Author: Tristan Lodenberg

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell eased market concerns about immediate interest rate hikes, helping stabilize the bond market even as broader risk assets weakened. Speaking at Harvard University, Powell said the Federal Reserve is inclined to look past short term energy shocks linked to the Iran conflict and focus on inflation expectations that remain “well anchored.” Following his remarks, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield dropped nine basis points to 4.35%, while the 2-year yield declined eight basis points to 3.83%. Market expectations for one or more Federal Reserve rate hikes in 2026 fell sharply to 5% from 25% recorded on…

US Senators Bill Cassidy and Cynthia Lummis have introduced the “Mined in America Act,” a proposal aimed at expanding domestic Bitcoin mining manufacturing and formalizing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve established through an executive order by President Donald Trump. The bill proposes a voluntary “Mined in America” certification for mining facilities and pools operating within the United States. Facilities seeking certification would be required to phase out mining equipment produced by companies linked to foreign adversaries while supporting the development of US-based mining hardware manufacturing. Cassidy stated that digital asset mining plays a significant role in the national economy and should…

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned that it would be a “disastrous miscalculation” for Middle East countries to cooperate with Ukraine on defense matters. He stated that countries in the region are “smarter than to be persuaded by someone who exposed his own country to destructive war and brought tragedies upon Ukrainian people.” Baghaei also confirmed that no direct negotiations have taken place with the United States to date. He clarified that since the last formal talks, communication has been limited to messages exchanged through intermediaries, including Pakistan, regarding U.S. requests for dialogue. He added that Iran’s positions remain…

American Bitcoin, the Trump-linked bitcoin mining firm co-founded by Eric Trump, announced that its treasury holdings reached 7,000 BTC, valued at roughly $474 million at current prices. The company reported that its bitcoin reserves have grown by more than 35% since the start of 2026, continuing an ongoing accumulation streak. Last week, the firm said it climbed to the 16th spot among corporate bitcoin holders, surpassing Galaxy Digital. Its “Satoshis per share” metric also rose to 660, more than doubling since its Nasdaq debut in September 2025. Self-Mining Strategy Expands Holdings Amid Market Pressure Despite treasury growth, American Bitcoin shares…

Bitcoin’s hashrate declined about 4% year to date, marking the first first-quarter drop since 2020 and ending five consecutive years of double-digit expansion. The network’s computing power is currently hovering near 1 zettahash per second (ZH/s). Data from Glassnode shows the hashrate surged from roughly 100 exahashes per second (EH/s) over the past five years, reflecting nearly a tenfold increase. Historically, the metric rose in every first quarter and finished each year with growth exceeding 10%, with 2022 seeing the hashrate nearly double. AI Infrastructure Shift May Improve Bitcoin Decentralization The slowdown reflects worsening mining economics, with production costs estimated…

South Korea’s Naver Financial has postponed its planned share swap with Dunamu, pushing the timeline back by about three months. According to a filing with the Financial Supervisory Service, the shareholder vote is now expected on Aug. 18, with completion scheduled for Sept. 30, instead of earlier targets in late May or early June. The proposed all-stock transaction, valued at about $10.3 billion, was first revealed in September 2025 and later confirmed in November filings. The deal aims to make Dunamu a wholly owned subsidiary, combining one of South Korea’s largest fintech platforms with the operator of its biggest crypto…

Bitdeer Technologies has signed an agreement to build what is expected to become Norway’s largest artificial intelligence data center, marking a major step in its transition from bitcoin mining to high-performance computing infrastructure. The project will be developed through its subsidiary, Tydal Data Center AS (TDC), which entered into a deal with Norwegian contractor Data Center Installations AS (DCI) to build and convert an existing facility. The data center will primarily provide co-location services designed to support Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin AI technology, according to company statements. Shift Toward AI Services as Mining Profitability Declines The agreement reflects a broader…

Midnight, a privacy-focused blockchain built within the Cardano ecosystem, officially went live on Monday, backed by an estimated $200 million investment from Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson. The project is designed to tackle long-standing concerns about privacy, complexity, and risk that have slowed broader crypto adoption. Hoskinson argued that the industry has spent more than a decade focusing on the wrong challenges while failing to enter the real world economy. Midnight aims to allow users and businesses to interact with blockchain systems without exposing sensitive financial or operational data. Privacy, Simplicity, and Safer Blockchain Use The network is designed to operate…

Pierre Rochard, CEO of The Bitcoin Bond Company, has warned US banking regulators that their proposed Basel III capital framework rewrite leaves uncertainty around how Bitcoin-related activities will be treated. In a formal comment submitted on March 29 to the US Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Rochard argued that regulators should not finalize rules that determine capital treatment for Bitcoin without clearly explaining the framework and supporting evidence. The March 19 proposal outlines changes covering credit risk, market risk, operational risk, and counterparty exposure for major US banks. However,…

Midas, a platform converting institutional yield strategies into blockchain based tokens, has raised $50 million in a Series A funding round led by RRE Ventures and Creandum, with backing from Framework Ventures, Franklin Templeton, and Coinbase Ventures. The funding aims to address a key barrier for tokenized asset adoption: liquidity and delayed redemptions. Midas Staked Liquidity Enables On-Demand Exits The company will use the capital to scale its Midas Staked Liquidity (MSL) system, a separate liquidity layer allowing investors to redeem positions instantly without unwinding vault-based strategies. Traditional tokenized yield products often lock funds into lending or DeFi protocols, causing…