The United States equities markets saw their worst performance of 2023 as concerned investors dumped stocks on Feb. 21, fearing continued rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Although the cryptocurrency markets also gave back some of the gains, the fall was comparatively muted. UTXO Management senior analyst Dylan LeClair said that Bitcoin’s (BTC) correlation to the S&P 500 index has fallen to the lowest since late 2021. After the sharp recovery from the lows, Glassnode data showed that only 21% of the coins sent by Long-Term Holders to exchanges at the start of this week moved at a loss. …

Solana Spaces will close down its two Solana (SOL)-themed, community-oriented retail stores in New York City and Miami at the end of the month, as the physical stores didn't onboard as many users as it initially anticipated. Solana Spaces tweeted the news on Feb. 21 sharing a note from its founder, Vibhu Norby, explaining the reasons behind the store shutdowns. The following is a note from our founder, @vibhu. Dear @solanaspaces community, We’ve made the difficult decision to sunset our stores in NYC and Miami by the end of February, and to pivot our Solana onboarding efforts into digital products …

Bitcoin (BTC) rose more than 11% last week and is trading near the pivotal resistance at $25,000. Monitoring resource Material Indicators highlighted in its latest update that large volume traders were “thinning” overhead resistance, which could spark a rally. As the prices rise, retail traders may get sucked in and the whales could use this opportunity to sell their positions that were accumulated at lower levels. Every uptrend witnesses several pullbacks and Bitcoin is no exception. However, the price action of the past several months shows a large basing pattern, which may be about to break out to the upside. …

Communications protocol Helium Network has defined March 27 as the date for its migration to the Solana blockchain and deployment of Oracles, seeking to improve scalability and reliability. According to a blog post on Feb. 17, a 24-hour transition period will take place on March 27, during which the current Helium blockchain will be halted. Proof-of-Coverage and data transfer activities will remain unaffected. A working group of community volunteers is being formed to oversee the migration process. Helium's team stated: "This upgrade will encompass all wallets, Hotspots, and Helium Network state, and will take place over a 24-hour transition period …

Bitcoin (BTC) is leading the cryptocurrency markets on the path to recovery. Although the United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) print for January was marginally higher than expectations, it did not dent the enthusiasm of bullish crypto trader. A positive response to seemingly negative data is a sign that the sentiment is bullish and traders are looking for buying opportunities. However, some analysts are cautious due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar index (DXY). They believe that a sustained rally in the DXY could limit the upside in cryptocurrencies. Usually, long-term downtrends are followed by a base formation. During …

Bitcoin (BTC) and select altcoins are threatening to deepen their correction after reports emerged that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Wells Notice to Paxos, alleging that the dollar-pegged Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin is an unregistered security. Separately, Paxos has been ordered by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to halt the issuance of BUSD. After the crackdown on Kraken last week and now Paxos, the regulator’s actions may increase nervousness among crypto investors. FOX Business journalist Eleanor Terrett tweeted on Feb. 12 that “more Wells notices going out in the coming 2-3 weeks, …

Cryptocurrency conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) has reportedly begun to sell its holdings in crypto funds managed by its subsidiary Grayscale Investments as it looks to raise capital and preserve liquidity. According to a Feb. 7 Financial Times report citing seen United States securities filings, DCG sold around a quarter of its shares in Grayscale’s Ether (ETH)-based fund for around $8 per share, despite each share holding a claim to nearly double that amount in ETH. It’s also said to have sold down small share parcels in Grayscale’s Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC)-based trusts in addition …

Solana decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Everlend Finance is closing down its operations and urging clients to withdraw funds from the platform. The company announced the decision on Twitter on Feb. 1, stating that despite having "enough runway" to continue operating, it would be a gamble under current market conditions. In particular, Everland's team noted: "Unfortunately, rn liquidity is just not there and this is so not just about Solana and the B/L market (on which Everlend is 100% dependent) keeps shrinking. In these conditions pressing forward is a gamble. And even though we had enough runway, we decided to stop …

Solend is a decentralized lending and borrowing protocol built on Solana. It is lauded for expanding the methods available for Solana users to boost financial gains. Filling a large gap in the Solana ecosystem, Solend drew a staggering $100 million in deposits in just over a month post-launch. Related: DeFi lending and borrowing, explained Solend rode the high scalability of the Solana blockchain, which had built its reputation for being fast and with low transaction fees. The arrival of Solana meant users could use their capital efficiently by lending and earning interest, using the funds lying idle to earn profits …

The rally in cryptocurrency markets started in early January with a spike in heavily-shorted altcoins and Ethereum (ETH) liquid staking derivative (LSD) tokens due to the upcoming network upgrade in March. Soon gains started to show across the board as buyers started to play catch up. The improving macroeconomic conditions, such as reduced inflation and a stable job sector in the United States, provided additional tailwinds for the positive rally. Bitcoin (BTC) is en route to its most impressive closing for January since 2013. Its price has gained 40% year-to-date from the opening value of $16,530. Another important catalyst for …

Despite the recent negative crypto and macroeconomic newsflow, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization broke above $1 trillion on Jan. 21. An encouraging sign is that derivatives metrics are not showing increased demand from bearish traders at the moment. Bitcoin (BTC) price gained 8% on the week, stabilizing near the $23,100 level at 18:00 UTC on Jan. 27 as the markets weighed the potential impact of Genesis Capital's bankruptcy on Jan. 19. One area of concern is Genesis Capital's largest debtor is Digital Currency Group (DCG), which happens to be its parent company. Consequently, Grayscale funds management could be at risk, …

Solana decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Friktion is shutting down its user interface and urging customers to withdraw their assets from the protocol, according to a statement on Jan. 26. The project's website will no longer deliver the same services, operating in withdrawal-only mode for all Volts and making deposits unavailable. Friktion's Volts are structured products for DeFi investments that allow investors to earn a share of the revenue of investment pools, according to the company's page. Friktion has made the difficult decision to sunset its user platform, a process beginning with moving all Volts into Withdrawal-Only mode on Friktion’s User …