CME Group , a derivatives exchange based in Chicago, plans to expand its cryptocurrency products by adding futures contracts for Cardano ADA, Chainlink LINK, and Stellar XLM .
The crypto payments landscape has undergone a dramatic transformation, with crypto card volumes surging from roughly $100 million monthly in early 2023 to over $1.5 billion by late 2025, representing a 106% compound annual growth rate that now rivals peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers, according to a comprehensive report from Artemis Analytics. Source: Artemis The explosive growth positions crypto cards as the primary bridge between digital assets and everyday commerce, with annualized volumes exceeding $18 billion while traditional P2P transfers grew just 5% to $19 billion over the same period. Visa has emerged as the dominant force in crypto card infrastructure, capturing over 90% of on-chain card volume through early partnerships with emerging program managers and full-stack issuers. Source: Artemis Artemis noted that the payment giant’s strategy of engaging infrastructure providers like Rain and Reap has proven more scalable than Mastercard’s approach of direct exchange partnerships. Full-Stack Issuers Reshape Card Economics The crypto card infrastructure spans three critical layers (payment networks, card-issuing platforms, and consumer-facing products), with the most significant development being the emergence of full-stack issuers holding direct Visa principal membership. Companies like Rain and Reap have collapsed traditional card issuance dependencies by combining BIN sponsorship, lender-of-record status, and direct Visa network settlement into single platforms, capturing economics previously distributed across multiple intermediaries. Visa’s stablecoin-linked card spend reached a $3.5 billion annualized run rate in Q4 fiscal 2025, marking 460% year-over-year growth, though still representing roughly 19% of total crypto card settlement volume. Source: Artemis Centralized exchanges deploy cards as user-acquisition funnels, with platforms like Gemini absorbing ongoing losses from credit card programs to drive platform engagement. DeFi protocols such as Ether.fi offer structurally higher cashback through token rewards, delivering approximately 4.08% returns while driving protocol TVL through collateralized borrowing features. Geographic Opportunities Concentrate Where Stablecoins Solve Real Problems Notably, India and Argentina stand out as global outliers where USDC approaches parity with USDT in market share, presenting vastly different opportunities for crypto card adoption. Source: Artemis India recorded $338 billion in crypto inflows over the 12 months ending June 2025, yet harsh tax policies pushed most activity offshore, creating massive latent demand for compliant crypto products constrained by regulatory friction rather than user interest. Argentina’s opportunity centers on stablecoin debit cards for inflation hedging, where no competing digital rail exists, while India’s potential lies in crypto-backed credit cards, given that UPI has already commoditized debit functionality. However, Artemis noted that in developed markets, the opportunity lies in capturing a differentiated, high-value user segment with greater financial sophistication and growing digital asset balances, rather than solving unmet payment needs. For instance, the mature U.S. credit card market. Despite credit card revenues growing significantly across issuers, a new segment is emerging. Source: Artemis Consumers are now holding meaningful stablecoin balances who increasingly expect seamless spending capabilities, creating opportunities for traditional issuers who combine scale advantages with stablecoin-native capabilities before crypto-native competitors solidify user relationships. Cards Remain Strategic Despite Native Acceptance Push While major networks, including Visa , Mastercard , PayPal , and Stripe , are building stablecoin-native merchant acceptance architectures, three structural realities suggest that crypto cards will maintain strategic relevance. Artemis noted that network effects spanning 150 million merchant locations globally remain exceptionally difficult to replicate, requiring years of coordinated infrastructure investment that stablecoin-native systems must rebuild from near-zero merchant coverage. Card networks bundle services consumers expect, such as fraud protection, dispute resolution, unsecured credit, rewards programs, and purchase protections, which stablecoin payments cannot easily replicate. Source: Artemis Notably, earlier this month, Anthony Yim, co-founder of Artemis, noted that DeFi traders prefer USDC because it “ frequently move in and out of positions ,” while broader adoption reflects an “ unstable geopolitical landscape ” driving demand for the digital dollar. Global stablecoin transaction value totaled $33 trillion in 2025 , up 72% year-over-year, with Bloomberg Intelligence projecting $56 trillion by 2030. Revolut’s stablecoin payment volumes alone surged 156% to approximately $10.5 billion, with everyday transactions between $100 and $500 accounting for 30% to 40% of platform activity. Despite surging adoption, major banks have escalated resistance to yield-bearing stablecoins, warning they could drain trillions from traditional deposits. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan has warned that stablecoins could pull trillions of dollars out of the US banking system. #Stablecoins #Crypto https://t.co/TTQ8cqCSm6 — Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) January 15, 2026 Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan cautioned that up to $6 trillion could migrate into stablecoins, while JPMorgan’s Jeremy Barnum warned against “the creation of a parallel banking system” without prudential safeguards. The pushback contributed to the Senate Banking Committee postponing its planned markup of a sweeping crypto market structure bill after Coinbase withdrew support, with Chairman Tim Scott citing ongoing bipartisan negotiations over provisions that would restrict stablecoin yield payments. The post Crypto Card Market Explodes 15x as Stablecoin Spending Soars 106% Annually: Report appeared first on Cryptonews .
