Good Morning,

Here's a quick preview of today’s content: US sentences fugitive to 20 years over $73M scam, CFTC's top legal team eliminated amid crypto embrace, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried requests new trial, Goldman Sachs discloses $1.1B position in Bitcoin ETFs, EU considers ban on crypto transactions with Russia, and so much more

Happy Wednesday - Let’s dive in.

Market Snapshot

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• Bitcoin trapped in tight range as sentiment hits most fearful levels since 2022

  • BTC rebound stalls at $71,000 wall with near-term backdrop remaining fragile, while ETFs register back-to-back inflows for first time in a month of $145M

  • Investor exodus weighs heavier on ETH, while SOL treasuries sit on over $1.5B in paper losses

  • Total market cap sinks -2% to $2.43T as conviction remains thin despite price stabilization among large-caps

• Onchain options volumes hit all-time highs as lending yields dry up and Bitcoin-backed bonds face stress test

Prediction Markets

• Bettors on Polymarket are predicting 2026 World Cup winner?

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

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

• FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried requests new trial (DC)

• SafeMoon CEO gets 8 years in prison for crypto fraud scheme (DC)

• Ray Dalio warns CBDCs could hand government financial control (DC)

• Crypto banker adversaries don’t want to deal in latest White House meeting (CD)

• Goldman Sachs discloses $1.1B position in Bitcoin ETFs (BM)

• Kraken fires CFO ahead of long-awaited IPO (CD)

• Robinhood’s Ethereum network enters testnet phase (DC)

• Strategy will buy Bitcoin 'forever' says Michael Saylor (DC)

• Interactive Brokers adds Bitcoin and Ether futures (TB)

• EU considers ban on crypto transactions with Russia (TB)

• Polymarket lets users wager on public opinion in Kaito AI (TB)

• Robinhood shares slide amid crypto weakness (DC)

• Cathie Wood's Ark Invest buys more Bullish (TB)

• Bitmine buys $84M in ETH (TB)

• Prediction markets grow 4x to $63.5B (DC)

• Canaan more than doubles revenue as miner grows treasury (TB)

• MoonPay helps 40,000 businesses pay workers in stablecoins (TB)

• Hyperliquid perps hit $5B daily volume (TB)

• Vitalik Buterin details how Ethereum works alongside AI (TB)

• Base App removes Farcaster-powered Talk feed (TB)

Venture Capital

• BRLA Digital, a cross-border payments and stablecoin fintech, raises $17M Series A led by Quona Capital, Big Bets, Headline, Fluent Ventures, and more (SI)

• Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, invests in LayerZero Labs (TB)

• LayerZero launches Layer 1 blockchain called Zero, with strategic investments from Citadel Securities and Ark Invest (TB)

• Circle Ventures invests an undisclosed sum in decentralized trading platform edgeX (TB)

Access the complete VC deal flow on Fundable.

Launches

• Ledger brings OKX DEX into its wallet (TB)

• AI.com debuts during Super Bowl after $70M domain buy (DC)

• LMAX debuts Omnia connecting crypto and blockchain settlement (TB)

• SwissBorg adds time-locked withdrawals (CD)

• SpaceMolt launches multiplayer game for AI agents (DC)

Regulation

• Fintechs back Fed account that opens rails to crypto firms (DC)

• CFTC's top legal team eliminated amid crypto embrace (DC)

• Crypto PAC leaps into first midterm Senate race with $5M (CD)

• UK regulator takes action against HTX over crypto promotions (CT)

• Blockchain.com secures FCA registration in UK (DC)

Cybersecurity

• US sentences fugitive to 20 years over $73M scam (DC)

• Phantom under scrutiny after $264K address poisoning loss (CT)

• Ethereum Foundation teams up with SEAL to combat wallet drainers (CT)

• Google warns of AI-powered North Korean malware targeting crypto (DC)

Extra Reads

• Super Bowl LX featured 10 ads for different AI products, and some observers believe it could be a sign that the AI financial bubble will soon burst - Do Super Bowl ads predict a bubble? 

• In a recent survey of trading firms, Nickel Digital Asset Management found that almost all said AI is already playing a major role in core investment processes - Here’s why AI is no savior when markets get tough, but it can help

Chart of the Day

Bitcoin new investor inflows have flipped negative

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.