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The integrity of cryptocurrency trading volume is of growing importance for many stakeholders in the cryptoeconomy. Now, another service with big cryptoverse backers has arrived to further actualize “transparent data infrastructure” in the space.
On August 27th, cryptocurrency data company Nomics unveiled its new so-called Transparency Volume service, which the startup hailed as the first time a cryptocurrency market aggregator site “has designated a percentage of trading volume for a given cryptoasset as “transparent.”
As the firm explained in its announcement, its process for arriving at what volume data is considered reliable involves relying on cryptocurrency exchanges that provide high-quality data:
“Transparent volume represents the amount of volume deemed ‘trustworthy’ and high quality by Nomics. ‘Transparent Volume’ might just as well be called ‘Trustworthy Volume’ […] Specifically, transparent volume is the amount of volume for a given cryptoasset that’s moving through transparent exchanges (i.e. exchanges to which we’ve awarded an A+, A, or A- transparency rating).”
Nomics, which counts ecosystem stalwarts like Coinbase Ventures, Polymath Network, and Digital Currency Group among its investors, said the new service offering was considerably influenced by Bitwise Investments’s springtime report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
That Bitwise report made waves in the space for asserting that approximately “95% of reported volume [to data aggregators] is fake,” suggesting many smaller cryptocurrency exchanges are not trustworthy.
Some Takeaways from Transparency Volume on Day One At launch, the new Nomics dashboard service indicated that the largest big-cap cryptocurrencies with the most transparent trading volume over the last 24 hours were BNB (33 percent), bitcoin (17 percent), Monero (15 percent), XRP (11 percent).
Less transparent among the top coins were litecoin (9 percent), EOS (8 percent), ether (7 percent), USDT (5 percent), and bitcoin cash (2 percent), according to the service.
Nomics suggested in their announcement that honing in on this kind of data could eventually help pave the way to the SEC approving a Bitcoin ETF in the United States:
“One of the SEC’s major concerns in approving a Bitcoin ETF is the percentage of trading volume that is unsurveilled and subject to manipulation, toxic influences, etc. Our transparent volume metric is intended to help institutions, state actors, and investors assess the percentage of reported trading volume for a given cryptoasset that is auditable and transparent.”
At press time, the cryptocurrency gave “A” transparency ratings to many of the space’s most recognizable trading platforms, including Binance, Coinbase Pro, Kraken, Bitstamp, Poloniex, Ethfinex, Gemini, and bitFlyer. Some of the firm’s “A+” platform’s included Deribit, IDEX, and Belfrics.
Toward Better Knowledge Some take cryptocurrency data at face value, but new understandings can be unlocked by approaching the data in different ways.
For example, the bitcoin dominance rate — the amount of the cryptoeconomy’s market cap that bitcoin (BTC) alone is responsible for — is currently hovering around 70 percent, according to most data aggregator sites.
But there might be a better way to compute that metric. For one, blockchain analytics firm Arcane Crypto recently released a report that the suggested the bitcoin dominance rate was actually above 90 percent in weighting all cryptocurrencies’ market caps against their trading volumes.
Another example is emphasizing “realized cap” stats instead of straightforward market cap data. As Coin Metrics’s Nic Carter has previously explained, the realized cap of bitcoin “roughly … measures the average cost basis of Bitcoin holders.” Notably, the original cryptocurrency’s realized cap just crossed the $100 billion USD mark.
Realized cap roughly (but not perfectly) measures the average cost basis of Bitcoin holders. It takes into account the price at which a given coin last changed hands (rather than treating them uniformly, as market cap does) https://t.co/lm2QDGoYsd
— nic ???? carter (@nic__carter) August 26, 2019
In a similar way, the aforementioned Nomics approaches the traditional metric of cryptocurrency trading volume in a new way so as to provide a more accurate depiction of the activity that is actually occurring.
Going forward, it seems likely that better data clarity could increasingly assuage regulators’ concerns toward the ecosystem.
William M. Peaster
William M. Peaster is a professional writer and editor who specializes in the Ethereum, Dai, and Bitcoin beats in the cryptoeconomy. He's appeared in Blockonomi, Binance Academy, Bitsonline, and more. He enjoys tracking smart contracts, DAOs, dApps, and the Lightning Network. He's learning Solidity, too! Contact him on Telegram at @wmpeaster
Two useful trading techniques that have become popular in the cryptocurrency space recently are staking and lending.
Today, my goal is to discuss the difference between staking and lending and how you can use these techniques to adapt your trading strategy depending on your risk/reward profile.
Essentially, while staking helps to secure the network and in turn pays users with newly minted coins, lending allows users to lock up their coins and receive an interest payment.
I cannot say one strategy is better than the other, as it depends on what type of investor you are.
If you like to directly participate in a protocol, perhaps staking is more your thing, while if you’re simply looking to get an interest payment, lending could be the right choice for you.
Similarly, if you consider giving up control of your coins too risky no matter what, then you may think neither strategy is worthwhile. It’s completely up to you, and you should always do your own research and make sure you’re comfortable with your level of risk/reward when trading.
As always, the views in this article should not be considered financial advisement.
Staking coins What are some of the best coins for cryptocurrency staking? Learn about staking #NavCoin, #Pivx, #Komodo, #Decred, and more at https://t.co/LMASrGgayY #Staking #Crypto #ProofOfStake pic.twitter.com/z7sSKCd15u
— Switchain (@switchaindotcom) October 21, 2019
Although there’s a bunch of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocols available – like Ardor, Dash, or EOS – I will instead focus on which exchanges, preferably non-custodial, allow users to stake coins directly.
The first I’ll discuss is IDEX.
IDEX, as the name indicates, is a decentralised exchange where users own their private-public key pairs. To trade, users sign transactions using interfaces such as MetaMask.
IDEX also incorporates the AURA token – the exchange’s native currency – which encourages users to stake the coin and help support the network. The AURA token enables stakers to earn a share of fees generated by IDEX and other Aurora products.
By staking AURA, node operators will be rewarded proportionately to their percentage stake, and 50% of fees have been allocated to be paid to AURA stakers. Traders will also be able to utilise the Boreal coin as a payment option for trading fees or as a stable base currency.
The second exchange worth mentioning is Switchain.
Switchain is an instant non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange with a user-friendly platform that makes trading crypto easy and fast.
Switchain works with different cryptocurrency trading partners to guarantee the best cryptocurrency rates for its clients.
An important partner I would like to mention is Exodus, one of the most widely used crypto wallets. By integrating Switchain’s fixed rate API, users of Exodus wallets have been able to exchange crypto assets with a single click.
Switchain works in a non-custodial manner, and the wallet creates an exchange on behalf of the user. The user sends the coins and receives the exchanged asset instantly.
Lending coins If you hold different crypto-assets, then you can make them work for you in a high-interest account. Companies like BlockFi and Celsius Network provide a simple way to earn up to 10% interest on your crypto-assets per annum.
You have to read the fine print and do your own research as there are many different companies around offering to pay interest on different cryptocurrencies. Be sure you know the lock-up period (if any) and what rates you get on each coin.
Celsius won’t pay you 10% interest on your BTC, for example. But they will give you somewhere between 4-5% depending on how much you hold with them. If you want to earn the big interest rates, you could consider purchasing a stablecoin like TRUEUSD or Gemini Dollar with your fiat and holding there rather than with a bank.
At the end of the day, with all these solutions, you have to give up custody of your coins. If that’s not a problem for you, earning some additional benefits on your crypto makes a lot of sense. If you’re a firm believer that you should retain your private keys at all times, you may be better off simply HODLing after all.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.
Today the crypto market sees various digital assets experience significant price advancements, with Self Chain ($SLF) topping the list with a rise of 40.1 percent to close at $0.09. $IDEX trailed slightly behind with a 38.5% increase that brought its share to $0.02. $REX, funded on KuCoin, increased in value by 36.5%, reaching the mark of 0.02. These growths were also matched by fairly small market capitalizations, with $SLF representing $15.3 million, $IDEX registering $24.7 million, and $REX with its 43.4 million.
Hyperlane ($HYPER) also saw bullish signs, rising from 27.0% to $0.56. It has a current market capitalization of $98.3 million. $SYRUP rose to $0.59 and registered a higher price increase of 24.7% and a much bigger market cap of 715.2 million, which shows great liquidity and investor interest in the crypto market to yield the maximum profits.
