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Core Foundation, the creator of a yield-bearing bitcoin token, has partnered with institutional lending protocol Maple Finance and custody firms BitGo, Copper and Hex Trust to push deep into the BTC staking sector.

Core’s IstBTC token lets institutional participants earn yield on bitcoin holdings while staying safely inside trusted custodial partners without the need to take on the risks or operational burdens of dealing with smart contracts. A liquid staking token, to be issued in the coming months by Maple, will allow staked BTC to be used by trading firms and asset managers as collateral for borrowing in DeFi or with trading counterparties.

The ability to earn yield on bitcoin and potentially unleash a new wave of liquidity into the DeFi ecosystem has become a hot topic, with protocols like Babylon having entered the market. A massive, untapped group of BTC holders will be able to get yield on their BTC thanks to Core’s dual-staking mechanism, said Maple CEO Sid Powell.

“Bitcoin’s security budget will face problems in a few years as miners receive less block rewards revenue,” Powell said in an interview. “Staking solutions like CORE can help strengthen Bitcoin network security by giving alternative revenue sources to miners. Holders of lstBTC will benefit from this by earning yield on their BTC while in custody, which represents an immense total addressable market.”

Maple launched an existing BTC staking product on CORE this month. This product involves locking up BTC for 90 days and has a yield target of 5%-plus APY. The liquid staking token BTC (lstBTC) will be instantly redeemable, offering better liquidity. Therefore, Maple expects a slightly lower APR range.

Powell said Core is placing itself in an excellent competitive position, as things are in place to be first to market with a yield-bearing BTC liquid staking token.

“There are few BTC yield options out there. If you look across the stack, most of them are just points and they’re not liquid yet or delivering yield in BTC.
Read more: Staking Will Define Bitcoin’s Role in the Global Digital Economy in 2025

Ethereum’s ether (ETH) showed strength through the weekend, spurring investor hopes of a break in its lackluster price performance, only to foreshadow a market-wide decline.

In a muted trading session due to the U.S. holiday, ether ground as much as 7% higher to a Monday session high of $2,850, outperforming the rest of the crypto market. Then, it gave up most of the gains, dropping back to $2,730 as the broader market fell, with bitcoin (BTC) falling to $95,500 from just above $97,000. Still, ETH held onto its 2% advance over the past 24 hours, while the CoinDesk 20 Index and BTC were about 2% lower.

Traders were quick to point out past occasions, like late January and early February, when a brief ETH rally foreshadowed broader weakness in crypto prices. Then, ether’s 10% rally to $3,400 in three days ended in an ugly capitulation event over trade war concerns, with BTC dropping 13% and ETH tumbling 35% to nearly $2,000 through a low-volume weekend.

Ether’s strength occurred as memecoin fiascos such as Argentina’s LIBRA on Solana and BNB Chain-based BROCCOLI — inspired by former Binance CEO CZ revealing his dog’s name — weighed on the tokens of rival layer-1 networks.

“ETH’s recent price action isn’t an outperformance — it’s more of a catch-up to where it should be,” Aran Hawker, CEO of trading automation platform CoinPanel, told CoinDesk over Telegram. “Some traders may have rotated back into ETH from SOL, but there’s no clear trend shift or structural change. Any perceived outperformance could be erased by the next major market move.”

Joel Kruger, a market strategist for LMAX Group, was more optimistic, saying the price action might be a sign of ether ending its multiyear slide against bitcoin.

“There is evidence of ETH potentially wanting to finally put in a major bottom against bitcoin after downtrending since 2021,” Kruger said in Monday’s market note. “We believe it will be important to keep a close eye on the current monthly high in the ETHBTC ratio, with a break back above to encourage the reversal outlook.”

Crypto traders’ interest in betting on ETH spiked on Monday relative to BTC, CoinGlass data shows. Open interest for ETH futures rose 12% to 9.27 million contracts (worth nearly $2.6 billion) on all exchanges combined over the past 24 hours, led by offshore marketplaces Binance, Gate.io and B while BTC futures open interest grew only 1%.

