Core, a proof-of-stake blockchain built on Bitcoin, has surpassed $260 million in dual-staked assets as institutional interest in Bitcoin-based decentralized finance (DeFi) continues to grow.

Core’s initial contributor, Rich Rines, told Cointelegraph that as of April 7, over 44 million Core tokens have been dual-staked with 3,140 Bitcoin (BTC). At the time of writing, the assets are worth about $260 million. 

Core’s dual-staking model lets Bitcoin holders earn higher yields with CORE tokens. While users can stake BTC at a lower rate, those who stake BTC with Core tokens get an enhanced yield. 

“Dual Staking can multiply base staking rewards over 15 times, depending on how many CORE tokens are staked,” Core said in a statement. 

Core’s new milestone highlights growing demand for Bitcoin staking

The latest milestone was driven in part by institutional investors integrating Core’s staking model into their platforms.

Core Foundation said that major custodians like BitGo, Copper and Hex Trust have enabled their clients to gain access to the protocol by integrating dual staking. Core added that it had partnered with Maple Finance for a structured asset that uses Core’s dual-staking to generate yield. 

Rines told Cointelegraph that institutions have been crucial catalysts to the early success of its dual staking model. He said the model unlocks new opportunities for institutions.  

“This shift has broader implications for the Bitcoin ecosystem. Historically, institutional BTC holdings required paying custody fees without generating yield,” Rines told Cointelegraph.

He added that by integrating Core’s staking model, institutions can turn Bitcoin into a yield-bearing asset that offsets costs and unlocks new capital efficiencies.

At the time of writing, Core holds the biggest total value locked (TVL) among Bitcoin sidechains. Footprint analytics puts Core’s TVL above $400 million, with a market share of 28%.  

Related: Bitcoin ETFs lose $326M amid ‘evolving’ dynamic with TradFi markets

Bitcoin becoming “productive” 

The Core team said the increase in the number of dual-staked CORE tokens highlights how the product fulfills its design. Rines told Cointelegraph: 

“The 44 million+ CORE tokens dual-staked to date show real adoption of the model. It reflects that users, both retail and institutional, are actively looking to put their Bitcoin to work securely and sustainably.”

Rines emphasized that Core’s dual-staking system offers a sustainable utility for long-term Bitcoin holders without requiring them to relinquish custody.

“This is Bitcoin becoming productive, not by trusting third parties, but by participating in a system designed to reward real alignment and long-term engagement,” Rines said.

Magazine: New ‘MemeStrategy’ Bitcoin firm by 9GAG, jailed CEO’s $3.5M bonus: Asia Express

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-defi-booms-as-core-blockchain-hits-260m-in-dual-staked-assets/feed/ 0 29888 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/crypto-biz-as-crypto-booms-recession-looms/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/crypto-biz-as-crypto-booms-recession-looms/#respond Fri, 21 Mar 2025 20:38:50 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/crypto-biz-as-crypto-booms-recession-looms/

America’s pro-crypto policy shift has become a bipartisan commitment as Democrats and Republicans look to secure the US dollar’s influence as a global reserve currency. According to US Representative and California Democrat Ro Khanna, at least 70 of his fellow party members now understand the importance of stablecoin regulation. 

According to Khanna, Americans can expect sensible crypto market structure and stablecoin bills this year. Under normal circumstances, this news would send crypto prices soaring, but that’s not been the case as President Donald Trump’s trade policies stoke recession fears.

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood is the latest crypto industry executive to sound the recession alarm. While a recession is rarely a good thing, Wood said it could provide Trump and the Federal Reserve with leeway to enact pro-growth policies. 

“We are worried about a recession” — Cathie Wood

Although US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent isn’t worried about a recession, Wood is certainly preparing for that possibility. 

Speaking virtually at the Digital Asset Summit in New York, Wood implied that the White House could be underestimating the recession risk facing the economy as a result of Trump’s latest tariff war. 

“We are worried about a recession,” Wood said. “We think the velocity of money is slowing down dramatically.”

A slowdown in the velocity of money means capital is changing hands less frequently as consumers and businesses reduce spending. Such conditions usually signify the onset of a recession.

However, recessionary forces could end up being a boon for risk assets like crypto as declining GDP should give “the president and the Fed many more degrees of freedom to do what they want in terms of tax cuts and monetary policy,” said Wood.

US stablecoin bill is “imminent” — Bo Hines

The US could have comprehensive stablecoin legislation in as little as two months, according to Bo Hines, the recently appointed executive director of Trump’s Presidential Council of Advisers on Digital Assets.

Speaking at the Digital Asset Summit in New York, Hines lauded the Senate Banking Committee’s bipartisan approval of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, also known as the GENIUS Act.

“We saw that vote come out of the Senate Banking Committee in extremely bipartisan fashion, […] which was fantastic to see,” Hines said.

The GENIUS Act seeks to establish clear guidelines for US stablecoin issuers, including collateralization requirements and compliance rules with Anti-Money Laundering laws. 

“I think our colleagues on the other side of the aisle also recognize the importance for US dominance in this space, and they’re willing to work with us here, and that’s what’s really exciting about this,” said Hines.

Ethena Labs, Securitize launch DeFi-focused blockchain

Ethena Labs and Securitize are launching a new blockchain designed to boost retail and institutional adoption of DeFi products and tokenized assets.