Mid and Established-Cap Tokens Show Profits Other assets recorded a moderate increase in the same direction. Centrifuge ($CFG), which trades on MEXC, added 23.0% to $0.27, with a market cap of 151.5 million. StaFi ($FIS) gained 18.5% on Binance, raising its price per share to $0.12 and market cap to 19.1 million.
Axelar ($AXL) increased by 16.0% to $0.40 and boasted a much higher market capitalization of $418.5. Another token supported by Binance that gained 13.8% was DIA ($DIA), which experienced a price of $0.94 and a market cap of 114.0 million.
$ILV Emerges Among Larger-Cap Gainers The popular asset in the gaming and metaverse segment, Illuvium ($ILV), increased in price by 12.6% and crossed the line to $14.42. It has a huge market worth of $136.7 million. Even though ILV is listed as the minimum top gainer in percentage change, its total valuation makes it one of the most capitalized tokens in the day ranking.
Each of the tokens is open to trade on well-known exchanges such as Binance, KuCoin, and MEXC, which affects the visibility and accessibility of the tokens.
AUTHOR
Crypto journalist with years of experience providing in-depth analysis and news on blockchain and decentralized finance. With a keen eye for detail, Shahzaib delivers insightful articles that explore the latest trends, market movements, and innovations within the crypto and blockchain ecosystem. His work focuses on educating readers while offering expert commentary on the evolving landscape of digital assets, DeFi protocols, and the broader impact of blockchain technology.
IDEX price rose sharply as whales showed renewed interest in the token. Will it face a pullback or see more gains ahead?
Summary
IDEX price has hit a five-week high of $0.039 today. With no immediate catalysts at play, the rally was fueled mainly by whale buying. Technical indicators are in support of more gains in the short-term. According to data from crypto.news, IDEX (IDEX) rallied as high as 50% to a five-week high of $0.039 on Sep. 1 morning Asian time, before settling at $0.036 at press time.
The surge came in a high-volume trading environment. Its trading volume was up nearly 550% over the last 4 hours at nearly $66 million, while its market cap stood at $36 million.
While there were no major catalysts such as significant developments or new partnerships driving the gains, the surge appears to have been fueled by renewed interest from whale investors.
According to data from Santiment, the number of whale wallets holding 10,000 to 100 million IDEX tokens has increased over the last two days. Such whale accumulation often increases token visibility and signals confidence from large investors, factors that also tend to attract retail traders, who often follow due to FOMO and momentum-driven sentiment.
A jump in the number of whale addresses has been recorded over the last 2 days | Source: Nansen Demand from derivatives traders also appears to have played a significant role in IDEX’s gains today. According to data from CoinGlass, open interest in IDEX futures surged by 185% to $5 million as of press time. Meanwhile, the token’s weighted funding rate has turned negative. This indicates that short sellers are paying long positions to keep their trades open—signaling that many traders are anticipating a short-term pullback in IDEX’s price.
However, if the IDEX price continues to rise, this imbalance could trigger a short squeeze, potentially fueling further price appreciation for the token.
Despite this, the token’s rally remains at risk owing to the absence of any strong potential drivers, such as any major developments or partnerships in the short term.
IDEX price analysis On the daily chart, IDEX has formed a descending triangle pattern over the last 5 weeks. Such a bearish structure is typically defined by a flat support base and a series of lower highs, which reflect sustained selling pressure and signals more decline ahead.
IDEX price has formed a golden cross on the daily chart — Sep. 1 | Source: crypto.news However, IDEX invalidated the bearish setup as it broke above the upper trendline of the triangle yesterday, marking the beginning of a potential trend reversal.
Momentum indicators support this bullish breakout. Both the MACD lines and the Relative Strength Index are trending upward, indicating growing positive momentum.
IDEX MACD and RSI chart — Sep. 1 | Source: crypto.news More importantly, IDEX has also confirmed a golden cross, as the 50-day simple moving average crossed above the 200-day one. The classic bullish signal typically marks the beginning of a longer-term uptrend.
Based on the height of the triangle and the strength of the breakout, the next likely target for IDEX stands at $0.048, which would represent the projected move based on the breakout from the triangle pattern and implies a 33% jump from current levels. A decisive move above that level could pave the way for a rally toward the $0.050 psychological resistance.
On the contrary, if the hype around whale accumulation fails, IDEX could likely drop to $0.023, which has stood as a strong support level for the last couple of weeks.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Key Takeaways IDEX rallied over 30% in the past seven days, with the potential to extend the rally to 70% under positive conditions. The DEX’s perpetual trading volume expanded 3x in 2025 to $1.5B.
Decentralized exchanges (DEXes) are making a killing as crypto trading volumes recover.
In particular, hybrid ones that mix user friendliness seen in centralized exchanges (CEXes) and security of DEXes like Hyperliquid [HYPE], IDEX (now known as Kuma), amongst others.
In fact, the IDEX token has pumped 34% in the past seven days, reinforcing the market interest in hybrid DEXes. This raises the question: Is there more upside for IDEX after last week’s gains?
Can bulls hunt for an extra 40%? Source: IDEX/USDT, TradingView On the daily price charts, the upper wick after the recent rally suggested a brief cool-off.
However, the OBV (On Balance Volume) has been in an ascending channel while price action was above the Q3 trendline support (yellow).
In other words, bulls have a market edge unless the price slips below the trendline support. The immediate overhead hurdle was $0.045.
That would be a potential 42% gain if hit, especially if trading volumes increase ahead of September rate cut expectations.
If so, the $0.031 and $0.024 could be buying opportunities for the above target. However, a price drop below the trendline support (yellow) would invalidate the bullish thesis.
IDEX triples perps volume According to DeFiLlama data, collectively, IDEX and Kuma versions have done $1.5B in cumulative perpetual volume as of September. That’s a 3x growth from the $500M seen in early 2025.
Source: DeFiLlama The traction could further boost the demand for IDEX, further reinforcing the bullish thesis if broader crypto trading rebounds.
Even so, the speculative appetite for IDEX dropped by nearly 50%.
According to CoinGlass, the Open Interest (OI) rate slumped from over $4 million to $2.4 million, underscoring a decline in demand in the derivative market.
Source: CoinGlass Overall, the price chart suggested that IDEX’s uptrend could stretch to $0.045 under positive market conditions.
However, the speculative interest seen over the weekend had faded, and the next move could depend on Bitcoin’s [BTC] next direction.