The Abu Dhabi-based branch of Brevan Howard Digital, the crypto arm of the global investment management firm, has deployed $20 million on Kinto, a blockchain platform designed for institutional participation in decentralized finance (DeFi).

The deposit makes Brevan Howard Digital one of the first traditional financial firms to tap into Kinto’s on-chain mining program, the protocol said.

Kinto operates as an Ethereum layer-2 network with built-in compliance mechanisms, including Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) protocols, facilitating financial institutions that face strict regulatory requirements to participate in decentralized finance. It also offers a smart contract wallet with default insurance and security enhancements.

Read more: Blockchain Startup Kinto Plans ‘First KYC’d’ Ethereum Layer-2 Network After Raising $5M

The platform’s mining program, set to run for a decade, incentivizes participants by distributing token rewards for depositing assets on-chain on Kinto. Mining programs have been a staple in the DeFi sector but have largely been out of reach for traditional financial institutions due to compliance hurdles.

Brevan Howard Digital’s participation signals growing interest from legacy financial firms in blockchain-based finance, particularly as platforms like Kinto adapt to meet institutional needs, Ramon Recuero, according to Kinto’s co-founder and CEO. “Institutions have been waiting for two things: regulatory clarity and compliance features. Now, through Kinto, financial institutions don’t need to wait any longer,” he said in a statement.

As bitcoin (BTC) continues to frustrate traders with lackluster price action below $100,000, here are key events this week that could reignite market activity.

FTX payout

FTX, formerly the world’s third-largest digital assets exchange, is set to begin its first round of creditor payouts after going bust in late 2022. First up are Convenience class creditors, those claiming no more than $50,000, who will receive full repayment and a 9% annual post-petition interest.

While optimism is high that the recipients will rotate this money into the market, lifting valuations across the board, not everyone agrees.

“FTX will distribute approximately $1.2 billion to Convenience Class creditors,” Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, said in a note to clients Monday. That amount is “too small to move the needle.”

Thielen said only $7 billion from the remaining $10.5 billion allocated to bigger creditors could be available for potential crypto investment and further, only 50% of the $7 billion could return to the market. Thielen explained that that could result in a net inflow of over $3 billion, which is just one month of net inflows into the bitcoin market.

Mena Theodorou, co-founder at crypto exchange Coinstash, expects small creditors to put some money into Solana.

“FTX’s historic investments in SOL and the Solana ecosystem make it likely that some of these funds will flow back into the network especially since SOL has been a standout performer, rising over 500% in the past year, with strong on-chain activity and developer growth continuing to fuel demand,” Thoedorou said in an email, adding SOL could potentially outperform the broader market.

Trump-Musk call

U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire investor Elon Musk will sit down with Fox News host Sean Hannity, the network announced Friday. The discussion will likely be focused on issues including politics, tariffs, immigration and potentially digital assets, all of which could breed market volatility.

“Trump is set to speak in an exclusive interview with Elon Musk on Fox News on February 19 – just one day before the FOMC meeting on February 20,” Coinstash’s Theodorou said. “Given Trump’s increasing alignment with crypto and Musk’s close ties with the space, this interview could drive market volatility, particularly if they touch on policy, regulation, or institutional adoption.”

Recently, the Trump administration said it would assess the feasibility of a strategic BTC reserve, disappointing the bulls anticipating swift action on the pre-poll promise.

FOMC minutes

Wednesday will bring the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting when the central bank held interest rates steady. The bank said it was not in a hurry to cut rates and would want to see more progress on inflation.

The minutes are likely to repeat that message, especially as CPI and PPI for the month came in hotter than expected, denting the case for a rate-reduction boost to the U.S. economy. Plus, Trump’s tariffs continue to raise the specter of inflation.

Traders will scan minutes to see if policymakers thought the policy was restrictive, which would mean the next move might still be a rate cut. However, if the minutes suggest otherwise, we could see some volatility in bonds that could potentially weigh on risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Consensus Hong Kong

Consensus Hong Kong, CoinDesk’s three-day cryptocurrency- and blockchain-focused event, will kick off Tuesday, featuring a deep dive into the blockchain and Web 3 space.