Crypto commentator Bird has presented a technical view of XRP that focuses on recent price stability and its implications for short-term direction. His assessment centers on the market’s reaction to a clearly defined horizontal support level, marked in blue on the accompanying chart. According to Bird, the rebound from this level has been constructive, suggesting that buyers are continuing to defend an area that has previously played a significant role in price behavior. The chart shows XRP stabilizing after an extended period of downward movement, followed by a visible bounce from support near the lower $2 range. Bird describes this reaction as a necessary development, as it indicates that selling pressure has eased and that demand remains present at this level. Rather than continuing lower, the price has managed to hold structure, creating conditions for a possible recovery move. The bounce off the blue line is decent for $XRP We’re now just a 23% candle away from reclaiming the $2.69+ zone – the level that officially confirms the bulls are back in business. That move can happen in a single day. It feels close. Reprice us before the law!!! https://t.co/SK72BkrgNI pic.twitter.com/NxXHAsjxhQ — Bird (@Bird_XRPL) January 14, 2026 The $2.69 Level as a Confirmation Point A key element of Bird’s analysis is the importance of the $2.69 and above zone. He identifies this price area as the level that would confirm a return of bullish control if reclaimed. From current levels, this move represents an advance of approximately 23%. Bird stresses that such a move does not require a prolonged buildup and could occur within a single daily candle if momentum increases. The resistance near $2.69 is highlighted on the chart as a long-standing horizontal level that has previously capped upward attempts. Bird treats this zone as a confirmation threshold rather than a speculative upside target. In his view, a decisive move above it would signal a meaningful change in market conditions, shifting the outlook from recovery to continuation. XRP Price Structure and Short-Term Timing Bird places the current rebound within the context of recent consolidation. The chart reflects months of uneven price action characterized by lower highs and repeated tests of support. The present bounce is notable because it interrupts that sequence and positions XRP closer to a technical decision point. We are on X, follow us to connect with us :- @TimesTabloid1 — TimesTabloid (@TimesTabloid1) June 15, 2025 He emphasizes that the remaining distance to confirmation is relatively small, increasing the importance of near-term price movement. Because the required percentage move is modest, a single strong trading session could be enough to alter sentiment and validate the recovery scenario he outlines. Legal Context and Market Expectations Bird also references the ongoing legal environment surrounding XRP, suggesting that market participants remain sensitive to regulatory outcomes. His remarks imply that price action may be positioning ahead of anticipated regulatory developments such as the Clarity Act . Overall, Bird’s commentary outlines a focused technical setup. XRP is shown holding a critical support level, trading below a decisive resistance zone, and positioned close enough to that level for a rapid shift in outlook if buying strength increases. Follow us on X , Facebook , Telegram , and Google News The post Expert to XRP Holders: This Move Can Happen In a Single Day appeared first on Times Tabloid .