Disclaimer: The information presented does not constitute financial, investment, trading, or other types of advice and is solely the writer’s opinion
This is a general Binance Exchange Notice. Products and services referred to here may not be available in your region. Fellow Binancians, At Binance, we periodically review each digital asset we list to ensure that it continues to meet a high level of standard and industry requirements. When a coin or token no longer meets these standards or the industry landscape changes, we conduct a more in-depth review and potentially delist it. Our priority is to ensure the best services and protections for our users while continuing to adapt to evolving market dynamics. When we conduct these reviews, we consider a variety of factors. Below are the updated metrics we look at that influence whether we decide to delist a digital asset: Commitment of team to projectLevel and quality of development activityTrading volume and liquidityStability and safety of network from attacksLevel of public communication, community engagement, and transparencyResponsiveness to our periodic due diligence requestsEvidence of unethical/fraudulent conduct or negligenceNew regulatory requirementsMaterial/unjustified increase in token supply or changes to tokenomicsImpact from changes to the project’s ownership structure or to the core team membersCommunity sentiments Based on our most recent reviews, we have decided to delist and cease trading on all spot trading pairs for the following token(s) at 2026-04-01 03:00 (UTC): Arena-Z (A2Z)Ampleforth Governance Token (FORTH)Hooked Protocol (HOOK)IDEX (IDEX)Loopring (LRC)Neutron (NTRN)Radiant Capital (RDNT)Solar (SXP) Please note: The delisting schedule may or may not apply to the products listed below, depending on their association with the token(s) being delisted.There may be discrepancies in the translated version of this original article in English. Please reference this original version for the latest or most accurate information where any discrepancies may arise. Spot The spot trading pair(s) of the aforementioned token(s) will be removed.All trade orders will be automatically removed after trading ceases in each respective trading pair. Binance will terminate Trading Bots services for the aforementioned spot trading pairs at 2026-04-01 03:00 (UTC), where applicable. Users are strongly advised to update and/or cancel their Trading Bots prior to the cessation of Trading Bots services to avoid any potential losses. Binance Spot Copy Trading will delist the aforementioned spot trading pairs on 2026-03-25 03:00 (UTC) - After this time, any outstanding assets will be force-sold at market price or moved to the Spot Account if the amount is unsellable. Users are strongly advised to update or cancel their Spot Copy Trading portfolios prior to Binance Spot Copy Trading delisting time to avoid potential losses. Accounts The token's valuation will no longer be displayed in users’ accounts after delisting. To view their assets after trading ceases, users should ensure they have not selected “Hide Small Balances” in all of their accounts.Deposits of these token(s) will not be credited to users’ accounts after 2026-04-02 03:00 (UTC). Withdrawals of these token(s) from Binance will not be supported after 2026-06-01 03:00 (UTC). Delisted tokens may be converted into stablecoins on behalf of users after 2026-06-02 03:00 (UTC). Please note that the conversion of delisted tokens into stablecoins is not guaranteed. A separate notification will be made before the conversion where applicable, and the stablecoins will be credited to users’ Binance accounts after the conversion. In situations where token conversion is not feasible, Binance will keep withdrawals open, subject to network availability. Futures Binance Futures will close all positions and conduct an automatic settlement on the contracts of the aforementioned token(s) at 2026-03-24 09:00 (UTC). The contracts will be delisted after the settlement is complete. Users are advised to close any open positions prior to the delisting time to avoid automatic settlement. Users are not allowed to open new positions for the contracts of the aforementioned token(s) starting from 2026-03-24 08:30 (UTC). In order to protect users and prevent potential risks in extremely volatile market conditions, Binance Futures may undertake additional protective measures toward the contracts of the aforementioned token(s) without further announcements, including but not limited to adjusting the maximum leverage value, position value, and maintenance margin in each margin tier, updating funding rates, such as the interest rate, premium and capped funding rate, changing the constituents of the price index, and using the Last Price Protected mechanism to update the Mark Price. Funding Rate Arbitrage Bot At 2026-03-24 09:00 (UTC), Binance Funding Rate Arbitrage Bot will close all arbitrage strategies and conduct an automatic settlement on the symbols of the aforementioned token(s). The pairs will no longer be available for opening new arbitrage strategies upon delisting. Simple Earn Binance Simple Earn will delist the token(s) mentioned above after 2026-03-25 07:00 (UTC). Users may choose to redeem their Flexible and Locked Products positions beforehand. Otherwise, these Flexible and Locked Products positions will be automatically redeemed at the above-mentioned time, and subsequently transferred to users’ Spot Accounts, together with any accrued rewards. Dual Investment Binance Dual Investment will cease support for the aforementioned token(s), and users will not be able to subscribe to these products starting from the subsequent Friday at 08:00 (UTC). Unsettled subscriptions will be refunded on the subsequent Friday at 08:00 (UTC). The asset, including rewards, will be distributed to users’ Spot Accounts within 4 hours. The rewards will be calculated based on the actual subscription period. Mining Pool Binance Pool will cease support for mining the token(s) mentioned above at 2026-03-24 3:00 (UTC). Your final payment will be settled on the following day. We strongly advise all users to stop mining the token(s) before Binance Pool ceases mining support for the token(s) to avoid any potential losses. Loan At 2026-03-24 07:00 (UTC) VIP Loan and Flexible Loan will close all outstanding loan positions for the aforementioned token(s) as loanable token(s) and collateral token(s). Users are strongly advised to repay their outstanding loans before the automatic closure to avoid any potential losses, where applicable. Margin Cross Margin & Isolated Margin Binance Margin will delist the aforementioned token(s) from Cross and Isolated Margin at 2026-03-24 10:00 (UTC) (the “Margin Scheduled Delisting Time”). The cross and isolated margin pair(s) of the aforementioned token(s) will be removed from Margin. Effective immediately, users will no longer be able to transfer any amount of the aforementioned token(s) via manual transfers and Auto-Transfer Mode for Cross and Isolated Margin into their Margin Accounts. If users hold outstanding liabilities of said tokens, these users may only manually transfer up to the amount of liabilities of that token into their Margin Accounts, less any collateral already available.At 2026-03-19 06:00 (UTC), Binance Margin will suspend borrowings on the aforementioned cross margin token(s) and isolated margin pair(s). At the Margin Scheduled Delisting Time, Binance Margin will close users’ positions, conduct an automatic settlement, and cancel all pending orders on the aforementioned isolated margin pair(s), which will then be removed from isolated margin.At the Margin Scheduled Delisting Time, if users hold both collateral and liabilities of the aforementioned token(s) on cross margin, the collateral will be used to repay the respective liabilities. If there are remaining collateral or liabilities of the aforementioned token(s), one of two options below will occur:If users only hold the aforementioned token(s) in the form of collateral: If the Collateral Margin Level (CML) is above 2, the aforementioned token(s) will be transferred to users’ Spot Accounts, up to the point when the CML reaches 2. The remaining token(s) in their Cross Margin accounts that are to be delisted will then be fully sold. If the CML is below 2, the remaining token(s) in users’ Cross Margin Accounts that are to be delisted will be fully sold. If users only hold the aforementioned token(s) in the form of liabilities:If CML is at or above 2, pending orders will not be affected. If the CML is below 2, all pending orders in their Cross Margin Accounts will be canceled. The system will then sell other collateral tokens to buy and fully repay the delisting token(s)’ liabilities.Please note that users will not be able to update their positions during the delisting process, which may take approximately 3 hours. Users are strongly advised to close their positions and/or transfer their assets from Margin Accounts to Spot Accounts prior to the cessation of margin trading. Binance will not be responsible for any potential losses. Portfolio Margin If the aforementioned token(s) remain in the Portfolio Margin Account after the Margin Scheduled Delisting Time, they will be automatically liquidated. The delisted margin assets will be sold for USDT, and the proceeds will be added to the user's Portfolio Margin balance. Binance is not liable for any losses incurred.Portfolio Margin users are advised to transfer the aforementioned token(s) out of their Margin Accounts to their Spot Accounts and to top up their margin balance before the Margin Scheduled Delisting Time where applicable. Users should monitor the Unified Maintenance Margin Ratio (uniMMR) closely to avoid any potential liquidation that may result from the removal of the aforementioned token(s) from the Margin Account. Please Note: For futures perpetual contracts, please refer to the relevant Futures announcements. Refer to this FAQ for more information on how any remaining balances of the aforementioned token(s) in Portfolio Margin users’ Margin Accounts will be treated. Convert Binance Convert will subsequently delist the aforementioned token(s) and all associated pair(s) at 2026-04-01 02:00 (UTC)Convert Low-Value Assets will delist the token(s) mentioned above at 2026-03-31 02:00 (UTC). Users may choose to convert the low-value assets beforehand. Buy & Sell Binance Buy & Sell Crypto will delist the aforementioned token(s) and all associated pair(s) at 2026-03-19 03:00 (UTC). Gift Card Binance Gift Card will delist the token(s) mentioned above at 2026-04-01 03:00 (UTC). Users are encouraged to manage Gift Cards containing these token(s) in advance to avoid any inconveniences. Pay Binance Pay will delist the aforementioned token(s) at 2026-03-24 03:00 (UTC). We thank you for your support as we continue to build the crypto ecosystem in a way that promotes transparency and long-term, sustainable growth. Thank you for your support! Binance Team 2026-03-18
PANews reported on March 18th that Binance will delist all spot trading pairs of A2Z, FORTH, HOOK, IDEX, LRC, NTRN, RDNT, and SXP starting at 11:00 AM (UTC+8) on April 1st, and will also cease related Trading Bots services. Contracts for the aforementioned tokens will be automatically settled and delisted at 9:00 AM (UTC) on March 24th. Margin, Simple Earn, Dual Investment, Mining Pool, Loan, Convert, Buy & Sell, Gift Card, and Binance Pay services will be gradually discontinued according to their respective schedules. Deposits of these tokens will cease to be credited after 3:00 AM (UTC) on April 2nd, while withdrawals will be supported until 3:00 AM (UTC) on June 1st. After that, the tokens may be converted to stablecoins, but this is not guaranteed.
Jiang Zhuoer: This round of Bitcoin bear market may bottom out in Q4 2026, with a target range of $42,000 to $44,000.
