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In brief UBS, the world’s largest wealth manager overseeing $4.7 trillion in assets, will allow select private banking clients to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum starting in Switzerland, per a report from Bloomberg. The rollout reflects demand from ultra-high net-worth clients and may expand to Asia-Pacific after the initial Swiss launch. Switzerland continues to position itself as a crypto-friendly jurisdiction in Europe, attracting U.S. firms seeking stable banking partners. Swiss banking giant UBS Group AG will open up crypto investing to some of its private banking clients, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. Moves by UBS tend to align with the…

In brief Created in response to Bitcoin’s perceived limitations, Zcash offers privacy with zk-SNARK tech. In 2025, Zcash undergoes its halving, a funding overhaul, and a software migration—its biggest test yet. A decade on, Zcash is one of the privacy coins fighting for private, and decentralized payments. For many years, Bitcoin was used to buy drugs online because it was believed to be anonymous. Turns out, it’s surprisingly easy to track Bitcoin transactions. Zcash, on the other hand, is a cryptocurrency that promised something Bitcoin couldn’t deliver: privacy.How Zcash worksZcash is designed to hide key transaction details, such as the…

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told Bloomberg at Davos that investors who don’t have at least 5% of their net worth in Bitcoin will “probably be pretty sad” by 2030.Recently, Morgan Stanley’s wealth management division published portfolio guidelines capping crypto exposure at 4% maximum for even its most aggressive growth models. Both used “5%” as their anchor. Neither meant the same thing.The post-ETF era didn’t just mainstream Bitcoin ownership, it turned position sizing into the new battleground. Financial advisors, wealth managers, and compliance officers now treat roughly 5% as a responsible ceiling for a volatile satellite holding.Meanwhile, crypto executives are trying…

In brief U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw outflows of $1.62 billion across four working days, including a massive $708.7 million exit on Wednesday. Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan cites Amberdata figures showing basis trade yields have collapsed to 5%, down from 17% last year. Bitcoin’s slide to under $89,000 coincides with a broader risk-off gap down in the S&P 500. Investors pulled capital from U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds on Thursday, marking the fourth successive trading day of outflows amid heightened macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility.The funds shed a net $1.62 billion over four trading days, marking one of the largest and…

The following is a guest post by Nischal Shetty, co-founder and President at Shardeum.On 2nd January 2026, an anonymous trader on crypto prediction platform Polymarket put down roughly $30,000 on a contract that Nicolás Maduro would be out of power by 31 January 2026. Within hours of a U.S. special forces raid that resulted in Maduro’s capture, that position was worth more than $436,000. Meanwhile, traders had placed over $10.5 million on related bets about a U.S. invasion this year, many tying outcomes to specific deadlines in January, March, and December. Some participants staked tens of thousands of dollars on…

In brief Meme coin brand Ponke is launching a series of collectible blind box toys with streetwear label RIPNDIP. An embedded NFC chip in the collectibles unlocks a blockchain component via Ethereum layer-2 network Base. An online presale begins Friday, with the collectibles reaching RIPNDIP stores and retailers in April. For years, blind box drops in crypto have followed a familiar script: the digital component first, often through marketplaces, and the physical goods secondary. A new collaboration between Solana meme coin brand Ponke and streetwear label RIPNDIP is trying to flip that model by starting not on-chain, but on store…

Nasdaq has filed a rule change with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to remove position and exercise limits on options tied to spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, a move that would further integrate crypto-linked products into traditional derivatives markets. The proposal, originally filed on Jan. 7 and made effective this week on the 21st, eliminates the current 25,000-contract cap on options linked to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs listed on Nasdaq.  Affected products include funds from BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Bitwise, ARK/21Shares and VanEck, according to the filing. The SEC waived its standard 30-day waiting period, allowing the rule change to…

In brief Merkle Manufactory, the company behind decentralized social protocol Farcaster, will refund venture investors the $180 million it raised. The move comes after the protocol was sold to infrastructure firm Neynar. “Farcaster is not shutting down,” Merkle co-founder Dan Romero said, noting that Neynar plans to “shift Farcaster in a more developer-focused direction.” Merkle Manufactory, the company behind decentralized social protocol Farcaster, plans to repay venture investors the full $180 million it raised.Merkle co-founder Dan Romero tweeted Thursday that the company would return investors’ capital in full as the project transitions under new ownership after the protocol was sold…

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said he will fly to Japan this week for a multi-city community tour focused on Midnight, the privacy-focused network being developed in Cardano’s orbit, while hinting that new “commercially critical integrations” and major launch partners are nearing the finish line. In a Jan. 22 video recorded from Colorado, Hoskinson framed the trip as both a reconnection with what he called Cardano’s “most critical component” and a staging ground for the next execution phase he wants the ecosystem to pursue: making leading applications meaningfully…

The crypto industry’s capital headline for 2025 looks like a comeback story: $50.6 billion across 1,409 transactions, up sharply from 2024’s totals.However, the composition tells a different story.According to the annual Crypto Fundraising Report, 43.7% of that capital came from just 21 mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Traditional venture capital and private investment accounted for $23.3 billion across 829 deals, while public sales and IPOs contributed $5.2 billion across 155 transactions.The gap between the headline and the segmentation matters. In 2025, capital didn’t flood back into thousands of new crypto experiments.Nearly half the dollars were in consolidation, with winners buying infrastructure,…

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. Subscribe to the Morning Minute on Substack.GM!Today’s top news: Crypto majors fall 1-2% despite Gold & Silver pump; BTC at $89,200 Ledger prepares for $4B IPO, tapping Goldman and others to lead PwC says institutional crypto adoption can no longer be reversed Leshner’s SuperState raises $82.5M in Series B to accelerate tokenized stocks Sentient AGI’s SENT token debuts at $900M fdv ?️ PwC Says Institutional Crypto Adoption Has Passed the Point of No ReturnOne of the…