Binance is cutting off network support for ARB, 1INCH, TURBO and others starting Jan. 22, putting millions at risk of loss if tokens are sent over now-blocked chains.
financial technology company, LMAX Group, announced a significant partnership with blockchain payment leader Ripple on Thursday, backed by a $150 million investment from the crypto firm, aimed at incorporating its RLUSD stablecoin into LMAX’s payment infrastructure. New Trading Solutions With Ripple’s Stablecoin The integration of RLUSD will serve as a foundational collateral asset within LMAX’s institutional trading framework, as stated in the press release on the matter. This will allow LMAX’s global clientele—banks, brokers, and buy-side institutions—to utilize Ripple’s RLUSD for improved cross-collateralization and margin efficiency across various trading types, such as spot cryptocurrencies, perpetual futures, and contracts for difference (CFDs). David Mercer, the Chief Executive Officer of LMAX Group, emphasized the importance of this partnership, stating: Partnering with a leader like Ripple is a milestone for LMAX, reflecting confidence and momentum in our cross-asset growth strategy. With the benefit of greater U.S. and global regulatory clarity, fiat-backed stablecoins will be a key catalyst in driving the convergence of traditional finance (TradFi) and digital assets, and we firmly believe that RLUSD is positioned at the forefront. He expressed enthusiasm about working with Ripple’s leadership team to develop “a modern financial ecosystem” and a comprehensive cross-asset marketplace for institutions worldwide. 3 Major Focus Areas For LMAX Group With RLUSD The integration of RLUSD offers several advantages for LMAX Group clients. Enhanced liquidity is one benefit, as RLUSD will function both as collateral and a settlement currency for spot crypto trading and fiat transactions. Additionally, clients will have the opportunity to use RLUSD as margin funding for perpetual futures and contracts for difference trading, thereby improving margin efficiency. Security will also be a priority, with RLUSD holdings being accessible through LMAX Custody. This will utilize segregated wallets to ensure both fungibility and transferability across traditional finance and digital assets. Furthermore, the LMAX Kiosk feature will facilitate institutional on-ramps, allowing clients to engage in trading multiple foreign exchange and digital products using RLUSD as collateral. This will enable 24/7 access to cross-asset markets. Jack McDonald, Senior Vice President of Stablecoins at Ripple, commented on the recent partnership with LMAX Group, noting: This partnership will accelerate the utilization of RLUSD—already a top five USD-backed stablecoin—within one of the largest and most sophisticated trading environments. This collaboration is further strengthened by the integration of LMAX’s digital asset exchange with Ripple Prime. This combination is expected to provide institutions with a streamlined gateway to trade digital assets while effectively managing market fragmentation and counterparty risk. At the time of writing, the associated Ripple token, XRP, is trading at $2.09, having retraced by almost 3% in the past 24 hours. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com
According to Wintermute’s 2025 Digital Asset OTC Markets report, altcoin rallies last year were much shorter than traders expected, averaging about 19–20 days. That is a steep drop from the roughly 60-day runs seen in 2024. Market flows tightened, and many smaller tokens saw gains vanish faster than before. The result: capital moved back into the big names — Bitcoin and Ethereum — where liquidity is deeper. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s New Power Buyers: Companies Bought 3 Times What Miners Produced Altcoin Open Interest Drops Based on reports, one key trigger was a sharp deleveraging on October 10, 2025, which pushed retail traders to reduce risk and rotate out of smaller tokens. Open interest in many altcoin futures contracts fell, with some coverage noting about a 55% decline in altcoin futures open interest since October. Trading desks said lower liquidity made it harder for rallies to keep going beyond a few weeks, turning what used to be multi-month moves into short bursts. Major Coins Reclaimed Center Stage Institutional flows and product structures played a role. Reports have disclosed that ETFs and other institutional channels helped funnel funds toward Bitcoin and Ethereum. As a result, the market’s attention narrowed. Where narratives once pushed dozens of tokens into rallies, more capital was now concentrated in the top tier. Traders say they preferred assets where orders could be filled without dramatically moving the price. Short, Intense Moves Replaced Long Trends Wintermute’s analysis points to a change in how momentum forms. Rally drivers became more tactical and less about broad, lasting narratives. In practice, that meant memecoin pumps and