BTC.TOP founder Jiang Zhuoer wrote in a post that Strategy’s modified net asset value (mNAV) has fallen to 0.72, near the 0.7 low hit in May 2022 during the last bear market. Citing recent market sentiment events including STRC’s depegging, he noted that mNAV is now in the bottom zone of this cycle. mNAV usually bottoms roughly six months before Bitcoin’s price. Using the "four-year cycle" and volatility decay model, Jiang projected that this Bitcoin bear market will likely bottom between October and December 2026, with a target price range of $42,000 to $44,000. He added that his recent medium-short term strategy remains focused on selling spot assets and holding short positions, and will switch to buying spot and going long once the expected bottom arrives.
1 seconds ago
The VIX Fear Index for the US stock market stands at 18.63 today, with fear sentiment intensifying in the crypto market.
According to Cboe data, the U.S. stock market's VIX Fear Index stands at 18.63 as of today, down 0.86 points from the prior reading of 19.49, marking a decline of approximately 4.41%. Separately, per Alternative data, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index is at 12 today (compared to 17 yesterday), indicating intensifying extreme fear sentiment.
1 seconds ago
Bank of Japan Board Member: Should Accelerate Pace of Interest Rate Hikes If Upside Inflation Risks Intensify
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Policy Board member Naoki Tamura stated that if upside risks to price growth intensify further, the BOJ should not hesitate to accelerate the pace of interest rate hikes or raise rates by a larger margin. He projected that the BOJ will implement interest rate hikes every few months until its policy rate reaches the neutral level of around 2%. (Golden Ten)
1 seconds ago
Crypto token M plunged over 80% in a short period, hitting a low near $0.5.
According to HTX market data, the token M saw a sharp short-term price plunge, with its decline once exceeding 80% and hitting a low of around $0.5, and is now trading at $0.54.
1 seconds ago
Blockchain data infrastructure firm Cambrian has closed a $6 million funding round, jointly led by Franklin Templeton and Polychain Capital.
Blockchain data infrastructure project Cambrian has closed a $6 million seed round, co-led by Franklin Templeton and Polychain Capital, with participation from Flow Traders, Selini Capital, and other investors. The project previously raised a $5.9 million pre-seed round led by a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator, bringing its total funding to $11.9 million. Cambrian currently provides institutional investors and AI Agents with real-time and historical data APIs covering on-chain yields, risks, lending markets, and trading activities, and plans to further build a verifiable data oracle network. Official data shows it has indexed over $4.5 billion in lending TVL, tracks more than 320,000 DEX liquidity pools, and currently supports Base and Solana, with plans to expand to additional ecosystems including Ethereum. The funds will be used to expand on-chain data coverage, accelerate oracle network development, and team recruitment.
1 seconds ago
Whale 0xbilly pulled off another "buy high, sell low" move, exiting with a $220,000 loss in a single day.
According to EmberCN’s monitoring, whale address 0xbilly liquidated 2,409 ETH in the early hours of today when ETH fell to around $1,569.5, worth approximately $3.78 million, with a total loss of roughly $220,000. Notably, this batch of ETH was purchased just one day ago for about 4 million USDC, at an average price of approximately $1,660.2. The address also previously bought 7,768.5 ETH at a high of $2,254 in March this year, valued at around $17.51 million, and exited via stop-loss four days later, incurring a loss of roughly $800,000.
Binance announced that it has delisted eight altcoins: A2Z, FORTH, HOOK, IDEX, LRC, NTRN, RDNT, and SXP.
18.03.2026 - 09:57
Update: 18.03.2026 - 09:57
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, continues its altcoin delisting. This time, Binance announced the delisting of eight more altcoins.
Accordingly, Binance announced that the following altcoins will be delisted: Arena-Z (A2Z), Ampleforth Governance Token (FORTH), Hooked Protocol (HOOK), IDEX (IDEX), Loopring (LRC), Neutron (NTRN), Radiant Capital (RDNT), and Solar (SXP).
“Based on our latest assessments, we have decided to discontinue trading and delist the following token(s) in all spot trading pairs on 01.04.2026 at 03:00 (UTC):”
A2Z, FORTH, HOOK, IDEX, LRC, NTRN, RDNT and SXP
Spot trading pairs for these altcoins will be discontinued.
All trading orders will be automatically deleted after the transactions in the relevant trading pairs have ended.
The token’s value will no longer be displayed in user accounts after delisting. Deposits of these tokens will not be credited to users’ accounts after 03:00 (UTC) on 02.04.2026.
Withdrawals of these tokens from Binance will no longer be supported after 01.06.2026 at 03:00 (UTC).
Binance had signaled its delisting for these eight altcoins just a week ago. In its statement, Binance announced that it would expand its Watch Label to include Automata Network (ATA), Arena-Z (A2Z), FIO Protocol (FIO), Gitcoin (GTC), Neutron (NTRN), Phoenix (PHB), BENQI (QI), and Radiant Capital (RDNT).
*This is not investment advice.
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Jiang Zhuoer: This round of Bitcoin bear market may bottom out in Q4 2026, with a target range of $42,000 to $44,000.
BTC.TOP founder Jiang Zhuoer wrote in a post that Strategy’s modified net asset value (mNAV) has fallen to 0.72, near the 0.7 low hit in May 2022 during the last bear market. Citing recent market sentiment events including STRC’s depegging, he noted that mNAV is now in the bottom zone of this cycle. mNAV usually bottoms roughly six months before Bitcoin’s price. Using the "four-year cycle" and volatility decay model, Jiang projected that this Bitcoin bear market will likely bottom between October and December 2026, with a target price range of $42,000 to $44,000. He added that his recent medium-short term strategy remains focused on selling spot assets and holding short positions, and will switch to buying spot and going long once the expected bottom arrives.
1 seconds ago
The VIX Fear Index for the US stock market stands at 18.63 today, with fear sentiment intensifying in the crypto market.
According to Cboe data, the U.S. stock market's VIX Fear Index stands at 18.63 as of today, down 0.86 points from the prior reading of 19.49, marking a decline of approximately 4.41%. Separately, per Alternative data, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index is at 12 today (compared to 17 yesterday), indicating intensifying extreme fear sentiment.
1 seconds ago
Bank of Japan Board Member: Should Accelerate Pace of Interest Rate Hikes If Upside Inflation Risks Intensify
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Policy Board member Naoki Tamura stated that if upside risks to price growth intensify further, the BOJ should not hesitate to accelerate the pace of interest rate hikes or raise rates by a larger margin. He projected that the BOJ will implement interest rate hikes every few months until its policy rate reaches the neutral level of around 2%. (Golden Ten)
1 seconds ago
Crypto token M plunged over 80% in a short period, hitting a low near $0.5.
According to HTX market data, the token M saw a sharp short-term price plunge, with its decline once exceeding 80% and hitting a low of around $0.5, and is now trading at $0.54.
1 seconds ago
Blockchain data infrastructure firm Cambrian has closed a $6 million funding round, jointly led by Franklin Templeton and Polychain Capital.
Blockchain data infrastructure project Cambrian has closed a $6 million seed round, co-led by Franklin Templeton and Polychain Capital, with participation from Flow Traders, Selini Capital, and other investors. The project previously raised a $5.9 million pre-seed round led by a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator, bringing its total funding to $11.9 million. Cambrian currently provides institutional investors and AI Agents with real-time and historical data APIs covering on-chain yields, risks, lending markets, and trading activities, and plans to further build a verifiable data oracle network. Official data shows it has indexed over $4.5 billion in lending TVL, tracks more than 320,000 DEX liquidity pools, and currently supports Base and Solana, with plans to expand to additional ecosystems including Ethereum. The funds will be used to expand on-chain data coverage, accelerate oracle network development, and team recruitment.
1 seconds ago
Whale 0xbilly pulled off another "buy high, sell low" move, exiting with a $220,000 loss in a single day.
According to EmberCN’s monitoring, whale address 0xbilly liquidated 2,409 ETH in the early hours of today when ETH fell to around $1,569.5, worth approximately $3.78 million, with a total loss of roughly $220,000. Notably, this batch of ETH was purchased just one day ago for about 4 million USDC, at an average price of approximately $1,660.2. The address also previously bought 7,768.5 ETH at a high of $2,254 in March this year, valued at around $17.51 million, and exited via stop-loss four days later, incurring a loss of roughly $800,000.
Katana, a decentralized finance blockchain developed under the guidance of Polygon Labs and GSR Markets, has acquired IDEX and introduced Katana Perps, a unified onchain perpetual futures and spot trading platform, according to a statement shared by the team on Monday.
