Author: Tristan Lodenberg

Robinhood shares fell sharply in after-hours trading after the company reported fourth-quarter results that missed Wall Street revenue forecasts, despite posting record overall revenue for the period. The trading platform generated $1.28 billion in net revenue in Q4, a 27% increase year over year but below analyst expectations of $1.34 billion. The earnings shortfall weighed on investor sentiment, sending shares down 7.66% in extended trading to $79.04 after closing the regular session at $85.60. Crypto Revenue Declines as Market Slows Crypto-related revenue dropped 38% compared to the same quarter last year, falling to $221 million. The decline followed a broader…

LayerZero Labs has announced plans to launch a new layer-1 blockchain called “Zero,” with support from major financial players including ARK Invest and Citadel Securities. The network is scheduled to go live in fall 2026 and is designed to serve institutional financial markets. The company, best known for its cross-chain messaging protocol, said Zero aims to dramatically increase blockchain scalability by leveraging zero-knowledge proofs and a zero-knowledge virtual machine known as Jolt. Zero Chain Targets 2 Million Transactions Per Second According to LayerZero Labs, the Zero blockchain could scale to as many as two million transactions per second. The firm…

Goldman Sachs significantly reduced its exposure to spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds in the fourth quarter of 2025, trimming both bitcoin and ether ETF holdings as digital asset markets declined. Goldman Sachs Reduces Spot Bitcoin ETF Exposure As of Dec. 31, 2025, the firm held approximately 21.2 million shares across various spot bitcoin ETFs, valued at $1.06 billion, according to its latest regulatory filing. That represents a 39.4% drop in share count compared with the third quarter. The bank also reduced its position in spot Ethereum ETFs. Holdings totaled roughly 40.7 million shares worth about $1 billion at year-end, marking a…

Crypto mining firm Canaan saw its shares slide nearly 7% on Tuesday, even after posting its strongest quarterly revenue in three years. The company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $196.3 million, marking a 121.1% year-over-year increase driven by higher hardware sales and improved mining performance. Canaan Q4 Revenue Surges 121% Year Over Year Canaan’s Bitcoin mining revenue rose 98.5% compared to the same period last year, reaching $30.4 million. The company also expanded its digital asset holdings, with its Bitcoin treasury climbing to 1,750 BTC, valued at approximately $120 million. In addition, Ether holdings increased to 3,950 ETH, worth nearly $7.9…

The tokenized commodities market has climbed above $6.1 billion in value, marking a 53% increase in less than six weeks and emerging as the fastest-growing segment within the real-world asset tokenization sector. The sharp rise has been largely fueled by growing demand for tokenized gold as bullion prices rally to historic highs. Tokenized Gold Dominates Market Growth At the start of the year, the tokenized commodities market was valued at just over $4 billion, meaning nearly $2 billion has been added since January 1. Gold-backed digital assets account for the overwhelming majority of that growth. Tether Gold (XAUt) leads the…

Former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried has filed a motion requesting a new criminal trial as he continues to challenge his conviction related to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange. The filing was submitted Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York through a pro se motion filed by his mother on his behalf. In the accompanying memorandum, Bankman-Fried accused federal prosecutors of withholding evidence and argued that the trial judge should be recused. The motion claims the case was built on what it describes as false allegations that customer funds were stolen and irreparably…

Robinhood has introduced a public testnet for Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum layer-2 network built using Arbitrum technology. The move signals a deeper push into tokenized real-world assets and decentralized finance infrastructure. The testnet is now accessible to developers and includes documentation, network access points, and compatibility with standard Ethereum development tools. Early infrastructure partners have already begun integrations. A mainnet launch is expected later this year. Robinhood says the network is engineered for financial-grade applications, including 24/7 trading, seamless asset bridging, self-custody functionality, tokenized asset platforms, lending protocols, and perpetual futures markets. Expansion Into Tokenized Stocks and DeFi Ecosystem The…

Braden Karony, former chief executive of SafeMoon, has been sentenced to 100 months in federal prison for misappropriating approximately $9 million from the platform’s liquidity pool in 2021. The sentencing follows his May 2025 conviction on charges including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Prosecutors said Karony diverted investor funds to finance personal purchases, including a $2.2 million home in Utah and multiple luxury vehicles such as an Audi R8, Tesla, Ford F-550, and Jeep Gladiator. Asset Forfeiture and Restitution Karony has been ordered to forfeit about $7.5 million. A separate restitution amount for affected investors…

Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said bitcoin remains positioned to significantly outperform traditional equity markets over the coming years, despite recent price volatility. He stated that bitcoin could double or triple the returns of the S&P 500 over a multi-year horizon, emphasizing long-term conviction rather than short-term price movements. Bitcoin is currently trading below $70,000 after pulling back from highs above $126,000 reached in late 2025. The correction has also pressured Strategy’s stock, though shares have rebounded in recent sessions alongside broader market stabilization. Bitcoin Treasury Strategy and Holdings Strategy continues expanding its bitcoin treasury even as market prices remain…

Bitcoin’s reputation as “digital gold” is being challenged as new research shows its price movements increasingly align with risk-on assets rather than traditional safe havens. Recent analysis indicates that Bitcoin’s short-term behavior has diverged from gold and silver, even as precious metals reached record highs. Instead of tracking defensive assets, Bitcoin has developed a strong correlation with equities, particularly software stocks, a trend that has intensified since early 2024. This shift suggests Bitcoin is currently trading more like a high-growth technology asset than a hedge against macroeconomic stress. Software Stocks and Market Sell-Offs Influence Bitcoin The data shows Bitcoin’s recent…