open interest suggest more upside in the coming weeks. XRP surged 12% in the past 24 hours to lead gains among crypto majors, beating bitcoin (BTC) and

Traders anticipate bitcoin rallying to $70,000, buoyed by a more optimistic macro environment and the prospect of a crypto-friendly U.S. administration under Donald Trump. Reduced selling pressure from key wallets and a more positive political outlook for the crypto sector have contributed to the bullish sentiment, despite recent volatility and concerns over Mt. Gox repayments.