exchange-themed rallies burned out quickly. Some traders described these moves as hair-trigger events: quick upswings followed by equally rapid retracements. Liquidity bands tightened and stops were hit sooner than in past cycles. What Traders And Firms Are Watching Market participants say the path to a sustained altcoin season now requires a few things aligning. Reports indicate renewed retail interest, clearer institutional support for smaller tokens, and calmer macro markets could help. Otherwise, rallies are likely to remain short. Execution desks reported that when big buyers reappeared for a token, it could run fast, but keeping that momentum proved difficult without deeper market participation. Related Reading: Futures Frenzy Pushed Crypto Exchange Volume To Nearly $80 Trillion In 2025 Outlook For 2026 Based on the report and market commentary, a broader crypto rebound in 2026 depends on several moving parts: interest from institutions, shifts in macro rates, and retail returning to risk-on strategies. If those elements arrive, rallies might last longer than the 19–20 day average seen in 2025. If not, traders say the pattern of quick, sharp moves into the majors will continue. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Ethereum activity picks up ahead of FOMC - Healthy trend or risky bet?
Rising active addresses, record-high daily transactions, and expanding stablecoin usage—supported by lower fees and layer-2 scaling—are strengthening Ethereum’s fundamentals and improving its near-term outlook. At the same time, broader crypto market sentiment has cooled after reaching a multi-month high, due to uncertainty around US crypto regulation. Ethereum User Growth Accelerates Ethereum’s on-chain activity is showing new momentum, driven by a surge in new users and a sharp improvement in how many of them are interacting with the network over time. According to data from Glassnode , month-over-month “activity retention” among new participants almost doubled. This suggests that the recent growth is being fueled by fresh wallets rather than recycled activity from long-term users. Glassnode also pointed out that first-time interacting addresses spiked over the past 30 days. The scale of this increase is quite impressive. New addresses engaging with the network climbed from just over four million to around eight million in a single month, which suggests that Ethereum is once again attracting users at a pace not seen recently. Activity retention, which measures whether users stay active rather than appearing briefly and leaving, strengthened alongside this growth, pointing to more durable usage rather than speculative bursts of activity. Other network metrics reinforce this trend. Data from Etherscan shows that active addresses have more than doubled over the past year, rising from roughly 410,000 to over one million by mid-January. Daily transaction counts also surged, hitting a new all-time high of approximately 2.8 million transactions. This is an increase of about 125% compared with the same period last year. Active Ethereum addresses over the past year (Source: Etherscan) Milk Road attributes most of this activity to a rapid expansion in stablecoin usage at a time when transaction fees on Ethereum are falling. This trend has been enabled by Ethereum’s scaling roadmap, which shifts execution to layer-2 networks while maintaining secure settlement on the base layer. Lower fees and faster execution have made Ethereum a lot more practical for everyday transfers, payments, and decentralized finance activity. Analysts are interpreting these developments as constructive for Ethereum’s outlook. Justin d’Anethan of Arctic Digital said in an interview that improving sentiment, recovering technical indicators, and renewed capital inflows into ETFs, stablecoins, and native protocols are creating conditions for higher prices. ETH’s price action over the past 3 months (Source: CoinCodex) Taken together, rising user retention, record transaction volumes, and strengthening institutional interest are reshaping Ethereum’s on-chain narrative. Michaël van de Poppe suggested that Ethereum is experiencing a period of compression that could resolve with a breakout in the near term. Crypto Sentiment Slips Although Ethereum’s momentum is picking up, crypto market sentiment has cooled after reaching a multi-month high, due to uncertainty around US crypto regulation. