Good Morning,

Here's a quick preview of today’s content: CFTC says prediction markets should be federally regulated, Binance kidnap attempt puts crypto industry on alert, Digital bank Maya looks to US market for $1B IPO, Kraken backs 'Trump accounts' for Wyoming newborns, Precious metals firm offers dividends in Tether's tokenized gold, and so much more

Happy Wednesday - Let’s dive in.

Market Snapshot

Click here to learn more about the Gannon’s portfolios and subscribe to the strategies on Autopilot.* Since inception (7/7/25), Gannon’s Crypto Portfolio is up +1.10%

• Bitcoin slips below $67,000 as macro headwinds test $70K support amid US market volatility

  • BTC-Nasdaq correlation turns positive as crypto slides alongside retreating tech stocks and gold

  • ETH staking breaks new highs as price slumps, while tokenized RWA market jumps +300% YoY

  • Venice AI leads altcoin market with +350% gains from November lows

• Experts say volatility is cooling as investors await macro catalysts and new economic data, with AI concerns to the fore

Prediction Markets

• Bettors on Polymarket are predicting who visited Epstein's Island?

• Track and trade live odds on any event, only on Polymarket

Headline Roundup
^{_{The major headlines driving crypto markets}}

• Gemini exchange parts ways with CFO, COO and CLO (TB)

• Abu Dhabi funds hold over $1B of BlackRock's ETF (TB)

• Anthony Scaramucci's son buys Logan Paul's tokenized Pokemon card for $16M (TB)

• Kraken backs 'Trump accounts' for Wyoming newborns (DC)

• Coinbase CEO addresses ‘paper bitcoin’ claims (BM)

• Michael Saylor's Strategy buys 2,486 bitcoin for $168M (TB)

• Crypto firm BitGo a potential acquisition target for Wall Street firms (CD)

• Precious metals firm offers dividends in Tether's tokenized gold (DC)

• Bitcoin lifts Steak 'n Shake sales 'dramatically' in 9 months (DC)

• $300B stablecoin supply increasingly used as everyday money (TB)

• 77% of crypto users would open a stablecoin wallet with their bank (FM)

• BitMine grows Ethereum treasury to 4.37M (TB)

• Intesa Sanapolo discloses $100M bitcoin ETF holdings (CD)

• Bitcoin miner Hive reports record revenue (TB)

• eToro shares surge amid Q4 profit increase (TB)

• TON partners with Banxa to expand stablecoin infrastructure (TB)

• Binance disappears from Google Play in Philippines (FM)

• Monad hires former FalconX, BVNK and Optimism execs (CT)

• StarkWare integrates Nightfall privacy tech (TB)

• Loss-making DeFi lender ZeroLend shuts down (TB)

• Africrypt founders back in South Africa after platform collapse (CT)

Venture Capital

• Dragonfly Capital finalizes the close of its fourth venture vehicle, Dragonfly Fund IV, at $650M (TB)

• DEX developer Chainflip raises $33.9M through venture rounds with backers including Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Blockchain Capital and others (VC)

• DeFi protocol Strata raises $3M seed round from undisclosed investors (X)

Access the complete VC deal flow on Fundable.

M&A Announcements

• BlackRock begins acquiring ETH for upcoming Ethereum staking ETF (TB)

• David Bailey's Bitcoin treasury play Nakamoto acquires BTC Inc and UTXO Management (TB)

• Japan’s SBI Holdings targets majority stake in Singapore crypto exchange Coinhako (CT)

Launches

• Digital bank Maya looks to US market for $1B IPO (DC)

• Zora launches 'attention markets' on Solana (TB)

• Kraken integrates ICE Chat to expand OTC access (CT)

• Pumpfun rolls out Cashback Coins (TD)

• Quantoz gains Visa nod to issue stablecoin debit cards (CT)

• World Markets launches DEX on MegaETH (TD)

Regulation

• CFTC says prediction markets should be federally regulated (DC)

• Federal court rejects Kalshi bid to pause Nevada enforcement (DC)

• Poland vetoes MiCA bill as crypto companies look to license abroad (CT)

• South Korea lifts 9-year corporate crypto ban (CT)

• Bridge wins OCC approval for national bank charter (TB)

Cybersecurity

• Binance kidnap attempt puts crypto industry on alert (BBG)

• Hardware wallet owners hit with snail mail phishing campaign (DC)

Extra Reads

• We are officially entering the ‘crypto tax enforcement era’, but the new rules, written by people who don’t understand crypto, could have some big repercussions for the industry as a whole - The crypto tax reckoning is here

• Bitcoin open interest has plunged 55% from its October 2025 peak, marking the steepest decline since April 2023 as traders unwind leverage - Here’s why Bitcoin open interest has seen its largest decline

• From 2028, the Netherlands will update how tax is calculated on unrealized gains, and crypto critics are in uproar, but the reality is nuanced - Is the Netherlands taxing unrealized crypto gains?

Chart of the Day

Bitcoin’s recent drop closely tracked high-growth US tech stocks

Meme Dump

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*DISCLAIMER: Investment advice provided by Autopilot advisers LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing carries risks including the risk of the loss of principal. Performance doesn’t include fees. See more here.