The deal is the first major strategic action under newly installed chief executive Matthew Fisher, who aims to consolidate more of Katana’s trading infrastructure and revenue under one stack.
“As always-on markets become the default venue for real-time price discovery and the regulatory environment opens a path for onchain perpetuals, the infrastructure layer needs to be in place now. That is what we are building,” Fisher said in a statement.
IDEX launched in 2017 and was among the first decentralized exchanges to pair a high-speed order matching engine with onchain settlement. It held the top position among Ethereum-based DEXs by trading volume and transaction count through 2019.
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That operational history now provides the backbone for Katana Perps.
The platform is live with backing from market makers including GSR, Selini Capital, and Auros, offering leveraged trading, directional exposure tools, and integrated liquidity for both crypto-native traders and institutional participants seeking round-the-clock access to derivatives markets.
Decentralized perpetual futures have grown quickly The announcement comes as regulatory signals in the US suggest increasing acceptance of crypto perpetual futures and as the markets continue to shift toward always-on, 24/7 trading environments.
According to CoinGecko, cumulative trading volume across decentralized perpetuals venues reached roughly $6.7 trillion during 2025, a 346% increase over the prior year.
Hyperliquid, the market leader, accounted for roughly $2.9 trillion of 2025’s decentralized perps volume and commands more than 55% market share among top DEXs, driven in part by a widely discussed token airdrop.
When geopolitical tensions involving Iran rattled energy markets earlier this month, oil futures trading on Hyperliquid surged to $7.3 billion by March 13, illustrating how participants increasingly turn to 24/7 decentralized platforms for real-time price discovery.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Vivian Nguyen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Key Highlights Strategic IDEX acquisition enables Katana to launch native derivatives trading platform. Platform delivers institutional-grade execution speed and sophisticated charting capabilities. vKAT token holders gain fee distribution rights and governance over market incentives. Inaugural Points Program incentivizes active trading and liquidity provision. IDEX’s proven technology infrastructure enables continuous, professional-grade futures markets. Katana has finalized its strategic acquisition of IDEX, enabling the debut of Katana Perps—a fully native perpetual futures trading platform operating on its decentralized finance chain. The new platform is accessible at perps.katana.network and features seamless integration with the main Katana application. This strategic decision allows Katana to maintain direct control over essential trading infrastructure rather than depending on external service providers.
The deal brings IDEX’s ten years of specialized knowledge in blockchain-based trading systems to Katana’s ecosystem. Katana Perps delivers high-speed trade execution, sophisticated order management capabilities, and institutional-quality charting interfaces. This integration enhances Katana’s capacity to facilitate both spot market and derivatives trading operations natively within its infrastructure.
Katana Perps caters to sophisticated traders, institutional investors, and liquidity providers demanding performance-optimized perpetual futures trading environments. The platform launch responds to increasing global demand for continuously available, high-throughput derivatives marketplaces. Additionally, the system incorporates liquidity reward mechanisms and revenue distribution throughout Katana’s broader ecosystem.
Expanding Katana’s DeFi Infrastructure with Native Derivatives Katana Perps becomes the fifth pillar of Katana’s comprehensive DeFi offering, complementing Sushi for spot trading, Morpho for credit markets, and Kensei for token generation events. By offering perpetual futures as a native feature, the platform removes dependency on third-party derivatives solutions. Participants can now access spot markets, lending facilities, token launches, and perpetual futures contracts through a single consolidated platform.
This acquisition reinforces Katana’s objective to unify trading technology under centralized control. Katana Perps enables vKAT governance token holders to allocate market incentives and collect revenue from derivatives activity. This framework establishes a direct connection between trading volumes, liquidity depth, and platform governance with overall ecosystem performance.
The platform simultaneously introduced its inaugural Points Program during Season 1, designed to reward active trading, liquidity deposits, and community engagement. This initiative promotes consistent user activity and sustainable expansion within the perpetual futures marketplace. Katana Perps maintains regulatory compliance by restricting access to United States residents.
IDEX Technology Foundation Drives Platform Performance IDEX’s proprietary on-chain order matching system provides centralized exchange-level performance capabilities for Katana Perps. The system accommodates complex order types, programmatic trading interfaces, and comprehensive chart-based trading featuring profit-taking and loss-mitigation tools. This technological foundation ensures Katana Perps can process institutional-scale trading activity effectively.
The development team at IDEX brings approximately a decade of specialized experience building decentralized trading platforms. Katana Perps leverages this accumulated expertise, merging rapid order matching with blockchain-based settlement finality. The technological integration facilitates round-the-clock trading operations and supports perpetual futures contracts across diverse digital assets.
Established market makers including GSR, Selini Capital, and Auros supply foundational liquidity for Katana Perps operations. This institutional support enables leveraged position taking and directional trading instruments for both cryptocurrency-native users and traditional finance participants. The perpetual futures infrastructure reinforces Katana’s competitive position as continuous trading markets achieve global adoption.
Oliver Dale
Editor-in-Chief of Blockonomi and founder of Kooc Media, A UK-Based Online Media Company. Believer in Open-Source Software, Blockchain Technology & a Free and Fair Internet for all. His writing has been quoted by Nasdaq, Dow Jones, Investopedia, The New Yorker, Forbes, Techcrunch & More. Contact [email protected]
Polygon‑incubated Katana has acquired veteran DEX IDEX to launch Katana Perps, folding a decade of exchange tech into its DeFi stack as it races Hyperliquid and dYdX for onchain derivatives volume.
Summary
Polygon‑incubated DeFi chain Katana has acquired veteran DEX IDEX to power Katana Perps, a new perpetual futures platform that natively integrates spot and derivatives trading. CEO Matthew Fisher says the goal is to “own more of the trading stack and the revenue that comes with it” as onchain derivatives volumes and always‑on markets surge. Market makers including GSR, Selini Capital, and Auros are seeding liquidity, positioning Katana as a full‑stack DeFi chain spanning spot, lending, launches, and perps. Katana, a DeFi‑focused Ethereum scaling chain incubated by Polygon Labs and trading firm GSR, has acquired decentralized exchange IDEX, using its infrastructure to launch Katana Perps, a perpetual futures venue built directly into the Katana app. The deal, announced on March 23, 2026, brings nearly a decade of exchange technology from the 2017‑founded DEX into Katana’s stack, with IDEX now “relaunching as Katana Perps” and serving as the native derivatives engine for the chain. “The goal is to own more of the trading stack and the revenue that comes with it,” Katana CEO Matthew Fisher said, calling the acquisition the “first major step” of his tenure as he formalizes the strategy he has led since joining the project.
Fisher argued that as crypto trading migrates to always‑on venues, infrastructure that blends CEX‑like performance with onchain settlement will define winners. “We’re building for 24/7 markets where price discovery happens onchain, not during bank hours,” he said, pointing to U.S. regulators’ recent signals about a path for crypto perpetual futures as an inflection point for the sector. Under the new setup, IDEX’s order book and AMM architecture becomes the backbone for Katana Perps, which routes spot liquidity, perps, and order flow through a single interface rather than siloing derivatives as a separate product.
A full DeFi stack with native perps Katana’s broader DeFi stack now spans four pillars: Sushi for spot trading, Morpho for lending, Kensei for token launches, and Katana Perps for leveraged derivatives, all coordinated by the KAT and vKAT token model. Over time, vKAT holders will be able to direct incentives toward perps markets and earn a share of fees, folding derivatives revenue into the same flywheel that powers spot and lending on the chain. At launch, Katana Perps is supported by major market makers GSR, Selini Capital, and Auros, which Fisher said were drawn by IDEX’s “nearly a decade” of live infrastructure and the chain’s performance‑oriented design.
Founded in 2017, IDEX was “the first decentralized exchange to combine a high‑performance matching engine with onchain settlement” and, through 2019, “consistently ranked first by trading volume and transaction count among all DEX protocols,” Katana noted. Bringing that stack in‑house lets Katana offer a more CEX‑like experience — deep API support, higher throughput, and tighter spreads — while keeping custody and settlement onchain.
Onchain derivatives arms race The acquisition lands as perpetuals DEXes are seeing rising volumes and attracting more professional flow, with venues like Hyperliquid, dYdX, and GMX competing to lock in whales and market makers. Recent crypto.news coverage has highlighted how new onchain products — from Hyperliquid’s HIP‑4 proposal for outcome markets to high‑stakes perps traders posting multi‑million‑dollar PnL — are pulling structurally sticky liquidity into derivatives rails. In that context, Katana’s decision to acquire rather than simply integrate a third‑party DEX is a clear statement: the chain wants to control its own economic engines instead of renting them.
