Ryan Weeks

When the US and Israel launched their aerial assault on Iran on the last Saturday of February, the world’s main oil markets were closed. The price of crude kept moving anyway.

Bitcoin is clawing back after a big week, exactly the kind investors rely on to stay above water.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held out the prospect that stablecoin companies could emerge as trillion-dollar buyers of US government debt.

Donald Trump’s pledge to ensure that Bitcoin mining activity is centered in the US is rapidly disintegrating under the twin forces of the artificial intelligence boom and a prolonged crypto slump.

David Pan and Ryan Weeks | Bloomberg Show Caption Hide Caption Texas Republicans turn on data centers, putting big tech on notice

Investors are ramping up scrutiny of how much crypto hoarders pay their employees, as shareholders nurse losses totaling about $50 billion.

Bitcoin is trading about 40% below its record price of over $126 000, which it reached on October 6.

Round-the-clock trading in perpetual futures already dominated crypto. Now it’s spilling over into mainstream assets.

On Sept. 18, Tether gathered more than a hundred people for a black-tie soiree in Charlotte, North Carolina. The guests had come to celebrate the imminent opening of the stablecoin giant’s US headquarters in the Queen City. Among those attending was White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt, according to two people in attendance, who asked not to be identified discussing the closed-door event. Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman Brandon Lutnick was also there, one of the people said.

A European startup building tokenized cash funds has raised $90 million in equity funding, as it seeks to take on sector heavyweights including BlackRock Inc.