With more than 270 speakers and thousands of attendees from over 90 countries, the three-day affair will likely offer a unique perspective on blockchain technology and digital asset investing in Asia, potentially moving markets.

Hackers took control of the Saudi Law Conference’s social-media account on X, using it to impersonate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and promote fraudulent cryptocurrencies.

In a series of now-deleted posts, the scammers used the name and image of the crown prince, who serves as Saudi Arabia’s prime minister, to promote an “Official Saudi Arabia Memecoin” as well as a “FALCON Memecoin.” The posts were accompanied by contract addresses to identify the tokens.

The conference, a major legal event in the country, confirmed on LinkedIn that the official X account was compromised and advised users that any “content published through the account does not represent our views or official positions in any way.”

“We confirm that we are urgently working to regain control of the account and disclaim all responsibility for any unauthorized posts made during this period. We also apologize to our followers for any inconvenience this may cause and urge everyone to exercise caution and refrain from engaging with any suspicious content posted through the account until further notice,” the Saudi Law Conference wrote.

The incident comes amid controversy surrounding Argentine President Javier Milei over a post promoting a memecoin called Libra and its subsequent removal.

Disclaimer: Statements from the Saudi Law Conference for this article were translated with the use of artificial intelligence.

Crypto markets fell Monday as traders locked in profits and looked for new catalysts to determine positioning while the U.S. observed President’s Day.

Solana (SOL) and XRP slipped 4% to lead losses among major cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin (BTC) dropping 1.1% and BNB Chain’s bnb down 0.5% in the past 24 hours. Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 3%. Both Cardano’s ADA and ether (ETH) rose 2% as of midday in Europe.

Jupiter’s JUP slid 9% to lead losses among midcap tokens, reeling from its apparent connections to the controversial LIBRA coin. Libra was briefly touted by Argentina’s President Javier Milei last week as a project that could help small businesses, but instead crashed in value shortly after issuance, with its operators now facing legal heat.

The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid index tracking the largest tokens by market capitalization, fell 1.29%.

“With no significant crypto-specific catalysts in sight, price action appears to be more macro driven particularly as the correlation between BTC and equities remains largely intact,” QCP Capital said in a broadcast message. “However it is interesting to note that despite the macro uncertainties (tariffs, debt ceiling, inflation etc) and the unpredictability of Trump, crypto implied vols and VIX are still trading at their lows.

“BTC has proven to be relatively unfazed by the recent macro data and OI has not recovered significantly after the January month-end expiry. This suggests that the crypto options market is just waiting on the sidelines for concrete policy changes rather than just pro-crypto rhetoric,” the Singapore-based firm added.

OI, or open interest, is the number outstanding options contracts that have not been closed. Rising open interest represents more money flowing into the options market.

The $110,000 call option listed on Deribit has been the most preferred options play this month, as a CoinDesk analysis noted earlier Monday, while bitcoin itself remains confined in a narrow range below $100,000.
Traders say a preference for BTC stems mainly from its appeal among institutional investors.
“While many altcoins are down 40-60% over the last month or so, Bitcoin’s price has proved to be surprisingly resilient, holding at around $96-97k. This is likely because its holder base has shifted towards institutional investors, and this is likely to continue,” Jeff Mei, COO at Taiwan-based crypto exchange BTSE told CoinDesk in a Telegram message.

Bitcoin (BTC) miners listed in the U.S. are growing their share of the network hashrate, broker Bernstein said in a report Monday.

The hashrate refers to the total combined computational power used to mine and process transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain and is a proxy for competition in the industry and mining difficulty.

“U.S. listed bitcoin miners are increasing their share of the network hashrate, leveraging access to capital, land and power,” analysts led by Gautam Chhugani wrote.

These companies grew their share of the Bitcoin network to around 29% in January, from about 20% a year ago, the report said, adding that large miners aggressively expanded their hashrates in 2024.

IREN (IREN) is growing its hashrate the fastest, followed by CleanSpark (CLSK), Riot Platforms (RIOT), and MARA Holdings (MARA), Bernstein said.