As Fisher put it, “Owning perps is not just owning a product, it’s owning the heartbeat of your chain,” a line that neatly captures where the DeFi race is headed.
Katana, a DeFi blockchain backed by Polygon Labs and GSR, has acquired IDEX and launched a perpetual futures trading platform, entering one of crypto's most competitive markets just as regulatory signals in the US suggest onchain derivatives may be moving closer to legitimacy.
The IDEX acquisition, announced Monday, gives Katana a matching engine and settlement infrastructure with nearly a decade of operating history. IDEX was founded in 2017 by brothers Alex and Philip Wearn and was, at its peak in 2019, the most actively traded decentralized exchange on Ethereum. The exchange raised $2.5 million in seed funding in 2020 to develop its second-generation platform, but has since faded from relevance as Uniswap and newer AMM-based competitors captured the DEX market. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The newly launched Katana Perps platform, seeded with liquidity from GSR, Selini Capital, and Auros, integrates spot trading and leveraged derivatives within a single onchain environment. Katana has also formally appointed Matthew Fisher, who has been running strategy for the project, as CEO.
Onchain perpetuals volume hit $739 billion in January 2026, with decentralized venues now accounting for 10.2% of total crypto perpetuals trading, up from just 2% two years ago, Katana said, citing a Coingecko report. Decentralized perpetual exchanges now process over $1.2 trillion in monthly trading volume, according to Coinbase Institutional's 2026 market outlook. US regulators are also signaling a potential path to permitting crypto perpetual futures domestically, which could substantially expand the addressable market.
The competitive challenge is formidable, however. Hyperliquid commands over 70% of open interest in decentralized perpetuals as of March 2026, operating on a custom Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for high-speed, gas-free trading. Challengers including Aster and Lighter have collectively eroded Hyperliquid's volume share, but open interest, which is the more meaningful indicator of genuine capital deployment, remains heavily concentrated at the top. Katana enters a market where the infrastructure bar has been set by a platform processing hundreds of billions in monthly volume.
Katana's bet is that integration — combining spot liquidity, routing, and perpetuals in one place — gives it a structural advantage over platforms that handle derivatives in isolation. Whether that proves sufficient differentiation in a market already crowded with well-capitalized competitors remains the central question for the project.
Jiang Zhuoer: This round of Bitcoin bear market may bottom out in Q4 2026, with a target range of $42,000 to $44,000.
BTC.TOP founder Jiang Zhuoer wrote in a post that Strategy’s modified net asset value (mNAV) has fallen to 0.72, near the 0.7 low hit in May 2022 during the last bear market. Citing recent market sentiment events including STRC’s depegging, he noted that mNAV is now in the bottom zone of this cycle. mNAV usually bottoms roughly six months before Bitcoin’s price. Using the "four-year cycle" and volatility decay model, Jiang projected that this Bitcoin bear market will likely bottom between October and December 2026, with a target price range of $42,000 to $44,000. He added that his recent medium-short term strategy remains focused on selling spot assets and holding short positions, and will switch to buying spot and going long once the expected bottom arrives.
1 seconds ago
The VIX Fear Index for the US stock market stands at 18.63 today, with fear sentiment intensifying in the crypto market.
According to Cboe data, the U.S. stock market's VIX Fear Index stands at 18.63 as of today, down 0.86 points from the prior reading of 19.49, marking a decline of approximately 4.41%. Separately, per Alternative data, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index is at 12 today (compared to 17 yesterday), indicating intensifying extreme fear sentiment.
1 seconds ago
Bank of Japan Board Member: Should Accelerate Pace of Interest Rate Hikes If Upside Inflation Risks Intensify
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Policy Board member Naoki Tamura stated that if upside risks to price growth intensify further, the BOJ should not hesitate to accelerate the pace of interest rate hikes or raise rates by a larger margin. He projected that the BOJ will implement interest rate hikes every few months until its policy rate reaches the neutral level of around 2%. (Golden Ten)
1 seconds ago
Crypto token M plunged over 80% in a short period, hitting a low near $0.5.
According to HTX market data, the token M saw a sharp short-term price plunge, with its decline once exceeding 80% and hitting a low of around $0.5, and is now trading at $0.54.
1 seconds ago
Blockchain data infrastructure firm Cambrian has closed a $6 million funding round, jointly led by Franklin Templeton and Polychain Capital.
Blockchain data infrastructure project Cambrian has closed a $6 million seed round, co-led by Franklin Templeton and Polychain Capital, with participation from Flow Traders, Selini Capital, and other investors. The project previously raised a $5.9 million pre-seed round led by a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator, bringing its total funding to $11.9 million. Cambrian currently provides institutional investors and AI Agents with real-time and historical data APIs covering on-chain yields, risks, lending markets, and trading activities, and plans to further build a verifiable data oracle network. Official data shows it has indexed over $4.5 billion in lending TVL, tracks more than 320,000 DEX liquidity pools, and currently supports Base and Solana, with plans to expand to additional ecosystems including Ethereum. The funds will be used to expand on-chain data coverage, accelerate oracle network development, and team recruitment.
1 seconds ago
Whale 0xbilly pulled off another "buy high, sell low" move, exiting with a $220,000 loss in a single day.
According to EmberCN’s monitoring, whale address 0xbilly liquidated 2,409 ETH in the early hours of today when ETH fell to around $1,569.5, worth approximately $3.78 million, with a total loss of roughly $220,000. Notably, this batch of ETH was purchased just one day ago for about 4 million USDC, at an average price of approximately $1,660.2. The address also previously bought 7,768.5 ETH at a high of $2,254 in March this year, valued at around $17.51 million, and exited via stop-loss four days later, incurring a loss of roughly $800,000.
Unibright is a project that has been generating quite a bit of interest recently. So much so that the UBT token has been rallying in price as traders have been snapping it up.
However, behind the impressive performance is a really interesting project that is looking to take enterprise blockchain adoption to the next level. Unibright is also looking to be the connecting fiber between the open source Ethereum network and companies.
So, is it really worth considering?
In this Unibright review, I will attempt to answer that. I will also take a look at the long term use cases and adoption potential of the UBT Token.
What is Unibright?Unibright is a fairly new blockchain project that's self-described as the “unified framework for blockchain based business integration.” Whew! That's quite a mouthful, but what exactly does it mean, and how can we use Unibright?
In essence Unibright is being created to give companies and other organizations the ability to utilize blockchain technology without the extensive costs, huge hassle, and the need for a large corps of developers.
Unibright Abstract. Image via Whitepaper
Instead businesses are able to use the visual workflow created by Unibright to create and launch smart contracts on an appropriate blockchain. And it can all be done without any coding skills whatsoever. There's no blockchain skills required, no smart contract development knowledge, not even traditional software development knowledge is needed.
Unibright has even gone to the trouble of including a number of business use cases right within the system. These include cases such as invoicing, shipping process monitoring, asset life cycles, multi-party approvals, and many others.
Users can easily select their use case and then create a custom workflow. This can then be deployed in a way to bridge the information between the new blockchain and existing systems, such as ERP.
Unibright ObjectivesOne of the key roadblocks to the adoption of blockchain technology by enterprises has been the concerns around the usability of existing solutions, and the huge knowledge gap that exists in regards to deploying, developing, and designing blockchain solutions.
Add to this the scarcity of talented blockchain developers and the cost of hiring such talented developers. It's understandable that businesses have been slow to adopt blockchain solutions, even though many business leaders are able to see the potential for blockchain to dramatically improve their operations.
The blockchain solutions being created often have clear advantages for businesses, but traditional businesses have been slow to adopt these new and novel solutions. The uncertainties regarding costs, development, and effectiveness in blockchain integration has kept many on the sidelines.
Unibright Overview. Image via Unibright
And that's why Unibright was developed and where it comes into play.
The Unibright project is attempting to position itself as a unified framework that simplifies all the aspects of blochcain integration for enterprises through its algorithmic design.
Through this framework businesses can take advantage of interoperability, not only between blockchains, but also with legacy systems. Unibright provides a full stack of tools that function to connect information between all systems, increasing the productivity and efficiency of an organization.
One of the beauties of the Unibright platform is it's blockchain agnostic. It tries to use visual cues and more abstract designs to describe integration scenarios for businesses and to make them as cost-efficient and easy to implement as possible. The platform has also attempted to remain flexible in regard to technological advancements in blockchain.