The new blockchain, called Converge, is an Ethereum Virtual Machine that will offer retail investors access to “standard DeFi applications” and specialize in institutional-grade offerings to bridge traditional finance and decentralized applications. Converge will also allow users to stake Ethena’s native governance token, ENA. 

Converge will also leverage Securitize’s RWA infrastructure. The company has minted nearly $2 billion in tokenized RWAs across various blockchains, including the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, which was initially launched on Ethereum and has since expanded to Aptos, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism and Polygon.

Canary Capital files for Sui ETF

Canary Capital has submitted its Form S-1 filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list an exchange-traded fund tied to Sui (SUI), the native token of the layer-1 blockchain used for staking and fees.

The March 17 filing underscores the race to expand institutional access to digital assets following the overwhelming success of the spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs last year. Canary Capital has so far filed six crypto ETF proposals with the SEC.

Sui is the 22nd largest crypto asset by market capitalization, with a total value of $7.5 billion, according to CoinGecko. The Sui blockchain recently partnered with World Liberty Financial, the DeFi company backed by Trump’s family.

Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse on the business behind blockchain and crypto, delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/crypto-biz-as-crypto-booms-recession-looms/feed/ 0 26474 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-booms-experts-predict-bull-run-could-last-into-2026-time-to-invest-early-in-best-wallet-token/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-booms-experts-predict-bull-run-could-last-into-2026-time-to-invest-early-in-best-wallet-token/#respond Mon, 03 Mar 2025 15:28:43 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/bitcoin-booms-experts-predict-bull-run-could-last-into-2026-time-to-invest-early-in-best-wallet-token/

If you checked on the crypto market on Friday, you’ll have witnessed a bloodbath. Bitcoin plummeted, falling to below $80K at some points.

But by this morning, everything had changed. US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a strategic crypto reserve to include $BTC, $ETH, and various altcoins – including $XRP, up over 4% over the past week, and $SOL, up 11% on the day – sent the market roaring back to life.

Now, $BTC is trading over $91K, the total market cap is back up over $3T, and experts like Raoul Pal (former Goldman Sachs exec) think that a looming crypto bull run cycle could easily stretch into 2026.

Is this the time to invest early in key new cryptos like Best Wallet token? Let’s take a closer look.

Bull Run Cycle Inbound, Could Last Till 2026

Raoul Pal thinks the crypto market is about to embark on a bull run cycle similar to the famous one of 2017, where the market spiked, experienced a short drawback, and then spiked again.

If he’s correct, then even the mini bust-to-boom cycle of the past weekend only reinforces how strong the initial part of the bull run could be.

In fact, Pal doesn’t think the bull run has properly started yet; he pegs it as starting in March and lasting through June. Pal estimates that the market will cool slightly in the summer before heating up again with another run heading into 2026.

Experts like Pal point to several critical factors behind an extended bull run:

• Higher-than-ever institutional involvement
• Steadily growing regulatory clarity
• Broader mainstream adoption
• Macroeconomic tailwinds

With big-name institutions like Citadel Securities flocking into crypto, any potential bull run has more money and liquidity to draw on. That’s more fuel for the fire, and just one of the reasons Pal and others are optimistic about the current cycle.

But which cryptos will be able to take advantage of the bull run? Will it be a meme coin that captures the zeitgeist of the moment? Or will a token with more utility seize the day?

Can Best Wallet Token Take Advantage of the Uptick?

Best Wallet Token provides genuine utility for a web3 wallet poised to capture 40% of the $11B non-custodial wallet segment by 2026. Best Wallet looks set to be a market leader and the only crypto wallet targeted towards crypto presales.

Best Wallet Token ($BEST) will play a key role in accelerating the wallet’s uptake, offering holders:

• Reduced transaction fees
• Greater staking rewards
• Community governance
• Early access to new projects

$BEST holders will get smoother and earlier access to Best Wallet’s handpicked list of crypto presales, a fantastic opportunity to get in on the ground floor of tomorrow’s big crypto winners.

That utility makes $BEST a great bet to ride the back of any crypto bull run. So far, the $BEST presale has raised $10.7M, with a current token price of $0.0242.

Visit the $BEST presale today, and learn more about how to buy Best Wallet Token.

Trump Punts US Crypto Reserve, Setting Stage for $BEST

Bitcoin’s rally was fueled by Trump’s announcement of a U.S. strategic crypto reserve yesterday. The US president has expanded his vision for the reserve, which was first raised as a campaign talking point back in 2024 as a ‘Bitcoin Reserve.’

The reserve, as indicated by Trump’s posts, will indeed include $BTC and Ethereum, but also a number of leading altcoins, including Solana, Ripple, and Cardano.

That could set the stage for a market-cap-weighted index of cryptocurrencies to be included in the Crypto Reserve. And that, in turn, means any crypto that performs well enough could someday be part of the reserve – even $BEST.

In the meantime, the National Crypto Reserve could be the catalyst for the months-long bull run Pal and others are looking for. And with an upcoming crypto summit planned for later in the week, more information should provide more market momentum.

Incoming Bull Run Boosts New and Established Tokens

With the market set for big gains, both established tokens and new crypto like $BEST are primed for rapid growth.

Don’t take our word for it; as always, do your own research to make sure you have all the information you need before you invest.

Even so, now looks like a good time to invest early before the bull run cycle fully takes off.