AnalysisDeFi
Crypto Lending Contracts 16.8% in Q2 2026 as Deleveraging Continues
Onchain outstanding debt fell to $56.16 billion in Q2 2026, registering a steady, stepwise decline rather than a full market collapse.
Research desk
Analysis
Deep dives from the research desk: unlock anatomies, protocol revenue, regulatory read-throughs, weekly recaps. 900–1,500 words, every claim sourced, no price targets.
AnalysisDeFi
Lido Proposes Native Lending Protocol Following $292M Kelp Exploit Contagion
The staking provider plans to fork Morpho Blue for isolated lending markets after spending 2,644 ETH to cover secondary losses from a third-party bridge hack.
AnalysisRegulation & Policy
ESMA Orders Halt to Non-Compliant Stablecoin Services, Proposes MiCA Expansion
The EU regulator mandates a three-month remediation period for unauthorized stablecoins and seeks to bring DeFi access and staking under the MiCA framework.
5 min read
AnalysisRegulation & Policy
UK and EU Regulators Solidify Crypto Oversight and Tax Reporting Frameworks
The Financial Conduct Authority readies its authorization gateway as the European Union begins DAC8 tax information exchanges.
5 min read
AnalysisSecurity & Hacks
AI Speeds Up Tracing of $387 Million Bitget Exploit Linked to North Korea
Chainalysis deployed in-house AI to compress 20 hours of manual cross-chain tracing into under 10 minutes, following funds across seven blockchains after the massive September 24 exchange breach.
AnalysisStablecoins & Payments
Open Standard Launches OUSD Stablecoin on Solana With Stripe Integration
Backed by Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe, and Visa, the new Open USD stablecoin debuts with zero-fee minting and burning to challenge dominant market incumbents.
AnalysisEthereum & L2s
Ethereum Glamsterdam Upgrade Activates on Sepolia Testnet
The major network upgrade introduces enshrined proposer-builder separation and block-level access lists to advance Layer 1 scaling.
$ETH 4 min read
AnalysisRegulation & Policy
CFTC Proposes New Crypto Rules to Establish Federal Trading Framework
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Regulation CTX and Regulation CAM, seeking to create a purpose-built federal regime for crypto exchanges.
AnalysisInstitutions & ETFs
Strategy Proposes Daily Dividends for Bitcoin-Backed Preferred Stock
The company filed a proxy statement to amend terms for STRF, STRC, STRK, and STRD instruments, aiming to boost liquidity and expand its capital markets toolkit.
$BTC 4 min read
AnalysisInstitutions & ETFs
Nasdaq and Payward Advance Tokenized Equities with $100 Million Investment
The strategic partnership targets a second-quarter 2027 launch for Nasdaq Equity Tokens, integrating market surveillance and real-time settlement infrastructure.
4 min read
AnalysisMacro & Markets
Russian Finance Ministry Begins Paying Staff Salaries in Digital Rubles
The Russian Ministry of Finance has initiated digital ruble salary payments for its staff, marking a significant expansion of the central bank digital currency into the state budget process.
3 min read
AnalysisMacro & Markets
Federal Reserve Raises Rates by 25 Basis Points as Inflation Persists
The FOMC voted unanimously to lift the federal funds rate to a 3.75% to 4% target range, citing elevated inflation and a resilient domestic labor market.