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell sharply, dropping to a neutral score of 49 out of 100 after briefly entering “greed” territory on Thursday. This reading of 61 was the index’s highest level in several months. Crypto fear and greed index (Source: Alternative) The spike in sentiment came alongside a strong move higher in Bitcoin, which gained roughly 5% on Thursday and briefly pushed toward the upper $97,000 range. That rally helped drive the Fear & Greed Index to its strongest level since early October, when optimism peaked just before a major market selloff and widespread liquidations. . According to crypto analytics firm Santiment , Bitcoin’s recent rally appeared fundamentally supported, which points to continued accumulation by large, sophisticated investors while retail traders were selling into strength. This divergence suggested that the price move was not purely speculative, but rather underpinned by longer-term positioning. However, sentiment on social media and among industry leaders began to soften as concerns emerged over a Senate version of a long-anticipated US crypto market structure bill. The goal of the proposed legislation is to clarify how digital assets will be regulated in the United States by dividing oversight responsibilities between key financial regulators. While many in the crypto industry were prepared to back the bill despite compromises, several provisions caused some backlash, particularly those seen as limiting stablecoin yields. Opposition intensified after Brian Armstrong withdrew his support by arguing that the bill would be worse than maintaining the current regulatory status quo. He stated that Coinbase would prefer no legislation at all over a framework that could stifle innovation. After the pushback, the Senate Banking Committee canceled its planned markup of the bill, due to the need for additional time to secure enough support. The Senate Agriculture Committee similarly postponed its own markup to later in January. The delays introduced fresh uncertainty, and also reinforced concerns among traders that regulatory friction could weigh on prices in the near term.
In 2026, Bitcoin trading shifts from halving cycles to policy dominance. CLARITY Act, GENIUS Act, regulatory clarity, and macro liquidity drive prices. Adapt strategies now. The post Bitcoin 2026: Policy Forces Eclipse The Four-Year Halving Cycle appeared first on CryptoCoin.News .
Crypto lending firm Nexo Capital has been fined $500,000 by California authorities for operating without a valid lending license and failing to evaluate whether borrowers could afford to repay their loans, according to a statement released by the state’s financial watchdog. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) said that Nexo had violated local laws by issuing consumer and commercial loans to thousands of residents between July 2018 and November 2022. According to regulators the company offered these crypto-backed loans without conducting proper credit assessments and lacked the required authorisation to operate under state law. Crypto-collateralised loans, which allow users to access fiat or stablecoins by pledging digital assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum, are often advertised as faster and more flexible alternatives to traditional lending. However, their decentralised nature typically means they bypass the kinds of checks that are routine in traditional financial services. “Nexo offered at least 5,456 loans in California without verifying borrowers’ financial capacity,” the DFPI said, citing a failure to review credit history, outstanding debt, or income levels before lending. The agency noted that these practices violate the California Financing Law and increase the likelihood of defaults, especially in volatile crypto markets. “Lenders must follow the law and avoid making risky loans that endanger consumers, ” DFPI Commissioner KC Mohseni said. “Crypto-backed loans are no exception.” In addition to the monetary penalty, Nexo has been ordered to transfer all California customer funds to its US-based affiliate, Nexo Financial LLC, which holds a valid California Finance Lenders License. According to the DFPI, this affiliate is required to meet all relevant licensing and disclosure obligations going forward. Regulatory scrutiny extends beyond California The action in California adds to a growing list of regulatory challenges for Nexo. In January 2023, the company paid $45 million in a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and multiple state regulators over its Earn Interest Product (EIP), which was deemed an unregistered securities offering. As part of that deal, Nexo agreed to stop offering the product to US investors and exited the American market entirely by April 2023. Despite the scrutiny, Nexo continues to operate globally through its licensed entities and remains active in the digital asset lending and wealth management space. Last year, Nexo resumed operations in the US , rolling out a new suite of compliant offerings that include crypto savings products, asset-backed credit lines, trading services, and liquidity solutions for both retail and institutional clients. Earlier this month, the firm also announced it had become the first-ever title partner of the US ATP 500 Dallas Open, marking a multi-year sponsorship agreement that forms part of Nexo’s push to rebuild its brand presence through high-profile global partnerships. The post Crypto lending firm Nexo hit with $500,000 fine for violating California laws appeared first on Invezz