Unibright TechnologyIn the simplest terms the Unibright platform was created as a simple framework that individual businesses can mold to their own specific needs.
It will allow managers to use blockchain solutions in their everyday operations with little risk, while saving costs and increasing productivity and efficiency. Unibright is designed to finally close the gap between blockchain technology and traditional business applications.
The Unibright framework currently contains four distinct tools:
The UB Workflow DesignerThis tool allows anyone, even those with no blockchain experience or knowledge, to define workflows visually, and without any reference to a specific blockchain protocol. The UB Workflow Designer allows its users to choose an existing template and them customize it to their workflow needs.
The Unibright Visual Workflow Designer
This visual designer can even define integrations with other blockchains and IT systems, as well as setting system boundaries. Once the workflow has been created the system automatically generates the needed smart contracts with the necessary business logic.
The UB Contract InterfaceThis is the central part of Unibright's ecosystem. With the UB Contract Interface users are able to make changes to previously designed workflows, transforming them into smart contracts specific to a blockchain. They can then publish the smart contracts, maintain them, or automatically generate templated connection adapters for existing systems.
The Unibright Contract Interface
The templates that are made available to users of the Unibright ecosystem have been designed around predefined business workflows, and are presented at a high level of abstraction. The development team plans on maintaining the templates, enhancing them as needed, and creating new templates to serve new use cases and industries.
The UB ExplorerThe UB Explorer provides a simple interface where users can monitor all ongoing processes. Data is collected from the smart contracts, as well as from any systems that have been connected to the chosen template.
The Unibright Explorer
The Explorer provides Smart Queries that present useful information and are automatically generated based on the specific workflows. This way both on-chain and off-chain data can all be presented together in an easy to read and extremely useful dashboard.
The UB ConnectorThis is how Unibright allows off-chain systems to access and use Unibright smart contracts. It also enables the creation of cross-chain workflows, and cross-system workflows.
The Unibright Connector
It does this through the Smart Adapter, which takes all the technical details needed to connect a blockchain or ERP system and transforms them to allow the connection to happen. Smart Adapters make the Unibright Connector dynamic, and enable a massive variety of integration possibilities.
Unibright TeamUnibright and its team are based in Germany and led by founder and CEO Marten Jung. Marten has also been the CEO of the parent company SPO Consulting for the past two years. SPO Consulting has been in business for over 20 years, with a focus on business integration.
The co-founder and CTO of Unibright is Stefan Schmidt. He also serves as the Head of Software Architecture. The Lead Frontend Engineer for the project is Ingo Sterzinger, who brings over a decade of software development experience to Unibright.
Some Unibright Team Members: Marten Jung, Stefan Schmidt, & Ingo Sterzinger
In addition to these three there are an additional four core positions, with the following titles mentioned: Chief Communications Officer, CMO and Head of Marketing, Lead Engineer Testing, and Lead Engineer Data Modeling.
These positions are all filled with members who have many years of experience in database management, engineering, and computer science. The only potential downside is that none of the team members have any prior blockchain experience. However they all seem accomplished enough to acquire the skills they need to succeed rapidly.
Advisors & PartnersBesides having a very skilled set of team members, Unibright also has a very skilled and knowledgable team of advisors.
This group brings a wealth of blockchain experience and knowledge to the project and includes Youtuber and founder of DataDash Nicolas Merten. In addition there are a number of former PwC auditors, blockchain developers from Ambisafe and Iconiqlab, PhDs, and venture capitalists.
Unibright has also been aggressive in developing partnerships, including SAP, Microsoft, Iconiqlab, and Ambisafe among others. This puts the project in a good position to strengthen their market exposure and positioning.
Some of the Partners Unibright is working with
They’ve also gotten together with Deutsche Bahn to create a tokenized ecosystem for public transportation. And most recently they’ve entered into a strategic partnership with NEM. In addition, the parent company SPO Consulting has business relationships with companies such as Lufthansa, Unilever, and Samsung that can be leveraged in the coming years.
UBT TokenAccessing the Unibright framework requires UBT tokens. Users deposit whatever number of tokens required for their usage. To acquire tokens users must buy them on the open market. Unibright even offers to help if the users need assistance in purchasing through an exchange.
There were some concerns expressed by the Unibright community at this setup, as some felt that large enterprises couldn't be expected to go to an exchange to purchase tokens, but this hasn't been a problem to date and all users have been able to acquire whatever tokens they need from IDEX.
This 30 days of usage is a crucial part of the UBT token model. It was setup so that a users initial deposit must be large enough to cover a minimum of 30 days usage. This allows them to later make use of a “Rebuy contract.”
This is key because it allows customers to repurchase the tokens they used over the 30 day period from Unibright to continue using their blockchain integration. The Rebuy contract determines the rebuy price, with the standard set at $0.14 per UBT.
Features of the Unibright token
This price may seem low to some, but in truth this is how enterprise solutions are often costed. In practice the initial purchase and deposit is likely to be the most expensive part of the process. This makes complete sense since the initial deposit is like the setup cost for the process. Currently the price of one UBT is above the $0.14 level, making the Rebuy contracts very useful from a business standpoint.
Once tokens are deposited to the platform, and this includes rebought tokens, they cannot be withdrawn again. When tokens are deposited and the Rebuy Contract is signed the tokens are locked in a smart contract which lasts for the duration of the contract.
The good news for investors is that every additional Unibright user removes more UBT tokens from the open market. This should help support UBT prices in the future as increased demand will lead to declining supply.
What happens when the contract ends?Once the contract ends the user needs to deposit more tokens which they've purchased on the open market. They sign a new contract and these tokens are then locked into the platform. This means new tokens must be purchased each time a Rebuy Contract expires.
What about the tokens from the expired contracts?These tokens go back to Unibright. Initially the plan was to sell these tokens on the open market to create additional revenue for the project. That plan has been set aside thankfully, and the team has decided not to sell the tokens they receive, ever.
Instead the plan is to use these tokens to onboard non-profit organizations to the platform. These tokens are not being gifted, but will be deposited into the framework to help the charities to benefit from the blockchain integrations that have been made available.
In essence this means that any token deposited into the framework will be forever removed from the open market, and thus the circulating supply of UBT tokens will be forever declining.
UBT Trading & StorageAfter the project held their ICO in May 2018, raising $13.54 million by selling roughly two-thirds of the UBT supply for $0.14 each investors were rewarded with an immediate pump to almost $0.19 each. That didn’t last long though, and by the end of May the price of UBT was slightly below the ICO price. The token continued to decline, nearly reaching $0.01 by October 2018.
Price bounced around slightly after that, rarely topping $0.02 and also not going below $0.01. By the end of 2019 the price of UBT was still stuck stubbornly below $0.02.
As the entire universe of altcoins began climbing in 2020, so too did UBT begin to rally. From just below $0.02 at the start of the year the token price has soared to an all-time high of $0.28922 as of February 18, 2020.
UBT Token Price Performance. Image via CMC
When it comes to exchange coverage, UBT does not appear to have that much support. Hotbit has over 60% of the trading volume which means that it is quite centralised. The liquidity also appears to be quite limited which means that you will experience slippage when trading large block orders.
Because UBT is an ERC-20 token you can use any wallet that’s suitable for storing ERC-20 tokens. Some suggestions would be the Ledger and Trezor hardware wallets, MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, Atomic, and many others.
Development Progress & Roadmap2019 was quite a busy year for the Unibright team. There were a number of technical advancements that they brought to the fore as well as some partnerships. These include the following:
Q1: They brought the UniBright framework to product readiness (earlier than initially). They also joined the European Blockchain FoundationQ2: There was further collaberation with Universities and other academic institutions. On the product front, they released the C02 compensation project for "Carbonara".Q3: They integrated Facebook's Libra technology into the Unibright framework. There was also some work on the tokenization of securities.Q4: Perhaps the most meaningful announcement here was their official partnership with Digital and Anyblock Analytics.While Unibright does not have an updated roadmap on their website, they do have this blog post that was published in April of last year. As you can see, there are a number of goals they would like to achieve by the end of this year and by the end of 2024.
By the end of 2020, they would like to achieve the following:
On-boarding More clients: They also would like to lock 15-25% of UBT inside the platform.Development on Automatic Setup: This would allow clients to set up a Unibright Framework SaaS environment, for locking in tokens and enabling token renewal by smart contractThen, the singular goal that they would like to acheive by 2024 is enable mass adoption as they target to lock up 80% of the UBT inside the platform.