Bernstein has an outperform rating on IREN (PT $26), CleanSpark (PT $30) and Riot Platforms (PT $22). MARA Holdings (PT $23) is market-perform rated.

IREN, MARA Holdings and CleanSpark all performed well on “power efficiency and uptime” the report added.

Wall Street bank JPMorgan (JPM) said January was a quiet month for hashrate growth.

Read more: Bitcoin Network Hashrate Growth Was Muted in January: JPMorgan

India’s anti-money laundering unit said it seized about 16.5 billion rupees ($190 million) worth of crypto, some cash and a Lexus car during investigations into the collapse of the BitConnect cryptocurrency fraud.

BitConnect, founded in 2016 by Satish Kumbhani, raised billions of dollars from investors for a protocol that purportedly paid out 10% in interest earnings. The Ponzi scheme collapsed in 2018, and in 2023 a California judge ordered $17 million in restitution to be paid to the victims.

Kumbhani, an Indian citizen, was indicted in the U.S. and is wanted in India.

The firm’s claims to invest the money “were a sham, as the accused knew that BitConnect did not deploy investor funds for trading with its purported Trading Bot rather, they siphoned investors’ funds off for their own benefit, and their associates’ benefit, by transferring those funds to digital wallet addresses controlled by them,” the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) said in a Saturday statement.

A “complex web of transactions” through “numerous crypto wallets” was used to hide the identities of the wallets’ owners.

“However, by tracking numerous web wallets and gathering ground intelligence, ED was able to zero-in-on the wallets and the premises where the digital devices containing said crypto currencies were available,” it said.

Metaplanet (3350) said it bought a further 269.43 bitcoin (BTC), strengthening its position as a major corporate holder of the cryptocurrency. The latest purchase, valued at 4 billion yen ($26.4 million), takes the Tokyo-based company’s holdings to 2,031.41 BTC.

The purchase is part of the company’s ongoing Bitcoin Treasury Operations; it started buying the largest cryptocurrency in April 2024 and has now made an aggregate investment of 24.9 billion yen at an average price of 12.2 million yen, it said in a document posted on its website.

The move aligns with Metaplanet’s commitment to increasing its bitcoin yield, a measure of the change in the ratio of BTC holdings to shares outstanding. The company achieved a yield of almost 310% in the fourth quarter, and its yield for the first quarter is currently 15.3%.

The purchase follows last month’s $745 million fund-raising exercise through the issuance of 21 million shares. The bitcoin-buying strategy mirrors that of corporate pioneers like MicroStrategy, and it becoming more popular in Japan’s financial sector. Last week, energy firm Remixpoint said it spent 9 billion yen buying bitcoin last year.

Among publicly traded companies, Metaplanet now has the 16th-largest stack, according to Bitcoin Treasuries. Metaplanet shares rose 2.2% to 6,040 yen on Monday.

The U.S. crypto task force will focus on starting up a national bitcoin (BTC) reserve, a move that is likely to spur similar efforts worldwide, broker Bernstein said in a research report Monday.

“A creation of a U.S. bitcoin reserve could lead to a global race amongst sovereigns to buy bitcoin as one of the reserve assets,” analysts led by Gautam Chhugani wrote.

The formation of a strategic reserve poses a number of structural questions, the report said.

Will the U.S. Federal Reserve or the Treasury buy bitcoin? If the Fed, that would require legislative approval, the report noted.

How would the Fed fund cryptocurrency purchases? Bernstein said it could issue debt or sell some of its gold reserves.

The U.S. government could add the $20 billion in bitcoin it has seized from criminal enterprises to any national reserve, the report added.

The broker noted that the Trump administration also announced the creation of a sovereign wealth fund (SWF).

Such a fund “would consider key U.S. crypto companies/market leaders, as strategic assets to own,” Bernstein said. “Investors should position themselves for the next leg of the bull market across bitcoin and bitcoin linked equities.”

Read more: Crypto Ecosystem Growth Slowed in January Even as Total Market Cap Rose, JPMorgan Says