Final ThoughtsBy looking for ways to offer blockchain technology in a simple manner to businesses and enterprises Unibright is taking on one of the most critical areas to the adoption of blockchain technology.
Businesses need this new technology for its productivity enhancements, efficiency, and cost-savings potential, but are hesitant to adopt technology with a steep learning curve. With the Unibright solution there’s no need for a business to have any knowledge or expertise in blockchain, but they can still benefit from the technology.
While the team behind Unibright did not come from a blockchain background themselves, they still seem extremely capable, and that could actually give them an advantage in creating solutions that work for non-blockchain companies. Plus having a parent company with several decades of experience in a similar business must work in Unibright’s favor.
They stand out in their avoidance of hype, which is refreshing in the blockchain ecosystem. In place of the hype they have a clear approach to B2B marketing, which makes them more trustworthy. Their website does an excellent job outlining the business use cases for Unibright, and offers several scenarios where the platform would be used to increase the efficiency of a business.
Unibright To the Sky? Image via UniBright Blog
There are some downsides and risks to the project. Most notable of them is the certainty that competition in this space will grow in the coming years as the need for adding blockchain solutions to more businesses increases. Unibright combats this through the extensive experience of the parent company, and through the growing network of partnerships.
There is also the possibility that businesses will never come around to see the need to add blockchain technology. This possibility is truly beyond the control of Unibright, and they need to continue pushing forward under the assumption that businesses will eventually want to move to blockchain technology.
There has also been some criticism over the addition of a token to this platform, and questions over whether tokenization is needed. The plans for scaling the platform make it clear that a token is a necessary component of the platform.
Overall the team is already well positioned and doing well in growing their partnerships and usage of the platform. Once acceptance and use of blockchain technology increases at the business level Unibright will be in a great position to take advantage of that.
Rubio: US and Iran to continue technical consultations at the end of this month
Multiple foreign media outlets reported on the 24th that US Secretary of State Rubio said technical teams from the United States and Iran will hold further talks in Switzerland by the end of June. (Xinhua News Agency)
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Over the past 24 hours, total crypto market liquidations hit $606 million, with more than 130,000 traders liquidated.
According to Coinglass data, the global cryptocurrency market recorded $606 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, including $542 million in long-position liquidations and $68.22 million in short-position liquidations. A total of 135,785 traders worldwide were liquidated in the same period, with the largest single liquidation order occurring on Binance’s BTCUSDT trading pair, valued at $12.0111 million.
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Bitcoin falls below $60,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin has fallen below $60,000, with a 4.3% drop in the past 24 hours.
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US Treasury Secretary: AI boom may boost productivity and help curb inflation.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent told CNBC in an interview that he hopes the Federal Reserve will remain "open-minded" about the inflation pattern after the reversal of Iran-related energy price hikes. Bessent noted that the U.S. could enter an economic environment marked by high GDP growth without a corresponding rise in traditional inflation. He cited that in the 1990s, Alan Greenspan foresaw that office modernization and the internet could drive non-inflationary growth, and allowed the economy to keep expanding. Bessent believes the U.S. has a strong chance of seeing a similar scenario again. When asked whether the Fed still needs to worry about potential inflation and whether interest rate cuts are possible this year or next, Bessent declined to comment. However, he argued that it is necessary to stay open-minded about the price or inflation impacts from the Iran conflict, and monitor inflation performance after those effects subside. Bessent also said an open mind is needed, as the AI boom could boost productivity and deliver disinflationary effects, helping inflation return to the Fed’s target level. He added that he believes Kevin Warsh will choose the optimal path that meets both the Fed’s inflation and growth mandates. Bessent also noted that Warsh previously took a hawkish stance on inflation.
5 hours ago
US stocks' intraday storage sector sees broad declines, with Western Digital and Seagate Technology both falling over 4%.
According to Bitget data, during U.S. stock trading hours, the storage sector saw broad declines: Western Digital (WDC) fell 4.47%, Seagate Technology (STX) dropped 4.17%, SanDisk (SNDK) declined 2.31%, and Micron Technology (MU) edged down 0.96%. Most optical communication concept stocks rose, with Corning (GLW) leading the gains at 9.75%, followed by Ciena (CIEN) up 3.24%, Coherent (COHR) rising 2.93%, Lumentum (LITE) gaining 2.61%, and Nokia (NOK) advancing 1.82%. Additionally, Marvell Technology (MRVL) fell 2.59% and Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) declined 1.90%.
5 hours ago
During intraday trading in U.S. stocks, crypto-related concept stocks fell broadly, with MSTR dropping more than 7%.
According to Bitget market data, the three major U.S. stock indexes rose broadly: the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.94%, the S&P 500 increased 0.60%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.63%. Crypto-related stocks fell across the board, with declines as follows: Strategy (MSTR) down 7.33%; Circle (CRCL) down 4.35%; Bitmine (BMNR) down 3.97%; Coinbase (COIN) down 3.73%; Robinhood (HOOD) down 3.70%; Gemini (GEMI) down 3.27%; Bullish (BLSH) down 3.25%; Sharplink (SBET) down 3.19%.
Binance has announced the delisting of eight tokens from its spot trading platform, effective April 1, 2026. The tokens, Arena-Z (A2Z), Ampleforth Governance Token (FORTH), Hooked Protocol (HOOK), IDEX (IDEX), Loopring (LRC), Neutron (NTRN), Radiant Capital (RDNT), and Solar (SXP), failed to meet the exchange’s updated listing standards following a periodic review.
The announcement, published on March 18, sent immediate shockwaves through the affected tokens’ markets. A Binance delisting is one of the most severe liquidity events a token can face, removing access to the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume in a single stroke.
The delisting news arrived on an already difficult day for crypto markets. Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that rate cuts won’t come unless there is clear progress on inflation. Bitcoin fell sharply following Powell’s remarks, with the market now watching closely for BTC’s next move.
The Criteria Behind the Cuts Binance conducts regular reviews of listed assets across a range of factors, including development activity, trading volume, network security, community engagement, team commitment, and evidence of unethical conduct. The exchange also considers changes to tokenomics, ownership structure, and responsiveness to due diligence requests.
The eight tokens delisted span a wide range of projects, from DeFi infrastructure plays like Loopring and Radiant Capital to newer ecosystem tokens like Neutron, a Cosmos-based smart contract platform.
None have been given specific reasons for their removal, consistent with Binance’s standard practice of citing cumulative review criteria rather than individual project failures.
Token Prices Crash After Announcement The market reaction was swift and brutal for several of the affected tokens.
For instance, HOOK, the token behind Hooked Protocol, fell 13.5% to $0.01466, with a 24-hour range of $0.01392 to $0.01707. The price chart shows a sharp cliff immediately after the announcement, followed by a prolonged period of depressed trading.
Despite the drop, HOOK’s 24-hour trading volume of $14.7 million significantly exceeds its market cap of $4.22 million, suggesting active panic selling rather than illiquidity.
HOOK price performance. Source: CoinGecko FORTH, the governance token for the Ampleforth protocol, also took a big hit. It dropped 14.6% in 24 hours, sliding from a high of $0.7208 to a current price of $0.6137.
Market cap now sits at just $7.06 million, a figure that helps explain why it no longer meets Binance’s liquidity thresholds.
FORTH price performance. Source: CoinGecko NTRN, the native token of Neutron, declined 5.4% to $0.00573, with a 24-hour range of $0.005407 to $0.006148. Its chart tells a slightly different story, an initial sharp drop followed by a volatile bounce toward $0.006 in later trading, before settling back lower.
The partial recovery may reflect community buying or short covering.
A Binance delisting does not necessarily mean a project is dead. Tokens often migrate trading activity to decentralised exchanges or smaller centralised platforms after removal.
But the liquidity loss is significant and rarely fully recovered.
Binance Under the Spotlight The delisting announcement comes as Binance navigates a separate regulatory moment. Binance issued a formal response to a U.S. Senate inquiry examining potential Iran sanctions exposure, addressing a February 24 letter from Senator Richard Blumenthal.
The exchange rejected the claims, defended its sanctions programme, and detailed investigations involving two flagged entities.
On the other side of the ledger, Binance has been reinforcing its institutional standing. Its SAFU fund has hit a milestone following a purchase of 4,500 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 15,000 BTC and overtaking Coinbase.
